Created and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writers Support Group posts the 1st Wednesday of every month. Click the image to learn more or sign up.
Monthly Question: When do you know your story is ready?
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The smarta$$ in me wants to ask the question, “ready for what?” When is your story ready for sharing, ready for editing, ready for publishing? Who knows… I guess, for me, this question is asking when is your story ready to be shared with others, whether on a blog, in a message to a select few, or with an editor in preparation for publication.
This is a tough one. I don’t always know in the same way for each story. Sometimes the story is ready only after it’s been self-edited enough. Sometimes it’s ready when the story feels complete and satisfying in a way that I no longer feel I need to add to or improve. Sometimes the story is ready when I’m tired of working on it. It really depends on the story and where I am emotionally.
And now on to the updates and in case you missed it.
This blog has been through so many changes over the years and I’m not in a place where I want it to change again, but it may have to. Some of the blog hops I participate in are either ending or changing and I’m feeling anxious. My movie review hop is ending, but I’m still going to try to review one movie a month. I feel like the love of cinema is an important part of me and my creative process that I should share with anyone who might want to know something about me from reading this blog. Also, the Question of the Month and Flashback Friday host has decided to walk away from those hops for good and personal reasons. I’ll miss him and am curious to see what direction these hops will take now that he’s seeking replacements. I threw my name in the hat, but I’d be happy with whoever he chooses. I just want these hops to continue. I really enjoy them.
So…now… let me choose my words wisely. Amazon(dot)com and I had a bit of a tiff recently. I’m seriously considering publishing my email correspondence with them as a free PDF download on this blog for anyone who’d like to read them. They are shocking, sad, and terrifying all at once. If you want to know the summary of our tiff, check out the article I wrote about it last week, by clicking the image below.
I mentioned it before and here’s the results. I’ve updated all my books and am ready to release my children’s books on my birthday. If you have a moment, please enjoy my unboxing video.
And last but not least, I’m trying a wacky campaign that may not go anywhere, but since I’ve only shared it with family and friends so far (I don’t count Twitter), I won’t feel too bad if no one supports it. I’m used to my family and friends ignoring anything involving my writing, excluding my mom and a handful of others who are my biggest supporters. Again, if you have the time, I’d love for you to check out my campaign video.
Don’t say it enough; thanks bunches for visiting this blog and reading my babble.
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When is your story ready?
Do you handle unwanted change well?
Ever had a tiff with Amazon? Should I publish my emails?
Any thoughts on my new children’s books?
Greetings everyone. A while back, I had the pleasure to interview a wonderful industry professional named, Rob Bignell. A good time was truly had by all, and here’s how it went down.
image provided guest
Hi thereRob! It’s so awesome to have you here at the ToiBox Blog. I’m excited to learn more about you and your work.
So tell me, who is Rob Bignell?
I’m the owner and chief editor of Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the editing and self-publishing needs of writers both new and published. Several of my short stories in the literary and science fiction genres have been published, and I’m the author of the nonfiction guidebook series 7 Minutes a Day…, Hikes with Tykes, Headin’ to the Cabin, Hittin’ the Trail, the literary novel Windmill, and the poetry collection Love Letters to Sophie’s Mom. For more than two decades, I worked as an award-winning journalist, with half of those years spent as an editor. I spent another seven years as an English teacher or a community college journalism instructor. I hold a Master’s degree in English and a Bachelor’s in journalism and English.
Wow, I mean, just wow! You’ve worked as a teacher, journalist, editor, and writer. I can’t imagine being all those things at once, but you make it seem easy and thrilling. I can’t wait to see what all you have to share.
So whacha got for me today?
image provided by guest
I’m wrapping up writing on the next title in my “7 Minutes a Day…” writing guidebook series. Due out at the holiday season, the fourth title in the series focuses on “the craft of fiction writing” – or how to give your writing more zing. It’s a collection of 50 pieces of advice I’ve given to writers who I’ve edited and helped get published during the past five years. It’s called “7 Minutes a Day to Mastering the Craft of Writing.”
