Support for Indie Authors discussion

All right fellow authors,

In an attempt to get to know one another and grow closer as a group, I'd like to hear from everyone on this. What is:

1) Your favorite part about being an author?
2) Your LEAST favorite part about being an author?

Mine? I love escaping reality and creating my own. I hate editing. HATE HATE HATE editing. More than anything.

Your turn!

My favorite part about being an author is hearing from readers who like what I've written.

My least favorite part are those middle months when things never seem to get anywhere. Starting is always fun and exciting and ending the process offers the anticipated rewards, but those middle months, those I could do without.

My favourite part of being an author are the moments of inspiration, where I think of something brilliantly fun (even if only to me) to do with the previously rather dull plot and characters I've been slogging away with. Those moments can happen when I'm still at the planning stage, or even in the editing stage (in one unfortunate case, I had a brilliant idea for a better ending after the story had been published for about 5 years).

My least favourite part is the marketing, without a sliver of a shadow of a doubt.

What I like best is having good feedback. I also like finding scenes that make me laugh or think "wow this is good" when I'm editing my work. It's a bit narcissistic but sometimes it's good to notice that editing is not only about typos and wrong word choice; you can also discover good stuff in your book.

My least favorite part is marketing and trying to have people actually read the book.

My favourite part is when I'm on a roll, and I smash out a few Chapters in one sitting. (I of course then have to go back and re-read the absolute drivel that came out, but there's usually SOME good stuff in there.)

Least favourite is when a scene isn't working and I'm struggling to find a way to make the story go forward, so much so that I can't get to sleep because I'm too focused on what is going to happen!

I'm new to the marketing side of things, and I think I can say that I won't like it.

Getting great feedback is my favourite part. The least favourite is marketing. It's so hard to maintain a strong presence with so much other negative crap going on in life.

Getting great feedback is my favourite part. The least favourite is marketing. It's so hard to maintain a strong presence with so much other negative crap going on in life.

Hi everyone,

This Might not sound so Great,
But I see scenes of Books or Projects I'd be working on.
MOSTLY they'd be Light-year distances away from Each other AND I'd not easily have any Idea how they'd Ever work together... That is UNTIL I'm done and Found, Saw Far more than what I could have Anticipated at the onset.
HARD work in getting this done!

What I hate Most,
Editing as well as Marketing,
BUT most of all,
Even after Another Set of eyes, I still find Mistakes either in Spelling or within the Manuscript...

The HORRIBLE and Blessed Life of a Writer!

I want to smoke a fake pipe too!! And I'm pretty sure that is one of the perks of being an author. . .that and getting a crazy hair style and wearing some ridiculous clothes jewelry. . .right? Because that's my plan. . .

V.M. wrote: "My favourite (Cdn - yeah that's how we spell it) part of being an author is that I now have an excuse to smoke a fake pipe and MUAHAHAH at my enem... wait, that's a supervillain... hmm... I think w..."

Marketing is rough. My husband helps when he can (he's a marketing director) but he's pretty busy these days and pretty much leaves me to my own devices. But I feel a sense of accomplishment when I get a real sale or I see someone post one of my books on Pinterest, etc.

Andrew wrote: "My favourite part of being an author are the moments of inspiration, where I think of something brilliantly fun (even if only to me) to do with the previously rather dull plot and characters I've b..."

I don't think that's narcissistic. It's good to be proud of yourself and your work.

Sandrine wrote: "What I like best is having good feedback. I also like finding scenes that make me laugh or think "wow this is good" when I'm editing my work. It's a bit narcissistic but sometimes it's good to noti..."

It's such an amazing feeling when the words flow out!

Kayla wrote: "My favourite part is when I'm on a roll, and I smash out a few Chapters in one sitting. (I of course then have to go back and re-read the absolute drivel that came out, but there's usually SOME goo..."

Have you checked out Hootsuite? Their free version will help you with three social media sites. I use them for Facebook and Twitter. That way I can sit down and in 30 minutes have all of my tweets and posts done for the week. Then when something comes up that I want to share, I have an extra post. It's saved me a lot of headache and days without social media updates.

Neil wrote: "Getting great feedback is my favourite part. The least favourite is marketing. It's so hard to maintain a strong presence with so much other negative crap going on in life."

