#SelfPubbingProblems or #AuthorProblems (& Mah Plans – 08/09)

Posted on September 8, 2014 by Ileandra Young

Ain’t it funny how the phrase ‘first world problems’ has become so common? And how quickly we, as people, have adapted the phrase to fit other problems.

Pen2My current problems are certainly of the ‘first world’ variety. More than that, they are problems only experienced by authors and/or self publishing writers.

I’m doing the background fluff required to get my cover art produced for Silk Over Razor Blades. I’m excited because I get to talk with a bunch of arts that I’ve either loved for years, or have recently discovered and have, as a result, studiously stalked across the internet.

The interest in creating art for the story I’ve written is both terrifying and humbling. I had no idea I’d reach a point at which I’d have to choose between interested parties, rather than begging them to work with me.

Certainly a first world problem. An author problem. A self pubbing problem.

Problems I’m thrilled to have!

That’s all I’m going to say for now. I don’t want to talk overmuch about something that isn’t decided yet. I just wanted to check in and let you know that progress is being made.

I’m also getting positive feedback from my editor too and I should have the file back before the end of the month so I can work on it and do my bit. 🙂 It’s all getting very, very real. Let’s just put it like that. Yet another author problem that I’ve not experienced on this level before now. Gotta say, I’m loving it!line break, swirling graphics, from openclipartI might have taken the advice to ‘chill out’ a bit too seriously. Also, when I wrote last weeks goals I forgot that I was going to be off work for three nights because of a LARP. Something I didn’t keep in mind at the start of the week when I had two nights off. So I pretty much only worked on Tuesday. Ha! Oh well, it was a nice week and I feel refreshed, despite the ache in my bones from running up and down hills for two days.

Last week

Spend at least two nights NOT working*
Five nights. Heh. Yes, I worked in the day, so it’s not as bad as it sounds, but five nights off. Two of which were spent in a tent. Maybe that’s why I feel so light and bright right now.

Get at least three early nights sleep*
I did it. Some as a result of forcing myself to curl up under the duvet, and one because I had no choice. It was either lie down or fall down. :p

girl in purple asking questions

Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Find two potential cover artists and get in contact
Yup. Have two INCREDIBLE artists in mind right now. Both so wonderful that I’m considering commissioning both and using one for a ‘special edition’ cover and one for the ‘normal cover.’ Kinda depends on funds.

Outline marketing plan
Still no. It’s the sort of thing I would have done in the evenings but didn’t because I was sewing clothing or chilling with a DVD. Maybe this week?

This Week

  1. Spend at least two nights NOT working*
  2. Get at least three early nights sleep*
  3. Decide what I’m going to do about cover artists
  4. Outline the damn marketing plan (third time’s the charm)
  5. Complete some more story outlines for Fab Fables
  6. Pick a story to submit somewhere (and submit if no work required)

*Again, not writing goals, but having them here is helpful to me as a reminder. So, going forward, I will continue to include these things in my list.

Sorry this is a bit of a scattered post. My head is still full of elves and orcs and goblins and beastkin, which makes it quite hard to write a sensible post. On the one hand, it’s wonderful because fantasy LARP has given me great fodder for future stories, but unless I can get my head out of The Vale it’s going to be a hard week for getting things done.

Snap out of it, Illy!
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Want To Write Fantasy Stories For A New E-zine?

Posted on September 6, 2014 by Ileandra Young

I can’t remember if I’ve ever written a ‘hey, look at what I’m doing, do you want to join in?’ sort of post before. I must have, but not quite like this. So I apologise in advance if this is too far a step from my usual programming.

I’ve talked, for some time now, about a top secret collaborative project I’ve been working on with a couple of fab-awesome-people.

Now I want to tell you a bit more about it (see the post title).

castle

Credit: theresaknott

We’re creating a new (and quite interactive) e-zine called Fab Fables. Fixed on fantasy, it will publish once a month and feature a delicious selection of short stories and serials for your reading pleasure. We hope to see the first issue out for sale by November/December.

