There is a plethora of information out there about how to market your work when you are self-publishing, but this is the best piece of advice I have found – short and sweet and to the point.
Writing a novel
Punctuation Saves Lives!
Editing. I hate it.
Writing, while not easy, is fun. I get a scene going in my head and my fingers just fly across the keyboard. Sometimes, I just can’t seem to type fast enough. I’m sure there is probably some scientific study showing that whatever side of the brain is the creative side (I can’t remember off the top of my head, ha ha), kicks into full gear when I’m writing.
Editing, on the other hand, is a chore. The opposite side of the brain, the logical side, is in command and second guesses everything. The best way I have found so far to edit, is to read my words out loud. It slows the brain down and really gives you a good sense of whether a sentence sounds right. It also helps figure out where to put the damn commas, the bane of my existence as a writer.
When you are writing, your first draft, probably even your second and third drafts, are nowhere near being ready, even for your beta readers. At least if you want to keep them and not drive them crazy with all your mistakes.
To help with the editing process, I found Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King to be very useful.
I also found these 10 rules for self-editing helpful (spread out over two posts):
10 Rules on Self-Editing (pt. 1)
10 Rules on Self-Editing (pt. 2)
Cheers!
Lisa
My friend Google
I follow some of my favourite authors on their various forms of media. I enjoy getting updates from them. Often they are letting their readers know about their latest research trip. Caving in South America, pub hopping across Europe, a safari in Africa….it’s all so exciting, and of course, totally out of my budget. Luckily, my first book is set in a generic city that could be anywhere in Canada or the northern U.S. and more importantly, Google is my friend.
Need to know how to swear in Spanish?
Google it.
Need to know how to prepare scallops?
Google it.
How about how to make a really good cup of coffee using a commercial coffee maker? Or, how to escape a choke hold? What do bogles look like? What would be a good knife to have in fight? What type of gun?
Google has the answer for everything.
An entertaining result of all this googling, is the ads that now jump up on all the web pages I look at. Since ads on a lot of websites are are actually targeted to you specifically based on recent Google search history, I am getting the weirdest assortment of ads. As far as Google is concerned, I’m a knife and gun enthusiast who needs lessons in self-defence and gourmet cooking, who wants to buy a commercial coffee machine and is planning a trip to Spain. Of course we are talking about the internet here, so I imagine there are way worse things to be.
Lisa 🙂
lisa emme 