Category: Royalene Speaks

Conversations with a Self-Publishing Writer, Royalene Speaks, Uncategorized

Friday Conversations With A Self-Publishing Writer 2/14/14

PICTURE THIS!

When a person includes 95 photos and a few illustrations in a memoir, readers will enjoy a unique and very personal adventure through time.  Such was my consulting/ghostwriting experience a couple years ago at the completion of the beautifully expressed life-stories of two exceptional people.  An extra bonus for me was that their project reinforced my understanding of the relation between photos (or illustrations) and story-telling.

During my school years, I remember several teachers telling me, “Royalene, you are definitely a visual learner.”  I think they were frustrated by that revelation because it created a challenge for most educators of that era—except the art teacher, of course.  However, as I grow into my chosen profession of writing—creating visual images with words—I appreciate their early analysis and I continue learning how to use this element to my benefit.

“Art,” they say, “evokes emotion,” and the artist/photographer will utilize this to express the essence of a moment captured in a millisecond of time and space.  The writer must carry this concept further by selecting words, and combinations of words, that transport instant images into the readers’ view—images that evoke emotion.  This ability will not only communicate their story well, it will also carry an author to the top of the Best Books list and possibly set them up for movie and/or television acclaim.

The visually shared experience will also have a greater sustained impact—one that will bring about contemplation of the various elements of the story and lead readers to discuss your book as their next Book Club selection!  Here are a few tips for writing visually:

LOOK FOR the emotion in your characters AND their environment.  Dissect the emotional anatomy of each of these elements, such as:

  • What is the motivation behind a character’s actions, attitude, and perspective?  What has your character experienced that brings about their reaction(s) to the events?  Did they suffer physical trauma that brought an emotional response?  What are they holding on to from their past that is creating current circumstances?
  • What is the emotional impact of their environment?  Do they live in a mansion or tent?  Is there a lawn—mown and manicured—or is it a field of weeds?  Has there been fire, flood, or drought devastation?  Can they hear the birds singing?  See flowers blooming? Watch butterflies float through the air?  Is the air so clear the brilliant blue of the sky is visible, or is the fog/smog so thick vision and breathing are severely hindered?

My client/friend’s memoir told the story using all these elements, and I am the richer for reading it.  That is my hope for all writers—that we can enrich the lives of our readers and enjoy every step of the process.  And if expressing the emotional elements are tough for you, don’t hesitate to accept help.  There are editors and ghostwriters out there—partnering with self-publishing teams of professionals who will help you complete your work.

Royalene ABOUT ROYALENE DOYLE: Royalene Doyle is a Ghostwriter with Outskirts Press, bringing more than 35 years of writing experience to authors who need “just a little assistance” with completing their writing projects. She has worked with both experienced and fledgling writers helping complete projects in multiple genres. When a writer brings the passion they have for their work and combines it with Royalene’s passion to see the finished project in print, books are published and the writer’s legacy is passed forward.
Conversations with a Self-Publishing Writer, Royalene Speaks, Uncategorized

Friday Conversations With A Self-Publishing Writer 2/07/14

FLASH-WRITING

Back in the day, when prose and poetry readings were encouraged at coffee houses—and listeners snapped their fingers instead of applauding—editors from publishing houses frequented many of those dark rooms.  A “literary renaissance” was “happening” as individual writers stepped into church basements and back-alley saloons to give their work a voice.  Some of those we still read today were published by forward-thinking, yet mainstream, publishers.

Today’s writers live in a New Universal Renaissance—the flow of actions, events and concepts that even the Internet cannot contain.  The cultures of our world’s populations are being developed—positively or negatively—even as I write this blog.  People, politics, mega-business, health industries, Faith centers and yes, even sports, create an ebb and flow that seems to carry the world away.  Who can possibly make sense of it all?  Writers!  You and me!  And we no longer have to scribble our writings on coffee-house napkins and see them disappear.  We have a much better option!  Self-publishing!

