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8th October 2020 8th October 2020 Sarah	3 Comments
NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is a wonderful opportunity to establish a writing habit, prioritise your creativity, and get out of your own way. The challenge to write 50,000 words during the month of November means that you are forced to put process over product and to get the words down.
Since the freedom to write crap (Ann Lamott's 'shitty first draft') was the exact thing which freed me to complete my first novel, I'm a huge fan of the technique. And even if this style of production doesn't suit your process, the other elements – community and focus – are super-valuable, too. You can set your own word count target for NaNo (I always do) and join in anyway.
October is a wonderful month to prepare for NaNo. I recommend practical things like clearing your schedule as much as possible, prepping food and stocking up on easy-to-cook meals, and making your writing space inviting and comfortable.
The planners amongst you may want to start outlining, and the 'discovery writers' can concentrate on making notes, inspiration collages on Pinterest, soundtracks and so on. And we can all benefit from reading/watching great stories to refill our creative wells before the big push.
Something else I like to do when preparing to write is to read a writing book or two to get me in the mood. Which brings me to a rather wonderful opportunity to get a bunch of amazing writing and publishing resources for an amazing price.
I've been a fan of StoryBundles for years and am absolutely THRILLED to be included in the 2020 NaNoWriMo Writing Tools Bundle curated by Kevin J. Anderson.
This year's bundle includes 17 books covering craft techniques, business, marketing, and career management. All for as little as $20.
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Stop Worrying; Start Writing by Sarah Painter
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Business for Breakfast Vol. 13: NaNoWriMo for the Rest of Us by Leah Cutter
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The In(s) and Out(s) of Series and Story Guides by C. Michelle Jefferies
Mastering Amazon Descriptions by Brian D. Meeks
Writing Better Fiction by Brent Nichols
Killer Subject Lines by Andrea Pearson
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The Worried Writer Ep#56: Vanessa Lillie 'Enjoy The Good Moments'
1st October 2019 1st October 2019 Sarah	1 Comment
http://media.blubrry.com/worriedwriterpodcast/p/s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/podcasts.worriedwriter.com/2019/56-TheWorriedWriter-VanessaLillie.mp3
My guest today is Vanessa Lillie whose debut thriller Little Voices is out this week from Thomas and Mercer.
We talk about dealing with reviews and being read, and how Vanessa transformed from a free-writer to an outliner.
Vanessa has fifteen years of marketing and communications experience and enjoys organising bookish events in Rhode Island, where she lives. She worked as an editor for a publisher, before leaving to concentrate on her own writing.
For more on Vanessa head to vanessalillie.com or find her on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.
I love creating the podcast but it takes a significant amount of time (and money) to produce. If you want to help to keep the show going, please consider becoming a patron. You can support the show for just $1 a month! If you pledge $2 or more, you also receive an exclusive mini-episode that I put out in the middle of every month, plus instant access to the back list of nineteen audio extras.
This month I've been battling with the third Crow book. I said I was almost done and I thought I was, but the ending keeps moving away from me. This is partly because there are scenes which are in the wrong place (or I've realised there is a better, more exciting way to order them) and that takes lots of thought and weaving together and rewriting, and partly because the ending itself got a wee bit more complicated and I needed a few more chapters than I expected. It's nearly done, though, which is very good news as it's due out in November!
Also, I did a talk for the lovely folk at the Borders Writers Forum. If you're a member of the group and have tuned in today, hello and thank you, again, for having me. It was so much fun and I have great writerly chats with people after the official Q and A had finished.
One thing I wanted to talk about was somebody said that a person in their life had said something about 'why write?' because there were enough books in the world and every story had already been done, or something similar.
I realised this was a doubt I dealt with a long time ago and had actually forgotten that I'd once had…
There is nothing new. No new ideas. No new stories. And that doesn't matter. The execution is what matters and, crucially YOUR VOICE. Nobody else has your POV and so your book most definitely hasn't been done yet.
Also, who cares? Who gets to say 'enough books'? Who has that authority? It's not like writing books hurts anybody. This is not life or death, this is just telling stories. Who on earth has the right to tell you that you're not allowed to tell your stories?
Also, yes, there are loads of books which have been written in the past and they are valuable and wonderful, but they are products of their time. Books written now are products of this time, this moment in history. That's important, too.
Finally, and most importantly, think of a book that was just the right book for you at just the right time. Something you loved with a passion, something you fell into at a time you needed to escape. Think about that book and how you felt the first time you read it. It might be one you've gone back to many times in your life as a comfort read or one that you only read once, but it transformed your world during the time you spent in it and you are eternally grateful.
Now imagine that the author who wrote that book let self-doubt stop them. They will have felt the same fears, have heard the same arguments, they might have let that stop them and you would never have had the magical experience of reading it.
Now go a step further. There is somebody out there who needs the book that is currently inside you. You don't know them and they don't know you, but you are connected by this need. The book inside you is the one story, the one voice, the one moment that will give them that same perfect experience. If you don't write your book, that reader won't get to read it when they need it.
It's a thought which I found massively inspiring and helpful and I hope you do, too.
In more practical news, I'm not sure I mentioned it before but I have hired my husband out of his job one day a week and he's doing lots of stuff to free up my time such as editing the podcast and the transcription of the interview.
This links to my overall business plans, but also to my mission to write as many of the books I have inside me as possible before I shuffle off this mortal coil. Remembering that this is my purpose, my 'why', is very motivating, and I highly recommend delegating stuff to other people as soon as you can afford to do so. This could be paying someone to do your cleaning to free up writing time or, if you're indie and running the publishing business side, delegating operational tasks such as book-keeping.
I had a great listener question on Twitter from Joanne Mallory about branding. Thank you!
It has inspired me to dedicate a whole episode to marketing and branding for authors next month.
I'm still trialling the full transcript of the interviews (see below). I want to make the podcast more accessible for those who prefer (or need) to read, rather than listen. I would love to hear what you think! Do you like the full transcript or do you miss the 'selected highlights' of the old format?
Vanessa is a reformed free-writer, and she recommends the following books to learn how to outline and structure a novel.
Writing The Breakout Novel Workbook by Donald Maas
Save The Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody
The Worried Writer Ep#55: Emily Royal 'Keep At It!'
1st September 2019 1st September 2019 Sarah	2 Comments
http://media.blubrry.com/worriedwriterpodcast/p/s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/podcasts.worriedwriter.com/2019/55-TheWorriedWriter-EmilyRoyal.mp3
I have a great interview for you today with a dear friend of mine, historical romance author Emily Royal. Emily has written several novels and is impressively prolific, but 2019 is her first year as a published author. She has gone from submission hell to having several books out in one year, so there is lots to dig into, and I'm sure you will enjoy her story.
Emily's books include medieval romance – The Sins of the Sire – and a Regency series, the London Libertines, which starts with Henry's Bride. Book two, Hawthorne's Wife, is out on 3rd September.
For more about Emily and her work, head to emroyal.com or find her on Twitter or Facebook.
Massive thanks to everyone supporting the show on Patreon. Thank you so much!
I love creating the podcast but it takes a significant amount of time (and money) to produce. If you want to help to keep the show going, please consider becoming a patron. You can support the show for just $1 a month! If you pledge $2 or more, you also receive an exclusive mini-episode that I put out in the middle of every month. You also get instant access to the backlist of extra episodes (there are eighteen now!).
It's been a busy month with more summer holiday fun, a family trip down south and lots of drafting on my third Crow Investigations book.
I have also been sorting through all of the notes I took at the publishing conference in Edinburgh. One of the many things it's made me think about is my branding as an author. I have been trying to work out what my 'promise to the reader is' as although my books tend to have a wee bit of magic in them, they do span different genres such as supernatural thriller, women's fiction historical, and urban fantasy.
There was a brilliant session from Derek Murphy (CreativeIndie) and he spoke about the importance of working out how you want your readers to feel when think of you/your books, and how that is linked (or should be linked!) to the way you present yourself (your branding)
As I mentioned last month, one of the most important things I got from the Edinburgh conference was a mindset shift. It could perhaps more properly be described as a mindset confirmation. Doing this author thing is a wee bit odd, and stepping outside the traditional route and running it as a business is another step away from the usual… Much as I love it, I hadn't realised how and uncertain I still felt.
Physically being in the same space with hundreds of talented, successful, businesslike authors and small publishers, was transformational. It confirmed that I'm not alone in doing this (or delusional!). It was amazing to hear from people who are extremely successful, who I would like to emulate, but it also helped me to recognise the success that I have enjoyed and the things that I have achieved. Since I'm pretty rubbish at doing that, it was really helpful!
Another great tip I got from the conference was a reminder on the importance of working out your core 'why' for writing. People spoke unselfconsciously about their ambition for their writing and publishing, about financial and other goals, and about their core values and reasons for writing. It was another reminder that I'm on track for my core goals, and confirmed that my heart and head are in alignment.
It also reaffirmed my commitment to being a hybrid author, with some projects done through my own publishing company and some with other publishers.
