Websites, tag lines, and titles, oh my!

PJ Sharon here today, and I’m asking for your help with some of my more immediately pressing concerns. First off, prioritizing my duties as an indie-published author and entrepreneur is challenging to say the least. There are many moving parts to this job and I wear more hats than guests at a royal wedding. While I await my second round of edits for WESTERN DESERT, I have time to work on my marketing strategy for the release next month. Priorities include scheduling a short blog tour, setting up an advertising budget for paid ads, a possible launch party of some sort, sending out press releases, and finishing my back cover copy and art. The list goes on, but sometimes, I just need to let my instincts take over and tell me what is most important for the day.

Of course, writing this blog is always on my Sunday to-do list—though it often falls over to Monday night at midnight—but today I was talking to my DH about a new website. Those of you who know me, know that I have talked about switching over to a WordPress site for my website and blog for at least the past year. Currently, I have a blog on Blogger and I have a website that I love, but it has some significant limitations. My Circle Pad site, which I pay the requisite $8.95 a month for hosting, has some quirks that make it not compatible with Apple products for one. Search engine optimization is lacking, and the interface, as user friendly as it is to work with, is antiquated and doesn’t stand up to today’s market equivalents. Even with all of that, I have resisted switching to WordPress because,

a.) I’m tech-phobic and,

b.) I can’t seem to make decisions about details such as colors, design, theme, or whether to go with .org or .com?

In a come-to-Jesus moment, I have decided to just suck it up and do it! No matter how overwhelmed I feel, the website change is a must-do. In forcing the issue, I have come to realize that part of what holds me back is that I still haven’t clearly identified my brand. I’ve gotten as far as to say, “I write romance fiction for teens and beyond,” but other than that I don’t really know what defines me as a writer these days.

This brings me to my second dilemma of the day:

Should I change my tag-line, and what should I change it to? My first three books, being contemporary YA romance with hopefully ever after endings fit fine with my “Extraordinary Stories of an Average Teenage Life” tag line. But now that I have added dystopian to my repertoire, “average” doesn’t seem suitable—not for genetically altered teens in a futuristic setting. There is still a romance, but the story clearly fits in the YA category of dystopian fiction rather than upper YA/NA stories. Romance readers are not necessarily sci-fi readers and vice versa, so I feel like maybe I need to change my image a bit to reach out to a broader audience. It occurs to me that maybe I’m having trouble pinpointing my target readership because I haven’t truly discovered my “hook”—that message in our style and voice that makes us unique and offers readers the promise of something different.

Once I understand what makes my stories extraordinary, and have narrowed down my tagline to who I am and what I write, then the web design should be easier. I also just finished taking an online web-design course to get me over my tech-fear, and DH has vowed to help me get set up on a WordPress site by the end of June when I launch Book Two in The Chronicles of Lily Carmichael, WESTERN DESERT.

This takes us to my third issue of the day, month, year…a title for the third book in the trilogy. Here are the parameters:

1) Title must be in adjective/noun format (Waning Moon, Western Desert)

2) It would be nice to keep with the “W” alliteration, but I’m not attached to that.

3) The title should reflect that Lily and Will are embarking on the final stage of their journey across a post-apocalyptic US. This time they are leaving Las Vegas and heading east along the southern route, which will take them through the Southern Swamps. (I already thought of that as a title but I think that would only work if there were a fourth book since this one will culminate in the final battle with the Industry and will take place in Chicago and then Vegas again. I do wish I had made it a series and not a trilogy…another lesson learned.)

4) Basically, I want a title that sounds catchy alongside the other two, is different enough to not be competing with a dozen other books by the same title, and one that metaphorically shows the shift to a hopeful ending rather than a title that focuses on gloom and doom.

These are a few of my ideas. I’d love to hear yours!

CHANGING/SHIFTING/RISING TIDES (you get the drift)
SHIFTING/RISING WINDS
STORM SURGE
HEALING WINDS

Thanks in advance for any help, advice, or suggestions!

M. Leighton Pulls Her Book From the Shelves

Hello, Scribes Fans. Sugar here. I’m sure some of you may know that indie author M. Leighton pulled her book UNTIL I BREAK from the shelves today.

