Writing and Publishing News from

Guest blogger: Sandra Murphy
(Read part one of this post March 17, 2011)

Reading complete works
At WUTA (Writers Under the Arch), when a member chooses to read his or her novel to the group, it can take over a year—four pages at a time. In Big Books, a subgroup, the writer distributes the full novel or screen play. We don’t line edit but read for continuity and plot, dialogue and description, pacing and placement. After reading, we can say, “You had three fight scenes in a row and then four nights spent at his desk—mix it up. Repetitive words are more obvious —the character spouts her signature line of ‘oh jumping jelly beans!’ every fifteen pages, lose 75 percent of them.

What is the goal of the group?
BIW’s goal is to make me write. WUTA’s is to make me write better. And Big Books is to get a book agent/publisher ready.

What is your goal?
Chris said, “I needed intelligent criticism from those who have actually written something in a workable format. WUTA provided it. Every story I ever published had WUTA input.”

“WUTA officially started in1994 when Robert Hazel put a note in the suggestion box at the independent bookstore. Forty-one people showed up the first night. The setup of read aloud and then critique started from the very first,” Cindy remembered. “With an average of fifteen people showing up week after week, even on holidays and during bad weather, we must be doing something right.”

Edwina thinks it’s the intelligence, sharp wit and the banter, not to mention the reciprocal respect. Erin agrees, “My writing has gotten stronger. The group not only helps the piece get better but sharpens my skill as a writer.”

The summation
To get the best results from a writer’s group, find one whose goals meet your own. Look for constructive criticism, a mix of genres so you can learn other styles, and varying levels of experience. Steer clear of a group that returns your copies in shreds or with smiley faces and “I love everything you write” at the top. Neither will help you improve.

Remember,
1. BIC HOK TAM (butt in chair, hands on keyboard, typing away madly)
2. Critique with kindness—they’ll read yours next.
3. Lose that jelly bean saying. It’s annoying.

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Guest column by Sandy Murphy, editor of SPAWNews, freelance writer for numerous animal-related magazines and member of two writers’ groups in St. Louis, MO:

Writing is a solitary pursuit—unless you have cats. I have four such critics, always trying to re-type what I’ve written or comment on what I’m reading aloud. BB sneezes on the screen, Reilly subtly steps on the power button, Kitty looks at me in puzzlement and Louie can’t be bothered to listen, too many words in his opinion. Is it any wonder I went looking for critiques outside the home?

Finding a writer’s group
According to Jeff, there are two types of people looking for a group—the stumblers and the researchers. He and I are stumblers. At Barnes and Noble, he overheard Writers Under The Arch (WUTA) in action and ferreted out the particulars. He said, “I sat in for a session before I brought my stuff. My first impressions were good. I read the next week. The dynamics of the group were much as they remain: critical in the precise sense, but supportive, with a range of informed tastes and styles my own could fit into.”

I stumbled across the group on the Barnes and Noble calendar of events—no research or trial and error. Pat is just the opposite. She Googled, tried a group or three and worked her way to WUTA. Divine intervention led Joe to his first meeting when a friend referred him to a minister who knew and recommended the group seven years ago.

How are groups set up?
Groups vary in every aspect. Membership can be limited or open, in a specific genre or a mixed group, emphasize journals and essays or murder and mayhem. One group requires the writer listen, not rebut, while another asks, “Why did you do this?” and demands an answer.

Reading aloud is a good way to find where writing stumbles and where it flows. At WUTA we hear science fiction, crime, screen plays, novels, short stories, poetry and non-fiction like food articles for magazines. Writers read four pages of work. Copies are distributed so the group can make notes on the good, the bad and any ugly.

What writer’s groups do
“I feel WUTA excels at constructive critiques. Members praise what they like, are able to say what doesn’t work, and give suggestions on how to fix the problem. It’s left up to the author to sift through it all and decide which ideas are best. I’ve seldom returned home disheartened that what I wrote was beyond repair,” said John who joined in 1996.

The telling of the good first and a mostly gentle, sometimes spirited, critique that follows appealed to Jennifer. “Even though I wasn’t required to read on my first night, I figured the best way to measure if I fit was to cannonball into the pool. I read, and got positive feedback. Chris told me to try to sell my story. I felt like the Ugly Duckling who finally found all the swans.”

