Securing Our Feet

The Writers Union of Canada Symposium

This past weekend, I attended the symposium “Secure Footing in a Changing Literary Landscape,” presented by the Writers Union of Canada. It was a day of exploring the tradition state of publishing and how it is moving and changing in this new world of ebooks, self-publishing and the shift from paper.

The two main presenters were Betsy Warland and Ross Laird. Betsy started us off with the doom and gloom of the current state of traditional publishing. Ross moved into the new world of publishing and the rise of self-publishing and ebooks. Both emphasized that now more than ever we as writers need to be responsible for our own careers. Ross believes self-publishing has become mainstream and that paper books are on the way out.

Betsy disagreed that paper books are marginal. She did see that the new world brings new possibilities and as writers we need to think in small steps. She explored the idea of the deep connection between our desire to write and our desire to reach our readers. In this way, self promotion of our work is not a new idea.

One point I quite enjoyed from Ross was the idea of not self promoting for the sake of self promotion but to use the principle of “interestingness.” Create content of interest and put it out there. People will find it and by extension, find you.

The final presenter of the day was Kelly Duffin, Executive Director of the TWUC who discussed contracts. I admit it seemed an odd placement for this topic as she discussed traditional print contracts. I think this might have been better suited to earlier in the morning before discussion moved into ebooks.

Overall, it was a very interesting day. I had some definite takeaways, including cloud storage, dynamic websites, ideas for incorporating video and more. I know I’m on the tip of this iceberg with a long way to go yet I feel fortune to be doing even the little bit I’m doing. It’s an exciting new world that’s evolving. Time to jump in!

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A copy of Ross’s presentation can be found here. Note it is in HTML5 and is best viewed on standard compliance web browsers (including Opera, Chrome or Firefox).

The symposium is continuing on a tour across Canada. Dates and further information can be found here.

Leaping into the Future

Paint the Town Red: A Horror Short Story

I’ve done it. I’ve taken the plunge. I’m converting my back list of short stories into ebooks and putting them up on Smashwords and Amazon Kindle!

 What an exciting time to be a writer! Stories that have sold previously and were only available for a month or two now have new life. As Dean Wesley Smith points out on his blog, writing is not produce. Stories do not spoil or have a best before date. A story can be a day old, a year old or twenty years old and still be relevant and fun. I’m thrilled to be able to offer my back list of stories to the world and they’ll be there for discovery this year or in ten years.

 What a bonanza for readers! With ebooks and the potential of books no longer being “out of print” it will be easier than ever before to find the books we love. There have been times when I’ve come across a book by a new (to me) author and I want to read everything they’ve written. If I’m lucky and their early books had a large print run, I might have been able to find them in a used book store. Many times I’ve been out of luck. I still have holes in some of my author collections. With ebooks, this will become a thing of the past!

I’m excited to be taking that leap into this new ebook future. Who knows where it will lead? But I have a feeling that future will be bright for all of those who love stories, both writers and readers alike!

What do you think?

Forward Momentum

Scaring the crowds at Screamfest

Wow, where have I been? It’s been a very busy fall and winter. In October, I volunteered at Screamfest, a haunted house attraction in Acton, Ontario. Three weekends of terrifying visitors, sending them screaming for the exits was great fun. I also volunteered at two other haunted attractions, the Guelph House of Horrors and Thornhill Woods Haunted House. This all led up to the big night: Halloween! I met several friends and we headed off on a “haunt crawl” visiting several home haunts where people decorate their front yard for Halloween. As most of us are normally busy that night, volunteering at another haunted attraction, this was the first time in years we could be “civilians” and enjoy the holiday.

 And through it all, I continued to write every day! At the beginning of September, I increased my word count goal to 120,000 words and I expected that would be it. The final goal. That held until the beginning of December and I realized I was getting too damned close! So much to my own surprise, I increased it again on December 6 to 125,000 words. And on December 30^th, with one day to spare, I hit it, reaching 125,160 words. But there was no rest for the wicked on New Year’s Eve day, oh no. I kept going and finished the year at an all time high of 126,082 words.

 Talk about ending the year with a bang!

 Looking back I found several strategies worked to keep me focused and motivated. They included tracking, public declarations, getting support, and awareness of rhythms in the work.

Tracking – I used a spreadsheet I developed to track my word count on a daily basis. This allowed me to watch my progress steadily increase, sometimes slowly and sometimes in great leaps. It was very inspiring.

