Winning the Marathon: 90 Minutes at a Time

This is a marathon, not a race.  A simple enough phrase, and one that has become my personal mantra over the past few months.  For most of us, there are a lot of things in life that compete for our time and attention (i.e. take away from writing): work; family life; friends; food; drink; and other daily necessities (read hygiene related). Few writers are able to give up their day job to pay the bills while they continue to write.  No writer should give up on any of the remaining items on the above list (especially hygiene, please).  In April, I blogged about dealing with writer's block and distractions and the need to be selfish when it comes to writing.  I still stand behind that statement, though with the following observations.

Spending, or trying to spend, the entire day writing will often prove fruitless and wasteful.  First, people generally begin to lose focus after the first 45 minutes.  By the time you get to the 90 minute mark, most people will have lost complete focus.  Don't believe me?  Think about the last time you were at "the job" this past week.  Did you notice how you started thinking about lunch around 10:30 a.m. (and already start trying to make your lunch plans)?  Did you end up taking a break to get coffee, water or chat with another coworker around the 9-9:30 a.m. mark?  Each off those are examples of signs that we've lost focus after having been working on a task for for to long.  The point is, people need to take breaks.  Its the same for writers.  

Whether you are writing the first draft of your manuscript, polishing a subsequent draft, or finalizing your formatting for publication, it's important to pace yourself.  None of the above are moments when you would want to lose your focus.  When I started working in increments of 90 minutes or less, my productivity went up and I was making a great more progress in terms of writing.  I also felt far more satisfied when I stepped back from the laptop after those 90 minutes were over.  If anything, I was excited about getting back to writing and picking up where I had left off.  There were other, equally important benefits to writing this way.

I started using the above technique while on a vacation with my family to St. Augustine, Florida.  We'd go on tours and site seeing during the day, and come back to the house we rented for meals or when it just got too hot.  While the wife and kids were cooling off or otherwise occupied, I'd take 60 to 90 minutes to write.  Afterwards, we were back out and enjoying the city.  As I'm a bit of a night owl, after everyone went to bed for the evening, I'd put in another 90 minutes.  After our week long vacation was over, I had substantially completed the first draft for "Of Murder and Monsters."  I continued writing in this manner and went through two more drafts of the book before having the finalized version that was just recently sent off for copy editing.  Prior to taking the 90 minutes or less approach, the "Of Murder and Monsters" manuscript had been languishing for two years.  After I switched gears on my approach to writing, the first draft of the manuscript was completely finished in six months.  Following the same method, the final version of the book was ready for copy editing about five months later (including time allotted to allow for feedback from my beta readers).  

The other significant advantage to this approach is that while it allows me to selfishly carve out some writing time, I can do so without sacrificing my marriage, job, or time with the kids.  You have to be selfish if you're going to finish your book; however, that does not mean that you have to lose all of the important people in your life in the process.  They'll support you, but you have to support them too and that means actually taking some time away from the writing (for a bit).  Otherwise, who will be there standing beside you should your work become the next bestseller?  

This may not be a "one size fits all solution," there rarely is one answer to any particular problem.  Some writers will find that they do better burning the midnight hour and others get more out of shorter blocks of time.  Feel free to share your experience, in the comments section, in terms of what has worked best for you.

Formatting an eBook: The Value and Vulnerability of DIY

I took a short, but necessary break from the blog to begin formatting my book for publication as an ebook.  What was supposed to just be a weekend long break ended up with me sick and feeling rundown by Sunday.  It probably has something to do with the early mornings and late nights I spent working out all of the kinks for formatting the book.  Probably. Even so, I can't admit that my wife is right and that I've worked myself into the ground.  Again.  Note: as you read this post, I am probably sleeping on the couch tonight.  I'll likely delude myself into believing that I'm sacrificing for the sake of my craft. I can live with that.

What I can't live with is mediocrity.  No one should.  This is especially true when it comes to publishing one's own book.  Whether you view your carefully crafted manuscript as your child or just another beloved possession, at the end of the day it's something you created after a lot of hard work.  Regardless, there's still plenty of hard work ahead of you in order to put your story in front of your readers.  If you're planning to publish your book for a digital audience, that means your manuscript is going to have to be formatted.  There are two trains of thought when it comes to formatting: do it yourself (DIY), or pay someone else (i.e. a professional) to do it for you.

The value behind anything that's a DIY is threefold: the internal satisfaction of having accomplished something yourself; the new skill sets and/or knowledge you inevitably acquire (usually from making mistakes); and the potential savings in terms of costs and/or labor.  Fixing or building something yourself is a rewarding experience in itself and, let's face it, tends to instill a sense of pride in one's work.  Think about anytime you've built that deck addition to your back porch, sewed a costume for Halloween, or were able to make a major repair to something in the house.  You may have hated it while you were in the thick of the project, yet felt great about having accomplished it in the end.  It's the same thing with formatting an ebook.  It's not fun, it can be very frustrating, but looking at that first "preview" of the formatted text feels amazing.

