It’s been a while since I did a worldbuilding post. This one will be thin, because I just have a few points of data rather than anything particularly visual or interesting, but my friend Chris and I spent most of today batting planetary details back and forth, trying to figure out some of the specs of my world.
Authors Answer 43 – Promoting the Book
Well now, something’s changed with sharing internally through WordPress. So this is edited from my original puzzled reblog:
It’s time to panic. It’s the indie author’s worst nightmare. It’s that horrific stage of publishing known as marketing and book promotion. This is probably the one thing that most authors dread having to do if they don’t have a traditional publishing contract. This time around, we have a reader question, from tlclark.
Question 43: I would love to hear anything anyone has to say about book promotions and what route work best for them.
Answers here: —> Authors Answer 43 – Promoting the Book
Monday Music — Ambient
No video today. Instead, I wanted to highlight this ambient noise generator I found recently. I’m sure most people know Rainy Mood, but this one, myNoise, has more than rain-sounds. Way, way more. I don’t listen to music of any type while I write — I seem to be really distracted by sound — but a lot of the testimonials are from writers who use different soundscapes to set certain moods.
I personally use this for background noise to keep from hearing random house-creaks….but my favorite soundscape so far is the RPG Dungeon (seen above), which is mostly chain-clanks and distant footsteps. I guess that’s just what soothes me?
Authors Answer 41 – The Big Moment. Published!
Granted, in addition to my noted relief, I did feel a real desire to hide under the bed for about a month until the nervous excitement wore off. 😀
Every author’s dream is to be published. To have that book they’ve spent months or years on finally in print or in eBook form, ready to be purchased by eager readers. That is the moment that every author anticipates or dreads. Will it be a hit? Will it be a flop? What will the reviews say? It can be a moment filled with mixed emotions.
Question 41: What was it like when you published your first story? If you haven’t published yet, what do you imagine it will be like?
Publishing my first book was harrowing. It taught me things, though, and continues to teach me all the time, even after publishing my second book. I will say that it’s incredibly exciting and rewarding as an independent author, especially.
I haven’t yet, but I imagine that I will be both excited and nervous.
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Authors Answer 40 – Difficult Scenes
Some people think writing is easy. It’s not. Some aspects are easier for some authors, while others are more difficult. But it’s usually not the same from author to author.
Question 40: What kind of scenes do you find most difficult to write?
I don’t know that I find any kind of scene difficult — except sex scenes, which I just don’t write. I enjoy writing action scenes, dream sequences, extended dialogue, lavish descriptions, etc etc… There are certain things I don’t write, like in-depth narration or exposition, but that’s because I don’t like that stuff and try not to include it. I have been told that when my characters monologue, it’s not so great, so I’m working on that.
I find sex scenes to be difficult because I prefer to respect my characters’ privacy. I also have difficulty with political scenes and scenes…
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Authors Answer 39 – Critique and Writing Groups
We’ve talked about beta readers before. But how about other forms of help? There are groups that writers can join to get help in many ways. Critique groups are good for help in whatever way the writer requests, whether it’s grammar, style, whether it’s likeable, and so on. Writing groups vary, as well. Some are online, some are in person.
Question 39: Do you use critique groups or writer’s groups? Are they helpful?
Yes, and absolutely. Writing is as lonely a task as there is. And the product we create comes out of that isolation, so it is imperative that we get feedback. As I highlighted in an earlier post here reference beta readers, I greatly value the nuanced feedback a critique group can provide. Unlike betas who tend to give you feedback on an entire story, a writers group is much more focused at a more tactical…
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Story Timeline
A while ago, I wrote a post about the Halion Calendar, highlighting the lunar-cycle calendar that I’ve been using to make sure my details sync up with the reality of the world. As I’m a few chapters into Book 4 now, that calendar has become even more important, so I extended it from the span of books 1-3 to a book 4+ version. But that’s not terribly helpful to you, my readers, if I don’t give you an actual timeline for it.
Authors Answer 38 – Summer Reading
Here’s what all our authors are trying to get through this summer.
Summer, time for the beach, time for summer sports, time to go basking in the sun. Or maybe you’d prefer to read in the shade or in an air-conditioned home. Well, I like doing all these things, but this is about reading. Let’s find out what everyone’s doing this summer.
Question 38: It’s summer, so what’s on your summer reading list?
Ha ha ha…what’s on my summer reading list? That’s a good one. I don’t have a “summer” reading list because my capability to commit to a reading list is pretty much non-existent. For one thing, I never seem to be able to find the time to read these days (and yes, I know how horrible that sounds). For another thing, whenever I try to commit to reading something new I end up getting the urge to read an old favorite, and that favorite almost always wins…
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Fun With Paperdolls 1
After doing the Silent Circle Mage Outfits post, I had a ‘duh’ moment — why am I dressing random mages when I should dress the actual characters?
Because of the computer crash, I had to reconstitute my paperdoll file, so only just got back to the project, but I did manage to put together a quick Cob-as-pilgrim pic, circa book 3. The pilgrim robe is a simple off-the-rack pull-on affair — nothing like a Light priest’s robe, which I’ll do next.
And because it’s Cob, I made a version of him-as-pilgrim for a typical Cob day.
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- Cob as Pilgrim
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- Typical Cob Day
Our hero, Destroyer of Clothing.
Paperdoll, as before, by Alexandra Fitzgerald.
Authors Answer 37 – Beta Readers
Authors rarely work alone. They usually have professionals doing editing, book cover, and so on. However, before the book is published, many authors like to get help from other sources, unpaid sources.
Question 37: Do you use beta readers? How many?
I absolutely use beta readers! But let me share my definition of “beta readers” so I can answer this clearly. I think of beta readers as someone who will read a manuscript “cover to cover” and provide at least as much feedback on the story as they do on grammar, word choice, paragraph structure, etc. Often – for better and worse — betas are not writers.
One thing about betas that we must be attentive to is that they are generally hard to find, and they don’t want to be asked to repeatedly read works in progress, so you usually only get to use them once per…
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The War of Memory Project 