In my last post I talked about treating writing like a job, like a business and I still believe this is what we must do, but no matter how we treat this passion (and it must be a passion if we put ourselves through this misery), but it is hard to justify treating writing like a job when there is no money coming in from it.  We have to have a leap of faith that one day in some distant future we will be an author, we will be published and we will make money.

Now I’m not out to make gobs of money (if I was I’d have stayed in the Oil and Gas sector), but I would like to make even a tiny pay check. And why is that? Because we live in a  society where you are valued for the work you do and the contributions to that society. Right now, I feel like I’m not contributing anything to society or my family. The beginning of our writing career seems to be a very selfish time, a time when we focus on our craft, struggling to learn and create. The unfortunate thing is we never know if all of the hard work we put in will make us successful.

We must have faith. We must continue to strive and we must continue to write. And as a dear friend said, we must believe in ourselves. This is a hard life we’ve chosen, a path not often taken because of its loneliness, its hardships and its uncertainty. (But if we listen closely we can hear others struggling on their own writing paths nearby. Reach out to them when you want to turn back.) Our stories are worth the struggle and the fight. No matter what obstacle you have in front of you right now, hold tight to your passion.

Believe.

• I can organize to my heart’s content! – I can separate my manuscript into chapters and scenes and even scenes within scenes if I want. This makes it super easy to bounce around, fix stuff and remember where everything is. Also, note the pretty colors. I like to color coordinate my files so I can easily see what POV chapters are in, what draft, and different file notes…
• Very cool cork board function- For easy plotting, you can create note cards just as you would on a regular cork board. It’s easy to drag them around, color code them, and even work on the synopsis for each scene. You can customize your cork board however you like it to look.
• I gotta see my progress! – One of my favorite features of Scrivener is the word count feature. I am super goal orientated so if I can see a visual representation of my progress, I get giddy! I love to see the colored bar move across the screen. And you can set your goals to reflect what days you write and when you want to be finished the project.
• Compile in any format - It’s easy to compile your project to any format you want. This is great for those of us that self pub. With the click of a few buttons, I can decide what I want included in the project, and what I don’t. You can export into all format types, but what I’ve been doing lately is compiling in an epub and then using Calibre to convert to mobi files.

• Syncing it up- I recently got an iPad and my very first question was, “How can I use it to write?” After a bit of digging, I discovered that even though there is no Scrivener for iPad, you can totally make it work. All you need is a Dropbox account and a writing program for your iPad. I downloaded a program called Nebulous on my iPad (others use Simplenote or Plaintext, and I think there are more.) Basically, what you do is Sync Nebulous to Dropbox. And then to get it into Scrivener, you Click on ‘Sync’ – ‘with external folder’ and select the unique folder that you’ve created for this purpose. AND…boom. Super easy. (At least it was once I figured it out) This is a link that will help explain it, although it uses Plaintext, but that’s just personal preference.

• The Customer Service is Kick Ass- When it comes to asking for help, Scrivener has the best response in customer service that I’ve seen. When you need help with something, all you have to do is tweet @scrivenerapp and you will get a response. Here’s the answer to a question I had yesterday.
  And a few months ago, this was my question:
  And this was their response:
  

As for the ins and outs of how it works, I know there’s a lot more to Scrivener than I actually use, but I’m still learning and applying new stuff everyday. Here are a few websites that are fantastic resources. Check them out:

http://www.makeuseof.com/pages/your-guide-to-scrivener#chapter-2

http://everythingscrivener.wordpress.com/

http://www.rebecaschiller.com/scrivener-for-windows-tutorial/

Oh, and to make it even better, Scrivener is on sale right now at Amazon. Check it out here. Because you can’t go wrong with such an awesome program, especially for only $20. Check it out!

So, what do you think? Do you use Scrivener? What’s your favorite feature?

“Excuse me?”

He explained he just wanted to make sure I ended up being satisfied with my life and my career choices. Then came the real reason for the discussion. He had advice to give. “If you’re going to give writing a real chance then you need a business plan,” said Mr. VP Business Development.

