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10 Tips for Aspiring Authors by Chantel Simmons
Chick Lit Authors

10 Tips for Aspiring Authors by Chantel Simmons

10 Tips for Aspiring Authors
1. Only you can write your book. Writing is a job, and you’re not going to make a living at being a writer unless you treat it like a job. You could watch TV, go to a movie, or go for manicures with your best friend. There’s always going to be something else you could do instead of writing, and while all those other activities are fun, no one’s going to write your book for you while you’re doing them. So while you’re trying to write your book, try to actually sit down and write.
2. Set goals. Set a deadline to finish writing the book, then set mini-goals, such as “Finish Chapter 5 by the end of the month” or “Write 1,000 words a week.” Then comes the fun part: make a list of rewards and whenever you meet a goal, reward yourself. Go to a movie with a friend or get a manicure. You’ll enjoy it that much more knowing you worked hard for it. And you won’t feel guilty that you should be home writing for those few hours.
3. Practice, practice, practice. It takes 10,000 hours to become good at anything, so if you want to write a good book, then get writing. It takes 30 days to make a habit, so try to write every day, even if it’s only for 10 minutes or 10 words. Eventually, it’ll become a habit and those 10 words will turn into 10 pages. And when you miss a day of writing, you’ll feel so guilty you’ll ensure you don’t miss the next day.
4. Don’t believe in writer’s block. If you’re stuck on a scene, skip it and write the next scene. Chances are, if you aren’t excited to write a scene, it probably won’t be a very good one to read, either, so just move on. If you feel certain there are plot points you needed to get across in that troublesome scene, jot them on a Post-it and stick it to your computer scene. You’ll find another place to work them into the story.
5. Schedule in your writing time. Then stick to it. You wouldn’t miss a doctor’s appointment to make cookies or do the laundry, so don’t skip an hour of writing to do it either.
6. Don’t quit your day job. If you sell the proposal for your book for a million dollars, well, then, sure, ignore my advice and quit your day job. But if you’re working on your first novel and you don’t have an agent, let alone a publisher, keep your day job—or at least do something else that gives your day some structure and brings in some money. Being unemployed and poor can be stressful. And stress isn’t usually one of the key qualities that inspire you to write a good novel.
7. Believe in yourself. No one is going to care as much about your book or your career as a writer as you do. You have to be your own biggest cheerleader. Of course, make sure that all your rah-rah cheering is warranted. Keep trying to get your book published for as long as you believe that it’s the best book you can possibly write. When you stop believing your book is your absolute best work ever, move on. Revise it or start writing a new book. Lots of successful, published writers have unpublished manuscripts sitting in drawers. You won’t be alone so don’t worry about it.
8. Have a plan. I like to plot out each chapter before I start writing. It’s just a few points, but this way, if I don’t feel like writing Chapter 2, I can skip ahead to Chapter 6. If that’s too planned out, try jotting down your opening chapter, your source of conflict, the climax and the closing sentence. If you know those key elements, you’re going to be a lot better off than if you just sit down and write random scenes and then hope they all fit together in the end. There’s a very good chance you’ll end up scrapping half your work. (Of course, there’s nothing wrong with just letting the words flow—it all works toward the 10,000 hours—it just means it will take a lot longer to finish that first book).
9. Ask friends to read your book. Four eyes are better than two. Twenty opinions are better than none. You don’t have to incorporate everybody’s suggestions, but you never know when someone might make a suggestion that you think is a good one—and that will you’re your book that much stronger. And if 10 people have the same negative criticism about a plot point or a character, chances are an editor, an agent or readers might think the same thing. Isn’t it better to get that opinion free when you can still fix the problem than in a rejection letter or in a published book review?
10. Never give up. If every agent ignores you, follow up. If they all reject your book, compile a new list of agents and send the book out again. If every editor passes on your book, revise it and send to new editors. All you need is one person to say yes, so don’t get discouraged about the ones who don’t. Success is 99% hard work and 1% luck. If this is your dream, it’ll be that much sweeter if you have to work hard to realize it.