When do they meet?
Groups meet morning, noon and night, weekly, monthly or online. Charles told me, “I went to the Writers’ Meetup, which was pretty good, but they only met once a month. I wanted more.”
I belong to Book-In-A-Week online writers group. The first week of every month is devoted to BIC HOK TAM (butt in chair, hands on keyboard, typing away madly). Research and plan but come Monday morning, write! Set a goal number of pages for the week and check in three times as a way to keep track, motivated and prevent edits. For the March 2011 BIW, the top ten producers wrote over fifty pages and as many as one hundred and fifty. That’s some serious chair/keyboard time. http://www.book-in-a-week.com

Part two of Dissecting Writer’s Groups will appear in tomorrow’s blog. In the meantime, please chime in if you have tips or want to share experiences related to belonging to a writers group.

I remember when writing was a solitary activity and writers were mere figures in the background of the story. The relatively few people who wrote for publication, did so with passion and commitment. And there were thousands more who wrote in secrecy for pleasure.

Today, everyone writes for publication or knows someone who does. There were over a million books published last year and I would guess there are millions more manuscripts in the works—some that will never see the light of day.

Writing is no longer lonely. And we don’t have to wait for gratification from our efforts. We can write faster using computer technology and complete our projects in record time. We can produce a book in weeks—or even days. We can share our writings instantly—via our blogs, by posting articles online, through our websites, in discussion groups, etc. If you want to be published, there is nothing stopping you.

Yes, practically everyone is writing or plans to start a writing project. But what has happened to the passion in this writing frenzy we’re experiencing in America? Is there anyone out there who still loves the process of writing—who is infatuated with the written word—who must write? Or are we all simply writing to air our grievances, to soothe our damaged psyches, to establish credibility, to make money?

I have been writing for publication for over 35 years. And I’ve seen the world changing around my profession. As a board member of SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) for 16 years, I’ve met writers and authors in every category of writing interest and pursuit. I’ve watched writers soar and I’ve watched them fail. A common denominator for those who don’t make it in this field seems to be lack of passion, purpose and drive.

Are you thinking about entering into the highly competitive publishing field? Do you have what it takes? Are you blessed with a real enthusiasm for writing, are you realistically motivated and do you have the drive to do what it takes to succeed?

Maybe it’s time to evaluate your motives. Here are two important questions. Try to answer them this week:

Why do you write?
What motivates you to keep writing?

Do you have a writing project at hand? Are you working on a book that seems to be stalled? Would you like to finish your book project within a certain time frame—by the time the kids are out of school, when school starts again or before the year ends, for example?

How are you coming along with your project? Feeling disorganized, hopelessly stuck, as if there just isn’t enough time in the day? You may feel along, but you aren’t alone.

Even though there are over a million books being produced each year and there’s every technology imaginable to help, still a whole lot of authors never complete their projects or they take an inordinate amount of time to finish it. Today, I’d like to offer some tips on how to ultimately finish your book:

1: Choose a topic that you are passionate about. You have to love what you are doing. On the other hand, allow yourself to enjoy the process. Some authors have trouble giving themselves permission to spend time writing because it seems as though they should be doing something that’s more like work.

2: Come to terms with why you are writing this book—you have something to say, you have knowledge you want to share, you feel a need to help a segment of people, you just get excited when you think about your book project and where it could take you.

3: Determine what is keeping you from writing and do your best to address it.

4: Set up a writing space of your own away from the hustle bustle of the household.

5: Ascertain what sacrifices you could make in order to spend more time writing. This might be less TV watching, fewer hours spent on computer games, check emails only twice a day, get up an hour earlier, go to bed an hour later, write during your lunch hour, cut time spent on your daily workout, clubbing etc.

6: Develop a schedule. Plan to write everyday/evening at the same time. This will help you to create the habit of writing.

7: Find a writing buddy—someone to help you become more accountable.

8: Join a writers’ group. The writers’ group atmosphere can be inspiring.

9: Set a reasonable deadline for yourself. (Surveys show that it takes 725 hours to write a typical nonfiction book. That’s 90 eight-hour days or approximately eighteen work weeks or four months.)

10: Look to the future. Sometimes it helps to imagine the end results of your effort—the joy of holding your completed book in your hands, the boost your book will have to your business, the fun you will have doing readings with children, etc.

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Someone I worked with many years ago passed away last week. It caused me to recall our association as it relates to writing. It was around 1989 and fear of starvation as a writer had sent me back to the working world for a while. I landed a job in the admissions office for a local private school. After about a year, when I got my confidence level back and my article business seemed to be supporting me again, I decided to go back to it full-time. The director of the school contacted me before I left and asked if I’d like to write a book about the history of the school. I accepted the job and agreed to work so many hours per week on this project for a set fee per month. That gave me time to continue developing my article-writing business.