Business Plan? Of course, I’d heard of them, but I’d never written one. We discussed it for the next hour and then I started researching on my own. According to Entrepreneur.com “A Business Plan is a written description of your business’s future. A document that tells what you plan to do and how you plan to do it.”

Okay, sounds simple enough. Maybe this is something could use. A living document that’s easy to read and adjust, detailed yet concise, and also a formal document, almost a contract with yourself. I did more research and the more I did the more I realized that all writers no matter the stage of their career should have a business plan. Something to list their goals, keep them on track and motivated.

I’m still in the midst of creating mine, but I’ll give you a rundown on the document I’ll be using, and the 10 Sections of it.

1. Executive Summary (The Dream): This is the part where you describe your ideal career. What type of author do you want to be? Who’s your market? How much do you make? How do you publish? How many books do you publish a year? Do you have speaking engagements? (Oprah, anyone?) What’s the goals for your books? #1 on the NYtimes list? Let yourself go here. What do you want? Keep it detailed and yet concise.

2. Five Year Goal: The Dream may take longer than five years. We’re going to plan the next five, knowing that the plan can change. Where do you want to be in five years time? Be honest. Include all aspects of your writing career. Secondary goals, income levels, publishing streams, secondary goals, etc… Again be detailed.

3. Product and Market (What I will write and for whom): In this section clearly define your writing over the next five years. What type of book(s) will you be writing? What length will they be? Describe as many of your books as possible or at least the genre. Try to make the book descriptions only a sentence or two long. (For example: Book one will be a YA Sci fi about a girl who’s a genetic experiment that failed. Book two will be the sequel. Book three will be a historical YA about a boy from England who follows his missionary father to Africa in the 1700s. etc…) This section also covers your target audience. Will it be YA, MG, Adult or picture books? Who are the type of people that read these books? Are they a saavy e-reader crowd? or do they rely on their parents to purchase for them? Try to figure out who your audience is. This will go a long ways to helping you write a story that will touch them.

4. Competitor Analysis: Research the other authors in your genre. Which ones are successful? And why? Is it their voice? Their prose? Their characters or their interesting plot? Is there anything similar between the successful authors of your genre? Also, research their platforms and promotions. Do they blog? FB? Tweet? Do they self-publish? Are they a hybrid author? How active are they in their own marketing? What are their strengths and weaknesses? You will be learning from them so do your research well!

5. Qualifications (Why You Will Be Successful): This section is where you get to tell what you bring to the writing business. Cover both the tangible skills and intangible qualities. Are you organized? Have an amazing imagination? Determined? Persistant? A social media guru? Belong to critique groups and organizations? Network? Go to Conferences? Know your story structure and the hero’s journey? Are willing to learn? Go crazy here and sell yourself to yourself. Show yourself why you can do this, why this is the right career for you.

6. Obstacles (And How You Will Overcome Them): Now that you’ve pumped yourself up, it’s time to use that energy to detail your personal obstacles to your writing dream and how you will deal with each of them. These could include things like your day job, your young children, a spouse who wants more of your time, friends who want more of your time, and, gasp… yourself. You will probably be your own worst obstacle. For myself it’s those times when I just want to sleep a bit longer, or I just want to watch my favourite tv show, or (a huge one for me) I let other tasks and people be put ahead of my writing (my career!). Now I know that getting paid, taking care of the family and all of that good stuff comes first. But be honest with where your time is going. Bob Mayer, who wrote Write It Forward – From Writer to Successful Author, recommends you profile yourself for a day. Keep track of everything you do and how long you do it for. You might be surprised by what you find and the amount of time you actually have in a day. (BTW I totally recommend either Bob’s book or his course.)

