Yeah...Full Disclosure, I'm high
Full Disclosure works on another level; this blog is about how I write a novel and publish it. Let's hope I can manage it under the influence...
I was recently asked "How did you write your books and get them published? Like, what inspired you to write them?"
It starts with a desire to create and communicate. All art is a desire to create something...
8 hours later:
Nope, nope, I can't write while under the influences...I tried. LOL
The first part of the question was, how did I write my books, is best answered by another question. How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice. Start small. Write your daydreams, write a chapter, write a little here and there. When I first started writing I wrote different genres and didn't finish the first three books I started, but the fourth book I wrote from beginning to end...it took me years, but I did it. There's no quick and easy way to write, you just write and you write a lot. Eventually, your distinct voice, your writing style will develop. Keeping a blog is a good way to get that practice and build your audience.
Write and read, read a lot. Writers need to be readers, in my opinion. Always have a book in your bag that you're currently reading, fiction or nonfiction. I feel that reading helps maintain a strong inner monologue and sense of sentence flow.
What's the Big Idea? You have to have one. What are you trying to accomplish? What are you trying to explore? When I started writing Fatal Retribution my big idea was to take an innocent young woman and turn her into someone capable of killing a man. For the longest, I was studying serial killers. I couldn't quite wrap my mind around their motives so I found them fascinating. With just that idea I knew my beginning (innocent lady) and I knew my ending (she kills a man). I just had to fill in the middle bits...
Write what you know. Every writer, whether it's fiction or not, writes from personal experience. Again, when I started writing Fatal Retribution I started the book off with a camping trip on Mount Rainier because I've had a good number of them in my life. I gave my innocent leading lady many of my own characteristics. I gave her siblings that reminded me in small ways of my own and a familiar family dynamic, that certainly did not mirror my own precisely, but was equally problematic. For years I've wanted to write a nonfiction book about Rape Culture because it feels like a great big underlying theme of my life and now, heck, I work at a rehabilitation center for violent rapists...nice -_-
So, yeah. How did I write my books? By writing a lot, reading a lot, having an idea and leaning hard on my own experiences...
The second part of the question. How did I get them published?
That was a frustrating road to be sure. Normally the process is such: for fiction, you start by writing the book. Then you write a query letter which you send out to literary agents, whose job is to find you a publisher. You can try to cut the middleman and send your query letter directly to a publisher, but most publishers will not let you do this.
Here is an example of a query letter:
This query letter was sent out when Fatal Retribution was called Into Darkness and Mortal Sentry was, The Hunted...I kind of still like the old titles and the old description...
Date: 1.21.2010
PMA Literary & Film Management, Inc
kelly@pmalitfirm.com
Dear Kelly Skillen,
In a world of gods and monsters, a young witch will give up everything to bring a man once blessed by the god Apollo to justice…her brand of justice.
Raina’s life has never been easy, being a bastard and a mixed breed always makes things harder. But when a man starts selling a deadly disease on the street as a cure-all her life takes a turn in a dark direction. The disease this man is selling is highly contagious. It will cure you. Yes. But it will also kill you.
Raina finds herself and her brothers at the mercy of the disease, but strangely it only kills them. Her beloved brothers’ lives lay in ruin amongst those of countless others, and she can no longer trust Seattle PD to bring the man responsible to justice.
In the end it’s up to Raina and those who would fight at her side to slay an immortal of ancient legend gone mad. She cannot save those he’s wronged, but she can avenge them, she can stop him. Even if doing so changes her forever. Her family will forsake her, strangers will praise her, and ruthless men will take her in as a kindred spirit.
If you are seeking dark paranormal fantasy look no further. Considering all that I’ve read of you and your agency, I believe you are exactly the agent I want to have representing me in selling my first novel, INTO DARKNESS. The novel is complete at 130,000 words and I am interested in your evaluation of its commercial potential and any constructive criticisms you might offer.
Into Darkness is the first book in a series, I’m halfway through the second novel, working title, THE HUNTED, and I have story ideas for at least three more books. I can email the completed manuscript or a portion of it at your request.
Thank you for your precious time and your consideration. I eagerly await your response.
