When speaking to writers’ groups or other authors, I always end up in debates about sharing our work.

• “I don’t want others to know what I’m working on.”
• “No one needs to see this drivel before it’s ready.”
• “I don’t want my ideas stolen.”

Do any of these comments sound familiar?

Writers, seriously, let go of the fear and embrace the concept of sharing. The word means “to give a portion of something to others” and “to use, occupy, or enjoy jointly with others.” In our case as writers, we give, use and enjoy. Or, we should. Why?

First, let me debunk a myth about if you share your work before it’s copywritten, it will be stolen and you’ll be out of luck. Really? Are you that good? If so, why are you worried? Get that superior thing to your agent and publisher right now! What’s that? You don’t have either one? Then listen up. There is nothing left to write that’s original. Like music, everything’s been done. Your job is to find a way to make what’s been done, unique. You change characters, change settings, change time periods, change the ending, etc. All the plots have been done, it’s what YOU do with your idea that makes your story yours. No one can tell your tale like you, even if they try to do it before you. They can’t write what you write, the way you write it. So, relax and share.

Now, why share?

• First, sharing your work build confidence in your abilities. I was very insecure when I started writing and it took all my bravery to offer my work to someone. What if they hated it? What if it turned out I couldn’t write? Sharing builds confidence in self. No matter what is said, you will learn to trust in your ability with time. The confidence you find in feedback and in connections will prove to be invaluable.
• Next, sharing toughens you. Building on the first reason, writers have to develop confidence but along the way, the criticism toughens the emotional skin and allows the writer to actually learn from mistakes. Hearing what you’ve done wrong is hard but continuing to do it wrong because you’ve never been told is worse!
• Following with the criticism, sharing gives you invaluable feedback. How well is your work received? Do your readers like your characters? Is your genre hitting the mark or falling flat? Is this something others would buy? This kind of feedback is critical to your future success.
• Sharing can also be inspiring. As you offer your work, others will offer to you. You see what they write and how. You read new ways to approach subjects and maybe are inspired by exciting new characters. Perhaps you discover a new genre or a new approach to an old one. Maybe the quality of someone’s writing sparks your muse. Those discoveries don’t happen without sharing.
• Finally, sharing means entering competitions. Start small if you feel insecure. Local or regional contests. Then branch out as your writing improves. Collect feedback from teachers and judges. Learn to revise and compete again.

One last point of sharing that experienced writers and authors know is the value of the beta reader. You must use beta readers if you want to be published. Beta readers are people who look over your manuscript and are those extra eyes reading for content mistakes, plot holes, grammar and punctuation misses, oddities (like missed hyphens and oxford commas), and overall appeal. Beta readers tell you what works and doesn’t and why. They are critical to a book’s success. And if you don’t share, they can’t care and you don’t win.

I’ve been writing and sharing for a long time and I still get shivers when I hand writing to someone else for a critique or a cold read. Nerves mean you care about your work and it matters what is said. That’s good.

Remember that nervous feeling when someone asks you to read something they have written. Be understanding and thorough because they are depending on you, just as you have on others.

Sharing is caring, folks, about your work and the responses to it. That kind of caring will only make for wonderful improvements. For writers and authors that’s money in the bank. For readers, that’s great books! And that’s win/win for everyone. So be not afraid. Share!

Thanks for stopping by,
Yours Between the Lines,
Sherry

PS Next time, sneak peek into the new novella!

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****The following items will always appear to keep you posted on activities.*****

WIP (Works in Progress):

– Writer’s Workbook – Learning to Write Everyday – Beginners Volume  (expected July 2017)
– first novel in the Evening Bower series, about vampires and other supernatural creatures (Nov 2017)
– prequel novella to the Bower series (May 2017)
– four-part fairy story (part one complete) (Christmas 2017)

On the Desk: (next reading): nothing yet

Off the Desk (book just finished): A Conjuring of Light by VE Schwab

Coming Soon: More tips while writing that novel/Interviews/Odd Thoughts/Book Review

One of the best parts of writing, for me, is creating a world for my characters. No matter your genre, you must have a working knowledge of the environment in which the action happens. That knowledge can only come from doing your homework, or as novel writers everywhere whisper with fear and delight, “Research!”

Whether you write contemporary fiction or urban fantasy set in current and familiar cities, historical fiction with a need to re-create the past, or a dystopian fiction with yet-to-be-realized worlds, there is research required. Ask most writers and a gleam of excitement fills their heart and fear settles in their minds as they anticipate the thrill of discovery and the dread of the dark unknown forest.

Weeks pass and you’re still doing research. Every thread of knowledge leads you to more. You check out books and print….and print….and copy….and print. A month more and you are excited to learn about new countries, customs, histories, legends, famous people, unheard stories, relics, and archeological digs. Wait. What?

STOP!  At some point the writer in you says maybe I have enough research. You realize you have almost forgotten what you wanted to discover and have lost yourself in the finding of everything. Your departure from your novel has nearly cost you the thread of your intent. You, writer, are drowning in research and it’s killing your novel.