I’m now spreading the word, looking for writers who want to be involved with what we’re trying to create.

In brief, Fab Fables is the e-zine that will play a major role in creating and developing a range of fantasy worlds. People will learn about and enjoy each world through a combination of the e-zine (for sale) and a website (free) dedicated to the worlds we create.

Fab Fables is the umbrella term for the range of e-zines whose content creates, builds and celebrates the history and society of each world.

openclip art - money, notes and coinsWe want writers to help create content in the form of short stories (5k – 10k), serials (up to 25k) and flash fiction (up to 1k). This is a paid opportunity (commission based) and will only get better as we’re able to do more.

So, are you interested? Know anyone who may be? If so, hit me in the comments or use the Contact Form to let me know. I’ll need your name and best contact email address so I can send you more detailed information.

Please help me to spread the word; this is such a hugely exciting project, and I know tonnes of you are incredibly talented. I would LOVE to have you involved with what promises to be a new an exciting enterprise for all of us.

Let me know. 😉
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Why I Write #Erotica pt1 – (& I Haz Planz 04/09)

Posted on September 4, 2014 by Raven ShadowHawk

I think it’s time for another mini series on things I like to write. :p I’ve not done it for a while, but for this question in particular, the answers have changed somewhat since the last time I discussed them. And there are more reasons too.

So why do I write erotica?

1) It’s in my life.

Almost everyone in my life right now is sexually active. Or I assume so. For those below the age of 15, I bloody well hope you ain’t sexually active. No way you’re ready for that shit, so stop it! Or if you insist (as you probably will, because sex is great!) then at least do it safely, okay?

/nagging mum-type phase.

gasping/shocked/surprised face OpenClipArtOne of the big pieces of advice out there is to write what you know. Well, I know sex. I’ve had some good. Some bad. Some brilliant. Some indifferent. Some clean. Some messy. Some painful (emotionally and physically). Some fun. Some boring. Some exciting. Some public (ish). Some private. Some recent. Some distant.

That’s a lot to draw on. So why wouldn’t I take those experiences and use them as a spring board to write interesting and exciting stuff?

Whether I decided to do a collaborative fantasy piece with Ileandra, or stick to contemporary general fiction, adding a dash of erotica to it seems only natural right now. In other parts of this series of posts I’ll talk about these things in more detail, but has the time ever been more ripe for erotica? It’s everywhere. Everyone is talking about it. The topic is relevant. Even BBC3’s short YouTube snippets are rammed with sex and innuendo. Isn’t it only natural then to stick with it?

My circle of friends and acquaintances are often found talking about some book/film or other and they pretty regularly feature sex. Sex doesn’t always equal erotica, just like erotica doesn’t always equal sex, but very often they come hand in hand.

But for the most part, it’s in my life at home.

RS and her boys

We’ll all wear glasses in a couple of years.

I have two children. Traditionally, there is only one thing that leads to children (heh heh heh) and seeing them is a near constant reminder of the good times I’ve had (as well as other things, obviously). Seeing them is also a reminder of why things might currently be quiet on that front, but that’s by-the-by.

In coming weeks I’ll be exploring more reasons behind my drive to write erotica. Hope to see you there.

line break, swirling graphics, from openclipart

Last Week
goal shooting goals from open clip art Goooooals! Somewhere in the middle of last week I realised that one of my goals was a bloody stupid idea, so this week, as well as doing my ‘whole month round up’ I’ll be having a quick look at how I can avoid that in future.

~Write 3,000 words of the new ‘Simone & Mr Bradford’ short story
This was the stupid goal. -_- Part of the reason I get so flustered is because I overload myself with too many projects at a time (Twitter was rammed with this conversation last week). So what I need to do is make sure one project is done, done, double done before I move onto the next one. If I can’t do that, then at the very least I need to make sure that I don’t end up giving myself too many deadlines close together with poor planning.