Kind Regards,
Diana Graves
From 2009 to the end of 2011, I sent hundreds of these letters out to agents and publishers, each one tailored to their unique requests. Some wanted a full outline of the novel. Some asked for the first three chapters. Some wanted the entire novel physically mailed to them with special instructions...For two years I did this. I could have covered every wall in my house with their rejection letters...
So traditional publishing wasn't working for me. Vanity publishing is always an option...but it's called vanity publishing for a reason. Vanity publishing is basically publishers that will take almost any novel anyone writes, edit it for a price, format it for a price, make a cover for a price, market it for a price and you pay out of your pocket for all they do. This road is for the wealthy...
What I ended up doing was Indy Publishing. There are many places you can go for indy publishing (Barns and Noble for one) but I like Amazon the best. Of course, when it comes to Indy Publishing you are in charge of getting your book edited, formatted, cover designed and marketing. Thankfully I'm a total control freak and enjoy doing all of that myself. I'm not the best editor so I do hire outside help for that bit, but I'm pretty good at formatting a novel and designing its cover. Amazon also has free tools on their publishing website for all that jazz. Marketing is the thing I'm super bad at doing and haven't been able to bring myself to outsource just yet.
The third part of the question was, What inspired me to write them?
I have a few answers for that and I'm not sure which is more right than the others. I could tell you that my mother was a very stoic woman. She worked multiple jobs at times to raise her many children alone, and when she was home her face was always in a book. I had a great desire to please her, but everything I did never felt like enough. Part of me thought that if I wrote books, at least her face would be stuck in my book...but alas, she won't read them...sadness. Another reason I write is because I've always been an artist. Painting, acting, drawing. Writing is just another way to communicate something pregnant with emotion, something that takes the reader on a journey...Yet another reason I write is to get that story out. Many people have a story inside them, not just writers. So many times, very often, in fact, I'm told by people who find out I'm a writer that they themselves have a story inside them that they wish they could write, but they don't write it because the act of doing so seems so daunting! Writing a novel is intimidating. It's frightening. It's walking through a ballroom full of everyone you know and complete strangers, buck naked with a smile on your face. It's a bold and cocksure move that leaves you open to severe criticism and immense emotional pain...but, like giving birth and raising children, it's worth it more often than not.
I hope this helps.
Full Disclosure works on another level; this blog is about how I write a novel and publish it. Let's hope I can manage it under the influence...
I was recently asked "How did you write your books and get them published? Like, what inspired you to write them?"
It starts with a desire to create and communicate. All art is a desire to create something...
8 hours later:
Nope, nope, I can't write while under the influences...I tried. LOL
The first part of the question was, how did I write my books, is best answered by another question. How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice. Start small. Write your daydreams, write a chapter, write a little here and there. When I first started writing I wrote different genres and didn't finish the first three books I started, but the fourth book I wrote from beginning to end...it took me years, but I did it. There's no quick and easy way to write, you just write and you write a lot. Eventually, your distinct voice, your writing style will develop. Keeping a blog is a good way to get that practice and build your audience.
Write and read, read a lot. Writers need to be readers, in my opinion. Always have a book in your bag that you're currently reading, fiction or nonfiction. I feel that reading helps maintain a strong inner monologue and sense of sentence flow.
What's the Big Idea? You have to have one. What are you trying to accomplish? What are you trying to explore? When I started writing Fatal Retribution my big idea was to take an innocent young woman and turn her into someone capable of killing a man. For the longest, I was studying serial killers. I couldn't quite wrap my mind around their motives so I found them fascinating. With just that idea I knew my beginning (innocent lady) and I knew my ending (she kills a man). I just had to fill in the middle bits...
Write what you know. Every writer, whether it's fiction or not, writes from personal experience. Again, when I started writing Fatal Retribution I started the book off with a camping trip on Mount Rainier because I've had a good number of them in my life. I gave my innocent leading lady many of my own characteristics. I gave her siblings that reminded me in small ways of my own and a familiar family dynamic, that certainly did not mirror my own precisely, but was equally problematic. For years I've wanted to write a nonfiction book about Rape Culture because it feels like a great big underlying theme of my life and now, heck, I work at a rehabilitation center for violent rapists...nice -_-
So, yeah. How did I write my books? By writing a lot, reading a lot, having an idea and leaning hard on my own experiences...
The second part of the question. How did I get them published?
