Hens Lay Eggs
food for thought
Common questions
Over the years, I have partipipated in several online writers’ groups. Some are general, targeted to writers of fiction and nonfiction of any genre; others focus on novice writers or publishing or specific genres. I no longer participate in some and continue to participate in others. Regardless of the forum, platform, community or whatever else you want to call it, the same questions recur. Most run along a handful of general themes.
1. Is this is a good idea for a book?
Whether your story concept is good enough to develop into a full-length novel depends entirely on you. It depends on your ability to develop the story, to write it, to persevere. It depends upon your skill as a writer and your creativity. How resourceful are you? How invested in the idea are you? If you believe the idea is worthy of development, then you’ve either got to have the wherewithal to develop it or let it languish. By “wherewithal,” I mean you either do it yourself or you hire a ghostwriter.
2. Is the idea unique?
The short answer is, no, your idea is not unique. According to literary experts, there are only a limited number of archetypal plots, and your story will fall into one of them. That doesn’t mean it’s not unique. The originality of your well-used, worn-out plot comes from what you do with it. How you twist the plot and develop it makes the story unique.
3. Can I write that?
Most authors who ask that question really mean “May I write that?” They’re asking for permission or validation. This question stems from worry that whatever they write will offend someone. My response: yes, you may write whatever you want. Whether you can is a question of ability. You need no one’s permission to write the story (or stories) in your head. Whether those stories are marketable is a different matter.
3. How do I start my story?
The simple answer is to write. Just write. Tell the story. However, a lot of people need more instruction than that. They need a plan with milestones. Those people benefit from an outline. For those who really don’t know how to start and are stymied by the blank page, I suggest beginning with “Once upon a time.” When the story is well under way, those four words can be deleted. Or keep them if you like.
4. I wrote my story … how can I get it published?
Cool your jets, my friend. A lot of people think they’re finished when they reach the end of the story … but they’re not. You see, writing the story is the fun part. After your mind and fingers have vomited the story onto the page, it’s time for the real work to begin, that tedious phase involving editing and revision. This requires putting distance between you and your work. It vastly benefits from objective eyes. The editing and revision phase of the publication process begins with the author reviewing the entire manuscript and correcting the flaws and errors, filling plot holes, weaving in or removing subplots, and making other changes that change a raw story into a well-seasoned dish. When the author has done the very best he or she can, it’s time to hire a professional like me.
To restate this, getting published depends on the path you wish to take: traditional publishing or self-publishing. Your decision determines what you do. Either decision requires you engage in rigorous, meticulous self-editing and revision.
5. Do I need an editor?
Yes, you need an editor. I’m a professional editor and I need an editor. Whether you should hire an editor is another matter. If you’ll be pursuing traditional publishing, then you probably don’t need to hire an editor. (The publisher that accepts your manuscript will run your manuscript through several rounds of editing.) Many authors who pursue self-publishing assume that self-publishing is DIY. Not so. The author who self-publishes assumes the responsibilities of a traditional author, which means engaging professionals to provide the services that bring the book up to professional standards for public consumption. (NB: Robust editing software is helpful, but cannot substitute for a human editor.)
No doubt I will continue to respond to these and similar questions, because I really do want to help writers produce their best work. But they need to go into these projects with their eyes wide open. They should understand what they’re getting into.
Convention season begins
My first event of 2023 was the Apple City Book Fair in Jackson, OH. The event was hosted by Monday Creek Book Publishing (Nelsonville, OH) and the Jackson City Library (Jackson, OH).When I worked in association management, spring was the beginning of “convention season.” Warm weather and the oncoming flexibility of summer break for students had everyone working hard to organize and promote these events. It’s no different for authors who participate in various fairs, conventions, conferences, festivals, etc.
A huge amount of work goes on behind the scenes to organize and manage fairs, festivals, conference, and conventions. Even a small event entails coordination with property managers, banquet personnel, program directors, speakers, and more. Small events may be effectively and efficiently managed by one or two people, but larger events with more than a couple of hundred attendees expected really need a team of people.
Because I’ve been the organizer behind the scenes, I understand the magnitude of work required. That’s also why I don’t organize events anymore. I appreciate the work they put into making these events happen.
Every event has multiple goals with one all-important ambition: to make money. An event must at least break even, although making a profit is better. Events have many, many expenses. Property must be rented. Equipment (audiovisual equipment, tables, chairs, podiums, microphones, etc.) must be rented. Food must be purchased. Speakers must be paid. Programs and marketing materials must be designed and printed (which costs money, too). And the organizer (and staff) must be paid. Event organizers try to defay costs by having in-house personnel write and design programs and marketing collateral, relying on social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) to promote the event, relying on volunteer speakers and staff, engaging food vendors instead of providing meals, and more.
When I organized annual conferences, a small conference with upwards of 200 to 250 people easily racked up expenses in excess of $30,000 before staff were paid. And staff worked hard. I remember being on the job by 6:00 AM to ensure all meeting rooms and banquet services were properly set up and working until 11:00 PM without a break. After two or three days of that, my brain would turn into applesauce. Exhaustion does that, you know.
I understand the rigors involved in organization and managing events, which is why I tend to be forgiving of event staff when things don’t go quite to plan. There are a lot of moving parts to track. I’ll still be upset or annoyed, but I balance that with the understanding that comes from experience. The event organizer always has a chance to remedy the error, and I may be willing to compromise.
That happened recently. An event in which I am a registered vendor not only changed venues, it also dropped me from the vendor list. If I hadn’t had the urge to check on hotel accommodations, I would not have discovered that until I arrived at the wrong location and tried to check in. The organizer neglected to notify me of the change in venue or the reassignment of my vendor space.
