$1000 writing competition at PUBSLUSH Press

PUBSLUSH Press is calling all manuscripts for a writing competition that will award $1000, “the chance to be published” (in other words, it’s not a sure thing), and a featured spotlight on their website. The submission period is open from now until March 31, so finish those manuscripts and good luck! The winner will be contacted by email in April.

Manuscripts will be judged on “style, content, and commercial viability” and include but are not limited to the following genres: “Biography, Chick Lit, Children’s, Comedy, Fantasy, History, Horror, Mystery and Crime, Poetry (compilations only), Politics, Religion, Romance, Sci-Fi, Self-help, Teen, and Thriller.”

This is a great opportunity for aspiring novelists and poets to market their book, even if actual publication doesn’t happen. Remember, word of mouth goes a lot way, and so does an extra thousand bucks in your pocket. If PUBSLUSH doesn’t pick up your book, someone else might take notice.

PUBSLUSH sounds like a good publisher to be involved with, too: According to their About blurb, they let readers decide what books get published and donate a book to a child for every book sold. That’s something worth more than seeing your book in print.

My novel’s stuck in Revision Hell, so I doubt it would be ready by the competition deadline. I’ll give it my best shot, though! I’m trying out Scrivener (on Windows since 2011 and Mac since 2007) thanks to blogger Aly Hughes, who convinced me to finally give the trial a download, and revision is already more appealing. Juggling Word documents was becoming a job in itself, and I was torn between typing in my preferred composition style (my desired font, etc.) and a traditional manuscript presentation (I’d just have to do the work later). Scrivener leaves the compiling and formatting as a final step, so you can type the way you want without worrying about the dirty details. Plus, the program gives users a generous amount of options for putting together and organizing ideas via outline or visual flowchart (aka the Corkboard, which is one of my favorite features). It’s great for getting a better handle on your structure and concept and exposing weaknesses in your plot.

The written tutorial was lengthy but very useful and informative, so if you give the trial a chance (no personal info needed), definitely take the time to familiarize yourself with all the available features.

My only problem initially was the Scrivener wants you to type your manuscript without indenting paragraphs and without skipping a line between them; otherwise it messes up the standard manuscript look, and this is the only thing that can’t be easily changed in the compiling process. I’m fine with not indenting, but not having spaces between paragraphs was throwing me off—all the text looks packed together. My solution? Go to Format –> Text –> Spacing, and set the spacing “Before” and “After” to at least 5 pts each. This doesn’t actually double space, but it does make your paragraphs a little roomier.

Are you a Scrivener wizard? Feel free to share your expert tips with me.

The hardest part of the writing process

If you’ve peeked at my “About” page, then you know I’m polishing up my first novel. Currently I’m shoulder-deep in revision, which is ten times harder than actually writing the book was—and that’s quite the accomplishment for anyone, especially aspiring authors, who often stop before they finish.

I’m proud to say I finished, and no matter how hard the work the remains is, it won’t stop me from getting the book done.

I’m interested in knowing what other people think is the most difficult part of the writing process—be it book, poem, or short story. Here’s an outline of the major steps.

Writing — To attempt any writing task, you must sit down, leak those creative juices for however many hours it takes, and stay your hand every time it tries to edit or nit-pick. You also have to finish it, and that’s often where beginner writers get stuck. I found that following a disciplined schedule (x number of words per night, or every other night, or per week) greatly facilitates completing the work by your personal or official deadline. For example, if you’re shooting for a 60,000 word book, you can calculate how many words you should write and how often in order to finish by a certain date.

Reading and trying light writing exercises can help struggling writers power through those dreaded blank screens. Blogs—or any kind of vehicle for practicing writing every day—make it easy to stay in shape and fend off writer’s block, which is really just a poor excuse!

Revising — It makes logical sense, to me anyway, to start with heavy revision and then top it off with a final dusting of editing and proofreading. Revision involves fleshing out characters, tightening dialogue, livening descriptions, and correcting any errors in the narrative. This part takes longer to complete just because it doesn’t necessarily mesh with a set schedule or routine. At a certain point a writer must say, “Enough!” and move on from a given section or chapter, but revising devours the writer’s time and energy because so much of it is spent going over the same sentences, paragraphs, and whole chapters numerous times. Revision requires a slow progression, rather than one that involves moving from the first chapter to the last and then repeating the process several times, a troublesome strategy that allows for more continuity mistakes and increases the likelihood of missing out on those “ding!” moments—mental clicks that lend the added depth and richness your story needs.

I usually refresh by reading previously revised chapters, making small edits along the way without lingering for too long, before starting the next chapter and working on it five or six times until satisfied. Your first draft is where the magic happens; revision turns that magic into a presentable magic show.

Editing/Proofreading — A more manageable task than revision, editing and proofreading iron out any remaining kinks in the writing, attending specifically to grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Hiring an editor to assist with this part is instrumental to successful publication. Even if you’re competent in this department like me, it’s probably a good idea to consult outside help.

Sharing — Depending on how high-profile your piece of writing is, you might choose to share you writing before pursuing publication. This is a definite step for me as an aspiring first-time author: I want to ensure my novel is as impressive and reader-friendly as it can be before shooing it off to agents and potential publishers.