Why? That’s a very good question.

If you want a synopsis of the book click HERE. I learned about this after seeing a conversation on Twitter about it. For me 97% of Twitter is white noise but this topic grabbed my interest and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. An author pulling her own book? Not because of low sales, not because it was poorly edited or badly written but because it was too dark, too ugly for some readers tastes.

Here’s what Leighton had to say about it.

When I wrote Until I Break, I could’ve watered down the story, made it more palatable, easier to accept.  But as an artist, I didn’t want to cheat Sam and Alec out of their story.  As I’ve said before, life isn’t always pretty, but I had hoped that the majority of people would be able to see beyond the ugly to the wonderful story of love and acceptance and healing that was embedded in Until I Break.  Sadly, that hasn’t turned out to be the case.

So, rather than risking people misunderstanding Sam and Alec and, therefore, me as a person and author, I’m pulling the book from publication. It will no longer be available in any format from any source after tomorrow.  Yes, I could leave it out there to earn money, but every cent would be bitter, knowing that there are some who not only don’t “get” the story, but who are misunderstanding it in a disheartening way.

Every book is not for every reader. We all know that. And no matter what we write we always know that there are going to be readers out there who don’t like or misunderstand our work. I think that’s all apart of being a writer.

And as another writer that makes me so dissapointed in Ms. Leighton. If you want to read her entire post click HERE. We’re writers here so we know what it’s like to pour ourselves into something and I can tell that from Leighton’s words that she loved these characters and their story. I’m sad that she pulled it down. I sad that she cared enough about what a few people thought that she had to hide it from the world. I’m sad that she didn’t say F YOU and stand by it. 

Part of me gets it. Our books are like our babies and we want to protect them, but sometimes being a good mother is letting your baby go out there into the world and letting it fly. I wished she would have let it fly. Especially since it seems that more people loved the book than hated it, more people thought it was insightful and thought provoking and compelling. 

Part of me thinks that Leighton is pulling some big trick on us, that by announcing that she was pulling her book she drove people into a frantic rush to buy it and see what was so dark about it. Last night her book was number 6 on the Amazon list. Even I was sucked in and Until I Break is so not my kind of book. And if it is a trick it’s damn near brilliant. I hope she is laughing all the way to the bank.

So what is your take on this? Would you pull a book that you loved even though some people didn’t understand it?

Katy Lee’s Writing Stage

Hello all, Katy Lee here. Yesterday, Vivienne Lynge shared the “Stages of a Writer Career.” Click here if you missed it and want to see what stage you are in, and what you have to look forward to. But today I thought I would share the stage that I am in—and how I have to keep pinching myself because of it.

According to Viv’s list, I am in my 40’s…now I’m really not in my 40’s, age wise, but for this list, I’ll go with it and be happy about it.

This is where Viv put me:

“Ahhh, the 40′s – the decade when you finally feel like you’ve arrived.  You’ve got a contract and a couple/few books out there.  You’re a midlist author!  Wahooooo!  You are speaking at conferences, offering your experiences to newb’s in their 20′s, just starting out.  Maybe you are starting to feel some love from your publisher.  You might be getting recognition from some of the big contests, the Edgar, the Rita, a Newberry award.”

Viv would make a great carpenter, because she knows how to hit her nails dead-on. Reading through the stage, I could see how each part fit into this season of my writing career and it made me pretty happy to see where I had come from and where I still might go.

But one part in this stage scared me. In fact, it was something I was thinking about earlier this week when I received a message from my local RWA group asking for published authors to become a mentor. This is the part where I’m being asked to share my experiences with the newb’s, as Viv put it.

Yes, I have book contracts. Yes, I have spoken at conferences on a certain topic. Yes, I have been recognized in contests, but, after all this, I still don’t feel adequate to be offering advice to newcomers on their work. I still feel like I’ll wake up someday and all this will have been a dream, or worse, it will have been real and people will realize I have no talent, after all.

Am I the only one in this stage, or in any of Viv’s stages who feels this way? At what stage does it go away? Or does it ever?

The thing is I REALLY want to be a mentor. I REALLY want to help other up-and-coming authors, and I know I can’t wait until this feeling of insignificance goes away, because chances are, it will never go away…and maybe I shouldn’t want it to?

