NaNoWriMo a'go'go



It's taken awhile but here I am, risen once again from the ashes.

The last few months of my life have seen an upheaval of epic proportions, everywhere I looked I found Negativity and Disarray. For along time I thought these two vicious fellows were my only friends. I even accepted their very special brand of evil as acceptable. 

I am pleased to say after hiding in my cave, dousing myself in self pity and flagellation, and then licking my wounds clean, I have bounced back.

(Many more cliche's and I'll have to sell this post as a Greeting Card)

I turned the ugly Negativity away from my doorstep when she came knocking, I biffed Disarray around the ears a few times and knocked him into shape and then I crawled out of my cave and greeted my new life with an idea.

Ooh, she says, I wonder what that idea was.

 The title of this post couldn't possibly have given it away.

That's right,

 after a year full of doubt,

 insecurity

 and

 the worst case of writer's block

 (ever!)

 NaNoWriMo

loomed large

and I thought

"Self, why ever not?"

and self thought back

"You're right self, why not"

So I am.

Welcome onboard my NaNo 2011 challenge.

The ship has already sailed, if you want to catch it, you'll have to swim through shark infested waters in a tropical rainstorm with 10 kilo's of precious metals strapped to your back and a swag of flies buzzing around your head, but you know, it will be worth it.

 

My oh my, it seems I ain't no pantser...

To plot or to pants?
That is a question that did not occur to me when, 3 years ago, I sat down to start writing my first novel. My muse came to me at the tail end of a terribly devastating week, and in order to cope, I simply began to write.  In the very same week, feeling as though I needed to take back control of my world, I  also re-enrolled in university. The degree I enrolled in was Australian Literature and  Communications, and I dedicated myself to learn everything I could about the craft that I had spent most of my life declaring that I loved.

1 year and 300,000 words later ...
I gave the novel to three trusted friends for beta reading. When I say three trusted friends I mean my mother, sister and closest girlfriend. As you can imagine, the mother and sister loved it and had little else to say. Thankfully the girlfriend - who is also a writer- gave much more practical advice and pointed out the novel was far from finished.

She said something about being long winded and entirely missing the point...

By now I was almost halfway through my Literature degree and starting to understand a little bit about the art of novel writing. At last I considered the 'To plot or not' question, and I decided to not.  Off I went, to tackle the third draft of the novel. I finished the draft within a month, decided I hated it and then BAM! Like a lightning strike, I had it! I was not a pantser at all!

To plot or to pants?
To plot, to plot, to plot. So simple, why did I not see it before? Right, now to plot...hm mm...plot,plot,plot....
.................................plot........................................................plot..............................................................
plot damn it, PLOT.........BLEEP BLEEP Bleepy BLEEP BLEEP...............................................................

Plot


PLOT




ARRRRRRRGGGGGGGG

Many months passed like this. I came unstuck. Struck down with writers block, my muse deserted me.

Maybe I am not a plotter?

Maybe I am not really a writer?

Maybe I suck???????? Like big time suck??????

Ok, breathe...
At this stage I was in my third year of uni and trying to study full-time, be a full-time SAHM to Thing 1 and Thing 2 and run a full-time community initiative. In short, I was very short - on time, patience and creative juices. I decided to give it a rest. I sat the book aside. I planned to return to it in March this year.

March came and went.
So did April, May and June.

It looked like July was about to pass by also.

Then I began to plan for my graduation. I invited the folks, I booked the dress robes, I organised a babysitter, and I sat down to draw.

Draw?

I know it seems a strange preparation for a university graduation but it makes total sense to me...
(and I promise this is taking us somewhere)

You see, like most dedicated writers, at every major milestone in my life I have sat down to my trusty old journal and documented the passing - of age, of friendships, of loved ones, of hair styles and of favourite pieces of clothing.  This documentation however, does not always take the form of a story. Granted, sometimes it is a story, but often it is a photo, a song, a poem, a lock of hair, a scrap of fabric (a fingernail once made it in there!), and frequently the documentation takes the form of a drawing.

So I sat down to draw. I didn't plan (because as it should be clear by now, I am not a planner) I just drew. And low and behold - as my dear departed gran would claim- my muse returned.

There she was, the perfect pictorial image of my muse, waving cheekily up at me from the page, as if to say 'Well, what are you waiting for!'

