So You Made Some Bad Art Friends

If you haven't yet, read this insanity.

Holy shit, right? Just wow.

I realize the epic that is Bad Art Friend does provide an opportunity to talk about a little discussed topic within writing: the perils of networking (or, how to gauge/temper your social relationships in a healthy way before you drive yourself fucking insane).

The very act of writing is a mostly solitary exercise, so when some writers need to approach others within their community, be it for feedback, opportunity, or kinship, well, there can be a lot of weird pitfalls. Most commonly, these pitfalls are easy to navigate. Some of us are shy, some of us are not. 

It happens. 

But sometimes, oh, sometimes all those doubts, fears, and monsters in our heads can overwhelm us and imposter syndrome creeps right into your socializing, leaving you wondering if the people you're connecting with see you as a peer or if they even see you as a fellow artist at all.

9 times out of 10, those fears are unfounded. But that single time like the one above, where your fears are validated (not discounting an IMMENSE lack of self awareness, but that's a much deeper discussion that isn't so writing-focused), what the hell do you do?

Here are a few tips to life after bad art friends.

1) What hill do you plan to die on?

OK - you just found out there are writers talking a little smack about you. Hell, you may have found out that you are - gasp - DISLIKED among a certain set of writers. 

Bluntly, take stock of your shit. Take a second to do a little reflection and see if your actions may be to blame. Now, this isn't the time to dump the weight of the world on your shoulders, but there's always a chance there's a few crossed wires that you can sort out with good communication and a proper cleaning of your own house.

If not...

Move the fuck on then. As in high school, there are many cliques within writing communities. More often than not, it's harmless, just like-minded people bonding with other like-minded people. Sometimes, it is a group of Mean Girl-wannabes looking out for themselves and thirsting for non-stop validation from fellow boot lickers. Thems the breaks. Ask yourself, is it really worth pushing back? To paraphrase something I heard somewhere, you can't wake someone up when they're faking sleep. Meaning, if someone is willfully doing something, there's not much of a chance you're going to win them over. Starve their fire by choosing not to be the oxygen in the room.

2) Don't drive yourself insane

It's really easy to get wrapped in your own head without hurt feelings. Add the latter to the mix and we all lose ourselves a little. 

I've always been of the belief that I should never assume everyone likes me, but I should also never believe everyone hates me. Temper your relationships within the community. Understand boundaries and understand the people around you. You don't need anyone's friendship to succeed. if someone is toxic, but they hold some sway, who cares? Don't fool yourself into believing anyone's favor is going to change your writing career. Your work will do that, not being friendly to any assholes with perceived power (because I promise you, they ain't as powerful as you think), won't ruin anything for you.

Besides, you have writing to do. You see the room's packed with nonsense? Guess what? You can leave and go write! Maybe even about them (but just avoid like, outright lifting shit from them. Apparently, that ends BADLY).

3) Redefine your own boundaries/goals

Take stock of your situation. What will place you in a safe space? Pulling away entirely? Avoiding certain events? We all handle our traumas differently. Try to find the best way you can tend to your ego wounds without harming your artistic endeavors.

Remember: the social aspect of writing is NOT the same as the act of writing. The only people that can hurt our writing is ourselves. Bullies, hangers-on, and other dummies can't be allowed to hurt your passion of the act itself. Now, some people may argue that smack talking can indeed hurt their career, that folks may talk crap about you to industry professionals.

Well, I mean, if you did something awful, sure, you're done. Let's call that a caveat here. In the event that you're simply disliked by a group of people who like to stir shit, then don't worry. First, if your work is good and you're a professional, nobody is going to avoid working with you because you talk about another hobby too much or you were awkward one time during a reading. And if that industry pro WERE to do that? I mean, shit, is that someone worth working with in the first place?

4) Don't hate yourself, love yourself

Not everyone in life will like us. Even if we're the most put together, compassionate, vibrant being of pure light. There will always be someone out there who wants to dim that shit.

Therefore, if there's something to fix on your end, by all means do, but don't do it for others. I started writing to heal my own traumas, not to be best friends with everyone I meet. I continue on that path, because writing has made me a better person and has helped alleviate some of my scars. I've made friends too, but that's icing on the cake.

Don't sweat the icing. Make the cake.

