Are Critique Groups Stupid?

Every time I hear a writer talking about a critique group, I cringe. As a publisher, the last thing I ever wanted to hear was what a “critique” group thought about someone’s manuscript. Here’s a hint: DOESN’T MATTER. Yes, I’m shouting!

I once had an author who adamantly opposed all and any editing to their book that my company was publishing because they said that their critique group had “edited” the manuscript and deemed it in no further need of editing. Oh boy.

Ever since then, I’ve been bitter about critique groups. You can have a critique group critique your manuscript until there is no coffee left and at the end of the day, unless your critique group is publishing your book, it just doesn’t matter what they think.

End of story.

Thank you for letting me vent. Move along now.

Oh by the way, I very well may rethink my POV. Just had to get that in, in case one day I change my mind, which has been known to happen now and then. 😉

 

The first line of a novel

When I wrote my first novel, I knew the first sentence in my head before I wrote one word of the book. I knew the first sentence as I wrote the beginning, the middle, and the end of my book. The only thing that changed as I changed from one publisher to another with this novel, Silicon Secrets, was I changed the “Foreword” to be “Chapter One.”

I had told the original publisher of Silicon Secrets that I didn’t want the book to start with the foreword, which is how they edited my beginning, I expressed my concern that I felt many people skip over the foreword to get right to chapter one, and I was right. Many people told me so! So, in subsequent editions, the book doesn’t have a foreword, it begins with chapter one.

Make sure you stand up for how you envision your book. And if you have that infamous first sentence rolling around in your head long before you’ve written one word, that’s probably exactly where you should begin, and don’t change a thing.

Oh, and by the way, what was the first sentence of Silicon Secrets? 

“Murder was in the air.”

I felt that was such a strong first sentence, I loved it then, I still love it. I think first sentences steer your direction in novel writing.

1st Edition

2nd Edition

Layers of Fiction Writing 101

Writing a Book: Tips by Catherine Burr

By now, you know that I am a huge believer in writing a book in layers. To me, it’s simply the easiest way to plow through writing an entire book. As writers, we tend to write the words as they dance around our head, and we get them out fast and furious, or slow and painful, as the case may be. But, the point is, to get that first draft written. Then DO NOT, and I repeat, do not think that is your finished book. Do not publish your book in this condition. You can however, congratulate yourself of completing a first unedited draft. Then it’s time to layer your book, in what I call, “Layers of Fiction 101.”

▶ Initial draft

▶ Turn your initial draft from narration into dialogue

▶ Go through your draft and layer it with details

▶ Add something from the 5 senses on each page

▶ Go through your revised draft and check for WW (wrong words, i.e. road vs rode)

▶ Check for MW (missing words). Read your draft out loud is the best way to check for missing words. You  may think you have a “the” or some other word, but it may be missing. Readers typically read over these missing words but you don’t want them missing. READ YOUR BOOK OUT LOUD to find these MW.

▶ Oft Words. Go through your entire manuscript and check to see if you’ve started each paragraph with the same words or phrases. You’ll be surprised at how often you’ve done this.

▶ Go through your ms and add a layers of similis. These make the story come to life and gives visualization to readers.

▶ Edit each draft with these layers. Have a fresh pair of eyes check for typos, MW’s, WW’s, formatting errors.

As I have always said, it can be easiest to start writing your book by narrating it. Write your story as if you are telling it to a friend. But don’t leave it at that. Go through and turn as much of your narration into dialogue. Long narrations put people to sleep. Especially if you are writing fiction. Some narration here and there is great, but don’t overdue to. After you swap your narration into dialogue, layer each edit with revisions including checking for MW, WW, similis, descriptives, and senses. Your editor will undoubtedly have even more layers (like, have you ended a sentence with a preposition?)

To get started on writing the book of your dreams, use these layers as a guideline:

• Narration
• Dialogue
• MW (missing words)
• WW (wrong words)
• Often used words
• Similis
• Senses

Interview with Winona Rasheed, Author of Spring, Where Are You?

