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

Friday Conversations With A Self-Publishing Writer 12/05/14

CHARACTERS IV

OKAY…the wildness of the Christmas/Winter Holiday season is upon us!  What a marvelous time to observe characters!  According to the PEWS Research Project for Excellence in Journalism 2012 report, the majority of the top-selling magazines are people focused.  I call them GS’s (gossip-spreaders).  The journalists who write for them call them M&Ms (money-makers).  Whatever the label, the techniques used in developing these “people stories” are excellent tools for serious fiction and non-fiction writers.  And there are millions of readers to prove the relevance of their methods.  Among the fifteen top best-selling magazines (which include People, Better Homes and Gardens, Reader’s Digest, Good Housekeeping, Family Circle and Sports Illustrated) over 26 million readers each month “observe” their favorite “characters.”

Here are a few tips we might consider adopting when developing real or imaginary people to walk and talk in our stories.

  • Vices and Victories. These two elements in a person’s life hold great interest for readers. Recently a much admired TV personality was “exposed” in the media (followed by multiple magazine articles) for “crimes against others.” Even though the revelation broke many hearts and diminished the trustworthiness of humans on this planet, readers still want to know more and are buying the magazines (with books to follow, I’m sure) to accomplish that. THE OTHER side of that coin is the “true stories” of victorious living—about the people who have overcome disease and disabilities (Christopher Reeve/Superman) or great tragedies in their lives (Holocaust and/or natural disaster survivors).
  • Children and Pets. When Liza Minnelli talks about her Mom, Judy Garland, or Stella McCartney mentions her Dad, Paul, journalists are there to tell the story. When Sandra Bullock carries her rescued dogs down the street or Serena Williams cuddles her pet Yorkie on the tennis court sidelines, it creates “news” AND a look into their personalities. YOUR CHARACTERS should be developed at this same level. PEOPLE want to KNOW the details. Even if those details are only briefly mentioned in the novel, they allow the reader to develop their own perspective of the characters.
  • Personal and Not-So-Private Relationships. Have you noticed the multitude of YouTube and celebrity tabloids that constantly headline “Then and Now” titles? Drew Barrymore (the little girl who screamed at the top of her lungs when meeting E.T. for the first time) is a writer’s dream as they “watch” her on-film and off-film life evolve. Ben Carson is also a major example of change-of-life experiences—from belligerent child who did poorly in school to neurosurgeon, professor and now potential presidential candidate. His life intrigues readers.

Bottom Line: Writers cannot avoid the necessity to be investigative observers who keep detailed, descriptive files of the life and living examples appearing right before our eyes.  The folks who buy our books do so for many reasons (LOOK for my blog series in 2015), and certainly a main one is the element of “self-identifying.”  Of course, no two people are ever exactly alike.  However, we all share commonalities in the good, bad and ugly of our lives and seeing those things PLAY OUT in the lives of storybook characters HELPS us define and redefine who we are and where we are going.

This is a FUN part of research that brings living, breathing characters to the pages of our books!

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 11/28/14

CHARACTERS IIIfriday post

Let’s sit the table.  This is one character development technique that I’ve recommended to every writer. Oh?  You thought I misspelled (or misused) a word in that opening sentence?  Glad you noticed it because this concept may just be the formula needed to not only develop your characters, but “keep them in their places.”  Let me explain.

Most writers I know construct the people in their stories through bullet-point outlines of each “person’s” physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual elements.  I do, too.  However, as I’m doing so, I sit each character at The Table, starting with my protagonist and antagonist at opposites ends.  When I first started doing this, the exercise felt a bit cumbersome.  Then it became FUN especially when supporting characters were seated in the side-chairs.  Not every antagonist or protagonist ally will sit to their right.

SO…just for fun…let’s play with an example.  And, since it’s the season of Thanksgiving and the Native American Tribes graciously brought the Pilgrims a sumptuous meal, I’ll offer a brief slice of one possible scenario.  The year is 1621.  The setting is a very small log-cabin and tent village where the forest has been trimmed back and a “long table” awaits.