5) Do good to do good

An obvious issue with Bad Art Friend's kidney story is the sense of neediness based off a person's good deeds. I'm of the belief we do good things to simply put good into the world. We don't need a million pats on the back for being a decent person and we should never expect friendship or opportunities based on the perception of our actions.

I've found paying it forward is therapeutic and a great means to sort out my emotions when I feel down. In a rut because of the bad art friends? Find a way to be a good art friend to others.

Anyway, I'm hoping this is a helpful (if cheeky) rundown on how to handle the stress of high school level drama in an adult world. Be the best art friend you can be - even if it's only to yourself.

Whole Mess of Scared

There's that bit of writing advice: write what scares you.

It's nothing new and honestly, the advice is solid, but I think writers often get a little too focused on the macro fears than they do the actual issues that stifle.

Me, for instance, I'm scared of being my parents. A lot of my work reflects that and explores that fear thoroughly. As a matter of fact, I've explored it so often that I'm not entirely sure that I'm as afraid of it as I used to be. Maybe fascinated. Definitely still disgusted with those people. Afraid? More like worried. Not necessarily pants-shitting afraid.

So what do we do then? What happens when we process those broad issues with our art? 

I began to realize there were fears creeping in the periphery. Things I would ignore; that were easy to ignore. There were moments where those fears crept in, but I did a good job avoiding them until I simply couldn't.

I couldn't be comfortable anymore. Comfortable to write the same stories. Comfortable to coast on what I created before. Comfortable to explore the same themes. See, fear, well, what we fear, can evolve. It can worsen, lessen, and change. My fears shifted. I wasn't afraid of content anymore, but I was afraid of risk. As a writer, it takes so long to find a rhythm, to find a sense of belonging, whether that is within your work or within creative circles. Complacency is a major risk, but it's a hell of a comfy security blanket.

And that complacency was strangling me. It was making me question whether I had reached my limits and whether it was worth taking a step outside of them. This led to a decision: do I go beyond writing what scares me by doing scares me or do I simply remain where I am?

Fear made me choose the latter for far longer than I care to admit, but now things have changed. I've realized that the only way out is through and that facing the fears I have :whether I'm good enough to try other genres, styles, subjects or good enough to leave the work I've created in the past fully behind, and take the risk of failing again. I've often joked about being a professional failure and while it's important to remember that writing is littered with failure with brief moments of triumph, it's super easy to avoid the failures that are super obvious.

So instead, I've mustered the nut to jump head first into those new patches of failure. 

I am writing while scared. I can't pretend it feels great all the time. I can't even pretend it will be worth it, but I do know I'm somehow happier, more passionate about the work I'm putting together. I'm more open to collaboration and to exploring themes/elements I never believed I had to ability or right to explore.

Even afraid, I know this will be worth it and I know I'll find new things to fear. But when that time comes, I believe I'll be more ready to tackle those fears than I've ever been.

So yes, write what you fear, but remember to write scared as well.

Once More With Feeling

Writers out there know the feeling of finishing the first draft. A sense of exhilaration. You did a thing! A pretty remarkable thing at that. From flash to thousand page epics, finishing a piece is an achievement.

Until it isn't.

You know what's next. Revision. Revision. Revision. All the work that turns a jagged piece of metal into a blade.

But what happens if the blade still isn't quite right?

What happens when the revision's shitty big brother shows up? The dreaded rewrite.

I've found myself in that pit a handful of times since being published and each time has been equally difficult and exhilarating. Here's a few things that have not only kept my sanity, but made the process just a little easier.

1) Darlings? What darlings? 

It's all fair game, my friend. ALL OF IT. I don't care if you're in love with Supporting Character C or with your A plot. It can all go and you need to make peace with that. You're building a new story from the ground up using ELEMENTS of what came before. Now, can those elements be entire chapters or passages? Sure. You still need to remember that a rewrite means this should be a whole new book. Changing POV, tense, themes, etc are all in play. The good news is the book you're tearing apart is effectively the best working outline you've ever written. Lean into that and you'll write an entirely new book in just a little over a month (fueled entirely by alcohol, self-loathing, crippling imposter syndrome, an a chip on your back the size of Tallahassee, but I digress...)

2) This is still a first draft. Act like it.

