Adam Croft's Blog, page 27

As promised yesterday, we kick-start the New Year with a few writing resolutions. You might only want to pick one or two to follow, or come up with your own entirely different writing goals for the year, but hopefully the list below will give you some ideas and inspiration for the year ahead. And, as always, do share your own resolutions in the comments box.

Write every day, even if it’s just a few sentences.
Write the first draft of a novel by June, and get it edited and ready for publication by December.
Take a chance on independent publishing if you haven’t already.
Try a different writing style – preferably something you’ve never even considered trying before.
Take up a new hobby – ideally something completely different to your usual preferences – and see how it influences your writing.
Every week, take five minutes and write down five ideas for your writing.
Arrange a reading of your work – reading your writing out loud can be a good test of its strength, and of your bravery.
Enter a writing competition.
Set writing goals or challenges for each month, from the small (‘come up with a title’) to the big (‘write an entire first draft’).
Try different methods of editing to see which works best for you.
Be disciplined about editing – it can be easy to let it slip, but work always benefits from the effort in the end.
Learn a new publishing skill and put it into practice.
Seek out constructive criticism and try and learn from it.
Revisit old work and see how much you can improve it now some time has passed.
Remember to enjoy it. Sometimes we can lose the joy in writing, and that’s a shame. Making a concerted effort to enjoy every aspect of it should be something we all try and do this year.

So, we come to the end of another year with only a few hours left to go until the start of 2013. It’s been a great year for this blog, and thank you to everyone who has taken the time to pay a visit, read a post or two, or make a comment.

It’s a good time to spend a few minutes reflecting on what has already gone this year before getting on with the business of enjoying the New Year. Take a bit of time to look back over the writing goals you had for this year, and see where you are now. Even if you haven’t made all of the progress you wanted to, any progress is good progress. It’s an achievement. Besides, there’s always next year

So here’s to the end of 2012 and the start of another New Year. Tomorrow we’ll be taking a look at a few writing goals for the year ahead, but for now, I’ll leave you all with a final big thank you, and I hope you’ll all continue reading this blog next year.

With independent publishing more popular than ever, and with authors increasingly marketing their books online, we can’t deny that writers these days have a variety of roles to fulfil. They have to be publisher and publicist, scribe and technical support. They have to engage with readers and look after the business side of their work.

This leaves authors with an awful lot of stuff to manage. No more can we writers just sit in a room and write a nice story. We have to do other stuff too. And lots of it. Not that this is a bad thing. In fact, it’s quite nice, and it’s satisfying when your hard work starts to pay off. But there is no doubting the fact that all these roles and tasks can be something of a technical challenge.

With this in mind, here are a few tips for managing the various roles of an author. Do feel free to add your own in the comments box.

Become a fan of timetabling. It might not be all that fun, drawing up a strict schedule of things to do, but often it’s the only way to make sure you get everything done without forgetting something crucial.
Similarly, learn to love to do lists. One upside of this is that writers tend to love stationery, and creating big lists and charts is a great excuse to use it.
Know your limits. You can do a lot, but chances are you can’t do everything, either because of a lack of time or because your brain simply won’t compute e-book formatting/social media marketing/uploading documents to be published.  Learn where your weaknesses are and develop strategies to deal with them.
Related to the above point – know when you need help. Don’t put it off. There’s no shame in getting people to help you if you need it.
Plan well in advance. You might not know exactly where you will be in a year’s time, but it pays to have at least a rough plan of what you’ll be doing with your writing then. That way, you can work out what resources you’re likely to need and when. Much better than having a last minute panic the week before publication.

It’s something that I think pretty much all writers want to achieve: success through their writing. Yet for many, it can be pretty elusive, often taking years to materialise – if it ever does at all.

With this in mind – what is the secret of writing success?

The first thing to say, I think, is that there probably isn’t really a secret at all. Like most other kinds of success, doing well with your writing is largely down to hard work. You need to put the hours in.

Without doing the work to actually write a book – and to make it good and worth reading – success will certainly be hard to come by. You can’t do well if you don’t have something to sell.

You also need time, and patience. When we see authors deemed ‘overnight success stories’ in the news, they have in reality often been working for years under the radar, perfecting their craft and doing everything they can to achieve what they want.

It’s important to be proactive; if you want to be successful with your writing, you need to go after it yourself. This is particularly important with the growth in self-publishing and more authors adopting the DIY approach.

There’s also something to be said for talent. OK, so not all of the big ‘successful’ books in recent years are all that great in purely literary terms, but they still have a certain something that makes them popular. It might be that they hit upon a theme that resonates with people, even if the writing is a bit below par. Alternatively, they might be unrivalled in terms of their quality of prose.

