As my posts often are, I tend to share “things” going on in my life influencing my writing, with the thought there’s “something” going on beyond just my little mental shenanigans—and might be a nugget for my fellow readers and writers. This is another one of those posts, but possibly even more “rambling down the writing road” than others.

Generally I’m not a negative person, and tend toward optimism versus wallowing in negativity. As bad stuff happens, as it does in everyone’s life, my mind and personality tend to jump to finding a solution—if I can. Some things you just can’t fix. Besides being positive leaning, I’m also a rather private person—I know, I know, yet here I am writing a very public blog about all this. But I’m sharing, because of the prime motivator I have for writing these posts—that maybe other writers can identify with my experiences, and consequently say to themselves, either “I’m not like that, I’m doing it right,” or “yes, I can use those thoughts, too.”

Nonetheless, despite by positive personality leanings, I’ve been literarily down in the dumps for several months. Have barely written a word—instead, besides reading of course, I’ve been nonstop indulging in Perry Mason reruns, Midsomer Murders DVDs, TCM movies, The Saint reruns, and Murdoch.

Why, I asked myself? Especially since I’ve tried all my fix it techniques:[i]

Scheduled writing times and/or number of words,

Made a new cover,

Enhanced character’s backgrounds,

Imagined (not wrote) scenes,

Imagined (not wrote) enhancements to characters backgrounds,

Spoke ideas into my Kindle recorder to get me started when next at my computer,

Went to laptop versus desktop, and vice versa,

Analysis of the point of my tale, i.e. “Who” would care or enjoy the story and new characters,

Not needed research…

Still nothing, to the point of having blasphemous thoughts that I’d never write another book. Months passed.

Then I read with joy Jacqueline Vickie’s latest, Murder at Friendly Farm[ii] and I finally realized (I’d read in eBook format is my excuse for not noticing earlier,), Jacqueline’s book is a Novella. And there was my answer. Never Forgotten will be a novella, not a book. And trying to stretch into a book was stopping me in my writing tracks. An interesting side note, the effects of one’s writing in the world might not be what you expect at all. Thank you, Jacqueline.

Back writing at last! And on top of that, Jackie Houchin’s post about murder on the high seas, has started some new ideas for future books/novellas percolating in my writing brain.

The culmination of all this rambling and a possible nugget of insight for others, is: no matter how much discipline, ingenuity, helpful hint lists, practiced routines, and personal insight one has—sometimes you just have to say, Bah Humbug…then just wait.

Happy Writing Trails!

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[i] Used to also do pottery

[ii]  Thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend! Evan is a delight, and it’s never too late to celebrate Christmas. https://smile.amazon.com/Murder-Friendly-Farm-Mystery-Novella-ebook/dp/B082BGBMV1/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=jacqueline+vick&qid=1582485335&sr=8-3   Thank you, Jackie!

    by Gayle Bartos-Pool

 

Platform: 1. a raised flooring  2. the flat area next to a railroad track  3. a set of principles

 

Now is the time to add another definition to your Webster’s. If you are a writer, or you would like to be a writer someday, definition #4 is essential.

 

Platform: 4. an accumulation of skills and accomplishments along with various methods of broadcasting that information to the publishing world and the reading public; Your goal is to drive people to you and your book.

 

Learn what type of tools to use to build that platform: website, Internet, writers’ groups, other social networking  

 

Building a Platform in the 21^st Century

 

It isn’t enough for today’s writer to merely write the novel or short story, or for that matter a non-fiction piece, newspaper article, or screenplay. Today’s writer needs to get noticed. Does that mean be a flaming exhibitionist? Yeah. Sort of.

 

As described in definition #4: a “platform” is an accumulation of skills along with various methods of broadcasting that information to the publishing world and the reading public. And this can be started before you have a book in print. In fact, it should have been started before you are knee deep in trying to promote a published book.

 

If you have visions of your future publisher footing the bill for your world-wide book tour or arranging your multi-city American book tour, wake up, sweetheart. More than likely, you will be doing this yourself.

 

But, if you have developed certain skills and have laid a foundation (a.k.a. platform) for getting your name out in front of the public, you are ahead of the game. But a “platform” isn’t just a website or a blog. It’s a lot of things.

 

If people (agents, publishers, booksellers, librarians) know they can count on you to get a job done, you build your credibility. Sometimes that means just showing up at a literary event and helping out. If you exhibit this type of capability, your agent and publisher will consider you a professional, especially if you have this part of your budding career taken care of before you drop your first manuscript in their laps. And let’s face it, when you sell your book, you won’t have time to learn these new skills. Take the time now, while you are still polishing that second or third draft, to get yourself up to speed.

