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Like many writers, I’m a huge fan of books. If I hear a recommendation, I’m there. The library has made it so easy for me—simply sign in online, request a book, and go check it out.  My favorites are purchased at bookstores and recommended to other book-loving friends.

But I seem to come up with roadblocks when I’m writing a book (which is, actually, all the time now.)  I’m reluctant to read anything in my genre (cozy mysteries), even though they’re my favorite reads for escape.  I have several reasons for this:

One is the fact that it’s less of a pleasure; I’ll read the book critically and pick it apart.  Were the suspects introduced in an organized way.  Were there too many/not enough suspects?  Am I picking up on a clue or a red herring?  Is the author’s description of setting distracting or does it add to the book?  Blah, blah, blah.

Another reason is that I compare my work-in-progress to the completed, edited, marketed, beautified text that I’m reading. And, guess what—my book lacks in comparison.  This brings on a huge case of insecurity and heebie-jeebies that may take me hours to shake off.

Another reason is that I’m afraid I may somehow, subconsciously, change my writing voice while reading someone else’s cozy.

The final reason?  I have so little time when I’m writing a book. 

At first, I felt stuck.  Now I’ve come up with some ways to work around my love of reading and my love of writing.

Read something short:  Pick up a book of short stories.  There are books of short story collections in every genre out there.  Check one out. This also helps with the low-on-time factor.

Try something different in the genre you enjoy: Broaden your horizons.  If you enjoy cozies (and write cozies), try thrillers, PIs, and police procedurals.

Try something completely different: Now may be the time to read an inspiring biography.  Or a nonfiction book on organizing your life. Or literary fiction.

Just do it: Galley Cat recently revealed that Barack Obama is reading Joseph O’ Neill’s Netherland right now.  If he’s got time to read, what excuse do the rest of us have?

If you don’t have the time to read, you don’t have the time or the tools to write.

Stephen King (1947 – ), On Writing, p. 147

Blogger Tags: what to read when writing, what do writers read

I’ve been listening to dire warnings way too much lately. I’m something of a news junkie (print, web, and television), but I’ve had to cut back on my habit like so many others that aren’t good for me. After all, how much bad news can we take?  The economy is falling apart around our ears, unemployment is up, crime is up, schools are in dire need of funds, there’s swine flu for God’s sake….

For some reason, out of all the negative news out there, the ailing publishing and newspaper industries seemed to hit me the hardest.  At first.

The idea of not having a newspaper to cuddle up with at five A.M. was…disturbing to me. The last 18 years of my life have involved mornings with the newspaper and a cup of joe. I’m a creature of habit.

Bookstores facing bankruptcy gave me chills.

The news of layoffs in the publishing industry, coupled with news of publishers cutting back on their lists or not signing new authors also gave me pause.

I wasn’t even sure what I should feel about this story about a man writing a 100,000 word novel on his cell phone.

Then there was the Kindle. I felt very conflicted about the Kindle. Books on a computer screen.  Hmm. 

But if you think about it, books (or reading, even if you’re doing it on a Kindle or Sony Reader) is an escape. You can’t really read a book and do anything else at the same time. I’ve been to both Borders and Barnes and Noble and they’re crowded with people. People who aren’t at home watching cable news.  People who are drinking coffee and reading newspapers and buying books.

Sales for mysteries and romance are up (both provide excellent escapes from reality.)

And then I realized that it doesn’t really matter what the medium is.  I can change with the times.  If I’m reading my newspaper online or if I’m downloading books, I can adapt.  The important thing is that there are still reporters out there who are uncovering dirt and making sure that I’m informed.  There are fiction writers out there penning books that transport me to another world (no matter how I’m reading them.)  And I feel fine…

Writers’ roles in book promotion have changed a lot in the last twenty years.  Instead of being expected merely to write and edit, they’re looked at as partners in the publicity process.  If you’re not promoting your book in some way (signings, interviews, blog tours, website giveaways), then you’re really not doing your fair share.  This doesn’t come as a surprise to any writers who are plugged into the writing community.  After all, with Yahoo Groups like Murder Must Advertise, and writing forums that share tips on promoting, writers would have to have their heads under rocks to not realize the current climate for book marketing.

But when are you too committed to promoting a book instead of writing the next one?  Is there an alarm bell that goes off when you’ve spent too much time away from your manuscript?

In an interview with Galley Cat, Sue Grafton confessed that it used to take her nine months to complete a book.  “It used to take me nine months to write a book, then ten, then thirteen, and so on,” she explained. “Over the years, the publicity has begun to encroach on the writing process. Around the time of K Is for Killer, I began to realize that every time I had to do a phone interview, I was getting annoyed—’leave me alone, I’ve got work to do!”   She said that she went to her publisher to ask for more time to write and less time for interviews, and was able to work out an arrangement with them.

I’ll admit that I’m learning how to juggle promotion with my writing goals. I’ve just enrolled in a very informative online course, Blog Book Tours, which will help me organize and arrange blog publicity for my upcoming mystery, Pretty is as Pretty Dies (August 1, 2009).  I’m also trying to stay active in my promotional group, The Carolina Conspiracy.