Chantel Simmons is the bestselling author of two novels – Stuck in Downward Dog and Love Struck. Read Chantel’s blog at www.chantelsimmons.com or tweet with her on twitter.com@chantelsimmons

September 10, 2010
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Guest Post from Author Fleur McDonald
Chick Lit Authors

Guest Post from Author Fleur McDonald

How were you able to get published?
About five years ago, I decided I wanted to write a book that I would like to read. Without too much thought, I decided on the topic of stock stealing. I still don’t know why I thought of it, particularly at a time when I was completely sleep deprived with two littlies, but I thought I could develop intrigue and mystery around this subject.
I set about writing. Once I had written five chapters, I asked a friend to read it to see if it was any good. I also sent it to my writing mentor for his opinion. The responses were brilliant and overwhelmed me. I decided I needed to keep writing.
Patience has never been my strong point! When I had written about a third of the story, I thought I’d try Allen and Unwin publisher’s ‘Friday Pitch’. This offers first-time authors a chance to have their first chapter and a synopsis read and considered by its publisher Louise Thurtell. I wanted to know what she thought about it—never mind finishing the manuscript!
Her response was just as encouraging as others I had received, although it wasn’t what she was looking for at that time and she encouraged me to try another publisher. I didn’t want to now I had established contact with Louise. So I waited about a year, tweaked it a bit more, and resent it—but I did little work on finishing the manuscript.
Suddenly, not only was there was a phone call saying ‘Yes! We want your manuscript!’, there was a contract and … an unfinished manuscript!
I got to work quick smart and finished the rest of the story in about six-months.
My journey to get to this point has been amazing. It blows me away whenever I think about it. I don’t have any writing qualifications or experience in writing for publishers. I just wrote the book I wanted to read. From that, I was picked up from the ‘slush pile’, handed a contract, now have two books published with another two book deal and have also sold the rights for both Red Dust and Blue Skies to Germany. (Red Dust has already been released there with Blue Skies due out next year.)

Has anything in general surprised you since becoming an author?

Hm, not sure. I didn’t really know enough about the industry when I first started, to be surprised by anything. I just went with the flow and did what ever I was told to do!

I guess the response to my books has been surprising and very overwhelming. Red Dust flew off the shelves as did Blue Skies, but that may be more because there is a hunger for Australian stories than anything else.

I also love the way that Allen and Unwin are as passionate about my books as I am – I’m not sure if I’m surprised by that or just grateful!

How many times were you rejected before finding your agent?

I haven’t actually ever been rejected by an agent, when I was submitting my fiction novels. I got my first two books published without an agent, but Gaby Naher, from the Naher Agency is now my wonderful, patient and calming agent and negotiated my two book deal.

I was rejected by plenty when I was pitching my children picture books.

One thing I will point out here – it’s harder to get an agent once you are published. Most people think it wouldn’t be the case, but it is. My publisher introduced me to both Curtis and Brown and Gaby Naher. Curtis and Brown wouldn’t take me on, because they had a similar client and because I had already negotiated two books. Just something to be aware of.

How long does it take you to finish writing a novel?

About a year – I diddle around for the first part – don’t do much, just think a lot, write lots of notes and then when I realise I’ve only got about six months before it’s due, get really stuck in and write. I usually have enough ideas and thoughts to be able to do that.

What gave you the drive and motivation to write a book and push to get it published?

Well, I never really started out with the thought that I would try and get published. I started to write a book that I would like to read and then, it was one of my friends who thought I should try.

I started researching the industry and submitted for the ASA Mentorship program, but didn’t get anywhere there. I don’t like failing so that was probably my turning point!

July 20, 2010
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Guest Post from Author Holly Christine
Chick Lit Authors

Guest Post from Author Holly Christine

On Self-Publishing

For me, writing is like preparing a meal. After toiling for days or months, I want to be the person who serves the hot dish. I want to be the one who says, Be careful. It’s still hot. I want to be the one who watches with a kitchen towel thrown over her shoulder, arms crossed across her chest, bags under her eyes, smiling as my guests say, This is delicious. What spice is this? Words.