Angel Grace
My muse - and the leading lady in my painfully patient novel- launched herself back into my psyche and kept me awake for two night running. She had me lock myself away in my dungeon and forced my hand like some kind of Chinese torture (I know I'm mixing metaphors, but cut me some slack, my muse is back!)

At long last, I was plotting. And I was loving it. I can be a plotter, I can, I can.

To plot or to pants?
In answer to the question, it would seem I am both a plotter and a pantser. After my revelation - and upon conferring with my muse - I now have a completely re-plotted outline for an entire trilogy, based very loosely around the original idea of my very first novel. And it only took me 3 years of pantsing to get here!

And on top of that, in the very same week,
I have finally graduated from university,
only 15 years after I first started.

Pantser indeed!

How to land your dream job in 3 easy steps...



image sourced from picsneed

Step 1
Decide what it is you love,study long and hard for approximately 15 years (anything less than that will deem you a flaky fence sitter)  and become so obsessed with the idea that everything else in your life fades into insignificance.

Step 2
Prostitute yourself - your skills, your wares, your time and your family (if they have stuck around during the time of obsession that is) - all over the world via FaceBook, Twitter, Google, Blogger, Wordpress, MySpace, YouTube and every other social media site available. Make connections, acquaintances, contacts, followers and friends with anyone who has the remotest connection to your hearts desire.

Step 3
Start applying for professional positions, realise you have nothing more than your FaceBook friends list to back up your claims and then meekly ask the kindest loveliest of these friends if they could possibly act as a referee.  Wait anxiously in front of computer (meanwhile ignoring husband and children's plea for dinner)for said friend to ignore you (this may take several days of pining, but don't worry, you'll eventually get the idea).  When message comes through only a few short minutes later, you realise perhaps you should have more faith in your esteemed colleagues ;)

OK so it's way more than 3 steps...

Step 4
Click on message in trepidation of the big blow off, only to be pleasantly surprised by...

!!!!A JOB OFFER!!!!
(***3 days later realise forgot to submit application for original job but are still so excited, you just don't care!)

Step 5
(yeah yeah, yeah, so sue me, I can't count.)

Dance around kitchen in velour tracksuit and Ugg boots like the fashionista that you are, squealing and giggling while previously mentioned husband and children watch on in bemused amazement.

This is me declaring it from the rooftops

I, Tanya Bell, (yes ME!!!!) have recently been appointed first

 !!!ASSOCIATE EDITOR!!!

at

Literary Mix Tapes,

an imprint under the umbrella of

 eMergent Publishing.

A hiatus...

3 years in the making...

The first draft of my current WIP took all of six months to write. It was rubbish, but in all fairness I was a stay at home mum running two businesses, studying at uni externally and trying to juggle a family that appeared to be coming apart at the seams.

The second draft took 12 months. Again it was rubbish, but much less the filthy stinking rotting sludge of the first and more a discarded food wrapper kind of rubbish. The reasons the second draft took twice as long as the first were numerous. Due to the epic failure of one business and the ginormous stress of the other not being worth the money it could earn, my husband and I decided to sell up and head north. We did that, with two toddlers in tow, and only our dreams of a fresh start to sustain us.

The third draft took a further 12 months to complete while we settled into our new home. It was slightly better but not much. By this time I had found a trusted critique partner and with her helpful comments I quickly made the changes.

The fourth draft was the quickest of all, I completed it in one month. The circumstances surrounding this epic achievement were ideal: I had a deadline, my foray into full time study (who doesn't work better under pressure? ) I had my mother visiting for a month (so a full time quality babysitter that didn't mind if I stayed buried in my work way past the agreed knock off time) and I had one of those rare bursts of creative energy that carried me through (most of the time these bursts of energy tend to peter out after the chocolate runs out but not this time!).

At the end of this month I was happy with the final product and I was ready to set it aside for 12 months to mull it over while I completed my degree. The plan was to launch head first into the final draft/line edit upon graduation. It was a great plan.

Very rarely do things go according to plan.
I graduated over two months ago. Despite the copious amounts of notes scribbled in notepads, saved in numerous word documents on laptop and hard drive, scribed as blog posts and mumbled into the Dictaphone app on my iPhone, the fifth and final draft is nowhere to be seen. In fact it has escaped so far over the horizon that I don't know if I have the energy to chase it down.

The biggest problem, the reason for my procrastination, my excuses for stalling? This blog. Writing competitions. Short story submissions. Secondary projects. Facebook. New manuscript ideas. Other Writers and their awesome blogs that eat into my creative time. All of these things I have pursued instead of starting the re-write.

