5 Books for Writers I Couldn't Live Without

I was putting away some books on a "new" bookshelf we have that's been sitting bare and waiting for about 4 months, easily. All of my favourite books go near the top, while all of the heavy ones sit on the bottom. As I placed several of my books on writing in the second-to-the-top shelf, I thought about which ones really shaped who I am as a writer today. That's where this post came from, I suppose. While many fiction books helped as well, and I may do a follow-up post on that subject, these are the books on writing that helped me become the sort of writer I wanted to be.

The 3AM Epiphany by Brian Kiteley - This is probably one of my absolute favourite prompt/craft books. Even though it's not a book on craft in itself, the prompts within it help develop your abilities anyway. When you want a little inspiration or you want ideas on how to push something forward, this book swoops in and saves the day. It's great for creating background stories or for just coming up with ideas, and it does so in a writerly way rather than a "let's brain storm" sort of way.

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers - This book should be required reading by every author. If you want to understand the way you work, or if you want to take self-editing to the next level, this book works great. It helped me find some of my trouble areas, to say the least, and it helped me develop my own editing checklist. I kid you not, this book sits on the side-table next to my bed.

Writing Great Books for Young Adults - This one's a little specific to what I write, but is a good one for anyone interested in writing for the YA crowd. Even though I read a lot of YA, this book can be helpful for those who don't or those who are older than the target audience. Young Adult fiction is a totally different beast than adult fiction and this book is helpful in understanding those differences.

Elements of Fiction Writing - Conflict, Action & Suspense by William Noble - I'll admit, I could do with a little refresher on this one, but it's another one of the most notable books I own. It's especially helpful for scenes that need a lot of action, but don't feel quite up to par.

Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass - This is one of those books that even though I bought and read it when I first realised I wanted to start taking writing seriously, it still comes in handy now that I have a couple of books under my belt. More so than that, it will likely still be helpful when I have a hundred books in my repertoire.






You'll notice that I don't have Ursula LeGuin's Steering the Craft or Stephen King's On Writing on my list. Probably two of the most influential books for fiction writers. The reason, I suppose, is that they are not used on a regular basis for me. When I'm stuck on something while working on a book or short story, I don't go to either of these for answers or for inspiration. I go to one (or several) of the above five. So, while I do recommend Steering the Craft and On Writing, they are not books that I couldn't live without.

Finding and Working With Cover Artists

This is going to be a two part blog series that talks about cover art. As an indie author/self publisher, there are two main ways to get cover art: Pay someone to do it for you, or do it yourself. If you have the design skills and software necessary, you can easily create a cover for free or cheap using the DIY method. However, not everyone has these things. Hiring someone to create a cover for you can cost a good sum, it doesn't have to be that way. It's all about finding a good deal. So in this post, I'm going to talk about how to find a cover artist, getting the most for your money, and how to work with artists during the design process. In case anyone is wondering about my expertise in this area, I have worked with several artists myself, created my own covers, and worked as an artist/designer for other companies.

What to Expect for Pricing
The reason I'm beginning with price is to help you understand how to approach and work with artists. It's always helpful to have an idea of pricing before speaking with anyone, that way you are prepared and no one is offended. The price of an excellent book cover can vary depending on what type of work you are looking for. To give you an idea, I've been quoted as low as $50 and as high as $600 USD. You can find ebook-only cover prices between $50 and $75 dollars if they are photo-manipulation and print/wrap around covers from $125-$200, which I consider a good deal. There are exceptions, of course, but this is generally what I've seen and what I've worked with. Once you start looking for artists to create illustrations, whether digital or traditional media, you will start getting higher in price. Illustrations take a very long time and depending on the detail can be very difficult to produce. They can even go higher in price than $600, but it's worth it for the beauty of original art.

Here's a little tip on getting a great price for beautiful illustrations without having to pay $300+: Find an artist on a site mentioned below who is taking personal commissions for cheap, and ask them if they would be willing to do commercial work and what they would charge. Often times if they take personal commissions at one price, they will take commercial commissions for 2-3 times as much. So, if the artist charges $50 for personal, their commercial price may be as little as $100! Keep in mind, this is not always the case, but it never hurts to find out. No matter what you do, don't pay a royalty or percentage rate. Only negotiate with flat rates when buying cover art.

