Quality Counts!

I patiently listened as a few newly-published Indie Authors bragged about finishing their books in less than ninety days. Many of these enthusiastic newbies encouraged the small pod of listeners gathered 'round by saying, '...if I can do it, so can you!'  Some in the crowd were smitten with the idea, fortunately, most were not.

This encounter made me realize that a look at the practical side of producing a book and the repercussions of rushing to print might make for a helpful blog.

COMPETITION and MARKET

• Over 700,000 self-published authors are in the market place today. It's a large enough contingent to make the New York six and other established publishing houses sit up and take notice.
• In a piece written by blogger @Marianaela Camacho Alfaro for @GoodReader.com (Nov 23, 2013) 41% of adults and 27% of teens identify themselves as regular @eBook readers.  This number is continuing to grow.
• According to Amazon.Com (Nov. 2013 Newsletter) eBook prices for bestsellers continue to drop.

Never has the future looked brighter for Indie Authors nor more cluttered with self-inflicted literary wounds.  The point of this article is not to discourage anyone from writing, quite the contrary.  We all have a story to tell and from the looks of it, we have an interested audience, one that has enthusiastically embraced us for the past few years.  However, there are rumblings from readers who are becoming wary of Indie Authors and Self-Published books because of the quality of the product.

If we are going to earn a reputation for excellence, then we must make a commitment to the reader, ourselves, and our fellow writers to raise the standard of the work we produce. If we don't, we will all go down in history as a footnote of a publishing experiment that failed.  As the saying goes, you only have one chance to make a good impression.

WE CAN MAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY COUNT IF WE:

• Produce our best work and remind ourselves; speed is not a priority, quality is.
• Take the time and spend the money to have our work professionally designed and edited.
• Sign up for classes to familiarize ourselves with the tools available to authors.
• Distribute Author Review Copies and ask for critiques from those who can offer an objective, professional point of view.  If there is a negative, common thread noted, correct it before publishing.  
• Reach out to authors who are successfully published and ask them to mentor.
• Join a writer's workshop for the feedback and friendship.

For those of you who are successfully self-published, what advice would you add to this list?  ________________________________________________________

Writing is a tedious process, a solitary calling so when you receive good news?  CELEBRATE!

Jo Ann V. Glim is a 40-year veteran of freelance writing and author of BEGOTTEN: With Love.  You're invited to visit www.BEGOTTENtheBook.com, and come LIKE/FOLLOW us on Facebook.com/JVGlim.author

The Benefits of Research

"Look it up," sounds like such a given when writing a story but how many times have we all glossed past something because of a vague working knowledge of the topic?   In a hurry? Under deadline? Don't think it matters one whit to the rest of the story? You may be right.  But are you willing to risk losing readers or credibility over it?

There's a wonderful book, "Medieval Underpants and Other Blunders: A Writer's (and Editors) Guide to Keeping Historical Fiction Free of Common Anachronisms, Errors and Myths," by +Susanne Alleyn that was brought to my attention by +Boyd Lemon, Author of "Digging Deep." According to the book's reviews, it's a great resource as well as an entertaining read (available on Amazon.com).

Even if a writer doesn't plan on going back to the Middle Ages to tell the story, a plot from the 1800s (or even current times) follows the same mantra, "look it up."  When writing a western, detective, or murder mystery the writer has to ponder, what do I know about a gun. . . or is it referred to as a weapon? A revolver. . . is that what Colt invented? It may seem like a venial mea culpa to us but to the reader, if your goal is to cultivate a large following from law enforcement, those facts, the language, the procedures must all be believable or the writer risks losing reader loyalty.

One of my personal research treasures is an out-of-print biography from 1904 about "The Honorable Daniel Pratt," by Mrs. S. F. H. Tarrant. Pratt, founder of Prattville, Alabama and the Cotton Gin Factory that employed most of the men in town. He was a fascinating man and his memoir exposed threads of knowledge on several levels:

• It gave me a clear idea of living conditions in the south in the mid 1800s,
• It brought to the fore what a visionary this remarkable man was for his community and our country,
• It made it quite clear that an entrepreneurial spirit and a generous heart are the driving force behind the American Dream and,
• the cherry on top for me (blush) was to see my great-great grandfather's name in print as manager of the machine shop!

