The general consensus amongst local writers, however, seems to be that it is better to query agents in the US and UK markets. This is simply because the local market isn’t quite mature enough for anything but politically inspired fiction and memoirs – unless you have already made a name for yourself via journalism or similar. Are there any South Africans out there that would like to prove me wrong?
And while I have been sooooooo busy, I have found some goodies I would like to share.
I did get in around 480 words last night, and another 500-odd this morning, thanks to Dr Wicked’s Write or Die. Great fun for just getting the words out. They weren’t the best words I could write, but I realise that, if I want to make it past the 20k mark by this week-end, I will need to completely switch off not only my inner editor, but also my inner perfectionist. After all, that is what the rewrites and edits are for, right?
Then, for all your grammar questions, visit the Grammar Done Right cartoons. They are really cute, and get the message across. Be sure to visit the accompanying website and buy the book :)
And while I am on the topic of books, Literary Agent Donald Maas wrote a book called The Career Novelist: A Literary Agent Offers Strategies for Success way back in the 90s, and has made it available as a free download here. I have started reading through it, and it looks like a great resource for anyone considering novel writing as a full time career.
[ETA] Editor Terry Whalin also has a free download of his book, Straight Talk from the Editor: 18 Keys to a Rejection Proof Submission available for download here.
Ooh, and I see Write Anything has also posted a great post today filled with great links to sites specially for NaNo.
And now, I need to see what Dr Wicked will do to me if I don’t reach 500 words.
Quote of the day:
Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.
- Edgar Allan Poe
If you are a regular visitor to this blog, you may notice that I have given it a little bit of a facelift. While I loved the template I used, it was just not completely me. I decided that it was about time I start playing around with my own graphics again, and this was the result. I used a Wordle picture to create the header (as well as the new icon at Entrecard). I have also updated Scribbles with the same theme, to tie the two blogs together more closely.
I have been thinking recently of moving to a hosted blog – either Wordpress based, or something else - and, having spent the day helping my mother set up her hosted WP blog, the conversion will probably happen sooner rather than later. For me, the biggest attraction of the self-hosted (or hosted) option is the flexibility in appearance. While Blogger (and Blogspot) offers a fair amount of flexibililty (more than a Wordpress-hosted WP blog), it feels like it is time to move back to my own space.
And my need for my own space is very much related to the idea of building the personal brand. Joanna Young over at Confident Writing had a great article this week on building your personal brand, and, in turn, linked to the Chris Brogan e-book on the topic. And whether you are a writer trying to establish yourself, or a new online entrepreneur, the personal brand has become as important as the corporate one, if not more so.
And, since querying and query letters are very much on my mind again at the moment, this post about the Query Project is right up my alley. Now, to just convince myself to actually start sending it out.
And, lastly, Lenin Nair over at Cute Writing asks the very important question: Are you writing for Money? Or for passion?. I have had this discussion on different occassions with different people who write in some way or another, and have often been lambasted for suggesting one should write primarily for the love of writing - making money should be secondary. Of course it would be nice to make money from doing someone you love, but it should not become the core focus of the activity.
Quote of the day:
An author is a fool who, not content with boring those he lives with, insists on boring future generations.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Oh wow, it has been a week since I have last blogged. Bad, bad bunny. I have actually not written a thing this week. Not a single word, other than two small reviews on Google Chrome (here and here). I know I have a fair amount of catching up to do. I need to get back onto the writing wagon (and I have some new stories brewing), and I also need to finish the polishing of The Novel – but, at the moment, life is just getting in the way of the words.
There must be a way to balance writing with a life
Daily Writing Tips listed seven things to do when you don’t feel like writing this week. They are great tips to get start writing again. Just remember that even writers need a break every now and again. And be sure to take a break from everything every now and again, and do something completely different. Work in the garden, go for walks, go watch a movie, read books you would normally not read.
A friend of mine sent me this link yesterday to Learn from the Greats – 7 habits of amazing writers. The writer covers a habit from 7 different writers, who each describe how they get their best writing done. It is important to note that the writing is the focus. Personally, I write better in the late afternoon and evening, and often go for walks when I am stuck on a scene. What are your writing habits?
I know I could do with some extra money, and I am sure most (if not all) of you can too. Laurie Kendrick wrote this great article recently on finding a paying writing gig. She lists some great sites that pay for articles, and explains how each of them work. I have started scoping out some of the sites, and may even sign up for one or two of them soon.
And then, if this site is to be believed, I need to start saving up a lot of money before 2010, so I can be at the unveiling of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Maybe I really should follow all the advice I just linked to *grin*
And lastly, I have migrated all the RSS feeds I read to Google Reader, and have started sharing some articles there. You can read them here. You can also view all the pages I have Stumbled here.
I am taking myself offline for a couple of days, and may not post during that time. Mostly, this is because I seem to have been invaded by the aliens again, and my doctor believes a couple of days in bed will cure this.
I am also going to use this time to finish a short story that has become a sprawling mess, sleep and catch up on my reading. I should return early next week.
Please note that this means that there will be no Catch of the Week this week. If you would like to submit sites for next week’s double edition, please leave a comment.
This has been a very short week for me, mostly because I only returned from the conference late on Wednesday evening. The conference was filled with technical information, and my brain feels a bit full at the moment, but it was good and inspirational, and I even took some thoughts about writing away with me, which I will probably cover in another blog post once my sleeping patterns have returned to normal.