Also...
There are a few bare faced truths that I have had to face.
1. I hate the manuscript.
2. I think it is complete rubbish.
3. I want to put it on the scrap heap and start again.

Of all of these truths, I have come to terms with the first two.
1. I still love the premise, characters and setting.
2. I am a much better writer than I was when I started 3 years ago.

The third truth is the one I am having trouble with.
I just don't know how can I start again, completely from scratch. Every time I sit down to write, my brain freezes in fear. I panic.  My heart all but stops. I have hit a very famous brick wall.

Writers Block
The trouble is, it is not the words that don't come, my characters are alive and well in my head.  Honestly, they talk to me all the time, asking me when I'm going to get my act together and write their story, telling me tidbits about their day, forcing my hand to scribe conversations they've had with their mother, brother, lover. I have the Who, What and When down pat.

The thing that won't come is the HOW.  And the thing I don't know is WHY are they talking to me and WHERE is the story going?

This is a problem. I have brain stormed, I have drawn charts, I have broken the original manuscript down scene by scene, I have dissected the characters until I am blue in the face. And still I cannot for the life of me work out the best way to tell the story.

What all of this ranting means.
I have not written so much as two words toward the new manuscript. And I have a time limit. You see a set myself a new deadline, to have the final draft ready by my 33rd birthday which falls in three short weeks on the 30th of May. Also, I hoped to be ready for query by my husbands 40th birthday, the 1st of July, only eight very short weeks away. If I don't do something soon, I will miss my deadline. Sure this will not cause too much damage to the greater time continuum but it will damage me. I hate to miss deadlines, I hate to ask for extensions. Besides, I know the chick giving out the extensions, she's not very nice to slackers, regardless of their circumstance.

So this glorious Sunday morning- which is mothers day by the way and yes I was spoiled very much by the gorgeous Cat and Thing 1 and Thing 2 outdid themselves with hand made cards and gifts- I have decided that I will no longer let anything interfere with the production of the manuscript. 

I am putting all other projects on hold, I am cutting myself some slack and I am going to bury my head in PLOT resurrection. I will not be blogging, facebooking, twittering, short story writing, beta reading or doing anything else remotely unrelated to the emergence of Silken Threads.

Please bear with me, I will be back, I just cannot say when...

The Editing Process - How to make paper piles.

Finally dear readers
Today we begin chapter 2 of The Writing Book. Originally the plan was to achieve one chapter of Ms Grenville's book per month. I do not choose to dwell on how long it has actually taken. I suggest neither do you. Let's move onwards. By now you should have a nice sized pile of  little stories, snippets of action, conversations and dialogue or simply random thoughts. I know I do!


I would just like to take this moment to say how excited I am by my progress. Jax appeared out of nowhere, threw me full force into her world and then blew up the dock we were hanging out on. This character lept of the page and took over my life but now I have regained control. Although I can't wait to see where she takes me next I have asked her to be patient and first let me deal with Silken Threads.


Anyway...today will blossom from Kate Grenville's 'The Writing Book' exercise: Chapter 2 - Making Piles.


We will be exploring  my current WIP Silken Threads

The Big Cut
In chapter 2 Grenville asks us to make piles of all the exercises we have completed from Chapter 1. Now I have done this with Jax and set them aside. Seeing as I am now back on track with Silken Threads I decided to continue forward from this point, and seeing as I have 100,000 words already, I figured pile making was as good a place as any to start.

It has been painful, it has been wicked and  surprisingly, it has been inspirational. Although I reached a devastating revelation a few weeks ago, where I thought Silken Threads was a no-hoper, I have been given a new lease of life and I am surging ahead.

In three weeks I have cut the MS to pieces. Literally, I printed it out, took out some scissors and started hacking. It was cathartic. What I ended up with was not, as you may be now imagining, a pile of shredded paper, but five neat character profiles and the idea for six interconnecting novellas!

I know right?
So I have my piles, now what do I do with them?  Next Grenville suggests looking at the similarities in the text, in other words, seeking out the underlying themes. Seeing as I am working with an almost complete manuscript, my themes are pretty well established, so instead I broke down the entire manuscript into individual scenes. Yes, I did that.

I have 211 individual scenes!
You would think that is a lot of action. Amazingly I found my first big problem - it's not.
A large portion of the scenes are inactive and do not move the plot forward - this in itself is a huge revelation, but of the good kind! At last I have somewhere to start!

