Guest Post -- Approaching Publication by J.P. Dailing

Today we're taking a break from my constant chatter (LOL!) because I have the pleasure of hosting J.P. Dailing! He is married to author Jennifer Acres, so they're a married writing duo like me and Deek. #Represent!

His novella, Urban Legend, releases soon! Join him as he hosts an awesome Facebook party to celebrate (deets in the post!)!

Approaching Publication

Three 'C's For Managing the Beast

Self-publishing is a voracious, bloodthirsty beast, and don't let anyone tell you different. I love the beasts though. I want to feed them, cuddle with them, and spend my life raising many, many beast-babies. It'll be a fulfilling life, but not an easy one. The beasts will never be domesticated, are near impossible to tame, are vaguely conceivable to house-train, and even simple survival of each one is a victory.

I'm surviving my first beast right now. Urban Legend is a YA urban fantasy novella series where a young teen orphan, Rylee, begins to manifest illegal magic that captures the attention of the heir to one of the ruling houses within the Vampirum and a government agent for the US Department of Mysticism and Metaphysics. The idea for this series has been coalescing for several years, and now it is finally finding life as my debut book. I'm so excited for Urban Legend's release on August 23rd that I am throwing a Facebook Launch Party with giveaways and live streams and a lot of fun in one place.

During the course grappling with the beast, I discovered the three main pillars of my process which can either act as stepping stones if respected or roadblocks if not: Creativity, Consistency, and Community.

Creativity

The hardest kind of creativity for me isn't coming up with a fresh new story or unique take on a well-loved trope, but getting the stupid manuscript finished. The first draft is hard enough; once the mess is on the page, it is a nightmare that can only be vanquished by the nimblest of wits. "How can I get this character more accessible?" "What can I do to fill this plot hole?" "How can I make these chapters work without tossing two week's worth of work?" "Is there anything I can do make this not horrible?" These kinds of questions raced through my brain every time I sat down do to write and it was ticklish to find ways to hammer down the right answers. Plus if the work isn't hard enough, there are plenty of adulting issues that can crash the party. House-sitting, getting wisdom teeth pulled, and dealing with being rear-ended are a few examples (and all happened to me within the last couple of months). It's like playing 3D sudoku where the result will never come out perfect and is actively trying to murder you with a personal grudge. But the trick is to keep one step ahead and (leading into the next part) keep hacking away.

Consistency

Consistency in writing is key. The words are not going to be good all the time, sometimes the muse isn't talkative and what results resembles a half-digested owl pellet. That's gross and disturbing, but par for the course. Losing a week here and there of writing due to personal crises, day-to-day adulting, or just needing to take a break to avoid burn out can stall productive momentum. (This isn't to say we writers shouldn't have breaks. Breaks are absolutely essential. No one can pour from an empty cup). We are creatures of habit. What we do over and over again, we excel at. For writing to be more than a hobby, it must be a routine, part of my day. My best work has always come through maintaining my schedule. No one wants to drive a car that works really well sometimes, then dies just as often. We'll choose the reliable vehicle that we can trust, even if it looks like it went full speed through Godzilla's digestive tract.

Community

Nothing can be created inside a vacuum. We need to live to express life on the page and we need to have connection to connect with readers. I'm primarily an introvert and, aside from rare exceptions, people tend to tire me out. Not in a negative way; using a phone uses the battery and I need a place to recharge. Yet humanity isn't a collection of lone wolves. We are a pack. I've never felt more excited or alive or more confident with my writing than when I started building my community. Not a network of authors and readers that could help me further my career mind you, but a collection of awesome people I interact with who make me feel happy by exchanging silly gifs or Hamilton references on twitter. I've been spoiled by my beta readers who gave me honest opinions about my work and allowed me to become better. And my wife is the absolute best. She encourages me when I'm down and tells it like it is when my story isn't working. She is my partner in every sense of the term (yes, even in crime). It's too easy to homogenize ideas within yourself. Go out and mix it up a little. You'd be amazed what the results end up being.

Is there a beast you've been wrestling with, or wanting to set free from its cage, or is it still an egg and you fear what might hatch? Go for it. It'll be a monumental effort, possibly violent, always dangerous, and in the end one of the most precious elements of your life. Art shapes the artist who creates. Go forth and show the world what you can do.

J. P. Dailing

YA Fantasy Author

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Common Writing Mistakes

I don't often write about writing, but I thought I'd make an exception today. Since I am both a writer and an employee at a publishing company, I decided to share some of the Top 10 most common writing mistakes we see with submissions.

1) Passive voice. This particular problem is one of the most common we see, and it can take two different forms. 

First off, the words "was," "were," "am," and "is" are almost always passive verbs, but the changes are usually simple. Take "I was walking" and make it "I walked." Other times, getting rid of that pesky "was" takes a lot more brain power and can prove most frustrating. 

The second form of passive voice is very aptly explained in this article by Grammar Girl on Quick and Dirty Tips (I love her by the way. Definitely check out her blog!).