One way to save money when purchasing cover art is to buy pre-made covers. There are a lot of cover artists who have pre-designed covers that they sell for cheap and will insert your desired text for you. It's super easy, inexpensive, and can be just as marketable and lovely as custom work. Generally, you can find these for around $25-$60. There are some small downsides to doing this, though. The first is that they are usually only sized for ebooks. So, if you want to change that ebook cover into a print book cover, it may cause some problems down the road. The second issue you might face is that the cover won't be exactly the way you want it. However, this point becomes moot if you happen across something perfect for your project. Heck, some authors even purchase a fabulous pre-made cover and then write a story based on the cover.

Finally, there are ways to find artists looking to build their portfolio who will do the work for free. In cases like this, it's rude to outright ask an artist to do work for free, but if an artist is offering, then it's appropriate to take advantage of the inexpensive (or free!) price. What's the difference? Well, how would you feel if someone came up to you and asked you to write a book for free so they could make money off of it, but all you got in return was "exposure"? Doesn't sound like a good deal, does it? Well, artists don't think so either, but if they are actively looking for experience and offer to do work for free, then that's a great deal for you and it's okay for you to partake. Just don't expect this very often.

Where to Look for an Artist
There are a number of places to find artists depending on what sort of art you are looking for. My two favourite places to look, however, are deviantArt and the KindleBoards. You can also google or ask for recommendations from author friends, but I personally love cruising for artists, especially on deviantART because this is the best place to find inexpensive, good quality work. Keep your eyes open for artists who have a record with successful commissions, though, to keep from having a problem with getting your project completed.

How to Approach and Choose an Artist
Once you have found an artist you like, I suggest contacting them. Tell them a little about the project and see if they are available for commercial work. Also, always ask them for a price quote if their prices are not already posted. Once they respond, be sure to answer their questions and don't forget to ask some more of your own. Here are some things you should ask when trying to decide on an artist:

-Ask them what their commission process is. They will usually give you a sample of how long they expect the work to take, what they expect from you, when they expect payment, when and how the artwork will be delivered, etc. It's helpful to know this, but also it can help with deciding on someone if you are struggling to choose between two excellent artists.
-Ask them how they want to be paid and when they want to be paid. Many artists will allow Paypal, even if they are international. And some artist require partial or full payment up front. Personally, I don't usually work with artists who require full payment up front, but that's a personal preference. Partial upfront or full payment before the final draft is sent, work best for me and help avoid scams or problems. Also, as a side note, I don't work with artists who require payments through Western Union, because of the scams coming through that money business. If you feel comfortable doing so, that's your choice, but I've been burned by WU and so have many others.
-Ask them how many revisions you receive. This one seems minor, but can be very important depending on your vision, communication skills, and the skills of your artist. Don't expect unlimited minor tweaks or revisions after the final payment, though.
-Ask them what rights you will be receiving. Make sure they are giving you the right to post the artwork anywhere you need to and use it for marketing purposes. Also make sure they will not be reselling the work later. And please allow them to post the artwork to their website and in their portfolio. Don't forget to explain that you will credit them in the book and on your website, and anywhere else you can. It's always best to credit them in as many places as possible!

Here are some minor problems that may crop up:
-You ask for a price quote and they ask you for your budget. Sometimes, an artist will be afraid to scare you off with their prices and won't tell them to you. They will insist you give them your budget. This is hard because you are not the artist and you, as the author, can not possibly know how much is an appropriate amount for that particular artist. To avoid the stalemate, give them a price range you are comfortable with that is within your budget. Often times I don't have a particular budget for covers, but I know how much I want to spend and how much I can spend, so I will range it between those two prices. Be sure to let them know that you are flexible.
-You can't decide between two awesome artists. This happens! It's actually a great feeling, but it can be very annoying when you are on a schedule. My suggestion is to compare skill, process, payment requirements, price, and track record. If the first four are equal, I'd go with whoever has successfully done commissions before. The other option is to go with whoever is cheapest, if all else is equal. Really, though, it's up to you on how to decide. Don't ask the artists to compete for the job, whatever you do.