 

Now you might say, “But, hey, I just want to be a writer.” (Boy have you got a lot to learn.) Unless you actually have the next Harry Potter book, or Twilight series stacked up around your computer, you have things you need to do now. Both Ms. Rowling and Ms. Meyer have people to handle this. Unless you have “people,” you will have to do this part yourself.

 

This will be a Bullet Point Presentation of many of the ways you can build your own platform. This will include creating a web presence, getting your face out there (short of on the Ten Most Wanted list), and discovering who you really are in the first place.

 

Roll up your sleeves and join me as we polish the gems that we are inside.

 

 

Please note: I am primarily a mystery writer, so I will use examples based on writing mysteries. But a writer is a writer. These skills fit all shapes and sizes.

Gayle Bartos-Pool, aka: GB Pool, mystery writer

 

 

Bullet Points for Building a Successful Platform

Point #1 –

1. Who are You? Before you can really start building a platform of skills to promote yourself and your work, you need to know who you are and what you do best. In other words, what is your niche? If you were a book, where would you be in the bookstore? Mystery section, Short Story collections, Mystery plays. When you meet people, do you say, “Hi, I’m Agatha Penwrite. I’m a mystery writer.” Or are you still not sure what you want to be or write? If you can’t figure out who it is you are, you won’t be the only one.

 

Look back over the things you have already written and take inventory. At the California Crime Writers Conference in Los Angeles (June 2009), Gayle Lynds (The Book of Spies) said that you will probably have five novels under your belt before you sell your first one.

So, what do you primarily write?

The other half of knowing who you are is this: What other skills do you bring to the party? Were you once a cop, a private detective, a chef, a hooker? Hey, all of these are the basis of a good storytelling. What skills do you already have that will add credibility to your writing?

 

When I first started to write seriously, I wrote three long spy novels. The length alone said they wouldn’t be selling anytime soon. My dear husband said to me, “You were a private detective once. Why don’t you write a detective novel?” Duh. Boy, was he right.

 

So ask yourself, “What actual expertise am I bringing to this novel?” If you are a great cook or professional chef, you might center your stories around cooking. (Jerilynn Farmer’s Perfect Sax). If you are good at research, you might tackle an historical novel. (Jeri Westerson’s Veil of Lies) If you are a doctor, lawyer, or police officer, you have case studies by the score from which to draw stories. (Michael Crichton, John Grisham, Joseph Wambaugh.)

 

All the people with the above job descriptions have something to talk about when speaking to an audience besides their great new novel. They have real life experience in the subject matter. They bring credibility and great insight to their latest book. Sue Ann Jaffarian (Booby Trap) is a paralegal writing about paralegals. Sheila Lowe (Dead Write) is a real life handwriting expert. Her protagonist has the same job. Doug Lyle (Forensics for Dummies) is a heart doctor. They each write about what they know best.

 

Not only does Sue Ann have actual knowledge of her subject matter, but she can also go speak at a paralegal convention or a lawyer conference. Her expertise carries weight. It’s a great draw.

 

So, what is your biggest asset?

Not a doctor or lawyer? You still have resources. Mari Sloan (Beaufort Falls) comes from a long line of Southern eccentrics and visionaries. Her storytelling skills made her book fascinating, but her ability to tell those stories out loud made her book events unforgettable. Did you hear some good family tales growing up? Bruce Cook (writing as Brant Randall) wrote a novel that incorporates some of his family’s stories in a knock-out book, Blood Harvest. But not only did he have the interesting stories, but Bruce is also a movie director and he knows how to stage a story for the most impact. And his eye for detail shows up on the page.

 

Now ask yourself again: “What am I bringing to the party? What else can I talk about that shows I just might have credibility in the subject matter of my book?”

 

Write a one-paragraph biography about yourself listing pertinent accomplishments and skills. You’ll need this when an agent asks: “Give me a brief bio about yourself that I can send along to the publisher when I submit your manuscript.”

 

Are you getting the idea what a platform is? Good. There’s more coming up the next time it’s my turn on the blog. Watch for it.

 

 

                     by Rosemary Lord

 

Happy 2020!

Well, this new year has got off to a busy start. It’s not just a new year, but a new decade. Where, oh where, did these years go? It seems to have been a decade of run, don’t walk, through life, ducking and dodging life’s many ‘surprises.’