~Be prepared to go over edits on ‘Eric & Morgan’ from Karen
I don’t know why this was in here. Another silly one. I can’t work on those edits until I get them and while they won’t take long to come I can’t just hover around waiting for them. So maybe I should have done the ‘Simone & Mr Bradford’ stuff. I don’t know. I can’t decide. *shrugs*

~Complete pre-edit checklist for ‘Slippers & Chains’ provided by Breathless Press
Woo! Done! It was a very interesting exercise, make no mistake. And I got to fill in a questionnaire about the cover art as well. Soooooo exciting! I should have my first round of content edits by next week. I’m simultaneously dreading and begging for it. ^_^

August 2014 Goal Recap
checking off feedbackActually looking at what I had planned it’s not all bad after all. Looking at it from a wider perspective stops me beating my head against the desk. 😉

~Outline the next ‘Slippers & Chains’ story and sketch out ideas for the two that follow
Oops. I’ve outlined ‘Second Base’ which is the next ‘Slippers & Chains’ story and got a rough sketch for the third one. But I didn’t do the fourth. -_- I wish I’d done more checking back over that ticklist, because it was well without my capabilities to do that. Ho hum. It’s not the end of the world, but it’s probably sensible to look at it before the year is out.

~Finalise release date for ‘Eric & Morgan’ and get file sent to editor
Kinda. I know now that book will release by the end of the month (or veeeeeeery early October) and the file is with Karen. I’ll fix a date properly when I know exactly what her feedback is.

~Finalise artwork and design of ‘Eric & Morgan’ cover
Yep. It’s such a nice cover. SUCH a nice cover. You’re going to like this one, If you want to see it before anybody else does, then be sure to sign up to my newsletter, as I’ll be releasing the image to subscribers first.

Goals For September 2014
So. What do I want to do going forward?

  1. Have ‘Simone & Mr Bradford’ ready for an editor
  2. Hit ‘Go’ on Eric & Morgan release
  3. Complete all tasks assigned by Breathless Press with regards to ‘Sugar Dust, Slippers & Chains’

I wish I could be more specific about the ‘Slippers & Chains’ goal, but I’m still so new to all of this that it’s not really possible. Ho hum. So long as I stay loose and prepared to do any work they send my way, I’ll be fine.

This means my weekly goals need to be a hell of a lot more flexible.

This Week
Flexible. o.O Is it possible to do that with a SMART(ER) goal? Let’s find out.

  1. Write 3,000 words of the new ‘Simone & Mr Bradford’ short story
  2. Stand by for any edits on ‘Eric & Morgan’ from Karen (complete if they come)
  3. Stand by for any edits on ‘Slippers & Chains’ from Breathless Press (complete if they come)

o.O Not ideal, but it will do. Let’s see how we do working through them in this manner.

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Mother Lovin’ (& Mah Plans – 01/09)

Posted on September 1, 2014 by Ileandra Young

red heart with 'mum' written inside

Credit: palomaironique

I love my mum.
*nods*
That’s pretty much what today’s post is about. If you don’t fancy that, feel free to skip ahead to my round-up of August in terms of goals.

Last week was an awful week. There’s no two ways about it. Too many small things reared up and worked their deadly magic to make me feel low, scared and (very) weepy. Funnily enough, it didn’t seem to affect my productivity because a hell of a lot has been done regardless. But not happily. Not with my usual cheer, enthusiasm and verve.

This is where Mum comes in. She got two phone calls from me (Da Shared Brain) last week. Two frantic, blubbing, incoherent phone calls in the space of four days. Both for different reasons. Both saying the same thing. I can’t cope.

The first thing she did was nothing. Meaning she didn’t try to comfort me or get me to explain. She just heard the tears in my voice and told me to cry. To get it out. And she was quiet while I did it. Silent but for the occasional soothing sound and whisper of my name. How is it that doing nothing can be so powerful? So helpful? So perfect. And how did she know that’s exactly what I needed?!

