Blue Sky Thinking - A Cure for Writer's Block?

 Have you ever sat down at your manuscript and had no idea where to start or where to go next?

         Don’t worry. We’ve all been there: staring out of the window, doom scrolling through our social media or making copious cups of tea.

 

 But Blue Sky Thinking can help. Blue Sky Thinking can get you over your writer’s block and into the next scene.

 

Blue Sky Thinking is defined as ‘creative ideas that are not limited by current thinking or beliefs’ In other words, it is the kind of thinking that is out of the box, perhaps generating ideas that might be considered absurd.

 

Children are better at Blue Sky Thinking than adults. They will draw a picture of a castle on the back of a truck, or mole’s home underground with electricity and water. What about adults?

 

Unfortunately we realise our ideas and words have consequences.  What we say or write affects the way people see us, think of us and treat us. We become self-conscious and we start judging our ideas before they have had a chance to breathe life.

 

 And then, we curate them so fast, we barely even see them before we crush them. As writers we can end up sitting, staring at a blank page or a screen, with nothing.

 

 Or, we may find ourselves agonising over and editing words we have written, as we write. We edit and write at the same time until our creative flow grinds to a halt. We can take years to finish a book or we don’t finish it at all.

 

If you apply Blue Sky Thinking to your writing process, you can prevent this from happening. You will need to put your editor self on hold, only your writer self will be allowed at your desk.  Tell yourself that, in the writing process. your ideas have no limits. There will be no judgement and no consequences. (That will only come during the editing process.)

 

Write all your ideas for your story down, however crazy, wild, silly and ridiculous they might be. Write them down. Fill the page with insanity, absurdity, bizarre character traits, leaps of coincidence, well used tropes, suspension of disbelief and incongruent plot twists. This is Blue Sky Thinking, where the sky is the limit because there is no limit. This is where your ideas give birth to more ideas, until you have so many ideas that there will be one that fits your story, or it will fit the direction your story is taking, or it will lead your story in an amazing direction or it will spark the beginning of a new story.

 

I have found the less I work on a book, or the longer time I leave between writing sessions, or the more I try to edit the existing work, the more difficult the whole process is. But if I let my ideas flow, without necessarily knowing where they are going, then my existing ideas grow, and more new ideas come to me.

 

         So if you’re stuck in a rut and don’t know the way out, hang up your editorial hat. Look out the window at the sky and tell yourself there is no judgement at your desk. Let your ideas beget ideas.  Apply Blue Sky Thinking and there will be no limit to your creative process.

What can our ROSA community do for you?

I belong to a lot of author groups on Facebook (probably way more than is healthy!). Some are super helpful, some degenerate into places where authors just advertise their books to other authors, and some are echo chambers. We strive at ROSA to keep our Facebook group in the first category - a place where we can share publishing news, articles on publishing, and writing advice - and occasionally our members post about their successes so we can all share the joy.

You might think my biggest fear is that the group gets hijacked by authors who pop in to post adverts then disappear again, but actually my biggest fear is that the group becomes an echo chamber.
What do I mean by that?

Echo chambers are places where eveyone agrees with everyone else. Where everyone pats each other on the back and says "congratulations - because you did it OUR way."

From the very beginning, when we founded ROSA, we wanted it to be a place where all writers feel welcome. Irrespective of whether you choose to submit to traditional publishers or whether you want to self-publish, irrespective of whether you're a complete newbie or a multi-published author, you're welcome in ROSA. But I am actually going to add one condition to membership (there had to be a catch, right?)

In order to be a member of the ROSA community, you need to be open to learning and to constructive, calm debate. ROSA isn't just about tolerating those whose paths are different from our own, it is about constantly striving to improve our writing and to up our game.

Even our most established writers tell me that they give back to this community because through giving back they learn. As I've discovered through working as a writing coach, mentors learn as much as those they mentor. No matter where we're at in our journeys, we are open to learning.

This is why it horrifies me to discover just how many writers out there have no interest in learning. They just want to be told how talented, how clever and how right they are. They don't want constructive feedback, they want a pat on the back.

Example: recently, in one of those many Facebook groups I belong to, someone posted that they really struggle with writing synopses, so do they really have to do them? The answers flooded in: "No, of course you don't", and "don't do anything you're not comfortable with", and "how can you possibly sum up your novel in one page?", and "don't query - just self-publish."
The original poster them commented saying: "Thank you all. The last group I was in, they told me if I wanted to get my book published I really needed to write a synopsis, so I left that group."
Um, no.