I know that many of you are aiming for the traditional route, and may prefer not to deal with the business side at all, and that's completely fine. For me, though, it's an exciting and creative part of being an author, and I'm so grateful that I have the opportunity and control.
I give a shout out to some lovely folk on Twitter, including humorous suspense author Bill Cokas. I throughly enjoyed his interview on Paul Teague's podcast, Self Publishing Journeys. I've recommended Paul's podcast before (especially if you are interested in the nuts and bolts of running an author business), and this interview with Bill was great.
Also, long-time supporter of the show, Clare Sager, has started a podcast called Confessions of a First Time Author.
Sarah [00:00:09] Emily Royal writes historical romance in both the medieval and Regency periods. Her debut novel The Sins of the sire came out in March this year and was swiftly followed by Henry's Bride, Book One in the London Libertines series. Now, full disclosure, Emily is a close friend of mine. and I am thrilled that she is finally being rewarded for all her hard work and tenacity. Welcome to the show. Emily and thank you so much for joining us.
Emily [00:00:40] Oh hello Sarah. It's so good to be here at last. After so many years of rejections and rejections and rejections it's great to be here and I've been a bit of a fan girl of your show for ages, so it's lovely to be on the other side of the microphone.
Sarah [00:00:55] We got here! I'm so glad, too. Before we get into your twisty path to publication which I'm very excited about, I was hoping that you could just kick things off by telling us all a wee bit about the London Libertines series, because I believe Book 2 is actually going to be out quite soon.
Emily [00:01:18] Yeah. Book 2 should be out in a couple of weeks time. Just doing final tinkering on the format. So yeah the London Libertines series, I suppose you could describe it as Jane Austen with sex and dark stuff. There is a set of romances which currently is set in the Regency period but I suspect as the years progress it will move into Victorian. Set mainly in London but also in the country and country states and everything. And the heroes are unashamedly alpha males, so you could say it's a bit bodice-rippy. But the heroines are all misfits in one way. So the heroine in the first book she's quite plain, she's awkward, she's gawky, she's intelligent and she speaks her mind, and she's a bit of a social outcast. In the book that's coming out in a couple of weeks time, Hawthorne's Wife, the heroine is a complete outcast who's afflicted by a childhood trauma and lots of horrible things happen to her and she has to overcome it. And actually in the third book the heroine is recovering from a mental breakdown. So it's actually quite dark stuff. It's interesting to put it in a regency setting, so it's not your typical frothy sparkling romance with glittering gowns, it tackles some quite horrific issues sometimes.
Sarah [00:02:42] Excellent. And as I mentioned in the intro, we're pals, so I do already know your path to publication story, having lived it alongside you a tiny wee bit, but it's so inspiring. Especially since your debut year is such a busy one. Would you mind talking us through your path to publication?
Emily [00:03:12] Yeah. So how long have you got? I've been tinkering with writing for a couple of years. If we go back to kind of 2013, 2014, which is, yeah, five-six years ago, I've been writing for a couple of years and I think I ended up having three books that were really really rough and overly long. I remember telling you 'I've written a book, Sarah, and it's a hundred and eighty thousand words long' and you kind of burst out laughing and said 'yeah, you're going to need to cut it down'.
So I had these books and I stumbled across the website for the Romantic Novelists Association, and on their website they talked about this new writing thing which they have. Where there's a limited set of unpublished authors who can join the association so they get all the benefits of the magazine and access to seminars and conferences etc.. But with that comes a full critique of a novel. And I thought, yeah yeah I'm gonna have some of that. It's massively oversubscribed so the slots are like T in the park tickets they get oversubscribed within about two minutes of the beginning of the year beginning. So it was March 2014 so I already missed the boat, but 2015, I stayed up at 2 minutes past midnight on the 1st of January and got in. And I got this critique in June of that year and it was really really positive and it was quite scary because that was the first time anyone had ever read anything I'd written because I just had you under the bed and didn't even show it to my husband and kids, I was terrified of it. But it was really positive, so I though 'brilliant brilliant' and I started submitting to agents. And I got agent interest in September of that year which, for me, those three months submitting and getting rejections was just forever, but actually looking back I think that was pretty quick.
I got signed at the end of the year and I thought 'Oh this is it. This is it. I've made it, I'm going to get a three book deal, I'm gonna get books in Waterstones.' And now I look back and think you naive little fool! I just knew nothing about the publishing industry. So fast forward three years, nothing happens. I went through two books with my agent. I had periods of submissions to publishers, waiting to hear, lots of rejections, lots of radio silence. I can remember being stressed waiting for emails back from my agent and publishers, and every time my phone pinged it was like 'yes, yes, check it!' and it was an email from the Carphone Warehouse with an offer for a new phone and I just turned into a complete obsessive with this thing and it just stressed me out so much. And then I got to the end of it, and the second book failed to get a deal. So this was at the end of 2018, beginning of 2019, so a long time, and my agent and I decided to part company. So yeah, that was long and tortuous.
But during that, what I did was I just carried on writing more books. And what I did was the first book that my agent couldn't get a deal for, I started submitting that to smaller publishers, and I finally managed to get a contract for that. That took about six months, and that book's actually not out yet. But I got a deal for that middle of 2018. And then the second contract I got actually came out as a result of a Twitter pitch, which was a book that my agent looked at it and just went 'No I'm not touching that, that's way too dark, way too violent'. And that was that the Sins of the Sire. And I chucked it up as a Twitter pitch, May 2018, just really to see whether I could write a half decent tweet, whether I could do an elevator pitch. I didn't think anything would come of it, but I got a 'like' from an editor at a publisher called Tirgearr which is based in Ireland and I'd heard good things about them, they've got quite nice covers and some of my friends published with them. I sent in the book and I gave full disclosure, I said 'look, this book is way too violent and I'm sure it breaches all of your guidelines, but just out of courtesy here it is'. So I was quite blunt about it. Didn't think anything of it. And I heard back from them a few weeks later and I didn't even open the email because I just thought it was gonna be a rejection. And about two to three hours after I got the email, I came back into my hotel bedroom because I was actually away with work, had a couple of beers, thought 'let's see why they've rejected me' and this email actually says we're actually quite interested, what else are you writing? And they offered me a contract, which was a bit of a shock!
[00:08:03] And then the third contract was absolute lightning fast. It was just after I'd parted company with my agent beginning of 2019. My agent was based in the States and I wanted to have closure on publishers in the States, but there was one more publisher I was really interested in because they had great authors on their list who are topping some of the some of the charts, authors who I admire, who I fangirl over, so I thought I would kick myself if I didn't at least chuck it at them and see what they thought. So I chucked it at them and then two days later I got an e-mail saying can we talk? I got back home that night and she phoned me up and then three or four days after they offered me a three book deal!
[00:08:44] So actually that one took a week to get a three book deal on that book and yet everything else has been years and years and years. Sorry, that was a long ramble!
Sarah [00:08:53] Not at all, thank you for sharing that. It's an absolute head spinner how much things have changed and turned around for you. And there was that long torturous waiting period while you were agented, and I know so many folk listening will be able to empathise with that hugely. That glacial pace of traditional publishing and how it can go like that… Slow, slow, slow, wait, wait, wait and then fast! It is so normal, unfortunately. The rejection and the submission process and getting an agent doesn't mean it's a done deal, but when we're going through it we feel as if we're failing or that it is a bad sign. So I'm so grateful for you being willing share it, because I think it's really helpful for other people who are either going through it or looking to start submitting or whatever. So, in terms of speed, you went from effectively nothing, to, I believe several out this year?
Emily [00:10:28] Yes. So this year, I'm probably gonna have five books out, which is completely insane. It's like I was sat with my engine idling for three years, getting really stressed, and then wallop I'm up to 100 in half a second. I still haven't quite recovered from it.
[00:10:50] And there were so many lows during those three years. I can remember just being absolutely gutted and heartbroken with some of the rejections and the close ones were the worst. I mean, I had one where a publisher from a pretty half decent imprint was showing lots and lots of interest in my book. It was the first book that my agent tried to submit and actually then my agent really came into her own. She was really interactive and there was loads of communication and they were talking about careers, and three book deals, other projects, where is my career going, blah blah blah… And she was like 'No, no, this is really positive' and then it fell at the last hurdle. The editor really wanted it, but they just said no it's the wrong timing, we're not we're not taking it. And that went from being just on the brink of this massive high, and I just plummeted off a cliff. I look back and say what was the worst day of my life. It probably wasn't, it sounds quite melodramatic, but that was a low. And then for this to happen, particularly with the DragonBlade contract, as I kind of blinked and it happened. It was like, you look away and that's when the unicorn just trots in front of you…
[00:12:07] Yeah it's insane. It's not this process of, it takes you six months to get an agent and it takes you a year to get a contract and a year to get another contract. It's not a straight line, it's up and down and all over the place it's backwards and forwards and, yeah, it's completely mental this industry.
Sarah [00:12:24] Having just been through that, is there anything that you wish that you could go back and tell yourself or what advice would you want somebody listening to hear if they are going through the same submission hell?