Welcome +Winona Rasheed, author of children and YA books. Recent release, Spring, Where Are You?

Describe your writing process?

My writing process always begins in my little kitchen, with a writing tablet and a cup of coffee, regardless if I’m preparing content for my blog, newsletter or children’s books.


My kitchen for some reason is where my thought process begins when forming ideas to write about. My yellow tablet is my draft sheet that I work on before heading to my keyboard. It is on this tablet that I handwrite everything, it’s where the story content is laid out, where characters are born, titles appear and dialogue comes into play. However, the process doesn’t always happen in this order. Sometimes, research has to be done when you write on a certain topic that is new to you, as with the case of “Wohali and the Little People” to get into the heart of the storyline. With this book, I had to do research on the background of the Cherokee Indian and their beliefs. In doing so, the research added more drama, depth and insight for the fiction story while still in its draft form. The draft is full of edits, red marks and cross-outs. When I am satisfied with the draft, that’s when I take it to my keyboard, where I am ready to type and create a manuscript that also gets tweaked, because you might find that you have to lengthen or shorten a story, or you may find that you have to elaborate more on character description and plot development, as was the case with “Itchy Scratchy Spots.”

• Where did you get your ideas from for your children’s books?

 When it comes to creating as story, they say ideas are all around you, this is true. Images, conversations, situations, people, events, life experiences can bring about story ideas. For instance, “A New Home for Her Cubs” was inspired because of a TV program I was watching, Animal Planet.“Broken Voices” was inspired because of my sister-in-law’s physical impairment and “Itchy Scratchy Spots” came into being as I thought about my own children coming down with the chicken pox all at once, one right after the other.“Spring, Where are You?” was inspired from the simple fact that adult’s word expressions can be misunderstood and confusing to the mind of a six-year-old. Children and adults can relate to this kind of situation.

• Who is your favorite character in any of your books?

 My favorite characters, it is hard to choose a favorite because I love them all; after all, they are an expression of my own imagination. They seem real to me; from Wohali, Rudy, Ella Rose, Gracie to Kumani the lioness, they all are a part of me, my babies that I bought to life. When you watch a character develop from scratch, or from a planted seed in the head, they grow on you and you become one with each individual character. However, I think Kumani of “A New Home for her Cubs” would say she’s the favorite because after all, she is a lioness with humanistic traits, which is out of the ordinary and this makes her unique, plus her friend Bantu is one of a kind too.

• Tell us about your latest book release?

My latest book release is “Spring, Where are You?” I am very proud of this children’s book

 because it is self-published and I did it my way. I love doing things on my own and by myself, even though it was difficult. But the entire process put me, the author in charge of the publishing process. Spring, Where are you? Is a short story that depicts the dilemma a young girl goes through when she misunderstands the expressions of adults as they relate to the coming of spring. In this story, Gracie sets out to find spring; she wants to come face to face with it since it is suppose to be right around the corner. Gracie is full of questions and she expects for spring to give her the answers she is looking for.

• Have you ever wanted to write a novel?

I have never wanted to write a novel. I am a short story writer, the process of writing a short story is long enough for me to tackle. If I were to write a novel, it would take way too long and I think I would lose interest because of how much time you would have to take to get a novel finish. You have to have patience to work on a novel. I like it when I can write something that takes no longer than month to complete as far as the draft is concerned. That’s my deadline for getting a short story worked out. I say deadline because of my work schedule which includes; housewife, housework, homemaker, freelance writer, blogger, cook and babysitter. Creative writing is my passion and it is incorporated throughout my daily activities of being productive. When it comes to writing short stories, I sometimes do it with my jammies on and staying up until the wee hours of the morning, working on my craft, especially when inspiration strikes.

• How did you become a children’s author?

