Making the Donuts

When you learn something the first time, it's a revelation. When you learn it the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th times, it must be something that is very important to know.

Lesson: The most important thing I can do is write.
Corollary#1: Writing centers me.
Corollary#2: Keep writing no matter how busy I am.
Corollary#3: I'm the only one who can make the donuts (i.e. write words on the page).

The Many Hats of Publishing
When you publish, you have to wear many hats: writer, marketer, cover approver, edit wrangler, interviewee, blogger, twitterer, facebooker, networker, fellow writer supporter. (Note: this isn't just for self-publishing, but all kinds of publishing.) The most important one is writing, because without that bit, the rest is lacking in purpose. No matter how your sales and marketing efforts are going, no matter how many awesome contacts you are making, the most important thing you can do with your time is create the intellectual property that is the under-structure for your writing career.

Writing is the Answer
Stressed about sales? Writing centers me, reminds me why I'm doing this. Crazed with too many blog posts, twitter parties, promotional opportunities? Watching my word count rise helps me know I'm making forward progress, not drowning. Is the book doing fantastically well or abysmally bad? (I get just as stressed when sales are good as when sales are bad; I'm crazy that way.) Writing the next novel reminds me that the book for sale is not the only one I will ever create. Stuck on a plot point or character that simply won't behave? Writing through it wrestles my doubts into submission.

No matter what the problem, it seems like writing is always the answer.

Don't Ever Stop Making the Donuts
Every day, you need to make the donuts (I'm seriously dating myself with that phrase!). Every day you need to be writing words, creating intellectual property, doing the work. It's so easy to forget this, I need bar charts to keep me on track. But writing, like any art, is one of the few businesses that you can't outsource. You can get someone to make your cover for you; you can hire editors to help you; you can send your MS out to critique partners; but only you can create the story in the first place. You are the first, last, and only person who will see your vision through to words on the page. Every day, I have to do this work - and this becomes more important (not less) as I have more projects in the works.

Sometimes I'm a little thick-headed and need to learn a lesson a couple times.

Hopefully, this time, I won't forget.

p.s. in other news, Open Minds broke the Top 100 in Science Fiction (squee!).

Indelibles Chat: All About Indie Publishing

Indie Publishing Chat TONIGHT
Have questions about Indie Publishing? Want to know what works, what doesn't, and how successful Indie authors view the changes in the industry?

The Indelibles are hosting our first Indie Writer Chat!

When: Tonight, 1/18, 8-9 EST
Where: On the Indelibles Blog (you will log in with FB or Twitter)
What: Bring Your Own Questions - 25 Indelible authors will do their best to answer!


ALSO: We will be giving away ebooks!

Bookshelf Muse Anniversary

Stop by to celebrate the Bookshelf Muse's Anniversary and Win Your Choice of 4 Indelibles' Books
When: Contest Open Until Friday 1/20
Where: On the Bookshelf Muse Blog
What: Enter to win great books, including your choice of 4 Indelibles' Books!

Indelibles' New Releases

Rival Demons by Sarra Cannon releases Friday (1/20)

Don't Fear the Reaper, by Michelle Muto

The Green, by Karly Kirkpatrick

Writing by the Numbers

I've always been a writer that sets lots of goals (heck, I've always been a PERSON that sets a lot of goals), but those goals tended to be flexible and non-numeric: write a chapter a day, finish this draft by the end of the month, write three books this year (ok, that had numbers, but they're small).

Being an ex-engineer, you would think I would track everything with charts and graphs, like ninja writer Adam Heine. And I do that in many areas of my life, but not with the writing.

Hm.

Then I did NaNo this year, while simultaneously launching Open Minds, and discovered the power of numbers to keep me on track with my writing as well.

50k words and a WIN

Numbers Motivate
Our brains are naturally wired to like numbers. Before you erupt into protests about how much math perplexes and tortures you, ponder this: Do you track how many followers you have on your blog? Do you pay attention to how many friends you have on FB or followers on Twitter? If the answer is NO, good for you! (Truly, those things will make you crazy.) But you're fighting against the natural human impulse to track numbers and want them to change in a positive direction (usually up, but in the case of the scale in my bathroom, most definitely down). Every game known to man uses the principle of MORE POINTS = MORE BETTER. It's not quite Pavlovian, but the reward centers in our brains light up when we cause a number to positively change. My mom (the psychologist) would call it Behavior Modification or possibly a form of biofeedback, where the "bio" part is your brain going nuts over reaching 500 followers (or some other nicely round numerical milestone).