7. Promotion and Platform: This is where a lot of you might groan, but this is necessary work for any author who wants to publish no matter if it’s the traditional or indie route. Non-fiction writers need to spend a lot of time on this section especially. Most non-fiction writers need a platform (an already established audience) for their books. This section should cover online and real life strategies and marketing. Meaning blogging, FB, twitter, or other social media sites. How much time will you devote to building up your online community. Your strengths and weaknesses and how you will play to them or address them. How you will build a street team or garner interest in your writing using Wattpad or other such sites. Will you have mailouts? Newsletters? A series story on your blog? Will you mail cookies to everyone who buys your book? (Kidding) Seriously, this is a tough section for a lot of us. Look to your competitors. What are they doing? What are you willing to do? How will your sales income or lack of it affect your promotions?

8. Operations (Writing and Promotions Schedules): This section is the nitty-gritty of your daily, monthly and yearly goals. Wordcounts, writing schedules, platform building schedules (blogging time etc…), how many books, short stories, novellas per year all go into this section. Be specific and concrete, but also be realistic. Make sure it’s an uncomfortable goal, but an achievable one.

9. Secondary Goals and Professional Development: Here is where we detail anything not directly related to publishing. This could include speaking engagments, teaching, editing (for income), and how we’re going to achieve those goals. It should also include any professional development we plan to do in the next year to five years. Are you planning to go to writers conferences? Join associations? Take a writing course? An MFA? Or just planning on reading two craft books a year? Which ones and when? Make sure to be specific.

10. Conclusion (Promise to Yourself): Here is where you reiterate your five year goal and promise yourself that you will follow your business plan. You will list the priorities of the plan (writing, promotion, secondary goals) and of your life if you choose. If you do this, I have no doubt that you will be successful. Make sure you sign and date it.

Now you’re off and running. This is only the first step on the road to being an author. It’s a long road, but I believe with this plan as a map to guide us, we can all be successful. What do you think?

My first book, Don’t Lick the Minivan: And Other Things I Never Thought I’d Say to my Kids, comes out in 40 days.

I have outlined another humor manuscript that I’m barely 1500 words into. My fantastic agent would like me to get going on the sample chapters.

My problem is this: what do I focus on?

Do I work on my new manuscript or do I work on selling my first manuscript?

I’m not sure I can do both.

I know. It’s a nice problem to have.

Do you have problems figuring out what to focus on? Any suggestions?

The point is that in order to get to the mountains (an hour away), we drive on the highway, in winter conditions, in the dark, a lot. (Do I need to go into this again?) And one thing I know from all that driving is that you should not outdrive your headlights. VERY BAD things can happen.

One day as I passed another car that had been speeding along and now resided in the ditch beside the highway, I thought about how driving is like writing. Especially for us writers who are neither pantsters, nor outliners, but somewhere in between. We’re not complete hippies who don’t care where we end up, nor are we militant and controlling about every step of our journey. We like to know our destination and some key junctions [turning points] along the way.

This is how I write, but even so I found there are times when I sit at the computer and I feel like I’ve outdriven my headlights. I’ve rushed so fast through what I know of the plot and suddenly I’m careening out in no man’s land and my muse ditched me at the last pit stop without me knowing. I’m fumbling towards my next landmark and it’s a scary feeling like I’m going to hit a dead end any minute.

In order to combat this awful feeling, I now outline three or four chapters at a time, usually up to the next major plot point. This technique is really helping me and I hope it will help save me major revisions.

You may have heard of an online Indie conference that was going on this week. If you had a chance to check out IndieReCon…I bet you’re glad you did! If you didn’t have a chance…go now! There is a HUGE amount of info and it’s all still available. (As far as I know it will be available on the website for a little bit yet.

Even if you’re not an indie author, do yourself a favor and check this out. There are posts, interviews, videos, podcasts and chats about all aspects of the writing best sellers, marketing and PR, the future of publishing and more.

I’ve been reading and absorbing as much information as I can for a few days now. Seriously, go check it out. Now, I’m off to read and absorb some more.

Thankfully most agents are nicer than this.

First, let me give you a little background. My name is Trish and I’m an unpublished writer.     I’ve just started my third novel. I had limited success with my first (snagged an agent and got some nice rejections). I started working on my second with enthusiasm and passion. I had high hopes for the next book since my first had gotten pretty far in the scheme of things. My agent and I parted ways while I was still in my first draft, but I wasn’t really worried (well not crazy worried). I’d gotten so close to publishing with the first that I arrogantly assumed that if I put my heart and soul into the next book, if I bled onto the page, and if I wrote what I wanted to read, what I was passionate about, then my book would find a publisher.