That seems to be the number one answer in many of these groups: if you don't want to do things the established way, then self publish. And if they tell you something you don't want to hear, leave the group.

An editor asked you to revise your baby? "They just don't understand you. Self pubish!"
A critique group said your female characters are too hard and unlovable (a criticism I often get!), then "who needs that kind of negativity? Leave that group!"
An agent didn't love your book? "What do they know anyway? Self publish!"

I have self-published. I love being a self-published author. I love the amount of decision making control it gives me over my own career, but it is not the answer to all problems. The books I self publish are the equal of the books I've had published by HarperCollins. The only difference is that I chose to self publish them. They still follow all the rules of good writing that I learned over many years of working with editors at traditional publishing houses.

If the quality of your writing is not yet equal to that of your favourite authors, then self-publishing will not save you. It will crucify you. Readers don't care if this is your first book or your 90th (unless they're your friends and family, but are they the only audience you want to reach?)

The readers leaving reviews on your books probably also read Tessa Dare, Alisha Rai and Debbie Macomber, and if your books don't match up to their level of quality, the readers will point it out to you in ways that will make you want to curl up in a little ball and cry.

I promise you, it is way, way better to receive advice and criticism from a small and supportive group of authors who want to see you grow and succeed, than to receive that feedback from the feral reviewers on Goodreads.

So the advice I'd like you all to take forward into this new year is this: stay open to advice. Even if you disagree with that advice, or decide not to take it, at least listen and give it some thought without bashing the person giving it.

If a more experienced writer tells you "you need to learn to write a synopsis", or "romances need happy endings", or "books should have a beginning, middle and end", or if an editor says "you need to make your heroine softer and less aggressive" or "your characters need to be more pro-active; things shouldn't just happen to them," they are not telling you this to be negative. They are not trying to box in your creativity with rules or make your writing formulaic. There might just be a reason they are giving you this advice. If you're not sure what that reason is, ask!

If you are at the beginning of your writing journey and open to learning, and if you are looking for a safe space in which to discuss writing and publishing, please consider joining ROSA. We have a lot of established writers who are willing and eager to pass on what they know - because they're looking to learn from you too!

In our next post, we'll be sharng tips on how to write an effective synopsis, so watch this space!

Feedback from the 2017 Strelitzia Contest: Part Three

In this first post of 2018, we continue our series offering feedback from the 2017 Strelitzia (and Imbali) contests. To read the prevous posts in the series, click here.

The main feedback we had for entrants was to read the instructions!

In this final part of the series of feedback posts from the Strelitzia contest, I'd like to look at something that was more of an issue in the 2016 Imbali Awards than in the 2017 Strelitzias, however since we are changing the length requirements in 2018, I am including this advice here: manuscript length.

In 2018, Strelitzia entries will be limited to the first three chapters, not to exceed 15,000 words.

It is essential that you check the word counts / number of pages / number of chapters requested for the submission. The reason is simple: our judges (for both the Strelitzia and Imbali awards) are all volunteers. They are giving their own (often very limited) time to read the entries. It is very difficult for us to attract a sufficient number of judges if we have to say to them up front “you may have to read five 120,000 word epic novels.” And if we do not have enough judges signed up to ensure that each entry gets at least three separate reads, then we have to limit the number of entries we can accept.

Why do we want every entry to receive at least three reads? Ideally, we'd like each entry read by at least 4-5 judges! Reading preferences are so incredibly subjective. If one reader hates your hero, for example, but another has no problem with him, your score will be pulled right down. But if one reader hates your hero and two others like him, the negative score has less impact. Of course, if three readers all hate your hero, you may need to take the judges’ advice on board and do some further editing!

My final piece of advice has nothing to do with reading instructions or following the rules, but should just be basic, common sense: ensure that the work you submit is the highest quality possible.

• Study the craft of writing and ensure you understand the basic requirements of a romance novel.
• Read your submission through thoroughly before you submit.
• Edit it to the best of your ability - and then edit it again.
• Get a beta reader to read through it to catch any typos, grammatical errors, misspelt or misused words, before you submit.

This is an award for excellence. In the event that the entries do not achieve excellence, the trophy will not be awarded. ROSA’s own reputation is on the line, and if we were to award the trophy to entries that are riddled with errors, contain plot holes, under-developed characters and conflicts, and are not yet ready to submit to an agent or editor, the entire organisation's credibility will suffer.