Is she magical? Psychic? Secretly recording video in my home and streaming it to her phone, Big Brother style?
Probably not.
But she is my mum. She’s known me longer and more thoroughly than anybody on earth (bar Dad, I guess) and that allows her to guess at what I need. And often she doesn’t need to guess. She just knows. More times than I can count, I’ve woken up to a text message telling me that she’s thinking of me. And I didn’t even know I needed the reminder under I saw it. She’s bailed me out of trouble, listened to me get into trouble and never, ever judged me. Ever.

Every now and then, despite my writing the post, DSB rears up and takes over to set the tone. This is one of those days.

I just need to take a moment to say thank you, Mum. Despite my status as ‘a writer’ I’ll never be able to find the right words to express fully how I feel and what happens inside when you help me. Even if that help is just holding a phone to your ear while I weep into it at the other end.

Thanks.line break, swirling graphics, from openclipartblank calendar from OpenClipArtAugust. Tick. The month is over and September looms bright and shiny and new. So many projects have come to a head that I think it’s safe to stop writing new stuff for a bit. Maybe. Perhaps. Let’s recap first, shall we?

Last week

Finish read through of SORB and make last minute corrections.
Sorted. I can’t mess with it any more. I need to let it go (famous last words).

Case availability of my editor and arrange when to send file.
Also done. In fact I sent her the file last night. There’s nothing more I can do to it without starting to edit my voice out of it, so I let it go. It’s in other hands now. Let’s just see what happens.

Work through known contacts of Deviant Art with regards to commissions for cover art.
One so far and a mutual contact through Facebook already contacted. I’m quite excited by the level of talent out there, and it seems that there are plenty of folk able to do what I need. I just gotta pick one!

Outline marketing plan
Nah. I mean I have some vague ideas, but insofar as making something that might be called ‘a plan’ I’m not quite there. Maybe this week?

Start deep edits on my ghost story (complete at least 2,500 words)
Started, continued and done. I realised somewhere in the middle of yesterday morning that the submission deadline was today and not in fact the end of the month. -_- Having shared the link so many times I’m stunned that I misread it so terribly, but it did mean that I had to step up the pace to get the edits done. I know I could still work on it. I could do more, but I realised last night that I had to choose; send out a piece I was confident in but still wanted to edit, or miss the deadline and edit it forever and ever. This is another example of ‘letting it go.’ And I did. King of Christmas has been sent and so too has another story I may have mentioned here before called The Last Time. All I need to do now is wait and see what follows.

August 2014 Goal Recap

Complete changes based on beta notes on SORB
As highlighted above, SORB is done. But for the remains of the notes from my editor there is nothing left to do but sort out peripheral detail.

Work on collaborative project
This was a silly goal. It’s too vague and didn’t give me something clear to aim for. Yes I’ve worked on it, but what have I achieved? I can’t measure that because I didn’t say what I wanted. This month I’ll do better in that regard. And, even better, I can tell you more about the project now and invite those who are interested to join me. So stay tuned; Saturday is the big day for hearing all about what I’ve been working on so secretly.

Write ghost story for Boo Books anthology call
Not only written but edited and submitted. Now that I think about it, I didn’t leave myself as much time as I should have. I’ll know for next time; a month just isn’t long enough. Even with a cap of 5,000 words.

Goals for September 2014

  1. Know who is going to produce cover art for SORB and how much it is going to cost. Have at least a faux deadline for completion of primary artwork.
  2. Have a clear idea of the steps I plan to take insofar as marketing (including blog tours, promotion posts, cover reveals, excerpts and social media work).
  3. Submit one existing piece (short story / flash fiction) to an appropriate (and preferably free) competition.
  4. Take on Phase Two of my collaborative project and find fellow conspirators (remember to check in on Saturday for more concrete details)
  5. Chill the fuck out.

This Week

Number 5 of that list is a very important one. I get the feeling that my phone calls last week would have been far less frantic if I took that advice. So here’s what I plan to do this week.

