MONDAY MUSING: SHOW UP

 I’m still fighting a stomach bug so I am reprising an article written for me, a couple years ago, by a friend of mine, Ken Coffman.  I have a lot of respect for Ken and what he’s accomplished. Ken is both author and a publisher. I love his attitude when it comes to going for what he wants. I really liked the straight foreword tone of this article. I thought you might enjoy reading it, too.

80% of success is showing up.

- Woody Allen

What is the right percentage? 80% of success is showing up? I’ve heard 90%, 95%, and even 100%. Let’s not quibble, my friends. Some high percentage of success comes from showing up. But, what the hell does that mean?

I feel like I understand the concept and it doesn’t mean success is easy. Showing up sounds easy, so what’s going on? Let’s suppose you’re sitting in a room with one hundred other people. If you have a question, the physical effort of raising your hand is nothing. You lift that heavy hand hundreds of times a day. But the courage to take the chance, to draw attention to yourself, to risk asking the stupidest question ever asked…that takes courage. Grit. Guts. In this case you gotta show up by raising that heavy hand.

Patrick Moraz today From his website

Let me illustrate with an example from my life. Every few years when I can afford it and the mood strikes me, I will act as concert promoter. A while back, I booked a show with Patrick Moraz. Patrick is a world-renowned keyboardist and pianist who played with [British Rock Bands]Yes (1974-1976) and The Moody Blues (1978-1991). Truly, he is as close to a modern incarnation of Mozart that we will see in our lifetime. That sounds over-the-top and ludicrous, doesn’t it? But, check it out. You’ll see.

For an opening act, I decided to book a friend, Eric Dahl. Eric is a talented songwriter/storyteller, but I remember the day he told me he didn’t know how to play the guitar. I’d seen him perform and loved his songs…how could it be that he ‘knows not’ how to play? As it turns out, a guitar-playing friend tunes his acoustic guitar to an open chord and all Eric has to do is move his thumb and index finger up and down the neck to play simple patterns. As an aside, this is the way Glen Wilson (from my novel series, the continuing adventures of Glen Wilson, which starts with Steel Waters) also plays the guitar. This is in no way coincidental, but never mind that.

The concert was fun and the audience ate it up. Then, at the end, for an encore, a group of people wanted to hear Eric playing with Patrick. My heart sank. This would be a disaster… We can’t combine one of the premier pianists of the world with a fellow who does not know how to play the guitar. Sensing a meltdown, I sank into my seat and tried to disappear.

Here’s what happened. Eric got on stage, grinned at the crowd and started playing and singing a simple, funky bluesy pattern. Genius that he is, Patrick joined in and played wild, creative and amazing accompaniment. It was great. Perfect. Beautiful. And taught me a valuable lesson. I have the recording. It’s cool.

The life lesson?

Be bold. Take the lead. Show up.

What does this mean to my fellow writers? We’ll have setbacks. The blank page will sit on our screen and mock us. We’ll get a bad review. Another rejection letter. We’ll lose a contest. It can be overwhelming, paralyzing and depressing.

That’s life.

What should we do? Work! Perfect your skill at creating characters, designing a story arc and executing your ideas with good grammar, vocabulary and syntax. No matter where you started and no matter where you are today, you can get better and inch closer to your goal. Step-by-step. Day-by-day.

And that’s what I’m doing. Thanks Eric.

~*~*~*~

Ken Coffman is the author of Fairhaven, Steel Waters, Hartz String Theory and other mad novels available from Amazon.com and other online bookstores. He wrote a popular technical book called Real World FPGA Design with Verilog published by Pearson-Prentice Hall.

He is a Field Applications Engineer and Member of the Technical Staff at Fairchild Semiconductor.He is the coauthor of six patents, a member of the standards association of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 

Ken is the publisher of Stairway Press, publishing and marketing literary books in various genres (including science, science fiction, short stories, political essays, literary thrillers and adventures). 

Ken is a guitar player. He and his wife live in the Seattle area.  He plays golf exactly the way his boss wants him to: very poorly.

SECRETS I'VE LEARNED

My guest is romance author, Houston A.W Knight, aka, Hawk. Many may know her from her blog and also know she’s been deep in her writers cave the past few months.

Aspiring authors work hard to get their work published. Sometimes it feels like pushing a stone up a mountain. There is just so much to learn and apply.

Most writers I know are professionals with successful careers. These writers have worked hard for the measure of success they have.

Breaking into fiction writing, however, levels the playing field because they’re starting out entry level and dealing with rejections. A place many haven’t been in years. Oh, and let’s not forget most these writers are doing this while juggling life, family, jobs, and trying to carve out time to write. To follow a dream and build a writing career. 

I love hearing success stories. When any of my friends get THE CALL, I’m thrilled for them.  I know how hard they’ve been working for this day, this call. 