Emily [00:12:39] Actually the advice that you gave me, Sarah, was along the lines of just keep at it, you're getting closer. And the only way to make sure it never happens is to give up… Just carry on, just chalk it up to experience and write another book, the market goes up and the market goes down, tastes change, it's all a matter of timing, just keep at it and you will get there. And I remember looking at you thinking 'Yeah well it's all right for you because you're on the other end of it' but it is true. Just keep at it. Be true to yourself sounds like a cliché but just carry on writing what you love.
[00:13:19] The only way to get a deal is to just keep it keep writing books. You're not going to build a career on one book. So even if you get a deal you're going to have to write another book at some point, so you might as well crack on with it while things are out on submission. So long as you're getting decent feedback so that you can see where the issues are, but you can see what's good about it, what needs to be done, then you're always going to be learning and you're always going to be getting that bit closer.
Sarah [00:13:47] I think that's excellent advice, and I do think your advice to keep on writing – if you can – while you're going through the submission hell is really a super-good tip.
Emily [00:13:59] I think the reason, or the main reason I got the DragonBlade contract is because when we were chatting she did say well we would like to have books in series and relatively rapid release, and because I'd been writing and writing and writing during this desert period, I already had three books which were drafted, and I think that was one of the things that swung the deal. So, yeah, keep at it.
Sarah [00:14:24] If it's okay with you I'd like to go back to the beginning a wee bit and ask that very common question, did you always want to write?
Emily [00:14:32] Yeah I did. I never really liked English at school, so I didn't like English language. I didn't like having to read a book that you never would have read in the first place and having to analyse the characters. So I was never really good at that, but I was a hopeless romantic at heart and I always loved little romantic stories and occasionally we would do creative writing in English and I'd do little medieval romances with little drawings of girls in pretty dresses and everything. I've obviously got a lot darker since then… But I do remember saying to an adult when I was about 10/15 years old saying I'd love to be a writer and I've got some ideas for romantic stories' and they just turned around and said to me 'Oh yeah I've got a friend and she's actually good and she's not never got published so you got no chance don't do it.'.
[00:15:17] [Laughter] The look of horror on your face! Slight digression. I don't know if you've ever seen the TV show Lost, when they crash on this kind of weird magical bizarre island? And there's a character in there who is my favourite character called John Locke, and he's a bit of a misfit in society. He's disabled, he's kind of the typical mark for con men, so he's not valued in society but actually in the island he really comes into his own. All throughout his life in the real world people say to him you can't do this you can't do that. And he stands up and says 'Don't tell me what I can't do'. And actually that really struck me when this adult said to me you got no chance. I thought don't tell me what I can't do.
[00:16:07] But that kind of festered and lay dormant in my mind until thirty odd years later. So I always wanted to do it. Actually that's one thing I think that drove me forward during this kind of three years of horror of submissions, I though someone told me I can't do this, I'm gonna prove them wrong! So it's almost like a 40 year grudge that drove me through it.
[00:16:31] I have always wanted to be a writer. But then when kind of adult life and you think the responsible thing to do is to get a job that pays a regular salary. I did that and actually I love my job. I love my maths and everything that I do, but this thing lay dormant and it's kind of the creative side I think which is my release from all the mathematical stuff I do during the day. So yeah.
Sarah [00:16:54] And I was going to ask what led you to choosing a historical romance and whether it is easy to pick a genre. But you've just said that your very early stories were quite romantic. Was it very simple to choose that genre?
Emily [00:17:07] It was yeah I had what I read when I was beginning to write the romance stuff I was reading a lot of crime not quite dark crime stuff. And there always seems to be this stigma with romance. If people ask me what genre I write and I say romance, you sometimes see their eye twitches a little bit as if to say 'Oh well that's kind of rubbish, cookie-cutter type stuff'. And they don't realise that romance is a fantastic genre and it's everywhere, it's all about emotions and everything. So, I think I kind of held back a little bit earlier on, just because I thought people don't value romance, but actually people do. There's just a little bit of snobbery associated with it. But it was really easy to do romance and the historical romance, just the whole thing about knights in shining armour although now my knights are always a little bit tarnished.
[00:17:59] Yeah it was easy and it was it was natural. I am by no means a historian, so it's not like I do hours and hours of research, but I do enough so I've give a flavour of the period. It's authentic in terms of the period, and the flavour and the ambience.
Sarah [00:18:26] So people can really get into the story and not be thrown out of it – enough detail to anchor them in the story.
Emily [00:18:34] Yeah. You don't want a Regency heroine picking up her mobile phone.
Sarah [00:18:40] [Laughs] Not unless it's a time travel one.
Emily [00:18:41] Wibbly wobbly timey-wimey time travel stuff.
Sarah [00:18:47] We've mentioned the fact that you have a really crazy year of publishing. I know I've said this to you personally many a time that you are having quite the introduction to being a published author. But it's also true that you've always been incredibly productive in terms of your writing. And I admire it and I really want to learn from you. So while I've got you on the show I'd love to hear more about your writing process. So things like you know do you write every day and keep business hours Monday to Friday. What's your routine?
Emily [00:19:28] I have to fit it around the day job which pays the bills. When I am actually drafting I do try to get myself in the zone, as it were, and I do try and be disciplined to write something every day. So if I'm in the throes of a draft and it's all plotted out, it's all good to go, I will aim for about two thousand words a day. Often I don't reach that I then say to myself if I can make a thousand, which if I'm really concentrated I can probably churn out in about an hour of real concentrated writing. And if I'm really at full pelt, I can do five thousand a day but that's normally if it's a day off or if it's a weekend. But I do try and make sure I've just put something in everyday, so at least every day I've moved forward even if it's only by a little amount. I always feel that I might lose my touch if I don't write, so I force myself to write a bit every day.
[00:20:27] In terms of how I do it. I plot like mad to the point of obsessive compulsive disorder. I have to have it all plotted out. And then I will blitz it through from start to finish. So in terms of plotting, I see it like a painting. I'll kind of start fleshing out the story with big blocks of colour, with the themes and the character profiles, just to get some ideas. And then I'll start fleshing out some of the detail by, say if I've got fight scene in Chapter 22, I might talk about who's fighting who, what weapons they've got, whether there are any other characters witnessing the fight getting involved, what they say, ideas for dialogue. Eventually, once I've done that, I'll have a whole mass of bullet points which just cover the scenes. Probably about 10 or 20 bullet points describing each scene. I'll then colour code it, I mean I'm so obsessive, I will colour code it red for the heroine's point of view, blue for heroes point of view, green for anybody else. Just to check whether the switches are happening at the right time, so that you haven't got twelve chapters in one point of view in two lines in another. And that normally ends up being about 20 pages of A4. Then I lay it all out in front of me. Then I'll do my character profiles with little spider maps. So the heroine on one side, hero on the other, with lines interconnecting all the other characters in between them. Once I've got that it's good to go. And then I basically sit down and blitz through the first draft and just hide under a rock and write and write and write until at the other end a first draft is spat out.
[00:22:09] I love things like the National Novel Writing Month that happens in November where you aim to write fifty thousand words in a month. Because that's like one thousand six hundred and sixty six words a day, which is quite doable if you sit down for an hour a cup of coffee. So I tend to use that as my month for really focused drafting a book. It works really well for me because I just I love plotting but I know there's some people who just the thought of plotting in advance just freaks them out.
Sarah [00:22:42] But it works for you. Do you have any other tips for writing regularly or for producing lots of books? Do you have any other tips for productivity?
Emily [00:23:10] Things like writer's block. Some scenes I find really easy to write and others I find really difficult and I'm sure a lot of a lot of people find that. And a lot of people say to me 'just leave that and go into an easy scene' but actually I can't do that. So one of the reasons why I do go from start to finish is I know that if I have got a difficult scene I just have to push through it. It's like climbing a mountain, you might get a real difficult part and you think well you've got to do that halfway up or otherwise you're never get to the top of the mountain. So I'll just push through it, even if I think it's gonna be rubbish, because at least then I will get to the other end.
I overwrite a lot, and I do know that if I've got scene which is difficult I'll overwrite even more, so I just think just chuck words at it and eventually you will end up with something that can be edited down. And I always find, and I'm sure a lot of people find this as well, is that when I'm writing something I think it's gonna be rubbish, it's going to rubbish, but I keep saying to myself you think it is but actually when you look back at it with a clear head it's never going to be as bad as you as you think it is. So I try to switch off the little devil inside me which says 'you're rubbish, this sucks, you suck, everything sucks, the world sucks' and just push through that. And what I was saying before about forgetting submissions and cracking on with the next book, because you've almost always got something out on submission, so I try and switch off from that and just plough through the book. Arguing that whatever happens with the book that's out on submission, I've still got to finish this book and I'm writing now so I force myself to do to do that.
