Never Will I Ever Again

Probably my most controversial post ever.

I have given away more than 5,000 free copies of my books. Do you know how many reviews I got out of it?

Months and years of toil are worth more than .99
Value your time.

One thing I have learned is: Don’t go back! Just keep moving forward. Fix it in post. I used to keep going back to the beginning, over and over, whenever something shifted in the plot of my WIP. Just keep moving forward and get through that initial telling of your story. You’ll find the further you get in, the more it changes. If you keep going back you’re just stuck in this constant cyclic cyclone of changing and updating and it’s so unproductive. Fix it in post. Just get it done. There’s no point in going back to the beginning before you’ve reached the end. You don’t even fully know your story until you’ve reached the end, so why go back and go back and go back before you fully know your story? It’s an incredible time-waster. The first time through, just let the story out.

When you first start writing novels you think a first draft is getting your story out and your second draft is cleaning up spelling and grammar errors. That’s not what it is. Your first draft is you pushing, dragging the story out of you. The second draft is making it make sense. The third draft is smoothing it out after you made it make sense. The fourth draft, for me, is leaving subtle clues for either that WIP or future installments in the series. The fifth draft is making sure my timeline is solid. Did I start the story on a Wednesday but two days later it’s Sunday? The final draft is prettying it up.

Momentum matters so much when you’re an indie author. If you wait, two, three….ten years between books, you’re going to struggle. If you’re writing a series and you take that long between books, your readers won’t trust you and they’ll wait until your entire series is out before they buy that second book. Also, I like waiting because this gives me an opportunity to go back and leave Easter eggs in earlier installments. My new rotation for writing a indie series is: finish first draft of A, write first draft of B, write second draft of A, write second draft if B, etc….write final draft of A, write first draft of C. When I’m ready to write the final draft of B, I’ll publish A. We all have our quirks. This is mine.

In the past I have tried to build up the hype AFTER releasing a book. We know that starting numbers are important. Trying to do battle against new releases with your five month old book, is an uphill battle. Start strong.

Whoever is cheering you on, let them help you. Don’t try to do it all alone. Don’t feel like you’re asking too much. There are people here who want you to succeed. Don’t be afraid to ask them for help.

I wish I had more of these convictions when I started out. I was impatient. I was excited. I made lots of mistakes. I hope you can learn from them. #mysterywriter #indiemysterywriter

Parallel Lines

The von Strassenberg Saga is a dark and twisty soap opera of a book series. That’s the best way of describing it. You might think I had it all intricately plotted out beforehand. The reality is much more baffling. It just happens. Very rarely do I plan it out, it just happens, and it’s happening again with book 4, The Devil’s Children. There are explosions going off in my brain as I realize what’s happening and wondering if it will all tie together nicely in the end. It always does, so I’m just trusting the process. I had no intention of making Peter and William have these parallel experiences but I’m here for it, it’s brilliant. I just wish I could take the credit but I didn’t PLAN it. It’s just happening. I’m so excited.

New Book Release!

Now in paperback and on Kindle Unlimited! Dacie Mae: Midnight Under the Magnolia is a coming of age story wrapped in a mystery. Filled with slow-burning romance and emotional entanglements, Midnight Under the Magnolia introduces us to the small-town world of twenty-two-year old Dacie Mae MacIver who dreams of making it to the big city one day. When her past comes strolling back into town, he’ll either prove to be the boost her career needs or the unveiling of her deepest secret. Buy here

A Thousand Words a Day

A line of dialogue drifted through my head tonight. A line spoken by Tess to Josepha in what will be the fourth book in The von Strassenberg Saga. From that one line the whole story went spinning but the pieces all fell happily into place, not just with this series but with the Dacie Mae spinoff. It felt amazing to open my laptop and have my von Strassenberg Saga playlist looping in my ears as my brain just took that line and ran with it. I ignored all the desperate wonderings, “How will this fit? Where will this go?” And just kept writing through it. Rewriting Dacie Mae has shown me that the magic is truly in rewriting. It’s okay just to vomit this first draft out. With so many different storylines and eye colors and plot twists to keep straight it can be tempting to just stop and check on something but I won’t let myself. As we say in filmmaking, “We can fix it in post.” Let’s finally get this done. A thousand words a day. Ninety days. That’s a novel. With some persistence I can manage a thousand words a day. They may not always be great words, especially if I have to wait until 11:30 at night to write them, but they’ll be words and in the beginning that’s all you need. BUY The von Strassenberg Saga here!

Where has Dacie Mae Gone?

Dacie Mae MacIver.

22.

Journalist. Kind of.

Beloved daughter, colleague, friend and lover (maybe??).

Has gone missing.

Dacie Mae: Midnight Under the Magnolia is no longer available for sale at this time. I have found a rather reputable agent who will actually look at previously self-published work (please don’t ask yet, I’m still very self-conscious during this process and am not ready to share). Dacie Mae is, I think, my strongest work to date but the market is flooded and I suck at self-promotion so Dacie Mae can’t get no love. For this reason I have removed Dacie Mae from all available platforms and am editing, bolstering and lovingly crafting her into a novel-length tale of lust and deception and, of course, murder. To be martleable as a mystery novel she needs about 40,000 more words. That’s equal to a few more characters meeting an untimely demise I would think. I honestly don’t have a lot of time to sit at my laptop these days. I often only have one arm available as I’m breastfeeding my fifth son who is only eight weeks old at this time. Also my brain function, not so good. Sleep deprivation is a powerful thing. So I’m working slowly, and hopefully methodically, on my phone….typing with my thumbs. I had already started on book two when I decided to check into finding someone who would represent Dacie Mae. After I finish the rewrite I’ll most likely let her rest while I work on book two and when that’s done I’ll go back and reread the first book. Curious about this?  Check out my “My New Editing Process” post. Anyway, nap time is over, back to momming. Check back for more updates on Dacie Mae!

My New Editing Process

I abhor editing. It’s only fun when it’s someone else’s work. Admittedly, I’m a red pen reader. Now that I’ve been publishing independently and dealing with uppity remarks from readers about editing and indie writers I take particular pleasure in finding mistakes in professionally published novels. It’s cathartic.

I have a degree in Broadcast Media. I’ve taken classes in AP Style and copy editing. None of that matters when you sit down with your 90,000 word manuscript, trying to see it with fresh eyes. My dear friends have tried to help and while they do catch some things there’s always something that slips through.

If you’ve never tried to edit a 90,000 word document please do not come to me with a superior attitude and act like you’re the Queen of All Perfection. It’s not the same as tidying up a twenty page research paper for college.

The trouble is in finding your editing groove. Not just for grammar but for story. Do you work  in the Word document? Do you print it out? Break out your red pen? I’ve tried both techniques and even tried starting at the end and working backward. Either way my brain glazes over.

Unfortunately the best method for me requires time.

Time to set that work aside and let all the frustrations and expectations and other emotions die down.

Time to get myself involved with a new story, a new world and new characters so that my emotional investment is spread out across projects.

And then I load my story onto my Kindle and read it like a reader. Not like an author desperate to finally upload her work. I highlight all the mistakes or bits that could use tweaking or fluffing or paring. Sometimes I’ll set it aside again and then go back for another read and highlight session. When I feel like I’m ready to tackle the dirty work I’ll open the file in my laptop and use the highlight function on the Kindle and the edit-find function in Word and fix all the grammatical errors, etc. When that’s done I’ll go back and start tweaking and fluffing and paring.

Maybe this would work for you. Maybe it wouldn’t. I’m just laying this out in case you’re in need of a new technique and don’t know where to start.