Here’s what I’ve learned so far.  If you’ve got some tips to share, please chime in with comments.

Write First—Your writing is the reason you’ve got something to promote. Make sure you satisfy your writing goal for the day first.

Get Ahead With Your Blogging—Feeling pinched for time? Try penning several blogs in a row. That way, if you have a day when you’re pressed, you’ll have something thoughtful to post on your blog.

Multitask—Okay, I know this is a difficult one.  But it can be done (this is coming from a mom who frequently writes at stoplights, mind you.) But you can read and post comments on blogs while a pot of water is coming to a boil. You can write your answers to a blog interview while monitoring your kids as they do their homework.

Know When to Say No—Are you getting too stressed out? Is your stress level pouring out into your interactions with family and friends?  You should scale back.  Nothing is more important than people who are close to us. 

I’ve just recently come back from spring break with my children.  I think it was a nice break…for them.  I tried to maintain my writing schedule to the standard I have at home—with varying success.  I discovered though that it all balanced out in the end.  Some days (days I was in the car all day, for example), I was able to come up with some ideas to pursue, but I didn’t obviously commit as much to paper.  Other days, I accomplished more than my usual goal—but frequently I was putting on paper the ideas I’d come up with in the car instead of brainstorming new ideas.

This has been an unusual three weeks for me.  I’m actually working on three different manuscripts at the same time.  While I’m delighted at the opportunity to have so much work, at first I was hesitant about how to prioritize my projects.  The first morning I tried dividing my time was pretty harried.  I started with one manuscript, then I had an idea for the other work-in-progress, so I picked it up and worked on it for a while.  Then I got antsy because of my deadline for proofing my ARC (due May 4).  So I picked up the ARC to do a bit of proofing.

Not productive.

Many of you might be in the same boat.  Maybe you’re not working on three manuscripts simultaneously, but perhaps you have more than one project going on at once—are you promoting one book and writing another?  Or are you trying to develop a website or blog presence while you’re working on a manuscript?  You could be taking an online course to improve your writing skills (or teaching one), freelancing for extra cash, and writing a novel simultaneously.

Whatever your situation, I’ve discovered a few ways to help feel more organized.

Although it may seem obvious, it’s important to prioritize your projects by importance.  Do any of them involve a deadline?  If you have two projects with roughly the same deadline (something I’m experiencing now), try to prioritize the deadlines—which project requires more work before the deadline?  Will you be less frantic if you first finish the project that doesn’t require as much work?  Or will you be more relaxed if you focus on the project that requires more from you?

Plan your day according to your creative flow: Does one project require more creative output (writing) than the other (a proofing project, class, website development?)  If so, pinpoint when your most creative time of day is and plan to work on that project then.  Moments when you’re not feeling as creative are good for more rote chores like working on a website, research, and proofing.

Take breaks:  There’s nothing like getting burned out.  Busy is one thing, but strung-out is something worse.  When you’re taking these breaks, try to unplug.  Turn off your cell phone, close your laptop.  Try something active like taking a short walk, gardening, or housework (not as fun, but it needs to be accomplished too.) 

Set small and realistic goals for each day’s work:  It’s easy to get overwhelmed if your goal is the completion of several projects in the same time frame.  Instead, make reachable, realistic goals for your day.  For example:  This morning, I’ll write five pages for Project A. This afternoon, I’ll proofread one chapter.  Tonight I’ll blog. 

Keep a notepad handy.  Record ideas, but focus on the project at hand:  Frequently when I’m proofing or working on one manuscript, I’ll get ideas or bits of dialogue for another manuscript.  Instead of changing direction and picking up another work-in-progress, just quickly record the ideas on a blank paper to fit in the manuscript later.  This helps prevent the “running in five different directions at once” scenario.

By taking a little time to prioritize and plan, I’ve had a really productive last few weeks; even while working on three things at once while traveling. 

I’ve been really slammed with writing lately, but I have come across several interesting blog posts that I thought I’d share here.

The first is a guest post by Veronica Heley on the So You Wanna Be Published blog regarding the need for great back cover copy (even if you’re in the manuscript-pitching stage) and some tips for writing it.

Agent Rachelle Gardner’s blog discusses preparing yourself for success—what being a successful writer entails (expect a major time crunch), and questions you may want to consider to help yourself be more organized/professional in your approach.

The Mysterious Matters blog has been a treasure trove of information for mystery writers lately.  Among them: advice for writers from editors, publicists, cover designers, etc. , ten mystery characters this editor would like to see retired , and this editor’s thoughts on various mystery sub-genres.

Vivian Zabel weighs in on the Make Mine Mystery blog about some pitfalls she encounters in some mystery novels. 

The Blood-Red Pencil takes on showing, not telling. 

Et in Arcaedia, Ego has been posting an interesting series, “Letters from the Query Wars.”