Honest feedback from trusted sources is key. I’ve already talked to a few people about sending them advanced manuscripts in exchange for thorough criticism. If you do the same, do your volunteers a courtesy and pay for printing and shipping costs—and give them a mention in your book’s dedications, too.

Publishing — This is one of the biggest hurdles in the process for any writer. All that hard work and time is put to the test. Either it pays off now, or you’re stuck with an unsellable manuscript. If unsuccessful, self-publishing and/or entering the e-book market is another option, but prepare to make a substantial financial investment and, if you push past that, expect lower sales than normal. I’m aiming to publish traditionally because, while my chances of acquiring a book deal are naturally slim, the return can be far greater in the long run.

Marketing — The responsibility of marketing a book rests largely in the author’s hands, and it’s good to have an established platform (online blogs, presentations, community involvement, etc.) to help spread the news of your book’s launch. Failing to secure adequate sales can hurt your chances of publication in the future. Read up on marketing tactics and form a plan early.

Did I miss any steps? What part of the writing process do you struggle with? Please share any anecdotes or advice in the comments below.

Errors, formatting, and other differences between e-book and print

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the varying quality of e-books. I’m not just talking about the relative ease of digital self-publishing, which for all its simplicity and convenience makes flooding the market with low-rate books an even bigger reality. Everyone should have the opportunity to bypass traditional channels and put their story out there for the world to see, but when it comes time to buy, prospective readers of indie books have to wade through a confusing pool of releases, playing a blind game of Marco Polo with the good and the bad—nearly all of them are cheap, but not enough of them are readable, let alone well-written, and how are people supposed to know a gem from a rock? A free e-book a day is a great luxury, but what use is reading more if what you’re reading isn’t very good?

Sure, reading bad books is just as important as reading good books, but more so if you’re a writer—you learn what not to do, just like the best prose and poetry instructs you on what to do and how you should go about doing it.

One thing I can’t forgive, however, is the often shoddy quality of traditionally published e-books. Some are worse than others, but most e-books I’ve seen contain at least one of the following problems:

• An unflattering, bereft design and layout — If I’m replacing a normal print book with an e-book, I still want the same pampering. Give me a cover, even if it is in boring black and white. Give me a table of contents, copyright information, and all the other pages you’d typically include before the actual book begins.

• Spelling and space errors — I know programming e-books is a newfangled task, but it bothers me when publishers (or self-publishers) don’t put as much effort into producing a flawless finished product as they would normally. I routinely spot extra spaces (sometimes big, very noticeable extra spaces) in between words or punctuation, common spelling errors, and similar issues. Embedding pictures is another complication—sometimes they don’t even appear on the page they’re supposed to, or they distort the text. Not okay.

• Missing bold, italics, or headers — Honestly, I haven’t encountered many problems with italicized words, but bold words can do a lot to differentiate lines of text—especially when publishers neglect to format actual headers that are separated from the rest of the text body, given adequate room, and enlarged for standard reading purposes.

At least the Kindle (not sure about other e-readers) has page numbers available now. Who really used those long numerical locations, anyway?

What other problems have you seen in e-books that wouldn’t ever be found dead in their print counterparts? Do you think the sudden demand for a digital format is any excuse for sloppy editing and poor presentation? Do these issues deter you from buying e-books?

A little London Horror and some pro writing tips

I know I made this blog to focus exclusively on books and book writing, but I want to recommend an excellent comic that came to me all the way from UK shores. London Horror Comic (review here) is produced by John Paul-Kamath, who’s not only an indie creator but also a self-publisher. Even in today’s world, when such nontraditional routes are becoming easier and more acceptable to pursue, selling and marketing your own work takes guts.

Having read the horror-comedy anthology series from issue one, I can attest to its ongoing quality (I reviewed it for the Girls Entertainment Network years back.) If you’re interested, the website offers free previews and directions on how to purchase the issues individually or by set (#1-4).

So what about self-publishing: Is it good or bad? Pros and cons accompany both the independent and traditional route of publishing. One writing guide talks at length about the topic: the second edition of The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing, which is up for grabs at writersdigest.com along with some other e-books (I’ll get to those eventually, too). I finished it just in time for the new year.

This book is one of the best sources of advice, knowledge, and inspiration an aspiring writer could hope for. Each section starts with encouraging quotes about writing, and most of the chapters (written by accomplished, published writers) contain guidance and insights into writing habits that will comfort novices persistently doubting their potential and abilities. If you can identify with the mindset of any of the featured writers—and the book makes it easy to—you can gain a little confidence and be reassured of the value of your pursuits. Chapter by chapter, and sometimes sentence by sentence, I kept finding myself wanting to return to my manuscript and tackle it with renewed vigor.

That’s possibly the most useful advantage of a book on writing—not to “teach” you how to write, but to allow you to feel comfortable with your own process. The included interviews with writers and essays on constructing effective fiction (from strong narratives and characters to the tenets of editing and revision) are invaluable, too, and readers will find plenty of good tips and information to mine for personal use. The book covers a wide range of topics, but one theme stays consistent: Motivation and hard work is key. The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing provides more than enough of the former, but it’s up to readers to follow through.

The book also discusses publishing and marketing, important lessons for any writer hoping to see his book hit shelves. This portion of the book is smaller, but it’s a perk compared to many writing guides, which don’t even broach the subject. It also covers both self-publishing and traditional publishing, warns readers how not to sell out, and lays down the basics about agents, editors, and contracts.