The Unlocked Secret…and my Ah-Ha Moment: Humility is a virtue I want to always have. Nothing should be taken for granted, and I should always take every success as a blessing. And as with any blessing I receive, I know I am given it so that I can then BE a blessing to someone else. I need not fear about failing someone else. I will offer whatever I can, and I’d be willing to bet my mentee will help me become a better writer in the long run because of it, hence pushing me up in Viv’s list to the 50’s. Wahoo!

Question: So what stage are you in? Did anything scare you?

Tick Tock Goes the Clock – Are you Managing your Time?

One of the biggest reasons for not getting writing done is that we don’t have enough time. But time is one of the most democratic of commodities. Here’s The Unlocked Secret right up front today: Everyone gets the same number of hours a day. 24 hours for everyone! Yay! But it’s how we use them that make the difference.

Author Terri Main coordinates the Book in a Month group at the American Christian Fiction Writers site, and for the past two months I have enjoyed hearing all her wise words and inspiration. Today I thought I would pass along some of her tips for managing our time in order to get in more writing. 

 

1. Understand how you are already using your time. For one week, record what you did in every 15 minute time segment throughout your day. Some can be easily designated like 11 pm – 7 am sleep or 9 am – 5 pm work. But even there, you might put 9 am – 12 pm work, 12 pm – 1 pm lunch and 1 pm – 5 pm work. Others may change every 15 minutes or so. This will help you identify how you are using your time. 

 

2. Check your priorities. Looking at the time log you made, highlight in different colors different activities by priority. Use three priority levelsHigh – Must do for survival. Extremely important to family life. Something I’ve committed to as a moral, spiritual, physical, family priority. Something that I would sacrifice lower priority items to do. 

 

Medium – Of importance, but would sacrifice, if reluctantly for a high priority item, but would sacrifice a lower priority item to do. 

 

Low – Enjoyable, habitual or dragged into by others, but not personally important. Would not knowingly sacrifice anything else to do. 

 

Look at the colors. Is a lot of your time taken up low priority items like watching a TV show you were only moderately interested in seeing. Going to a Tupperware party for someone you don’t really know that well. Reading a tabloid story about some movie star who may or may not be seeing another movie star behind her movie star husband’s back who in turn is seeing another movie star. 

 

Those low priority squares are the first place to look for writing times. Then check the medium priority stuff. This is where things get serious. Giving up the low priority stuff is easy, but when it comes to something in the middle, you have to think a bit more. For instance, there is a sale on at the mall. There are some good deals. Not great, but you might save a bit. On the other hand, you are getting close to the end of your novel and an extra two or three hours would make a difference. There is no easy answer. You simply have to weigh the pros and cons of each and make a decision. But be sure you make the decision and don’t let the decision make itself. 

 

3. Beware of the Tyranny of the Urgent. I forget who coined that term, but I like it. Sometimes we do something because it must be done now and not because it is actually important. Don’t let a low priority item get in the way of your writing plans simply because something has to be done quickly or not at all. When faced with something urgent, ask yourself if it is also something important and if it is more important than anything else at that time. It might be a one day only sale, but is there anything at that sale which is actually a high priority thing you need to buy? 

 

4. If you can’t write an hour, write for what you can. This is sometimes a sticking point for people. Someone looks at the clock and says, “Oh, I have to leave for work in 20 minutes, I can’t write.” Sure you can. Writ for 15 minutes and then gather your stuff and head out the door. You may “only” get 300 words written, but that’s 300 words you would not have otherwise. Consider this. If you write 300 words a day five days a week that’s 1500 words a week or 78,000 words in a year. That’s a good sized novel from just 15 minutes a day and taking weekends off. 

 

5. Use the “in between times.” Sometimes, I think I spend half my life waiting for something. I may be waiting for a doctor’s appointment, a phone call, a business appointment, a train or dinner at a restaurant. With the various small computers like netbooks, ultrabooks, tablets and Chromebooks, you can spend that time writing, outlining, editing, researching or making notes. 