Numbers have the ability to "feed back" the results of your efforts in a clear, unambiguous way. Being able to measure the results increases the intensity of the reward. (These speakers go to eleven!)

Back to writing.

Chasing that wordcount line for NaNo was such a powerful motivator, I found myself needing to create an psuedo-NaNo environment in December to complete my first draft by Christmas (#MissionAccomplished).

Draft 1: Complete at 86k

Second Draft-itis

Now that I'm diving into the second draft, I'm facing another challenge. I would like to complete the draft in a (relatively) short period of time, but how can I use this numeric method to help keep me on track? Revisions are not like drafting. You don't have a relentless march of wordcount to keep you moving forward. I may spend an hour creating new slang or inventing a new technology or fleshing out a character arc that weaves through the story, with no noticeable change in wordcount or progress.

I decided all that doesn't matter.

In spite of the amorphous nature of revisions, in this second draft, I also need to march through the MS, line by line, making craft changes - and that's something I can track! So, I set up a new spreadsheet to track my progress. I had a revision checklist, revision notes, and a firm grasp on my expectations for the second draft (something presentable that I could give to my first round of crit partners): seemed like a great plan.

Road Bumps

The first road bump came in having to rewrite the first chapter. And rewrite and rewrite. I mean, I knew it was bad, but holy cats! Next road bump was in having to finish revisions on my short story for the upcoming Anthology with the Indelibles. Totally fun and good to do, but didn't count for any progress on my chart. Then the second chapter revisions required more rewrite of the first chapter and suddenly I was going BACKWARDS and ready to tear out my hair.

I wondered:

1) Were my goals completely unrealistic?

2) Was I losing my touch? No matter what I did to chapter one it was sucking socks.

3) Should I consider selling real estate instead??

Learning Hurts

Writing is a constant process of learning (one reason I love it). Not so much learning to moderate your use of adverbs, but learning about your process and yourself. One thing I've learned: whenever the writing process becomes painful for me, it's because I'm about to learn something important.

So I took some time to journal about my writing, and I quickly realized the lesson: the first chapter wouldn't be perfect in the second draft. Or even the third. That I had room in my schedule for at least four substantial drafts, because my Logic Brain already knew that was how long it took (maybe more). The problem was my Creative Brain wanted to reach the finish line too quickly, all in one draft. (Creative Brain is not patient or logical.) I could see the end goal: I could picture the final version of the story in my head. Creative Brain wanted to skip ahead to that awesomeness NOW, rather than waiting for the process of creating it to unfold. 

Patience, grasshopper.

A funny thing happens whenever I get through the painful part of a lesson and really absorb it. My productivity kicks into high gear, and I start to do what seemed impossible the day before.

The happy in my brain lights up as that green bar rises. By the time I'm done with Draft Two, it won't be perfect. It will be Draft Two, and hopefully good enough that my crit partners won't choke on it (too much), so they can help me find where the story might be going off the rails. This is an important step, one I can't skip over. 

Having to chase the line taught me a lesson in patience. #irony

Do you use numbers to motivate your writing?

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UPCOMING EVENT: The Indelibles are hosting a chat on INDIE PUBLISHING on Wednesday 1/18 from 8-9pm EST. If you have questions about Indie Publishing, between the 25 Indelibles authors there is a wealth of experience, and we are happy to pay forward what we've learned. I hope you can stop by!

Dystopias: Forging Hope For Humanity

I'm guest posting over at Dystopian Domination (is that a great name, or what?), talking about my take on dystopian literature as thought experiments that help us carve out a better future.

HOP OVER to check out the post and enter to win an ebook copy of Open Minds!

Meet Kaza Kingsley, Author of the Erec Rex Series

I first met Kaza Kingsley shortly after she got her eight book (yes, EIGHT BOOK) series deal with Simon and Schuster. She is a friend of a friend, who put us in contact when I first started writing. I was a rank newbie and Kaza graciously took time to say hello. Shortly afterwards, she happened to be in the Chicago area on a signing tour, so I snagged a slew of signed books for myself and my kid’s teachers. At the time she was promoting her third book in the Erec Rex series (1-The Dragon’s Eye, 2-The Monsters of Otherness, 3-The Search for Truth). Since then she’s released Book 4 (The Three Furies) and Book 5 is set to come out February 7th (The Secret of Ashona), which you can preorder here. Yay! The Erec Rex series is a great combination of magic and mystery, one that lovers of Harry Potter will enjoy.