Sitting beside the advantage of self-publishing is the necessity to write well.  I’ve talked about being organized and researching and writing from the heart—and each of those elements are essential.  But HOW do we start? WHERE do we find that one thing worth writing about?  It comes from Flash-writing, of course!  Some folks—from the 60s—might call it stream-of-consciousness writing, and the concept is similar, but not quite the same.

The similar part looks like this:  Find a comfortable spot—maybe in a favorite room and/or chair—and set your coffee, tea or Bailey’s beside you.  If this place happens to be an inspiring location, that is even better (a park, library reading room, art museum).  Setting up beside a large window-with-a-view is also a good option.  Then grab your preferred writing tool—paper and pencil, laptop, or iPad and WRITE!  Write anything that comes to mind.  Doodle.  Draw.  Scribble.  Scrawl.  PLAY with words.  If a person (character) pops into your thoughts, write about them.  If you’ve always wanted to travel to Mars, start planning the trip.  Write…write…and write some more!  That is the basic stream-of-consciousness method.

My adaptation: DO all that in 15 minutes or less!  This is Flash-Writing, and I’ve had more success, personally, by exercising my creativity in flashes than from hours of trying to force stream-of-consciousness thoughts.  Have you seen a YouTube clip of a Mob Flash-dancing?  What FUN!  And fun is exactly what writing is all about.  When the fingers are moving and the ideas are racing, we are having fun!  And the most fun of all comes when we hold our completed book IN our hands.

Did you know that some of the most well received movies/films came from short (in some cases very short) stories?  There is a 640 page book by Stephanie Harrison—a university professor—telling the true stories of some of these authors who became famous by “flash-writing” their ideas and developing them into Short Stories.

SO…GO HAVE FUN!  Let your voice be heard!  Write a short story!  Write several short stories!  Make a collection of them and GET THEM PUBLISHED!

Royalene ABOUT ROYALENE DOYLE: Royalene Doyle is a Ghostwriter with Outskirts Press, bringing more than 35 years of writing experience to authors who need “just a little assistance” with completing their writing projects. She has worked with both experienced and fledgling writers helping complete projects in multiple genres. When a writer brings the passion they have for their work and combines it with Royalene’s passion to see the finished project in print, books are published and the writer’s legacy is passed forward.
Conversations with a Self-Publishing Writer, Royalene Speaks, Uncategorized

Friday Conversations With A Self-Publishing Writer 1/31/14

FRAMED…

In my field of ghostwriting and concept consulting/building, I truly enjoy working with autobiographies/biographies, memoirs, histories and philosophy/faith projects.  These nonfiction genres allow the authors to weave their own experiences into the pages and breathe life into the details.  Although classified as fact-based, true-life books, they really are stories that carry a personal impact connecting author and Reader.

A current client is struggling—BIG TIME—to “put all the pieces together” for her book.  There are years of scribbled notes literally jammed into shoeboxes, not to mention the bigger box that holds the many pages of research materials.  Because she has had several “false starts,” we at least have somewhere to begin.  So, as I’m jumping into the non-fiction waters with this lovely lady, I wanted to share a few basic guidelines with our blog readers—and writers.

Nonfiction writing requires a framework—a definite perimeter or border to keep the author from racing down rabbit trails that not only distract readers, but also diminish the work-at-hand.  Here are my seven strategies for developing THE BEST nonfiction book:

The Topic:  With one or two sentences—not to exceed 38 words—tell yourself what are you writing about.  Be very narrow-minded here.  This is your “big idea” and the essence of it will be the heart of your book.

The Collection Box: (or file cabinet drawer, or large 3-ring binder notebook, or….).  Use that 38-word statement you’ve just created and print it out in BIG, BOLD TYPE.  This is the label for your collection of materials.  It is also the first thing you see when you work on your book and it is meant to inspire your thinking processes.

Sub-Topic Files:  You’ve probably already collected several pieces of information that relate to your topic.  Pull out those file folders and start organizing these pieces into sub-topic files.

Color-Coding:  As you build this collection of sub-topics, use color markers (or stickers) to mark the files that carry the most vital information.  Most writers will “file” their collection alphabetically, so the color-coding will allow you easy access to crucial facts when you need them.  For example:  Red = must be included; Orange = include; Yellow = good information; Blue = possible connections; Green = opposing opinions.