This was a most enjoyable project. I loved working with the school director and interviewing the many former teachers and students of note. What stories they had to share. The results of this effort was a 300+ page book—A Thread to Hold, The Story of Ojai Valley School.

A few years later, I worked with this man on his memoirs, which he presented to his family members as a surprise gift.

Have you ever written on commission? Or have you produced a book for a local business, etc? It’s generally fairly lucrative and interesting work. Aside from the history of the private school, I wrote the brochure copy for a local recreation area, a history booklet and newsletters for a local water department and I’ve rewritten manuals for a major international organization. I once designed and wrote the business column for a local newspaper. I’ve also written campaign material and fashion show commentary as well as web and ad copy.

If you want to earn money writing and you have the skill to organize and write a variety of material, you might consider sending your resume and a few ideas to local businesses, utilities companies, candidates, etc. Offer specific ideas: “I see that you are celebrating your 25th year in business in 2012, would you like to come out with an anniversary booklet to handout to customers and business associates?” Or “I notice that you are planning to run for the school board, can I help you with your campaign material?” or “Perhaps a blog would help you gain more recognition and credibility, let me write one on a regular basis for you.” Or “Does your company need help revising your employee manual or updating your website?”

If you want to earn some extra money, gain more writing credits and experience and have some fun doing it, consider approaching some of the individuals in your community who might need help with a writing project.

Announcements
My article, “Do Bookstores Matter to Authors” appears this morning in Fran Silverman’s Book Promotion Newsletter. Are you a published or unpublished author? If you aren’t doing so already, you should be subscribing to Fran’s enewsletter.
http://www.bookpromotionnewsletter.com

I’ve invited a colleague to be a guest blogger here. She’s going to write about writers groups. She belongs to two of them and gets something different from each. I think this would be a good follow up piece to the one I wrote last week on how to find a good writers group. Watch for Sandra Murphy’s post coming up in a week or so.

Sue Collier, co-author with Marilyn Ross for The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing will also be a gust blogger sometime this month. She’s on a virtual book tour and asked if she could stopover here and write something for you.

Do you have something of value to say that would be of interest to authors, hopeful authors and freelance writers? Let me know if you want to be guest blogger here at my Publishing Blog.

Visit my websites:
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http://www.patriciafry.com

It used to surprise me when someone would say, “How do you have time to do all of that writing?” Finally, it occurred to me where such people were coming from and I began responding by saying, “It’s what I do.”

Most people, when they peek in at a writer’s life, are using their own busy lives as a norm and they can’t imagine finding time to spend writing a book or numerous articles or stories for publication. What they fail to realize is that writers write. That’s how we spend our time. That’s what we do from morning ‘til dusk. If we hold down an outside job, we write during the early morning and/or late night hours—before and/or after work.

It would be like having a beloved hobby or interest that you love to pursue after work—hiking, biking or working out at the gym, building birdhouses, going out dancing or having a responsibility like caring for an elderly loved one or small children. It’s something you do when you can. You find a way to do it out of love or passion.

Even though there are millions of people writing these days, there are still a whole lot of people who still say, “I wish I had the time to write,” or “Someday, I am going to write my story.” And some of them will, but not all. Some people just can’t find a way to make writing a priority. Either the passion isn’t there, their life is already full—there’s no room for anything as intense as writing—or they cannot effectively prioritize.

Loafing on the couch after work or playing computer games is more appealing to some people than sitting down to a writing project. And that’s okay. It’s your life.

If you want to get started with that writing project, I may have an online course or book for you. Check them out at http://www.matilijapress.com. Courses are listed here: http://www.matilijapress.com/courses.htm

Another question that came up at the writers’ group meeting I attended Sunday was, “How do I find a writers group?”

Members of the panel I was on explained to writers how important it is to belong to a writers’ critique group so you can get feedback for your project as you’re working on it. This is not right for all writers, but I often suggest this to beginning writers who are desperately in need of guidance and those who are struggling a little (or a lot) with their story or nonfiction book. Some writers need to do a lot of work before they hire an editor. It is this writer who could benefit from a critique group who can help him or her learn some of the basics.