The next step...
Now that I have these piles (and large gaping holes in the plot!) Grenville suggests I work out some sort of order: to arrange what I do have in a way that allows the underlying themes to shine through. Taking a deep breath, I am now about to plunge myself into the crazy, chaotic world of PLOT MAPPING. Yep, I going to get out my sticky notes and my markers, I'm going to set up my pretty pink pin board and I am going to create an ARC to be reckoned with.

I will be back sometime in the not so distant future to report back - if I don't resurface sometime in the next week, please don't panic, I am probably just getting my groove back!
copyright 2011, TBell

The love affair we call writing...

Over the weekend I was fortunate to spend time away with the girls. Amongst the clouds in a mountain chalet we talked, laughed, cried, drank and ate. My cheeks hurt from smiling and my heart is warm with the kind of love only girlfriend's can supply (my liver is a tad sore too but don't worry mum, it's water all the way from here).

A wonderfully nurturing child/husband free weekend was had by all and amongst the tears and laughter a few insights and epiphanies were revealed...

On Sunday morning one of my favourite girl's, MermaidMeg, sat us down and gave us all a tarot card reading: some were funny; others spot on and mine - well take a look for yourself.

Tarot Reading - 10 card spread.

1. The Signifier - Ten of Swords - The darkness before the dawn.

2. Crossing Card - Three of Swords - A painful state that does not allow for blindness to continue.

3. On The Surface - Three of Cups - Seeking emotional connections / new beginnings.

4. Crux of Issue - Four of Pentacles - Let fears of self go to unblock creativity and allow confidence to flow.

5. Past - Queen of Wands - The superwoman - Let go of the ideal.

6. Future - Ace of Pentacles - The release of past energies will make way for success and prosperity.

 image sourced tarotoftrees.com

 7. Development - Death - Something must come to an end, new life by letting go of old.

8. Response from others - Ace of Cups - Outpouring of feeling, upsurge of raw emotion.

9. Hopes and Fears - Ten of Cups - On going contentment and permanence in the realm of the heart.

10. Outcome - Two of Cups - The beginning of a new relationship or project, renewal of one that has undergone difficulty.

What this means to me...

At first glance this reading appeared to be about my personal relationships with actual real humans. I contemplated for a moment running off to have a wild, passionate affair with an incredibly handsome man that would cook, massage and serenade me (all in that order) but then I remembered I loved my husband, our children and our life together - and considering my question was directed at my writing career - I was forced to look deeper.

Now I think many a writer would agree with me when I say writing a novel is like embarking on a love affair. It is euphoric one moment and the next you are swept into the depths of despair only to be lifted up again by a chance encounter with a new character or a stunning moment of clarity. My journey as a novice novelist would slip into this descriptive concept without missing a beat.

As you may be aware, I have struggled recently to attempt the fifth edit of my MS. The reason I have struggled is because I have decided after 3 years work that I do not like the final product. This is a somewhat crushing revelation and  I have even contemplated (deep breath) giving up!

And I am loath to say I have also flirted with new characters in entirely new worlds. These flirtations have given me the rush I was missing, the glow of first love, but alas I found myself staring out over the mist covered mountains and yearning for my first love.

With that in mind
I took a second look at the Tarot reading. I think it is clear that I am indeed wallowing in the depth of darkness and it has come as a great sigh of relief to know the dawn is coming (insert here a song and dance routine from a really bad but nostalgic 90's music video).

I was already beginning to toy with a new concept for the old manuscript and I have even spent the last month breaking the story down scene by scene and re-plotting several characters journeys.

My MysticTarot has given me faith in pursuing this course of action and I would like to say, as a writer, to all other writers, you have to take inspiration where you can get it - oh and having a little faith in yourself helps too.

How to make up a lost day...



http://www.justwritegifts.com/



Today is Thursday

I missed my WordsOnThePage session yesterday. I spent the day instead at DreamWorld with my beautiful children and some lovely friends. Last night as I crashed into bed exhausted but with a smile on my dial. I vaguely thought about getting back up and doing some late night writing but...

The next thing I know

It's morning and I slept through the entire night in incredible peace. Thing One and Thing Two were so exhausted from all the fun, they did not stir once. I did have a teeny tiny moment of self flagellation but then I remembered the fun we had and I got over it. I figured I would put it behind me and start fresh today. What didn't get done yesterday, can be done today, no biggie.