Public Declarations – I used my Twitter account linked to my personal Facebook page to report on how I was doing. This motivated me because I wanted to continue to report on my progress.

Getting Support – This tied in with the public declarations. I was pleasantly surprised by the support I received from friends and even strangers on Twitter as I worked toward my goal. Simple words of cheer really helped when I was struggling to push my word count up. It also gave me the opportunity to offer my support to others.

Awareness of Rhythm – After the first several months, I started to notice a natural rhythm to my work. I would go through a period of high productivity followed by a period of low productivity. During October which was a very busy month away from writing, my word count was low as I expected. Having the tracking sheet allowed me to anticipate when I might have a slow period and served as a reminder of how much I had accomplished. It seems to be a natural human state to discount the good we’ve done and harp on all the bad. I wanted to move away from the tendency to beat myself up for not writing tons all the time. I wanted to focus on the consistency and what was working.

And boy, it really did all seem to work!

Final Report on my Writing Challenge

I am more than thrilled with the progress I made in 2010. From April 6 to December 31, I wrote every day. From a very initial goal of 70,000 words, I bypassed my final goal to hit 126,082 words. So where am I going in 2011?

For this year, I am aiming for 150,000 words. Already I am making excellent progress. So far, I’ve written 2,600 words. I have writing friends who have shared their goal with me and we’re cheering each other on. I’m trying different options, like switching the time of day for writing or writing several times during a day in shorter bursts. I’ll do whatever it takes to get the words down, to keep adding numbers to my daily tracking sheet, to hit, no, make that pass that goal of 150,000 words.

What goals have you made for this year and what are your strategies to meet them?

Potential and Performance

Last night, I pushed myself to hit 18,000 words for August and reached a personal best of 18,195 words for the month. And when I say pushed, I can’t even say it was that much of a push, more of a nudge really. I had to write just under 1,000 words and found that I was able to write a leisurely 1,157 words.

It was a watershed moment. My writing has been sporadic for years. Earlier this year I decided, really decided, that I was going to give it my all. With almost two dozen short stories sold, I know I can write work that sells, I just needed to put in more effort, create more stories. Sporadic writing wasn’t doing it for me. I knew I had to develop the discipline to be consistent.

On your mark... (from Microsoft clipart)

The potential has always been there. I’ve been telling stories since I was a kid. I remember writing a haunted house story in early grade school and getting in trouble because I was writing on the side of the page where the teacher was supposed to mark my work. Even the majority of my rejections compliment me on my writing and ask to see more work.

But potential is only that: potential. It’s always a maybe, a what might be, a what’s possible. On its own, without effort, it doesn’t really mean much. He has the potential to be a great doctor doesn’t mean anything if you need someone to set a broken leg. I knew I needed more than just potential if I wanted to live into my dream of being a real writer.

I started on April 6^th with a challenge to myself to write 70,000 words by the end of the year. I hit that goal on August 20^th! At the beginning of August, I revised my goal up to 100,000 words by the end of the year. I told myself that was it; I wasn’t going to revise the goal again. But now at the beginning of September, I am already at 76,790 words, leaving only a little over 23,000 words left and I’ve still got four months to go in the year! So I have to do it again, I have to raise my goal. Now I’m going to write 120,000 words.

No one is more shocked by this than me. When I started in April, I actually thought I could write 90,000 words but wanted to make the goal doable and not too much pressure and that’s why I chose 70,000. I never dreamed I could write over 18,000 words in one month. It was certainly effort but it was also fun, exhilarating and challenging. With consistent, everyday effort, my potential has morphed into performance. That consistency I was looking for has come in small, steady doses. Some people can write for hours and hours, wracking up thousands of words. For me, I’m better in small chunks, 500 words here, 400 words there. Every day sitting down for half an hour or an hour. Small steps at a time.

With five months of everyday work behind me, I know I’m turning that potential into reality. That future potential is even bigger than before and I’m excited to plunge into it. 120,000 words by December 31, here I come! And next year, who knows?

What potential are you living into?

Just the Facts

I’m friends with the folks who run ChiZine Publications, a small press of high quality collector edition hard covers, trade paperbacks and ebooks. In the quickly changing publishing business, they have managed to develop their own niche of weird, surreal, subtle, and disturbing dark literary fiction. Hey, I did say they were friends of mine!