Working Successfully With the Artist
Explain clearly what you would like your cover to be. If you don't have any thoughts or ideas and want to see what the artist can come up with, that can still work, but you want to give them as much information as possible. Some cover artists will give your a questionnaire to fill out, but if they don't, be sure to give them character information, mood and feelings, settings, general concepts, etc. Make their job easier by enveloping them in your world.

If you are working with an illustrator rather than a photo-manipulator, then your project may include a series of thumbnail sketches of which you will have to choose one to become your cover. Keep in mind that during the thumbnail/rough draft stage, the work will not look perfect and sometimes won't even look all the great, but this is how an artist works out the layout and design of the cover. Once you have chosen a design, the artist will usually work on a draft and send it to you for changes and approval. This continues until you have given the final okay.

Don't forget to be polite and don't pester them. A great tip is to try and find as many of your revisions as you can each time before you send it off to the artist. You want to try to have changes done in as few sittings as possible, because it starts to feel tedious and nit-picky to have to find things after the fact and send the revisions back 10 times for tiny problems. By doing it all at once, you minimise this problem.

Payment Process
Depending on how your artist requires payment will depend on how this part will happen for you. Some artists will send you an invoice, while others will not. Either way, be sure to pay in a timely manner. Generally, you should decided on how payment will work before the artist starts. If your artist doesn't give you an invoice, don't worry about it. At the very least, they will request payment through email and Paypal will give you a receipt, so be sure to save it. (If you use another payment service, I suggest saving a copy of your payment receipt in any way you can.)

Once your cover is finished, you will have to approve the final version before you pay. Expect not to get a usable version of your cover until payment has been received by the artist. Most won't give you the final draft until you've paid, especially when they don't take payment until the end. Generally, if you pay partial up front and the rest upon receipt, you may not be able to get a full refund on the first payment if you should cancel before the project is completed. Be sure to discuss this with your artist before agreeing to work together.

General Dos and Don'ts
-DO treat your artist with respect and be polite. These two things go a long way!
-DO credit your artist everywhere you can. (Your website, in your ebook or print book, anywhere and everywhere.)
-DO respond to them in a timely manner. Your artist is on a schedule as much as you are, so minimise the time-wasting.
-DON'T email them excessively. There is no reason to bother them all the time. Art takes time and you might not hear from them for a few days at a time if they are busy working on your cover.
-DON'T expect the artist to be a mind reader. Art is subjective and your artist may not create your cover the exact way you want, even after a couple of tries. Artists are not mind readers. Be patient and clear about what you want, and they will get there.

What to Do If Something Goes Wrong
It doesn't happen often, but there are things that might make your experience less than desirable. For example, if you haven't heard from your artist in weeks, but they said the cover would take eight days. In cases like these, it's appropriate to email them to find out what's going on. It's okay to part ways with your artist if you are not satisfied, but be warned that you may have to pay for some of the work they have already started. Communication and respect are the keys to a successful contract with a cover artist. Make sure you are prepared upfront for any issues that could occur and stay in contact with the artist without being obnoxious.

So, that's it for the advice and thoughts on working with a cover artist. Hopefully, I covered everything. If not, feel free to leave me a comment and I'll answer to the best of my ability.

[READER INTERACTION] Have you ever worked with a cover artist? What's your favourite part of the process? Do you prefer hiring out, or doing it yourself, or both?

Editing Cheat Sheet

It’s that dreading time in your novel where you’ve completed the first draft and let it breath for a little while, but now you have to do the editing before you can send it off to beta readers or your editor. No heavy sighs and no groaning. Editing isn’t so bad when you go into it prepared. For me, I have a little cheat sheet that I keep nearby when I’m starting the editing phase and it helps tremendously. With the cheat sheet, I can remember to watch for little things and edit in waves rather than plunk down in front of the manuscript and try to face the daunting task head on.

With all of that said, I can provide you with the cheat sheet I use when revising my manuscript after the first pass. Some things may be different based on the way you work and based on common issues your own writing may have, and this is also not to be used for a final pass edit. I suggest using an editor for that. At any rate, onto the list.