As I enter the next phase with my novel (edits and polishes), I am starting to think about the agent querying process, as this is something I will probably do in the near future. Agent Query is a great site to find agents that are actively looking for clients, and includes a search function where one can search for agents that represent your specific genre. It also offers some great advice on structuring the query letter and anything else that may go along with the query process.
Agent Nathan Bransford posted a great FAQ on his blog today, linking back to past posts, covering everything and anything a writer wants to know about publishing, including a great guide to writing the perfect query letter. Agent Janet Reid also offers the Query Shark service (for lack of a better word), allowing one to test-drive a query letter and have it critiqued, before sending it out for real. Even if you aren’t brave enough to send your letter to the shark, you can still learn a lot from the mistakes of the other, braver souls.
And then, a writerly friend posted this great link to her blog today on how advances actually work. This post in the thread, in particular, was the most helpful, and explains this mystery in great detail.
Lastly, because right now my world will not be complete without some mention of Twilight, Stephenie Meyer wrote about the writing and publishing process of her first book (Twilight), and has some great advice for new authors in between the great info on the book and the series.
Quote of the day:
The more things change, the more they remain... insane.
- Michael Fry and T. Lewis 
This week has been a little insane, to say the least. In between the writing and the working I also wrote an exam on Monday (which I passed, thankfully) and had to prepare for the conference I will be attending from tomorrow.
I haven’t had much time to browse the internet this week, and thus didn’t have much time to discover new sites. I have also decided that writers have to take a break every now and again, and do other stuff, so this week’s Catch of the Week will not focus on writing-related sites. Well, not much anyway.
That said, Will Write for Chocolate is one of my favourite comic strips to read. Created by Debbie Ridpath Ohi, the characters and situations are familiar to anyone who does any kind of writing.
I have linked to Good Reads a couple of times in other blog posts, but it is such a great site, that I feel it warrants a mention again. It is a great tool for keeping track of the books one wants to read, have read and so forth. It is also a great way for authors to promote themselves, and for unpublished writers to get their writings read by people other than other writers. You can then make use of the widgets to share your reading habits on your blog (or Facebook, etc), like this:
I am completely addicted to music, and find it hard to write, breathe or sleep without music. What Good Reads is for books, Last.fm is for music. Compatible with most music players, a small plug-in collects your listening habits, and then builds personalised charts. It also recommends music based on your listening habits and connects you with other users with similar taste in music. You can then make use of the widgets to share your musical taste on your blog (or Facebook, or Beebo, or wherever you want), like this:
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Lastly, I would like to leave you with this story that caught my eye of 12 year old Victoria who has already written (and published) 8 books. It also reminded me of this story of Millar Kaufman who, at 90 published his first book. It just goes to show, it is never too late or too early for any of us to start.
This will be my last blog post until Thursday (7 August 2008), when I should return refreshed and inspired to start the final edits on The Novel before I start querying agents. Until then, keep reading and keep writing.
Now Playing: Sara Bareilles - Fairytale
This week, Catch of the Week is taking on a bit of a local flavour. It is often hard to find information about the local publishing industry, unless you know someone on the inside. And, actually, the industry is alive and kicking with a vibrant pulse and the energy of a three year old on sugar.
Book SA is the local hub of the publishing industry. You can read blogs by local authors, publishers, editors, etc, all in one convenient place. It is a great place to keep track of the local publishing industry, such as book launches, readings, trends and simply what those involved are thinking. You can only sign up if you are already in the industry (ie. as an author, you have to have been published/signed a publishing contract), so you cannot use this site for self-promotion – which is not an entirely terrible thing either.
Novel Idea: A selection of top South African authors have created stories specifically for the mobile platform. You can sign up, for free (but you may have to pay for data transfer to your mobile provider), and receive a chapter a day, on your phone. This is such a good idea, and I have been loving my daily snippet of literature.
Can you twist: A story telling reality show. Funky, funny, incredibly awesome.
Strange Nervous Laughter: the blog of local author Bridged McNulty, who is also one of the participants in Can you twist. She is funny, go read her now.
Dusty Muffin: Another local author. Great writing. Go read.
Since I started this last week, I thought I better continue this week. It would be really bad if I give up a series after only one edition, right?
I haven’t had much time to browse, stumble or read my regular blogs this week, so I have chosen just two sites this week that have stood out for me.
Through the wonders of Entrecard, Stumble, MyBlogLog and a variety of other social tools, I have been finding some really great blogs and other web sites recently, to the point where I read in the region of around 110 blogs on an almost daily basis via my RSS reader. And maybe it is time to start sharing those great sites in a more formalised way, other than randomly linking to them in blog posts. I know I mentioned this briefly in a recent post, but I have been giving it a lot more thought, and decided that I would like to make this a regular feature.
I will choose a couple of web sites on a weekly basis that have, in some way, helped me, either by providing great advice on the craft of writing itself, or in some other, writing-related way. There will be no set criteria, other than the fact that I found it useful, and there is no way to apply for being mentioned. This is also not a blog/web site review program in any way, nor is the aim to drive traffic to any of these sites. Rather, this would be my humble way of saying thank you for enriching my life in some way or another and hoping it can help other writers.
Purely writing related:
Other:
Well, that’s that for this week.
Are there any sites you find incredibly useful, to the point where you read them every day? If you would like to recommend a site to me, please leave a comment.