I have always written short stories, but they were intended for young adults and older and for school projects. In school, my teachers loved my short stories, which I wrote for extra credit in certain classes. But, that’s as far as my writing went. It didn’t get off the ground until I took a writing course from The Institute of Children’s Literature, writing for children and young adults. That’s where I found my passion and where I learned how to write, create and submit my work. This was about 15 years ago or longer. As I found out through the writing course, when I wrote all those years before, I was guessing at what I was doing. But my instructors let me know that I did have a future in this field, I just needed to learn how to proceed with it. That was the best thing that I could have ever done when it comes to pursing my passion in writing. It opened a lot more doors than what I ever expected.

• What advice do you have for aspiring writers?

My advice to aspiring writers is to follow your dreams, your heart and your passion. Write something every day, even if it’s just one sentence. Find something else to write about when and if you find yourself suffering from writer’s block when you are working on a particular project. Don’t waste time, give up or doubt yourself when writing is a sincere passion. Think positive and surround yourself in inspiration that will inspire and motivate when you find yourself in a writing slump. If I can do it, I know you can too.

Network with Author Winona Rasheed:

Facebook at www.facebook.com/winona.rasheed.com
Twitter @winonarasheed
website www.born2write.weebly.com

Feb 17, 2013

Think you don’t need social media to be an author? Think again

Think you don’t need a website or social networking to be an author? Think again.

I am simply amazed how people write to me and announce that they do not have a website, do not have any social networking, do not have any web presence, and yet they want me to publish them, oh, and they will get those things, “if” I publish them.

No! No! No!

Dear writers, if you want to be considered for publication, start a web, a blog, Facebook, Twitter, you know what all the social networking sites are. Set them up, post, write, don’t be lazy. Don’t tell me you’ll get serious, “Once you have a contract.”

Oh boy.

Promotion 101 from a publisher’s POV. How am I going to promote you if you don’t have anything for me to promote? When you query me, here’s a heads-up, round about the FIRST thing I’m going to do is Google you. No website, two strikes against you, No Facebook, No Twitter, ditto, ditto, ditto. You submitted to me, where is your seriousness of becoming an author? And yes, your ms will go to the sludge pile if you do not have a serious web presence. Without one, I don’t see you as a serious writer and promoting you is next to impossible. Don’t tell me you have a friend who can slap up a website if only you get a contract.

My friends. Writing as a career is a serious business, don’t treat it as an after school assignment.

A few places to get started:

• Amazon Author Central
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Google Plus
• Rebel Mouse
• Good Reads
• Website 
• Linkedin
• Pinterest
• Instagram

Catherine Burr is a bestselling author and publisher of more books than she can count. Her first commercial book was published in 1996. In 2004, she started her own publishing house and is now mentoring and guiding authors through the self-publishing maze. Google Plus her +Catherine Burr

Bestselling Author explains "Show, Don’t Tell" by Catherine Burr

Create a captivating story

In many writing guides, you will see the instructions to, “Show, don’t tell.” But what does that really mean and how does a writer go about it?

When I’m writing a novel or short story, I do so in layers. Many layers. It’s like painting a picture, you start with one layer and add more paint, then more, and soon, you add the details, and you keep working on it until you have a finished product.

Each layer is essentially a draft. When I write the first draft (or layer), I write out the story in narration.
I am “telling” the story by laying the foundation. But of course, you don’t want to “tell” a story, you want to “show” it. But at this point, I’m not concerned about that; I want to get the outline of the story down. In this initial draft, I do not worry about details. I get the story down in a broad sense. I know that I will later go back and add the descriptives, similes, all the details that create characters and dialogue that bring the story alive.

In the second draft, I go through and add details. A character’s eye colors whereas I initially wrote as “blue” becomes “as blue as the Caribbean Sea.” Or something like that.

The key to show, don’t tell, is changing the narration into dialogue. In the second draft, I take the narration and convert it to dialogue. This is where the characters and story comes to life and visualizes the details for the reader.

Once I have the dialogue down, I go back and put in more details. I try to convert as much narration as possible and make the details very specific to create an atmosphere where the reader feels like they are part of the story.