When I received a giddy call from Hawk (yes you were keyed up and giddy, my friend), I was so excited.  I asked her to please take the time away from her deadlines and talk about her journey to publication and what she learned along the way.

To be Published Or Not To Be Published, that is the question. To which I answered, I wanna be published!!!

And I have. 

First, let me reassure Sia, that my dog still has his hearing and no windows were broken in my house. Yep, she asked me that. I think she was a wee bit disappointed to hear I was very calm and business like when I received the call from the publisher. I wanted deadline details and release dates. Once it sank it I was excited and shared my news with friends. 

I know the frustrations, and doubts we struggling writers go through. I want to share what secrets I discovered to make my dream come true. 

I joined a writers’ chapter and learned a lot of basic things. The 'helpful' information given by the 'Pros' sounded good, but didn't really help. I wondered what secret information they were all dancing around and why they just didn't come out and tell me what I needed to know to get the job done. Being an Irish lass, I had to uncover their secrets. 

• First secret: I'm sure you all have heard it; Show Don't Tell.  

We all know that means showing how the hero walked into the room instead of telling the reader he walked in. But more importantly is picking the right things to SHOW. How do you know what to pick? You’re writing a romance, go for showing the deep POV of the Character (show their emotions) with a few details of the surroundings. What the Pro’s don’t tell you is YOU HAVE TO BALANCE THAT SHOWING WITH "TELLING" ~ so the rule 'show don't tell' didn't work for me because if you study published authors…they "show AND tell." 

• Second secret: They'll say, be sure to give the GMC (Goals, Motivations and Conflict). 

What they don't tell you is that you have to put that in the very first paragraph if you want a publisher to look at your work. Actually, your first three lines of your opening paragraph should be the heroines full name, her profession and her GMC and the forth line should be a hook. Pick up a book by a new author and check the opening paragraph and you’ll see just often this is true with new authors. Those already published will break this rule, but you're not published…yet  :-) you've got to play by the rules…for now!
 

• Secret three: What in the heck did they mean, "Focus on the romance." 

I’ll bet most of you said what I did ~ Well duh, I'm writing a romance…but what did they really mean? 

If you want to sell a book…every two or three lines should have an emotion. That's what they're not telling you. Go to your favorite author…don't read the book, read the lines and mark the emotions and see just how often she slipped in an emotion you weren't even aware of reading. SURPRISE!
 

• Secret Four: Giving the details. 

When they say give details, what they don't tell you is, we don't care if Tom passed the salt to Mary. What we are interested in is that as Tom passed the salt to Mary his heart was breaking because he couldn’t bring himself to confess his love for her. Now THAT'S a detail we care about. 

There are a lot of secret shadings in the advice writers are given. Advice that appears helpful but if you don't delve deeper…you'll spend years trying to understand what they want. 

Another key to getting published it watching what's going on around you in the business. There will come a time when you'll have to decide your options. Do you keep writing what you love knowing it won't sell or change and write what sells? I'm not saying chase the market…I'm saying study what's happening in the market. Know what’s selling and what’s not. Then be willing to change Genre. 

There was a time in my life when I was about to give up. We all hit those days. DON'T GIVE UP. I'm telling you right now…it won't work, you'll be like a druggy sneaking off to write a story and you'll tell yourself you're not really writing, you are…so, forget about it…you're a writer and accept you'll have those days. KEEP GOING!! Hanging in there is your only chance at getting your foot in the door. I don't care if you're hanging on by your last fingernail…HANG IN THERE…you can make this happen. 

When I Make It Big...

It's my pleasure to have Diana Castilleja, author of Aiza Clan Shifter series, as my guest today. Diana writes paranormal, romantic suspense, and erotica as Diana DeRicci.

Diana discusses how writing has evolved over the last decade, as well as some well thought out advice about the writing process, our attitude towards rejections, and knowing the market we're for which we're writing.




I can say "I knew me when". Yep. I knew me when I didn't know a thing. Still don't know much, but I fake it pretty well now. After five years of near solid writing, how can I say I don't know much? Pretty easily. The written word is always changing, the publishing market is as fluid as the tides and this is one career and industry that is in constant flux to stay in tune with the reading voracious. But I've always loved a challenge.

That's one of the best things about being an author, in any genre. There never ceases to be opportunities to learn, from any starting point at any level. Creative exploration starts with you. An idea, a spark, a smile, a storm, a tragedy. Song writers, sculptors, painters and authors, just to list a few, are the behind the scenes creators of your favorite band's songs, the abstract art that is as breathtaking as it is confusing, and the best selling books that you buy the second they hit the shelves. (Yep, I totally do that.) Except what a lot of people don't understand about the creative industries is that overnight success everyone hears of and longs for? That success can take anywhere from a couple years to fifteen or more. A lot can be learned, shared, dissected and rebuilt in that time period. Think how much music has changed in the last thirty years. Or just the last ten. Writing has evolved also.