I speak from Experience

I’m in the middle of a novella, a prequel to an upcoming series. I know my characters but I’m writing about a time period which is unknown to me, creating events into an older world, bending histories to suit my needs. I needed to do research to bolster my fiction because good fiction is rooted in truth. That’s what sells the story. When I’m doing research I feel empowered as if I am learning magic.

But the truth is research can bog you down and sometimes I have ended up looking like this:

Your work suffers with an overabundance of unnecessary knowledge.

So what do you do?

TIPS FOR MAKING RESEARCH WORK FOR YOU

1. I recommend an outline. Know what you intend to research and leave yourself an outline with specific questions. You know what you want to know. Get those basics out of the way. Do it early before the major writing begins.

2. Once you have the basic info down, stop and begin the writing. When you hit a place in the story where you know you need more information, make a note about it and keep writing. I highly recommend a writer’s notebook for every novel or work in progress. I use it for notes, background information and all my research. I also use it for notations where I need more work. Refuse to let yourself be diverted by “holes.” This notebook will be the “dirt” you need for filler, later.

3. When you reach the end of your project (completion of the zero draft), now you can begin he work of filling the holes and doing the research you need to fill in the gaps.

• The first rewrite is for fleshing out the world, building the framework for your story
• The second rewrite is for rebuilding based on your notations and research
• The third rewrite is for continuity and holes, making the research and the fantasy mesh together (beta readers are needed here).

This is how you keep research from killing your novel and instead you save yourself and your readers from overdosing on information.

How Do You Know When You Have Too Much Research?

When you spend all your time talking about the research and not about your story. When your research is what you crave doing instead of writing. When you’re busy collecting paper on this and that instead of chapter and scenes. If you are honest, you know when you cross the line into the “no man’s land” of too much knowledge. Only you can pull that plug. Just do it. Stick to your outline and your characters’ needs and you’ll do fine.

A Word About Quality Research

Googiing isn’t research. There, I said it. Google is great for telling you what you need to know, then the library is your friend.  HOWEVER…..

DONT LET THIS BE YOUR DESK!

Again, know when you have too much and force yourself to select only what you need. This is what I have for my main research:

My novella takes place in both the past and the present. I need information dealing with Europe from 850 ACE all the way through the Middle Ages. It is easy to get lost in the research.  

One pleasure and one danger is learning a new language for the main character. This is one way to lose yourself and forget what you were supposed to be researching. Tip: Mark the words you want and come back for them. 

Just like a novel with too much narrative or exposition, your novel suffers if you spend too much time doing research. I’ve seen writers abandon projects after months because they have forgotten what the novel was supposed to be about! I’ve seen writers get discouraged, believing they can’t possibly impart everything they have learned. Remember JK Rowling when you begin to feel like this — she kept notebooks of knowledge about characters and histories in the world of Harry Potter that she never used. Writers are supposed to know more than the reader or their characters. Don’t imagine that everything you’ve researched will always make it into your story. Be content to use only what you need and save the rest.

You never know, you might do a sequel, Or a trilogy. Or a series of short stories. Knowledge is never wasted unless it becomes the thing you do instead of the thing you learn.

Is research killing or saving your novel? I hope this will give you food for thought and that you will take time to access your work. Let research work for you instead of you working for it.

I welcome your ideas and suggestions on research. How do you manage yours?

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Did you catch the live Facebook chat I did on Feb 18? If you missed it, you can catch it on my author page here. Sign up for my newsletter (see the sign up in the right hand column) and you’ll be among the first to know about the next live chat.

Speaking of the Newsletter — yes, I’ve been very bad about it. That’s about to change. You’ll get sneak peeks, freebies, free books and all sorts of newletter only information when you sign up.

The newsletter goes out early March!

Thanks for stopping by!
Yours Between the Lines,
Sherry

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****The following items will always appear to keep you posted on activities.*****

WIP (Works in Progress):

– Writer’s Workbook – Learning to Write Everyday – Beginners Volume  (expected April 2017)
– first novel in the Evening Bower series, about vampires and other supernatural creatures (Nov 2017)
– prequel novella to the Bower series (May 2017)
– four-part fairy story (part one complete) (Christmas 2017)

On the Desk: (next reading): A Conjuring of Light by VE Schwab

Off the Desk (book just finished): Stephen Blackmoore’s Hungry Ghosts

Coming Soon: More tips while writing that novel/Interviews/Odd Thoughts

*Writers are funny. They lie. Oh, they don’t mean to lie and they don’t realize they are lying most of the time. What do they lie about this time? Why, many are lying about how happy they are for your success!

Writers – authors in particular – say they want everyone to succeed but then turn a variety of shades of green when one of them actually does. Their frustration, though hidden, blazes in their hearts. They are asking, “Why him? Why not me?”

I’m not immune. I want Indie authors to do well, to see success. I will aid, promote, review, and chat up all of them. I will buy books, talk about my favorite authors, and do whatever I can to see authors find recognition. I don’t do it for recognition myself but to be helpful and supportive.