The How to of How To's
The only way to make up for a day lost is to simply move forward.
I can't change time (although that would be an awesome trick to have in the party tricks hat),
I can't create time (add that to the list of most wanted tricks, check),
but I can be flexible with my time.

Now enough babble - I have some writing to just write....

To blog or not to blog?

The Quest
You aim to become a published author. You intend to do this by finishing your first manuscript and then either self publish or query agents/publishers (or simultaneously do both).

 I "plan" to finish my first YA paranormal series, The Silken Threads, and  then self publish the first three books in e-book format while simultaneously querying agents/publishers.

The Quandary

Your days are too short to do all the things required of you as an author in these new technological times? You need to write; blog; interact; write some more; edit; network; research; comment; be funny and engaging; and perhaps you have to work or parent or occasionally sleep.

Although, I cannot say my days are too short. My days are looooong. I rise with the children, long before the sun wakes, and I retire long after the moon shines. Most nights I get six hours sleep: not too shabby for some, pretty poor for others. I make lists and I schedule routines. I achieve an awful lot in one day. But...

I never seem to achieve what it is I set out to do.

Take this blog for instance.

I have three days a week to write. I aim to do a short blog post on each of those days to kick start my writing day. I even went so far as to declare my intention in the banner line of this blog! Do I end up writing a blog post on each of those three days? Nu-uh.

Today is Tuesday, I am only just now posting Mayhem&Madness!! Where did Monday go? Lost in the madness I assume.

The Query

Do you or do you not continue down this blogging path?

You call yourself a writer. You have several writing projects on the go, non-fiction and fiction alike, and you have numerous other writerly activities happening in the sidelines: blogs; websites; critique partners; writer's group; book club; competitions etc... 

You have taken the first steps toward a writerly career and now you need to finish your books and sell them.

To do this in today's market place  you know  you must secure a loyal following of like minded writers and readers to support your journey and for you to likewise support theirs. You have taken the first steps to do that but now you are faltering.

There are so many other things that need doing, like the final edit of Book 1, and more often than not these things take priority over the blog. And sometime you get stuck in the wide world of webbing that is social media and you find your entire day has been eaten up by a big hungry blog spider.

How do you break through the cycle?
How do you get better at juggling all of these things?

I don't have an answer to provide you that you don't already know. I too am stuck in the webbing.
I am tempted to suggest giving up on sleeping, or eating and cleaning.

Unreasonable solutions aside, the best I can come up with is this:

You practice.
You write.

And you blog about practicing and writing in a funny engaging way that will entice like minded readers and writers into following your journey and hopefully they will stick with you long enough to eventually buy and read your book- when at last you get it up and out there!

Just know -- you are not alone...

Happy Blogging

FictionFriday - an exploration of character through random writing prompts

The Prompt
[Fiction] Friday Challenge #200 for April 8th, 2011

Use this phrase “Looks can be deceiving” as your prompt of theme.

The Character

Chelsea looks like a young Reece Witherspoon



This week I will be exploring the character Chelsea, the protagonist from Book 3 of The Silken Threads series.

Chelsea is the youngest daughter of the 3 Dell girls; she is 17; in her second to last year of high school; and is anything but studious.The Silken Threads is a YA paranormal series focusing on individual character experiences of the afterlife.
*(still bandying about ideas for individual book names)

***

The Flash

"It's not what it looks like."

"Uh-huh." Dario nodded.

"What? It's not! Looks can be deceiving."

Dario smirked, "Sure."

Chelsea tugged the scarf tighter around her throat and grinned, "Besides, I least I got lucky at the party. What did you spend the night doing huh? Running around drooling after my sister no doubt."

Dario blushed, "Drooling yes; your sister - ah nooo!"

The bell rang as Chelsea squealed. Joslin and Angel rushed passed and rolled their eyes.


"Don't be late again Chels, you know Ms Craft has it in for you." Joslin called over her shoulder. Chelsea screwed up her nose and linked arms with Dario. Joslin stopped on the path ahead, "And mum will have a fit!"

"Yeah, yeah." Chelsea and Dario both stuck their tongues out at the older girls and burst into fits of giggles."So do tell, who is the lucky girl then?"

Dario blushed again, "No one, it doesn't matter. Come on or it will be Ms Craft who throws a fit."

"And we don't want to miss that!" they sang together.

At the classroom door Ms Craft caught them in one of her famous death glares, "So nice of you to join us Miss Dell. Mr Tripp, I trust you have your speech prepared?'

