Janet Q. Glaser, the Wordwright
The Writer's Life of Frivolity and Philosophy

A well-written, clear explanation of differences in publishing your book via traditional publishing or self publishing is presented on the Writers Chatroom blog.  Kim Richards breaks down the topic by informing the reader about big traditional publishers, small presses, subsidy pubs, and self-publishing.  If you are trying to make a decision as to what is best for your book, please check this blog  for good information.

Unfortunately in this writing business, as in most industries, there is always someone trying to scam unaware, stars-in-their-eyes writers. You must do your homework before you sign up with a publisher, ezine, or content site. 

A site that keeps track of publishers who are good and bad according to info they receive is Preditors and Editors. Just click on the beginning letter of the publisher’s name.  Scroll through the list for the pub to see if they are included as recommended or one to avoid.

A “watchdog” blog is Writer Beware. It “ shines a bright light into the dark corners of the shadow-world of literary scams, schemes, and pitfalls. We also provide industry news, advice for writers, and a special focus on the weird and wacky things that happen at the fringes of the publishing world.”

Be careful! Writer scams are everywhere.  Be aware!

I found a great quote for writers in Susan Wittig Albert’s book, Writing from Life.

Writing a book is like scrubbing an elephant:  there’s no good place to begin or end, and it’s hard to keep track of what you’ve already covered.–Anonymous

Ain’t that the truth?  I have read and re-read my novella making sure that I have covered everything and told the story clearly so a reader can follow it.  But I always struggle with tying up the story with a satisfying ending.  The best way of deciding if the ending is what a reader wants is to ask someone(s) to read the book and get an opinion.  I know your mom or Aunt Edith will always say they liked it, so you need to get a reader who is capable of actually telling you the shortcomings AND the good points about the story.  The reader will be able to tell you if the ending makes sense and if you completed the book satisfactorily.

I know it is difficult to let someone else read your writing.  I know it is hard to put your “baby” out in the world to be criticized, mocked, or–look at it this way–praised and lifted up as beautiful.  Just put on your armor and send out that writing.  Even if someone doesn’t like it, you have the opportunity to work on it and make it better.  There is no shame in having to re-work the story when your reader(s) make a salient point.

Try it.  Afterall, are you writing for your own enjoyment or are you writing to give others joy?

A little girl was diligently pounding away on her grandfather’s word processor. She told him she was
    writing a story. “What’s it about?” he asked. “I don’t know,” she replied. “I can’t read.”

This joke is oh so true of me and my writing some days.  Oh, yes I can read after I have pounded out the story, but it doesn’t always make sense!  I can start a story and it will take off willy-nilly in another direction.  The beginning has nothing to do with the end or the end of a scene.  I forge madly on oblivious of the story I want to tell, only filling up the screen with words.

Hold on here.  Isn’t that okay to just write with abandon?  A whole practice of writing has grown up around this after the establishment of NaNo….a challenge for writers to put down 50,000 words in the one month of November.  They don’t care what the words are or if they make sense or are spelled correctly or if there is punctuation or if there are run-on sentences… The word count is the thing!

To my thinking, this complete freedom of writing is okay, at the time.  It is when December rolls around and I actually read all the mumbo jumbo I have written and try to cull out a story from the mess.  Now that is difficult and sometimes overwhelming.  But, with perseverance, I re-work and workagain (is that redundant?) the story.  In fact the 2007 Nano effort is now being revised for the final time and ready for my writing group to read it and give me feedback.  Oh yes, then another revision, then I may be brave enough to send it off to a few publishers and cross my fingers, turn around three times, sprinkle pixie dust, and wish on a star that someone will like this quirky mystery. 

Have I ever mentioned that I have never written a mystery??  That makes this Nano project even more challenging–trying out new genres and new voices.

Whether you write with your story outline or whether you write by the seat of your pants, a “pantser”, just do it.  It is amazing.  Write on!