The Writer's Mailbag: Installment 159

Hi Bill - I think you offered Eric a close to perfect answer. The word editor, in the answer would have pushed it into the perfect answer category.

I am distressed to hear that the big girls panties are now being strapped on. Times certainly have changed.

Enjoyed the mailbag as always.

All three of these questions spoke to me and your answers as well. Marketing and organizing a book are a bit stressful to me as a new book writer (only just beginning).

My best friend recently paid for me to go through the Steve Martin MasterClass curriculum for stand up comedy. It's full of him teaching comedy via video, notes, assignments, etc. What surprised me is that on that website there are dozens of other successful, well known professionals, from various types of writers, to actors, to art, music, pretty much anything that has to do with creativity. James Patterson has a course on writing, and there are several screenplay and playwriters. I have not taken any of them yet because my primary interest was comedy as I do that once in awhile on the side and I have three gigs coming up. But I can't wait to take the writing courses. Just to put a bug in some ears.

Thanks for all you do here Bill. I'm all for spreading wings and flying.

No cool evenings yet here in the South, Bill. This is the hottest part of our summers. We like to sit on our screened in porch and listen for the whippoorwills early in the evening but it's been too hot for that lately.

Great questions and answers this week. I always learn something and am inspired by your mailbags.

I eagerly wait for your mailbags. I loved it.

Hi Bill. Another great week for the mailbag. I sure hope the weather stays nice for the next couple of weeks. We are heading out there on the 28th. My brother and sisters have a pretty aggressive schedule planned but we will certainly try to find the time to hook up. I will email you next week before we leave.

Bill, I read this on Monday but then I was interrupted with some work flow and am just now getting back to comment. That's what happens when one is being chased by alligators in the retirement process. LOL Good questions this week and some great comments and answers. I especially found Brian's comments on his novel and on Workflowy helpful, so my thanks to him, too.

So far this is our hottest week here in Arkansas, and it hasn't hit 100 yet. I'm so thankful. The week is nearly over, so have a good rest of the week, my friend.

Regarding Natalie's question, I had this experience: Back in the 1990s I wrote a crime story novel and revised it numerous times. I have professional writers in my family, and wherever I live I join a critique writing group, and the feedback I got helped me make the novel better and better. When no one had any further suggestions for improvement and the work seemed to me as good as I could make it, in 2010 I submitted it to publishers, and it was accepted by an e-book and print on demand publisher. Somewhere between sixty and a hundred copies sold in the first year or so, mainly to extended family, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances. Then sales plummeted and by the third and fourth years I was selling one or two or zero copies per quarter. Finally the publisher said they didn't want to bother with my novel any more and gave me back all rights.

What was wrong? I showed the novel to another critique writing group, and an opinionated and blunt member gave me some negative feedback about scenes with too much information, unnecessary scenes, taking too long to get the story moving, etc.

The general consensus among readers has been that it is a very good novel, better than many others available, with an intriguing plot that moves some readers to tears and interesting characters. But being very good—good enough that readers among people I knew got some enjoyment from it and gave me some praise—was not good enough. For a novel to have sustained sales, it is not sufficient that readers get some mild enjoyment from it and give the author some modest praise. What is needed is for readers to be enthused enough that, without being asked, they seek opportunities to recommend the book to others. The siblings, cousins, friends, and so on who read, somewhat enjoyed, and praised my novel did not mention it to others in their conversations and emails, or share links to it on Facebook and Twitter, or write Amazon reader reviews.

I am in the process of rewriting the novel, using WorkFlowy to deconstruct, rearrange, and revise it. I expect it will become a novella instead of a short novel. Whether from a quite good novel I can create a fantastic, gripping page-turner remains to be seen.

In my comment, somehow "Regarding Eric's question" became "Regarding Eric must if yes question". I tried to edit it, but the system kept insisting on putting back the nonsensical wording.