ENTER my Protagonist, Chief Listening Bear of the small Halawi Saponi Tribe.  He wears a headdress of shiny dark-brown-and-gold turkey feathers and not much else.  His Pilgrim friend (protagonist supporter) is Father O’Malley, who greets Chief Listening Bear warmly and directs the Chief to the head of the table—the position always saved for the Pilgrim’s leader, Colonel Alfred Raleigh (maybe my Antagonist—maybe not).  A hush is felt among the gathering participants, as Colonel Raleigh raises a bushy eyebrow, then offers a half-smile and moves to the other end of the table.

Now the other “players” in this drama must find their places.  Who sits to the left and right of the main characters?  Will only men be allowed at the table?  Would the Colonel’s Lieutenant position himself next to the Chief for intimidation purposes?  Or…might the Colonel’s daughter take her seat across the table from the Chief’s son—an immediate attraction visible between them?  Yes.  This table has much plot development potential, and knowing where each character “sits” (creating their position in the protagonist/antagonist plot) will help you keep their dialogue and actions true.

History tells us that ninety Native Americans brought dinner that day with only fifty-three Pilgrims present.  This was probably the total population of both villages.  What their interactions might have been are open to interpretation (and storyline development), even though we have some documentation.  However, the concept of people looking in the eyes of the person seated across the table, and the intrusion or comfort levels felt when seated between two other people, gives the writer a great amount of material to work with.

Now, here we are, all these years later, having celebrated yet another DAY of THANKSGIVING.  What a difference a couple hundred years makes!  AND YET…might some of those same feeling be alive and well today?  Writing about them—exposing potentially harmful attitudes—might just make our next Thanksgiving Season a brighter one.

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.
Jodee Speaks, Uncategorized

Self-Publishing, A Reason to Be Thankful

As you enjoy your Thanksgiving dinner this week, I hope you take the time to reflect on all the things you have to be thankful for. As a writer, there are many reasons to be thankful for self-publishing. Here are the top five reasons I am thankful for self-publishing.

1. Freedom of Expression

Self-publishing gives writers the freedom to creatively express themselves. They don’t have to wait for an editor to decide their story is worthy or be told to change their vision to fit a commercial market.

2. Creative Control

Self-publishing authors maintain complete control throughout the publishing process. They decide how the book will look, read, and be sold.

3. Financial Opportunity

Self-publishing offers writers the opportunity to earn an income from their work. Unlike traditional publishing, self-publishing authors aren’t stuck with low royalties. They earn more from each book they sell.

4. A Changing Market

Self-publishing continues to grow in popularity, and previously successful traditional authors are even choosing to go the self-publishing route with their new books. With this comes more respect for self-published authors.

5. Quick Turnaround

Traditional publishing is a long process filled with rejection. Self-publishing authors don’t have to suffer through countless rejection letters, and their books are often printed quicker those printed by traditional publishers.

I’d love to know, why are you thankful for self-publishing?

ABOUT JODEE THAYER: With over 20 years of experience in sales and management, Jodee Thayer works as the Manager of Author Services for Outskirts Press. The Author Services Department is composed of knowledgeable customer service reps and publishing consultants; together, they all focus on educating authors on the self-publishing process in order to help them publish the book of their dreams. Whether you are a professional looking to take your career to the next level with platform-driven non-fiction or a novelist seeking fame, fortune, and/or personal fulfillment, Jodee Thayer can put you on the right path.
Conversations with a Self-Publishing Writer, Royalene Speaks, Uncategorized

Friday Conversations With A Self-Publishing Writer 11/21/14

CHARACTERS II

Many years ago my writing friend, Sara Huff, gave me a paperback book titled: Fiction is Folks by Robert Newton Peck.  The subtitle on the cover reads: “Characters are what readers remember, what editors look for, and what turn aspiring writers into published authors.”  SO TRUE!  Mr. Peck has been writing for a while, listing upwards of fifty-five novels, six books of nonfiction, thirty-five songs, three television specials and over 100 poems to his resume.  Much of his success he credits to his teacher—Miss Kelly.  “She taught first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth in a tumble-down, one-room, dirt-road school in rural Vermont,” Peck tells his readers. “She believed in scholarship, manners, and soap.”  Do you already have an image in your minds?  Yes, I’m sure you do.  And creating such images—intricately detailed ones—is how Peck develops his characters.

