Reasons Why Indie Authors Should Celebrate.

Last week I posed the question of whether it's better to be an indie author rather than a traditionally published one. This week I am stating why indie authors should celebrate their place in the writing world.

As their title suggests indie authors have the ultimate freedom and flexibility over their career. They can choose the genre they wish to write in. Some authors write in several different genres under different names. They can decide the length of their books, they have control over the book's cover design and they can choose the price of their books. As pricing goes indie authors can alter it from various different prices, enabling them to do promotions by giving copies away for free over a certain amount of time. They choose the retailers that they wish to place their books with, ensuring their work has maximum exposure.

Being an indie author allows you to instantly upload your work. If a writer chooses to go down the traditional route, they have to wait months if not years to receive a response from agents. But if they had chosen the indie route their book could have sold thousands of copies within that time frame.

Going independent also cuts out the middle man. Indies can make much more in royalties than a traditionally published author. Just because this author has an agent and publishing house behind them does not guarantee a higher income. These types of authors may make more in terms of their advancement but both agent and publisher take a sum of their royalties.

The publishing world has changed a vast amount in the last few years and I am so glad writers now have the option of going indie. It's virtually impossible for new writers to go down the traditional path of publishing because no one is willing to take a chance on an unknown author. And if a writer is lucky enough to be published that way their publishing house might only distribute the author's books within the same country. As the author of two ebooks I have been lucky enough to sell copies world wide through the use of the internet.

And as for being an indie author myself, I wouldn't have it any other way.

What do you think? Are you an indie author? Has it brought you much success?

Is It Better To Be An Indie?

I had a sudden epiphany last week. It came to me while I was browsing books by my favourite chick lit authors in my local library. I envied the success of these particular writers and wished I could have their good luck sometime in the future.

I then went home to look up their books on Amazon and Goodreads to see their reviews. And what I found shocked me.

These books weren't so successful as I thought they would be. Some only had 3/5 stars, and their ranking was also much lower than I had expected. I must have browsed over 50 to a 100 books in the space of an hour, thinking that just because the author had an agent and a traditional publisher behind them, they would be so much more successful than the average indie.

Now these writers have produced a lot of books over their career. One particular author has over fifty books on her author page, but her reviews do not reflect that achievement.

Quite a few said more or less the same thing - stating that she should not focus on how many books she can produce in one year, but she should spend more time on the ones she has written and focus on how to craft them better.

And do you know what ...? I agree.

This author is ridiculously successful but her writing has become so poor over the last few years. Her characters are flat and annoying, and her plotlines are ridiculous and far fetched. She has written a very popular series, and I think because of its success, she has decided to stick with all her old character types.

But then I wondered how much influence her publisher has over her work. She's probably under strict instructions to write more in less time and therefore produces a mediocre piece of work. She probably has an idea of what plotlines to write about and what her agent considers successful.

But my main point is: have the people in question lost touch with their readers reality?

The result is that the industry publishes a lot of books that in my mind would really struggle to sell if the author was unknown. And it's only because of their previous success that they manage to continue to write.

As an indie author myself I haven't got this added luxury. At the moment I am only writing my third book. Therefore my main goal is to produce the absolute best piece of work I can possibly write and to have it professionally edited. And to hope it sells.

But I did also realise another point when browsing these particular books. I have had the same sort of ranking in recent months. Sometimes my ranking has been even higher than theirs. So, as long as I keep writing I see a good chance of success.

Does Writer's Block Really Exist?

If you're a writer you will find many articles on this subject. And when you start your career you may struggle more with this problem than when you're an established writer.

During my four years as a writer, I haven't really struggled with this concept at all. There have been times where I've struggled to write when I have been stressed, rundown and tired, but this usually rights itself once I've had a rest.

So, how can you make sure you don't run into this problem yourself? I think many writers start out with an idea and are so enthusiastic about it that they start to write until they can't think anymore. They thought their idea was going somewhere until they stopped writing and now they have simply run out of ideas of what to write next. If this sounds familiar then I suggest you stop for a while and do something else, and then come back and brainstorm a few ideas to see if they can generate any further ideas.

While some writers can just go with the flow and have endless ideas coming to them, I think it's best to always have a loose idea of where you want your story to go. That way if you ever do have writer's block you'll always know where you eventually want to end up.

Another good way to overcome writer's block is to read other books. I know when I read I always seem to think up new ideas. But sometimes you just need to approach your story from another angle.
Maybe I haven't really suffered from this because I always write from an outline. Sometimes my outline is loose but sometimes it's compact.

So what do you think of writer's block? Have you ever experienced it? What are your solutions to it?

If you have another stressful situation to deal with in life I do not believe it's writer's block that prevents you from writing. I've just had a comment from a lady that has made me realise I should have made this point clear from the start. But if you struggle to write when nothing else is wrong then maybe you should try and rectify the problem.

Are You A Lazy Writer?

Last week I blogged about the traits of a great writer and this week my post is about lazy writing.

Lazy writing isn't always obvious, and can be hard to spot when you're in the throes of a manuscript, but the good news is most often it's easy to put right.

I have several favourite writers in my favourite genre of chick lit, but I have read several books by these authors which have been below par. I am left wondering why the books are mediocre when these writers are capable of so much more. Sometimes I think that maybe these writers are past their best and have now written too many books. Their newer work is often a rehash of their earlier work, and more often than not, I end up putting the book down.

So, how can you avoid lazy writing?

When I read a book repeated words and phrases leap out at me like a hologram. I once counted the same word seven times on the same page. And this book was penned by a best selling author who has made films out of their books. Word repetition is tedious and sends me straight to sleep. It smacks of lack of imagination; it's as though the writer can't be bothered thinking up different words. Writing shouldn't be like that. Writing should be fun and not a chore, and if the writer can't be bothered about thinking up new words, why should the reader be bothered to finish the book?

