Writing Ideas - New Novel, part x139, It’s Finished, Marketing

25 May 2017, Writing Ideas - New Novel, part x139, It’s Finished, Marketing

Announcement: Delay, my new novels can be seen on the internet, but the publisher has delayed all their fiction output due to the economy.  I'll keep you informed.  More information can be found at www.ancientlight.com.  Check out my novels--I think you'll really enjoy them.

Introduction: I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon. This was my 21st novel and through this blog, I gave you the entire novel in installments that included commentary on the writing. In the commentary, in addition to other general information on writing, I explained, how the novel was constructed, the metaphors and symbols in it, the writing techniques and tricks I used, and the way I built the scenes. You can look back through this blog and read the entire novel beginning with http://www.pilotlion.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-novel-part-3-girl-and-demon.html.

I'm using this novel as an example of how I produce, market, and eventually (we hope) get a novel published. I'll keep you informed along the way.

Today's Blog: To see the steps in the publication process, visit my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

The four plus one basic rules I employ when writing:

1. Don't confuse your readers.

2. Entertain your readers.

3. Ground your readers in the writing.

4. Don't show (or tell) everything.

     4a. Show what can be seen, heard, felt, smelled, and tasted on the stage of the novel.

5. Immerse yourself in the world of your writing.

These are the steps I use to write a novel including the five discrete parts of a novel:

 

1.      Design the initial scene

2.      Develop a theme statement (initial setting, protagonist, protagonist’s helper or antagonist, action statement)

a.       Research as required

b.      Develop the initial setting

c.       Develop the characters

d.      Identify the telic flaw (internal and external)

3.      Write the initial scene (identify the output: implied setting, implied characters, implied action movement)

4.      Write the next scene(s) to the climax (rising action)

5.      Write the climax scene

6.      Write the falling action scene(s)

7.      Write the dénouement scene

I finished writing my 27^th novel, working title, Claire, potential title Sorcha: Enchantment and the Curse.  This might need some tweaking.  The theme statement is: Claire (Sorcha) Davis accepts Shiggy, a dangerous screw-up, into her Stela branch of the organization and rehabilitates her.  

Here is the cover proposal for Sorcha: Enchantment and the Curse. 

Cover Proposal

The most important scene in any novel is the initial scene, but eventually, you have to move to the rising action. I started writing my 28^th novel, working title Red Sonja.  I finished my 29^th novel, working title School.  I’ll be providing information on the marketing materials and editing.

How to begin a novel.  Number one thought, we need an entertaining idea.  I usually encapsulate such an idea with a theme statement.  Since I’m writing a new novel, we need a new theme statement.  Here is an initial cut.

 

For novel 28:  Red Sonja, a Soviet spy, infiltrates the X-plane programs at Edwards AFB as a test pilot’s administrative clerk, learns about freedom, and is redeemed.

 

For novel 29:  Sorcha, the abandoned child of an Unseelie and a human, secretly attends Wycombe Abbey girls’ school where she meets the problem child Deirdre and is redeemed.

 

First, you write and write and write until you are competent and someone finally accepts one of your novels for publication. 

 

Second, you keep writing. 

 

Third, you market.  In the next few weeks I’ll go over my marketing materials for a novel with you again.  I have to say, I’m better at writing than I am at marketing.  I suspect some authors are really good at marketing—more than writing.  Unfortunately, most of us can only stumble through the marketing doing the best we can.  You need to realize that marketing is the only way you will get a novel published.  You have to sell your works and be willing to sell your works.  I don’t mean by that that you have to be willing to physically set up shop—you have to be the best self-promoter your works have seen.  I’d rather be writing and that’s most of our problems.

 

You need a marketing plan.  Whatever you do, you might as well plan it out.  I’ll give you somewhat of a plan.  It kind of looks like this, build your marketing materials, and then market your novel.  Both are very large parts to the whole.  I can help direct and show you how to build market materials, and I can help give you ideas on the marketing; however, the actual marketing is where the rubber meets the road.  Marketing any piece of writing is difficult.  It has always been difficult.  Even with a publisher, it is difficult.  There are just so many authors out there who are clamoring for each publisher’s attention, that the publishers can ignore and do ignore most.  They have the very difficult job of sifting the dross from the gold. 

 

The worse problem for publishers is that they have to review or at least look at thousands of works from inexperienced and non-self-aware writers.  I wrote and continue to write, until you have about one million words under your belt, you don’t have the skills to write well.  Publisher know this, but they confront literally thousands of authors who have written a single novel or a few short stories and who will not accept correction and criticism—so the publishers don’t.  The reason you won’t get feedback on any of your submissions, even if the publisher reads them, is that they your peers in the past did get feedback and rejected it, didn’t give up, and the publisher had to intentionally ignore them.  You can’t blame all this on publishers.  They ignore us because we won’t usually listen.

 

A real publisher who examines, reads, and likes your work, will send back feedback that says what they like and don’t like about your novel, but that’s getting to the point of contract.  In my experience, a publisher won’t do this until they are ready to contract your work.  There are too many good and experienced writers out there for a publisher to coddle or give extensive help to any author.  You might see this for a favorite or someone’s kid in the business—like the Dragon books poorly written by that kid whose parents worked in the publishing business.  For most of us, we are approaching publishers and presenting our best material and hoping they will take the time to read our works.             

 

More tomorrow.

For more information, you can visit my author site http://www.ldalford.com/, and my individual novel websites:

http://www.ancientlight.com/
http://www.aegyptnovel.com/
http://www.centurionnovel.com
http://www.thesecondmission.com/
http://www.theendofhonor.com/
http://www.thefoxshonor.com
http://www.aseasonofhonor.com  

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