Bibliography File:  THIS IS AN ABSOLUTE MUST!  Always give credit to the “source” of your facts.  Unless you, yourself, are the source—the authority behind a statement—every fact, figure, quote, statistic, report, etc. must be acknowledged.  This can be woven into the manuscript; however, I always recommend that a bibliography be included at the end of non-fiction books.

To Outline or Not To Outline:  Every nonfiction writer I know has shown me an outline of their books.  Many end up using it—or most of it—as a Table of Contents.  So I must agree that it is useful.  However—don’t let an outline trap you.  Keep that 38-word statement fresh in your thoughts so that you will create a read-able book that is worth reading.

PLAN to Publish:  No one should do all the work of writing a book and then put it in a drawer.  The information you’ve gathered and poured your heart into is meant to reach a lot of people.  So once you have that Topic Statement, start your research into publishers.  I am one who believes in self-publishing; however, if your Topic is a “hot topic,” there might be a publishing house out there for you.  But NO MATTER WHAT, get your book IN PRINT!

Royalene ABOUT ROYALENE DOYLE: Royalene Doyle is a Ghostwriter with Outskirts Press, bringing more than 35 years of writing experience to authors who need “just a little assistance” with completing their writing projects. She has worked with both experienced and fledgling writers helping complete projects in multiple genres. When a writer brings the passion they have for their work and combines it with Royalene’s passion to see the finished project in print, books are published and the writer’s legacy is passed forward.
Conversations with a Self-Publishing Writer, Royalene Speaks, Uncategorized

Friday Conversations With A Self-Publishing Writer 1/24/14

WARNING!!!

Two days ago I received a phone call from a former client—a memoir author who created one of the most heartwarming memoirs I’ve helped place in manuscript form.  He was very excited to tell me about a “great opportunity” he’d found in one of his favorite magazines; the “opportunity” to submit his “unpublished” memoir and WIN “big bucks,” PLUS have his work published by a major publishing house!  WOW, indeed!

My dear friend is not what he calls “handy with a computer,” so he asked me to look into the details and “rules of submission.”  That I did and I was shocked by what I read—shocked, angered, and very disappointed in the enterprises (magazine/publisher) that I considered to be among the best-of-the-best.  Imbedded in the “rules” was this statement:

“Submission of an Initial Entry grants sponsors and their agents the unconditional, irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide right to publish, use, adapt, edit and/or modify such entry in any way, in any and all media, without limitation, and without consideration to the entrant, whether or not such entry is selected as a winning entry.”

Now I am concerned for my other clients (yes, I’ve contacted them) and all the folks out there who will read the first portions of the “rules,” follow the submission requirements, and LOSE ALL THE RIGHTS to their own stories simply by sending in an “entry.”  Bottom-line, I believe these publishing entities are on-the-hunt for excellent true stories (memoirs) that can be turned into “best sellers” by their writers—for their profit—and “without consideration” to the authors, the people who have lived those events.

SO IT IS that I offer a few pointers to those who enjoy entering writing contests:

  • READ EVERY WORD of the rules—whether titled Contest Rules or Submission Rules.  If there is ANY HINT of giving up ANY of your author rights, DO NOT SUBMIT ANYTHING to that contest.
  • Yes, there are writing contests that are reputable.  DO your homework and research the contests by contest name, sponsors, and previous “reviews” and/or comments.
  • There are many reasons for entering a writing contest.  What is yours?  Are you looking for an award that will enhance your writing resume or look good on the cover of your book?  Do you think “winning” will finally get your book published?  These can happen.  But, again, be aware of the cost to you—the time spent and emotional investment.
  • Finally, watch out for sales pitches—from associated contacts—that start coming your way.  Too many “contests” out there are simply fronts for finding potential customers in the writing software/hardware and publishing markets.