So when you've finished your manuscript get a red pen and make note of the words you love to repeat.

Also, I think writers need to be aware of giving their characters certain traits and then using the same trait throughout the story. Does your protagonist always snort while laughing or always scratch their head when confused? If they do, mix it up a little and make it fun for both you and your reader.

Do you always start each chapter describing the same weather conditions? Maybe your characters have the same place in certain scenes. Are they constantly stood by the kitchen window, or do they move around the room?

It's easy to get lost in the moment when you're writing. I do it all the time. But it's crucial to be aware of these things so you have a chance to fix them before you bore your readers to death.

Traits Of A Great Writer

It is said that writing is not a destination, it's a journey. A journey that takes a lifetime to perfect. Writing is a craft, an art that gets better the more practice you have.

Most people can write to a certain degree, depending on how much effort they're prepared to put in. But just one factor separates the mediocre writer from the great writer and that factor is how much they are willing to learn.

Writing is an art and I am not arguing with that. Many people say art is subjective and therefore it depends a lot on personal taste. And that is true ... to an extent.

But there are also people who use that as an excuse not to continue perfecting their craft. They have the mindset of: I think my writing is totally wonderful and therefore I am right. If other people don't like it that is their hard luck and I won't be willing to listen to their criticism.

And while a thick skin is crucial in this business, there's a major difference between being able to pick yourself up again after a blow, and arrogance beyond belief.

So, what are the traits of a great writer?

I believe that the great writer has an insatiable hunger for knowledge. They'll stop at nothing in order to better themselves. They'll listen to every piece of advice and criticism and digest the lot before considering their next move. They will read all the best writers to see what worked for them. They will read mediocre writers to avoid their mistakes. And they will pay attention to their editor and worship them like a god.

I believe you can be a great writer without a formal education in the relevant subjects. Having an English degree will not guarantee a place on the best seller list. Whether you have been to university or not, if you truly want to write for a living you must realise that the learning doesn't stop on your graduation day.

Does Location Affect Your Writing?

As writers we're always told that location matters in a scene. We can't expect to write a book without giving the reader some indication of where the story takes place.

But what about our own location? Do we need to feel content with our surroundings before we write our next masterpiece?

I'm lucky enough to live by the coast where the air is always fresh. Oxygen is vital for the creative brain so I needn't worry about getting enough of that. But I'm also conscious of the major town I live next to and its statistics prove it's one of the roughest places to live in the UK. Because of this I rarely frequent the area unless I absolutely have to; not only because of the high crime rate but because it leaves me feeling so utterly depressed. The last time I visited the town (sometime in the last two years) I joked that I wouldn't return, not even if someone paid me!

Writers all have their personal routines and favourite spots to write. And what works well for some writers may not work for others. I know when I put pen to paper my surroundings have to be quiet with as few distractions as possible. But I know other writers thrive with background noise and people around them. The perfect location for them to write might be in a coffee shop or library.

I was lucky enough to visit New York last month. I could definitely see how this vibrant city attracts writers and all sorts of other artists to live there because of its fast and upbeat pace. Out of the many places I've visited in the entire world, New York definitely buzzed the most. The energy of the area was constant; it did not falter once. And although it's a major city, my creative mind was still fresh. I felt more awake and alert than I have done in a long time.

But when I returned my energy levels sapped back down to their usual level and it was then I gave this blog subject some serious thought. Writers are like sponges: we soak up our environment more than most folk. And surely it's not so crazy to think this might affect our writing.

So what do you think? Does your location affect your writing?

Should Amazon Allow ebooks To Be Returned?

This subject usually generates a lot of discussion among the indie author community and the debate can sometimes be heated. Refunded ebooks are not something I think about as I focus on writing more material. But when I do get a book returned I often wonder the reason behind it.

For every hundred books I sell I usually get one return. When my book was at a cheaper price this figure was higher, suggesting my books were often bought on impulse. The number of negative reviews I received was also higher, again suggesting impulse purchasers with customers failing to read the sample chapter.

The last two words of the previous sentence holds the vital clue to why this debate continues to rage. Authors argue the sample chapter is crucial when deciding whether to buy a book. After all, if you were in a physical bookstore you'd be daft just to buy a book blindly without flicking through a few pages first. And although you cannot physically do that while online you can read the sample that's on offer.

So why can customers request a refund from Amazon if they do not like the book?  Smashwords does not operate this policy because they state this is the reason for the sample chapter. People can read a book in a day but Amazon will accept refunds for the following seven days, giving its readers ample opportunity to read the book and then return it.

But people argue they accidentally purchase books all the time. I think that if an honest, genuine mistake was made then a refund should be allowed, providing the return happens in the same day. But I think a week is far too long for refunds to be accepted. What kind of message does that send out?

If people were allowed to ask for a refund every time they watched a film at their local cinema which they didn't like, the film industry would be in dire straights. I can't actually remember the last time I paid to see a film that I actually enjoyed. That's why I no longer go to the cinema these days, especially as the prices are not cheap. Again, this is another argument against refunded ebooks. Most ebooks are so cheap it's almost petty to go to the trouble of receiving a refund. Sometimes free ebooks are refunded which I think is mind boggling.

But from another angle I suppose I'd rather a refund than a negative review. As far as I'm aware refunds do not affect your book's ranking like reviews do. If customers weren't allowed a refund they might be more inspired to write a scathing review instead. And refunds are more of a private issue too. Nobody views the refunded figures except the author, whereas a bad review is on show for the whole world to see.

So, what's your perspective on refunded ebooks?