It will continue to evolve, and I'm not discussing the procurement of the product--just the content, the way we read, the way we speak and interpret the written word. That has changed exponentially in the last few decades. So when I reach the point that I'm on one of those nice lists (I love to dream big), I can say I knew me when, and hopefully won't forget how I got there, or the hard work.

One of the other wonderful things about being an author is the chain of support that can be found. There’s very little about this “job” that can be called fun. It’s long hours, working alone, being self-motivated and needing to trust in yourself when sometimes no one else will. Understand that not every snip of advice will suit you, and no, you don’t have to try to fit them all into a mish-mash writing style for yourself. Time develops those traits. Every word written or typed is another word toward cementing what will eventually be the basis of your style and voice. I’ve heard said it’s best to consider your first million words on the job training. Less or more depends on what you do with those words. I did find that to be mostly true. My own style didn’t solidify into something I was really happy with until after the four year mark. And it’s still evolving.

I’m asked often what my advice would be for new writers just starting out.

There’s the basics:

• Learn your craft, the skill of writing correctly without losing your innate flair and voice. Remember, the story you write, can only be told by you. Also understand that all the ‘rules’ out there, aren’t in stone. Write the story the way you would want to read it. Only written words can be corrected and improved. A blank page is fodder for the crayon box.



• Realize rejection, while tough, isn’t personal. It truly, really isn’t. Your story with all its wonderful twists and characters, is one of probably a hundred different story lines the agent, editor or publisher has looked at just that week when they finally reach yours. There’s places all over the web that discuss the most common rejections and why they happen. Everyone gets rejected. It’s part of the business. You’re not failing because you receive rejections. You’re succeeding because you are pushing forward, because you are driving yourself for more. Be proud.



• Understand the market you’re writing for. Sounds simple enough, huh? Not exactly. Your market is going to change probably close to yearly as your style, voice and talent improve, as new authors arrive on the scene and mold the current reading selections, and favorites inspire whole new worlds. Sometimes the best thing you can do is generalize your story and let the publisher et al decide where to place it. Remember, this is a very fluid industry. Trends change on a nearly quarterly cycle with publishing. Aim for your genre and learn where your writing fits best. It’s not a reason to panic.
  


• Lastly, glaciers move faster than any facet of the publishing industry. Different methods are faster (ebook/small press) or slower (New York) but it all still takes time. The best way to combat that impatience sitting on your shoulder? Write your next story. You might just discover something new that hadn’t appeared in the previous one. A new tangent, a new skill, a new idea. That’s what makes writing so rewarding, at least for me.

So when I make it big, I can say I knew me when, because I’ve already experienced a lot of this, and know I have a lot more rolling down that hill to smack into me at any given moment. Is that impending trouble enough to make me stop writing? Honestly, no. I have locked up with writer’s block, for a whole year once. I refuse to let that happen again, but I can’t see myself willingly tossing in the towel and never writing a tortured hero or a messed-up heroine again. I’d probably drive my family insane if I did. I’m sure they’d be grateful if I didn’t.

Do you see rejections as failures?
How have you evolved as a writer?

~*~*~*~*~
With more than half a dozen ebooks currently to her credit and her first print book released in 2008 to rave reviews, Diana Castilleja has kept busy since she started writing professionally in late 2004.


Diana currently resides in central Texas with her husband and son. When not focusing her energy on her family and her writing, she loves to travel and haunt bookstores. She's lived in several states across the south and midwest, as well as traveling to Mexico. With moving every year or changing schools since the fourth grade to her sophomore year, she learned reading was a fast escape. The freedom to read about anything and everything has fueled her adult imagination. She is most likely currently sitting at her desk, having it out with her keyboard writing her next book.

Diana's Castilleja's Website

Diana DeRicci Sizzle That Satisfies


Crowning A Warrior King: Life has been calm and quiet for Aran for almost seven years since moving into Banter. She is a prosperous business owner, has friends, and helps those in need without question. Yet a delivery of a mysterious jewel encrusted box changes all of that for her in an instant.


Not only is the mysterious box enchanted, revealing someone knows of her deepest secrets, it imprisons a man unlike any other. Bold, fearsome, strong. A warrior from a place she's never heard of, a land she's never known. And the most glaring fact to his arrival is she is the only one with the knowledge to set him free, with a magic he cannot trust.


Rordan must return to the kingdom of Eglandor to stop the wicked sorceress who has imprisoned him, deliver the throne to King Tah-lel's appointed heir, and fulfill his destiny with the woman from another time, another world. And there's only so much time to do it all with the King's health failing and an uprising from within only waiting for the moment to claim the throne.

To purchase this book in print, please visit Barnes & Noble or any print bookseller. For a signed copy, please visit this order page to make a secure purchase direct from the author.

