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Writing Mistakes

February 23, 2019 by Steve Gannon 14 Comments

Question: How do you feel when you skip your morning coffee? Answer: Depresso.

Okay—not much of joke, but I included it here to illustrate how writers can sometimes feel when finishing a project. I recently completed a final draft of my new novel, Kane: Blood Moon, and although I’m celebrating that milestone in what for me is a long process, I’m also feeling a little depresso as well—along with maybe a bit of apprehension about sending my newborn out into the cold, cruel world. But I suppose that’s part of the process.

The good/bad news is that there’s still plenty left to do before then. In today’s world of publishing, writing is just one part of the equation, and I decided to take a break from work to post an article on some of the pitfalls writers typically face on the way to publication.

Let’s imagine you just typed “The End” at the bottom of your brand-new manuscript. Now you want to get it out there as quickly as possible. Needless to say, you want to do it right.

So now what?

Formerly a traditional publisher did the heavy lifting required to get your book into the hands of readers—editing, copyedit, cover design, promotion, and printing. I’ve gone that route in the past, and I learned from my experience with Bantam Books that even with a trad publisher, you must get involved. And if you’re an indie author, it isn’t simply your involvement that’s required. Now it’s all up to you. You are responsible for everything previously done by a huge, professional publishing house, and you must do it well. A daunting task, but nobody ever said this writing thing was going to be easy.

There are five critical areas where things can go wrong. Although there are certainly others, in the following I’ll provide some suggestions that can help you avoid the five most common mistakes.

1. Over Editing 

Solution: Cut Bait.  The revision process can go on indefinitely, if you let it—literally taking on a life of its own.  This is common in writing groups and with many insecure authors.  At some point you simply have to “cut bait” and move on to the next step.  Not to say that you don’t want your work to be the best it can be, but don’t get paralyzed by endless revision.

2. Technical Errors

Solution: “Vet” Your Manuscript.  Carefully check all technical material in your work, and then have someone knowledgeable in the field vet your story—making certain you at least sound like you know what you’re talking about.  For instance, cartridges or rounds (not bullets) are inserted into a rifle or a semi-automatic pistol via a magazine, not a clip—an error I made a few years back that garnered an avalanche of criticism from gun-enthusiasts, and rightly so.  Consult with an expert and get your details straight.

3. Lack of Reader Input

Solution: Test Market.  You don’t write in a vacuum.  Once you have your manuscript (mostly) revised, vetted, and ready to go, preview your work with friends and readers whose opinions you trust.  If they find typos along the way, fine—but what you really want is their candid comments on your story.  Listen to what they say.  Did your story move them?  Were there plot holes?  Unclear motivations?  Murky character development?  This evaluation is traditionally performed by a publishing-house editor, but in my opinion a “groupthink” approach is equally effective, possibly even more so.  Of course writing isn’t a democratic process and you want to preserve your original vision, but you will be surprised at how often you can improve your work by opening yourself to reader suggestions and criticism.

4. Sloppy Writing

Solution:  Professional Copyedit.  Most readers will not tolerate sloppy writing, typos, punctuation mistakes, and grammatical errors from anyone.  You need a clean manuscript, and for that you will have to PAY someone.  Having a friend who’s “good at editing” won’t cut it.  Find a professional and use his or her services.  Period.  After that you can do one final revision, making certain you don’t introduce new errors along the way.  And then publish!

5. Poor Marketing

Solution:  social media marketing and paid advertising.  Now that your book is out there, who knows about it besides your mom?  Unless your name is Stephen King, hardly anyone, that’s who.  Yours is one of tens of thousands of new books published each year.  To find an audience, you must market your work.  If you sit around waiting for your book to be discovered, you’re going to be sitting a long time.  Step one in marketing is to have a professionally designed book cover, for which you will probably need to PAY for the services of a graphic artist.  Step two is having a well designed website hub, along with various social media sites—Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc.—feeding into it. There is far too much in the social-marketing category to cover here, but there are many online sources (Jonathan Gunson’s bestsellerlabs.com or Joanna Penn’s TheCreativePen.com) that can point you in the right direction.  And last, PAID advertising on Amazon, Facebook, and other sites is necessary if you want to get noticed. Sad, but true.

To reiterate:  Self-marketing is absolutely essential.  Most successful writers, even traditionally published authors, devote around 70% of their average workday to writing and about 30% (or more) to marketing.

Oh, one last pitfall I forgot to mention: procrastination.  Speaking of which, it’s time for me to grab some coffee, get over my final-draft depresso, and head back to work.

In your reading, have you encountered any sloppy writing lately? Does it irritate you? What are your pet peeves when reading? What are your main writing/publication problems?  How do you get the word out about your work?  Please leave a comment (click here) and join the conversation!

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The Future of Cinema?

February 23, 2019 by Steve Gannon 4 Comments

Screen Shot 2014-07-12 at 7.34.24 AM

There is a revolution coming in the world of filmmaking, and the first shots have already been fired. This coming revolution will transform the way feature films are financed, produced, and especially distributed—exerting as profound an influence on Hollywood as eBook publication has had on the world of publishing.

Screen Shot 2014-07-11 at 5.53.26 PM

I just watched an example of cinematic things to come—Joss Whedon’s sci-fi love story, In Your Eyes. And I viewed it on Vimeo-on-Demand for four bucks.

In Your Eyes is a sweet little romance wrapped in a paranormal dressing—starring Zoe Kazan and Michael Stahl-David as telepathically-crossed lovers, and ably directed by Brin Hill. Check it out. It’s worth a watch.

Anyway, what’s more important is the way in which In Your Eyes was distributed. Online. Worldwide. And direct to the consumer. But you can already watch plenty of videos on YouTube and Vimeo, right? So what’s the big deal?

Just this: For those who don’t know, Joss Whedon is a heavyweight Hollywood screenwriter-producer-director best known for his 2012 film, The Avengers (third highest grossing movie of all time at $1.5 billion plus)—not to mention his numerous hit television productions including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Angel, Dollhouse, and more.

Screen Shot 2014-07-12 at 7.40.29 AM

Buffy: Serious Vampire Hazard

The point is, Joss is a multitalented Hollywood player. Following a debut of In Your Eyes at the Tribeca Film Festival, Joss elected to distribute his new film online—making it available directly to the public worldwide. His words at the time were, “This is exciting for us because it means we get to explore yet another new form of distribution.” Damn right, Joss. It also means sidestepping traditional distribution and its huge associated costs, so you (and other future artists) keep a much bigger piece of the pie. Which is a good thing for filmmakers. And maybe for viewers like you and me as well.

Think of major publishing houses and traditional bookstores before the advent of eBooks, publish-on-demand, and Amazon. My first novel, A Song for the Asking, was traditionally published by Bantam Books. It took almost a year to grind through the process, and although the book was a critical and commercial success, publishing and distribution expenses ate up much of the profit. Today, as an indie author, my works are available in all formats almost immediately upon completion, and eBook publishing costs are nil. It’s a seminal change that has resulted in writers retaining more money from their writing, as well as making the future of mainstream publishing questionable.

Joss Whedon

Joss Whedon

Now think of Hollywood studios, independent production houses, and nationwide theater chains—presently the accepted outlet for quality, first-run feature films. Don’t get me wrong: Major studios, independent production houses, and theater chains will always exist. But with the opportunity to view quality, first-run feature films online, which Joss Whedon has now made a reality, movie distribution may be transformed forever.

And that could change everything.

Have you watched any movies online lately?  What’s your favorite? Any streaming issues? Please leave a comment and join the conversation!

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Filed Under: Film

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