That sounds like a good series to look into. As a writer I know it never hurts to brush up your writing and as a writer of fiction, this topic truly appeals to me.
Do you mind to share today, how we become fans, followers, or friends?
Through LinkedIn. I make the majority of my connections with serious writers and editors and other professionals via LinkedIn, much more so than Facebook or Twitter.
I can totally agree with you on that. I find that when I connect with people through Facebook and Twitter, it’s more social, and that can be a good thing, but for business, I stick with LinkedIn. It’s a great way to make initial connections before moving on to something more social, if things work out that way.
Getting to know you a little better, tell me, whose brain are you just itching to scratch?
Shakespeare. I’d like know how he came up with the ideas, imagery, and lines for his plays, to learn if they were borrowed, collaborative or wholly of his own mind. I’d like to learn what specific events in his life inspired some of his greatest lines and scenes. Of course, if I knew, then I’d be writing scholarly papers for the rest of my life!
This is one of those questions with no right or wrong answer, but sometimes an answer seems better than others. Shakespeare is always a good one, especially when there is good reasoning behind it – not just because everyone’s heard of him.
Up next, who is so you and why?
Well, I wish they would compare to Captain Kirk or to James Bond! I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone compare me to a celebrity or fictional character before. Wait, back in college, someone said they thought I was like Ted Koppel. There’s no way that’s true. I mean, do I sound like Ted Koppel to you?
I know what you mean. We are never compared to the people we’d want to be compared to, but being compared to Ted Koppel doesn’t seem too bad. I always get compared to B-list actresses.
Being the busy person that you are, what makes you chill?
Listen to bebop jazz with a lavender candle burning, curled up with a good book with just enough lighting to read by. I probably spend all of my relaxation time with me Kindle Paperwhite. Pathetic, right? I’ve taken to introducing my Kindle as my new girlfriend.
LOL! I like you; you’re funny. There’s nothing wrong with settling down with a good book. Every day at work (I teach) I scarf down my lunch quickly so I can squeeze in at least 10 minutes of reading, just to clear my mind.
So, what was your favorite book or story, pre-teen years?
from GoodReads.com
I read a tremendous amount of science fiction and boy adventure novels. One short story that I read over and over was Fredric Brown’s “Puppet Show,” which was in an anthology I had. I remember comic book versions of “The War of the Worlds” and “The Time Machine” having a big impact on me. I devoured James Blish’s “Star Trek” anthologies.
I never read many short stories growing up and am just now growing to like the medium, but you had me the moment you said “comic book.” To this day, even after having read the originals, I love to read the graphic novel versions of books. I just love the images.
If you could only watch one movie for the rest of your life, what would it be?
That’s a tough question. Maybe “Star Wars IV: A New Hope.” It’s got action and adventure, it’s got mythology, it’s got humor, just as a start. The movie has a number of layers to it, and if you take that approach and just view it for each layer, you’d be watching a new movie each time you saw it.
I like you more and more every minute. That movie rocks!
What makes you geek out?
“Star Trek: The Original Series.” I can tell you the name of the episode just by seeing the planet they approach in the opening scene.
Wow, that’s impressive. My dad would be so proud of me if I could do that, not that he isn’t proud of me, but you get my meaning 😉 . Good for you!
So what’s testing your patience right now?
What’s testing my patience right now is that there’s a lot of good books, music and art out there there but nothing that’s truly shattering the old paradigms. So much is imitative and commercial. Of course, the imitation is very flattering and the production quite slick. But I’d like to live through a period where you say, “He/she/they are like the Beatles or Motown. Nothing’s the same now that they’re on the scene.”
I know what you mean. There is definitely no shortage of creativity right now, but originality is sparse and the ability to change the game for the better seems almost impossible. However, I’ve seen some of the things people are doing in the name of conservation and my mind is blown.