An extension of the themes from above. You're not beholden to anything, not even yourself. If you have wild, new ideas, go for it. Entirely new characters? Now is the time. Discover a theme you never saw before? Sprint head first into it. Don't treat this as another revision. You're doing something new and it can be used to draw that enthusiasm out of you that the revision would normally crush into a fine powder.

3) Learn how to take editing notes and turn them into collaborative opportunities.

I LOVE notes. Seriously, whether it's from a friend, my agent, or an editor, notes are not knocks. Every single one is an opportunity for me to talk about my story and my perspective with others willing to provide me with their precious time and perspective. In my mind, a note means there's something that needs to be addressed in the story. Even if it's simply a clarifying sentence, it's important to remember notes aren't negative. Get past your ego and talk things through. I've taken notes, bypassed them, and come up with entirely new ideas with the note giver in minutes simply because I've recognized the value of collaboration and taking criticism in stride.

4) Know your limits.

The bad news: sometimes the rewrite doesn't work either. The good news: you did not waste your time. Take the lessons you can into your next project or next rewrite. You've learned so much from the work whether you realize it or not. Use those lessons to key into opportunities for improvement. Did the project suffer because of multiple shifts in perspective? Were the story beats not quite working right? Try to see where you faltered and work the weaker muscles in other ways. Write a short story to help improve word economy. Write monologues to help with dialogue rhythm. A rewrite is a massive chance to really improve your craft, even if it only leaves you with a clearer perception of your weaknesses.

So, as I move into revising this entire novel rewrite I started back in April, I keep these things in mind. We're never quite done, but it doesn't mean we have to let the hard parts beat us up. 

Get back to writing.

One size doesn't fit all

By: Joelle Charbonneau

Because of advances in technology, the way we read, buy books and market books has changed.  Writers have more choices when it comes to publishing their books.  You can choose to work with the established brick and mortar system that has been in place for decades or become your own publisher or go with something in between. 

With so many options open to writers, it should come as no surprise that there are even more opinions about how a writer should proceed when it comes to publishing, marketing and just about everything else in the industry.  The effort of reading all of those opinions would be enough to send someone into information overload. 

The crazy thing is – almost everyone has an opinion about how to do it.  Or maybe I should say they have an opinion about how they have chosen to explore publishing.  And just because someone else has had success or failure with a certain avenue doesn’t mean the same will happen for you.  This isn’t like buying a towel or a pair of socks where most sizes fit all.  Publishing is personal.  Which makes sense because your work is personal.  And it would be foolish to believe that all books are the same or that all publishing journeys should follow the same path.

So – with that in mind, here are some of the issues every writer (traditionally published or self published) encounters and the reasons why one size doesn’t fit all.

1)  Yes – agent!  No – agent!   You’ll see arguments for an against the need for a literary agent in this age of the Internet.  And wow – the arguments (especially against) can be very forceful.  Some say having an agent limits your career.  Others say it expands it.  Which is right?  Well, I can only tell you that neither is wrong.  An agent is someone who represents your work to publishers.  So, if you are choosing to self-publish you probably don’t need one.  However if you want to go through the more traditional publishing model – agents are necessary.  They also work hard to sell translation, film and audio rights.  For that effort, they make a percentage of all that you earn. 

2)  Editors are not all created equal.  Do you need an editor – yes!  No matter who you are it is necessary to have another pair of eyes look and help you revise your work.  Why?  Because you know what you intended to say.  A fresh reader will help you understand what you really said and where passages or story points that seem clear to you are confusing to others.  A good editor is worth his or her weight in gold.  However, just because someone calls themselves an editor doesn’t meant that they are the right editor for your project.  If you are hiring an editor to help with your project, ask lots of questions and have a conversation about what you are looking for in an editor.  Ask for samples of the editor’s work and referrals.  Don’t just trust that the right editor for your friend is the correct editor for you.  Also, as a traditionally published author – you often have little say in which editor loves and chooses to offer you a contract on your work.  However, you can ask around about the editor’s style.  If you know the editor is more strongly regarded because of their eye for strong writing voices and not for their editorial input, you can always ask your agent or a trusted reader for opinions on the story before it is put into production.   Editors are important pieces of the publishing puzzle, but it is the author’s name that goes on the cover of the book.  That is the name the reader will remember.  Don’t let them associate that name with poor editing.