How many layers or drafts do I do? I am always tweaking. I always read the story out loud because then you can catch the way the dialogue sounds, and you want the dialogue to sound as natural as possible.

Remember the process of “show, don’t tell” is pretty simple. Convert your narration into dialogue and you’ll have an active story that shows, not tells.

About the Author:

Catherine Burr is a bestselling author of over 15 books. She has served as publisher, publishing 115 books. She is currently writing her next novel. Tweet to her @catherineburr.com.

Sometimes, it is that simple by Catherine Burr

Night Sky by Daniel Burr Photography DanielBurr.com

Someone once asked my son how he got straight A’s.

“I study,” he said in a very matter of fact manner.

Someone asked my other son how he took such amazing photographs.

“I like taking photos,”
he said.

Someone once asked me how I became an author.

“I write,” I said.

On the surface, reaching our goals, finding our passion, living our dreams seems simple enough. And you know what, sometimes it is that simple. Sometimes we just need to do that which we love, that which makes us want to get out of bed in the morning. We need to find our passion and embrace our unique talents that we all have, then our goals become not only viable, but accomplished.

I can hear people arguing now, “But, I have to make a living.”

That’s true, but if you (I truly believe this), do what you are passionate about, if you follow your heart, follow your dreams, if you live a life that you are enthusiastic about, money will follow because you are not working for the money, you are working for your life, you are working for that thing that propels you everyday, and you’d be surprised at how your life can transpire when you are driven by that which inspires you.

Catherine Burr is an inspirational bestselling author of over a dozen books. Follow Catherine on Twitter @catherineburr

Learning POV through a SF Giant

My son was telling me a story about how he was walking down a street in San Francisco and he walked by a “nail shop” and he saw through the window, a man getting his “feet done.” Not just any man, but a famous SF ball player.

My first reaction to this story was I asked him what a “nail shop” was, then I had that lightbulb moment when I realized that this is a perfect example of POV
(point of view) for characters. If you are writing a story and are having trouble with “cookie cutter” characters or need to really give your characters definite POV, this little story is a prime example.

You have a couple (say, a man and woman) walking down the street, the man describes the nail salon as a “nail shop.” A woman would pretty much never refer to a nail “shop” as that, but would call it a nail salon. Minor difference, maybe, but enough to give your characters differentiation and point of view.

• A guy would say, “nail shop.”
• A woman would say, “nail salon.”
• A guy would say, “getting feet done.”
• A woman would say, “pedicure.”

A man wouldn’t rush in and take a photo upon seeing a “celebrity,” whereas a woman possibly would have no qualms about going into the salon and asking for a snap.

A woman perhaps wouldn’t recognize the ball player, but a man (one who is a sports fan), not only recognizes the player, he knows all his stats. This almost sounds sexist in a way, but it’s not, I’m just using this story as an example of how every day occurrences can help writers learn POV.

As you go through your day, take note of how men talk and woman talk. Notice all of the details, and use those in your dialogue and when writing descriptions of your characters. You’d be surprised at all the nuances that suddenly will seem to start popping up as you walk through your day, and you see scenes in an entirely new way.

Writing Tips

1) I print out pages and use a red felt pen to do red-line edits, one chapter at a time. I usually go outside and sit in a comfy lounge chair. Some people may edit online (I do that too, but when you print out the pages, you see things that you’d otherwise read over on the monitor).

2) I use the Stickies program to pin reminders. These notes are not paper notes but actually in the computer. Cool.
3) I make an index card for every character (even pets). I attach photos of what I visualize the characters to look like. I keep the cards close when I’m writing and refer to them along the way.

By the way, as you can see, I have my iTunes program open in the background, I pretty much always listen to music when I’m writing.

Index cards and the red pen

Some simple, easy, mandatory writing essentials

1) Print out pages and use an iconic red felt pen to do red-line edits, one chapter at a time. I usually go outside and sit in a comfy lounge chair. The reason I mention to print out pages is very important because if you are strictly editing online, without printing and reading out loud the words, you will read over mistakes that you may not catch otherwise.