So I finished my second book and began the querying process again. So far I’ve had rejections galore, some nice and some… not so nice, and some who have never even responded. I knew I needed to move on. I had to keep writing and start another story. I plotted out a third book and I love it. It’s unfolding magically in my head, but every time I sit down to write my fingers feel stiff, and my imagination is like a car trying to start on a frigid winter’s day. It takes a few tries to get it going and when it does you know it’s not working at peak performance.

I know I need to bleed onto that page, but I can’t seem to make the words cut deep enough. Everything is shallow. And it’s because I’m afraid.

I’m afraid of not being good enough again, of wasting my time, of having made the wrong decision when I chose writing over my other career, of being a failure. I’m afraid that at the end of my life, I’ll wonder what I did with it.

Now you might think that writing for writing’s sake should be a good enough goal for people. And that’s great if that’s what makes you tick, but I’m like so many others out there. We want people to read our stories. We want to affect people and pull emotions from them. We want our stories to matter to them. To do that we need to publish them, so people can read them. We need to publish.

Rejection had beaten me down and though I got back up and back into the ring, I couldn’t seem to make myself engage in the fight (I mean the writing). But I can’t give up and I refuse to be beat on anymore. It’s time for me to beat the fear.

I’ve decided to approach this like other rejections in life (both emotional and physical). Here are my 5 Ways to Get Over Rejection.

1. Pity Party: You know you want to, so just do it. Take a day and wail, sob, punch, eat buckets of chocolate peanut butter ice cream, or do whatever you need to do to get the hurt out. I think if we try to push the hurt of rejection down, then it will only fester and grow stronger. We need to get it out. Pity parties are a great way, but remember to put a time limit on them.

2. Theme Music: (I seem to suggest music a lot!) I love using music to get me in the groove for writing, or to help pick me up. Blaring music can be totally cathartic and can help us get over those feelings of rejection.

3. Friends (Online or Real): Friends of any sort help remind us of who we are and who we want to be. Let them know you’re in need and a friend will help. If you don’t have writing friends then I suggest reading inspirational writing blogs. Kristin Lamb’s blog has had many posts that have helped me. The ‘net is full of good stuff out there. Check out Chuck Wendig’s blog Terrible Minds and his post The Hardest Writerly Truth of Them All.

4. Get Back in the Water Chair: You can do this one of two ways. a) Jump into the deep end with timed writing sessions. These are great and work for a lot of people. (You will write for 30/15/10 mins without stopping). It doesn’t work for me. I tend to panic and either spew out crap or I get frustrated because I suddenly can’t remember how to type. (God forbid I ever use one of those apps that start to eat your words if you don’t write fast enough. I’d end up screaming like a horror movie victim.) Or b) Ease in to your writing. Take the same amount of time and know what you write in those minutes will be crap and just realize that 15 to 30 minutes into the session your writing will become what it’s meant to. It means you need to have a writing session of at least 30 minutes, an hour is better. Try one of these methods, they work.

5. Lie To Yourself: I have to do this one a lot right now. Before I start writing I tell myself that no one will read what I’m writing. I’m giving myself permission to write crap. And it’s freeing. It stops my internal critic and leaves me peaceful enough for the muse to visit. Other lies that work for me are… It won’t take long to write this story, so I’m not wasting time. This is only a practice story and then I’ll worry about the real one.

Rejection of any kind hurts. Chocolate helps, but acknowledging the hurt and working through it works best. Write like no one will read it!

Do you have a story of rejection? How did you handle it? I’d love to hear any suggestions you might have.

I also have a lot of websites I frequent when I write. Here’s my current best-of list.

Part of a screenshot from Nametrix

1. Songza (free app / website): Tired of your own playlists? Let a music concierge on Songza help find one for you according to what time of day it is and what mood you’re in.