I was not pleased. However, I contacted the organizer with evidence of my paid registration fee and confirmation of my vendor space. That same day, the organizer apologized and corrected the error. He made it right. I’m satisfied. Now all I’ve got to do is help promote the event (like every other vendor is supposed to do) and hope that I will at least recoup my expenses.
Event participation requires a lot of time and effort from the vendor, too. This may be difficult for authors, many of whom are introverts (like me). Selling does not come naturally to us. I’m always physically, emotionally, and mentally drained by the end of any event. My expenses cover not just the registration fee, but travel (fuel, hotel accommodations, meals), inventory, and other accoutrements (tables, chairs, table cloths, business cards, signage, etc.). I don’t factor the cost of my time into the expenses, because that would just hurt.
Being an author is like any business endeavor: profit is needed to remain in business. While an author has more than one goal in event participation, books sales remains critically important to an author’s ability to continue to participate. Some authors work in concert with others. I attend most events with my best friend who’s an artist. Not only do we sell my books, but we sell our paintings. My sister-in-law will be participating in a few events with me this year, too. She makes chain mail jewelry. A variety of items attracts a variety of attendees. We can help one another by promoting our different wares, watching over the booth when one of us needs a break, etc. Sometimes, it’s my hobby (painting) that enables me to break even or make a profit at an event.
If you’re an author, especially a self-published or indie author, and you need some good advice about participating in events as vendor, I highly recommend Working the Table: An Indie Author’s Guide to Conventions by Lee French and Jeffrey Cook. I bought their book years ago and it’s been a great help!
If you want to see where I’ll be this year, go to my EVENTS page. If you’ll be attending any of these events and wish to buy books (and make sure that the titles you want are available), then use the pre-order form to reserve your copies. No payment is required to reserve copies of books; however, any books not claimed and purchased during the event will be put back in regular inventory for sale later.
First, learn the basics
Over the past week, I’ve encountered several posts in various groups by people asking how to start writing their books. They range from “How to I write a novel?” to “I don’t know what to write; can you help me?”
The flippant answer is: “Once upon a time …”
For people who have little to no experience writing books but have a story idea and want to produce the Great American Novel, there’s no one sure way to do this that does not involve the following:
- Reading in the genre you wish to write. It’s crucial to understand the genre’s tropes that your readers will expect. Reading the bestsellers in that genre will provide you with an understanding as to what readers today enjoy and will buy. That is necessary for marketabilty and commercial success.
- Writing. There’s no way to get around the production of your novel without writing. You may use AI to produce content, but understand that the content will be banal and quite likely in violation of many authors’ copyrights. The only way to become good at writing is to do what every other craft or skill requires: practice and evaluation.
Just about everyone learns the basics of writing in school; however, that doesn’t mean everyone is good at it. (I took advanced algebra way back when and—trust me—I am not good at math.) One way to improve your mastery of the craft of writing is to analyze your favorite authors’ work. What about their writing appeals to you? Note their sentence structure, the language they use, and how they use it. Then emulate their writing. Do that enough and you’ll develop your own style and voice. It also helps to understand the conventions of good grammar so that you understand the structure and mechanics of language. When you have that comprehension, you can then break those language conventions to great effect because you know when, how, and why you’re doing do.
A lot of first-time authors also flounder when they finish their drafts and realize their stories are not nearly as perfect as they’d hoped. In fact, the truism is that your first draft will be garbage. Get used to it.
The first draft is meant for the writer’s eyes only. It’s not to be shared. The purpose of the first draft is to get the story down. The second draft is for developing and refining the story: integrating those disparate parts into a cohesive whole. This means filling in those polt holes, weaving together subplots, tying up loose ends, and finessing the language. When you’ve done that, it’s time to work on a third draft.
Every story begins with an idea. That idea may be a “what if” type of scenario, an entire scene that ignites the urge to write, or something else. The truth is an idea is not valuable in itself. Ideas are plentiful and worthless: development of ideas takes time, effort, and skill. That’s where the value lies.
The second type of aspiring author who doesn’t even have an idea isn’t ready to write a story. What such people want is to have written a story. If you want the title of “author” and don’t have the skill, inclination, or motivation to do the actual writing, then consider hiring a ghostwriter.
Let’s say you love westerns. You’ve watched those movies with Clint Eastwood, James Garner, John Wayne, and John Ford and you’ve read the books by Louis L’Amour and Zane Grey and you just love them. You want to be the author of a western. This is where AI can help you.
Enter some names that appeal to you and would be appropriate for the era. Include some character traits to add depth. Enter some plot points you want to hit: a stampede, a gunfight, a saloon brawl, a cattle drive, a stagecoach journey, a train robbery, etc. AI content generators will help you come up with a story summary or synopsis that you can adapt into an outline. Or hire a ghostwriter who will adapt the synopsis into an outline, then write an original story for you.
The “idea” is yours; the output is yours, too, because ghostwriting is work-for-hire and you will own it. The benefit of hiring a ghostwriter is that you don’t have to spend countless hours (or years) mastering the craft of writing, and the ghostwriter (who has that well-developed expertise) will write the story better than you can.
Hen House Publishing specializes in fiction ghostwriting, particularly in the genres of fantasy, romance, and westerns. If you have a manuscript that’s ready to progress in the publishing journey, Hen House Publishing offers substantive editing, proofreading, and book design services. Put 30-plus years of experience to work for your book.
#ghostwriting #henhousepublishing #storywriting #fictionwriting #greatamericannovel
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Hard boiled, scrambled, over easy, and sunny side up: eggs are the musings of Holly Bargo, the pseudonym for the author.
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