I can’t believe it, but I am at the self-editing stage. I’ve been
reading a lot of Dean Wesley Smith’s blog posts, especially the Killing The Sacred Cows posts (it deals with writing myths, not actual killings of cows).
Basically, he doesn’t believe in rewriting, and many others, which I can relate
to. He explains why in a lot of detail and I agree. It is how I always felt,
but knew I had to rewrite the same book over and over in the hopes that I make
it better, but I rarely do, because that is what all the experts say. Aside for
fixing spelling and grammar, you leave your work as is. Of course you still
focus on keeping the quality high. You only get better through practice, and
thus, writing more books.
I’ve also been reading a lot of Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s blog posts,
and she gives a lot of help with the writing business and writing. She is
equally as brilliant. She also has a very refreshing attitude and she doesn’t
believe in rewriting either. Of course she is Dean Wesley Smith’s wife, but
they are both best sellers in their own rights, and have published well over a
hundred books each. They are both traditionally and indie published. So they
know what they are talking about. And both are advocates of shaping your own
writing career and following your own path. You can’t follow the path of
someone else and expect the same results. So their work has drastically changed
my attitude and my approaches to writing. It connected with a lot of things I
always felt, and reminded me of the person I had been when I had started
writing, before reading all those free advice and tips.
I still find myself reading lots of how-to articles on writing and
reading tons of advice on what others say you must do to be successful. I have
followed those tips, especially on marketing and it had me so overwhelmed that
I hadn’t written in month intervals over the past few years. I was in constant
panic. But both above mentioned authors believe that writing more books helps
you more than constantly marketing. I agree with that too. But it is just so
refreshing that two professionals actually spoke out and turn most writing
books and advice on its heads. It goes against what most writing books (not
all) tell you to do.
On a personal level
My brother is busy adding an addition on our existing house, which
basically means that our home will be divided into two separate dwellings. But
it has been chaos, living with the dust and noise, hence why I’ve been gone for
a while. Also, I’ve been plagued with a lot of migraines, even before the
renovations begun. But at least I had started the self-editing. I have been
doing yoga regularly and it has helped me feel better and minimize my pain, as
well as help with my depression (I’m still on my medication). I’m not doing
yoga everyday yet, which is what I should be doing. But at the moment that is
good enough for me.
Image Copyright Arista du Plessis
I’m also still working for my sister in her artisanal food/ baking
business. It is going well. I can’t believe how much my experience from the
business side of being an Indie author has come in handy. I do our marketing,
branding, and handle our social media presence. Not to mention that I help my
sister out in the kitchen. Nothing fancy of course. My jobs include simple
things like measuring the ingredients, or lining the baking tins, or making
recipes under my sister’s supervision.
We will be celebrating our first year in business this coming November,
which is cool. The business is growing fast, which is always great. It keeps me
plenty busy, and has long hours. But it is stimulating, and more importantly,
it provides me with an income, which helps with my medical bills. It also
provides me with a lot of stability, while I try and publish more books, and
work on creating a larger body of work. Because I haven’t sold a book in years,
and that is what happens when you only have one book in your inventory.
Let me know what is new with you.
