First, You Have to Know What Success Is For You

By Glenys O'Connell @GlenysOConnell

Before we can be successful, we have to know what it means to us as an individual. In writing, perhaps more than many other walks of life, there are many ways to be successful, depending on what the person – you – want to gain from your work.

And there are many people who will tell you how to become successful – often the advice is contradictory. I remember being told ‘Write the book you want to read’ and at the same time being told ‘Write for the market’.

Well, I worried, what if my taste in reading material isn’t what the market wants? I guess the thing to do, really, if you want to be published is to update your favorite reading material with what you learn from researching the market, in order to write a book that you want to read – and other people want to read, too!

For example, I’ve always loved ‘gothic’ mysteries, in particular the work of the legendary Phyllis Whitney. Her books don’t appear on the top selling lists anymore, but basically, her writing category has morphed into ‘romantic suspense’, still with the woman in jeopardy theme but a lot sexier  and more dangerous and wide-ranging – and who can complain about that? So I can write the plots I love, and still write for the market, yes?

One thing I do know, there are few – if any - fast tracks to writing success. Read about many bestselling authors and you’ll learn they have been writing for years before hitting the A-list. Stephen King claimed he could wallpaper his room with all the rejections he received before Carrie’s success!

The Internet is full of Get Rich Quick Schemes – save your money, avoid them and keep writing. They often have tempting titles like: Ten Minutes to Double Your Income! Unlock Your Writing Power! Free Money Making Plans! The Secret to Writing Success! Maybe I’m biased, but I suspect the only people to get rich from these schemes are the people selling them.

Personally, I think you have to define what you consider to be success for yourself – and surprisingly, that doesn’t always come with a dollar figure attached.

Usually when we think of writing success, we think of the bestseller lists, adoring fans

waiting for signed copies of our books, royalty cheques big enough to impress the stodgiest bank manager, and write-ups in the popular press. But before you throw yourself into the mad dash for the number one spot, consider this question: What does writing success mean to you? Do you even want to reach for the stars?

For some writers, the act of writing is fulfilling enough. For others, it’s knowing that somewhere out there someone is reading their work. Still others are burning with a message they need to get out into the world – whether they ever earn a penny or not. If your writing can make one person feel that they are not alone in the human condition, would that be enough to make you feel successful? Or do you want to grab the brass ring, to have adoring fans and publishers fighting to catch your eye?

Too many of us set off on the wrong road, never questioning what we actually consider to be success on our own terms.  Success isn’t a generic, one-size-fits-all garment; we each need a different version of it. And too many writers come to a crashing standstill, unable to reach a goal they don’t understand or have the aptitude for, or are actually subconsciously undermining, instead of pursuing a dream that fits them just right. And then starts the painful process of self-blame, of denigrating our talent and belittling the work we’ve done when it was, perhaps, simply the wrong work, the wrong success path for us.

So, learn your craft, write well, and choose your own path to the success you want.

And if anyone has used one of those ‘quick path to success’ plans out there and been successful, I’d love to hear your story!

 

Glenys O'Connell is a multi-published writer of romantic suspense and comedy, a playwright, and non-fiction author. She wrote the book on writing basics: Naked Writing: The No Frills Way to Write Your Book.

 

 

On Being Brave by Betsy Ashton

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This past weekend I went to Roanoke Regional Writers Conference, one of my favorite conferences. I've been four times out of the six years it's been held. I've spoken on panels in the past. I will teach a course in the future. It's local. As a result, I know about 80% of the participants and nearly all of the panelists and instructors.

Every year this is a reunion of NYT best selling authors, small press authors, indie authors and yet-to-be-published writers. I probably talked to everyone of them before we left yesterday for our homes. I asked them what they feared most when it comes to writing.

After dozens private conversations and a couple of panels, I reduced our collective concerns to a scant few.

As a group, we feared loss of focus. That's a broad topic. For some, loss of focus fell within the end covers of their manuscripts. They can fix that with a good set of beta readers and distance. All agreed they needed to step back and the the manuscripts rest.

