Why it's Important to Gain Inspiration from other Writers

Last Friday I sent my second manuscript to my editor so now I've officially finished my second book. I celebrated with champagne, feeling happy that I'll soon be able to publish my work. But if you're thinking I am now looking forward to a well deserved rest you're wrong.

Instead I am busy researching my third book. I made a decision at the start of the year once I had finished writing I would devote all my free time to reading the genre I would like to write. But what I'm doing now is far more complex than just picking up any old book and casually reading a few pages here and there. I am devoting a whole day to just reading a few chapters. This might not sound like much and it wouldn't be if I was just skimming over the words. But once I have finished reading I am making detailed notes about the plot line, structure, character development and so on.

All writers agree that if you want to write good stories you must read good stories first. But you must also analyse every sentence, understand every word and realise why the story is going in one particular direction. It is not enough to read to be entertained, you also need to read in-between the lines.

Reading different stories also helps you form new ideas of your own. Making notes from best selling books from well established authors is not the same as plagiarism - plagiarism only happens when you copy a substantial chunk word for word. I make notes to help my understanding of the story - it's never my intention to copy every single detail. It's also worth stating here that ideas cannot be plagiarised - plagiarism can only cover words.

So this is why reading is so good for writers. Reading helps you to spark ideas of your own that may have come from a particular story. But your ideas go off in another direction instead of following the same thought pattern. You can make up your own mind whether the book made a good story or you can state what you would have done differently to make the story better. Either way, reading helps your brain become familiar with stories, making you a more developed writer.

8 Tips for Writers

Although I love writing more than anything else, it can be hard going sometimes.

Here are some tips for writers to stay on track.

Be open to all possibilities and opportunities.
Writers have to do more than just write to stay in business. Make every connection you can with people - you never know what opportunity they may offer you. Serendipity can play an important part.

Study people who are successful.
Instead of focusing on other people's flaws, study what makes them successful. How do they write bestselling books? Are the books good because of their theme, or do they have an incredible plotline?

Identify your own weaknesses.
Although you might excel at writing quickly and you easily manage 5,000 words a day, there will be an area of your writing that won't be so strong. Recognise what that area is and spend time improving that particular skill.

Set yourself one new goal every month.
Just like any other career writers should always strive to work harder and push themselves out of their comfort zone. If you don't continually focus on improving your craft you can guarantee the feeling of complacency will take over. You should remember your work can always be improved.

Have faith.
When you have writer's block or a bad review, realise it's just a bad day and every day will not be like this.

Know other people will have different opinions on how to be successful.
Just as some people love chick lit and others love thrillers, their general opinions will usually differ too. That does not mean that they are right and you are wrong; it's just a question of having a different approach. If you set a goal, it doesn't matter how you get there - just as long as you arrive there at some point.

Focus on your strong points.
Especially when you're having a bad day. Remember there are things you are good at.

Realise you may need to take a different approach.
If you can't get something to work, approach it from a new angle.

Do Writers Need Routines?

I am a naturally organised person, an obsessive compulsive personality at that. So it comes as no surprise when I say I place routine high on my agenda. Although a free spirit with a tendency to do things spontaneously, when it comes to my working life I am as rigid as a corpse.

For me having a daily routine increases my brain power and helps provide focus. Having routine helps me manage my time keeping skills more efficiently because I know how long things take and I'm able to plan my life accordingly. I relish having structure to my day because I find the more I do the more I want to do. I find that I spend more time working and less time procrastinating, thus increasing my self discipline and motivational skills.

When I composed my second book I typed twice as many words in half the time. And I have put this down to stepping up my routine, thus becoming more organised.

However, I do realise there are many writers out there who just write when they feel like it or when the inspiration strikes them. Their creativity can be stronger because they only write when they have vivid ideas. And because they don't write everyday they can often write for much longer in their creative bursts. Often when I write I can only manage 500 to 700 words. A writer who only writes a couple of times a week may write several thousand words.

So, what kind of writer are you? Are you organised like me or do you prefer to write only when you feel like it?

Who is Best Placed to Give Reviews?

I have been on the indie author circuit for a good while now, and during this time it has come to my attention that it's largely frowned upon for the author's family and friends to give reviews. This argument may seem logical on the surface but if you start to think about the issue in depth it can become rather blurred.

A review from the author's spouse or best friend may well be biased if it's all praise. Some people are really against this and argue that it's immoral. But what if the book is really good? Does the book really deserve a bad rating just because someone close to the author is writing the review? It seems that no one really questions poor ratings given by the authors friends and family. A family member or friend can give a review just so long as they make it a poor one.

So it seems like complete strangers are the best people to place reviews. Then there's no issue of writing a biased review because you're in love with the author, or have been friends with them since they were aged four. But reviews from complete strangers are extremely hard to come by. I have a few, positive and negative, but most of my reviews have come from people I have networked with over the year. And this again brings up the issue of friendship as I now consider some of my cyber friends closer friends than some of my 'real life' friends.

Can someone slate the author if they have networked with them for over a year? I really don't know but the answer seems unlikely. Requests to swap reviews is also frowned upon, for similar reasons this blog has already mentioned. People don't like to give a bad review to someone if they've already received a glowing review from them. The issue of scratching each other's backs can be rather awkward.

