Taking the Plunge: Self-Publishing (or Not)

The manuscript in question.
Credit: Elizabeth K. Humphrey

I think I'm going to do it. I've been putting it off, researching it until the cows have come home and left again. I've talked about it to friends and colleagues. I've read WOW's great articles about it and I agree with Deana.

I'm going to self-publish.

Or at least I think I'm going to...I guess I need to get over my hesitation.

We all have them. Hesitations and those manuscripts printed, marked up, and relegated to the bottom drawer of a desk. Every once in a while, I pull out mine, pass it along to a reader, collect comments and back the draft goes. Life in a drawer. At one point, a large portion of my filing cabinet was devoted to the remnants of my WIPs (works-in-progress, but perhaps it should be WIHT, when-I-have-times).

Even though I need to make the final decision and I'm still not convinced I should do it, here are the reasons I've been thinking of self-publishing:

• I know my writing is ready and I want my writing to reach beyond the filing cabinet.

Sure, there is more to why I want to publish (going back to childhood reasons), but that in itself would take up another filing cabinet if I were to write my reasons.

Unfortunately, in my simple reason for wanting to self-publish is the complexity of the entire issue. While I want my writing to extend its reach, how much am I willing to support it. Let's face it, it doesn't need my support and nurturing when it's stuffed into the drawer.

I'm not saying I wouldn't have to support my novel if a traditional publisher took it on. But somehow being on the precipice of self-publishing seems just that much more daring.

Have you taken the plunge to self-publish? If so, what got you to go there? If not, what's holding you back from self-publishing?

Elizabeth King Humphrey is a writer and editor in North Carolina. Some say is the "writingist state"...if so, many file cabinet drawers must be stuffed to overflowing.

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11 comments Elizabeth King Humphrey, manuscripts, revise, self-publishing

Where Ideas Lead: Sometimes to Good...or Bad...Writing

Plunging ahead into a fifth or sixth draft of a novel or the 10th revision of a short story, there have been some hurdles along the way, but for the most part, it's been smooth sailing. Right?
What if it has been rocky. Perhaps the novel revision has dropped lower and lower on the list of things to do. Finally the revision process drops out of the bottom of the list--behind cleaning the storm gutters and washing the windows. The energy once used to get through the first through nth draft isn't there.
It's become a struggle. Writer's block is not to blame.
Writing is a passion and is flowing through other writing projects. And, in the past, revision has been a relief (especially as an escape from household chores!).
When a revision is dragging, how soon before deciding that, yes, the writing is fine. The structure is passsable.
When is it time to consider that perhaps it's the initial idea that needs to be discarded or re-tooled?
Sometimes taking a look at the initial idea of a story--even after following it through several drafts--can prove to be the root of the problem. An idea, perhaps not well-developed in its beginnings, could provide a shaky base for the rest of the story to have built upon.
The inability to push through the drafts might be sending a message that the writer became distracted in the beginning of the writing process, perhaps not setting the firmest base of research or planning or even organization.
Even the best writers may falter in executing their passions if the foundations are weak or faulty. Good writing can suffer from poor preparations.

Try to take an objective look at the idea. Talk to others and ask for feedback. Determine if the idea is leading down a path of incoherent writing and a weak draft. Externalizing what may be happening can help solve the issues, even if it means re-starting at the beginning.

The path strewn with crumpled pieces of paper may what's left of years of work, but it can lead to a better and stronger finished product.

Elizabeth King Humphrey, a writer, editor and coach, took a picture of this crumpled page among many scattered throughout her North Carolina home. A sure sign of a novel in progress.

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Leave a Comment Elizabeth King Humphrey, first draft, novel writing, revise

Agent Blogs: A Treat for the Revising Mind

On some days my writing falls short of my goals and it has been hard to jump back into the same piece the next day. But lately, I've been using a specific treat to reach my daily goal.

I'm in my third revision of my novel (it could be more, but I'm never good with numbers). I'm getting ready to hand it off to two readers (I'm sticking with the number two...no big numbers to add!) with the hopes that by the end of summer, I'll be through another round of revisions and sending off the manuscript to a raft of agents. (Or is it a gaggle of agents?)

While I enjoy revising and taking apart work, often (just like with writing) the process stalls. I might hit a point where I'm not sure if I like the direction one character is moving. Or I lose sight of my goal of the day and, like recently, I might spend hours moving section breaks around to try to fix the issue with my page numbers. (Still unresolved.)

To reward myself for my perseverance, I've started reading agent blogs. Maybe it's a the power of my positive thinking that THIS will be the revision that helps secure an agent who WILL sell this novel. 

The blogs are like candy with a nutritional value. At first, it seemed premature to start reading the blogs. After all, I'm not done with my draft yet. 

But then I started finding voices of agents I wanted to get to know better. Their blogs are helpful, with kindness towards writers, their voices like a salve to the bruised ego of a writer. Others, just as enjoyable to read, may not seem as nice. But each blog imparts wisdom of experience and ideas that have become useful in my revision. 

Several years ago, in an earlier revision cycle, I didn't look for the blogs of those I was sending to. Now it is a pre-requisite. 

I want to learn reading recommendations, what impresses them, what writers they represent, their working style, what they like and what they don't like. But, most of all, I want to hear their writing voices to see if they are people I want to work with. And, as to why I use the blogs as a carrot? Because if I didn't think of the blogs as a treat, naturally I would spend all my time reading them...and none of my time revising my novel. 

So, are there any agents you follow on Twitter or subscribe to their blog feeds? If so, who are they? What's one piece of advice you have taken away from their blogs that you use in your own writing before you are ready to submit?