My kids love a good, long series like this (me too – keeps them occupied). The series has won many awards and hit the bestseller list (so exciting!). Here’s the blurb:

Life is not easy for twelve-year-old Erec Rex. His single mother can barely support her six adopted kids. And they've moved into an apartment so tiny that Erec sleeps with the washing machine. Worse, there is a strange force within Erec that is making him do odd things. His urge to obey these thoughts grows -- until it becomes impossible to resist them.

Then one morning, Erec's mother is missing. The force inside Erec commands him to find her, leading him on an adventure that will change him forever. When he arrives in Alypium, a hidden world where old knowledge of magic is kept, Erec learns that his mother and the entire kingdom are in peril. And he might be the only one who can save them.

Me: Kaza, I love the story of how you got started with Erec Rex, basically venturing out on faith in your book and, with the help of a friend, self-publishing. This was before the advent of Kindle and the self-publishing craze, which are just now coming around to (maybe) embrace middle grade e-books (The Dragon’s Eye was first published in 2007, in print, the old-fashioned way). Can you tell us a bit about what made you decide to take that leap?

Kaza: It wasn’t my plan at first to self-publish in the beginning! I was extremely lucky and got a great agent – Jennifer Lyons who was with Writers House in New York at the time. Writers House is the top agency for kids / YA lit, as well as a lot of amazing adult lit. My manuscript sat there forever, though, and she gradually sent it to only a few places where it got rejected. Jennifer then left Writers House and I stayed with them . . . only to find out that none of the other agents there wanted to take my book on as it had been sent out to a few places already!

I could have gone with another agent, or even tried a small press, but I happened to meet Amy Collins who had just left F and W Publication and had 15 years experience in book sales with Penguin Books. It seemed like fate – Amy loved my book, and between her expertise and my efforts, the big bookstores (Borders and Barnes and Noble) bought large quantities of Book One (Erec Rex: The Dragon’s Eye) that year! The sales were great, and after Book Two (Erec Rex: The Monsters of Otherness) came out Simon and Schuster bought the entire 8 book series. It was very exciting!

Me: I can only imagine! Over the time that you’ve been writing Erec Rex, what’s been the biggest change in the middle grade market that you’ve seen? Fantasy still seems to be king in middle grade, but do you see that waning or growing in the future?

Kaza: It seems that everything gets compared to whatever is the best selling book out there at the time.  At first everyone was talking about what my series had in common with the Harry Potter books (I’d say suspense, mystery, humor – but a very different story.) Then when Eragon was hot everyone talked about how Erec Rex had dragons. Now it’s Twillight that people mostly bring up – no . . . sorry, no Vampires in this book. But the market seems pretty much the same to me. Kids like to buy good books, whatever the good books might be at the time!

Me: I think this is very true and often forgotten - what NY is publishing this year may change with the season, but the books kids love to read don't change radically from year to year. You still have three books to go (THREE! Whew!), but have you thought about what might be in store after Erec Rex?

Kaza: I have a lot of ideas for books I want to write – too many unfortunately to find the time for them all! I’m working on Book Six now, but I’m also developing another story I’d like to sneak in before Book Six comes out. It’s unrelated to the Erec Rex series, but something I’ve been playing around with for a while…

Me: That sounds exciting! And it must be fun to play with something different for a while! What is your best advice for aspiring writers who would like to follow in your footsteps?

Kaza: WRITE! Seriously – the more you do it the better you will get.

• Join a writing group. It’s great to get feedback, and even better to read other people’s work and learn how to critique it. That process will help you improve your own work the most.
• Read books on writing. There are a lot of great books out there that talk about writing fiction – characters, plot, scene and setting . . . Fiction writing is unlike any other and nobody can reinvent the wheel. A wise person once said to learn what all the rules are so you know what you’re breaking.
• Make sure you have perfected your work before you submit it to an agent. You have one shot with it – always put your best foot forward!

Me: Great, solid writing advice! Thanks so much for visiting with us today! I wish you (and all the Erec Rex books) great ongoing success!

Kaza: Thank you, too, Susan! It’s a pleasure being on your blog. I look forward to seeing you again sometime as well!

Not only is Kaza an inspiration, she's a delightful person as well. Next time your munchkin comes looking for books, get them started on this series! You'll hear the quiet sound of pages rustling (or ebook swiping) for some time.