That was a frustrating road to be sure. Normally the process is such: for fiction, you start by writing the book. Then you write a query letter which you send out to literary agents, whose job is to find you a publisher. You can try to cut the middleman and send your query letter directly to a publisher, but most publishers will not let you do this.
Here is an example of a query letter:
This query letter was sent out when Fatal Retribution was called Into Darkness and Mortal Sentry was, The Hunted...I kind of still like the old titles and the old description...
Date: 1.21.2010
PMA Literary & Film Management, Inc
kelly@pmalitfirm.com
Dear Kelly Skillen,
In a world of gods and monsters, a young witch will give up everything to bring a man once blessed by the god Apollo to justice…her brand of justice.
Raina’s life has never been easy, being a bastard and a mixed breed always makes things harder. But when a man starts selling a deadly disease on the street as a cure-all her life takes a turn in a dark direction. The disease this man is selling is highly contagious. It will cure you. Yes. But it will also kill you.
Raina finds herself and her brothers at the mercy of the disease, but strangely it only kills them. Her beloved brothers’ lives lay in ruin amongst those of countless others, and she can no longer trust Seattle PD to bring the man responsible to justice.
In the end it’s up to Raina and those who would fight at her side to slay an immortal of ancient legend gone mad. She cannot save those he’s wronged, but she can avenge them, she can stop him. Even if doing so changes her forever. Her family will forsake her, strangers will praise her, and ruthless men will take her in as a kindred spirit.
If you are seeking dark paranormal fantasy look no further. Considering all that I’ve read of you and your agency, I believe you are exactly the agent I want to have representing me in selling my first novel, INTO DARKNESS. The novel is complete at 130,000 words and I am interested in your evaluation of its commercial potential and any constructive criticisms you might offer.
Into Darkness is the first book in a series, I’m halfway through the second novel, working title, THE HUNTED, and I have story ideas for at least three more books. I can email the completed manuscript or a portion of it at your request.
Thank you for your precious time and your consideration. I eagerly await your response.
Kind Regards,
Diana Graves
From 2009 to the end of 2011, I sent hundreds of these letters out to agents and publishers, each one tailored to their unique requests. Some wanted a full outline of the novel. Some asked for the first three chapters. Some wanted the entire novel physically mailed to them with special instructions...For two years I did this. I could have covered every wall in my house with their rejection letters...
So traditional publishing wasn't working for me. Vanity publishing is always an option...but it's called vanity publishing for a reason. Vanity publishing is basically publishers that will take almost any novel anyone writes, edit it for a price, format it for a price, make a cover for a price, market it for a price and you pay out of your pocket for all they do. This road is for the wealthy...
What I ended up doing was Indy Publishing. There are many places you can go for indy publishing (Barns and Noble for one) but I like Amazon the best. Of course, when it comes to Indy Publishing you are in charge of getting your book edited, formatted, cover designed and marketing. Thankfully I'm a total control freak and enjoy doing all of that myself. I'm not the best editor so I do hire outside help for that bit, but I'm pretty good at formatting a novel and designing its cover. Amazon also has free tools on their publishing website for all that jazz. Marketing is the thing I'm super bad at doing and haven't been able to bring myself to outsource just yet.
The third part of the question was, What inspired me to write them?
I have a few answers for that and I'm not sure which is more right than the others. I could tell you that my mother was a very stoic woman. She worked multiple jobs at times to raise her many children alone, and when she was home her face was always in a book. I had a great desire to please her, but everything I did never felt like enough. Part of me thought that if I wrote books, at least her face would be stuck in my book...but alas, she won't read them...sadness. Another reason I write is because I've always been an artist. Painting, acting, drawing. Writing is just another way to communicate something pregnant with emotion, something that takes the reader on a journey...Yet another reason I write is to get that story out. Many people have a story inside them, not just writers. So many times, very often, in fact, I'm told by people who find out I'm a writer that they themselves have a story inside them that they wish they could write, but they don't write it because the act of doing so seems so daunting! Writing a novel is intimidating. It's frightening. It's walking through a ballroom full of everyone you know and complete strangers, buck naked with a smile on your face. It's a bold and cocksure move that leaves you open to severe criticism and immense emotional pain...but, like giving birth and raising children, it's worth it more often than not.
I hope this helps.
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