Writers’ groups can also be valuable to those who are interested in publishing for the first time. It’s a good environment in which to learn about publishing, agents, publishers and the like. Not only are some of the members knowledgeable, but many writers’ groups invite experienced authors, publishers, agents, publicists, etc. to speak on occasion.

So how do you find a writers’ group? Here are my suggestions:

• Attend a lecture, writers’ conference or book fair in your area and ask questions. Surely, if there is a writers’ group in the region, someone there will know about it.

• Ask at your local librarian. Often, writers’ groups meet at libraries or their leaders will post notices on the library bulletin board.

• Ask at your local bookstores. Here’s another place where writers’ groups might meet and where their flyers might be distributed.

• Check with your local arts counsel.

• Study the calendar section of your local newspaper.

• Visit senior centers. Sometimes they have small writers’ groups.

• Locate local writers’ groups by doing an Internet search.

• Locate local authors through an Internet search and ask them about a writers’ group.
You could start a writers’ group.

• Call the writers that you know and schedule a meeting date.

• Post notices at bookstores, libraries, colleges and in the calendar section of your local newspaper.

• Once you have your core group, decide if you want this to be a reading and critique group or if you want to invite speakers to the main meetings and establish critique offshoot groups for fiction, nonfiction, memoir, etc.

I’ve belonged to several different groups over the years. I formed one or two of them. And I’ve visited numerous writing group meetings throughout the U.S. Each of them is as individual as the people who belong. But they all seem to have a welcoming warmth that I always appreciate when I visit. Some groups meet in private homes. I remember once having to deal with five needy, barking dogs during a reading. Others are fortunate enough to have use of wonderful facilities for free or a small fee. We once met in one of the Karpeles Manuscript Libraries in Santa Barbara, CA. Some groups meet in crowded quarters in small bookstores or next to the coffee bar at Borders which can get rather noisy when they’re making one of those fancy coffee drinks. We used to meet at a community center adjacent to a gym. It was quite distracting when they had a basketball game going on during our meetings. I remember one chilly evening when we set the alarm off at the bookstore where we were meeting and had to wait in the night air for the police to arrive.

I’d like to hear about your writers’ group and the results of your search for another writers’ group. I know people who belong to more than one group for different purposes and in order to network with different types and levels of writers. What are your writers’ group experiences?

Leave your comment here.

It is heartening and satisfying when I spend hours editing a book proposal or manuscript and the author actually learns something and begins to apply the techniques or practices to his or her project. So often, however, I see the same habits showing up time and again in the author’s work.

I am a teaching editor. The author, when receiving his edited manuscript or proposal back from me, has the opportunity to learn what he or she is, perhaps, doing wrong, what it would take to tighten and strengthen the work and so much more. Yet, so often, when the work comes back to me for a final edit or when the author sends me a new chapter to review, I see many of the same lazy writing habits I attempted to repair in previous chapters.

Authors, it makes no sense to hire an editor, trust that editor, be extremely pleased with the work the editor does and not learn from him or her. Here’s what I suggest:

• Instead of just accepting the suggested changes at face value (or, even worse) rejecting them because you don’t understand how they enhance your work, take a serious look at them.

• Read the passage with the change and then without it. Does it read better?

• Study the note left by the editor. If you still don’t understand or see the difference it makes, ask the editor to explain the suggested change.

• Watch for patterns. Does the editor suggest similar changes throughout your manuscript? Maybe she continually recommends that you cut sentences in half or even thirds. Examine your way of writing. Do you tend to create sentences that are long and cumbersome? When you write the next segment of your book, pay attention to your sentence length. Are you trying to say too much in a single sentence? Do you notice how much stronger—more powerful—your words become when you choose them more carefully and avoid running too many of them together?

• Perhaps you tend to “over” write. In other words, you make statements such as, “Walter beat everyone to the table and was first to get there because everyone else came later.” Depending on the context, I may change that sentence to read, “Water was first to be seated at the dinner table.”

• Maybe you “under” write with phrases such as, “Walter drove home and ate a piece of cake. When he got up, he left the house.” I think you will agree, there’s a lot missing here that could be added in order to give your story more interest and continuity.

• Do you tend to mis-communicate? Here’s one example: “Entering the chicken coup in my Easter dress, Lyle finally kissed me.” (Was Lyle wearing her dress?)
There are many editorial problems and, as I said, “habits” that we adopt. If you go to the expense of hiring an editor for your book proposal and your manuscript (and you should, by the way) do your best to learn from him or her. And the next time you need an editor, it won’t take them as much time to do the job.

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