How am I counseling my memoir client?  After sending him a copy of ALL the rules and statements associated with that “contest”—and my warning NOT to submit his memoir to them—I sent him my review of a reputable self-publishing house where he WILL RETAIN ALL of his author rights.  He had not wanted to “publish” his memoir prior to seeing the advertisement for this contest.  However, several acquaintances who have read the manuscript have encouraged him to “get this story into the hands of more people.”  I hope he does.  It is a wonderful love and life story.

Royalene ABOUT ROYALENE DOYLE: Royalene Doyle is a Ghostwriter with Outskirts Press, bringing more than 35 years of writing experience to authors who need “just a little assistance” with completing their writing projects. She has worked with both experienced and fledgling writers helping complete projects in multiple genres. When a writer brings the passion they have for their work and combines it with Royalene’s passion to see the finished project in print, books are published and the writer’s legacy is passed forward.
Conversations with a Self-Publishing Writer, Royalene Speaks, Uncategorized

Friday Conversations With A Self-Publishing Writer 1/17/14

HEADLINES…

When turning the pages of a popular magazine recently, I found myself reading only the headlines of each story.  If the wording didn’t capture my attention, I quickly moved to the next.  My time—even though it was time set aside for a specific appointment—was still valuable.  I didn’t want it wasted.  However, in short order, I found myself thanking the journalists for writing such clean, concise headlines.  The career of nonfiction writing is challenging, worthwhile and rewarding.

So it is that I offer my nonfiction author friends a reminder of the useful steps in creating their manuscripts.

The basic rules of journalism always apply:

  1. Use standard English spelling, punctuation and grammar while telling the reader Who, What, Where, When, Why and How.
  2. Get the facts, statistics and spelling of names and places RIGHT.
  3. KNOW the main point.  If you can’t express it in 25 words or less, you don’t have a clear/basic handle on what you’re writing.   Be short, concise, and clear in your sentence, paragraph and article length—unless asked to “expand.”
  4. Stay as objective as humanly possible.  An impartial, detached perspective will not only allow you to write excellent nonfiction following all the above criteria, it will also protect you from being damaged by the realities.
  5. ALWAYS WRITE THE TRUTH, to the best of your ability.  A writer—every writer—has an obligation to their readers to tell the unfiltered, untainted truth.

In 2011, Craig Silverman—award-winning author and journalist—wrote more about the challenges of journalistic, nonfiction writing in this Tweet and Re-tweet world.  Published in the Columbia Journalism Review, I share some of his insights and excellent advice:

  1. “Silverman’s Law of Incorrect Tweets:” WARNING!  A piece of misinformation is much more appealing than the correction, and people are inclined to re-tweet false “news” while ignoring the corrected info.  IF you are a writer who consistently has to “edit” already printed material, that reputation will follow you.
  2. Research your “sources.”  Every “source” will have their own spin on the event and/or topic.  Some will even falsify statements.  The quality and diversity of sources is hugely important, so make the effort to find the best sources (plural) possible.
  3. VERIFY before dissemination.  Apply the discipline of verification to everything you gather. Never hesitate to correct something you’ve written.  Ignoring it or refusing to make the correct has the potential to cause far greater damage than a writer’s moment of embarrassment.
  4. If a story seems to be “too good to be true”—a real scoop—it probably is.  Writers are often fooled because we want a story to be true, and we want to write about it.  Go back to the basics—and VERIFY!
  5. Don’t fear failure—let it instruct you!  Once the slam to the ego quits hurting and the anger subsides, a valuable lesson can be seen.  That’s how you stop making the same mistakes, how you get better.

There you have it.  “Easy-Peasy.”  NOT!  Some writers love research and being that private investigator.  However, most need support.  Where “two are better than one,” many eyes on a manuscript are even better.  There is a self-publishing team out there for you—one that is just the perfect match to support your project—get it published and IN the hands of your readers.

Royalene ABOUT ROYALENE DOYLE: Royalene Doyle is a Ghostwriter with Outskirts Press, bringing more than 35 years of writing experience to authors who need “just a little assistance” with completing their writing projects. She has worked with both experienced and fledgling writers helping complete projects in multiple genres. When a writer brings the passion they have for their work and combines it with Royalene’s passion to see the finished project in print, books are published and the writer’s legacy is passed forward.