Sometimes I get distracted from my writing.  Heck, I think we all do from time to time.  After all, it’s easy for other things to pop up.  Lately I’ve been deluged with friends coming into town, college football (oh my poor SC Gamecocks), work conferences, travel, and the list goes on.  However, one thing that’s been a common factor for all of these things is that any of them can be better enjoyed with food. 

Yes, there’s been a lot of food lately.  It has been a nice variety as well, pizza on game day, some great roadside diners and some incredible fine dining experiences. 

All of this has me thinking about writing.  Now this could be because many a time I should have been writing I was either on the way to or from some dining event or, if not, I was likely planning one.  The result of my thinking was I realized writing is a lot like dining. 

If you keep this in mind you may just find that what you serve up will be a bit more readily received.

For example, I was recently in a wonderful upscale restaurant in Charleston, SC – Mcrady’s.  The restaurant’s chef is a James Beard award winner, the atmosphere is pristine, the service top notch and the food? Simply amazing.  To start my recent meal there I had a charred mustard leaf with malt vinegar powder and homemade apple butter.  Never in my life had I heard of such but it was wonderful.  The catch?  Wonderful as it was, it isn’t for everyone. 

The week before I’d been attending a conference at Amelia Island, Florida and I wandered into a small café in downtown Fernandina Beach off a side street – Lulu’s at the Thompson House. I half expected I’d walked into an episode of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.  Nothing at all fancy but the calamari rings in the sweet thai chili sauce was some of the best I have ever out in my mouth; however, if I was looking for charred mustard leaf I would have been disappointed.

These were two completely different dining experiences yet both were homeruns.  However if someone had been expecting the fine dining of Mcrady’s, I dare say Lulu’s might not have been anything short of a miserable failure.  The same is true in reverse.  If someone was looking for low key Mcrady’s might not have done it.

Writing is just the same. 

So, is your writing going to be fine dining or is it going to be rustic comfort food?  There’s nothing wrong with either but knowing what it is going to be in advance will only help in the long run. 

Knowing your content and style will help in defining the audience as well as the agent or the publisher, or for the ever growing group of independent self-publishers, knowing the answer to this question will be a critical first step in the marketing of your book.

So approach it like you would prepare a meal – generally speaking.

1 – Organize your ingredients.  Prepare your manuscript in advance as you would the components of a meal.  This will let you know if you are going for white table cloth or the popular dive. 

2 – Don’t try to pass off meatloaf as filet mignon.  Meatloaf is great but not if you are expecting Kobe beef.  Be true to what you have written.  Your book may be an edge of your seat page-turner, but that doesn’t mean it is literary fiction.

3 – Make sure it’s a complete meal.  Regardless of the style of your writing make sure that you are providing a complete meal.  Don’t usher your reader through the book and not offer a dessert course.  Make sure they walk away satisfied.

If you do all of these and give the reader a good experience you’ll build up what restaurants love – a word of mouth following.

So it doesn’t matter if your place is fine dining or a popular dive and it doesn’t matter if your writing is the most literary of literary or anything else.  If it is good it will stand alone and keep the reader coming back for more and telling people along the way.

So while you’re here please feel free to read an excerpt from my book or even buy a copy of your own.

As of late I feel my blog entries have been akin to motivational posters, but I’ve found that, ironically enough, some of my past blogs, Inspiration and Perspective, have been some of my most popular, well except for that one on Sex.

To continue this theme, I’m going to write about determination. 

I frequently describe writing as a football game of sorts, a special kind of football game.

You as the writer get to be the quarterback.  In our game of football the writer/quarterback is also leading a really tight and seasoned offense.  Isn’t every writer a master of their craft making precision/machine like use of all the resources available to them?

In our football game we’re going to say that is just the case.  After all, it could be fantasy we’re writing. 

Of course there has to be a defense. Let’s just say they’re good, the best ever against the run and the pass.  It’s also been almost 25 games since they allowed a score of any kind. 

Your team is on their own 30 yard line and has to score in under 2 minutes.  A touchdown.

Not too bad, huh?

Oh, I forgot, in this special game the defense has 22 players instead of the normal 11.  The crowd?  Well, they’re not too friendly. They’re throwing things at you and just for fun it’s raining. 

See, a special game.  Excuse me, I forgot to mention, everyone on your team is blindfolded.

So, all you have to do is score and your home free. 

In publishing today for the new, unknown author, going from obscurity to being able to sustain yourself with your passion can be like scoring in the football game I describe above.