Sadly, this is not a two-way street. When I publish, those same authors that I promoted do not reciprocate, buy my books, or give reviews when given free books. Rarely do they share or give much publicity. It’s frustrating but honestly? Most authors are self-centered and narrowly focused. But there is a reason. It’s a kind of protection. Not everyone is like me and believes in the collective good (there ARE many others out there who are, and I’m grateful to those. This is not about them). I get it. They want to promote and sell their work.

The reveal comes when one of them becomes a best seller on Amazon, or New York Times, or USA Top 100. I’m happy for them. I cheer, promote, and talk then up again. As will all their author friends, many of whom are green at the gills.

But don’t let authors tell you that they secretly aren’t envious, even jealous. Don’t let them laugh off their frustration because they lie.

I know because I lie. And not all of us liars want to admit it because it makes us feel human and small.

I won’t tell you not to be envious of others. It is human nature. And I want to laugh when someone answers my frustration with, “you shouldn’t be jealous.” Shouldn’t is a judgement and I feel what I feel. No one can say whether it is right or not and certainly have no right to judge my feelings. If you don’t get a little green at someone’s instant success or see him or her zoom to the top of the charts and become #1, then you are remarkable and we can’t relate. Me? I’m human. I get frustrated and I get envious of seemingly easy success. Successful authors are usually quick to tell me, “but you shouldn’t.”  Why not??

Because envy can be good for you.

If you are human like me, and a struggling author like me, let’s try to work this out so that your envy becomes an understandable and useful tool for you.

• First, don’t compare yourself to others. No one writes like you. They are not you. Their sphere of work and how they got to where they are is very distinct. So, no apples vs oranges.
• Second, congratulate the successful and find out how they did it! Maybe there is useful information to be learned and lessons to absorb. You can never have too much information. Perhaps there is a “secret” you can use, too.
• Third, a kindness takes nothing away from you and improves your attitude. Not to mention that when you act like an adult you find the will to be an adult. So be nice! You liked them and/or respected them before. Tap into that and remember and mean it when you express your happiness for their achievements.
• Fourth, ask yourself what made you envious and work for it. Need to advertise more to improve your visibility? Need to tighten your writing and study your craft more? Need to publish more material? Blog more? Need help promoting? Define what is lacking and go after it. Get help. Seek out what you need and use those tools to do better. Trust that as you improve and your work is more visible that so will the good that you hope for come your way.

My friends, envy is good for you. You’re human yes, but don’t let that be an excuse. Green eyes can motivate you if you let it happen.

Someone I know had immediate and almost instantaneous success when they published their book. It rocketed to #2 in its genre in less than a day. People flocked to buy and the reviews poured in. I nearly fainted in awe and lost my mind with frustration and envy. How did this happen and what was wrong with me?

Ah, young Jedi, there is the lesson. First, this person created something needed. Second, they have a following that is several THOUSAND strong. Next, the product is quality. The word of mouth advertising after publication carried the day. The Amazon #1 bestseller status came out of a need and the following who purchased the product.

I don’t have that kind of following and my books aren’t mainstream enough to grab that kind of attention. I advertised but I’m in a totally different field and not mainstream. There is my answer, which clarified when I stepped back and examined why I felt as I did and what I could do about it. I was envious of a success that I could emulate if I wished!

Fill a need, produce a quality product, and develop a following before the product is released. Voila, my young Jedi, you have YOUR answers.

Envy can be good. It keeps you sharp and focuses on the prize. Just don’t let it get the best of you. Don’t let it stop you from promoting others, buying books by others, reading and reviewing works by others. Don’t be them. Be you and be the kind of person that others will – or hope – to emulate.

So, I told you I lie about being envious. I won’t ever admit it publically and certainly never to other authors. And I may never know their kind of success. I have come to accept that what I work for and what I earn may never be equal to others. But I will keep working, studying, writing, and publishing. Most of all, I will keep believing in what I do. Because I write for me and for you. My envy will never get in the way (though I may never be able to stop feeling it). Instead, let us use envy to do better and achieve our dreams.

Let’s make green the color of enviable success for both of us.

TELL ME — do you fib about feeling envious? And how do you deal with it?

*(this article is prepared after speaking with over 50 authors whose comments were provided with a promise of anonymity. The observation is a generalization and not intended to reflect the attitudes of all writers/authors. Nor is this written with malice or any intention to offend). 

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****The following items will always appear to keep you posted on activities.*****

WIP (Works in Progress):

– Writer’s Workbook – Learning to Write Everyday – Beginners Volume  (expected April 2017)
– first novel in the Evening Bower series, about vampires and other supernatural creatures (Nov 2017)
– prequel novella to the Bower series (May 2017)
– four-part fairy story (part one complete) (Christmas 2017)

On the Desk: (next reading): waiting on my next book

Off the Desk (book just finished): Prince Lestat 2 by Anne Rice

Coming Soon:  Interview with new folks and more about upcoming giveaways, plus more commentaries.