 

Consider writing during commercials on TV. Every hour of television has, on average, 20 minutes of commercial time. Just mute the TV and write during each commercial break which averages 3-5 minutes. 

 

6. Word sprints. A word sprint is a short time of concentrated writing. You set a timer and write for 15-30 minutes. You do nothing but write. You don’t have soda, coffee or snacks. You don’t listen to music. You turn off the phone. You just write and write as fast as possible. It’s amazing what you can do in 15 minutes of concentrated writing. 

 

A useful tool for this is Write or Die. It has both online and desktop versions. The program begins to flash and play screechy music if you don’t type something for a few seconds. Their motto is “It puts the prod in productivity.” 

 

Well, those are a few of Terri’s favorite tips. Hope they help you. 

Wallowing and Other Coping Mechanisms

Yay! It’s Friday. Casey here.

A common misconception amongst non-writers (and new writers) is that once you’ve been agented, published or signed a book deal, you will never face rejection again.

Professional wallower.

Well, I’m here to say, “Not true. You can and will receive rejections. Again and again.” While, I recently sold a book, two more were rejected. That’s how it goes.

It’s inevitable. And the sting of the most recent rejection can be just as strong as that first one.

First off, know that you’re not alone. I know every single one of the Scribes has felt the same pain. Sometimes, the same book that resulted in a book deal was rejected by many other publishers. J.K. Rowling. Need I say more??

Casey’s tips for handling rejection:

1. Wallow. Yes, that’s right. Feel bad about it. At least for a little while. Depending on the tone of the rejection, my wallowing can last anywhere from 15 minutes to the entire day. Then, I brush myself off and keep going. Anytime I start dwelling means I have to work on my next book. Onward and upward, I say!!

2. Don’t take it personally. So hard to do. I won’t lie. Some writers get mad and defensive. Others assume they suck as writers. Most land somewhere in between.

3. Be professional (see above). Writing is a profession. Thank the agent or editor for their time. DO NOT, under any circumstances, argue with them, demand a more detailed reason or be rude. All that will do is label you as an amateur and possibly get you a “reputation”. Don’t be that writer.

4. If you received more specific feedback, put it away and come back to it when you can look it with a calm, reasoned mind. Then decide if you want to make changes or submit elsewhere as is. It goes without saying that if you are getting the same comment over and over ( and I don’t mean – this isn’t right for us or any of the other standard dismissals), then you may need to make changes.

5. Don’t throw in the towel. Keep writing and keep learning. Honestly, that should never stop. If you think you don’t have more to learn, then remember – Pride goeth before the fall. Just sayin’.

And finally, focus on the future. In my case, MYSTIC STORM is coming out the end of May 2013!! And here’s the cover:

Share and share alike! I know we all have rejections lurking in our past.

The Beauty of the .99 cent Price Point

Welcome to another Tuesday edition of the Writing Secrets of 7 Scribes. PJ Sharon here with today’s unlocked secret. I’d like to talk about e-book prices. Specifically, ways to use the .99 cent price point strategy to boost sales, gain exposure, and get your books listed on the hottest advertising sites around.

First off, if you are traditionally published, changing the price of your e-books is likely beyond your control. Additionally, publisher prices of e-books in most cases will set you and your books outside the realm of “discounted” or “cheap” reads since all of those folks in the middle (agents, editors, etc.) need to take a piece of your pie. The average traditionally published e-book is priced anywhere from $7.99-$15.99–not exactly an impulse buy kind of price. Being that there are no print costs, storage rates, or delivery fees to pay, I’m not sure what these prices reflect– other than the publishers trying to make up for a declining print book industry. These prices may not discourage rabid fans of Stephen King, Nora Roberts, or James Patterson, but if you are a new author trying to gain a readership, your publisher may be pricing you out of the market. There is simply too much free and reduced price product available to readers. As such, higher priced e-books are likely going to to have difficulty finding an audience as time goes on. Then again, I could be wrong. The benefits of having a publisher with access to a publicist who is willing to help you get exposure through pre-orders and reviews might just balance out the playing field. (I’d love to hear some comments from trad pubbed authors about this topic.)