"Yes Ms." Dario ducked his head and slipped into his front row seat.

"Yes Ms." Chelsea mimicked as she slid in behind him. "Don't think I've forgotten, at lunch you will tell me who she is or..."

"Or what Miss Dell? If you have so much to say, why don't you collect your paper and come to the front of the room. We would all be delighted to listen to your talk first." The teacher paused for dramatic effect, "You do have it prepared?"

"Ah, well you see Ms, my sister turned 21on the week end see and I sort of didn't get it finished."

"Well you can read what you have then!"

Dario snorted as Chelsea shuffled in her bag for the single sheet of paper she had managed to scribble her ideas on. Friday night was supposed to be a study session where Dario helped her with the stupid speech but it turned out to be a complete right off. After the first joint Dario got in a stupid mood and they started talking about the death again. She was obsessed with death, even more so now that Khai--

"Miss Dell, we haven't got all day."

"Sorry." Chelsea found the note pad and looked at the heading. She swore under her breath and Dario choked on his laughter. "What is this? She hissed.

His shoulders were rocking back and forth with barely contained delight, "It's your speech." He spluttered.

"MISS DELL!"

Chelsea kicked Dario in the shin and he yelped. "Yes Ms, I've found it."Chelsea strengthened her shoulders and walked to the front of the classroom. She would just have to read it in the most serious voice she could muster and hope for the best.

At the front of the room the rest of the students looked at her expectantly. For the most part the faces were friendly, excited looking even. They were hoping for a show: for Chelsea to embarrass herself with her ineptitude once again. At the back Chelsea caught a genuinely friendly eye. Faith Grace gave her a grin and nodded encouragingly. Ok, breath Chels, breath. It took a few seconds to steady her breathing and a nervous twitter rippled through the room in anticipation.

"All right, settle down. Now class, although Chelsea is clearly unprepared, remember she is doing you all a favour by going first and I expect you will give her the silence and time she deserves to get through her piece. This is an assessable item; the grades you receive today will go a long way toward determining your final grades next year. I expect you give this series of speeches the respect they deserve." Ms Craft turned to Chelsea, "Now Chelsea, I understand your topic for discussion was The Possibility of an Afterlife?"

"Yes Ms." Chelsea looked at her paper again and flushed. Dario snorted again. I'll kill him later she thought and then deliberately turned away. Although she could still see his shaking frame in her peripheral vision, it was blurred and much easier to ignore. Taking another deep breathe she launched herself into the speech.

"The Night I Died and Went to Heaven."

Dario couldn't contain himself and burst into fits of laughter. The class twittered with him but Chelsea ploughed on. After a couple of seconds her voice gained strength and she relaxed. The essay wasn't half bad and the class settled in and listened attentively, even Dario shut up and by the time she was finished he had to try hard to not look impressed.

The class broke out in applause and Ms Craft offered her possibly the only genuine smile she would ever offer. "Well done Chelsea, once again you have proved you are more than piggy tails and smiles."

"Thank you Ms." Elated Chelsea slunk low in her seat and silently high fived herself.

Dario twisted in his seat and raised his eyebrow, "What the?"

Chelsea grinned, "I told you looks can be deceiving!"

Ms Craft tapped his desk with her pen, "All right Dario. Let’s see what you have."

Dario gulped and stood up. Chelsea smirked, serves him right for being so smug about the love bite.

***

Read more Fiction Friday stories or Join in

Is self publishing the new agent slush pile?

Is Self-publishing the new Slush Pile?
There is much debate in the literary world about e-books vs. paper; self publishing vs. traditional; quality vs. crud and so on and so forth.




3 big ticket news items
Three things happened in the publishing world recently that fired this debate further:
- self publishing guru and author Amanda Hocking excepted a traditional publishing deal;
- traditionally published bestselling novelist Barry Eisler turned down a reported $500 000 dollar deal to go it alone, and
- the federal judge rejected the Google book settlement.


Is it possible?
Is it possible that both traditional and self publishing can co-exist in a complementary relationship? The above news items indicate a definitive yes. Each path suits a particular need; one path can lead to the other and around and round the publishing wheel we go. But - will self publishing will emerge to take on the role of the agent in the first round of queries?