Following Robert Peck’s example (and the pattern of many well-known and established authors) I offer the following simple concepts about character development.  They blend several philosophies about character types and have helped me see the people who walk and talk in the fiction and non-fiction stories I enjoy reading.

  • Who makes you laugh? Who makes you cry? These two seemingly opposite emotions are crucial in developing layered elements of any character type—because—laughing and crying are major pieces in everyone’s life. The personality elements that bring out these reactions in people will help you create very believable characters.
  • Who makes you feel safe? Who makes you feel afraid? Security and fear are two components that heighten a character’s makeup and set the stage for multiple possibilities within the plot—the storyline—of any book. The human DNA seeks security and fears the loss of it. Therefore, the writer must understand these facets of their characters from as many perspectives as possible.
  • What do you believe—at your core? What do you have real doubts about? These two character aspects (at least for the main group of characters) give writers miles of material for character and plot development. Dialogue develops naturally from the interplay between characters who not only hold conflicting beliefs and doubts, but who agree with each other on various levels of the same beliefs and doubts.

Although these three concepts seem ultra-simplistic, they are not.  The writer who avoids developing them will end up with paper-doll characters who barely breathe in the pages of the book.  As writers we have been given an extremely valuable gift—a legacy passed forward to us by multiple generations who may have never owned a book of their own.  Robert Peck acknowledges this in his headline statement on his Internet Homepage.  It reads: “If I possess any wisdom at all, most of it was given me by a mother, father, an aunt, and a grandmother…none of whom could read or write.”

So it is that I encourage you in your writing efforts to be the best writer you can be at any given moment in time.  Hopefully, we all continue growing in our craft.  To that end, I suggest adding another of Mr. Peck’s books to your resources library: HOW to Write Fiction Like a Pro—A Simple-to-Savvy Toolkit for Aspiring Authors.

May each and every one be blessed with exceptional inspiration this day as you develop your own writing legacy to pass forward in ALL the books you PUBLISH!

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.
Jodee Speaks, Uncategorized

6 Self-Publishing Don’ts

Unfortunately, some people have a negative perception of self publishing. This is because some self-publishing authors make detrimental mistakes that prevent their books from being taken seriously. If you want to be seen as a professional author with a successful book, be sure to avoid these six self-publishing don’ts:

1. Don’t attempt to create print-ready files if you don’t already possess that particular skill set.

You’re a writer; not a book designer.  Leave this task to the professionals and focus your time on writing and promoting your book.

2. Don’t skip the professional copyediting.

No matter how great of a writer you are, you cannot edit your own work! It is too easy to miss mistakes because you are too familiar with your work. This task requires a professional.  It is worth paying for professional editing services .

3. Don’t skip the custom cover design.

Most readers judge a book by its cover, so having an eye-catching, quality cover that professionally represents your book is essential. Most template covers will look and feel like a cookie cutter design, even if you make small changes to it.  Invest in a professionally designed, dynamic custom cover unique to your book.

4. Don’t forget the back cover text.

Once you are ready to self-publish your book,  one of the first things you’ll be asked for is your back cover synopsis and author biography. Don’t just throw something together without much thought!  Readers will look at this and determine whether or not they should buy your book.

5. Don’t rush.

Sure, you are excited to self-publish your book, but don’t rush. Producing a quality book  takes time. Be patient now, and you will be glad you did once you have a book to be proud of.

6. Don’t give up.

Some authors get so overwhelmed by all the options available to them when choosing a self-publishing company that they just give up. That doesn’t have to be you. Do your research, spend some time thinking about the decision, and then trust your gut. Don’t let fear stop you.

There are many great self publishing success stories! You can be one of them by avoiding these mistakes.

ABOUT JODEE THAYER: With over 20 years of experience in sales and management, Jodee Thayer works as the Manager of Author Services for Outskirts Press. The Author Services Department is composed of knowledgeable customer service reps and publishing consultants; together, they all focus on educating authors on the self-publishing process in order to help them publish the book of their dreams. Whether you are a professional looking to take your career to the next level with platform-driven non-fiction or a novelist seeking fame, fortune, and/or personal fulfillment, Jodee Thayer can put you on the right path.