2) Use Stickies or similar program to pin reminders. These notes are not paper notes but actually in the computer.

3) Makes index cards for every character (even pets). I attach photos of what I visualize the characters to look like. I keep the cards close when I’m writing and refer to them along the way.

By the way, music can be great to listen to while you’re writing. I pretty much always listen to music when I’m writing.

Think you don’t need a website or social networking to be a author? Think again

Think you don’t need a website or social networking to be a author? Think again

I am simply amazed how people write to me and announce that they do not have a website, do not have any social networking, do not have any web presence, and yet they want me to publish them, oh, and they will get those things “if” I publish them.

No! No! No!

Dear writers, if you want to be considered for publication, start a web, a blog, facebook, twitter, you know what all the social networking sites are. Set them up, post, write, don’t be lazy. Don’t tell me you’ll get serious “once you have a contract.”

Oh boy.

Promotion 101 from a publisher’s POV. How am I going to promote you if you don’t have anything for me to promote? When you query me, here’s a heads-up, round about the FIRST thing I’m going to do is Google you. No website, two strikes against you, No Facebook, No Twitter, ditto, ditto, ditto. You submitted to me, where is your seriousness of becoming an author? And yes, your ms will go to the sludge pile if you do not have a serious web presence. Without one, I don’t see you as a serious writer and promoting you is next to impossible. Don’t tell me you have a friend who can slap up a website if only you get a contract.

My friends. Writing as a career is a serious business, don’t treat it as an after school assignment.

Maneuvering Reviews by Catherine Burr

Maneuvering Reviews by Catherine Burr

Maneuvering reviews can be a challenge. I was recently reading about a singer who had scorned the worst reviews of their career. Even though they’d been singing for decades, the reviews said things like, “worst ever”, “woeful”, “baked”. Those were the kind words.

The world of reviews and opinions have changed woefully in the past five years. People used to be kinder but with the proliferation of social networking, everyone is a critic. Everyone has their opinion and because of the nature of blindly posting comments, anything goes.

It’s rough out there. If I were an artist starting out, I’m not sure I could weather the storm. I was lucky when I started in the writing field, there was no Facebook, no Twitter, people would review books but did so at one place, Amazon. Now, every Tom, Dick, and Harry, have a blog, a Twitter, and carry with them the feeling like their opinion matters.

My advice to new artists is, well, you know what, I had to pause for the completion of this sentence because I don’t have any advice. And I’m a very opinionated person.

I would say to new or old artists to know that it takes courage to put yourself out there and most people don’t have the courage to do that. So, writers, singers, artists of all kind who put themselves out there to be eaten and devoured need to pat themselves on the back and remember they are the strong ones, they are the brave ones; the ones who dare to make a difference and not sit blindly behind a computer screen.

Author Promotion 101: Are You a Writer or Author?

Author Promotion 101: Are You a Writer or Author?

One piece of advice I have for authors is to never stop promoting. I’ve said this so many times and I’ll say it again. Writers want desperately to be published and when they are, the hard work has just begun. Anyone can be a writer, but not everyone can be an author.

I know that there are deadlines, if your book is a hit, or even if it’s not, promotion is ongoing. You have to constantly promote yourself and your book(s). Don’t get complacent. Keep moving. Keep writing. Keep promoting. Get moving, now, go!

Creative Minds Need Creative Time

Dear Friends,

Hope you’re having a great restful or workful summer, whichever your pleasure is! For me, my pleasure is work, so I’ve been having a busy summer. Please be sure and check out all of our new releases over at my company, New Line Press. NLP is a pub that I started almost a decade ago! My, how time flies. Anyway, find what you love and the time goes by in a heartbeat!