In times gone by...
The steps you once would take to become published were:
• You write a book
• You fine tune it to the best of your ability
• You research agents, publishing houses and competition that suit the genre
• You send out queries, the first 3 chapters or enter competitions
• You wait
• While you wait you start to write another book or perhaps fine tune the first one
• You wait some more
• After a very short /very long time you land an agent, publisher or win a comp
• You start on the rewrite
• Your agent sends the novel around to be optioned by publishers
• You wait
• While you wait you blog about waiting and other publishing things
• Sometimes you land a deal, sometimes you find a new agent, sometimes you write another book
• You wait some more for covers, pre-releases, reviews so on and so forth
• 12 to 18 months after landing the deal your book is released
• Glory lands at your feet, you jump for joy and then you get back on the wheel.


The future of publishing as I see it
• You write a book.
• You fine tune it to the best of your ability.
• You have a few friends, critique partners and beta readers fine tune it further.
• While others are reading first book, you write some more.
• You interact on social media about the experience.
• You e-publish the first book via one of the many platform services available.
• You set realistic and affordable price for e-book ($0.99 to $2.99).
• You try not to think about the realistic and affordable price.
• You reassure yourself - everyone else is doing it.
• You make it available on Kindle, iPad, Kobo & Nook.
• You target a few book reviewers and offer them free arcs.
• You see the dribbles of sales come in.
• You get excited.
• You do the whole process again with the second book.
• More sales dribble in.
• You blog some more.
• Sales increase.
• You get excited and madly publish another three books.
• You get a bit of a cult following.
• You start making reasonable money.
• A few agents notice you on Twitter.
• An agent or two likes you on Facebook.
• A big name agent blogs about you.
• You consider traditional publishing.
• You query a few agents.
• Agents respond positively.
• Your name is already known so you land a traditional publishing deal.
• You don't really know the first thing about traditional publishing so....
• You land an agent to help you out along the way.
• You become a mega-success old school style.
• You decide you like traditional publishing but you miss the freedom of self-publishing.
• You consider self publishing as a side project.
• Your side project is a huge hit and your traditional published deal sky rockets because you are so damn popular.
• You have landed feet first in your very own Utopia.
• The beginning meets the end and the end becomes the beginning.
• A perfect circle.
• You get back on the wheel.

Agents and traditional publishers do not get lost in the new order.
These entities are still necessary because:
1. People still love paper books (well, some people), and
2. Authors want to write, not publish (well, some authors).
The way I see it is that writers need to make it happen for themselves. Get out there and get noticed. Climb out of the slush pile.

Self-publishing platforms could become the new agent slush pile.
Agents will look out for new talent in a new way. Publishers will look for new writers that already have following and proven track record. Traditional publishing will fine tune the best of the best and make them the GREATS.
 That's the way I see it. How do you see it?

*for an awesome post on the numbers and money making side check out ex- literary agent and new author Nathan Brandsford


**note -I am yet to attempt of the above mentioned publishing options. This is just me making sense of the world as I see it and putting together all the info I have gathered over the many months I have been researching the best way to publish my first, second, third and fourth novel. Watch this space though...

Two Things Every Writer Needs

Yesterday

I posted about my

inability to write.

My first MS,

with whom I have spent the better part of three years in a dramatic love / hate relationship,

is currently languishing

in a bottom drawer

crying out for some much needed TLC.

You see

the last time we spent quality time together

it all ended in tears.

The break-up of all break-ups.

The MS haughtily took itself to a quiet corner to sulk

and I, ashamed as I am to admit it,

took solace in the world of another.

The new MS idea almost ended my first meaningful MS relationship.

Don't get me wrong,

I did try.

For 6 long torturous months

I tried.

I have dug deep,

 tried reconciliation,

counselling,

self help books,

 the works

but...

each time we sit down together

each time we think we have it all sorted,

the new MS sidles up to listen in.

The new MS is well meaning,

full of inspiration,

full of big ideas,

but the new MS is not helping.

Yesterday

I thought we had hit rock bottom,

I thought there was no way to pick up the pieces.

That is until I spoke up.

I stepped away from the MS's

and I went to my peeps.

The Two Things Every Writer Needs

1. Someone to tell you what you WANT to hear

2. Someone to tell you what you NEED to hear.

My bestie (and critique partner) took the brunt of it

(that's what happens when you drop by at wine o'clock).

She listened,

she asked appropriate questions,

she considered

and then she agreed.

I felt great.

I had secured my

No 1. Someone to tell you what you WANT to hear

Later, over another glass of wine and dinner

The Cat  -husband not animal - asked how my day was.