Main Dish. Ingredients for writing Tuesday Tells it Slant: three weeks, 65,000 words, six to eight cups of coffee a day, four to five hours of sleep each night.

After twenty-one days of repeating the above ingredients, I was spent. I saved my Word document a thousand times, compulsively, as I didn’t want to lose a single word. Then I slept. I slept for days. When I arose, my head was free enough to begin the editing process. Some authors outline before they begin to write. I tend to outline once I reach a certain point in the story: a kind of reverse outline, to attempt to protect against major plot holes.

Soup and Salad. Ingredients for editing: a solid week of coffee, a few colorful pens, post it notes, two to three black ink cartridges, two reams of paper and the ability to look at your words without remembering the sweat behind them. I print my work, read over it with a colorful pen in hand to fix errors that can’t be seen on my laptop screen and return to the original document to correct the errors I caught. Once I do this, I print again, pouring over the second draft before finalizing the document.

I wrote soup and salad because the above process is most efficient when repeated. May as well get two dishes out of it.

Before I move on to dessert, I have to say that this is the point of the process when I realized I was going to self-publish. I had the desire to share my work with others immediately. I was proud and excited. I still believe that self-publishing doesn’t signify the end in the publishing world. Today, it opens doors.

Dessert. Cover creation and description. This is tricky. A great chef doesn’t necessarily equate to a brilliant baker. A major force throughout Tuesday Tells it Slant was a diary. I decided to make a cover that mimicked a diary with a casual font and doodles. Make the cover relate to the book. Most readers do judge a book by its cover.

This is also the part of the process where you will create the book’s description. Keep it simple, yet detailed enough to grab a reader’s attention. Don’t be afraid to give away too much. A reader doesn’t need to be surprised at every turn of the page. They need to know enough to hook them before they start reading.

Setting the table with eBooks. Amazon’s Digital Text Platform allows authors to upload their work, cover, and description easily. After uploading, name your price. I priced my work at $0.99 to start. At this price, Amazon pays a royalty rate of 35%, though this figure is flipping to 70% for all eBooks priced at or above $2.99 in June. In as little as twenty-four hours, your work becomes available to Kindle owners for purchasing. As an independent author, you can also utilize Smashwords to make your work available in multiple eFormats (Sony Reader, Barnes and Noble Nook). The royalty rate for authors using Smashwords is 57%. These services are free for authors. There aren’t any set-up fees or gimmicks. They merely make your work available for download.

Proper serving ware. Paperbacks. If you want to serve your readers traditionally, Amazon’s CreateSpace is the way to go. There are no set-up costs involved and the process is fairly simple to make your work available as a paperback on Amazon. Your books are printed as needed. When a reader purchases your book from Amazon, the book is then printed and shipped to that reader. Traditionally, an author would pay thousands of dollars to see their work in print. Using Amazon’s CreateSpace, a copy of your own 400-page book would cost about $4.00. Though CreateSpace offers certain (pricey) services to its authors, these services aren’t required to publish your work.

Serving. Marketing, marketing, marketing. This part of the process comes easily for some. For others, it is the most difficult part of the course of self-publishing. Between press releases, reviews, social marketing and developing a readership, the road to success can be rocky, and it all depends upon the work that you put into it. For eBook sales, I recommend joining online forums dedicated to certain eReaders. The Kindle has multiple forums where authors are welcome to post their book and description. For paperback sales, consider giveaways, blog tours and obtaining reviews from reputable sources. If this seems overwhelming, you should consider hiring a publicist to help build an arsenal of marketing material.

More writers are looking at self-publishing as a viable option to getting their work out there. Currently, fewer publishing houses seem willing to take on a work by an unknown, unproven author. According to Publishers Weekly, over 760,000 titles were self-published in 2009: nearly double the total from 2008. Traditional publishers printed less than 290,000 books in 2009.

With the publishing industry gradually failing to keep up with the times, it seems as if the new game is self-publishing. This leaves more power in the hands of the author, instead of the hands of the publishing houses.

July 8, 2010
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