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Writing as a Business

 Okay, folks, it's been a while. Here's where we are:

• I joined Jericho Writers, a UK service to help new writers. Through them, I commissioned a developmental edit from a fellow mystery writer. This kind of edit looks at the overall structure of your story and identifies where it needs more work. It took me a couple of months to incorporate those changes, which included adding new chapters.
• I had a friend do a copyedit. More changes to incorporate.
• My final and harshest critic (hubby) is reading now.
• I continue to get excellent feedback from the Doncaster Writers Group, which I've been incorporating.
• As all these edits are being done, I'm watching videos and reading articles that I get as part of my Jericho Writers subscription, about how to market my work.
• I've been researching what services to use to created a website and email list, both of which are crucial for any sort of success.
• I've been writing a series of paranormal short stories, which I will self-publish through Amazon, just to get my feet wet and see how it works. Also designing my own cover for it using Canva.
• I've attended a one-day conference with Troubadour, a company that helps you self-publish by providing only the services you need. I'll be looking at getting their help to copyedit and print the book, and market it so I can get it into bookstores. Because I would really love to see my book in a bookstore, even if it's only one!
• I've been looking at cover designers for the murder mystery and figuring out how I want the cover to look by looking at others in the genre.
• I got my agent request letter and synopsis reviewed by the lovely folks at Jericho and also Sisters in Crime, who gave me great suggestions for improvement.
• I've had to change my characters names twice due to feedback and also someone published a similar mystery with the same character name! (The nerve!)

So, it's been busy! Add to that writing a short story to be published in a collection called Paths in September/October timeframe and a short story that I entered in the King Lear contest for writers over 60. Oh, and I got an honorable mention for a short story I did around Easter: https://crazycatstheatre.wixsite.com/ccats/easter-competition-2023 . 

What I'm learning is that writing is about so much more than just writing, it is a business, involving websites and ads and metadata and social media and so much more.

My next step is going to be sending out agent letters to UK agents, to see what happens, and probably also apply directly to the few publishers in the UK who allow that. But cozy mystery is a very competitive and full field, while most agents these days seem to be looking for the blockbuster psychological thriller. So while I will continue to leave my options open, I'm definitely coming around to the idea of self-publishing more. The timeline is quicker, the profits are better, and I'm fortunate enough to be able to afford the initial outlay to get things going. But it does mean becoming a marketing expert!

Once I get the website going, I hope you will all sign up to the mailing list, and this blog will most likely move there as well. I will be writing a novella to give away for those who join, and it will be a preview of the characters you'll meet fully in the first book of the mystery series.

Until then , stay tuned!

A Taste of Success

Woohoo! Got a special mention in a recent contest for a bizarre Easter story in which you had to replace swearing and insults with pastry or chocolate names:

https://crazycatstheatre.wixsite.com/ccats/easter-competition-2023

The judges said they were “very impressed with the quality” of my writing. 

True, not impressed enough to give me a win, but as recognition for something I wrote in an hour, I’ll take it. This is how it works. You write, you submit, you rewrite, you submit some more, and something shakes loose eventually if you’re any good at all.

Perhaps even more important to me, my husband has read a couple of my stories and fed back that he thinks I’m a good writer. Nothing like getting praise close to home from someone who is generally sparing with it.

So, I’m counting this week as a good one, despite still not having done my US taxes. Amazing how just a bit of success can make it all seem worthwhile.

Seeking Help

Writing is a somewhat lonely profession, and plagued with self-doubt thanks to a lack of consistent feedback. So there’s nothing to be ashamed of in asking for help.

Mind you, that’s true in most walks of life. As a past knowledge manager, it has firmly been my belief that we all work better if we share knowledge with each other. Hoarding it for personal gain is not a path to happiness or success. Even those who get paid to share their experience tend to give away a lot for free, and it’s unfettered access that is worth the price.

So yesterday I took out a membership in Jericho Writers and bought a manuscript assessment from them. They will give me an expert opinion on how to improve my book and get it published, something I very much need at this point.

I have spent the last couple of weeks looking at self publishing and the amount of work required. It is faster, and probably more lucrative, if I’m willing to devote myself to the marketing, so it has a lot going for it, and I may still end up going that way, since marketing is required either way.

But at the same time, I really want this to be a team effort, where I can learn from an agent and/or a publisher how to make my work the best it can be.

We’ll see how it goes. I only know that I’m sleeping better after having taken this step to invest in myself and ask for help. And when it comes down to it, a better night’s sleep is a pretty sweet payoff all by itself.

