When Your Novel Isn't the One

Photo credit: davidking on Flickr

There comes a time in every writer’s journey, where you have to accept that the book you just wrote isn't ready—and may never be.

Sometimes you know right away, so it’s not quite as difficult to put it away, but sometimes the realization doesn’t come until months of writing and editing and rewriting and submissions. And it’s hard. It’s hard having to accept that maybe this book you’ve spent so much time on, this book with characters you love and a plot you thought could actually work is in fact not working.

It happens to everyone, guys. And it’s ok.

I know I’ve mentioned this before in my post about why gatekeepers aren't evil, but I want to talk about the writer side of it. I want to tell you that I know it’s not easy to shelf a novel, but it doesn’t make you a bad writer. It doesn’t mean you’ll never write the one.

It just means you need more practice.

Don’t be discouraged if the book you thought would be the one, isn’t the one after all. Don’t give up just because you’ve written two or three (or however many) novels and you had to shelf them all.

And please don’t self-publish just to avoid putting your book in the trunk. That is absolutely not the reason to self-publish and you’ll be glad you didn’t later. 

The fact of the matter is, at first anyway, your passion will not be equal to your skill. Your story might be great, your characters might even be fantastic, but your skill level won’t be there yet and that’s ok. These things take time and practice and practice and more practice.

And eventually, as long as you keep pushing, you will write the one. And it’ll be amazing—the best thing you’ve ever written—not perfect, but really good and you’ll feel it and you’ll know that the time is right. You’ve paid your dues.

The point isn’t how long it takes you to get there or how many books you write before the one is born—the point is that you keep going until you reach it. The point is that you accept every book you write brings you one book closer to the one.

Then, once your skill level is equal to your passion, you might find that you’re ready to go back and salvage the good from those stepping stone novels. You never know—with a little extra work, they might be the next one after all.

Have you ever had to shelf a novel? Are you glad you moved on? Tell me about it in the comments! 

Book Review: Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Picture credit: Mine!

So I’m going to change the way I do book reviews.

Turns out, at least this year, my choices of what to read have been pretty stupendous, because ever since I’ve started writing reviews I’ve read books that I thought deserved five stars. Call me soft or just really good at choosing good books, but it doesn’t help you guys if I rate every book the same way.

So! Rather than rating every book on a number of stars, I’m just going to tell you guys what I did and didn’t like about it and whether or not I recommend it. Fair? I thought so. To sweeten the pot, if you still want a numeric rating, you can friend me on Goodreads, where I will still be handing out the sparkly golden stars.

Onto the review!

I’ll start off by saying that I don’t normally read sci-fi, so if you’re not a hard-core sci-fi lover, don’t give up on this one yet—in fact, Across the Universe is the first sci-fi-ish book I’ve read in years.

So if I don’t read sci-fi, why did I pick up this book? Truth be told, the cover had a lot to do with it—it caught my eye on the shelf and I picked it up and liked the summary, and the first chapter. Not only that, but I read Beth Revis’ blog and she seemed like a pretty cool author. Plus she interacts on both Twitter and tumblr which is a pretty nice bonus if you ask me.

So what’s the book about, you ask?

From Goodreads:

“Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone - one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship - tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now, Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.”

I really enjoyed this book. I was worried that it might be too spacey for my tastes (since, as I said, I don’t often read sci-fi), but Across the Universe had me hooked. There’s a murder mystery, romance that isn’t overdone (which, I have to say, is pretty refreshing) and some memorable characters. The only thing that bothered me was the dual-POV—the book is told both from Amy and Elder’s alternating first person POV, which was a little difficult to adjust to at first, but I actually enjoyed it later on. In fact, the dual POV really made the ending particularly fantastic stylistically, in my opinion.

Oh, and have I mentioned the twists? There aren’t many books that have surprised me like Across the Universe did, and I can count on one hand how many book surprised me more than once (Across the Universe, of course, being one of them).

Mystery. Romance. Twists. I highly recommend this one. It’s a great read and I’m definitely looking forward to the sequel.

So I’ve got to ask—what are you guys reading right now? 

Your Greatest Asset is You

Photo credit: a2gemma on Flickr

The blogosphere is overloaded with advice about how to write--whether it's blogging, writing a novel, poetry or screenplays, if you Google it, you'll find it. And advice is great--sometimes we need tips to help us get over certain obstacles, whether it's character development or voice or growing your blog.