*****
p.s. the winner of the Indelibles on Fire Giveaway of Open Minds is ... Jennifer Clements! Thank you to everyone that entered the Giveaway!!

Indelibles on Fire

PEOPLE! 

Sorry to shout, but I am so excited to (finally!) talk about this amazing group of writers. I've spent the last couple months chatting and working with these up-and-coming Indie authors. I'm honored to be a part of such a talented group! As you hop through, you'll meet all 25 Indelible authors, each of whom is giving away their books (see my giveaway entry below!), as well as have a chance to win a Kindle Fire!


Introducing the Indelibles

In celebration of our official launch, we are giving away a KINDLE FIRE! If you’d like to start at the beginning of the INDELIBLES ON FIRE GIVEAWAY BLOG HOP, then please start here.

If you are already mid-hop, then welcome to your next stop! By following the link at the bottom of this post, you can proceed to the next author (and check out the awesome, individual giveaways we are doing along the way!). If you are entering to win the KINDLE FIRE, don’t forget to make a note of the keyword at the end of every blog post - the words spell out a phrase you will need to enter the contest on the last stop.

Who are we? If you’re a fan of YA fiction, you’ve probably heard of the Tenners, the Elevensies, the Apocalypsies, and the Lucky 13s. Now marketing guru Shelli Johannes Wells has teamed up with twenty-four other indie and small press authors to bring you the Indelibles.

Introducing the Indelibles

We are indie authors who write middle grade and young adult fiction. We are dedicated to leaving a permanent mark on the world with our stories and words. 
We are The Indelibles.

Each week, we’ll explore fun, fabulous, and fierce topics for today’s teens, drawing on pop culture and themes from the books we write. Check out our official launch Monday, January 9th for fun giveaways on the Indelibles blog. We’ll also be having a “blogger” chat on January 17th and a writer/author chat later to answer questions about self and indie pubbing. See our blog for details.

And now, with no further ado, I will introduce myself: 

Susan Kaye Quinn

I'm an ex-engineer and scientist who used to work for NASA, NCAR and GE, but now I write middle grade and young adult stories for fun and profit. My business card says "Author and Rocket Scientist," but I love writing even more than shiny tech gadgets, which is saying something. All that engineering background comes in handy when dreaming up dystopian future worlds or mixing science with fantasy to conjure slightly plausible inventions (for my stories; just ignore that stuff in the basement). My middle grade boys clamor for more middle grade books with magic and gadgets and less teen novels with kissing. Unfortunately for them, I enjoy writing both.  

My first published novel (Life, Liberty, and Pursuit) was a teen love story published through a small press. My most recent novel (Open Minds) is self-published, a young adult paranormal/science fiction novel that is the first book in the Mindjack Trilogy.

When I'm not writing or reading, I'm momming in the Chicago suburbs with my three boys, two cats, and one husband. Which, it turns out, is exactly as much as I can handle.

For the Indelibles launch, I'm giving away a signed paper copy of Open Minds:

When everyone reads minds, a secret is a dangerous thing to keep.

Sixteen-year-old Kira Moore is a zero, someone who can't read thoughts or be read by others. Zeros are outcasts who can't be trusted, leaving her no chance with Raf, a regular mindreader and the best friend she secretly loves. When she accidentally controls Raf's mind and nearly kills him, Kira tries to hide her frightening new ability from her family and an increasingly suspicious Raf. But lies tangle around her, and she's dragged deep into a hidden world of mindjackers, where being forced to mind control everyone she loves is just the beginning of the deadly choices before her.

Read Sample

You can buy the e-book ($2.99) on Amazon, Barnes&Noble, iTunes, or Smashwords, or enter to win the paperback below (paperback only open to U.S. and Canada, but if you are International and willing to accept an ebook, go ahead and enter). The contest begins at midnight Sunday and ends at midnight Wednesday. 

IF YOU'VE ALREADY READ AND LOVED OPEN MINDS (or even if you haven't): Look for a prequel short story to Open Minds, called Mind Games, coming out as part of the Indelibles In His Eyes Anthology on Valentine's Day. The Anthology will be FREE, but you can add it now to your TBR on Goodreads.

Writer's Mission Statement 3.0

It's that time of year again.