A creativity coach, Elizabeth King Humphrey contributes to AOL's ParentDish and blogs at The Write Elizabeth, delving into creativity in everyday places.

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Leave a Comment Elizabeth King Humphrey, literary agents, novel, pitching agents, revise

Let it Sit

by Marcia Peterson

Have you ever read an old piece of your work, something from way back, where it seemed as if the words were written by someone else? Reading it again, weaknesses stand out in ways they did not before. Perhaps plenty of good writing is there too. Either way, it's distance from your work that provides the new and helpful perspective. By allowing enough time to pass, you can experience a neutral reading of your writing projects, allowing you to clearly see what to change to make your work the best it can be.

For how long do you need to set something aside before looking it over again? It varies according to the type of writing. In my prior career I wrote lengthy business letters, which I printed out and proofread before deciding they were good to go. With especially long or complicated correspondence I'd wait until later in the day to send it and to my surprise, I'd sometimes find one or two errors that were invisible to me just hours earlier. With other types of writing, such as essays or articles, I've noticed that it can take a few days or weeks until the work can take on the strange otherness that allows me to read it fresh. This new, impartial reading almost always points to places to revise or tighten up to makes things better.

"The more time you allow between writing, rewriting, and rereading, the more objective you will be about what you've written," David Carroll says in A Manual of Writer's Tricks. He recommends a specific waiting period for certain kinds of work. Here is his recommended schedule:

*When writing any report or work of nonfiction: Do not reread it the next day. Wait at least three days. A week is better if you have the time, and two weeks better still. Then reread and correct.


*When writing a short story: Wait at least a month before rereading it and rewriting it.

*When writing a novel: Finish it, correct it, re-write it, and put it away for six
months. (An entire year would buy you even more objectivity, but that's asking a
lot.) Then take it down, read, and revise as required.

This approach obviously requires real discipline because it asks that you complete work ahead of deadline. You'll need to give yourself the necessary time between creation and due date to let the work rest, and become somewhat foreign to you. An agent or editor will surely be reading with this sense of detachment toward your work, so the rewards of waiting, then revising are well worth it.

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2 comments editing, Marcia Peterson, objectivity, proofread, rereading, revise, rewriting

A new notebook and a fresh start

It's been a crazy week of challenges all around, which have distracted me more than usual. And, on this rainy day in coastal North Carolina, I glance over at my three-ring notebook, which sits patiently near my desk.
A writer buying yet another new notebook, you probably are thinking, what's the big deal? (I'm sure that's what my husband was thinking!)
My binder has now become a catalyst for my work and a revision tool.
In the past week, one of my distractions has been re-entry into the revision world of my adult novel. The ideas for edits and expansions have been flying so fast and furious, I took about two days out of my regular writing work to compile drafts and notes and folders into one space. To clear out the clutter of previous empty drafts.
I needed something to catch all the words my brain was firing off: blank paper in my new notebook.
It's not a particularly fancy notebook, but it is a big moment for this novel. My pages love the security they are feeling, snug in this new notebook and close at hand.
My novel's first round of drafts were completed in 2003. I sent out queries by the the truckload. The second round took place in 2006. Then I lost steam and didn't even feel passionate enough to query. My characters stopped speaking to me and it appeared that this would be my the novel you hear about. You know, the one that ends up tucked away in a desk drawer, lost in the darkness.
But now I have renewed hope that this novel will be different and its energy will carry me through into the querying process...and beyond.

Any writing projects you've put aside? What did it take to regain your energy to finish it? Are you still trying to find the energy? What is one thing you can do to continue the work?


A creativity coach, Elizabeth King Humphrey contributes to AOL's ParentDish and blogs at The Write Elizabeth, delving into creativity in everyday places.

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Leave a Comment Elizabeth King Humphrey, novel, revise, revision tool

The Dreaded Blank Page

A lot of writers dread a blank page, and it gives quite a few writers' block. A blank page gets a writer no where. One of my favorite sayings goes something like this: "You can revise a terribly written page, but you can not revise a blank page." Even Tim McGraw weighs in on this topic with his song, "Blank Sheet of Paper." McGraw sings of a poor sap who doesn't know how to write an apology letter to his sweetheart, and so she never knows he's sorry. It is a terribly sad song about an unwritten letter. We do not want blank pages in our personal lives and definitely not as writers. But what are some ways to avoid them?

Another one of my favorite sayings goes something like this, "Practice the ABCs of writing--Apply Butt to Chair." If our behinds stay at our desks in front of our computers, maybe we'll actually write something. This is no guarantee as computers have many wonderful time wasters on them such as checking email and playing solitaire. But with our butts in the chairs, that's a start.

Just the other day I was talking to a writer about this problem. She had a story idea but hadn't written in months. She had no confidence and was doubting she was even a writer. My advice to her was to just write the story that was in her head. It didn't have to be good. It didn't even have to make sense to another person. The most important thing was getting the story on her computer or in her notebook and getting rid of the blank pages.

Some writers will not stop writing for the day until they have typed a few sentences onto the next page. Then when they get ready to work the next day, they are not staring at a blank page. They are staring at a half-written page, and for some reason, this makes all the difference.

So, basically the best way to get rid of the blank page is NOT to throw it away or never open your word processing program again. The best way to get rid of a blank page is to write, even if it sucks. No one ever has to see that draft--except you after you've been busy revising.

No more blank pages!
Margo Dill

http://www.margodill.com/

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1 comment Margo Dill, revise, writer's block