Hi All! I haven’t poked my head up much because spring is always MY CRAZIEST TIME OF LIFE with kid stuff and other family stuff. I hope to get back to regular “tips for new writers” at some point before summer begins.
I do have a great announcement–my short story In Darkness, She Sheds was accepted into the New England Speculative Writer’s premier anthology, The Last Summons. I can’t tell you how honored I am to be in the company of these other writers, and how excited I am to share my story with the world. In Darkness, She Sheds is a fantasy-horror story.
In order to pay the authors sooner rather than later and also hire local talent to edit and create original art for the book, NESW has started a Kickstarter–click here to read about it, donate, or share on your social networks. Happily, we already reached our funding goal, but we’re trying to meet a stretch goal that will allow for things such as an audiobook narrator and more original art. Please support us if you can–and remember, even if you can’t support us monetarily, sharing is caring!
In a past tip for new and aspiring writers I discussed the importance of beta readers for your work. Getting feedback at all stages of your writing is crucial to improve your writing.
Another way to improve is to become a better editor of your own work. I’ve found that a great way to do this is to start with others’ work. Reach out to peers and ask them if you can beta-read their work. This is valuable for several reasons:
It shows you that everyone–even the best writers–have messy initial drafts
You’ll recognize weaknesses (punctuation, spelling, word choice, etc.) in others’ writing–and by recognizing this, you’ll learn to recognize it in your own work
You’ll begin to hone your “editor’s eye” and learn to improve your own editing
It is true that naturally, some of us are better editors than others. Some great writers are just not good at seeing the mistakes in their own work, including blatant spelling errors. Not every great writer is a great editor, but honing your “editor’s eye” will make your writing better. Another benefit: nurturing your ties with other writers means that they will return the favor and edit your work at some point.
I am naturally blessed with a decent “editor’s eye,” but when I began to edit professionally the experience enhanced my self-editing. I’d find myself writing something, and recognize the mistakes I picked up in my clients’ work. Passive voice is a still a huge problem for me, but I’m getting better at recognizing it as I write because I so often flagged it for others.
This week’s blogpost for new writers is going to be re-posting a something I wrote for New England Speculative Writers. I had a health scare this week and was in the hospital for a bit (I’m fine–false alarm but lifestyle changes needed) so I’m behind in life. I have a writing deadline to meet and a dance competition for my daughter this weekend.
This post is still relevant for new and aspiring writers, particularly those with children. It tells a bit about my path to motherhood and how that affected my writing. The good news–it’s never too late.
Here’s the link to the post. Please check out the excellent submissions from other writers in New England in honor of Women’s History Month.
Last week, I posted about the importance of finding a critique group. This week I want to discuss a related item–getting beta readers for your work.
A beta reader improves your writing in many ways:
They can tell you “what’s working” and “what needs improvement”
They catch spelling and grammar mistakes
They can catch plot holes and logical inconsistencies that you’re “invisible” to
They may catch inadvertent racism, sexism, ableism, etc.
If you’re a new writer, you’ll find that there is always a slight disconnect between what you think you’ve written or intend, and what readers will glean.
In the Eye of the Beholder
You may write what you think is the perfect fight scene. Perhaps you love fight scenes in books, and have read hundreds.
Once you give that scene to beta readers, you may find it’s not so perfect after all. One reader may tell you it sounds clichéd. Another may have weapons experience, and tell you that there’s no way your protagonist would have that kind of firearm on them. Another may note that the human body could not do the moves you described.
It is important that you be open to any feedback you receive. It doesn’t mean you have to take all of it, but you need to learn to put your ego aside and accept that your beta readers are picking up on things other readers might as well.
Finding Beta Readers
You will find that most people feel honored to be asked to beta read your work. Ask members of your household, classmates, friends. If you are a member of a writers’ group you have built-in beta readers there. You could also ask in a Facebook group devoted to your genre, if you belong to one.
Ideally, you’ll want another writer to read your work, along with one or two people who like the genre you write. Having an editor or grammar nerd is also helpful.
If You Are a New or Aspiring Writer, You Need a Critique Group. Believe Me.
For the first in my series of marketing and other tips for new writers, I want to start at a basic level–honing your craft.
The best thing you can do as a new or aspiring writer is join a writers’ group–sometimes called a critique group.
As a beginner, you’ll learn a lot from other writers. You’ll get tips on writing habits, where to find markets to submit to, and how improve your writing. You’ll also receive feedback on your writing.
All groups operate differently. Some meet weekly; other monthly or bi-monthly. Some groups choose to read one member’s submission each time, with other members giving a detailed critique. Others have all members submit a piece of a certain length in advance of a meeting, with members spending an allotted amount of time critiquing each piece of work.