The Roller Coaster of Emotion

So, where are we? So far, queried 20 agents, and have 13 rejections. A couple have been kind enough to give feedback, which is rare with agents. One likes it, but says she can’t sell under 80K words (Mine is currently 65K). She’ll take another look if I get there, but I’m not sure I can add that much without dragging down the narrative. Another says it’s a juicy plot, but not enough pizzazz in the first 50 pages.

So I’ve been researching my options, which include trying UK agents, small presses, hybrid publishing, or self publishing. Lots of work in the latter, you have to project manage everything from cover design to marketing and you still won’t know if your book is any good until it’s out there and read, which could be a huge money sink.

Therefore I’m also looking at getting the book reviewed by a consultancy service, of which there are many, to give me a sense if it’s ready. I’ve been doing lots of edits based on feedback, tightening up the beginning, adding some excitement and new suspects, but when do you stop and say “That’s it! It’s claimed enough of my effort!”

I read that some writers never get their first book published, or their second to third. Depressing thought. I already dread opening my email some days.

But the good thing is that I have options. Self publishing is quite common now and can be lucrative, and fortunately my husband supports the idea, just for the joy of having a book in my hands, and owning all the rights to it. I’m not in this for the cash, I just want to write something that people will enjoy reading.

So more research required, planning, risk assessment. Having fun writing short stories in the meantime, hoping to get mentions in competitions. Stay tuned!

Writing with Passion

 Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been concentrating on inspiration and learning, attending a couple of literary festivals, watching online talks about writing crime, and taking email courses about the stages of writing and publishing. This makes for a good break from just writing all the time, and reminds me that I’m not alone in the endeavour or in the obstacles I face.

The first talk was from crime writer Martin Edwards, whom I’ve seen talk before. He’s a specialist in the history of Golden Age crime writing (think Christie, Marsh, Tey, etc.), as well as having written three series of his own. A very gracious person, when he was asked if he resented the instant success of newer crime writers such as Richard Osman or Richard Cole’s, he rightly pointed out that as long as they know there stuff and write well, they have earned their place. He did talk about how useful it would be to have a few extra layers of thick skin to deal with rejection, but encouraged everyone to write with passion and belief, no matter the monetary rewards (or lack thereof).

Neil Pearson talked about getting Alan Rickman’s diaries published and the joy, as a rare bookseller, of going through such an amazing archive. There again it was stressed that what makes the diaries so interesting is the honesty and passion with which Rickman wrote.

Lastly, in a talk about creating a crime fiction series, Pamela Fagan Hutchins listed the four motivations for criminals: love, lust, loathing, and loot.

The fact is, passion is what drives us to do our best and sometimes our worst. It is the prime motivator for actions that make a difference. It’s what makes us take risks, spend money, sacrifice ourselves.

So if you’re going to be a writer, which involves sacrificing time and money and taking the risk of putting your best work out there to possibly be savaged (or worse, ignored), you’re better off doing it with passion.

Constantly Courting Improvement

It’s a fact of life that you won’t get much feedback from the agents you are querying. They are simply too busy.

So how do you know if there’s anything wrong with your work, or if the agents just didn’t dig your book for personal reasons? 

You don’t. Which is why I am constantly looking for ways to improve what I have written and my writing style. I do this in several ways.

First off, I’m writing and submitting stories to other places. Lots of free forums and Facebook groups are happy to set up critiques for authors, as long as you are willing to do your part and give feedback to others. But the key is to keep taking in the feedback and trying to improve.

There are also lots of places to get your manuscript looked at by publishing professionals. One of the most revered in the UK is The Literary Consultancy, where for a few hundred pounds you can have someone give you in depth feedback. I’m not there quite yet, having only just started querying, but it’s an option I may consider, an investment in my new career. Reedsy is another agency that offers this service.

A third is test readers, something that I have just about finished. I sent the book out to six readers, half in the U.S. and half in England, asking for their thought on the cohesiveness and pace of the book. (Don’t torture your test readers with grammar corrections, run a check on your work before sending it to anyone!)  My readers have come up with some great ideas for improving the book, and also provided some much-needed support amidst the inevitable agent rejections.

It’s hard to accept that your baby hasn’t emerged perfect from your writing womb and still may not be publishable after your extensive editing, but getting that third-party opinion might be just what’s needed to give you focus and direction.

A huge thank you to all my test readers, and I haven’t forgotten that I owe you each a lunch!