Regarding Eric must if yes question about organizing a book, I highly recommend the Internet-based program WorkFlowy. There is a free version, excellent for everyday use for writing lists, and for heavy-duty use, there is a cheap version, well worth it. I'm in the process of reorganizing a book I wrote some years ago. I have been dropping it into WorkFlowy paragraph by paragraph, segment by segment, chapter by chapter. With WorkFlowy, I can collapse the entire book into one line giving the title. I can expand that into a list of chapters; can expand a chapter into a list of segments; expand the segment into all its paragraphs. I can easily move a chapter, a segment, or a paragraph to elsewhere in the work. Eric could put his book of sermons into WorkFlowy and then easily rearrange the sermons into various orders and arrangements to see what seems best.

Every time I read your mailbag, I feel like you've got guts. You get right in there and write the book you want to write. You made me write a bad book, but I was pleased to at least have tried. From there, you got me to write children's stories, which I plan to accumulate into a children's book. It took years of reading your articles about writing before I even got enough courage to try. Maybe after my children's book, I'll go back to the first book and try to patch it up. Whether you are urban farming, writing books or doing the mailbag, you are a teacher Mr. Bill, a true mentor. I am most grateful to you for this, and also thankful to Bev because she takes care of you while you take care of us people here at Hub Pages.

I loved your opening paragraph and of course the valuable questions and answers!

Your spirit towards life is infectious and anyone who is around you learns to live life to the fullest and be useful and productive.

With regard to Question from Olivia, Yes most of us write for ourselves. It's a form of self expression.

Thanks for sharing another inspiring installment!

This is an inspirational article, Bill. Thanks for creating and sharing the answers to the questions.

Another interesting mailbag with lots to think over. As you know I am getting closer and closer to finally getting my book of poems together. Is it a good idea to first get the book in form on Word so that I have an idea of what it will eventually look like and should I have someone take a look at what I have put together before I actually begin the process of getting the e-book of poems published?

Monday has now become late Tuesday afternoon for me. I may be late, but I always get here - well, most of the time. I like your answer to why you write. there's a lot of wisdom and practicality there, so thank you.

I write for the love of it. It would be great if I could make buckets of money, but the truth is I adore the process and I'll never stop.

Sorry I am a bit late to the game, but I am still playing catch up here since being away last week. But just had to stop in, say hi and of course read your awesome writing advice. Happy Tuesday morning now, Bill!! :)

I loved this installment of the mailbag today! Very helpful and very inspiring! Thank you!

There ought to be some creative solutions to all those unsold books that fledgling authors may have sitting around -- such as creating a circle of fellow authors and exchanging them for review copies of others' published work in a group, asking for direct feedback, reviews if they are so inclined, sharing on social media if they really kind, etc. I think it's important not to simply just do the novels but also have a lot of other energy going on so that people can familiarize themselves with your name and work. Like you ... you have more than novels going on.

Well, Bill, you caught me off guard in your comment to Natalie. "Strap on your big girl panties and get to work!" I wanted to shout out "ouch, that smarts!" There are so many people who just don't get it together and get work out into the public domain, so at least she has the chutzpah to do it. I hope it turns around for her.

I had wondered about how some organize their books when it's just random ideas.

Regarding storytellers, I sadly can't recall any in my family.

Have a wonderful week.

Wow Mr. H. That surely was a great answer you gave me. I really liked the discussion of who we write for, it really is kind of heavy. Marketing is something I am actually putting in some positive energy everyday toward marketing -- not yet study but rather getting my mind straight to enjoy doing it.

But combining all those brings me to a question of no real import just interest. Which is your favorite Victory dance? When the idea gels? When you feel satisfied it is written just right? Or are sales the biggest charge? (I leave out the positive feedback that we give each other around here - which surely ranks)

Billybuc, I am so glad you are happy. You life is an encouragement to those who find themselves in the sad stage of wishing to die. I, too, were in that stage more than once in my life. Can you believe it? Today I am extremely happy. There is a life after depression, and somehow it is always a better life than any of one's previous lives!

This is another excellent contribution to the Writers' Mailbag. Relevant questions and perfect answers!

