Obtaining Your Own ISBNs

For those who are self publishing, if you are using portals such as Draft2Digital or Amazon KDP, it is highly attractive to use the free ISBNs available through those publishing portals. For some writers, the cost of the ISBNs is something that is not in the budgets. But those free ISBNs are not registered to you. They're not something that you can take with you when using another publishing portal. And if you were to run an ISBN search, you would not be listed as the publisher.

In today's post, we are going to talk about the importance of sourcing your own ISBN numbers if you are self-publishing your books.

Is it a blurb or a synopsis? (Publishing term explained)

There are some publishing industry terms that are designed to confuse us. It's like the people who created the terms did it deliberately, determined to make all of us scratch our heads and question the sanity of those around us.

Today's term is doubly confusing, because it has different meanings depending on the context.

Blurb and synopsis. Two words that can have the same meaning, but have completely different meanings at the same time. (I did mention how some terms were designed to confuse us, right?)

Let's break this down and define these terms.

5 ways to drive your editor batty

Every editor has a few pet peeves, things that irritate them when they see them. But we editors suffer in silence, correcting those issues and moving on to the next page of the manuscript. But there are editors like me who happily turn those pet peeves into blog posts, showing the world how irritating they can be.

Today's post dives into some of the things that writers do that can drive an editor to the coo-coo train.

(Now, watch, some of my writing buddies will turn this into a challenge to see if they can work all of these things into their next writing piece that they share with me.)

4 signs you have finished editing your manuscript

Years ago, I was at a writing group when a newer writer asked a loaded question:

"When do you know you have finished editing a manuscript?"

Without hesitation, one of my writing buddies, JC Harroway, blurted out, "When someone takes it away from you." Of course, the room burst out laughing, but JC was serious. She is a dreadful tinkerer, never happy with what she has written and constantly obsessing over it. But she is a writer with publication deadlines, and when those deadlines arrive, she has no choice but to hand over that manuscript to the editor or it won't get published.

But when you look at the original question with seriousness, there are multiple aspects to consider. Not only do you have those who constantly obsess over every little detail, but the editing question goes the other way, too. You also have those who think they have finished editing but in reality still have work to do to ensure that the story they envision is what is on the page.

In today's post, I want to discuss some of the benchmark tests you can use to determine if you have finished editing a manuscript.

Your book is in Barnes & Noble, and you’re complaining?

It was a random post that came across my feeds about how the science fiction and fantasy author Fonda Lee was complaining that she was competing against dead authors. I will grant you that it was an old post, dating back to 2019, but it was one that struck up a bit of negative emotions in me.

In her local Barnes & Noble bookstore, she had discovered that J. R. R. Tolkien and Robert Jordan were taking up roughly four shelves of space. She went on to complain about how there was only one copy of one of her own book on the shelves.

While I understand what it is she's complaining about, what she's trying to highlight to the world at large, my initial reaction was: "Get over it!" As I read through the article, my reaction started to include a level of irritation aimed at Fonda Lee and other writers like her who are complaining about not seeing their books in brick-and-mortar bookstores.

“Am I wasting my time writing?” the client asked.

Recently, a prospective client reached out to me regarding their manuscript that they were still writing; they were approximately a quarter of the way through the first draft. They were seeking quotes for editing (which is hard to give without having a full manuscript to consider), but more specifically, they wanted to know if I thought their story would be good enough to get published. (They actually asked this in their initial contact email.)

Let's ignore the fact that the story wasn't written yet, because any story that isn't written can't be published. I knew what the writer was asking. They wanted to know if I thought their writing style was good enough to be published.

That particular question is incredibly difficult to answer, because there are so many factors involved—and many of those factors are subjective.

So, I evaded the specific question (yes, evaded), and carried on like I do with any other prospective client under normal circumstances. I gave my thoughts about what I saw in the writing sample and proposed a path forward.