1. Fix General Trouble Areas (Homophones and Common Misspellings) - This one will vary from writer to writer. Come up with a short list of problems with specific homophones or spelling errors you notice your work has. For me, I have this annoying habit of typing LEAD instead of LED, almost every time when I’m writing really fast. So, it’s the first thing I check for, especially because it’s something easy to fix too. Sometimes, I have issues with Its and It’s. When I’m in “the zone” while writing, my fingers will just type and my brain is in full-on right side mode, so things like grammar and homophones are not on my mind. So, I check first for the homophones and any other minor spelling issues I know I have that can easily be found using the Find/Replace function. Compile a list of your known trouble areas to remember them.

2. Check Dialogue and Dialogue Tags - I check my dialogue for awkward phrasing. Sometimes I say it out loud to be sure it sounds like something a character would actually say. Dialogue should flow freely and be easy to read. Natural. Just like speaking is. I also make sure that I’m not repeating information with dialogue and that I’m cutting unnecessary dialogue. While I’m checking on these things, I also check my tags. Do I abuse adverbs? Do I repeat in the dialogue tags what is already clear from the dialogue? Is there a way to remove the tags and add an action? Before I finish this step, I also make sure that it’s clear who is talking. You don’t want the reader to be confused.

3. Check for Point of View Shifts - This is something I rarely have an issue with, but there are cases when I switch a sentence into a different point of view on accident. Unless your story is in third person omniscient, you should generally have only one point of view at a time. When you do have to change the POV, be sure that it is done clearly.

4. Watch for Repeating Words - Some writers or readers might not care, but I look out for repeats. As a reader, I notice things like chapters or paragraphs in a row that start with the same word or sentence structure. At first glance, this might not matter, for chapters even less so, but generally this indicates monotony. Varying sentence structure and word usage helps break up the monotony. No matter how action-packed or how interesting or how important the section might be, monotony will kill it. So, I check for this in my own writing. This also goes for word usage too. If I have a paragraph with four sentences in it and use the word “coin” five times, it’s too many. Or if I use a character’s name too many times in several sentences. Often, we don’t need constant reminders of what the word is.

5. Focus on Pacing and Plot Consistency - Pacing is important when writing a good story, as is consistency in the plot. This is where I check for plot holes or check for details like whether or not character A’s hair color changed part way through the book. Pacing should be looked at scene by scene and overall. Are there any places that drag in the overall book? Is there anywhere that needs to slow down a little? In my work, there tends to be a lot of action and high energy, so when I am revising I tend to look out for areas where there is little to no “down time”. Sometimes readers need a break from the action. If I forgot this fact during my outlining and writing phase, I have to correct it during the editing phase.

6. Listen to Your Manuscript - The last thing I do to get my manuscript ready for eyes other than my own, is to physically listen to the manuscript. Use the Text to Speech tool or have someone read it back to you. Yes, the entire thing. Listening to your book will help you pick out the trouble areas. It will also help you catch spelling or grammar mistakes as well as awkward dialogue. Also, it’s really fun to hear your book being read out loud.

If you need a reminder of what to look for when you edit your manuscript, feel free to use this cheat sheet. Anything else that is needed should be mentioned by your beta readers, editor, and proofreader, which is why this list isn’t all inclusive. Also, what works for me, may not work for you. I suggest you learn what your weaknesses are and create your own cheat sheet that caters best to your needs.

Accountability

Today I want to talk about accountability, mainly because I have to have accountability to get things done. I'm a serious procrastinator when it comes to difficult tasks or tasks I don't really enjoy, so it's important for me to hold myself accountable. The difficult thing with this, though, is finding the most effective way to do so.

For example, when I'm doing work for homework, it's easier to get things done because I know my grade depends on it. I also know that I will see results pretty soon after, so it helps me understand that if I choose not to do whatever it is, then I will hurt myself in the long run.

It's also easier when I have a project that is important to someone else. For example, when I was working on edits for my book that needed to get out to a beta reader by a certain time, I knew that I couldn't screw around. If I took too long, then she'd lose her window of opportunity to read it without having to pile it on top of other projects. Since I didn't want to burden her with excess work, I was able to use accountability to get it done on time.