You are indeed a storyteller, bill, and a very good one. I understand it when you say you write because you love it. When I write it's for me, even though I might be trying to get across a point to the reader. I don't think anyone can write and enjoy it if it doesn't come from within.

Great questions today even if not many. I loved Eric's and your answer was great; you are so supportive of all your friends here. That's why we regard you as mentor as well as friend.

We're still firmly in summer time and the garden has improved today, although I got a little sunburnt! Serves me right of course. I have planted another tree and cleared out some ivy so I'm satisfied with my day.

Have a great Monday evening, bill!

Ann

Happy Mailbag Monday!

Re: Two Years. I'll sum it up this way: Market yourself and your book or find something else to do.

Re: Who You Writing For? Sure, we all write for ourselves in a way. But without the thought of the audience, you'll end up in "two years" situation just discussed.

Have a terrific week!

True, Bill. All three great questions answered very elaborately by you. Eric's question was really a good matter for the mind and you dealt it very wisely. Your suggestion is good.

The other questions about earnings, marketing and knowing the audience are also very great points raised and your answers are satisfactory for me. Many things to learn and takes much time, many years.

Thanks for the great mailbag.

Happy Monday Bill. I appreciated Eric's question; I found myself in his exact same place a few months ago, struggling to make sense out of chaos (with 80+ articles on food, how do I arrange those into chapters that make sense?) I knew that there were 3 elements I would want each to have--a quote, history/story, and original recipes. Some had great recipes, but no history, or a great quote and story, but no original recipes. The ones that didn't have all 3 elements were immediately tossed out.

I assigned a one-word topic to each remaining article and then started to prepare an outline. Seeing all of the topics in one place helped me to have an "ah ha" moment. I think Eric could apply the same method to arranging his sermons into a logical order.

"Who you write for"? It's probably subconscious. Obviously your thrillers aren't intended for a very young audience. I have a friend who has been working on children's book for over 10 years. I've read (actually typed) all that she has written thusfar, and asked her what age group she was targeting? The story (with animals) is very sweet but some of the vocabulary is challenging. I think knowing your intended audience is a big deal. Just my humble opinion (which is worth what you paid for it).

I agree with Natalie that "there is so much junk out there now, it seems like the market is flooded with substandard work." I also sympathize with her, but I don't know what to suggest for novels, except to join you Bill in encouraging her to take a deep breath and keep walking. Hoping that in the process, she stumbles onto the right path.

Hi Bill,

Your story about the storytellers in your family got me thinking about my own family storytellers. I wish I could capture in words the sight and sound of their accents as they told some of the best family stories I ever heard. From stories about my father as a child trying to ditch his baby brother, to stories from my grandfather about our heritage and ancestors. The funny thing is that I do consider my audience when I'm writing. I think of them as my children or grandchildren at my feet hearing the stories as I was once one of them at my grandparents feet. Perhaps that's why I write more for children than adults. Thanks for another fun mailbag full of thoughtful questions and answers.

Have a blessed day!

Denise

Interesting questions and interesting answers. I especially liked you answer to the question of Olivia about writing. Bill, it is love for writing that you create such wonderful articles for us to read. I enjoy you writing.

Happy Monday Bill! I can't believe you are saying you feel the change of weather already....it seems like summer just started...now, at the end of August--I'll be able to relate. But for now, I'm still waiting for my first batch of tomatoes from the garden to ripen! Great questions/answers, as usual. Hope you have a great rest of the week!

An easy reading and enjoyable mailbag, Bill. I am glad to read that Eric is working on a book. Knowing his sermons as I do, but that will be a must have on the bookshelf for daily motivation. Here is a question for your next mailbag.

You being such aknowledgable man and having published different types of books (novels, novellas, color ing books etc)

Do you know if the process is much different publishing a children's picture book to the others? My wife has been in my ear to stop ghostwriting kid's books for other people and to publish my own. I have a ton of rhyming kids stories I could use and seem to write them easily for others. I also know an artist who I could possibly hire to illustrate them. Maybe I just have to stop procrastinating, but I'm good at that :)