I, for one, am very happy to move on to 2020.

 

For me, the last 10 years were overshadowed by the intense work on the whole sorry Woman’s Club saga, which began when the property was stolen February 8^th, 2010. Almost 10 years ago! The club finally came out of bankruptcy at the end of 2019 and back on its’ own feet last month. I was glad to see the end of that challenge and the end of that decade.

Although the biggest shadow, and the most devastating happening of the last decade, was the sudden death of my wonderful husband, Rick, in 2012. I subsequently buried myself in the dramas of the Woman’s Club, which helped me move through the grief.

During this time I made several trips back to be with my family, my siblings in England and Greece, for which I am so very thankful. We spent much wonderful family time together, reminiscing and healing the loss of a husband and, for them, a much-loved brother-in-law. And we re–discovered each other and created an even closer family bond.

We had adventures and we laughed a lot, amidst the tears.

 

Sideswiped by that grief, it was a decade where I had mostly abandoned my novel series about Lottie Topaz. But writing is as important as breathing, for me. So instead I wrote this Blog and I wrote updated versions of my Los Angeles Then and Now and Hollywood Then and Now books. The latest Los Angeles Then and Now, a travel-size edition, is to be released this March, 2020. But these are non-fiction, historical research books. So they’re not an emotional journey for me or the reader, unlike Lottie’s tales.

 

I love Lottie, and find myself laughing and crying with her as she whispers her stories in my ear. I am her conduit and her typist. And so it was difficult working on her books until this new year, when the  new decade dawned. January 1^st, 2020 it felt different. Now, Lottie and I spend every hour I can spare, editing her first book.

I am now fastidiously logging each chapter and every page – giving myself a clear map of what I have managed to weave. I did a brief version of this chapter outline early on, but realized it was not enough. This is a serious, freshly focused chapter log!

Lottie Topaz and the Flicker Murders (the full title of this first book in the series) has been rejected by some agents – without even a cursory reading – not even the first 10 pages – due to the length, I have learned. Novel submissions must be 75-90,000 words. Apparently, only established, successful novelists can earn a publishing contract with much longer manuscripts.

At the California Crime Writers’ Conference I was told that agents and publishers are so inundated with prospective books, that it is a way to eliminate and cut down the number of manuscripts they have to read.

The draft I sent out was almost 120,000 words. Okay – so I got carried away – I will fix it. Hence my map of where I may trim more than just a few words – probably whole scenes – which I will put aside and hopefully use in one of Lottie’s other books. That is the plan afoot. Besides, reading it through after all this time, I have fresh eyes and find it easier to see where things need to speed up, or where descriptions or conversations are superfluous.

So this year I have fallen in love with Lottie and her travails all over again. She and I have also been working on Lottie’s second novel,” Seven for a Secret” in which we go back to her beginnings in London, as well. It’s bliss. I’m a happy writer.

This new year, this new decade, I have found my love for writing again.

 

And look at how this past decade has opened up so many new avenues for us writers. The flourishing world of self-published books has been brought out of the shadows and finally feted and honored alongside the traditionally published books. Writers can happily control their own literary destiny. And instead of dire warnings of an over-saturated market, I have heard both here and in Europe that people are reading more than ever.

 

Young readers have their own burgeoning world of YA favorites, children’s books are increasingly popular and the genres for everyone have expanded into a multitude of worlds, time-zones, creatures and beings – only limited by the imaginations of writers and readers alike. Today reading has been expanded into so many new forms: be it on a kindle, with audio-books, through pod-casts or faithful paperbacks and hardbacks.

So I do declare, from my happy writing desk, that this wonderful new year, this exciting new decade will be the The Year of the Writer – nay, The Decade of the Writer – with happy readers discovering us all.

Happy New Year everyone!

 

 

December 25^th post – by Gayle Bartos-Pool

People celebrate Christmas in many ways. Some decorate their homes like a Macy’s window on steroids, others keep a lower profile and enjoy the colors, sounds, and smells in their own quiet way. Some can’t wait for the season to be over. As for me, any time people make an effort to make others happy and to enjoy life themselves is a holiday. Christmas is and should be a time to reflect on the Gift of Life we have all been given. You can’t return it to the store if you don’t like it, but you can make it fit by being the very best you can be and showing others their gift is pretty special as well. Then you will realize Christmas is every day.

Merry Christmas.