I love it when all the pieces fit together in the end! It's like some part of you was in control from the very beginning, even when it just notes on a napkin or a scrap of paper. :) Brilliant!

Cobus wrote: "Hi everyone,

This Might not sound so Great,
But I see scenes of Books or Projects I'd be working on.
MOSTLY they'd be Light-year distances away from Each other AND I'd not easily have any Idea how..."

The middle is the worst. I always start out with an awesome beginning and an exciting ending, but that bridge that joins the two together is such a headache!

Peter wrote: "My favorite part about being an author is hearing from readers who like what I've written.

My least favorite part are those middle months when things never seem to get anywhere. Starting is alway..."

I love the creativity, the fact that I get to make stuff up (my last book was YA sci-fi - so amazing for the imagination!! So much fun!).

I love that writing essentially gives me a passport to the world, to people and their ideas, to places. I love when I need to do research and I get to meet and talk to interesting people about topics they're passionate about, and they love sharing their passions with someone who wants to hear! That synergy is fantastic!

I hate the self-doubt that comes after a bad review. Ugh. I'm getting better at the Don't Give Up self-pep-talks, though. :)

I don't hate marketing, but I don't love it. I just wish it were easier!!

Good luck, everyone!

I love the freedom and creating something from nothing.
I can live my life in prosperity which I could never do chasing the wrong dreams earlier in life.

I don't hate anything, but I really, really dislike and am not thrilled with marketing and editing. However, I realize that without those things a writer could not complete the journey they need to go on with any type of genius or brilliance.

I have to agree with Neil. Getting feedback is also my favorite part, followed by editing. Yes, I love editing for two reasons. I love how the ugly duckling turns into a swan (well maybe not as graceful but you know what I mean), and most of all, it means that the draft is done. :p

As for the least favorite, I'd have to go with marketing. Selling myself as an author, and pushing my books is pure torture. It's too easy to make a faux-pas. It's so much easier not to walk at all. :/

Neither most nor least favorite but possibly one of the hardest things for me in writing is naming the characters. I'm plotting out my next book right now and the outline is full of placeholders: "Eve's Mom," "Ambassador," "wife," etc. And then I'll have to name all the places too. And since it's sci-fi and the places are other planets, they have to sound a little other-worldly. It's hard enough when they're on Earth! Characters won't let me rest until I get their names right. So selfish of them!

With writing science fiction, do you ever find yourself placing imaginary boundaries? I find it difficult to remember that I can 100% in control and can make up whatever I want to. I tend to limit myself on how fantastic something really is -- if that makes sense.

Pam wrote: "I love the creativity, the fact that I get to make stuff up (my last book was YA sci-fi - so amazing for the imagination!! So much fun!).

I love that writing essentially gives me a passport to the..."

It'd be awesome if we could simply publish a book and immediately it would magically find its way into the right hands of the people who would love and cherish it!

S.K. wrote: "I love the freedom and creating something from nothing.
I can live my life in prosperity which I could never do chasing the wrong dreams earlier in life.

I don't hate anything, but I really, reall..."

I very much wish I had your love of editing! I would get my books written so much faster! No more editing procrastination!

G.G. wrote: "I have to agree with Neil. Getting feedback is also my favorite part, followed by editing. Yes, I love editing for two reasons. I love how the ugly duckling turns into a swan (well maybe not as gra..."

Do you have a process for coming up with them? Or do you wait for them to come to you? Just curious :) I usually go with the first name that pops into my head, but I don't write much science fiction, so earthly names are usually acceptable.

Pam wrote: "Neither most nor least favorite but possibly one of the hardest things for me in writing is naming the characters. I'm plotting out my next book right now and the outline is full of placeholders: "..."

Ann wrote: "With writing science fiction, do you ever find yourself placing imaginary boundaries? I find it difficult to remember that I can 100% in control and can make up whatever I want to. I tend to limit ..."

Ann - absolutely. I think that even within "everything is possible" you have to create specific boundaries for each world. Even if I don't share the rules with the reader, I need to understand what's happening and why. I've read books where the author goes over the top with the fantasticity (to coin a word), and it ends up feeling false. Or sometimes everything being possible can create logic problems - e.g., in Harry Potter, if they have a time-turner, why don't they just use that to solve everything? Why did twenty people have to band together to hoist the wedding tent in the last HP book - I mean, it's magic, why do you need so many people? Etc. Boundaries are important to help move the story along. If everyone can do everything, what's the point? Getting that balance right - everything is possible vs. setting obstacles and barriers for the characters - is a challenge, but it's important.