2. CBC Music (website): Quirky and fun and awesome. If you want to know a lot of the music I’ve purchased this year, check out CBC Music’s Best of R2 2012 on the sidebar.

3. Rainy Mood (website): Just click over to the site and you get rain. I love layering the sound of rain and thunder over whatever music I’m listening to while writing. Cozy and delightful.

4. Nametrix (free app): This app is designed for parents who are researching baby names, but it’s great for writers. Find out if “Mason” is more likely to be the name of a stripper or a stockbroker, if Marsha is more likely to be a Democrat or a Republican, and which years particular names peaked in popularity.

5. Moleskine (free app): I love my real life moleskines, but this app is pretty cool, too. I also have synced it to my Evernote account, a brilliant productivity app I’d have trouble writing without.

6. Next Issue ($14.99/month for iPad app — free trial for a month): It seems expensive, but if you read magazines and have an iPad, it’s a deal. I get a lot of ideas for blog posts and articles from reading magazines, and there are SO MANY great titles on this app that I’m in awe. (Note: it’s currently available in the US only, but is coming to Canada soon!)

What apps or music or websites have helped your writing lately?

When you’re having a hard time with the story….

1. A Clean, ‘Quiet’ Work Area: Once I avoided my writing for days, until I realized it wasn’t my writing I was avoiding, but the mess in my ‘office’ (which also doubles as the guest bedroom and the general dumping ground for everything my husband can’t find a place for). I find I need an organized-ish work area in order to write. It helps to have a designated spot where you can get in the habit of being creative. Now, for some people this is a cafe or a library. These spots don’t have to be ‘quiet’, they just have to be somewhere that you won’t be interrupted ten minutes after you start.

2. Re-read Your Previous Pages: Sometimes I can easily get myself into my chair but I can’t get into my story. Rereading my previous pages helps me tremendously. The only caution would be to stop yourself from editing them, much.

3. Music: Now say that you’ve sat down at your tidy desk, read your previous pages and then stared at the blank screen with an equally blank mind. Now you’re thinking, ‘Great, Trish, what do I do now?’    Now, you listen to music. I usually make up a soundtrack for each novel I write. I add and take away songs as I write, but I usually always have one or two that get me into the frame of mind I need for my story. I listen to those first and usually words will start trickling out.

4. Exercise or Nature: If you’re still having a hard time getting the words to flow, then perhaps you need to get your blood flowing, or rather pumping. Getting outside for a walk, or going for a workout, seems to get rid of my dullness of the mind. I can usually get my fingers to fly after I’ve gone for a run.

5. Craft Books, Articles or Blogs: Our lives are so busy it’s easy to forget that we’re writers too. When this happens and we’re struggling to find the energy to go work on our stories, learning can open our minds and inspire us. I find reading a great craft book, or if I don’t have a lot of time, reading an article or writing blog about craft or even about the writing life, inspires me and gives me the drive to carve out my writing time again.

6. Quotes: I love quotes. I drink my morning tea from mugs that each have their own motivational quotes. I have a friend’s daughter who plastered her door in quotes. Quotes can be corny, but can also inspire. Seeing a quote at the moment of your decision of whether you’re going to write, can steer you in the ‘write’ direction. One of my faves is, “What would you do if you knew you could not fail?” It’s on my morning tea mug.

7. Books and Bookstore: When I’m feeling out of love with my writing, I can sometimes pull myself out of my funk by reading a fantastic book, or by grabbing a tea and wandering the aisles of a bookstore or library. Reading an amazing story makes me want to do the same. I want to give that same feeling of joy and wonder that a good story gives me (my husband calls it Book Buzz when I reach the end of a good book). Looking at all the books in a bookstore fills me with a desire to write (and a desire to read everything in sight). The only problem with this way, is that sometimes I have to finish the book before I can start writing, because the book is too good to put down!