When the soundtrack of your life is playing in your head, what songs express your glee and what songs bring out your rage?
When I’m working out, Dick Dale’s surf guitar runs through my head. When I’m mindlessly happy, an upbeat Beatles tune plays up there. When I’m contemplative, John Coltrane is there with all of the improvisational notes matching my thoughts of exploration.
I can get down “with a little help from my friends” and, of course, taking a ride on the Coltrane is always enlightening.
What’s the most fun experience you’ve ever had, to date?
Anytime my son and I have laughed together.
What a great answer. Family and laugher are always the best.
So, thoughts on EC: GA?
I’m looking forward to reading it. I’ve heard great things about its characters being extremely well drawn and given a lot of depth. One of the pleasures of reading is meeting characters who are like real people and experiencing their adventures alongside them.
I’m glad to hear that. I tell everyone, that while I worked very hard to develop this story, I put so much more into my characters because they are each a part of me, even my bad guys.
Is there something you would like to ask me?
Q: Are you Dr. Mira Brown?
A: Not really. I image that Mira looks like a taller less glamorous version of my older sister, and while I wanted to be a doctor when I was a kid, she’s not really me. She and I have a lot in common, but she’s a combination of many of the women in my life.
Well that’s all for today folks. I hope you’ve enjoyed this conversation with industry professional Rob Bignell and will take some time to visit his links.
First of all, what is as slush pile? Well, in the golden days of publishing, it used to be a large waste bin next to the submission editor’s desk where he would dump your book. Today, it’s likely to be the delete button on his e-mail Inbox. Either way, it’s bad news.
You have written your masterpiece and you are all fired up to mail it to every agent and publisher in the world, traditional or e-book. If you are self-publishing, you needn’t bother reading further.
Someone told me a long time ago that writing the book is the easy part. I spent a better part of six to nine months writing the damned thing. How can it be the easy part? All right, let’s look at your book using a very simple checklist.
Is it finished? Amazing how many writers approach an agent or publisher with a half-baked potato.
Is the book properly formatted? An agent or publisher may have specific requirements. Before submitting, it is prudent to make yourself aware of what they are.
Is the internal layout correct? This means, do your chapters start on a new page using Word’s page break function? Do you have tabs, extra spaces at end of a last sentence in a paragraph, manually centered headings, not spell checked? Starting a paragraph using the Tab key?
Has the book been thoroughly edited? Lots can be said about what ‘thoroughly’ means, but I think you get the idea.
If your Page One has any of these tripwire items, you can guess what will happen. Editors and agents get dozens of submissions a day. Even if your book is the next Gone with the Wind, if you haven’t presented it correctly – slush pile.
Having been diligent and done everything right, you’re still not ready to send the thing off. You have just done the easy part. Okay, so what’s the hard part? Making the submission, of course. What’s so hard about that? Churn out a letter and post the damned thing. Time for another checklist.
Do you have a polished submission letter that will sweep that agent or editor off his feet?
Does the submission letter contain the agent or editor’s correct name? Not much good if all it says ‘To whom it may concern’, or ‘Dear Sir’. It tells the person you haven’t bothered to research the agency or publisher.
Have you written a short and long blurb for your book? You’ll need this with your submission letter or e-mail.
Is your book synopsis done? This is where many writers suffer agonies of withdrawal symptoms. They can write a Gone with the Wind, but they cannot write a two-page synopsis even if their life depended on it.
The above items will be the first thing an agent or editor sees. If you cannot get past the submission letter – the slush pile. Let’s leave the submission letter and talk about the book blurb. You must write a paragraph, boiling your book down to about 100 words or so, that tells somebody what the book is about, injecting drama, suspense, tears, a shootout – whatever is the theme. Think about making a sauce. Your pot has all the necessary ingredients and is half full of water. To make the sauce, you boil the mess until only a gooey residue is left on the bottom. That’s your book blurb…
To see the rest of this article and learn more about Stefan Vucak, please visit the ECS blog.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords
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