Ann wrote: "Do you have a process for coming up with them? Or do you wait for them to come to you? Just curious :) I usually go with the first name that pops into my head, but I don't write much science fictio..."

The last book I wrote was my first science fiction; all the others have been ... "normal"? Earth bound?

For characters who are from Earth, I always know their birthdays (including years). Because I want my characters' names to be appropriate for their generation, I start by going to the Social Security Administraion's baby names index

http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/

I scroll down and search on "Popular Names by Birth Year" and set it to "top 1000" to give me lots of options. Then I look through that list to see what hits my eye.

Sometimes I'll see a name that's close but not quite right. Then I'll usually pull out a baby name book I have in print, The Baby Name Wizard, that tells what names are "siblings" to other names - meaning, similar names - for example, "Carlton" sisters are Marcella, Therese, Glenna, Althea, and Corrine. Brothers are Clifton, Stewart, Clark, Sanford, Gilbert.

Also they have a good online site:
http://www.babynamewizard.com/

The book is also good when I know I want a name to start with a certain letter or have a certain feel to it; the names are all grouped by a variety of categories - androgynous, antique charm, brisk and breezy, exotic traditionals, and many more.


If you know the state your character was born in you can also do a search by state at

http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/sta...


My method for the science fiction, though, has been different and my technique is still evolving. What I've done a lot of, so far, is to think of a word that sort of personifies the person or place. Then I go to Google Translate, type the word in the English field, and then go through all the various translations to other languages, to see if any of those words make good names, or could make good names if adapted. Some of my characters in my first sci-fi are from the planet Lero - which means "Hope" in the Yoruba language. I have a character named Doethine; that's an adaptation of the Welsh word for wisdom, which is "doethineb." (Those Welsh and their love of consonants!)

I'd love to hear how others come up with character names! I know there are tons of online name generators, but I've never found one that gives names that I really love.

Half of my characters have names that I want for my own kids that my husband says "absolutely no way!" The other half are from top baby name lists (even the top WORST baby names list) or randomly selected as they aren't important characters. I'm currently writing a book (have literally started just last night) about high school and I'm basing names off similar people I went to high school with, but changing them so you know, if I ever publish it, they won't sue me. Haha.

Peter wrote: "My favorite part about being an author is hearing from readers who like what I've written.

My least favorite part are those middle months when things never seem to get anywhere. Starting is alway..."

I'm with you - after months and months of the isolation of writing, I love hearing from my readers, too. It's so gratifying to see your words have hit their mark!

Pam wrote: "Ann wrote: "Do you have a process for coming up with them? Or do you wait for them to come to you? Just curious :) I usually go with the first name that pops into my head, but I don't write much sc..."

When I'm creating character names, I have a baby name book at my side. My book's character, Jane, is a Christ figure, and it fits beautifully, because in the baby name book, Jane means "God's gracious gift."

My favorite part is the writing and polishing, polishing, polishing until what I've written shines.

My least favorite part is creating my social media platform. I can't imagine Tolstoy having to endure the indignity of creating followers on Facebook or tweeting!

Like so many others, my favorite part is the creative process -- least favorite is marketing. I'm not creative enough to describe how very much I despise selling. Every. Single. Aspect of it. So instead of expressing my loathing, I use my creative energies to write more books that I never hope to sell. It's a great system.

My favorite part of being a writer is having the opportunity to express myself, to tell a story I believe in and do so in a way which will have meaning to others. My least favorite part? That would be the shameless (but secretly very shameful) task of self-promotion

Favourite part - when a stranger stops you and says they loved your book

Least favourite - when you give out a hundred copies in the hope of a review and recieve... none :-(

Favourite part - the excitement that comes with making connections, both during the planning and research stage and the writing stage.

Least favourite - the periods of self-doubt throughout the process. The good news is that, after writing two novels, I realsie that these periods are temporary and can be covercome, sometimes by battling and sometimes by letting things go for a short time. I'm in one of those now - still frustrating, but it will pass.

favorite part- being in control :)

Least favorite part- post publishing publicity.