"Just the facts, ma'm." courtesy of http://my.opera.com/edwardpiercy/blog/index.dml/tag/TCM

Recently someone went onto Twitter and claimed that ChiZine  Publications was gone, even mistakenly suggesting that it was an imprint of Leisure. As co-publisher Sandra Kasturi has stated in several notices:

“Both ChiZine.com and CZP are alive and well, thank you very much. Business is going ahead as usual.

“It’s true that Dorchester/Leisure recently withdrew funding from ChiZine.com, due to their own financial difficulties. We saw this coming and have already taken steps to modify our own business plan. The online zine will continue as before, and continue to improve.

“ChiZine Publications has always been self-sufficient and continues to thrive.

“The Fresh Blood contest winner will still be published in limited edition hardcover by CZP, as planned. I cannot of course speak for Leisure and their plans for a mass market edition.

“Thanks for listening! And spread the word that we’re not defunct! : )”

While the Internet is a wonderful way to get the word out, connect with others, and find information, it’s important to remember to check the facts. Two companies being associated doesn’t mean both are failing if one is having challenges. It’s always better to verify what you hear before passing it along.

As for ChiZine Publications, not only are they doing well, they are also sponsoring the Toronto SpecFic Colloquium at the Hart House in Toronto, Canada on October 23, 2010 which kicks off their Chiaroscuro Reading Series.

Whew! No wonder I hardly ever get a chance to see them!

A Little Help From My Friends

There are some days that no matter what, I just don’t feel like writing. Usually I can get myself going and get some work done. But this night wasn’t like that. I’d been out with some writing friends, catching up and chatting. I got home later in the evening and after a drink, felt rather mellow and wanting to just relax. But I hadn’t written yet that day. I’d left it, telling myself I would be inspired after meeting with friends. I was inspired and I was also drowsy.

What to do? I sat in front of my computer and posted how I really didn’t want to write but was going to on Twitter. A few minutes later, another writer friend commented, asking if I needed a kick in the ass. And I gave a resounding YES!

Help!

He delivered, telling me how much he’d written earlier that day and how he was going to write another 300 words. Then came the challenge: Would I write 300 words too?

Then another friend chimed in, giving me the written equivalent to THAT look. You know the one I mean, the one you get from your mother. Yes, that one.

Both of these were just the incentive I needed. I got to work and before I knew it, I had written 411 words, pushing my running total past 69,000 words since April 6^th. I was elated! And all because my friends had pushed me when I was ready to slack off. With their encouragement and challenge, I pushed myself just that little bit harder, just a little bit longer.

Writing is so solitary and sometimes it’s easy to forget to ask for help. Heck, it doesn’t have to be just writing that any of us forget to ask for help. And yet asking for help is a gift to the person you ask. It says “I trust you and respect you and know you can assist me.” It also gives the helper a chance to feel good because giving someone genuine help does feel good.

So I’m going to ask for more. I’m going to give my friends the gift of being able to help me, just as they so often give me the gift of asking for my help. And I’m sending out props to my friends Andy and Al for challenging me and supporting me.

How are you asking for the help that you need?

Ch-ch-ch-changes

August has been an interesting month in publishing. Dorchester Publishing, home of Leisure Books and Love Spell, announced that they were “transitioning to e-book and trade” starting in September. While J.A. Konrath discusses this as a possible “beginning of the end”, others such as Jim C. Hines discuss this move as a way for Dorchester to remain viable.

So what is a poor author to do?

First we all need to realize that publishing is in a state of flux and no one knows exactly how it will shake out. While such change and uncertainty is scary, I am excited about the possibilities. I think there will be more avenues for writers to get their work in front of readers. There will be more ways for readers to find the stories they want to read. Publishers will morph into different entities to support the production of professional quality stories.

Being flexible and open to these changes will be key. Writers need to pay attention to their contracts, including their revisions clauses and ebook royalties. Ignorance will hold a huge price. Publishers need to stop being in denial about ebooks, stop trying to keep ebooks prices artificially high to support hard covers, and seek ways to remain relevant and prosperous in this new publishing landscape. Dorchester’s new move might be an option. Time will tell.

Although I don’t have a crystal ball to forecast the future, I believe we will see a mix of print and ebooks. I intend to pursue both avenues. Each has their benefits and problems, to me going for both will make sure I make the most of those benefits.

What do you think of the changes going on in the publishing industry?