There are very few instances in a novel where words like "was" and "were" have a place and serve a purpose. Use them sparingly. Doing so will make your words and world come to life, and it will push you to be a better, stronger writer. We call it "activating your verbs."

2) Telling instead of showing. I'll admit, I struggle with this one myself when the telling is subtle. However, often times, the submissions we get have blatant telling with words like "felt," "seemed," "heard," "saw," "appeared." Remove all instances of these words in your novel. Don't tell your reader how the character felt, show them by the character's actions, reactions, and speech.

For example: "Sam felt mad." tells us he's mad but does not immerse us in the story nor in Sam's anger. If you wrote: "Sam flung his Biology book across the room and growled like the Hulk after a bee sting," the reader would have a MUCH better idea of the level of Sam's anger. We'd also get a glimpse into his personality and his character. 

3) Backstory/Info Dumps. We see A LOT of this situation in the submissions we receive. When saying backstory/info dump, I'm referring to information provided solely for the reader's benefit which does not match the character's normal though patterns. No one walks along thinking, "My mother, Donna Reed, used to ride elephants in the circus but is now content to be a stay-at-home mom." No one walks around their town and thinks, "In the war of 2033, Kernsville became ground zero for a Blitzkreig style attack, which left the town decimated for a decade." 

We don't need a history lesson on your character or your world. We need to be immersed in your world and walk alongside your characters. The reader can get to know both through skillfully introduced information--character actions, situations in the world, dialogue, etc.--but it must be consistent with a normal person's thought and speech patterns. 

4) Repetition. If an idea has been shared with the reader, it doesn't need to be repeated (unless you introduced the idea a long time ago in the story). Give your readers the benefit of the doubt. They're smart. You've introduced them to your world and your characters, but they don't need to be beaten over the head with the same idea. It slows down the pace of the story and gets annoying. State something that's important and move on.  

5) Grammar and spelling errors. Before you submit your work to an agent or publisher, it must be polished. I recommend going through it twice yourself and then sending it off to beta readers and critique partners. Once they've had a look, go through it again yourself at least two more times. If you're not strong in grammar or spelling, make sure to find someone who is and have him/her take a look for you. Nothing turns off a publisher or agent quite as much as an unprepared manuscript. 

6) 2nd person. Just don't use it. Unless it's a sh-tick you're trying to do where you talk to the reader (a sh-tick that almost never works, by the way) or unless the story is some sort of interview, avoid 2nd person. Don't talk to the reader because it breaks the plane. Stick to 1st and 3rd person.

7) Leading the reader with questions. We see this problem a lot with submissions too. The character will think a series of questions out loud to lead the story--and the reader--down a certain path. It's not necessary, and it's distracting. The reader doesn't want to be told what to think. Let us ask our own questions. If your character poses a question to him/herself, make sure it's necessary. Make sure you can't convey this information in a more creative and impactful way. 

8) Pacing. This one is always tricky, but you should be aware of the pacing for your genre. For example, young adult and middle grade novels need to grab the attention of the reader right away while adult novels can spend a little more time in development. Remember to keep a consistent pace too. Move the story along. Don't spend precious word count on unnecessary things (backstory, info dumps, repetition) that stilts the flow of the story. Action moments should be tense, short, and exciting. Dragging them out bleeds the tension away. One of the best ways to understand pacing is to read books from your genre. Note the amount of time spent on certain things and how quickly or slowly the majority of books in that genre introduce information. 

9) World building. If you're introducing any world that's not this world, it will require some suave writing to help the reader understand it. You can't resort to backstory, so you have to use the character's experiences and situations (without resorting to unnatural character thought patterns) to show it to the reader. It's a tall order, I know, but such a necessary balance to achieve. Readers can't be reading along thinking they're in this world and then have a demon pop out to eat someone. It's jarring and unexpected because they didn't even know it was a paranormal world. At the same time, you can't spend pages on a history lesson or explaining all the rules of the world either. It's a very delicate balance. 

10) Dialogue tags. There is a debate on this one, whether you should use dialogue tags or character action to indicate the speaker, but I think the consensus, regardless of your stance, is that writers should not overuse dialogue tags. There must be action sprinkled in to give the reader a sense of the characters and their reactions to what's being said. We don't talk in a vacuum. We react to what people say, and we're animated when we speak. I definitely recommend using The Emotion Thesaurus to help show character speech and feelings through action rather than dialogue tags. 

There is a big difference in these two conversations:

Convo 1: 

"I really hate when she does that," Jill said, emphatically. (using adverbs here to explain the speech--also bad, bad, bad)

"I know," Martha said. "She's so mean."

Convo 2:

Jill slammed her hand down on the table. "I really hate when she does that."

"I know." Martha touched the base of her throat as she gulped. "She's so mean. 

I hope you find these tips helpful! By no means do I know everything there is to know about writing, no one does. But I've been so fortunate to have wonderful editors and critique partners guide me along the path, and I wanted to share what I've learned with you! Happy writing!