This is why patience is so important – success can be fickle and while talent is undeniably important, we need to remember that there are different kinds of talent. Being a good writer and understanding the market, for instance, are two different things.

We also can’t deny that in any writing success, there is always a certain amount of luck. No matter how hard we work or how much research we do, we can never truly predict what will do well and what won’t. Readers’ tastes change, and can be nearly impossible to second guess.

All of this brings into perspective a rather complex package – success is not a simple concept.

What do you think is the secret to writing success, and how are you going about getting it?

Originality is a hard thing to define, especially in novel writing. There are those who say that there are really only a few stories, told over and over again in numerous different ways. Even if you don’t subscribe to that view, there’s no denying the fact that in crime fiction, there is a lot of competition.

And with so many other crime novels out there, with all of their authors hoping that they will do well, being original and interesting can be the difference between success and a flop.

So what makes your crime story original? Often, it might not be a very big thing. Sometimes all it takes is a little bit of flair – a different way of introducing your detective, for instance, or a crime scene presented in an unusual way. In the wider context of your novel, it might seem small, but it could be enough to give your book what it needs.

In other crime novels, you might try and go for a more radically original approach. A story told in some way other than chronologically, for instance, or told from the POV of a character we wouldn’t normally hear from. You might set the novel in an unusual time or place, or set it around a weirder-than-normal crime or important world event.

However you go about it, there are arguably two main places the originality comes from in crime novels: the characters and the writing. We often think of a certain ‘type’ of character when it comes to crime fiction, and so turning that on its head can be a good way to set your book apart. The way you write the book will also offer a large dose of originality – everyone has their own writing ‘voice’, and a story told well and in an unusual way can make a star of the person who wrote it.

How do you make sure your crime novels are original, and where do you think your own originality comes from?

Often when we talk about crime fiction, we talk about the main players: the antagonist and protagonist, as well as a couple of other key characters who play a major role within the story. However, we also shouldn’t forget the supporting cast. They are hugely important in crime fiction, adding depth and interest to the story.

After all, without good, well-written secondary characters, the novel will never be as good. In order for it to be believable, all of the characters need to be believable – even the ones that only appear in one scene never to be seen again. They all need to add something to the book; they might not advance the plot much, but their purpose should still be felt.

They also help to build up intrigue and tangle of plot threads that characterise so many great crime novels. That’s not to say you couldn’t have a brilliant crime story with only two or three people – of course you could – but by and large, a strong supporting cast will help add to the quality of the story.

You might, for instance, have a secondary character who only features briefly in the novel, but on whom the entire story rests. You might have a couple of characters who are important in a subplot that runs not just throughout one novel, but throughout a whole series of books.

Which brings us onto another point. The supporting cast is vital if you are planning to write a series of crime novels. They are often what provide the backbone and familiarity of the world, while the ‘crime of the book’ offers the difference and newness that crime stories thrive on. We also get the pleasure of coming to care – or not – for these characters as the series progresses, and of finding out more about them.

There’s also the satisfaction for the writer of being able to explore people’s lives over an extended period of time: maybe your supporting cast won’t feature in the story that much at first, but will become more relevant with time, eventually coming to play a central role in your crime story.

Supporting characters are always important, no matter what style of novel you are writing. Yet they are arguably even more important in crime fiction, where so much depends on the layers and intrigue and unpredictability of the story’s outcome. If you are writing a crime novel, it’s certainly worth taking the time to get the supporting cast right.

Doubts. We all have them. Doubts about whether we’re really qualified for that great-sounding job or whether we can really summon up the courage to go black water rafting (it’s a thing). Doubts about whether the third helping of gravy for Christmas dinner was really as good an idea as it seemed at the time. Doubts about our writing, and our ability to make a success of our independent publishing dream.

Those doubts can hurt, but I think they can also be helpful. To doubt yourself is to show that you care. It shows that you want to be good – to be the best you can be – and that you believe there is still room for improvement. No matter how good or successful you already are, that is important. We can always improve, and if we doubt that we can then, well, we should doubt that too.

But we definitely shouldn’t let our doubts become crippling. It can be almost too easy to say “no, I can’t do it, therefore I won’t try anymore.” When you’ve had a particularly bad day of writing, or when the formatting for your self-published book just won’t work properly, it can almost be cathartic to step away from it.

There is a difference, though, between taking a break from something and leaving it entirely. Having doubts can force a pause, and that can be a good thing. Sometimes a bit of time away from your writing endeavours or your self-publishing project can be useful. It can give you perspective and the time and space to develop new creative ideas. However, leaving a project entirely is never satisfying, and it can put you off trying again.

And, when you consider how passionate most writers are about what they do, that’s a great shame.