[00:24:44] Oh another thing I do that stops, in terms of research and things you might if I'm writing something I'm not sure whether it's absolutely historically accurate or I feel I need a bit more to make it authentic. I won't stop and research and look up I will add in square brackets and capitals and 'check the bit of history/add in a little bit of history here' and then go back to it later on. That helps to keep the flow going of writing. So if you're unsure about your facts I will always just stick a little note or comments. I always find that if I get interrupted when I'm writing that really causes problems. I stop and have to get back into it.
[00:25:27] Word races a great. I am I am super, super competitive, so as soon as someone says to me 'right we're going do a world race' and we kind of connect on Facebook or something, think 'right, I want to get more words out than the next person'. And I set the timer on my iPad and I blitz it for half an hour and that really helps out an awful lot words because then I'm just determined to get the words down and not worry about how perfect they are. And that really helps. Short bursts. If I try and set races for myself, I might think 'right, I managed a thousand words yesterday, let's see if I can do fifteen hundred in the same space of time.' So I compete with myself as well.
Sarah [00:26:12] That's a good tip. I meant to ask you this before when you were talking about outlining. Have you got any resources or books that you've read about outlining and so on that helped you to learn how to do it? Or is it just something that you've developed and naturally?
Emily [00:26:31] Yeah it kind of just happens. But in terms of ideas, I carry around a notebook in my handbag. And if I do get an idea and sometimes it might be in the middle of a in the middle of the meeting or in the middle of the office, I'll pick up my notebook and excuse myself and nip into the loo and just scratch out a few little notes. So if ideas pop in, I make sure I write them down. I dream a lot as well, so I wake up in the morning and write down lots of dreams. Actually loads of the scenes in the book Hawthorne's Wife, a lot of that came from a dream.
[00:27:16] So yeah, I'm constantly writing out lots and lots of notes of ideas that might be good for novel. I'll often use ideas from stuff I've written in the past, I mean there's one thing I wrote a kind of young adult thing which is the first thing I ever wrote, which is just awful, it's never going to see the light of day, but some of the ideas from that I've been able to poach for future novels. So I tend to have a whole mass of random ideas and then I'll start ordering them into plots. But it's just a system that's really kind of come naturally, although I am aware of things like you have to have a change of pace. You can't have it all at a fast pace or slow pace, you need to have ups and downs and dark things and you've got to think about obstacles for the characters to overcome, so I'm kind of aware of that in the back of my mind, but I don't set out to follow any specific structure which is outlined in a book about writing I just kind of get on with it and tinker it and massage it into shape. And I do find critique buddies and another pair of eyes, sympathetic understanding eyes, is good as well. Because if all my critique buddies come back and say 'look that really doesn't work, please change it' then I will change it.
Sarah [00:28:26] Oh that's fantastic advice. And you handwrite your outlines and you type your drafts. Is that correct?
Emily [00:28:35] The notes are all handwritten. When I actually start plotting things out with the bullet points, I will then type that so I can cut and paste scenes.
Sarah [00:28:58] Excellent. Now as you said earlier, you've really had quite a launch into being a published author – so many deals and so many deadlines! How are you feeling having finally achieved this dream? How is the difference between writing for fun and for external publishing deadlines?
Emily [00:29:18] Yeah. When I got the publishing contract that's when reality struck. Before I got published, it was like 'oh that's the dream, isn't it wonderful isn't it happy and like I'd have unicorns and rainbows stars flying out of my ears when it happens'. But then when it happened, I actually felt quite low two days afterwards because it was like 'okay this is no longer a dream'. I've actually got to got to stand up and do something and step up to it and treat it as a business and take a professional approach to it, as opposed to an airy fairy this is my dream. That actually was a bit of a shock.
[00:29:50] In terms of marketing, that just seems to be some form of dark art which hopefully I will learn when I enter the non-Muggle world later on. But, yeah, writing to deadlines I've never actually had to draft to a deadline, yet, because I already had these three books done, which was which was quite good. That will be something I'm gonna have to do next year, I suspect, certainly if DragonBlade are interested in more books in the series. So it might be you have to ask me that in a year's time.
Sarah [00:30:36] How have you found being out there as an author, having your work read widely and that side of things because I found that incredibly terrifying. How have you found it?
Emily [00:30:48] I think having Emily as a pen name, I can detach a little bit from it. So if you do see a bit of a stinky review, even if it gets personal about the author, you think 'oh they're talking about somebody else, I'm not her today, I'm me.' And when I step into Emily's shoes, hopefully she'll be able to cope with it. I actually find it more scary having my books read by people I know, because then they look me in the eye. And it's people who know me and think yeah I can see which aspects of you are in that book. Whereas if it's a complete stranger, it's just like a book they've liked or not liked. So in that way it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be, but yeah when you start seeing reviews coming up on Amazon or GoodReads it is a bit of a daunting thought. I think because they're strangers and we're all detached and it's all online, you're not standing in a group of baying readers who are chucking things like you physically it's not quite so horrific.
Sarah [00:31:55] And has anything about the experience surprised you – either in a good way or a bad way?
Emily [00:32:04] I think it was a surprise how quickly I came down from the high when I got the deal, because then I did realise that I've got to take a professional approach to it. I did burst into tears the other day. I got an email from someone – I just had a really bad review on Amazon – and I got an email from someone that came through from my newsletter. A complete stranger. Just to say lovely things about the book, saying they absolutely love it. They talk about the characters and said I've fallen in love with the character and I was like 'blimey, that's a complete stranger' has actually opened up their email and sent me a note to say they love a character which has come out of my head and I didn't realise what a rush that would give me and what a warm glow inside. So that that actually is amazing when a total stranger gets in touch.
Sarah [00:32:51] Brilliant. I'm just going to spoil your wonderful, positive answer, now, as I do want to ask you whether you ever suffer from creative block. You were saying you're good at writing down ideas and you're extremely prolific, but do you either suffer with creative block or self-doubt, or are there any parts of the process that stop you or freak you out?
Emily [00:33:22] Yeah, I'm always terrified that my work is rubbish, terrified that it sucks. Even if someone says something nice, a little voice in my head says to me they're only saying it just to be nice, just to shut you up, because they don't want to tell you that it sucks and tell you why. Because it's less effort to say I like it than it is to say 'I absolutely hate it and this is why'. So whenever I get an e-mail back from my editor I'm always thinking she's going to tell me this sucks she's going gonna say 'why on earth to be offered you a contract you've written a load of absolute rubbish woman'. So I'm constantly feeling like that. I got an email from her about the second book. She got halfway through and actually she stopped with her edits and said I would like you to change a few things. And she was really complimentary, she said 'your writing is lovely, but there's just a couple of structural issues, don't worry it it's quite common with a new author'. But I interpreted that as 'this book sucked so much, I got one hundred and sixty pages in and just gave up, what on earth are you doing, let's check it back at you and hopefully you'll go away we never have to publish this pile of absolute rubbish'. So that's the biggest problem I have is a massive lack of self-confidence. I have imposter syndrome. I go into groups where there's other authors and I think they're probably looking at me thinking 'what's she doing here? She started writing later tonight, she's only just started, she writes bodice rippers'. So, yeah, massive lack of confidence.
[00:35:00] It's something I'm always having to struggle with. What I do is occasionally, I kept the initial e-mails that I got from my agent, even though we parted company I've still kept her initial email, from editors who've come back, the critiques from the New Writers Scheme. I kept those and I read those and say 'yes, at that point somebody did say that they liked my writing enough to actually come out and tell me and go to the effort to tell me and offer me a contract or representation or something', so I keep going back to that, and go 'no, there was a point where people did actually think this was okay so just carry on'. So, yeah, it's just dealing with that lack of self-confidence is a really difficult thing to do.
[00:35:47] I will often click open a good review and have a look at that, but it' trying to focus on the good reviews not the bad ones. But even the bad ones I've had a really bad review which said this was one of the top five worst books, I absolutely hated it and I was crushed when I read it. And then part of me thought was a pity it wasn't the top worst book I'd like to know what their worst book was because actually I would probably quite like it!
[00:36:13] But again the fact that it's brought out such an emotional reaction in someone, that they feel compelled to log into their Amazon account and write about six paragraphs of why they hated it, that actually make me think it's kind of done what I wanted, because it's elicited an emotional reaction. And I did say to myself way back when I started I didn't want to write books that were kinds of middle of the road I know because I like emotion and dark stuff is going to be Marmite, it is going to be love it or hate it. And I would rather have a mixture of five star and one star reviews from people where it's really pulled out an emotional reaction than a whole mass of three stars of people saying 'oh, it was all right'.
Sarah [00:36:52] And I remember that!
Emily [00:36:58] [Laughs] I know, when my first ever one star review came through, I said 'this is what you said you wanted, you wanted ones and fives'.
Sarah [00:37:07] It's so tough. And, again, thank you so much for sharing, because I do think most of us, if not all of us, feel the same way. So thank you again for sharing that. I think it's a good strategy, definitely, trying to focus on the positive, on the positive reviews or positive feedback you've had. But, as you said it's really difficult to force ourselves to believe it. Believe the positive. Listeners can't see, but I was nodding away when you said that because that's the crux of it, is that it's very difficult to believe that positive feedback.