8. Writing Friends: Both online and in-real-life writing friends are amazing for motivation when we’re feeling lackluster about our writing. They also hold us accountable when we start to slack off, and kick our butts when we need it. Writing friends are also great to hash over new ideas or story problems. What is even more amazing is when you can meet these people in real life, whether at a conference or just out for a coffee. Being able to connect with others who also have voices in their head, and aren’t being medicated for them, is very inspiring and usually makes me crave alone time with my laptop.

9. Take a Shower: I find that if my writing mojo has dried up then all I need to do is water it. For some reason, I get fantastic ideas when I’m washing my hair. These ideas are usually about my story and make me itchy to get to my laptop. So next Friday night when your friends ask you to go out, tell them you’re going to wash your hair instead, and get some real writing done!

10. Schedule Your Time: Now, I know we’ve all heard this before about planning your writing time into your busy schedule, but until this past week, I’ve never actually ‘typed’ WRITING TIME into my calendar. But this past week I did exactly that. I even included annoying alerts to let me know I would be writing soon. And you know what? It actually worked. Now I wasn’t always at my desk on time, but I made it to my desk almost every time. (Which for me is fantastic.) Scheduling and actually putting the time into your calendar, like it’s a doctor’s appointment, means it’s harder to fill that time slot with other things, like errands. It gives your writing time a higher priority, which is always good.

I hope these small things help you keep on your path to achieve your writing goals. Do you have any others that help motivate you to either get your butt in the chair, or to come up with story ideas? I would love to hear about them. Or if you have a favourite quote, I’d love to hear that too!

But, it’s the new year, and we’re back, baby!

Speaking of the new year, have you set your writing goals for 2013? I did this year,  but it took awhile for me to get there. Ultimately, it was a good exercise and I do believe that sharing goals with trusted people can really help keep us accountable. But there’s a wee bit of a risk when you share goals…comparison.

I know that comparing yourself with someone else is human nature, especially if that person is doing something similar to you, like writing. And it can often be really motivating. For example, looking at a friend who’s flying up the Amazon ranking charts and selling thousands of books a day can make you step back and say, “If she can do it, I can do it!”

But—you had to know there was a but—it can also be really dangerous to compare yourself to other writers. Take that same example, instead of looking at that friend and using it for inspiration, I could look at her and then look at myself and deem myself as unsuccessful and a total failure.
I could do this, and full disclosure, I have done this. Yup, comparison can be very demoralizing.

There have been times I’ve looked at my super successful writing friends and literally thought, “Wow, I suck. I should be doing that…I should be selling that many…I should be writing more.”

Should. Should. Should.
And I know, I know! I shouldn’t do that. It’s not healthy to talk to myself that way…blah…blah..blah. I know! I do. Really.

Comparing yourself with others—It’s like apples to oranges

But sometimes even when you know something logically, it doesn’t help emotionally. I actually shied away from setting and sharing goals this year because I was afraid of dreaming too big. Dumb, right?
It actually took a friend of mine (herself a crazy awesome successful writer) to stage a mini intervention via text message over the Christmas holidays.
At one point, she out and out asked me, “Do you think you’re successful?”An easy question, right?

It should have been.

But the truth is, it took me a few minutes to answer. But when I did, this was my reply, “Well…yes. But not as successful as I want to be.”

And that’s as honest an answer as I could come up with. We continued to text back and forth and I walked away from that mini text therapy session feeling better. But also, it helped me to realize that I must stop comparing myself to others. I need to use others as inspiration but ultimately judge and define my own success based on me and me alone. (The definition of success is a whole different topic.)

But I am successful in this whole crazy writing world. But do I have room to grow? Hell, yeah I do. And that’s what I’m going to focus on. My own growth as a writer. I can and will support each of my friends in their own journeys. But to compare is crazy. So no comparison. Only inspiration.
And I think that’s all any of us can do. Support, motivate, but be accountable to ourselves and however we define success.

So, my wish for 2013 to all my writing peeps out there is to go out and write. Write what makes your heart sing. Write your passion. And ultimately, find your own success in that.

In the comments feel free to share goals, your own stories of comparison, or just say, “Hey Wordbitches, Happy New Year!”