Five tips for aspiring writers: Ways to Keep the Words Flowing
One: If you want to be a career writer I tell you this: there is no guarantee of success, but I guarantee that if you quit, you will fail. I don’t care what platform you approach for publishing—if you quit? You have nothing to work with. So don’t stop. The only real failure is quitting because you are afraid of hard work or afraid that you won’t make it.
Two: Be flexible. Your words aren’t set in stone. You must have a good editor—in traditional publishing you are assigned an editor. If you decide to self publish, don’t just slap your work up on line—that’s shoddy and lazy. Hire an editor. Make the book as good as you can. If you expect people to put down money for you? You owe them the best you can manage.
Three: Be consistent. Whether you have time to write five days a week or three…or only on weekends, be consistent with what you do and develop self-discipline. I work 60-80 hours a week at my career (yes, I am a more-than-full-time writer), and there are times I want to just goof off. But the books don’t turn themselves in. So I get the work done.
Four: Recharge. Take time to recharge and regroup when you do need it. There are some deadlines that I work myself to a frazzle on, because yes, they have to be met. But afterward? I take a little time to play. It may only be a few days but I totally focus on what I love to do. You can also recharge in little ways. I love going to the water. Sitting by the water, even for fifteen minutes, calms my thoughts.
Five: Write naturally. Don’t force a style, don’t copy other writers, and write in your own worlds. Find your own voice, even if it’s not the way you “think” you should be writing. Play—see how the words flow. You may have a bent for humor but if you think you should be writing “serious” work and you ignore your natural voice, your writing will seem stilted. You can never write someone else’s books, and they can never write your books. We are all unique, and our views of the world are colored by our experience, our perception, and our personal natures.
Author Bio:
New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and USA Today bestselling author Yasmine Galenorn writes urban fantasy for Berkley: the Otherworld Series, the Indigo Court Series, and the Fly By Night Series. In the past, she wrote mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime, and nonfiction metaphysical books. She is the 2011 Career Achievement Award Winner in Urban Fantasy, given by RT Magazine. Yasmine can be reached via her website at www.galenorn.com, and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/yasminegalenorn
You can learn more about Ms. Galenorn and her books here Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter @yasminegalenorn | Goodreads
Don’t forget to watch for Ms. Galenorn’s upcoming release of Priestess Dreaming out September 30, 2014. Here is a little peek at the beautiful cover and the back blurb
| We’re the D’Artigo sisters: savvy half-human, half-Fae operatives for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. My sister Delilah is a two-faced werecat and a Death Maiden. Menolly is a vampire married to a gorgeous werepuma. And me? I’m a Moon witch married to three gorgeous husbands, and I’m about to journey through the veils to search for a long lost legend…
With the war in Otherworld raging, the Queen of Shadow and Night summons me to her court. Aeval orders me to embark on a hunt through the mists to find an ancient ally she once knew. I must seek out The Merlin and wake him from his long sleep. But Morgaine and Bran are along for the journey, and the pair pose a threat to both me and my quest. Now, surrounded by danger on all sides, I must pray they are allies rather than enemies, as we undertake a perilous search through the labyrinth of time.
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Ms. Galenorn is giving away three paperback copies of Crimson Veil.
Let’s take a quick look at Crimson Veil
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Crimson Veil
Otherwold #15
We’re the D’Artigo sisters: savvy half-human, half-Fae ex-operatives for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. My sister Camille is a wicked good witch with three gorgeous husbands. Delilah is a two-faced werecat and a Death Maiden. And me? I’m Menolly, a vampire married to a scorching hot werepuma. And right now, we’re facing enemies on all sides
It’s been a long and devastating week. Back in Otherworld, war has decimated the elfin city of Elqaneve, our father has gone missing, and Shadow Wing has managed to obtain another spirit seal. On the home front, somebody burned down my bar, the Wayfarer, killing eight people, including a friend.
To make matters worse, we still haven’t found a way to stop Lowestar Radcliff—the daemon in charge of a supernatural corporate power grab. He’s attempting to awaken Suvika, the lord of vice and corrupt businessmen, and we have to stop him. Our enemies are closing in on all sides, and this time, there’s no place to hide
To Enter for a chance to win.
Please leave a comment or question for Ms. Galenorn.
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*this giveaway is sponsored by the author*
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Make sure to check out all of the other stops on this month long tour HERE and enter the grand prize giveaway.
I am so excited for Priestess Dreaming and I can’t wait for the new series. The only thing that saddens me other than the end of Indigo Court is that with the new series we will only get 1 Otherworld book per year but I totally understand the reasoning behind that and actually appreciate it. There are a lot of authors who you can tell have a filler book or two in a long running series but the fact that Yasmine is purposely avoiding that makes me respect her even more:)
Sorry didn’t include the email: Christinabahr2008(at)yahoo(dot)com
Congrats to Yasmine on her series!!! She obviously knows the secret to success 😉 Thanks for sharing! I’m just getting started on this series and I’m very excited to get caught up! efender1(at)gmail
Thanks for the great tips. These help so much and helped me break the stalemate I’ve been in with my writing. Love the series, one of my favorites, always intriguing stories and characters.
These sound like really good tips. I feel very strongly that books should be well edited. Even the big publishers allow certain grammar errors to slide on a regular basis.
jmcgaugh (at) semo (dot) edu