For others, loss of focus involved time management. We all concurred that, while we have to have that all-mighty presence on SOCIAL MEDIA, Facebook, Twitter and the rest are giant time sinks. The successful writers (not those making a living from writing, but those who balanced their time) carved out a certain amount of time each day for social media.

Two years ago a YA writer said she spent one hour three days a week responding to every Tweet that came in for her books. Because the audience was teens, she could get away with, "OMG! Thank you for reading my book. I'm so happy." Followed by a smiley face. She had a file on Word with about six responses. Copy. Paste. Done. And when her next book came out, her fan base was ready...

We all worry about what our obsession with writing and marketing might be doing to our families. The best balanced authors made the entire family part of the process. One's daughter wore t-shirts with her YA book cover on them. Another sat with his entire family at the beginning of the year. They blocked out family time on a huge calendar he hung in his office. He could use the rest of the days writing and marketing his books.

Almost to a person, we were afraid of rejection. Not the kind that come querying agents and/or publishers, but the kind that comes when you pick up the phone, cold call a librarian (for example) and pitch a writing workshop or book signing. We all were afraid they'd say no. Some did; others didn't. But those who didn't pick up the phone sat home waiting for it to ring. Or playing games on FB. Or tweeting and bleating about their lots in life.

Driving home, I vowed to be even braver this year than last. I will call more libraries. I will contact more book stores. I will contact service organization. I will contact active living retirement communities. I will be out there as often as I can.

I will not take too much time away from my loving husband, my life partner, and my partner in writing. He's the most important part of my life.

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Please check out my novel, Mad Max Unintended Consequences, available through Amazon and Barnes and Noble in paper or e-book formats.

Rejection Can Take You Backward or Forward by Vonnie Davis

We look on rejection as a step backward, but that’s not always so. My divorce, for example, was a huge painful step backward. But because of it, I was free to meet my Calvin which was a lovely, gigantic leap forward for my heart.

Sometimes pain leads to happiness. So does rejection.

Last January, my agent sent an email to her romance writers that Carina Press had a call out for Christmas novellas. She listed the desired word count and other particulars. It's a chance to move ahead to a larger publisher, I thought, and interest sparked.

So, I wrote like a fiend to meet the deadline ... and got rejected.

A step backward.

I’ll confess the rejection stung. It was my first and brought along a passel of self-doubts. When I told my agent to send the manuscript back so I could rework it, she claimed she’d already sent Santa Wore Leathers on to other publishers. I groaned inwardly. More rejection was bound to come.

A month later, a contract offer came from HarperImpulse. Ah, a step forward.

The next week, my agent called again. “Vonnie, I need the first three chapters of that paranormal you’re working on. Oh, and a synopsis. An editor at Random House loved your novella, but since you’ve already got a contract, she asked if you had anything else she could see. Isn’t that great?”

Irritation rolled in my stomach. “What have you done? This paranormal is my play story. I piddle with it whenever I hit a rough spot in my current WIP. It’s not meant for publication. I don’t write paranormal. It’s just a play story.” I was repeating myself out of nervous fear.

“Well, play story or not, we’ve got another Big Six editor interested. Send me the three chapters and write up a synopsis.”

I felt myself sliding backwards. How could I write a synopsis of nothing?

The editor at Random House loved A Highlander's Beloved--bear shifters and all--and contracted it, offering options on three more. A big step forward.

Rejection can be a step backward. Or in my case, a few steps forward. Santa Wore Leathers led to a three-book contract from Harper-Impulse.

2014’s going to be a busy year. I hope yours if full of steps forward, too.

** Learn more about Vonnie at www.vonniedavis.com

Sometimes Possibilities Require Defined Priorities by Vonnie Davis

The last time I blogged, I'd shared my agent was "shopping out" a Christmas short story to Carina. I was hoping I could move to a larger publisher. Well folks, it won't be Carina. They passed. It happens. Right?

Agent Lady swiftly jumped onto Plan B. In fact she had the story emailed to our list of previously agreed upon publishers before I had a chance to say, "Maybe I better work on it some more." She claimed she moved so swiftly because she knew I would do exactly that.

But rejection brings changes, not just by switching to plan B, but also to the way we perceive our accomplishments and abilities. Self-doubt comes knocking at our doors. This time the pointy-headed sprite brought along a three-piece set of luggage when she rang our doorbell. I should have kicked her to the curb...but I didn't.