3)  Bookmarks and swag – Often the first thing an author does after seeing the cover art for their book is order bookmarks and other swag.  Why?  Is it genuinely effective in helping sell your book to readers?  Does swag effect purchase intent?  Some will say YES!  I know agents that insist their authors have swag or some sort of paper product with their cover on it whenever they go to events or to conferences.  Other agents shrug at that kind of marketing collateral.  No one knows exactly what swag or marketing materials help sell books.  If you love handing out bookmarks – get them!  If you have some extra cash and want to spend it on cool trinkets – have at it.  But remember that NO ONE knows exactly what influences book purchases.  So, if you don’t have the cash or the inclination to get bookmarks or postcards printed – that’s okay, too. 

4)  Blog tours – Here is a tricky one.  Blog tours were the new, fabulous, exciting public relations tools about a decade ago.  Back then, a blog tour appeared to generate sales.  Now?  Again, no one knows.  There are a lot more blogs now.  The audience for those blogs is thinned out amongst them.  And because blog tours are still hugely popular (because – hey – you don’t have to pay for food or hotel or transportation with this kind of tour) not a day passes without dozens and dozens of authors posting about their books on the world wide web.  With so much content out there, and so many books touring the Internet, it’s hard to stand out from the crowd.  If you like blog tours – hooray!  Have at it.  If you hate creating Internet content and don’t want to play – that’s good, too.  Your publisher will certainly have ideas about what they would like you to do, but they aren’t going to make you do a 40 stop tour with original content required for each stop.  Strategic blog tours can still help get the word out, but they are not the end all be all of PR.  Don’t let anyone tell you different.

5) Reviews – Do reviews matter?  Well, they provide validation for some authors and many bookstores or libraries use them to help gauge which books should be ordered for their patrons.  But I know books that get great reviews that never sell well and books that are panned which sell zillions of copies.  Go fig!  Clip the good ones.  Throw away the bad ones.  Or create a bonfire and put both versions on the fire.  Up to you.

6) Social Media -  Twitter.  Facebook.  Tumbler. Instagram. (what is this?  I mean, really!!!!  Someone tell me why it is different than just posting a photo to Twitter.  I’m baffled)  Google Plus (does anyone use it?).  Pinterest.  And more!  There are so many platforms.  Everyone will tell you what the platform is that they have found the most useful.  I know some who love Tumbler.  Others adore Facebook or Pinterest.  Twitter is either hated or beloved.  There is no right or wrong answer here.  Try them out.  See what you like.  Ditch the rest.  Your career doesn’t hinge on being fabulous at all aspects of social media or even any of them. 

7) The Amazon sales ranking – Some would argue it means everything!  Others will say it means nothing.  The truth?  Only the great and powerful wizard behind the curtain knows and he ain’t talking.  Everyone agrees that more goes into the sales number than just…well…sales.  And that’s the only thing everyone agrees on.  The facts and figures aren’t available to tell us what those numbers really mean.  If they are important to you – okay.  If not, no worries.  You’re not alone.

The list of things people will insist an author needs to know or do is almost endless.  Certainly, these are only the tip of the iceberg.  Do this. Do that.  Spend money.  Don’t.  I’ve listened to lots of advice.  I’ve tried lots of it.  You know what I’ve learned?  There is only one thing an author must do to help their career. 

Write the next book.  Because really – that is the only thing you can control.

Happy writing!

Ready? Set? Juggle!

by: Joelle Charbonneau

Most of us get into the writing gig because we want to…well, you know….write. That makes sense. Right? Writers write. End of story.

Well, not exactly. At some point it is the dream of many if not most writers to make the leap from one who writes to one who is published. The day I made that leap from a writer with a manuscript to writer with a published novel, was the day I had to stop thinking of myself as just a writer. Suddenly, I was an author.