But sometimes we get too caught up in the small stuff. Because yes, it's true that you need to work to improve your craft and yes, writing tips are absolutely useful when you're working to improve your writing, but guys, your greatest asset isn't in sentence structure or paragraph length or even your ability to drive traffic to your blog--it's you.

You are unique. No one sees the world the way you do. No one can think or dream or write the same way you do. And that's what makes you special. That's what makes you you. 

You're not always going to have original content, and that's ok. Truth be told, everything under the sun has been done in one way or another. But your worldview, your personality infused into your writing is what makes it memorable. 

Only you can match the perfect cadence of your words. Only you can write the way you do and that is what will draw readers to you. The other stuff is important, yes, but this one thing you must remember.  

You are your greatest asset--never forget it.

Guest Post: How to Make Any Good Blog Great

Photo credit: Rangga Chandra on Flickr

So! I'm really excited because my guest post on ProBlogger is now officially live. Amazing, right? It's pretty amazing.

I wrote about how to make any good blog great, so if you blog, or are thinking about blogging, or just want to see how cool it is to have a blog post up on ProBlogger, you should check it out.

Also, I used this picture of pretty lights to let you know how excited I am.

Have a great weekend!

Do What You Love

“You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for work, as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking and don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” –Steve Jobs

After Apple’s announcement Wednesday night, I watched Steve Jobs’ Stanford commencement address, and it really struck a chord. If you haven’t taken the fifteen minutes to watch it yet, I highly recommend it—it’s inspirational.

That being said, one of the (many) things that stuck out to me was the quote I gave to you guys above. You’ve got to find what you love.

Life is short and every day is a gift. You only have one life to live, so why not spend it doing something that you love?If you’re not passionate about your work, maybe you should be doing something else. Maybe you should consider making a change and doing that thing that you really want to do.

I remember when I was in high school and I would ask my peers what they wanted to do and I’d get answers like “I want to be a doctor” or “I want to be a lawyer”—and that was great for some of them. Some of them really loved the medical field and were fascinated with law and that’s fantastic.

But some of them were motivated by money, or just going along the path their well-intentioned parents pushed them onto. They worked hard to get the grades and went to ivy league schools to study a profession that could make them money not because it was what they wanted to do, not because they loved it, but because it was what was expected of them.

It’s hardly an uncommon story and looking back, I wish I had said something. Because guys, money means nothing if you’re not happy. And all those expectations from your friends, your family, they’re real and it’s hard to disappoint them, but sometimes they don’t line up with your dreams. Sometimes they don’t line up with who you are. And sometimes when that happens you need to take a stand and do what makes you happy.

And no, they may not understand you. They may think you foolish for stepping off the secure path to do that risky thing that you really enjoy doing.

But in the end it comes down to you. Your happiness. Your life.

I leave you with another gem from Mr. Jobs:

“…for the past 33 years, I’ve looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.”  

And the video, in case you haven’t watched the address yet:

Are you doing what you love? 

What is Success to You?

Photo credit: m kasahara on Flickr

It’s no secret that a war is waging over the impossible question of which is better: indie or traditional publishing?

After laying out the pros and cons, I still didn’t really give you guys a straight answer about where I stand, and the truth is, it’s because I don’t have a stance. Not the kind that backs one side, anyway.

Hear me out. It’s not that I’m indecisive (ok, maybe it’s a little that) or that I’m dodging the question (although I’m good at that, too), it’s that I truly don’t believe that a one-size-fits-all answer exists.

So now you’re wondering what in the sugary, confetti-laden blazes this has to do with the title, and the answer is everything.  

I want you to stop and think for a moment about how you define success. Maybe success to you is just to be read. To get your work out there in the hands of some readers and see where it goes. Maybe you don’t care about having an agent or speaking at book conventions or having author signings or any of that. If that’s the case, then going indie might be right for you.

Or maybe success to you is walking into a bookstore and seeing your book on the shelves. Being able to hold a copy in your hands or see others reading your book out in public. If that’s the case, then maybe you want to go traditional.