P.S. wrote: "Favourite part - when a stranger stops you and says they loved your book

Least favourite - when you give out a hundred copies in the hope of a review and recieve... none :-("

If your book is mild (I am a bit averse to blood, gore, violence and eros) I will love to review it, if a review from another struggling author means something to you.

you can email your book in pdf format to me.

Also new to marketing and definitely can't stand it. Love the solitary hours of creating and moving characters around. I guess I'm a tyrant.

totally agree with you about the publicity chase. I hate it. Would you really like to write a review of my forthcoming novel? Just send your email address to me and I'll send you the pdf.

Why do we write? TO put ourselves "out there." And yet we all seem to loathe the shameless pursuit of publicity and sales. I'm with you all the way.

looking over all the posts, it seems you and I are not alone is loathing the publicity chase. Social media has made it possible for authors to market their books and now publishers feel they don't have to do that anymore. Ugh.

I started off this way! My main character in The Two Lands is Keita, a name that I had decided on for my first daughter. . .and then my husband and I divorced. So, any future daughters I have will NOT be named Keita!

If there's a rare instance that a name doesn't spring to the tip of my tongue as I'm created the character, I pull from baby name books and websites.

Kayla wrote: "Half of my characters have names that I want for my own kids that my husband says "absolutely no way!" The other half are from top baby name lists (even the top WORST baby names list) or randomly s..."

Favorite part about being an author: the characters. I'm always obsessed with characters, whether it be ones who pop it's my head or ones I see on tv/in novels. So getting to know these imaginary people and writing down their exciting lives is just a total blast for me.
Least favorite part:

My favorite part is being able to create a place where I can escape to follow and write about the very real characters that await me there.

My least favorite thing is sitting in my chair when my brain doesn't want to join me and I end up staring at a blank screen for hours.

I just love to create a new story and new characters, writing what I would like to read. I do tend to get very attached to my characters, the good and the bad. When people ask me which is the favourite of my books or my favourite character, it is like trying to choose my favourite child...

I love to hear back from readers "I felt like you were telling my story" or "I know exactly how X felt". Having strangers e-mail me to tell me how much they love my books, or their class loves my books, or they want to be like me when they grow up. And I'm just starting out, so it is certainly not an everyday experience!

What is my least favourite part? I really don't know. I enjoy the whole process, right from the initial idea to publication. I suppose marketing, as others have said, but there are even things that I enjoy about that.

Oh, I know... my least favourite part is when I am stuck in a meeting, at the office, or at some other function, and all I want to do is get out my computer and write!

LOL. And I know if I don't at least write down a note, I am going to forget it again, no matter how brilliant the idea is! Thank goodness for cell phones...

Ann wrote: "All right fellow authors,

In an attempt to get to know one another and grow closer as a group, I'd like to hear from everyone on this. What is:

1) Your favorite part about being an author?
2) Yo..."
I have a question first. How do you know if you are an author or not? I know I have self published mystery novel in ibooks but I don't know if I am a writer on an author. i.e.. did the tree fall in the forest, if I didn't see it?

Andrew wrote: "My favourite part of being an author are the moments of inspiration, where I think of something brilliantly fun (even if only to me) to do with the previously rather dull plot and characters I've b..."
Give me an editor or give me death! I just like the creation!

Kayla wrote: "My favourite part is when I'm on a roll, and I smash out a few Chapters in one sitting. (I of course then have to go back and re-read the absolute drivel that came out, but there's usually SOME goo..."

DITTO

Rochelle wrote: "My favorite part is being able to create a place where I can escape to follow and write about the very real characters that await me there.

My least favorite thing is sitting in my chair when my b..."
As a new creator, I have not experienced that. Have you tried picking a phenomena that the whole story and plot will be built around or a result you have to achieve before you start.. Thats what I did and that is what drove my creativity in story and plot.

Interesting question! I'll let you know when I figure out how to answer it!

Kurt wrote: "Ann wrote: "All right fellow authors,

In an attempt to get to know one another and grow closer as a group, I'd like to hear from everyone on this. What is:

1) Your favorite part about being an a..."

How can you build a brand if you don't establish a name?