Better, Stronger, Faster

[mindyklasky]

I have the theme from The Six Million Dollar Man running through my head (and now, I suspect, you do too…)

A few weeks ago, I attended a writing workshop let by a Big Name Author.  In the past, I had heard many positive things about the BNA and his workshop, but I have to admit, I was *very* disappointed in the actual presentation.  I thought that

Comments

[orlacarey]

I'm crossing my fingers that this works for you. I've seen authors who manage to do self publishing and write insane amounts. I've also seen authors who seem to lose themselves in the networking/facebook/etc and lose focus to the point that I'm wondering when if ever I will see the next book in the series.

I believe that self publishing is going to end up being the future and I also expect more and more outsourcing avenues to open up for things that traditional publishers do now (like editing). But I can see the real possibility of writers getting so lost in publicizing their work that they forget to write.

It also doesn't help that it takes months to write a book but hours to read one so the instant people are done reading they start asking "so when is the next one coming out?"

[mindyklasky]

Thanks for the good thoughts! There's a very real danger of getting so lost in publicity that there isn't time for writing. For me, it's not even the outright *publicity* that eats so much time. It's the (trying to) participate actively in communities that support books like mine. That's a form of publicity, but it's a much deeper connection -- a great one, but wow, a time-consuming one...

I know some authors who go ballistic when they're asked the "next book" question. I think it's a great sign of support :-)

[mtlawson]

Nnnnnn.....
Nnnnn.....

Dammit, I've got that slo-mo action sound in my head!

[mindyklasky]

My work here is done!

[lrcutter]

For the really busy lists, might I suggest getting every individual post, but then tossing them all into a folder automatically? I use gmail, and that way the posts are automatically aggregated by subject line. This makes it much easier for me to figure out which threads I need to dig into, and which I can ignore. (David Levine recommended this to me -- possibly for that same group that we all three belong to -- and it's been a god send.)

There's more work than ever. But the words must *always* come first. I write first, and if I have time and brain, I'll do publishing stuff later. I've cut down on even what little TV I did watch.

These are such exciting times, IMO. It's the best time to be an author. Feel free to ping me if you want to chat about things, or need any help.

[mindyklasky]

Yep, same list :-) (Although two other lists have exploded this week too. Must be the pollen in the air...)

Do you find the getting all the emails thing works better than digest? (I've been afraid to digest the list in question because some matters seem URGENT-I'M-GOING-TO-HUNT-YOU-DOWN-IF-YOU-DON'T-ANSWER-NOW important...)

Thanks for the offer to chat, I'll likely be bugging you with that soon :-)

[lrcutter]

I have been finding the email thing works better than the digest. It enables me to scan for subjects better. I just always have to remember to go look at the folder.