For other views on the Dorchester announcement check out these articles:

Maya Reynolds: Revisiting Dorchester
Smart Bitches, Trashy Books: Dorchester Goes Digital, Authors Do What?
RT Book Reviews: Dorchester Publishing
Galley Cat: Dorchester Publishing Switches to eBook & Print-on-Demand Model
Dear Author: Dorchester Update
Publishers Weekly: Dorchester Drops Mass Market Publishing for E-Book/POD Model

My Challenge Update

Wow, two posts in one day. I’m on a roll!

On May 4, I talked about the challenge I gave myself on April 6. I was going to write 70,000 words by the end of the year. Now it’s time for an update! How am I doing?

The short answer: really well! So well in fact, that I’ve revised this challenge twice! At the end of June, I was already at 40,000 words so I revised my goal up to 90,000. At the end of July, I realized that even 90,000 was going to be too easy. I had already reached 58,595. So I’ve revised my goal again. Now I’m going to write 100,000 by the end of the year.

My Writing Goals spreadsheet

When I first started in April, I never would have thought I would be writing so much. Originally I thought of setting the goal for 90,000 words but that seems too daunting. I didn’t think I could do it. The idea seemed so big it felt paralyzing. But now, just shy of 60,000 words, writing another 40,000 doesn’t seem hard at all. I’ve grown into the goal by doing just a little bit everyday.

That has also been a surprise, writing every day. Originally I thought I’d write maybe five days a week and take a bit of a break. Those breaks never materialized and the longer I go the less I want to take a break, even if I’m not in the mood. There have definitely been days when I didn’t feel like writing. I just want to veg on the couch or relax on the balcony with a book. But if I haven’t written yet, it nags at me. I’ve got a streak going. I can’t give that up just because I’m feeling lazy. Besides, it’s only half an hour, maybe 45 minutes. Come on, I can do that. Then before I know it, I’m sitting in front of my keyboard, writing.

Now I’m working on maintaining an average of 500 words a day. So far that’s working. However, maybe it’s time to push a little harder. Maybe I’ll aim to start averaging 600 words a day. I don’t want to get too comfortable! A challenge should be challenging, right? What have you challenged yourself to do lately?

Oh and before you ask, yes this is a screenshot of my Excel spreadsheet that I use to track my writing.  I’ve got it set up to add the running total and subtract from what I have left to write to hit 100,000 words. I am that anal!

Interesting Times

It’s a wild time to be a writer. The publishing world is changing fast, almost daily. Ebooks are growing in popularity. Andrew Wylie, of Wylie Literary Agency, stunned the publishing world last week with the announcement of the formation of Odyssey Editions designed to publish the backlist of some 20 clients and giving an exclusive deal to Amazon. Some of those clients include John Updike, Salmon Rushdie and Phillip Roth. Random House and Macmillian are “raging” against this deal, according to the Huffington Post. Others speculate this may push the Big 6 publishing companies to offer better royalty rates for ebooks. Others wonder about possible conflict of interest between the agent and seeing the ebook.

It truly is an interesting time!

Here are some links for discussion:

Konrath http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2010/07/konrath-on-wylie.html

Mike Shatzkin http://www.idealog.com/blog/it-isnt-wise-to-draw-lines-in-the-sand-that-ultimately-cant-be-defended

Maya Reynolds http://mayareynoldswriter.blogspot.com/

Michael A. Stackpole http://www.michaelastackpole.com/?p=1582

Huffington Post Jason Pinter http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jason-pinter/andrew-wylie-sets-off-dig_b_655653.html

New York Times http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/23/wylies-e-book-venture-stirs-a-fuss-in-publishing/

Harper UK response http://www.thebookseller.com/news/124157-harper-uk-latest-publisher-to-condemn-wylies-move.html.rss?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Twitter battle http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/27/evilwylie-vs-goodrandomho_n_657638.html

Author responses http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/jul/27/authors-guild-amazon-andrew-wylie

Authors Guild http://www.authorsguild.org/

Life Interruptus

Wow, where did June go? The month flashed by in a blur. Although I continued to write on a daily basis, I was also working hard on another project. This project was completely different from writing: I was building a zombie dog for use in Screamfest, the haunted attraction I volunteer at in October. Last year, one of the owners created a zombie family for the show. I thought if we have a zombie family, they need a zombie dog and I decided to make it.

After a false start many months ago, I clicked into high gear to build the dog in June. This project definitely impacted my writing. My word count for the month was lower than I expected. However, I did keep writing and ultimately that’s the important thing.

Here are a couple of photos of the finished dog!

How has life interrupted your writing and what were your strategies to keep going?

Zombie Dog

Posing with my Zombie Dog