Much has changed in the publishing world since my Writer's Mission Statement 2.0 last year, but my Mission Statement is surprisingly flexible in meeting those changes.*

Mission Statement 2.0 (and 3.0)
To leverage my background in science, engineering, politics and life, to create compelling stories and characters that pose moral questions to young readers and make them think. To have every story be an improvement in craft. To be a leader and member of a supportive writing community, through blogs, critiques, and social networking. To create a body of novel length works that reaches a large number of young readers, to provide the greatest impact on young lives. 

*A good mission statement won't change year-to-year, because it is a reflection of your core values. However, it can be used to guide your short-term decision making, and in that, I am finding it useful again this year.


Why I Write
To leverage my background in science, engineering, politics and life, to create compelling stories and characters that pose moral questions to young readers and make them think.

This statement is a great distillation of why I wrote Open Minds, as well as pretty much every novel I've started (and finished) - I love to make my readers think. Over the last year, I've embraced my geeky tech side, folding it more completely into my writing. This was an important evolution for me as a writer and as a human being (I think we always function best when we are integrated wholes, rather than splintered pieces), but as I look back on my Mission Statement, it was there all along: leverage my background in science, engineering... 

Goal for 2012: Complete the Mindjack Trilogy and plan my next novel(s) while keeping this goal in the center of where I go with my stories and my writing career.

Continuing To Push My Craft

To have every story be an improvement in craft. 

This really strikes home as I write Closed Hearts, the sequel to Open Minds. It is not enough for me to simply write the next book in the series. The fear of sequel-itis (that the second book is never as good as the first) nips at my heels. But even more important, I want to make sure I'm pushing my craft forward with every book, even within a trilogy. I've started early, reading intensely over Christmas Break and studying the second books in beloved series. I'm also brushing up on the craft with James Scott Bell's The Art of War for Writers,  Margie Lawson's seminar Empowering Character's Emotions, and Noah Lukeman's A Dash of Style. 

Goal for 2012: Have the second book be better than the first. Have the third book be a satisfying finish for my readers. Take a daring leap with the next series.

Writing Like I'm On Fire

To create a body of novel length works that reaches a large number of young readers, to provide the greatest impact on young lives. 

I'm living this, as people are reading my work in larger numbers every day, leaving reviews and having such a wonderful response to the book. The effect of this is to spur me to write more, with a furious desire to have my work out there and an equally strong need to have it be the best craft and story I'm capable of producing (see above). There is enormous pressure on self-published writers to produce work quickly, a striking difference with the traditional publishing world, where work is carefully measured in its release, and writers are sometimes barred from even submitting their work to publishers on too tight a schedule (much less releasing it). Having a foot in both worlds, this is one of the differences that can be dizzying. I recently commented in an interview that I planned to release Closed Hearts in May 2012, but that I wouldn't release it until it was ready. A writer friend said she respected that, and I appreciated (greatly!) her support. Speed isn't the most important thing - the story is. Still, I have an ambitious (but reasonable, if I am focused) schedule for 2012. I've already met the first milestone (finish the rough draft of Closed Hearts by Christmas) which gives me courage to press on.

Goal for 2012: Write two, possibly three books in 2012.

I know, crazy, right?

Which brings me to the last one ...

Keeping Connected

To be a leader and member of a supportive writing community, through blogs, critiques, and social networking. 

This one is so tremendously important, and yet needs to be trimmed and tailored to my ferocious need for writing productivity this year. It tears at me, because being connected is such an important part of a successful writing career: the connections I make with writers, readers, bloggers are critically important for critiques, marketing, support, keeping on top of the industry, taking advantage of opportunities as they come ... the list is endless. But to continue to stay connected, I have to do it at a sustainable pace.

Goal for 2012:  Cut back on blogging to once or twice a week. So, instead of a Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule, I'll be posting Mondays and maybe Thursdays (like today) - or possibly other days as the mood or need strikes. Paring back the frequency also means a commitment to having those blog posts be the most meaningful ones for my readers (see the Best of 2011 post for the ones that have resonated in the past).

Hopefully, less will be more in this case. 

I know myself well enough to know that the challenge here will be to NOT post more frequently; to make sure that I'm focused and disciplined with my writing time; to hit the self-imposed deadlines that will allow me to produce fiction that people will want to read without losing the connection to the writers and friends that make it all worthwhile.

It will be a challenge, but a tremendously exciting one! I can't wait for 2012 to unfold.

Have you written a Writer's Mission Statement yet?

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WINNER of Amanda Hocking's novel SWITCHED ... Katherine Dodgers! Thanks to everyone who entered and to St. Martin's press for offering up a copy of SWITCHED!