What about a project that has only myself to worry about, though? I still struggle with this. I have a writing timeline that I need to follow if I want to get my stories and books out when I say they should be out. What happens if I don't stick to the timeline? Nothing. Not really, anyway. Nothing really happens because I don't get a bad grade because of it or fail to keep a promise to a friend. There is no visible waste of money, either. But what do I get if I stay on track? Nothing. Again, nothing really... at least not in the short run.

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of things I get screwed on if I don't, but because they are not immediate, it's much easier to blow them off. For example, the short story I'm still working on, which was supposed to be finished almost a month ago, is just sitting here unfinished. It's not making any money, it's not helping me promote, it's not getting out there to the world. Why? Because I'm procrastinating or doing other things. Not working on it is only hurting myself.

So, how can we come up with ways to hold ourselves accountable when there are not any tangible or immediate consequences? Haha, well, I'm still working on this, but some things that help me are telling people what I'm working on and when they can expect to see it. By giving them a date, I've made it so they will expect something then. On my website, for example, I have release dates for some of my books. They are tentative, really, but having them up there and public helps me a little. If I tell someone that they will see my book in December and they look forward to it, then I'd be stupid to blow it off.

Another thing that works for me is to have writing buddies. Whether I'm word sprinting, at a write in, or #wordmongering on Twitter it's better to have other people around who are in the same boat. If I join in, then they ask "Did you do any writing?" I don't have to feel like an idiot by saying "Dur, nope. No writing." Instead, I force myself to work and get things done.

With all of that said, and of course it is much easier said than done, I'm still working on this whole accountability thing. If I want my dreams to come true, so to speak, I have to work for it. I've got to actually DO things. I can't expect it to happen while I sit around and do nothing, right? Hopefully I can find a good balance and keep myself from backing off when I should be pushing forward.

[READER RESPONSE] How do you create accountability? What things have you done that made you successfully work and finish things when you didn't feel like it. Any words of wisdom or awesome tips?

Focused Writing

I can always tell when I have a tight deadline and a lot of work to do because I seem to post a lot of blogs, tweets, and facebook statuses when I'm stressed out. (I also seem to get a lot of cleaning and errands done during this time.) I've been working on my MFA thesis, which also happens to be my YA novel, because I have to finish the first draft by March 7th. I'm at about 40,000 words and would like it to be around 65,000 by the time I'm done. So, I have about 3 weeks to write 25,000 words. This actually wouldn't be an issue, but I'm a procrastinator and I've been struggling a bit with my process and getting words out.

For almost a week, I wrote only 600 words. In my defense, I was doing other things as well, like working with my thesis mentor to finalize my schedule and reading list, reading a book from my reading list, and playing video games with my Husband. So, this week started and I panicked. Only 3 weeks left and I was writing too little. With the thrill and cram-sessions of NaNoWriMo gone, and no useful way to continue word sprints, I decided to try a few new things.

The first thing I did was start chapter nine by hand. The entire chapter was written by hand in the end and it's going to be about 4,000-4,500 words long. doing this gave me the opportunity to keep myself away from distractions on the computer and was a nice change of pace for once. The second thing I did, was to set my own word sprints. I'd set Apimac Timer (a freeware timer for macs) for 10 minutes at a time. In those 10 minutes, I would write without interruption, then stop and take a break for 5-10 minutes TOPS. Sometimes, I'd be on a roll and not want to stop, so I'd continue passed the 10 minutes or reset the timer. But if I was in a distracted mood, I'd stop working for five minutes to allow myself a break and to keep my focus.

Surprisingly, this method works wonders for me. I wrote about 1,300 words in two hours, and half of that time was spent actually writing. The day before, I spent 5 hours trying to write and had only written 500 words. My brain starts to see Timer Time as "Getting Down To Business" Time and I focus.

For chapter 10, which I'm starting tonight after husband goes to work for a 4 hour shift, I will try to type it up using my timer method. I'd like to hit 2,500 word tonight (about half the chapter), but I know I type slower than I hand write, so I'm not sure how it will compare. I want to see if I can still maintain the same level of focus whether I'm hand writing or typing.

Well, that's all I have to say on the subject for now.
-N.R. Wick

[READER RESPONSE] What method do you use to get the max amount of writing done in the amount of time you are given to work? Do you have any useful tips to share?


Note: This entry has been cross-posted to my personal Live Journal blog.