Now usually I regale The Cat with stories, funny incidences

 and the drama of spending the day with 

Thing 1 & Thing 2. 

Instead he found himself nodding uncertainly to

 my incensed ramblings

 about how the old MS and I had fallen out of love

 and the new MS that was flirting with me at every opportunity.

I detailed the tears,

the laughter,

the fights,

the jealousy

and finally I admitted

the guilt.

The Cat cleared his throat, folded his arms and sat back,

"So, you're giving up?"

My stomach dropped, "No!"

I shook my head vehemently, "No no no."

I tried to explain how suffocated I felt by the first MS,

how needy it had become,

how it was stifling my creativity.

The Cat nodded in understanding.

I sighed in relief.

The Cat hugged me close,

"It's OK to admit defeat. If it's too hard, then it's too hard"

I nodded gratefully...

Hang on...

 "No. That's not what this is. I'm not giving up because it's too hard!"

 Cat annoyingly raised one eyebrow.

 (How? how does he do that?).

"Are you sure?"

Am I sure. Am I SURE.

I snatched up my glass of wine and stomped away.

AM I SURE. Huh!

Dinner was eaten in silence.

Half way through Cat

commented on my choice of wine.

Three quarters done

and Cat complimented the dish.

As I finished Cat collected the plates and loaded the dishwasher.

Cat poured us another glass of wine.

The Cat is a lovely husband.

He knows me, hairy armpits and all.

He has my best interests at heart.

Maybe he has a point.

Am I sure?

No 2. Someone to tell you what you NEED to hear.

Today I am back on track.

MS no 1 has been given a new lease of life.

She has three months to get her act together.

MS no 2 has agreed to wait patiently in the side lines.

Her time will come.

May 30 - my 33rd birthday - MS no 1 TBC.

A deadline.

Accountability.

I owe it to myself and to my wonderful support network.

I am so grateful to have two people who know me so well.

What in this writerly world are you grateful for?

Kate Grenville - The Writing Book - exercise 1.4 Take a single word...

The thing I love about writing prompts is how they magically turn into stories in their own right.

Over the last few months, as I have slowly made my way through 'The Writing Book' I have been thrilled to find a new character developing. 'Jax' made her debut in exercise 1.13 and slowly but surely she has left her mark upon my imagination.

I have decided to stick with Jax and apply her to all of Grenville's exercises in future. I have plotted a path for her in a tricky new world and I find myself once again at the beginning of a love affair.

 @jax #theinceptionofchaos

*first draft

**jax excerpts may or may not appear in chronological order and may or may not make the final cut.

Jax is my new heroine.

I will not give away the plot as I hope to turn these exercises in to a action/adventure YA sometime in the not so distant future but I will share the first draft of each exercise from now on in.

Buckle your seat belts, you are in for a wild political ass kicking ride.

Grenville (p.14)  - Exercise 1.4 - Write a single word at top of page and write for 60 seconds

iPad

Jax raced through the school halls as the bell shrilled for the second time. If she was late again Mr Whatsit would have a pink fit. The door was inching closed as she rushed through and the Whatsit’s face turned purple. Simo moved a book bag from the seat next to her and Jax crashed into it, ‘Cutting it close aren’t you?’

She grinned, ‘Got lost in space’.

Simo rolled her eyes and pulled the iPad from Jax’s bag, ‘What kept you this time?’ She hit the on button and scanned the recent history. As she suspected every page was a news link of some kind, all political party updates. The latest headline appeared to jump from the screen—‘Nation Divided, the three-way split of the new government.’

‘What’s this?’ Simo hissed as Whatsit turned to the interactive white board.

‘Shh!’ Jax nodded to the front of the room, pretending to be enthralled in the lesson. The picture on the whiteboard flickered and a large round head appeared.

Whatsit adjusted the sound and turned to hush the classroom, ‘Now class, this is the last day of career week and for those of you who have yet to settle on a learning pathway,’ he raised his eyes and gave a weary look to Jax. She grinned back. The teacher sighed and turned to the rest of the class, ‘as I was saying, we have a special visitor today, some might say we saved the most interesting career for last, and I would appreciate if you would all listen attentively and save your questions until Minister Rogue has finished speaking.’

‘Good morning class.’ The Senator’s voice crackled over the line. His eyes scanned the room and settled on Jax. ‘Nice to see you made it to class on time Jacqueline’.

Copyright 2010, Tanya Bell