We know you can do it. We know you can follow the guidelines, write a synopsis and submit great work. We know you have excellence within you. We just need a little help from you to ensure that the judges see it and reward it

And as we move into 2018, we'll be giving you a little help to get there too!

Feedback from the 2017 Strelitzia Contest: Part Two

Following our highly successful first Strelitzia contest, the organisers and judges have some valuable tips to share with those considering entering in 2018. In my previous post, I shared the most important feedback we received: read the instructions!

In Part One of this series, I discussed our file formatting requirements, and why we have those specific guidelines for the Strelitzia contest. In this post, I'd like to look at the other requirement a lot of our contest entrants struggled with: the dreaded synopsis.

In 2017 a synopsis was only required for those only submitting the first few chapters rather than a completed novel. Believe it or not, that was us letting you off easy! Since many entrants would not have had time between the announcement of our contest and the closing date for entries to complete an entire manuscript, we figured we'd open up the contest to more entrants if they only had to write a 2 page synopsis, rather than another 200+ pages of book.

However, several entrants queried this, asking if they could submit their first few chapters only, but not submit a synopsis. One even opted not to enter at all because of the synopsis requirement!

The synopsis was a non-negotiable requirement of entry, and from next year will be mandatory for all entries.

While it is of course your prerogative not to enter due to the synopsis requirement, the only person you are harming is yourself. Yes, writing synopses is hard. But it is also an essential part of being an author. If you ever plan to become a professional author, you will need to learn to write synopses. Agents and editors require them, and you can’t query them and say “oh, but I don’t like writing synopses, so I haven’t sent you one.” (Well, of course you could do that, but you would be ending your career right there!) Even bestselling, multi-published authors still write synopses - this is how they sell their as-yet-unwritten books to publishers.

Agents and editors require synopses for exactly the same reason we do: to see if the author has a grasp on character development, to see if the characters’ conflicts are sustainable, to see whether the story will be satisfactorily resolved.

No matter how brilliant the prose of your opening chapters, if you do not have a handle on plot or character arcs, you may not yet be publishable, and you certainly should not yet be winning awards. Harsh, but true.

But the converse also applies. If you have a gripping plot, the characters have growth arcs, and the ending is sufficiently satisfying, many editors and agents will overlook a few mistakes and writing that still needs polishing, because they can work with you on polishing the writing to publishable standard.

So do yourself a favour, and write a synopsis. I can promise you, our judges at ROSA are a lot less critical and much easier to please than most agents and editors!

For those who struggle with writing synopses, bookmark this blog, as we'll be posting some helpful tips on how to construct a short 1-2 page synopsis in January 2018.

Feedback from the 2017 Strelitzia Contest: Part One

Following our highly successful first Strelitzia contest, the organisers and judges have some valuable tips to share with those considering entering in 2018.

The first bit of feedback might arguably be the most important: read the instructions! 

The contest rules are not arbitrary. They are there for specific reasons, either to help you, to protect you, or to ensure that the contest is manageable and sustainable.

The requirement of this year's contest which was most frequently broken was the file format requirement. We asked that entries be submitted in Word format. At least half submitted in PDF format, which is a locked and uneditable format. We let it go in 2017, but going forward any entry not received in the requested format will be automatically disqualified, and the entry fee will NOT be refunded.

There are very two very valid reasons why we asked entrants to submit their entries in Word format. It is so that we can cut and paste the entries in order to:

1. Protect the entrants’ anonymity. We are a small organisation. It is entirely possible that the judges and the entrants may know each other. Therefore, in order to ensure the judging is completely fair and impartial, we cut and paste the entry into a new document, stripping out the author’s name, before sending it to the judges.
2. Correct the formatting. As your work has not yet been professionally formatted, as the Imbali entries have been, when transferred to another device (eg. to a Kindle or other eReader) some of your formatting may either be irreversibly stuck in place, or become strangely formatted (for example, words cut in half, lines of odd lengths, lines too tightly spaced for comfortable reading). We had two entries this year that suffered this fate. Do you really want your entry to receive a low score from a judge because the formatting affected their reading or understanding of your entry? No? Then trust us to format your work correctly so that your work can be judged on its merits, not on its layout on the page.

I can only imagine that the entrants who submitted in PDF either (a) did not read the submission guidelines, (b) were afraid that ROSA and its judges would otherwise steal the entrants’ work. I'd like to address both concerns.