Does Success Affect An Author?

~Sia McKye~

“LUCK is when preparation meets opportunity.”

Which is a bigger worry for an author, do you think? Being a success? Or being a failure. Actually, both are tied into one package for a published author.

I’ve had several friends who have had a successful first book. A couple have had very successful first books. I’ve seen the pressure in bringing out the second book. The stress to meet the deadlines of the contract. The worries of, “what if people hate the second one? What if I can’t write a second or third one to match my first?” Authors face insecurities even with a moderately successful book. Sometimes, just getting a first book published will do that to an author. Yet many authors rise to the occasion and you can see their growth in the stories they pen. They get better and more refined with each book. The anxiety is real, though. The pressure to keep creating books that keep your reader’s interest enough to buy them, has to be tough.

But what if you were an author who wrote a blockbuster? Like Dan Brown?

Whether you love him or hate him, Dan Brown writes some stories that grab people’s attention. His detractors feel he can’t write worth beans (implausible, inaccurate, mechanical love plots) and can’t understand why he’s made the money or garnered the attention he has with his books. I imagine he’s laughing all the way to the bank despite the critics; although the criticism has to sting. I’d say the greater mystery to solve, was how did Dan Brown become such a phenomenon? Is there anyone who hasn’t heard of Dan Brown? It must be people’s love of conspiracies. It reminds me of looking at one of those hidden picture puzzles. You look at it one way and see only the surface picture. Look at it another way, and you see hidden pictures within the surface. In my opinion, many conspiracy theories are like that. Some are just plain fabricated by plucking straws out of headlines, assasinations, or whatnot.

What I found interesting was that Dan Brown had three other novels out by the time that The DaVinci Code became a phenomenon (over 80 million copies sold worldwide and stayed on the Times Bestseller’s list 136 weeks) in 2003. Of course the hoopla over it caused people to take an interest in those three novels, one of which was Digital Fortress, Deception Point, (neither of which were hot sellers) and of course, Angels and Demons, the prequel to the Code, also became a best seller although nowhere near The Da Vinci Code figures. Both were made into movies and on opening weekends in 2006 DVC made $77 million and Angels and Demons grossed about $48 million. Now we have The Lost Symbol about to be released with a first run of 5 million in North America and another 1.5 million for overseas markets. The contents, other than the clues deliberately released, has been a closely guarded secret other than in general terms—it’s about masons, there is a corresponding thread to a church in Scotland, is set mostly in Washington DC, set with his Langdon character, and a movie is already in the works.

I mention this only because, as a writer, I have to wonder how the pressure of this success has affected Dan Brown. I know from reading various articles, that the pressure to succeed did affect him. This is his first book since the DaVinci Code. He was already writing The Lost Symbol when The DaVinci Code went ballistic. He was quoted as saying, “The thing that happened to me and must happen to any writer who's had success is that I temporarily became very self-aware. Instead of writing and saying, "This is what the character does," you say, "Wait, millions of people are going to read this." ... You're temporarily crippled....[later] The furor died down, and I realized that none of it had any relevance to what I was doing. I'm just a guy who tells a story."

I’m wondering how long that realization took to develop? I can’t imagine writing under such pressure. The strain of having to prove you aren’t a one hit wonder has to be horrendous. Perhaps that’s why he dropped out of sight for a while. The Lost Symbol was originally slated for release in 2005. I’m sure fighting plagiarism lawsuits was part of his absence, but how much of it was to escape the pressure? Dan Brown said that there was a time, during which he “self-aware” he couldn’t write. Imagine that? Here you have contracts for the new book and you can’t write. I’m thinking by saying ‘temporarily crippled’ is another way of saying writers block. It's been six years since he published The Da Vinci Code. Gone long enough for people to start wondering where he was last year. Lots of speculation. Lots of cryptic tidbits released to the press about this upcoming book released yesterday. If you’ve noticed, there has been a deliberate but subtle build up of Dan Brown since April of this year when it was announced that The Lost Symbol would be released September 15th. Less subtle the past three months with the leaking of ‘clues’ via twitter and other social networks.

I curious about Doubleday’s worries, recouping the money invested I’m sure, and how much of those worries has filtered down to Dan Brown. Epecially with the delays in this book's release and the recent layoffs within the publisher's staff. Which would add another layer of pressure to any author.

I have to wonder if Dan Brown worries about such mundane things as, what if the Symbol isn’t as good as DVC? What if it falls flat? I know it would be a worry of mine.

How do you think you would handle such pressure as a writer? As a published author, how do you handle the doubts and pressure?

Granted, we all would love to have a blockbuster book out, but have you ever thought of how it would change your life? Your writing? Could you divorce yourself from the publicity? Would it be hard to write the next book knowing it would be read by millions of people? And by vocal critics ready to rip you apart?