Maybe your version of success something else entirely—maybe it’s when you make x-amount of dollars or sell x-amount of copies or write x-amount of books. Maybe success to you is having an agent or a publishing contract or going out and doing it alone and knowing that you’ve achieved something incredible on your own.

My point is that it’s different for everyone, so whatever decision you make should be based on your vision of success. It doesn’t matter what anyone else says or thinks, it’s your responsibility to decide what’s best for you.

But how can you tell? Well first, answer the question: What is your version of success?

Have an idea? Good.  Now ask yourself: How can I get there? The answer may not be clear, but eventually one (or a combination of the two) will emerge. Eventually you will know what you want to do—what is best for you, and that’s when you can act.

Instead of arguing over who has a better publishing model, we need to support each other and realize that the right answer for you isn’t necessarily the right answer for everyone else. In the end, what does it matter which side you choose? We’re all writers with different ideas of success and the petty fighting needs to end.

So let’s hear it, guys: what is success to you? 

Why Gatekeepers Aren't Evil

Photo credit: Army Man Chaz on Flickr

Not every book you write is meant to get published. I know it sounds harsh, but the hard truth is that not every book you put your heart and soul into is destined for the limelight.

And that’s ok.

It doesn’t sound like a good thing and it’s far from encouraging, but guys, this is why gatekeepers are a good thing.

Because when you’re writing—whether it’s your first novel or your fifth—it feels like the one. The book that’s going to break out and be a success. The one that people will talk about—the one that will finally get published. But the truth is, although every book feels like the one, not every novel will live up to that expectation.

No one is born ready to write fantastic books. It takes time to learn your craft, to figure out what works in a novel and what doesn’t, to discover how to write a voice different from your own, how to pace, write great dialogue and edit. Those things don’t come naturally. It takes hard work and practice and practice and more practice.

But how do you practice? You write. You go through the months or years or however long it takes to write a novel and create characters who haunt your every thought and build a world you’ll never forget because it’s a part of you. You write and you rewrite and you dream and when you finish you celebrate because you’ve done something incredible—you’ve created a story that is uniquely you. A story that only you could have written.

And that’s amazing. You’re amazing.

But that first novel you write? It’s not always going to be ready. And maybe neither will your second, or your third or fourth or sixth. And maybe it will, but that’s not the point—the point is that you practice and you keep going and you write even after you realize the time has come to put down that WIP and start again.

And it’s hard. It’s hard to shelf a manuscript you put months—even years—of your life into. It’s hard to put it away and give up on those dreams of seeing it flourish. But it’s necessary. It’s part of the process. It brings you one step closer to writing the one, the real one that will be ready for the spotlight.

But until then, we need gatekeepers.

Guys, I’m glad self-publishing wasn’t around the way it is today five years ago. Frankly, I’m relieved. Because the novels that I wrote then—they felt like the one. And I loved them—I still do—but I loved them so much I might have uploaded them long before they were ready.

Because honestly, they weren’t ready. I wasn’t ready. I thought I was ready—I convinced myself that my books were ready—but looking back at them now I can clearly see that I had a long way to go. And the only thing that stopped me from releasing them way before it’s time were gatekeepers. You know, agents.

Don’t get me wrong—I’m not saying if you can’t find an agent for your work it’s definitely not ready. There are countless books out there that were rejected time and time again only to go on and become a bestseller. I get that. Agents can’t tell the future, and they aren’t always right.

But sometimes they are. Sometimes those rejection letters are really a blessing in disguise—sometimes they stop you from launching before you’ve had the time to really develop your craft.

Things are different now. We don’t need to use the gatekeepers like we did. We have the option to self-publish whenever we want and for some of us, it’s the right thing to do. But it’s not right for everyone, because not everyone is ready.

Don’t publish your book just because you can. Publish it because you’ve really thought about it, because you’ve lost count of how many times you’ve rewritten it and you’ve had others look at it, then you rewrote it again, then you gave it some time and when you came back to it, it still felt ready. Publishing should never be a spur-of-the-moment decision. Never.

Because sometimes we need the gatekeepers. Sometimes we need someone to tell us to hold off, to say you’re not quite there yet, keep going.

And as long as you keep going, as long as you don’t give up, I promise you the one will come. Then you’ll be glad you waited as long as you did.

So those are my thoughts. What do you think—are gatekeepers evil?