There’s no one “correct way” to run a group–it depends on the personalities and commitment levels of the members.
As a woman speculative fiction writer, I found my first group through my local chapter of Broad Universe, an organization supporting women writers and artists in the speculative genres. I joined their online discussion group, and after lurking for a year agreed to meet another member for coffee (shout out to my friend and fellow writer, Trisha Wooldridge.) It was wonderful to discuss our mutual passion and share our dreams. We became friends, and at some point after that Trish invited me to join my first critique group. We were all women writing speculative fiction, and our group lasted for several years.
While it’s not necessary that group members write in the same genre, many find it preferable. The most important thing is that you feel comfortable contributing, and get useful feedback. I’ve known of other successful groups that have a science fiction writer, a romance writer, a mystery writer, and a children’s book author. There’s no one “right” way.
Look Locally
Find organizations or groups that support your genre. Do be aware that membership in these types of groups can carry a small annual cost. Even a small cost can be too much for some beginning writers. Another tip is ask around your local bookstores, colleges, and libraries to see if a group is operating out of or meeting in any of these places. Can’t find something that fits the bill? Start your own group! Most libraries, coffee shops, and bookstores will allow you to post a flyer announcing your intention to start a group.
Next time, I’ll discuss another tip for beginners. Until then, please share your own experiences finding or joining a critique group in the comments. Have a question? Feel free to ask!
I decided shortly before Boskone that it was time to get serious.
A few weeks ago I hit the big “five-0,” and it seemed like the perfect time to stop giving a damn what people thought of me. It seemed like the perfect time to stop being so dreadfully hard on myself. WHY BE MY OWN WORST CRITIC? There are plenty of people in the world happy to do that for me.
So after very little writing activity during 2017, I made a deal with myself to get serious and really give it a go. Because things don’t fall into our laps (usually.) If you want something, you’ve got to work for it; and if you’re apprehensive, or scared of what people will think of you, or scared of not succeeding, or scared of succeeding (twisted, I know) then you’re not going to get anywhere. (I also bribed myself with wine and chocolate. Luckily, I like wine and chocolate.)
In the few weeks before the Big Birthday, I swallowed down the fear and apprehension I’d been struggling with and turbo-rewrote and edited* a draft short story that had been sitting for almost two years–I was able to rework it so that it more closely fit an anthology call I’d had my eye on. I was so motivated that I fought through illness and turned it in a few hours before the deadline.
While I’m still waiting to hear on whether the story was accepted, it was exhilarating to back at it–scary, but exhilarating.
I brought this renewed energy to Boskone. I promised myself I was going to be more extroverted, make an effort to stop and talk to people, and make new acquaintances. And I did! And it was amazing. 🙂
Luckily, Boskone placed me on several awesome panels. I met wonderful people in my fellow panelists. Some I’d been “Facebook friends” with and finally had a chance to meet in person. Others I knew by name only, and a few I hadn’t heard of before. They were all incredibly smart, talented, and kind. But before each panel I was a bundle of nerves. I feared I’d be the “Red Shirt” on every panel.
Like this.
Instead, I over-prepared and felt good about what I contributed to each.
Giving Back
One panel in particular was a standout. The Marketing Uphill panel** was perhaps the one I’d been most nervous about. I was on this panel with real writers! And the owner of a literary agency! And someone who’d been been doing marketing for movies beginning when I was a kid. What did I have to offer?
It turned out I had a lot of practical advice for new and aspiring writers–I still consider myself an aspiring writer in several regards. As someone with a limited budget, no agent, and no written novels (yet), I gave advice such as:
Feel insecure about your social media presence? Not sure what to write and post? Post pictures of your cats. (Or substitute cute pet and/or small human.) [Shoutout to D. L. Carter for this tip, which we discussed at the Broad Universe table in the Dealer’s Room.]
Not good at editing? Or social media? Or creating a website? Offer a trade with someone who is. Maybe someone in your writers’ group is great at social media. They can help you set up your Author Facebook page and teach you to Tweet; you can offer them an edit in return. Or make them a lasagna. Or pet sit.
Above all… FIND OTHER WRITERS. Join a writers’ group in your area. Join writers’ organizations in your genre (I’m a member of Broad Universe, New England Horror Writers, New England Speculative Fiction Writers.) They will support you, give you tips, help you network, and hold your beer*** when you need to cry because the short story you wrote and think is brillant was just rejected for the 14th time.
After this panel, my fellow panelists gave me accolades, and a small group of audience members came up to ask questions, take pictures of my books, and grab my business cards and bookmarks. Since I do marketing for my day job as well–I’ve actually been doing marketing-related work for almost 20 years–I decided I should give back to the community by providing weekly marketing tips to new and aspiring writers. Look for the first in this series of tips beginning next week!