For this writer, I suggested that they just write. I would be more than happy to work with them on any story that they wrote (I liked their natural writing voice), but unless they wanted mentoring or coaching, there wasn't much I could do to help them until they had a finished manuscript. I suggested they finish their manuscript, get some feedback from other writers and edit their story to the best of their ability, then come back to me for a manuscript assessment. It was the most cost effective option for them.

But they really wanted the answer to their question, and their persistent email trail would not let it rest. "Do I have enough to make the grade and get this [story] published or am I wasting my time?"

As a writer myself, I understand the motivation behind such a question. We spend so much time pouring our heart and soul into our writing, and we want to know if we have a shot at breaking into this business with the manuscript that we're working on.

But for the first time, I had to push back and challenge a prospective client about their motivations for writing.

9 Questions to Examine Your Writing Habits

Becoming a writer is simple: Start writing. There is nothing more elaborate to it than that. So, it's not surprising how events like NaNoWriMo attract so many participants. It's all about getting your butt in the chair—and writing.

I'm a fan of NaNoWriMo myself, taking part every year since 2014, becoming a municipal liaison (NaNoWriMo's representative for my region) in 2015. In that time, I've noticed a few habits that writers have during this season.

It's common for writers to decide that the best approach to getting more writing done is by ignoring everything else that might be going on in their lives—including the family. I've been there. I've done it. And let me tell you that it's not sustainable.

Whatever schedule writers come up for the NaNoWriMo season works in the beginning, but as life carries on—interrupting us—things start to fall apart, and we start to fall behind in our daily goals.

"I'll just make it up tomorrow."

Yeah, I've said this to myself too, countless times. But again, I've noticed that when we struggle to meet our daily goals as it is, adding yesterday's goal to today's goal only makes things worse, adding unnecessary pressure—and making us cranky and a nightmare to live with.

So much for working our writing life into our family life.

9 Questions to Focus on Your Hopes and Dreams

The last month was a whirlwind dose in reality for me. There are parts of my psyche still wishing I could wake up from the nightmare. No matter how I look at it, life in my little corner of the world changed forever. But that's not necessarily a bad thing.

When life-changing events happen, we often step back and review our lives and priorities, realigning our paths with what really matters. Are we on the path we originally set out on? If so, is it still the right path? If not, is this new path the right path, or have we deviated so far from the dream that we need to shift our focus?

That's what the last month turned out to be for me. That's really what the last few months have been about for me. And this is what I want my readers to do today.

Sit back and examine the path you're on. Are you still working towards your hopes and dreams? Or did life take an unexpected turn? Do you need to adjust things to get yourself back on track? Or do you prefer this new path better? Be honest with yourself.

It's time to assess how far from the dream your current path has taken you.

James Scott Bell paints a true picture of publishing!

I would hope by now that my readers know that I'm a big fan of knowing exactly what you're getting yourself into. If you can understand all the pros and cons—and the hidden traps—of a particular path, then you are prepared for whatever might come your way.

The book How to Make a Living as a Writer by James Scott Bell is one of those books that lays it all out for the world to see. It's the harsh realities of the mindset that you need to develop when it comes to your writing practices. It's a discussion about the pros and cons of BOTH traditional and self-publications roads. And there is even a discussion about working with editors and book cover designers.

It doesn't matter which path you're taking in your writing career. I would suggest that you get your hands on a copy of this book and keep it on hand for when you are moving in to various stages of your careers for that little dose of reality.

Creating Focus for Your Writing

I don’t know about anyone else, but I have a large number of writing projects on the go. Every time I turn around, there’s another idea that pops into my head that calls my attention. However, one needs to find a way to focus their writing efforts, so they actually complete their projects.

Developing focus is one of the topics that I have found myself talking about with my mentoring clients and in my personal writing groups. There seems to be a general consensus. If you are wanting to eventually turn your writing into a way of making a living, you need to tackle this issue by compartmentalizing your writing.

Let me explain further.
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