Emily [00:37:57] You do think are they just being nice to placate. Actually sometimes I'll look at some of my favourite books and look at their reviews and think 'yeah, it obviously wasn't for them, but actually that's an amazing book'. It does make me think at least I'm in good company. Yeah. We're not gonna like the same thing. It's just hard when you put your heart and soul into something and someone really hates it to the point where they have to tell the world just how much they hate it. It's always gonna be tough. I'm hoping I will be more immune to it as the years go by.
Sarah [00:38:37] Well I can't believe it, the time has raced by, so I will just finish up by asking what are you working on at the moment or what's next for you?
Emily [00:38:48] Right. Well yes, book two in the London Libertines Hawthorne's Wife should be out beginning of September. Book 3 which is called Roderick's Widow, I think that's scheduled to come out in December and that's with my editor at the moment. I've plotted out book four in that series as well and I've got some embryonic ideas for books five and six, at least who the characters are going to be and what the main themes are. So I'm hoping to have book four written by the end of the year maybe and full drafts for five and six, and then hopefully I'll have a chat with my publisher to see if I want to take this on. I've got two more medieval romances which I drafted ages ago which I had submitted a couple of times and got good feedback. So I might actually maybe self publish those because that's something I'd like to branch into. I think once I've got just got a bit more experience of being an author, built up a few more newsletter subscribers, and just got a bit more of an idea about what the marketing thing is that I might actually give that a go myself.
Sarah [00:39:55] Fantastic. And where can people find out more about you and your books?
Emily [00:40:00] Oh right. I've got a Web site which is www.emroyal.com. I can be found on Twitter @eroyalauthor and on my website there is a link for my newsletter, as well.
Sarah [00:40:19] Fantastic. I'll put all the links in the show notes but thank you so much for that, it was lovely to speak to you.
Emily [00:40:26] Thank you, Sarah, it has been so wonderful this chat to you.
The Worried Writer Episode #53: Aileen Erin 'It's A Craft'
1st July 2019 1st July 2019 Sarah	Leave a comment
http://media.blubrry.com/worriedwriterpodcast/p/s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/podcasts.worriedwriter.com/2019/53-TheWorriedWriter-AileenErin.mp3
My guest today is Aileen Erin, author of YA Paranormal and Science Fiction. Aileen has a BS in Radio-TV-Film from the University of Texas.
After working in commercial editing in Los Angeles for a few years, Aileen moved to writing novels. Since then, she's hit the USA Today Best-Selling list twice, has shifted nearly five hundred thousand books in her Alpha Girl series and sold 1.5 million books to date.
We talk about publishing options, the pressures of success, and Aileen gives her tips on writing. I love that she emphasises that writing is 'a craft and that craft can be learned.'
You can find out more about Aileen and her books by going to aileenerin.com.
Or find her on Facebook or Instagram.
Check out her publishing company: Ink Monster.
Massive thanks to everyone supporting the show. Thank you so much!
I love creating the podcast but it takes a significant amount of time (and money) to produce. If you want to help to keep the show going, please consider becoming a patron. You can support the show for just $1 a month! If you pledge $2 or more, you also receive an exclusive mini-episode that I put out in the middle of every month. You also get instant access to the backlist of extra episodes.
The launch of The Silver Mark: Crow Investigations Book Two went really well. At one point, The Night Raven and The Silver Mark were hanging out at the top of the paranormal suspense chart, which felt great!
Also, more importantly, I've heard from fans of The Night Raven that they like the book, which is a massive relief. I really didn't want to let anybody down with a disappointing follow-up. Phew!
I'm now busy working on the third Crow book. I've shelved my other book, for now, as the deadline is pretty tight and I'm also thinking about what else I might need to cut out in order to focus on my fiction. I've got so many ideas and plans and not quite enough time and headspace. Which, to be clear, is a wonderful position to be in and I'm delighted!
As I did last month, I've put a full transcript of the interview (below). I want to make the podcast more accessible for those who prefer (or need) to read, rather than listen. It's pretty time-consuming to do, so I would love to hear what you think!
Save The Cat by Blake Snyder
Freedom – internet cancelling app
Jim Butcher's 'path to publication' story.
Lani Diane Rich's Worried Writer episode featuring her 'claim your awesome' speech!
If you have a writing, productivity or publishing question that you'd like me to tackle in a future episode, please get in touch via email or Twitter or leave a comment on this post.
TRANSCRIPT OF INTERVIEW WITH AILEEN ERIN
Sarah [00:00:03] My guest today is YA paranormal and science fiction author Aileen Erin has a B.S. in TV film from the University of Texas. And after working in commercial editing in Los Angeles for a few years Eileen moved to writing novels. Since then she has hit the USA TODAY best selling list twice and has shifted nearly 500000 books in her Alpha series and sold one and a half million books to date. Welcome to the show Aileen. Thank you so much for joining us.
Aileen [00:00:34] Thank you. Nice to be here.
Sarah [00:00:36] I mean I could start waxing lyrical about that amazing success but perhaps we should start off with a wee bit about your Alpha Girls series.
Aileen [00:00:45] So I wrote my Alpha Girls series in my MFA. I wrote the first one, I mean. I went through so many revisions as you do when you're in the writing process. But when I graduated I wasn't sure what to do with the book or what I wanted to do with publishing and there were so many different avenues to go about it, right then. There was indie, there was small press, and I could do traditional, submitting to editors and and agents and everything. But the problem that I ran into was that no one really wanted to see a submission of a YA paranormal in 2013. So I just I decided to go Indie, it felt very low risk. I started a publishing company, formulated a business plan and I started working on making a series out of the one book, and did it every six months a new release. And by the third book I was on the USA Today list. So that was pretty great.
Sarah [00:01:45] That's incredible. My next question was going to be to ask you about your path to publication, and I was going to say you're published by Ink Monster and that I love the logo for the imprint, it's gorgeous. It's so cute! So you have a big hand in all of that then?
Aileen [00:02:04] Yes. Ink Monster is my company. I started it early 2013 and I just wanted to find a way to break in with my novel. I worked with another author who has since left but we built this company.
[00:02:20] She had a marketing background I had more of a publishing books editing background and together it just really worked well for a while and I decided I knew exactly what I wanted if I was gonna be publishing and going indie, I wanted it to work with a distributor, I wanted to have the links to the next book in the series in the back of my current release, I wanted somebody that could really fight for me at retailers because as like just an individual it's really hard to rise above from all the books and all the the people out there so, um, yeah.
[00:03:02] Yeah. And then we started with branding, logos, website design. It took some time it took about a year to get everything really together looking like we wanted it to look, with a business plan and how we were going to reach our readers and and really break into the business. And it ended up working out really well for us.
Sarah [00:03:20] I should say so and it's so so impressive. I mean I'll be putting the links in the show notes and I urge everybody listening regardless of whether you're thinking about hybrid or indie or traditional to go and look at the beautiful beautiful publishing website and the fantastic logo and the branding – everything about it is so impressive and you deserve every success. I'm certainly taking some tips for from my own publishing imprint from the level that you are working at. And so in terms of…I mean I think because this is the worried writer I'm always thinking in terms of mindset and I think we run a similar timeline. So my first book came out in 2013 and, like yourself, I'd gone to university for writing and I'd worked on it for many years before, but I didn't have any confidence whatsoever in my own work. And I kind of needed that stamp of approval from an external source. So I so admire that ability to sort of choose yourself and to be business minded from the beginning. And what do you think what helped you to do that or is that just part of your personality?
Aileen [00:04:34] It's probably not part of my personality. I still sometimes struggle with like I kind of went around the box, I didn't really go the way that most people do this and I'm doing it all myself. So for a little while didn't consider myself a real author. I was like 'No I'm just kind of like putting out books I'm not really…' But then I had the USA Today list and I actually didn't know that I hit the USA Today list until the next book came out and I was like I wonder if this one will. And I was checking and I was like 'oh wait a second' I already did, because I was my own publisher nobody tells you – the publishers are looking at that and I was doing it myself so I didn't even think about it. I was like 'oh my numbers are pretty high I wonder'. I just had no context of what was doing well and what wasn't, as in was this competitive with what was out there?
So I think it's just something that you have to decide for yourself. You have to know that inner editor is in there for every single author out there, every single writer, and you do crave that validation from, you know, a big publisher or a big agent that would get you this great deal.
But I think having that idea that you don't necessarily need that, that you can do it yourself is really like a freeing thing.
I get that validation from my readers who are buying the books and writing these really wonderful reviews from my superfans group who cheer me on while I'm writing and I just. Yeah. It's just one of those things. You have to you have to tell it to be quiet, you know?
Sarah [00:06:22] Absolutely. And I think we're so lucky to have these options now. It's great. And like you say, getting that sort of validation direct from the reader and ultimately they're the important people.