Having a great plot and the imagination to spin it into an epic novel is the underlying motivation for most writers. So I say, let your talents soar! That is writing in its rawest form. It's the rewrites: the plot line, research, character development, and edits, edits, edits that separate the newbies and wannabes from the published. 

#Mark_Twain understood how important research is. His words of wisdom, "Get your facts straight. Then, you can distort them as you please."

Not sure where to turn for research assistance?  Here are a few suggestions: attics, historical societies, Internet, libraries, museums, newspaper archives, out-of-print books, professional organizations, and universities. Enjoy your research hunt. You never know where a gem of info may be buried.

                                                                    *     *     *

Jo Ann V. Glim is a 40-year veteran of freelance writing and author of "BEGOTTEN: With Love" (coming out in eBook format the beginning of 2014). 
Visit www.BEGOTTENtheBook.com and 
LIKE/Follow on FaceBook

What's In A Name?

Thank you for stopping by! I've been sitting in front of this computer screen for the last 6 hours trying to come up with a clever BLOG name. I thought I had it but here I am, 2 days later. . . revising! I wanted something reflective of who I am and why I write in the first place. So, the new name came down to this: I write for the love and passion of the topic and for the ability to tell the truth as I see it based on research and observation. To sum it up, there's "Only One Way to Write."

Seeing as this is the first blog, it seemed appropriate to introduce myself.  I'm a published, freelance writer. My writing skills have brushed a vast landscape of styles from commercials and one-liners to in-depth articles and two award-winning, columns: one weekly, one monthly.

I've also worked in  business management: human resources to be exact. It was my job to hire staff for temporary employment and coordinate a "lunch and learn" educational series for non-management employees interested in advancing their careers at a company where the division I was attached to employed over 11,000 employees worldwide.

Now, after thirty years of research that took me all over our nation and to Sweden, Author Review Copies of my book, "BEGOTTEN With Love" rolled off the presses in February.  This was a lifetime dream and a gift for my children and grandchildren who knew so little about their ancestry.

Many of the people I had asked to review "BWL," encouraged me to publish it for the general public. It took a lot of thought and deliberation and prayer, and with my hubby's blessing (yes, we work as a team), we decided to go for it.

Two exciting things have happened to date: "BEGOTTEN: With Love" is receiving 5-Star reviews on Goodreads.com; and a Judge from Writer's Digest, after I submitted the book for the 21st Annual Self-Published Book Awards, sent me a commentary I am going to frame!  Did I win? No. . . but you've gotta read this:

"Begotten: With Love takes a creative premise for telling a family's story and succeeds beautifully. The fictionalization of ancestral history works well and makes this family history read more like an interesting novel. It also makes it a universal story - readers who had grandparents or great-grandparents who came to America through Ellis Island, or immigrated from other countries, can see themselves and their families in this narrative.

The author does a great job of capturing time, place and character, with enough history thrown in to help readers place themselves in time.  The book is nicely written, and the hard work the author did both with her research and getting the book just right shows.

The cover is professional and eye-catching, making a reader want to pick the book up and find out more about these interesting people. While she should deservedly be proud of her achievement, the book can stand on its own and readers only need to know what a good job she did with it.  It's about what the author says in the end, after all, not about who she is."

The one critique the Judge had was that the book could stand a professional edit because of punctuation. Editors are our best friends and I cannot tell you how grateful I am for the feedback. I want to make sure I offer readers the best product possible. The edits are being done right now so the finished book (both print and eBook format) will be available in December.

Well, 'nuf about me. I'm glad you stopped by to visit.  Please feel free to leave a comment. I'd love to get to know you too. Hope to see you next Tuesday.


Jo Ann V. Glim, Author
"BEGOTTEN: With Love"
WEB:  www.BEGOTTENtheBook.com
LIKE/FOLLOW on www.facebook.com/JVGlim.author
BLOG:  only1way2write.blogspot.com
JGlim@tampabay.rr.com
P.O. Box 174
Bradenton, FL 34206