If however, you have self-published titles that aren’t selling well, or you have a series that you would like to promote, the ability to give your readers a deep discount can open some new doors. For one thing, there are several advertising sites that focus mainly on selling discounted e-books. Kindle Nation Daily, Book Bub and Kindle Fire Department just to name a few. All of these sites can give your discounted e-books the excellent exposure they need to get them into the hands of lots of new readers. The caveat is that because there are so many authors trying to get their books in front of the world, advertisers have the advantage of picking and choosing which books they will feature. Requirements are becoming more stringent. Some expect as many as 18+ reviews with an average 4.5 star rating. To further narrow the field, the books may not be accepted if they have been offered for free within the past few months, causing some issues for authors who have participated in the KDP Select program with Amazon.

Lest you feel you are “giving away the shop” with this .99 cent price point, think of how large retail stores encourage consumers to try a new product. They will often give away samples or significantly reduced price items in order to introduce customers to a new product or product line. It’s known in the industry as a loss leader. Even if you normally price your e-books at the $2.99-$4.99 sweet spot for impulse buyers, a drop to .99 cents can expose you to a whole new readership who ONLY buys .99 cent books or downloads freebies. You might take a cut in royalties (from 70% down to 35%) but if it leads readers to other books in a series or gains you a new following, the increased volume of sales and the boost to your rankings can be a sacrifice well worth making.

Now, there are a few tricks you can try to employ to keep 70% of your dollar. By changing the price of your e-book on Smashwords and BN, for instance, and then waiting for Amazon to price match. If they choose to change the price, they won’t change your royalty rates, but as the TOS (terms of service) agreement states, authors are not supposed to offer the book at a lower price on any other distribution channels,so it may ruffle their feathers. It could also take several days or even weeks before Amazon catches up with the new price (a process that can sometimes be sped up by having friends “report” the lower price), and there is always the risk that they could call you out on the contract breach. So far, Amazon has been amenable to price matching strategies that self-published authors are using. One of the silly benefits of allowing Amazon to match the lower price of their own volition is the neat little slash they put through the old price so that customers know they are getting a deal.(See here for example)

If you decide to try a .99 cent sale on one or more of your books, it can help to boost your exposure if you join with other authors who are doing the same thing. Readers will often look for these “group sales” so that they can stock up on “cheap” reads all at once for their summer reading. Indie Romance Ink, a yahoo group for independently published authors has just such a sale coming up this week from May 1-3, called the Book Lovers Buffet, Bouquet of Books, offering over 150 e-book titles across multiple genres, all priced at a very affordable .99 cents each! There are books for every reader available all in the same place and we have a staggering number of authors promoting the sale. We’ve lined up dozens of book bloggers, FB pages, and advertisers all promoting with us. Hopefully we’ll have a good turn out. Check out our landing page by clicking the icon below, but wait until tomorrow if you want to enter to win great prizes. If you stop by today, you can browse through the books, but the prize page won’t be active until tomorrow and there are no price guarantees until the sale starts. Be sure to spread the word to family and friends. Hope you find exactly what you’re looking for!

As for me, both WANING MOON and HEAVEN IS FOR HEROES will be available for .99 cents during the sale. I’ll also be giving away a $25 Amazon Gift card at my http://www.pjsharonyawriter.blogspot.com site to one lucky vistor who drops by and leaves a comment with a valid e-mail address (not to be used for any other promotions).

Contest ends at midnight on May 3rd. Winners to be announced Sunday, May 5th. Thanks to everyone who organized the sale (Clover Autrey…you know who you are), and a big thanks to everyone for passing along the word on FB, twitter, and Goodreads.

What do you all think about e-book prices and the .99 cent price point strategy?

The ARCs Have Arrived!

Hi there, Sugar here.

When I got home from work on  Friday I had a big package waiting for me at the door. I knew it wasn’t a pair of shoes. (I haven’t ordered any in months.) I suspected they were the bookmarks I ordered from Earthly Charms. (Great site!) But when I picked up the package and felt its weight I knew it couldn’t be just book marks. The address confirmed that the package was from my editor, but for some reason I couldn’t imagine what was inside. My book is not out until nearly September and since I only have a vague idea what goes on behind the scenes I wasn’t expecting Advance Reader Copies yet.

So happy together!