(a) Not reading submission guidelines is a serious career faux pas. Through your career you will no doubt be submitting your manuscripts many times over to agents, editors and contests. If you do not read and exactly follow their guidelines, you are putting yourself at a serious disadvantage. Most agents will not even consider a submission that hasn’t followed their guidelines.

(b) On the second point, we are a professional organisation, and our judges are career professionals who are already successfully writing their own books. They do not need to steal your work. Furthermore, all our judges sign a contract before they are sent any entries, which clearly states that the copyright belongs to the original author (there is a similar clause in the Ts & Cs for entrants). We have a record of every entry we receive, and we keep track of who is sent what, so in the unlikely event that any judge is unprofessional enough to steal your words, you (and ROSA) would be able to prove plagiarism very easily, which would end that published author’s career. However, if you are still of the belief that the published authors within ROSA are potential plagiarists, then I suggest you do not submit your entry to our contest. In fact, to be truly safe, don’t submit your work anywhere, ever! (Since it's way more likely that you'll be plagiarised after you're published!)

In my next post, I'll look at another contest requirement that appeared to be a stumbling block for many of our entrants: the dreaded synopsis.
 

Your Facebook Book Launch Step by Step

Welcome to 2017, where you don’t need to give people people cupcakes and wine and hold thumbs that they will buy your novel at your book launch. You can successfully launch your book online with a Facebook event. It’s easy, inexpensive and has tremendous reach.

Who participates?

Your readers / target audience and fellow authors in your genre (exhaust all your contacts, don’t hold back. Remember, if you don’t ask, the answer is the same as a ‘No’.).

What’s in it for you?

You reach wa-aay more people (hundreds, possibly thousands), with more meaningful interactions than you ever could with an in - person launch. It’s also costs next to nothing to pull off. You can be creative. Just pretend you’re already a best selling author, and you’re ready to rock.

What will it cost?

Although you will not be spending money on wine, snacks, a venue, an outfit, transport, a photographer and giving away paper versions of your book - you will be investing your time in preparing for the event and time on the day. Don’t worry, you can do it in your PJs and slippers if you want to, no problem.

What’s in it for the guests?

Not only do your readers (and fellow authors) get to chat online in a live Q&A (I like the game: ‘Ask the Author Anything’), there will also be books (digital) given away - and who can resist a free book?? Some authors give away paperbacks / signed copies / other swag / Amazon gift cards - it’s all up to the author. The best giveaways are the ones where it’s simple, but with a kickback for you, the author. For example: If you like my Facebook page or sign up to my newsletter (insert links for convenience) I’ll send you a free digital copy of my book!

Step 1: Prepare a media kit for your book (*= required)

• Cover images *
• Blurb *
• Teasers (best done with images and excerpts from the book - use Canva.com)  *
• Video trailer
• Author bio *
• Excerpts of reviews / bloggger comments *
• Anything else you can brag about like other press coverage

Step 2: Create a Facebook Event

• Create an event on FB from your FB author page about 2 weeks before the event date.
• Set a date and time (this can be a couple of hours in a particular day or it run for a few days, that depends on you). Keep time zones in mind.
• Use Canva.com to create stunning artwork for your event cover / banner.
• Write a decent description of  your event. Say it is a launch, explain how it will work (See Step 3). Include all your social media links/ handles etc.
• Make sure the settings allow for invited guests to invite others. The more the merrier.
• Invite as many people as you know.

Step 3: Line up the “entertainment”

• Ask fellow authors in your genre to share the stage with you and promote their work.This is great because it’s generous and helps build a sense of community. You can decide on criteria like only authors who have released a book in a last year if you want to.
• Decide on how long their timeslot will be and on which day.
• Make a schedule and stick to it. Remember to give yourself a timeslots too!
• Get them to confirm their participation and send them reminders.
• Suggest some ideas to them and recommend they get a media kit ready (see Step 1).
• The idea is that they will keep the momentum going on your event page by introducing themselves, sharing excerpts and reviews of their book, take part in live Q&A and do a giveaway / run a competition. Sometimes this means that you have to get the ball rolling by asking the first question or being the first to comment.

Step 4: Leading up to the event

• Finalise that schedule.
• Promote / tell people about the event.
• Boost your event by paying FB a small sum of money to reach even more people. This will cast the audience net even wider, which is what you want.
• Prepare your giveaways / competition criteria.