Not impossible, but certainly not the easiest thing you’ll ever do.  So if you’re going to score, it will take determination and lots of it.

That simply is how it is with writing.  If you’re motivated and the least bit savvy, you can get your novel written and published.  There are a variety of options available today that simply previously didn’t exist in the past that ease the prospect of publishing beyond that of the traditional. No longer is the process of publishing the obstacle it once was. 

However, getting the word out about your novel is another proposition entirely.  Most successful independent authors approach things one sale at a time.  Sure that’s slow, but as long as you keep moving the ball forward, you will find yourself closer to the end zone with every book sale. 

Therein is where the determination comes in. 

The obstacles facing a writer, even a writer who has managed to publish a great book, can be overwhelming.  For many it is enough to bring them to a grinding halt.

Understanding determination can be the most valuable tool you have in a situation like this.  Determination means always asking what you can do to take a step forward and then another and another after that.  Determination means being willing to make the wrong decision from time to time.  It also means learning from your mistakes and only making the same mistake once. 

Determination means not being crushed when you have your expectations raised to never before contemplated lofty heights only to unexpectedly fall back to the ground.

I know a writer who has a book out with a small publisher.  The reviews are excellent and people are buying it, but he is still unknown and is having trouble breaking to a larger audience.  His book has even won some awards.

He called me recently to say he had received an unsolicited email from a nationally televised morning show on a major cable network indicating an interest in his appearing on the show. 

I thought I had lost him.  He was understandably off the chart elated.  I was happy for him. 

The next day I received another call from him and in a matter of moments I realized I was talking to a different person. Turns out the show, while interested in his appearing, also wanted a “pre-production fee” of several thousand dollars.  While I wanted to tell him that he should be quite careful of paying money to anyone in a situation like that as it reeked of a scam, I refrained not wanting to worsen things. 

Turns out he was mostly mad at himself at getting so excited before learning all of the facts.   Turns out he was well aware that there are a lot of wolves in sheep’s clothing.  Particularly when it comes to people looking to exploit writers – seems we’ve been an easy mark in the past. 

Never the less my friend emerged even more determined to make his book a success.  His approach has been that if came to the attention of one person then if he continues he will likely come to the attention of another and another. 

The goal is to constantly evaluate where you are in the process and always look to move yourself one step forward. This may mean one more sale or it may mean one more novel published.  It may also mean one more rejection.

Set goals and work towards them.  Don’t be afraid to adjust them either – and by adjust I mean up or down.  Be realistic, but move forward.

Be determined.  If you keep wanting something hard enough, long enough, perhaps karma will shine on you and reward your efforts.  Either that or people will realize that you actually have a really great book and will flock to you get a copy of their very own.

So while you’re here why not read a chapter from my book or even buy a copy of your own.   A portion of all proceeds from the sale of The Trust will be donated to canine related charities.

This is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar.

A couple of months ago if you had seen the phrases #winning or #tigerblood you likely wouldn’t have given them a second thought.

Charlie Sheen, you crazy man.  Or, perhaps marketing genius.

Flash back a couple of months. Charlie is doing great.  In May of 2010, he’s making approximately $2 million per episode of a 30-minute sitcom that is also in syndication.

It shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone that Charlie’s personal life was a bit, well, shocking.  Over the years some have even called him a “Hollywood Badboy.” 

That aside, Charlie appeared to generally balance the personal and professional.  That is to say the two co-existed and things had, at the time, not risen to the level of some celebrity meltdowns seen in the last decade. 

However, when the Charlie Sheen train derailed, it happened fast.  In the span of what seemed only hours, he lost his job, his family fell apart, Goddesses appeared and Charlie allowed the media a front row seat to it all.

Then subtle events started to occur that made me wonder what was really going on.  Charlie hit Twitter and explosion doesn’t even come close to describing the result.  Charlie’s approaching 4-million followers and still climbing.

Then came a coast-to-coast tour. Initially the reviews were horrid, but Charlie retooled and the reviews are better.  And, he keeps selling tickets.

Most people quickly offer the opinion that Charlie is just nuts. Maybe he is.  Maybe he has substance addiction problems, maybe he got some bad Tigerblood. Who knows?

Needless to say, something is going on, and people are lining up to see what happens next and they seem to be paying for the privilege.

The general celebrity meltdown results in a fall and rarely is there any meaningful recovery.

Not Charlie.  He falls, but he seems to bounce back at least to the level from which he fell.  So is this accidental or intentional?  I have no idea. 