Aileen [00:06:36] Yeah. It made it very easy for me to go indie because I went to a lot of different conventions and sat in some agents and editor sessions and everybody was always asking like 'what are you looking for? What are you not looking for?' And you know different authors and writers trying to write toward whatever trend was hitting or what was coming up next and they were all across the board saying 'please do not send us anything with werewolves or vampires' and I was like 'well, I've got this werewolf book…' But they were just not going to take it. They were not going to look at it. They were not going to accept it. And so I was like 'well, this is very low risk because nobody says they even want to look at it.'
Sarah [00:07:21] So it made it quite clear then?
Aileen [00:07:24] Yeah. I was like I could just throw it away or I can try this other thing. And if it fails and, you know, it turns out that I'm maybe not a good enough writer or can't make it on my own then you know it's not my only idea. I can go back write something else and then do that traditionally. It was just my time and energy if it was going to be a success or not.
Sarah [00:07:56] Fantastic. And then, you know, you obviously set everything up to give yourself the best possible chance of success, as I was saying you're doing this incredible job with the with the publishing side. Was that hard to learn that side? I know you said you were working with somebody that had some marketing experience.
Aileen [00:08:14] It was all a learning process, you know. In my MFA I loved learning the writing from there but I wasn't getting enough of the business side, so I got like a subscription to Publishers Weekly, to Writer's Digest, and I started watching for trends and what agents were acquiring what to see what was happening and all of the indie stuff was really starting to take off. It turned from something that was like oh this vanity press thing, this horrible thing that writers that can't cut it do, to something that like a lot of writers were making quite a bit of money and having success doing and I was like well you know what I'm going to try this. But I understood that publishing was a business and I had to have a business model and a business plan and a brand and a website and a whole the whole nine yards it had to be professional. So that was kind of kind of something that I think some indie authors miss. They're just like oh well I've got the book and I've got the cover and it's edited and I'm just gonna pop it up on KDP. But then how are you. How are you going to stand out?
Sarah [00:09:22] Yeah absolutely. And I mean all of this stuff takes so much work doesn't it? It takes work and it takes time being the publisher as well as being the writer. So and I would love, I mean I'm looking for tips, so I would love to hear about how you manage to balance your business side with your writing side because you've also been impressively productive with your writing, so please give me your secrets.
Aileen [00:09:51] So, for a while it's just you know writing as much as you can. I I tried different tricks and tips to try and kind of balance it. It ended up being a lot of work. I had other authors that I was publishing as well and I ended up giving those authors over to a friend who was starting her own publishing business because I was like 'this is now getting into too much work' as the publishing stuff is a lot of work. So I try to do whatever publishing stuff I need to do – marketing, whatever is not writing – at the beginning of my day and then at lunchtime whatever it is that's not urgent, it waits till tomorrow and then I the rest of it is like that's my my writing time and I kind of hold that really sacred and true and I don't try to bleed into the two. I find that can get like really tricky. And when I'm launching a book, it's so much work I just say I'm I'm going to plan on not writing for these few weeks and then I will get back into writing that way. I'm not like beating myself up for not getting a word count in that day. But you kind of have to separate the two at least for me. I can't switch back and forth all day from writing and publishing. It takes up, you know, two different parts of my brain so I've got to kind of segregate them. I also for a little while I was doing like one day a week of publishing stuff and then the rest of the week was writing. But I found stuff like bleeded over as I as I sent an email and stuff would trickle in and 'oh can you do this?' and 'there's an opportunity here'. So that's why I decided to do all the mornings.
Now, I have someone that helps me so that's amazing. So that's kind of changed it a lot, so I'm writing even faster now, but it's a balancing act, so you kind of have to figure it out, what works for you how you're going to manage like one day a week and do the rest writing in the mornings and the afternoons. Like when is your most productive writing time? When is your mind awake and and present enough to do the writing part? I'm not a morning person so that's why I do the publishing stuff in the morning.
So whenever you you know your peak writing time is, hold that sacred that's your writing time and the rest of it, you fit in the publishing stuff in the cracks.
Sarah [00:12:29] That makes a lot of sense. Do you aim for a typical word count when you're having writing days or do you have any other kind of process things that you do?
Aileen [00:12:41] So I use Scrivener. I I know it takes me about six to eight weeks to get a first draft done. So I kind of put that into Scrivener. They have like a little word count per day to get to your deadlines. Now that I have a daughter, she's three now, I don't like to work on the weekends if I can avoid it so I mark off the weekends and tell it I'm only going to write Monday Wednesday. Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday then that's it. And it will count how many words I need per day to make that deadline. Some days you know I hit that word count easily and go way over it, some days I'm under it but it's usually it's steady. I can do comfortably twenty five hundred words a day, so that's about what I try and aim for. Some days I get like 5000 words and some days I get a thousand.
Sarah [00:13:35] So it kind of works out. Writing sci fi I imagine involves a fair amount of world building and things, do you do all that stuff up front and kind of plan things out or do you dive in and work everything out sort of organically?
Aileen [00:13:52] So I do it kind of in kind of spurts because in the beginning I do a lot of the worldbuilding and then I think I've got everything how I want it to be and then I start writing the draft I'm like actually I need to know about this and that. So I usually write through to the first two acts. And when I'm about to do the third act I stop, I look at all the world building do I need more information, do I need something else? And I mark things in my in my document with a double X and then hit a find for x x . Like xx name here, x x fact here. And so that I don't break my writing flow for something that I can google later or think about and world build later. So like 'x x new religion here', and then I'm like OK I need to think about how this is going to play into that and then when I do my first revision, I go through and I fill in those blanks and I fill in that worldbuilding and then I send it off to my editor and inevitably she's going to be like 'Yeah, but what about this and this and this?' And that's all the editing process I take about three rounds of revisions with my with my developmental auditor to really get it polished.
Sarah [00:15:12] Hmm. Excellent. And you mentioned that getting into the flow state and not breaking the flow of writing which I think is a great tip. Do you sort of shut off the Internet or do you have a particular place that you write? Are there any other things that you do to help you get into the flow and stay there?
Aileen [00:15:30] Yes I shut off the Internet. I use Freedom. It's an app that you can either cancel your entire internet, it turns off your Wi-Fi and it makes it completely unusable for a period of time unless you shut off your computer entirely and turn it back on. There's no off switch. You know I'm not going to turn off. It has to be pretty desperate and dire if I'm actually going to turn off my computer to look something up. So I use that and I also like to use Scrivener's full screen function so it blacks out out the rest of my screen, and I have notifications off, I make it fill up the screen and I kind of just let it flow until I need a break to get up and grab a drink water or whatever and then I try and get really quickly back into the story.
Sarah [00:16:26] That's great. And do you have silence or music or white noise?
Aileen [00:16:36] Music, but no words. So I have a few Spotify playlists with kind of relaxing ambient music so it's almost like you're at the spa.
Sarah [00:16:50] Because this is the worried writer I'm afraid I'm going to ask you to delve into any struggles. Do you have to suffer from a sort of creative block or is there a particular part of the process when you're more likely to struggle? Like is it drafting or is in the editing, or do you never suffer from any?
Aileen [00:17:10] Oh man. Do you ever meet a writer that never suffers?
Sarah [00:17:14] No never. You could be the first though!
Aileen [00:17:21] The second act. For me the second half of the second act I'm always like there is no light at the end of the tunnel. This book will never be finished and is carrying on forever. I don't think I'm ever going to finish it. This is horrible it's all horrible life is horrible. And inevitably, I come in from my office and whine to my husband and he is like and 'where are you at in the process, where are you right now?'. I'm like 'oh I just hit the midpoint.' He's like 'Alright OK why don't you just have a glass of wine?'.
Sarah [00:17:53] We've been here before! You know it's so funny isn't it? Why doesn't it get easier, that's what I keep thinking? Why do I still suffer at the same point every time?
Aileen [00:18:08] It's so funny. And I think every writer does this and I think I mean if if there was one I'm like… Good for you. Slow clap. What do you do? I want to know. But yeah, there's always that one point where you're just like oh this is a disaster. And every single time I'm like No this time it's different, this is gonna be terrible it's horrible. It's all awful. Read it you're going to see how bad and he's like 'uh-huh, uh-huh'.
Sarah [00:18:42] So, we have to have a glass of wine and we have to moan about it and then we kind of have to grit it out, but are there any strategies that you use for when you're really stuck when you're trying to grit it out?
Aileen [00:18:57] When I'm really really stuck, I know that there's there's usually something that's wrong. It's like my subconscious telling me there's something not adding up correctly here. So I try and go back in and reread. If I'm stuck for more than like a day or two I know it's something that my subconscious is saying hey hey go back. You need to go back. So I I try and be aware of that but if it's something that's just happening during like, each day, one trick that I learned somebody told me a couple years ago and I was like 'this is so smart, I don't know why I didn't think of this.' He told me never ever to end the day at the end of a scene or at the end of a chapter, always stop in the middle of a paragraph, middle of a scene, middle of dialogue. Even if you're like Oh no I have no more time, just keep going for like five more minutes and get into the next something, so you have a place to start when you're sitting down again. And it kind of keeps the flow rolling from one day to the next, so you keep that kind of that constant consistent writing going.