So when you find yourself doubting what you’re doing, give yourself the space to step back and ask exactly why you’re having those doubts. Try and be rational about it, and work out where they are coming from. It often leads to answers that you can resolve – things to fix and work on. It can also lead to working out what it is you really want. Are you doubting yourself, for instance, because there’s some other writing project you’d rather be doing? Are you doubting your self-publishing adventure because you’re not sure of the process, or because your book could use some more work first?

This method of questioning can be a useful exercise, and it can develop our capacity to solve problems with our writing so we can improve and move on from the issues that used to trouble us.

How do you deal with your writing and publishing doubts, and what do you think are the doubts that do the most harm to authors?

Just a quick little post today, since it is Christmas Day and there is, therefore, a lot of very important turkey roasting/carving/eating to be done, as well as plenty of beverages and chocolate to be consumed.

I’d like to take this chance to wish everyone who reads this blog a very Merry Christmas and a generally wonderful festive season, with plenty of happiness and good cheer (and good beer).

And, if you so happened to get an e-reader for Christmas and are wondering which books to buy first, in a lucky coincidence I have a few books available on Amazon. Happy reading!

This is always a good time of year for a little bit of reflection, so today let us take a brief look at one of the big questions of independent publishing: where will it go next?

Recently, we have seen massive growth in the industry. Hundreds of thousands of self-published books have hit the shelves this year. The growth in the popularity of e-readers has undoubtedly helped writers publish their books cost effectively, and to get them to as many people as possible. Self-publishing companies are becoming more popular. More traditionally published authors are also looking to independent publishing. Self-published books have even hit the New York Times bestseller lists.

So what will happen next? One thing that’s certain is that this is a rapidly changing industry and it is in many ways unpredictable. One of the reasons for this is that we never know where the next big book or idea will come from. Still, we can still identify some trends and themes that are likely to continue into 2013 and beyond.

With this in mind, here are a few predictions. I’m sure some, if not most, of them will be wrong, but maybe just a couple of them will prove to have some truth in them. Please feel free to add your own predictions or thoughts in the comments box.

More bestseller lists will acknowledge self-published books. There’s no denying that some self-published books do just as well, if not better, than plenty of traditionally published books, and readers are increasingly likely to read them. It’s surely only a matter of time before they are incorporated into more lists, as seen this year in the New York Times etc.
More traditionally published authors will take to self-publishing. This doesn’t necessarily mean that they will abandon their book deals with the big publishers altogether, but there does seem to be some enthusiasm for the hybrid model of utilising different methods of publishing. It stands to reason that more writers will start to adopt different publishing approaches as the industry continues to change.
Self-publishing companies will continue to do well – but many authors will also choose to be entirely independent. We’ve seen big growth in self-publishing companies of late, but I also believe there is a good appetite for writers keen to do it all themselves, entirely independently.
Self-published books will become higher quality. Plenty of self-published books are now impressively professional, and this is something that’s surely set to continue. Independent publishers are generally a savvy bunch, and the need for a professional, high quality, well-written book is undeniable if you’re serious about making a career in the industry.
Marketing will diversify. With so many independent publishers out there, the need to develop new marketing strategies is pressing. There is a huge amount of competition, and authors need to do everything they can to stand out. Perhaps we’ll see a spot of ‘retro’ marketing, with a renewed focus on print editions, or authors will get ever savvier with their online marketing.

What do you think will happen to self-publishing in 2013 and beyond?

When it comes to crime fiction, how far is too far? Is it possible to stretch the reader’s belief in the possible so far that it snaps?

Probably. But that’s not to say that we can’t play a little bit with realism in crime fiction. One of the joys of it – of all fiction, really – is that we can suspend our disbelief and simply enjoy it. As long as the story is good and it works within its own world, there is a lot that the readers will take in their stride.

I think it’s safe to say, however, that there is a point where we can take things too far and have a detrimental effect on the story as a result. There are a couple of ways this can happen. One is to include an aspect in the plot that is entirely implausible no matter how you look at it – something that would never happen even in the maddest of circumstances, or something that simply isn’t possible. Another is to write a story that has gaping plot holes that cannot be overlooked. The story might be perfectly plausible in theory, but if the writing is shoddy and the plot ill-thought out, the reader will not be able to believe in it.

So I think it’s fair to say that there is a balancing act necessary when writing crime fiction. We need to construct stories that are exciting and surprising and, when appropriate, that stretch the limits of the possible. But at the same time we need to make sure those stories are grounded in reality, especially when we consider that crime fiction is a genre typically about ordinary lives – lives turned upside down, but ordinary lives all the same.

How do you go about making sure you’ve got the right balance of realism and story in your crime fiction novels?