New Line Press.com

Pink Ear Muffs for Creative Spark

Tapping into your creative self is a wonderous thing. I love nothing more than putting on my head phones, which are actually head phones that I covered with soft pink fuzzy ski muffs that I cut and added to my head phones to make them super comfy. Anywho, as a creative person, a writer, an author, publisher, there exists a certain synergy that exists in the creative field of other individuals who have tapped into the universe of creativeness. It’s important as a writer to find that force where you can derive motivation. If that exists for you in music, then pop on your head phones or pop in your ear buds, crank up the music, or turn on soft music, perhaps light a scented candle. Do those things you need to (you know what they are), to find the part of you that will flow the words. Then, take the phone off the hook, turn your email off, stay off of Facebook, find quiet time where your creativity soars. Before you know it, you’ll finish that novel you’ve been working on. And you didn’t even have to wait for November and the Nananano. Whatever it is. That’s it from here. Have a good one!

Catherine, the pink fuzzy headset wearer.

Writers Tips; spell check be dammmmed

Dear Diary,

As you can imagine, I receive lots of mail from people around the world. I always love to hear from people and mostly it seems I hear from two types of people, those that want to write a book and will, and those that want to write a book but never will. I am posting here some real questions I have received (I have omitted their names). One thing as an author and publisher, it never ceases to amaze me how people will send an email or post something and pay so little attention to their grammar and spelling. It’s so important even when you are sending an email as a fan letter or asking for advice to ALWAYS spell-check and write it as if it really were your book and use common sense in your word choices and grammar.

You never, ever know if the person you are sending a brief bit of correspondence to or posting on Facebook, or send a fan letter to, may just be a person that can help you in your career as a published author, so be on your best behavior–always!

With that said, I am of course guilty of sending an email or posting a Facebook without always using the best grammar, so perhaps I am writing this blog as a reminder not only to you, but to myself too!

~Catherine Burr.

Cathy’s Rules of Writing

Cathy’s Rules of Writing by Catherine Burr

No more than two “ly” words per page.

At least two metaphors/similes per page.

Each paragraph on page should start with new word. (Don’t use same word to start a sentence).

Do not use same word to start each Chapter.

Try not to use ellipsis . (they don’t format well with digital books).

Try not to use – (dashes) ditto.

Don’t leave paragraph with “widow orphan” words (don’t format well with print books).

Remember to use All Senses: SIGHT SMELL TOUCH TASTE SOUND.

Double check for correct version of word usage. i.e. “Past” is – time reference. “In the past.”) “Passed” is physical reference (I went passed him).

Try not to use too many He said, She said’s. Let dialogue to the talking. The reader should know who is talking without being told. Use descriptive so reader knows who is talking. Instead of saying, “Wait, Jane said.” Say, “Jane ran to the bustop yelling, “Wait!”

Double check word usage: i.e. there or their, taught or taut.

For novel and fiction writing, use contractions. i.e. “Don’t as opposed to “Do not”

Be consistent in set up. Don’t say. “Someone said.” Who is “someone?” Describe WHO you are talking about.

Always remember the simple WHO WHAT WHEN and WHY when writing your story

Every single character needs conflict. Write out on a note card (index card), one card, or piece of paper for each character; write what their internal and external conflicts are. Make sure when writing you refer to this so the conflict is addressed and by the end of the story, resolved. Knowing what the conflicts are helps to move the story along and helps steer the story into resolution.

About mid-way to ¾ through the story, there should be a story arc. This is when the characters or story has a breakthrough or turning point. This may even occur at end of story.

Watch and study old movies. With a note pad handy, write down each character’s name, attributes, what is their internal and external conflict. How are the conflicts resolved by the end? Where and what was the story arc? A good movie to do this is “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” The characters are minimal yet profound in their conflicts.