Sarah [00:20:13] That's a great tip. And in terms of I know you mentioned the sort of second act there so and I'm guessing that you kind of know a fair amount about story structure. I mean not just from writing but from your education. And is that something that you find very helpful or do you have any resources or books that you recommend for anybody who would like to learn more about that?
Aileen [00:20:39] I use a screenwriting book for my story structure it's super basic, super easy to digest and understand. They recently did a novel version but I haven't read it yet my husband actually just gave it to me on Friday. He was like hey they made one for novelists, don't you want to see? It's Save The Cat by Blake Snyder. He talks in the beginning a bit about genre and high concept and that's more movie kind of and so that doesn't apply for novel writing but his 13 beats that are the key points in a story and the 40 note cards, I think that really lends itself well to an outline. So that's what I do before I start anything, I have a little beat sheet and I write out the 13 key points and then I draw the little lines. How do we get from this beat to the next beat in the next one to the next one you know? And those are my 40 note cards. So it's 10 note cards for Act 1, 20 for Act 2 which is why it always seems like a beast to write because it's twice as long and then ten again for Act 3. So it's it's really easy to do. You just write like one sentence on each no card it's just kind of the gist of what that scene is going to be. And that's pretty much what you need to get started or what I need to get started on a book. It usually changes and like as I write it fleshes out and becomes something else a little bit. And I go back at the end of act two and I'm like Does this still make sense? Am I still writing this ending? Okay great. I'm gonna fix it or keep going. But yeah I really really love Save the Cat by Blake Snyder.
Sarah [00:22:29] That's great. And I've had that book recommended to me and I haven't actually read it but I did get the and Save the Cat Writes A Novel and I just I just finished it is super good.
Aileen [00:22:42] I haven't I haven't read it yet. It's sitting on my on my desk and I'm really anxious to get to get into it because I'm curious how they changed it for novel writing.
Sarah [00:22:53] On structure, some people hate reading about it and some people find it useful and like all of these things you know, if it helps great, if it doesn't throw it out the window. But in terms of self-doubt and that kind of thing, are there any parts of the publishing side of it, there's being read which is great but can be scary. Do you ever suffer with fear or self-doubt around any of those areas?
Aileen [00:23:29] Of course, of course! You know I just launched Lunar Court, it's book eight in the series and you know I had anxiety the night before it was coming out I didn't sleep at all. Total insommnia, I was nervous. So so nervous, even though I had reviews already that said that they all enjoyed it, five stars everything… I was like Oh but you know once the fans get it they might not like it and I hate to disappoint them you know? I think it's just part of it. Writing is such a personal thing you know and sharing it you want it to be enjoyed and accepted and everything and that's always, no matter what art form you're doing, it's always scary. You're putting a little piece of your your heart out there and you want it to be accepted. And it's hard to do it, but it's kind of you can't be a be an author without putting it out there. You can't reach any kind of success if you're not doing it. So yeah it's kind of kind of one of those things that you've just gotta kind of get through.
But you know the self-doubt it's there. It's that little inner editor and I think even non-writers and non-artists kind of get that, it's that thing that tells them that they're not good enough. You know everybody can relate to that. Everybody's got that in them. And it's like how much power are you going to give that little voice? How much of yourself are you going to let that take over, and just kind of deciding you know what, it's gonna be fine. It's great. I'm actually doing a great job. And getting those people in your life that will support you and say 'this is good, I would tell you if it was bad. This is good. You're doing a great job. Keep going.' Having those key people in your life is really helpful.
Sarah [00:25:24] Yeah. That's great advice. That's so true. And I was also thinking about how success, not to complain about it because it's amazing and brilliant, but you kind of do feel that new pressure. Like you were saying about not wanting to let readers down, you've got this beloved series and then you've got that added thing of hoping that these readers that are so supportive of you, hoping that they like it. That must be that must be tough.
Aileen [00:25:55] You know it's really a good problem. It's a sweet problem to have. But you know I wrote this book about some of the side characters and it was one that readers had been asking me for for years and until I wrote the last book I kept telling them I don't know that they could be together I don't know that these two characters can be together. They've got too much to overcome. And then I was writing the last book and I had this idea I was like oh wait. So it was something that readers had been asking me for and I'm like if I then give it to them and they don't like it, it is going to feel horrible. I was like, I don't want to disappoint them because they have been asking me for years for this. So. So I finally wrote it. Then I get an e-mail last night from a reader, you know all in caps about how much she loved it and how I made her ugly cry and I was like 'yay! I can sleep again!'. Everything's fine. It's gonna be fine. So yeah it's good. I mean it is part of the process.
But I think also having that little inner editor, sometimes it's good it keeps you wanting to do better, to keep striving to be the best writer that you can be. And like questioning 'is this a good draft?'. I'm going to have somebody else read it let me make sure I'm doing a good job, you know? So I kind of try and push it in that direction rather than you know something that's really hounding on my shoulder. You know something really bringing me down.
Sarah [00:27:30] That makes a lot of sense. And lots of folk listening might be trying to finish their first book or they might be going through submission hell when they're trying to get published. What advice would you give to a beginning writer or is there something that you wish that you'd known when you started out?
Aileen [00:27:50] I think for beginning writers I would say just keep writing and I think finishing that first draft, you've just got to finish it. If you got something that you're just starting working on or you're stuck in the middle and you keep going back and revising, let it all go. Your first draft isn't going to be good. Your first book isn't gonna be good. You have to like learn the process. It's a craft and the craft can be learned but you have to welcome the revision process.
Get that first draft out and start working on revising the whole piece. There's a great saying that I love to tell people you can't revise a blank page, so you've got to just keep going and get the story on the page and then you can fix whatever needs fixing later. And if you end up not happy with that book, know that that is a great achievement just finishing that book, start on something new. Keep going keep writing because every book that you write will get better and better every time you revise it. You will get better at this writing process. It's a craft, you know. And it just is learned and the more you do it the better you get. And I would say my writing has changed drastically from my first book to the one I just put out. I keep learning new things taking going new seminars there's always more to learn. I think my writing is much improved even after my MFA like way drastically even more so than when I was in my MFA so. So yeah, just keep keep going keep writing and don't give up.
Sarah [00:29:26] Fantastic. And it's so true. The more we practice the better we get. But somehow we don't always think that when it comes to writing for some reason. I don't know why.
Aileen [00:29:37] Well it's it's hard when you pick up a book and you're like wow this is really amazing. I bet they just sat down there and wrote that in one draft first try – gold! I'm like 'No no everybody's like trying really hard and rewriting and then going through the same thing.' You've just got to keep going. Jim Butcher he's a great urban fantasy writer. He has this little tale about how he first got published on his website and when I was first starting writing I would go to Jim Butcher's page every day and read his page about how he got published and how not to give up and how to keep going. And I found it extremely inspirational so I was like No I'm just going to keep going. And it's just really powerful to go to his website read it.
It's so great, he really inspired me and before I got my MFA, when I was in my MFA, when I started publishing and every once in a while when I'm like 'you know what, I don't know if I'm going to make it' I go back through to his website and I click on About Jim Butcher and go and read his his little piece about publishing.
Sarah [00:31:01] Oh that's brilliant. And hopefully, you saying this now, that will be encouraging. And yes, like you say, you've got to keep on going. And I will put a link to that in the show notes. that's fab. And so finally I'd love to hear about what's next for you. Like what are you working on now will your next release?
Aileen [00:31:21] So right now I'm working on Off Balance. It's the sequel to Off Planet which came out in March. It's coming out St. Patrick's Day next year, so I'm about 40000 words into that and really loving it. And then after that I'm gonna be writing Alpha Erased which is book 9 in my Alpha Girls series. That's gonna be really fun. I'm finally doing the main POV character's mate in it, and having her memory wiped. So that'll be really fun for readers. They'll get to fall in love all over again. Yeah. So, it'll be romantic and I'm really looking forward to writing that one, too.
Sarah [00:32:04] And you've just reminded me, I wanted to ask what led you to writing in a slightly different genre. You've got sci fi and you've got paranormal with werewolves. What made you change genre a wee bit?
Aileen [00:32:19] Well I guess most people say write what you know but I don't know anything about paranormal or going into outer space. I mean hopefully we'll never go to outer space, although I did read an article that they're accepting or will be accepting people into the space station soon. Just privately you can fly up there I'm like I don't know how much it's going to be, maybe a billion dollars… One day maybe it's possible… No probably not.
Sarah [00:32:47] You never know.
Aileen [00:32:49] Crazier things have happened. I could win the lotto… So yeah, but I love the write what you love. I love space opera, I love sci fi, I love paranormal, I love werewolves, I love fairy tales, so I just kind of write what I love.
It was interesting making such a big change from werewolves to interstellar travel. So that was a big leap but I kind of worked you know really hard on it hoped it was going to be accepted by new readers who had never read me before and also encouraged my fans to go with me. I'm like 'just give it a try'. Read a sample. I sent out a lot of samples, I posted it on my social media, I just said give it a shot and they did. And they were like actually we will read this too.