However, I believe there are some lessons to be learned from Charlie that you could apply to marketing that book you’re trying to sell.

Charlie got rejected, heck, he got fired from the most successful sitcom on television.  What did he do? He made sure everyone knew he felt he was getting the short end of the deal.

I won’t get into his lawsuit, but Charlie showed a #winning spirit.  Charlie is refusing to be rejected.  He’s fired?  So what?

Do what Charlie did.  If you’re a writer and you’re dealing with rejection, so what? I’m not saying sue anyone of course, but retool and focus more attention on your book.  You Tube a glowing book trailer or interview about the book. Continue to build a following.  Rejections be damned!

Get your book in front of people.  Invite them into your world.  Post excerpts on line.  Solicit feedback and input from your Twitter and Facebook friends. Make people a part of the process and encourage them to invite more people to the party.

Self-Promote.  Evaluate. Modify as needed.  Charlie lost his television show, what does he do?  He orchestrates a nationwide tour and adapted to make it work.  Do the same with  your book.  If something isn’t working, fix it and make it work.

I believe the true genius of Charlie Sheen is that he completely believes in himself and has the ability to adapt.  With the whole world saying he is insane and washed up, he adapts and keeps people interested in Charlie Sheen.  He also keeps people spending money on Charlie Sheen.  He refuses to believe he will be anything other than an overwhelming success.

Pull a page from Charlie’s playbook.  If people tell you that  you won’t succeed, smile and prove them wrong.  You may not have the dollars of Charlie Sheen, but there is nothing prohibiting you outspending him in effort and confidence.

And if you ever need a bit of inspiration, follow @CharlieSheen on Twitter.  At a minimum you’ll be entertained.

As I look around my office the argument could be made I’ve robbed a bookstore or at least was about to open one.  There are all descriptions of books literally cascading from the shelves. The Nook has started storing the overflow.

These books range from novella to epic novel and all lengths in between.

Sometimes for motivation I stare at these books and think of the time put into each one.  The countless hours required crafting the stories and tales in my office is immeasurable.

However each and every book in my possession, down to and including my own, started with a single letter on a blank page.  Even before that each book likely began with an “Ah Ha” moment when it all came together for the writer.

Unfortunately I’ve had several “Ah Ha” moments since I finished my last book. 

Fortunately one idea is a bona fide work in progress, but I’ve quickly realized that grandiose plans can sometimes be too much. 

Put simply, grand plans a finished book do not make. 

I’ve talked to a number of would be writers about their great ideas, but alas, it doesn’t appear these ideas will ever be anything more than just that – good ideas.

There has been much written on how to motivate ones self to write.  There are scores of programs, how to books, seminars, websites and even iPhone apps which are designed to motivate.  I’ve found a great many of these tools useful, but at the end of the day, they will not make characters magically appear on the page.

Let’s talk about weight loss for a moment. 

I equate starting writing to beginning weight loss.  If you drop a great deal of weight in a short time, you feel great, but statistically that weight is going to come back.  If you pump up your normal word output the product likely won’t be there. 

The net result in each situation?  Initially you feel great, but end up where you started only to feel worse than before with no progress. 

If you want to keep the pounds off, slow and steady beats the quick each and every time.  From what I understand 1-2 pounds a week has the best chance of achieving lasting weight loss.  The same is true with your writing.

I’ve started to apply the same principal to my writing in an approach I call the bite size novel.  It only requires two things.

Write 5 days out of 7; and, write 1 to 2 pages per day. 

Watch the math.

My first novel came in at 100,000 words.  Let’s say I’d written 1.5 pages, with a page being 700 words, per day.  That is 1050 words per day. 

To reach 100,000 words, I would need 95 days.  Let’s also say that I write 4 days a week or 18 days out of an average 30-day month.  Based on this schedule I would go from the first character to completion in just over 5 months – yes, two books a year.  If you write more frequently just adjust the formula to see how quickly you can have your novel done.  Spoiler – Write seven days and week and you have a novel in just over 3 months. 

This approach also builds in the idea of self-motivation in that if you start seeing progress, the progress will manifest into increased motivation. 

I am certainly not the first to realize this  - really it’s basically common sense.   

But I am happy to point it out.

So I say this.  If you are struggling to get going on the book you have long thought on, try this approach for a month and if it doesn’t produce results, contact me and I’ll help you brainstorm some ideas to kick start your novel.

As always, feel free to leave your thoughts and as long as you are here, why not read an excerpt from my book or even buy a copy for yourself.