  1. Spend at least two nights NOT working*
  2. Get at least three early nights sleep*
  3. Find two potential cover artists and get in contact
  4. Outline marketing plan

*Yes, yes, I know these aren’t writing goals, but I’m starting to realise that if I don’t include these things in my list then I actually won’t do them. Go figure.

There. Now the drafting and editing has done I genuinely feel that my brain will ease off the peddle a bit. So far I’ve felt unable because there is so much to do. Now I can step back, have a rest and look to the other part of being a self pubbing author. The part that involves very little creative writing at all, but lots of planning, begging, organising and waiting.

Wish me luck!
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Like, A Curse (#RavenRantz No.3)

Posted on August 30, 2014 by Raven ShadowHawk

Good morning. Ish.
Today (after smacking Ileandra on the head so she can’t interrupt) I’m going to have me a rant. Just a small one, but a rant just the same. Buckle in.

Likes.

black and white thumbs up

Credit: mrtossum

I first came across this concept on Facebook. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. Someone posts a picture, or makes a comment. You look/read/watch it and think ‘yeah, that’s cool’ or ‘I agree’ or ‘wow, that’s the deepest and most profound thing I’ve ever seen!’ Not likely on Facebook, but bear with me, okay?

So you’ve had that thought. And what do you do? You ‘like’ the post. You click a little link beneath the posting to show the postee (is that a word?) and the rest of the world that you ‘like’ this post. And then you go on your way and forget about it.

Don’t argue, you do. Or most of you do. I certainly do.

After all, I’ve done my bit, haven’t I? I’ve become involved. I’ve interacted. I’ve let people know how I really feel about the content of this post and how much it touched me, right?

Of course not.

A few weeks ago Da Shared Brain found this post by a Facebook user who stopped using the like button. She read it, mused over it and thought she’d give it a try. Since then DSB’s Facebook experience has been far more pleasant. Not like the author of that post, because DSB never really experienced links like those highlighted. Having never really ‘liked’ stuff like that in the past, the issue never came up. But she did find that the social media platform known as Facebook has suddenly become exactly that; social. Making comments rather than just hitting ‘like’ opens up a dialogue between people. It allows one to actually say what one thinks rather than a generic-catch-all-could-mean-anything ‘like.’

It was only meant to be an experiment, but DSB will be continuing to comment rather than like for the foreseeable future. She likes it. Hell, I do too; our Facebook fan page has exploded with activity and I can only guess that this is related to what the personal profile of DSB is doing. It’s lovely being able to actually talk to people and I hope that continues.

But why am I chuntering about Facebook? Because WordPress has recently followed suit and introduced a ‘like’ button. Not for posts, that was always there and I could write a whole separate post on why I prefer the WordPress ‘like’ versus the Facebook ‘like’. No, WordPress introduced ‘like’ for comments.

speech bubbles from openclipart

Credit: ousia

I don’t know if it really is new – maybe I just missed it – but I’ve recently received notifications that people have ‘liked’ my comments. o.O Maybe I’ve been spoiled by DSB’s experience on Facebook, but I much preferred when people responded to my comments rather than just ‘liking’ them. Because I end up thinking ‘do they really?’ Do they like the comment as a whole, or just a portion of it? Does it resonate with them or did it make them giggle? Are they involved with what I’ve said or have they nothing to add so they just want to show their presence by clicking like (which is totally what I used to do)?

-_- It’s a tricky one. Particularly in the blogosphere because we’re all phenomenally busy people. As much as we would like to read every post, comment on every post, we just don’t have the time. Having a convenient ‘like’ button is a great way of showing that we are involved and that we do care, even if we don’t have the time to make a full comment. And I appreciate that function. But I do wonder if the fact that I have so little times means that I should just pare things down and devote more of my attention to a few things, rather than a fragment of my attention to many things.

Anyway, that’s my rant for the day. Not so much a rant, I suppose, as a series of observations.

What do you think? Like or comment to let me know. :-p

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