A Letter to Writers

Dear Writer,

I don’t know why I am only just realising this, as it seems so very obvious, but I think that writing may be the most difficult art to make a living from. I’m not saying this to put you off of writing, or becoming an author. And I’m certainly not saying this to be negative for the sake of it. Let me explain.

Writing is the most difficult of all the arts to have genius recognised in. Because in order to recognise the genius of a piece of writing, one must actually sit, concentrate and read the words. Which might take thirty minutes or several hours or even days or weeks.

Whereas a song can be recognised as genius in three minutes. A movie in two hours. A painting in seconds. A dance in a few minutes or more.

But writing demands time. And in this world of constant information overload, time is of short supply. Or so it would appear. And so if someone takes the time to read your words, it is truly an honour, because they are saying – your words are worth more to me than several movies or several hours of social media.

As a writer, it is harder to be ‘discovered’. To have that magic moment when someone spots your genius and tells the world about it. You can’t go on a talent show or do a video that goes viral on YouTube.

All you can do is keep writing, and keep hoping that your words will hit the spot for enough people that the word will spread that your words are worth the time and effort they take to consume.

Of course, you will still always hope that one day you will reach that tipping point where every time you hit publish, you sell several thousand copies straight off the bat, and not just a handful. But until then, you keep writing, because you were not born to be a singer or dancer or a movie star.

You were born to be a writer.

So fall in love with the difficulty, the struggle and the stress that comes with this work. Because I promise you, it will be worth it in the end.

Much love,

A writer.

Image – James Pond (Unsplash)

Comparison – The Thief

Roosevelt said that comparison is the thief of joy, and I have to say, I quite agree.

It’s a completely different world for authors right now, to just a mere ten years ago, and now, it feels like we should be producing at least ten books a year, to keep up with reader demand. Gone are the days where you could take several years to write a book and hope to do well.

Since I began publishing properly in 2011, I have published at least 2 books a year, and I now have 16 books available. Quite an awesome accomplishment, but instead of revelling in the joy of what I have created, I find myself looking at authors who have published 50 or 60 books in that same amount of time, and wondering why I have been so lazy in comparison.

Then I saw the posts about the latest plagiarism scandal. It seems that a bestselling author in Brazil has been taking chunks of other authors’ work, and giving it to ghostwriters on Fiverr and then publishing what they’ve cobbled together and making a mint from it. She has a large list of books available, and it would seem that none of her material belonged to her.

Which made me wonder, how many of the authors with massive output are actually writing it all themselves? Or even using original material?

And somehow, this made me stop comparing myself to them. Because I know that I write every word of my books. And I know that I only write books that turn up and annoy me until I write them. And that it’s actually quite realistic to write and publish two or three books a year, when you take into account the editing and proofreading, publishing and marketing.

So although I am quite upset for these authors who have had their work ripped to bits and made into bad books that have made thieves a lot of money, I am also grateful to now have been released from this comparison game, and I plan to revel in the joy of each creation, knowing that I am producing work that I am proud of, and that readers will love, and that is wholly my own.

Do you compare yourself or your creativity or your life to others? Do you think that you should be further along, or richer, or better, because you look at what other people are doing?

Let me know in the comments.

Book Reviews

Book reviews. Most people see them as necessary for book sales, the more (good) reviews a book has, the more it is likely to sell. They’re also very useful to readers, they can check out the opinions of other readers before they try the book themselves. Sometimes, they are simply used as a way for people to vent, rant or abuse the author or even other readers.

But for me? They provide me with the motivation I need to write. When I get stuck with my writing, when I wonder if I should continue, all I need to do is read some of my book reviews, and it reminds me that there are people out there waiting to read my next book. Waiting to see what the characters do next. Who are cheering me on and who have supported me in my career so far.

To make the most of this, the other day I printed out some of my reviews, and stuck them on my wall.

book reviews

I want to thank every one of them for inspiring me every day, and to let readers know that your review is more than just a way to give your opinion. It may mean more to the author than you think.

Which led me to realise that I have read hundreds of books in my life, but I have been very lax in writing reviews for them. So I have decided to write a review every time I read a new book, and also to begin leaving reviews for books I have read in the last few years.

After all, what if my words are the very thing the author needs to read to continue with their work?

A healthier wordcount!

I’m not quite where I should be with the wordcount yet, but I’m certainly in a better position than I was! Just over 5000 words written today, and I’m nearly at the halfway mark, with 24,587 words.

The story has turned into a completely different one than I imagined, and has completely taken on a life of its own. I have no doubt that it’s going to need a LOT of work, to get it into shape for my December publishing deadline, but I know it will get there!

I think I need a break now, I think some dinner and then some more banana and strawberry cake with ice cream is in order!

The Doorway to PAM Interview with Joey Pinkney

Was interviewed by the lovely Joey Pinkney, it was posted this morning, so head over to his site to check it out!

Joeypinkney.com

Also, check out Aria’s first ever interview on Laurie’s blog, and on the 19th August, her second interview will be released on the  World Literary Cafe! (I swear that Faerie will be more well-known than me!)

You can also see my other interviews on the IndieBookSpot and The Indie Writer’s Showcase.

2012 is going to be a fantastic year!

I know, I know, it’s been an age since  I last wrote, things have been beyond busy, I published The Doorway to PAM and launched it on the 4th December, and I’ve still been working, shopping for Christmas, editing etc etc! But I am hereby making a resolution right now to write at least once a week, about my self-publishing adventures, of which there are many! And the lessons I have learnt, in the hopes I save you all a little time and hassle!

Just to remind everyone that you can follow me on Twitter – themiraclemuse and ‘like’ my facebook page – Michelle Gordon – Author.

The Doorway to PAM is available on Kindle and Amazon.

Well, the plan for 2012 is to publish two novels, The Earth Angel Awakening and The Elphite. Do as many launches as possible, and also start up a business editing and formatting self-published books.

Not much then really!! I’ll also try to mention any tips here that I pick up along the way – my tip for today is this – if you are thinking of self-publishing your book, do not under any circumstances use a company who asks for lots of money, promises a lot, takes away your publishing rights and delivers very little in return.  If you are self-publishing, you should retain all the rights, and if you need to pay someone to edit and proofread, it should be fairly reasonable. It doesn’t actually cost anything to publish the book, on Print on Demand or as an ebook.

Well, I’m going to sign off for today, I promise to be back soon!