What’s the difference between the two, you ask? Ha! Well, to me the two have huge differences in the scope of the work involved. Let me show you:

A writer

1) writes
2) rewrites
3) edits
4) writes some more

An author

1) writes
2) rewrites
3) revises
4) submits
5) does edits
6) networks
7) does copy edits
8) proofs typeset pages
9) answers lots of e-mails
10) deals with promotion
11) files taxes (oy! I hate that one!)
12) is told how cool their job is on days they want to hide under the bed
13) deals with cover art (which thankfully, I only have so much say in because I can’t draw a decent stick figure)
14) etc…etc…etc…

The day I shifted from writer to author was the day I went from a writer to a business person. Suddenly, half the time I spent “writing” was spent on the business of writing instead of just the creation of words on the page. Which meant I needed more time to spend on writing. Funny how that works. It also meant I needed to improve my multi-tasking skills. It used to be I started one project, worked on said project until I reached the end, edited said project and polished it again before I put it to the side and started the next. I was a one project at a time kind of girl. This week, I’ve worked on writing on my second YA novel INDEPENDENT STUDY, wrote a prequel short story for THE TESTING for my YA editor, had a three hour meeting with a publicist, edited page proofs for Murder For Choir, did taxes, started organizing a panel for an event I’ll be attending, worked on brainstorming ideas for release events, send a few e-mails to authors I love asking them if they’d blurb my book, exchanged lots of e-mails with editors and my agent and fellow authors and wrote some blog posts. Phew!

Trust me when I say I love being an author. I love writing books, meeting readers and other authors and learning about the strange and ever changing world of publishing. But it is a job. And like any job there are days I am overwhelmed by the sheer volume of work that is in front of me. On those days, I remind myself how lucky I am to be doing this gig and try not to panic as I work through the to-do list and attempt to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Because, face it, I wouldn’t give up this job for anything.

So, for those of you reading this post – tell me – do you think being a writer and being an author are two different thing? If so, what are the differences you see and if not – why not?

The care and feeding of a writer

by: Joelle Charbonneau

Being a writer means you have to be an independent worker. You have to self-motivate. You have to be willing to ignore the lure of social media or solitaire on your computer and get work done. While there are lots of people involved in turning a manuscript into a book, a writer works alone to create that book. There is no one sitting next to you that makes you log in your time.

Self-motivation is important as a writer. The best self-motivators feel compelled to sit at their computers every day and log a certain amount of words or pages in. Which is awesome. However, writers often forget that while getting pages done is important, so it taking care of themselves.

So here are a few things that writers need to remember to add to the check list along with all those pages written and words typed. (And yes, I am writing this now because I tend to forget to do these things and need a swift kick in the rear.)

1. Get enough rest – writers have to write when they have the time. For me, this is often at night after the tot is in bed. Too often, I am up until 1a.m. letting my fingers do the walking. My body can handle doing this once in a while, but every night for weeks mean running myself down. If your body is tired, your mind will be tired, too. Writing tired can mean writing sloppy. Take the time to get some sleep so you don’t have to do twice the amount of work on the editing end.

2. Eat well – this is kind of like the sleep thing. Writers have to sit for hours on end in front of the computer which requires energy and stamina. It is easy to say “It’s not like I’m running a marathon” and reach for the bag of potato chips, but remember you are running your own kind of marathon. A novel takes weeks and months to create. You need to keep up your enthusiasm and energy for the project in order to reach THE END. A body fueled only by crap won’t be up to the challenge.

3. Read – This one gets me every time. Every writer I know started out as a voracious reader. Before getting published, I used to read between 150-200 books a year. Now I’m lucky if I read 40 or 50, but I make sure to take the time in between projects to read because it reminds me of my passion for the written word. It also keeps me looking at voice, character arcs and pacing in new and interesting ways. Reading will help you remember why you love this business when you are ready to kick the business in the ass.

4. Get away from the computer screen – Writers, performers, musicians and artists are inspired by the world around them. In order to find that inspiration, you actually need to get out in the world and roll around in it. Take the time to enjoy family outings, take walks around the neighborhood and experience the world around you in between getting those words on the page. You’ll be a happier person and a better writer for it.

5. Give yourself permission to take time off – I’m struggling with this one right now, but I’m working on it. Yes, writers need to write, and when I’m writing a project I write 7 days a week. No one can keep up that pace day in and day out. Take a break between projects to recharge. Take time off on the weekends to regroup. Like any job, you need to take vacations (and this means more than an hour or two here or there) to really get away from work. After a week or a month or even a summer you will better remember and appreciate the reason you write. And don’t we all do better when we are doing something we love?