Step 5: On the day / days

• Make yourself available to introduce the authors participating.
• Have some questions prepared in case the audience is slow.
• Be positive and upbeat.
• Make sure whatever is happening is relevant, interesting and engaging. Varying the content with live video/ music videos / recorded videos / images and soon will really help.
• Promote your book!
• Ask for Follows / LIKES and Subscribers
• Engage with your audience.
• Give of yourself and be yourself - that’s the whole point.
• Ask a friend or two to LIVE Tweet your event with hashtag.
• Share images on Instagram / status updates of what’s happening on your event page on your FB author page.

Why not participate in our very own ROSA member, Erica Taylor’s Facebook Book Launch for her debut novel, A Suitable Affair? Invite all your romance lovin’ friends too!

©Cindi Page 2017

Cindi Page is a digital marketer by day and romance novelist by night. She Indie-published her first novel, A Piece of My Heart, in 2016 and her second and third books are due for release late 2017. Connect: cindipage.com /@1stTruLove /FB: cindi page author / wordofmouthct.co.za/ cindi@cindipage.com

#Writertip Indie Publishing for Beginners

We've all heard the headlines: self-published author becomes overnight gazilionaire. And of course, we want in!

Stop right there, and read beyond the headlines to the true story.

First up, I'm going to de-bunk a few of the myths in that attention-grabbing headline.

Myth #1: Self-published means different things to different people. In this instance, self-published does not mean 'I paid a shitload to a vanity publisher to give me several boxes of printed books I have no idea how to sell'. In this instance, self-published actually means Indie Published. As in: an independent publisher. As in, the author has now become the publisher.

Myth #2: There is no such thing as 'overnight'. The most successful indie authors have been doing this a while. They've learned the craft of writing, learned about the publishing business and book marketing, and they've invested hard cash and even more time in building their successful careers.

Myth # 3: There hasn't been an indie published gazilionaire since Amanda Hocking and EL James sold their souls to traditional publishers back in 2011/12. Sure, there are lots of indie writers making a good living at it, but the golden age is over. Everyone and their mother-in-law is now self-publishing, and because of this complete explosion of content (without a corresponding explosion of readers) it means everyone is getting a little less of the pie than back in those golden years.

But enough with the doom and gloom. As I said, a good living can be made from self-publishing. After all, on the plus side, indie authors have content, marketing and pricing control of their work, so they can adapt quickly to changes in the market and hop on bandwagons before the big traditional publishers have even realised there is a bandwagon. If, like me, you're a control freak, then indie publishing is made for you! And finally, being an indie publisher means you get to keep all the profits. That's a pretty big incentive.

So what do you need to get started as an indie publisher?
There are just 3 things:

1. Computer savvy. Don't even think about becoming an indie publisher if you can barely navigate your way around a Word document. Most indie publishing is digital. Unless you outsource absolutely everything (at major personal expense) you will need to be able to format your work correctly, upload it to any number of retail websites, create your own online profiles,  create your on teaser graphics, have a presence on social media, send out digital newsletters, preferably manage your own website, and a host of other online activities that require at least a little technical savvy.
2. Start-up capital. You're no longer just an author. You are now a business. Which means you will need to invest at least a little start-up capital to launch your indie career. At the very least, you will need to hire a professional cover designer and a professional editor. Those are non-negotiable costs. Even if you are a graphic designer in your day job, if you do not also have a good grasp on digital formatting for book covers, book retailers' rules and restrictions, and an awareness of market expectations, you are still not a book cover designer. You may also need to pay fro website design, budget for advertising etc.
3. This last requirement is the most important. You need to have a head for business. If you cannot balance your own cheque book, and terms like Reader Magnets, Return on Investment, domain names and web hosts, Profit & Loss Statements and Business Plans turn you cold, then maybe you're better off in traditional publishing where other people manage all those kinds of things. When you are your own publisher, you need to be your own business manager, accountant, and marketing guru (without neglecting your job as the business' resident author) - at least until such time as you're earning gazilions and can hire people in to do those jobs.

For me, my indie published books have yet to earn me as much as my traditionally published books. But the huge amount of satisfaction they have brought me is priceless. Along my (continuing) journey as an indie author, I have learned so much, and met some incredible people, and I am incredibly grateful for the experience. I may not have achieved gazilionaire status yet, but every single book that sells feels like a huge accomplishment because I did it.