But there they were and when I saw them I squealed a little. I had a book! An actual printed book. No longer was it an idea in my head, or words on a screen. It was on paper. It had a binding. I could hold in my hands. I could inhale the pages. I was excited to say the least. But I realized that this was a huge step in the process. ARCs mean that now real people are going to be reading my book. They are going to be reviewing it. Some of them will like it, some of them won’t. And it scares me a little because, my baby, my first book, the thing I’ve thought about and sweated over for the past year and a half is being released into the world to be critiqued.

My mother made me give her a copy. That’s an even bigger thing than having strangers read it. She hasn’t read anything I have written in years and she doesn’t normally like romance novels. I’m afraid she won’t like it. I told her that if she doesn’t like it to lie and tell me she did. Which of course she will.  I’m not sure why, but having my mother read something I wrote is weird for me.

What about you all? Do you let your family members read your work?

Writer Impossible

Happy Friday and welcome to the Scribes. Casey here!

Recently, my family has become infatuated with watching Food Network’s Restaurant Impossible. I know the show has been on for about four seasons now, but we had never seen it until I stumbled upon one afternoon. I was supposed to be plotting one of the three stories doing combat in my brain, but, hey – I didn’t feel like it!

MYSTIC INK at Mystic Pizza

After watching about a dozen episodes, several themes played out over and over again.  Such as:

Owners who micromanage to the point they do everything and don’t let their employees do their jobs.

Owners who let their staff walk all over them.

Owners who have no idea how much they are spending or what it costs to do business.

And, sadly, writers are often guilty of the same things. (Okay, micromanaging is mostly our job!).

Here’s what I’ve learned from Chef Robert Irvine:

1. Be honest. Denial does you no good. If you’re not up front about a problem, you can’t fix it. So if you aren’t writing like you want to, it’s time to assess your habits, document your day and determine how you can work more effectively.

2. Work smarter, not harder. I’ve encountered this philosophy in my corporate day job. I’ve witnessed first hand the belief that if you work 90 hours a week, that somehow you’re doing a good job. In my experience, that’s not true. Not if it means you end up burned out and unhappy. That is not a good long-term strategy. Working smarter means using your time effectively and delegating/outsourcing tasks when it make sense to do so.

3. Old dogs can learn new tricks. Bad writing can be fixed as long as you’re willing to learn new tricks. And you are willing to throw away the old and bring in the new.

4. Outsource. Robert doesn’t do everything by himself. He has a trusted builder and a designer (and I am sure a host of others you don’t see on camera) to help him out. Writers shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help or hire professionals when warranted.

5. Backbone. Get one. As writers, it’s our job to manage our careers and be our own champion. It doesn’t matter if you have an agent or not. No one can look out for you better than you. Like it or not, we are all small business owners and we all have to be savvy, especially now, with restrictive, rights grabbing contracts and other pitfalls.

And finally, Chef Robert’s most important lesson – do the best you can, every day.

Well, what do you think? Any lessons learned to share with us?

Writer Beware (How much should you spend on learning your craft?)

Hi there, Sugar here.  So I have a secret. Before I sold DANGEROUS CURVES AHEAD to St. Martin’s Press I never spent a dime on learning how to write. Oh I joined the RWA and my local chapter. I went to the monthly meetings, I read  a lot of the writers I admired. I found good critique partners and beta readers. But I never paid for a class, bought a book or shelled out hundreds of dollars on workshops. Am I that good of a writer? Well, I would like to think so, but the truth is, I’m not. I know I can be better. I know that there is always chance for growth. But do I want to pay thousands for a chance to grow. Absolutely not.

I don’t spend a ton of time surfing Twitter but when I do, it seems that somebody is always trying to sell writers something. Classes, books, retreats, all day workshops. They all promise to make your characters stronger, your dialogue wittier, your sex scenes filled with more… Umph. But with all that stuff out there how do you know what’s worthy of spending your hard earned cash on.

So I put together a little list of things you should think about before you shell out your money.