Sarah [00:33:48] That's really good. And I think from a creative point of view I can imagine it's it's I mean I like writing across genre because I read across genre and I love across genre. And so I can imagine that it's kind of creatively refreshing.
Aileen [00:34:01] It is. After so many werewolf books it got to be you know a little bit like I didn't feel like my ideas were fresh anymore. I was like I need sort of like a palate cleanser. And that's what Off Planet it was for me.
Sarah [00:34:14] I love that you were following your passion with your writing and, as I say, doing it so well and being so successful at it. Very inspiring. Thank you so much for your time. Just before we finish, where can listeners find out more about you and your books online?
Aileen [00:34:32] You can find me at Aileen Erin dot com on Facebook and Instagram. I'm also on Twitter but I never checked that and my Alpha Girls Series and Off Planet are at all major retailers.
Sarah [00:34:46] Brilliant. Well as I say I will put all the links in the show notes but thank you so much for your time. It was lovely to speak to you.
Aileen [00:34:52] So nice to speak to you. Thank you for having me.


text:
Venezuela Prefers to Refine Gold in Turkey because of US Sanctions
ArticleMiningJuly 24, 2018 - 6:51:43 AM
Venezuela chooses to Refine Gold in Turkey because of the American Sanctions; The Yuan is once again in Free Fall; Russia sells its US Treasury Bonds.
Because of US Sanctions, Venezuela Prefers to Refine Gold in Turkey.
Venezuela's central bank began refining gold in Turkey this year following a wave of international sanctions that prevented it from conducting such operations in Switzerland, said Venezuelan Mines Minister Victor Cano.
Venezuela's central bank has been buying gold from small miners in southern Turkey for several years and refining it for use as monetary gold to consolidate its international reserves, which have fallen as the country's socialist economy implodes.
He did not specify which Turkish companies were involved but indicated that the government had purchased 9.1 tonnes of gold from small-scale miners this year, according to RT.
The gold returned to Venezuela after being refined in Turkey and is part of the central bank's asset portfolio, added Cano.
The United States issued several sets of sanctions against Venezuela last year for human rights violations and undermining democracy, including a general ban on US citizens buying new debt from Venezuela and its state-owned enterprises.
The Yuan is in Free Fall Again.
The Chinese currency dropped about 1% compared to the U.S. dollar last week, reaching its lowest level in more than a year. Indeed, the world trade war as well as the Chinese economic slowdown have caused a fall of more than 8% of the Yuan during the last three months.
According to analysts, this latest drop would come from the Chinese central bank which indicated that it was ready to accept a weaker currency.
Contrary to the euro or the dollar, the yuan is not completely convertible. Instead, the Central Bank of China sets a daily fluctuation band of 2% around a central rate.
In addition, the United States and China have imposed billions of dollars in tariffs on their respective goods, and President Donald Trump threatens to hit all Chinese exports.
A lower yuan may increase trade tensions with the United States, which has several times accused China of maintaining its currency artificially low to support its vast export industry, according to CNN.
Russia Liquidates its US Treasury Bonds
Moving away from the American debt, Russia continues to diversify the State's reserves, particularly in the purchase of gold.
The share of Russian debt has reached a minimum of 11 years and totalled only 14.9 billion dollars, in line with recent data from the U.S. Treasury.
Russia is no longer on the list of the 33 largest holders of US debt on which it was 22nd in April with $48.7 billion in bonds.
In March, Russia ranked 16th among the largest debt holders of the United States with $96.1 billion. In April, Russia cut its investment in US Treasury bills in half.
With assets falling to $14.9 billion in May, the country is now below the $30 billion line.
In the meantime, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation reported that in May Russian gold reserves had increased by 1% to 62 million ounces, or $80.5 billion.
Source: BUNKER GOLD&SILVER
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London Stock Exchange loses a Mining Giant
ArticleMining
Barrick Gold Acquires Randgold: Birth of a New Giant.
The Main Platinum Mines Still Dig, Although Price is at its Lowest
Polyus Company will soon be Operating the World's Largest Gold Mine
Impala Platinum Cedes Half of its Mining Land
Russia will become the Second World Gold Producer

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The festive season brings joy, happiness and laughter to our homes. Unfortunately, it can also bring in dirt, mud and spilt wine. Keeping your carpets clean and tiled surfaces sparkling can be hard work in the winter months – but it isn't impossible. Read on for our top tips for clean carpets this winter.
One of the easiest ways to keep the outdoors out of your home is to pick up some good, sturdy mats. You'll need an outdoor mat to keep by your front door, encouraging guests and family member to wipe any loose snow, dirt or mud off their shoes before even coming through the door.
You may also want to consider adding another in the entrance, for people to stand on while they remove their shoes.
Following on nicely from welcome mats is a no shoe policy inside your home. This is a great habit to get into all year round, but becomes even more important during the winter months when the ground becomes wet and muddy. Add a basket or rack by the front door to encourage children, family members and visitors to remove their shoes before coming further into your house.
However much cleaning and preparation you do for the winter season, accidents will still inevitably happen. Wine can be spilt, chocolate dropped, and pets can make messes. But if you're prepared, these accidents don't have to turn into permanent stains.
Put together a go-to kit of cleaning supplies, including all the essential items like cloths, sponges and cleaning solutions. This will help you tackle those stains as soon as they are made, preventing them from settling and becoming rooted in your carpets.
You've probably already noticed that the vacuum gets a lot more action during the winter. Dirt, mud, snow and general festivities make your carpet much more susceptible to marks and damage. With that in mind, it's important to make sure your carpets are being treated to a quick hoover every few days.
This way, you can keep on top of any dirt, grime or pet hair that will otherwise build up and become engrained in the fibres. A quick mop over any tile and stone areas will also keep your home looking clean and fresh.
Our carpet cleaning tips will prevent any major, long-lasting damage to your carpets through the winter. But for the best results, there's no comparison to a professional deep clean. Even with the best DIY cleaning, dust and dirt will still accumulate within your carpet, which is why professional carpet cleaning is recommended twice a year. It's the perfect way to prepare your home for festive visitors – or freshen up for the new year once they've left.


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Awesome work, Mikah. Thanks for your hard work.
Dynamic paint is essential for the simulation of fluids and other visual effects.
Have you solved the baking problem?
: "Note: Right now this guide only covers "Canvas" settings. Rest of the guide ("Paint" settings) will be released within a couple of weeks. (I'm too busy with other things right now.)"


The Happy Stamper :): Ep.#584 ~ Halloween Treat| "Message In A Bottle" | Tic Tac Holder !
Ep.#584 ~ Halloween Treat| "Message In A Bottle" | Tic Tac Holder !
Greetings! I feel like i've been away for so long and it's only been a week!!! Today I am making a super cute Tic Tac Halloween Treat Holder and I love how it turned out! This new Stitched Ribbon in Pumpkin Pie is one of my favorites from the 2017 Idea Book and Catalog.
I hope you like this idea and give it a try yourself. If you do, make sure to share it over on my The Happy Stamper Facebook page, I'd love to see it!


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text:
LAGOS SET TO RECOVER 100 ASSETS SOLD ILLEGALLY
August 7, 2017 KombackblogPolitics
The Lagos State government may seize under-valued properties allegedly sold illegally and prosecute defaulters.
The Nation learnt that the government is set to implement a far-reaching report on the sale of such assets. The report is said to contain a list of over 100 properties, the names of their buyers and the locations of the assets.
Sources disclosed that the report was arrived at after extensive lasting several months by a panel of inquiry set up in late 2016 by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to ?investigate the sale of its assets in prime areas running into billions of Naira?.
The source, who does not want her identity revealed due to the sensitivity of the issue, said the government decided to investigate the sale of its assets because they were sold below market value.
She said: ?The affected assets are located in high-profile areas, where decision-makers, captains of industries, top government functionaries and political actors among others often crave to build their homes and offices.?
She identified the areas where the assets are to include Ikeja GRA, Magodo, Ikoyi, Lekki and other prime locations.
She explained that the assets were disposed at abysmal (or give-away) prices and obviously against public interest, which in her words, stoked the interest of the present administration to investigate and review the process by which the assets were sold.
She disclosed that what eventually culminated in the resolve of the State government to investigate the sale of its assets was overriding public interest, lamenting that some of these assets ?were sold as low as N20 million.?
She added: ?Generally, we have a situation where government properties in prime locations were sold at give-away prices. The assets were abysmally under-valued. Besides, the assets were sold below the actual market value?
-The Nation
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LAGOS UNVEILS ROADMAP TO FIX POTHOLES, TACKLE FLOODING
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3 injured after school bus accident in Oakland
The CHP says 24 fourth graders from Richmond's Grant elementary were on the bus when it scraped a stump or something else next to the narrow, twisting road leading to the science center.
Three were taken to the hospital -- we don't know the extent of their injuries -- other kids, though, say they hit their heads when the driver hit the brakes and they were thrown from their seats. But it doesn't appear all of them were treated at the scene.