As a result I've been asking a question many authors ask themselves from time-to-time: Why am I writing?

.I've worked through the Pity Party for One. Moved onto step-two and questioned my writing abilities, all the while repeating the question. Why am I writing? Do I do it for the money? No. Do I do it to make a name for myself? Well, being known as a good writer would be nice. That's why I enter contests and pay close attention to my reviews. Perhaps I write to please my readers, then? To a degree, yes. Or, do I write to fulfil a deeper need? 

 

Then again, perhaps I'm asking the wrong question. Perhaps the question needs to be how would I survive if I didn't write?

 

Frankly I think my soul would dry-up. My brain would sour with a type of madness. And my heart would turn brittle and break. Simply put, I need to write. And I need to do it for me. This is my priority. Before I can comprehend all the possibilities, I must embrace my own priorities, my dreams. I leave you with a quote by the poet, Langston Hughes: "Hold fast to dreams. For if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly."

 

What are your priorities?

 

Vonnie Davis writes most sub-genres of romance. Her characters reveal themselves to her and demand to be heard. Visit Vonnie at www.vonniedavis.com .

Dear Readers: What Do You Want?

By Glenys O'Connell

Readers, what do you want?

In the words of the Spice Girls (which dates me, no doubt) tell me what you want; what you really, really want?

I mean, take books for example. We writers sit at our computers, or pens and notebooks, or chalks and slates, and we pour out our hearts and souls. Then we send those words out into the world, after fussing over them like mother hens, and wait. And wait. And wait. Sometimes there's a kind word from an editor or a publisher; sometimes there's a contract.

And all too often, there's a rejection.

Which, try as we might, we do take personally. Who could help but do so, after all we've given up – time with family, lazy days in the sun, movies and tv, reading other writers' books, dinner dates and trips out – in order to write those words that are so unappreciated.

And the worst of it is that those editors, publishers and agents that we rely on so heavily for a yeah or a nay, these people are only human. Stories are subjective – I might love a particular writer's work, someone else might hate it or worse, be indifferent.

Stephen King, my hero, was told his work was 'not commercial'. That not commercial writer has sold millions of books, and his work has been made into television shows and movies.

J.K. Rowling, creator of the breathtakingly popular Harry Potter books, was told that kids today weren't interested in dragons and wizards and magic. 'Nuff said.

Somewhere, out there in the Great Unknown, are editors or editorial assistants or publishers' purchasing committees who are crying into their beer for turning down the next great thing. At least I hope so.

So it seems these days that it is the readers who have the final say; the readers who spread the word about King and Rowling and many other bestsellers – once a publisher decided to take a chance on an unknown writer.

You see, readers know what they want.

There's a story about George Sands that says she began to write because she couldn’t find a book that interested her. The same is said of Louisa May Alcott, author of my girlhood favourite, Little Women and the sequel, Good Wives. But just like Rowling, they kept right on writing. The readers found them, and the rest is history.

So, readers, what do you want? What stories light up your lives, or leave you afraid to go into the dark basement alone? What inspires you? Makes you laugh, makes you weep? Lifts your mood and makes you feel better when your world is in chaos? A Love that makes your toes curl?  What, in fact, would you say are the ingredients of that Next Great Thing? Or even a book that you'd love to read?

The Internet is full or how-to advice for writers. I'm as guilty as any other blogger or article writer; I teach creative writing to would-be writers. I'm glad to say that quite a few have gone on to be published.

But to me the burning question isn't what is selling today; not what formula works to make a book successful – the very existence of such a formula is a fallacy.

The real question can only be answered by you, Dear Reader: What do you want?

Right about now you may be wondering what this has to do with the current theme of this blog: Organization.  The answer, of course, is absolutely nothing.

I always wanted to be a rebel!

Glenys O'Connell is the author of several mystery & romance novels with good reader reviews; her long-awaited (in her dreams) book based on her creative writing course: Naked Writing: The No Frills Way to Write Your Book, will soon be published. Her 'brand' is Romance Can Be Murder, which tells you a lot about her.... Learn more here.