1. Look carefully at who is giving the workshop/ writing the book/ selling the product. Do they have any credibility?  If they are teaching about craft, have they ever sold a book to a major publisher? Have they taught before? Have you heard good things about them?
2. For self pubbers. If they are claiming that they are successful and can teach you how to be, can they prove it? Are they willing to share numbers? Secrets?
3. Can you get what they are selling else where for free? There are a lot of blogs out, A LOT, for writers by writers where you can get good info for free. Read them.
4. Can you use your friends?  Just before I was about to submit my manuscript I thought about paying to have a professional critique it, but then I saw the prices. They ranged anywhere from $300-$800. Way too rich for my blood. Plus it’s only one person’s opinion. What one person might love another might hate. So use your friends when you can. They are readers too.
5. Have you checked out writer’s forums like Absolute Water Cooler or Query Tracker. You can learn much from reading the posts on there. 

Sure there are classes and books out there that are well worth it. But the best way to get better at writing is to get your butt in the chair and write. The more you write the better you get. I promise. It works. I’m proof.

Now it’s your turn. What do you think about before spending your money on craft? And if I was going to spend some money, what books/ workshops/classes would you recommend?”

Does Good Writing Matter? by Katy Lee

I recently came across a survey titled, Does Good Writing Matter? The following are a few of the questions I answered. Would love to compare your answers with mine. Feel free to leave some, or all, in the comments below.

1)      Do you judge other people based on their writing?

Now before you throw your pencils at me, or your mouse as the case may be, I will say the word “judge” may be too harsh. Do I judge? No. Do I feel a writer loses credibility if they can’t express themselves well in writing? Yes. A person’s inexperience comes through in their writing and if they want to be taken seriously, whether in fiction or in nonfiction, accurate writing is a must. But like I said, I would not call it judging. I think a better term would be “to question.” Do I question a person’s validity based on their writing? Definitely.

2)      What writing mistakes bother you most?

The answers to choose from were: “Grammar/punctuation,” “word use,” “long, difficult sentences,” “vague purpose,” “poor logic.”

And my answer? Poor logic and vague purpose. A writer may lose credibility with inaccuracies in their writing, but I don’t let those bother me. I’ll most likely continue to read on, correcting mistakes as I go, but a lack of purpose and poor logic has me closing the book/article all together. For example, a few months back I had to judge a writing contest of published works. One book in particular was nearly painful for me to read because it lacked purpose. I squirmed in my comfy chair. I fidgeted and kept looking at how many pages I had left. My husband watched me from the couch. He said, “You’re not enjoying that book.” I was not surprised he could tell. Every sentence, every piece of dialogue, every scene needs to push the story along and show the purpose to the reader, and it needs to be logical, or they will close it up.

3)      Do you apply the same writing standards to social media?

This one was a tough one for me. With the 140 character limitations in Twitter, I think I have to be more understanding to errors in social media. Although, I have seen some great Tweets and Facebook statuses that are short, but full of impact without compromising intelligence. Then there are those posts that confuse “there, they’re and their.” (See question #1 for my response to those.)

I thought this was a great question given our social media world these days. It used to be that a person had to be credible in their field in order to write. These days, everyone has a soap box (or media outlet). Some might think that’s scary, but I still believe your intelligence, or lack there of, shines through even in 140 characters.

Either way, I’m interested in hearing your take on this one.

4)      What is your personal pet peeve in writing?

This is a question we ask many of our guests here at the Scribes, and I have learned so much from their responses. I had no idea some of my word choices bothered people. Now I do, and I don’t do them anymore. So, I am hoping if you don’t answer any of the other questions, you will at least answer this one. I know there is still so much for me to learn, so please share.

Now as for my personal pet peeve word. I would have to say the word “got.” It just jolts the flow of my reading. Also, “lightening vs. lightning.” One is to lighten your load. The other is a natural electric discharge in the atmosphere. The misuse of that word also gives me a jolt. <grin>

The Unlocked Secret: Today’s secret isn’t really a secret, but here it is anyway: Everyone’s a critic. Make every effort to put your best work out there. That means take the time to learn through classes and workshops, reading various works, and keeping your handy-dandy grammar book by your side at all times. And if you’re still unsure? That’s what editors are for.

So, have at it, Scriblings! Answer away, and remember as I said in question #1, I don’t judge.

And as always, thanks for your Tweets and Shares!