To reach a conclusion I asked other writers this question and I have received a huge response. But the answers really surprised me. The response didn't weigh in favour to any particular side. Instead it was a real mix of thoughts. A lot of writers argued that it doesn't really matter where the review comes from as long as it's well balanced and thought out. And some even said that if the reviewer was a close friend or family member, then they should state that in the review.

So that has helped me reach my final answer. Whoever the reviewer is they should do their very best to write a thoughtful, balanced review.

Please share your thoughts in the comment box.

Is Indie Publishing Taken Seriously?

When I first decided to go down the indie self publishing route it was a free choice. I didn't spend the previous decade hunting down agents and traditional publishers on an endless mission trying to find someone to take me on. I did the research for both options and decided indie publishing would be the best route for me.

I think I have been very fortunate to be an indie author in this era of spectacular technology. We are doing things now which didn't seem possible last decade. If someone had suggested to me five years ago that you could be a successful writer and earn a decent living through self publishing, I think I would have laughed in their faces. From time to time, it still seems so strange that people can write a quality book and place it on the Internet for the whole world to buy.

But that is now the reality. We can do this so easily, as long as we are prepared to dedicate ourselves to the commitment this career needs. And this is the pivotal point of my post: are people starting to take indie publishing seriously?

Maybe it's still a mixed bag of thoughts. Maybe at this present time it is still uncertain. But what about five years from now, when technology has developed further and the tardis is no longer just part of the fantasy world. Will indie authors be able to write their job description on a piece of paper without receiving funny looks? Will everyone know what that job title means?

Maybe indie publishing will give authors greater freedom and flexibility. Most people who have successful careers have the choice of where to live, and this is the thought that gave me the inspiration to write this blog post today. Will indie publishing give authors the option to move country if they so desire?

Most countries say in order for people to live there they have to have something of value to give that country. Skilled workers such as doctors and scientists can travel freely because they have desired knowledge about a specialist subject.

But would writers be on the same level if they just produced books and made a decent living? As long as you have the money and don't have a criminal record, I don't see why this would be a problem. It's something for us to think about anyway and I've had a lot of feedback to this question so far. So let's see if we can continue the debate. Would you move overseas if you're career allowed it? If I ever get to this point maybe I'll be on the first plane to Canada or the States ;)

Quality Writing will Sell Itself.

I have read an awful lot of blog posts lately about the importance of quality writing. And seeing as it's so important I cannot believe I haven't blogged about it sooner!

Quality is the life and soul of writing. It is the blood and oxygen of words. Without quality your writing is pointless. Having a quality book is always first on any marketing list. If best selling writers could only give one piece of advice on how to sell as many books as possible, they would say write a great book. That's it. Writers don't need to do anything more. Just write a great book and it will sell itself. But so many authors try to market their book without taking this most important issue to heart. Just because you have written a book doesn't automatically mean it's going to become a best seller.

Amazon has numerous examples of great quality, best selling books that seem to sell like hot cakes with little or no marketing effort from the authors. Many debut books hit the best sellers list and no one can argue that the book is only doing well because the author is popular. I mean, come on, how popular can an unknown author be? They're not Stephen King but maybe they write like him and that's the reason why they're so successful.

Many authors worry about the price of their book and think that if it's not priced at 99c, it won't sell. I had this frame of mind myself for a little while but soon realised success favours the brave and that saying made me put my price up. Now after three weeks priced at $2.99 or £1.90 - it still sells. And it's been well worth the risk.

So, if you're new to writing and fear your books won't sell, I can assure you they will sell so long as you have a quality product to market.


Here's a great blog post by Andy Holloman on this issue: http://novelistandyholloman.wordpress.com/2012/03/14/quality-vs-price-why-quality-is-all-that-matters-in-ebooks-imho/

Write For Yourself

It has been said many times that the older you get the more confident you become. But I am going to play devil's advocate here and say this isn't always the case. Here's why:

• The older you get the more criticisms you will have faced due to unavoidable life events.
• The more criticisms you face the more self doubt you have.
• With every risk you take there's a chance of failure. The more risks you take, the more likely it is you will fail.

Look at it this way. When you were a child how much confidence did you have? Most young children are confident as they have not had much chance to fail. They are fearless because most of them haven't experienced the bad side in life: they do not know what failure feels like and therefore don't have that fear to hold them back. Their own world is limited, and most of what they learn is achieved by positive things like playing.

Here's another common saying: 'You only learn through your mistakes.'
This implies the only real way to learn is to be hurt through failure. Do young people really learn anything until they have been bitten by negativity?

So this is why a writer must write for themselves first. Write your book like no one else will ever read it. Stop worrying what your mother will think, what your editor will say, forget the general assumptions people may make. It is your book that you have written for yourself to read.

Back when I first started writing, I had this thought pattern. And it wasn't because I didn't want anyone else to read it, it was because I thought no one else would bother. I didn't think I would have a big audience. I don't know why I thought these things. Maybe because back then I had no previous experience to draw upon.

So I think that's why my style is so candid. I hold nothing back - so that's why my book reads like I'm just having a conversation. With myself. When I'm just talking to myself there is no need to hold anything back. Why should I do that? It's not like I've been hiding secrets. I haven't got a split personality which neither character knows about. I just talk. I say it like it is. And that's where I think great confidence comes from, so long as you're at peace with yourself. If you like what you say then what's not to love?

Besides, when you write you will always offend someone. It's just how it is. So you may as well please yourself first and write from the heart. And chances are people will agree with you if they think the same.

Happy writing!