Writing is like creating a painting. Done in layers. The first layer you might write quickly let your thoughts get down on paper. This would probably be done in narration mode. This might be your first draft. Second draft might be when you go back and turn the narration into dialogue. Dialogue is what brings writing alive. Your third draft might be where you go back through entire ms and add similes and metaphors. Add descriptives. With the first or second draft you might just write, “Jane’s eyes,” or “Jane’s blue eyes.” But going back and adding descriptives is important. When writing first draft, don’t stall or get hung up on descriptives or similes. Sometimes they are hard to think of straight up. Get the story down first. Then go back and be specific with descriptives, i.e. “Jane’s eyes were as blue as a summer day.” Or “Jane’s hair was as black as a moonless night.”

If you are unsure of similes and metaphors, Google them!

Catherine Burr has published over twenty authors and 80+ titles through her publishing company, is the author of 3 published novels, 4 non-fiction books, 2 parenting humor books, short stories, syndicated columnist, contributing charity author, and has been content and story editor for numerous titles. Her books have appeared on many best seller lists including, An Inconvenient Attorney, that spent over 52 weeks on the Amazon.com Best Seller List in the Family and Marriage category.

The Ten Second Rule: Writer’s Tip by Catherine Burr

Many authors find it difficult to write a short blurb about their work. They can write an entire novel, but a blurb can prove challenging. As a publisher, yes we can write the blurb, and chances are we will take what you’ve given us and re-write it, but it’s so very important as an author that you can take your story and condense it into a one sentence blurb, one short sentence. Also, condense the work’s synopsis into one short paragraph. How short? Fifty words at most is best. For the sentence, use 10-15 words at most.

One way to develop this sentence is to think that you are chatting at a cocktail party or in line at the grocery store and someone has asked you about your latest book; you have 10 seconds to convince them to buy your book. Ten seconds to charm, wow, and let them know about your story. Practice this with your spouse or a friend who is willing to help you get your tag line down pat. This may seem awkward at first but it is helpful. Try it over-and-over until you have your sentence, and blurb, verbally to a point where it will roll off your tongue and it is comfortable to you. Time yourself to use no more than, 10 seconds!

For us writers who are used to spreading out our words, yes, coming up with a 10 second blurb is challenging but it is an important part of marketing your book.

@catherineburr

Reviews: Thoughts on the Current Volatile Subject

I was recently asked for my opinion as to what my thoughts are about reviews. Do I read them? Do I care? Do I respond?

Of course all authors care about what others think about their writing. We are a sensitive lot. Do I read them? With great trepidation. Do I respond? If it’s a professional review, I will send a thank you, even if the review doesn’t go my way. And as a publisher, I have had reviews go both ways. It’s not pretty, but it happens. You tend to forget the glowing reviews you receive and forever focus on that one review that you vehemently disagree with. But, that’s the nature of the business.

I have so many thoughts about the recent incident which involved an author’s guttural reaction to a review (which really wasn’t all that bad). I think there is a problem that inherently now exists with writers cranking out their work and “publishing” it into the world without really knowing what they are doing. We, as a book reading society are enablers. And so are the “publishing” venues that have made it so tempting to simply upload a Word document and call it a published book. There is a problem here.

Writers are so desperate to be published and to become an “Author” that they do so without the background that would best suit them before venturing into the book reading, story devouring world. You have to have a strong constitution to be an author, to put yourself out there for the world to munch on. It ain’t for the weak of heart. It takes a great deal of courage to become a public author, and without the support of a publisher, authors (writers) are on their own. I would not recommend writers to be out there on their own without editors, cover artists, people who know what they are doing. That is not to say that I am the end all and be all, however I have had years of experience in the publishing arena, I’ve done my time, and guess what, even I mess up from time to time. Shocking! I know, but true.

I can’t help but wonder if the tools that are so readily available today were around when I first started writing and wanting to be a published author, if I would have bit the bullet and clicked the “upload” button and called myself published. Honestly, I probably would have. And I shudder at the thought…

I really encourage all writers who want to be published to only do so with the guidance of people who have walked the road before them. Hold your head up strong, and never, ever respond like a raving lunatic to reviews or tell somebody publically to “f*ck off.”