Another thing to keep in mind if you decide to go DIY with ebook formatting is that you will learn a lot about the process.  For some folks, especially those with a background in HTML coding, the process will likely come a bit more easily than those of us (read: me) who've barely got a rudimentary background in coding.  Fortunately and unfortunately, there's a wealth of information online about how to format an ebook for the various platforms (i.e. Kindle and non-Kindle) for those writing their manuscript in Word.  For example, just about every blog and resource out there drives home the message that extra "hard returns" and failing to use page breaks will play havoc with the formatting.  However, when it comes to figuring out how to properly format the indentation for the first line of a new paragraphs, things can get very confusing very fast.  After following a few online blogs on the subject, I thought everything was formatted perfectly: wrong.  My first line (left side) indents were running into the middle of the page when I checked the formatted manuscript through the previewer.  After some trial and error, I realized the following: highlight the text you're currently working with; select "Normal" for styles to strip all of the extra formatting in Word; right click and select "Paragraph"; leave the alignment to "left"; under "indentation," leave left and right at zero, under "special" select "first line."  At this point you'll want to play around with the numbers: generally something between .3 and .4 seem to work fine.   If you add numbers to the "left" field immediately underneath "indentation," your indents will run halfway across the page.

By formatting your ebook yourself, you will likely save yourself several hundred dollars.  Formatting ebooks for indie authors has become a thriving business over the years and there are several great companies out there.  Most of the companies do a good job of giving you an upfront idea of how much formatting will cost.  If you're running on a small budget or none at all, professional ebook formatting might not be an option.  This means, then, that you'll have to be committed to learning the ins and outs of formatting and put in the time and effort to ensure your book is properly formatted.  If you're on a limited budget, you'll have to make the call: spend the money on copy editing or formatting?

The question is, then, what is the real benefit to using a professional formatting service?  Arguably it gives you peace of mind in knowing that the job was done right.  My wife would probably argue that it: would have freed up my Saturday and Sunday; kept me from getting sick; guaranteed that I would have had more posts on the blog; started working on the framework to the sequel for "Of Murder and Monsters," and taken her out to dinner.  She's probably right.  The fact that she says this all with a wink and a smile is reassurance enough that she gets what I'm trying to do.  Prior to trying to tacking the formatting myself, going with a professional formatting service seemed like the only way to go.  Now I realize that it's an option that is available, which means I get to make the choice on which way to go with a particular project.  Maybe next time I'm under a serious time crunch and just can't put in the time to format the next book myself.  Then a professional service would absolutely make sense.  Otherwise, if you've got the time and feel comfortable enough to hold back publishing until you're convinced you've formatted your book properly, the DIY route can be a rewarding project.  

Beta Readers: Why You Need Them More Than They Need You

I am not perfect: never have been and I never will be.  The fact that I couldn't figure out how to avoid ending that first sentence with a preposition likely proves my point.  Sure, I could likely spend five to ten minutes rewriting the sentence to fix it; however, I like the way it reads and I believe that it fully captures my point in a succinct way.  The question is, will that first sentence feel like a bur in the reader's shoe (i.e. sure they can keep reading along, but is that phrase an annoying distraction)?  That's where beta readers come in handy.

Just about everyone has a good grasp of grammar and punctuation to the point where they can catch a quarter to half of the mistakes made in a first draft.  Likewise, the average reader knows dialogue that works, and doesn't, when they see it.  Most readers pick up on continuity issues and can spot plot holes like the old gumshoe detectives from the 1910's.  Readers are good at spotting things that we writers miss.  Sometimes this is wonderfully beneficial, like when they find a deeper significance or theme in a story arc or character development.  Other times, they catch our spelling errors or gaping flaws in the plot.  Catching these issues before publication can mean the difference between the success or failure of your book.  This is especially true for self-publishing (or "indie") writers.  While the initial stigma of self-publishing is falling by the wayside, an error ridden book comes across as unpolished, unprofessional, and ultimately unmarketable.  Authors already working with a publisher won't encounter this issue, as their publisher will use a copy editor (and foot the bill for the proofing).

Beta readers can help you find the flaws and show you where you may need to polish your writing.  This may mean tightening up a dialogue scene, or cutting out exposition that doesn't drive the story forward, or adding elements that strengthen some of the plot hooks.  One of the first critiques I got from my beta readers was that the book's original title had to go.  As it was a working title at the time, I happily chucked it aside.  Unfortunately, the second title didn't work either.  Eventually, "Of Murder and Monsters" struck me like a rubber mallet to the back of the head.  More importantly, the beta readers fell in love with it as well.  With all that being said, unless your beta readers are English majors/teachers, you'll still want to consider having your manuscript professionally copy edited or proof read.

Where do you find beta readers and who are mine?  First of all, my wife is one of my beta readers.  Aside from being able to give me helpful constructive feedback, she's not a fan of the genres in which I write.  This is helpful because if your reader is not a fan, yet still likes the material, it's a decent indicator that you may be on the right track.  Another beta reader that I've used is a fellow author who writes in similar genres.  Having another writer as a beta reader is also helpful because they bring a different perspective to the equation.  A fellow author as a beta reader will likely go the extra mile and offer suggestions to help you fix the flaws and refine the better aspects of your book.  And that's what writers need, more than anything else, from their beta readers: feed back.  While anyone can be a beta reader, you'll want to use people who you trust to: actually read your manuscript in a timely manner; not steal your work; not share your work without permission; and provide you with meaningful, constructive feedback.  The best beta readers are the ones who'll write down their feedback and provide you with a short summary that covers their thoughts on: the title; main characters; character development; dialogue; plot development; and continuity issues.

Thank you to all of the folks who were kind enough to be my beta readers for "Of Murder and Monsters."  I especially want to thank my wife for being brutally honest about what worked and didn't, as well as for her unwavering patience and support.

Excerpt from Chapter Four

As promised in my Facebook post over the weekend, I'm uploading another free excerpt from "Of Murder and Monsters."  This one is part of a scene from Chapter Four.  It highlights that, sometimes, having a good day in court is just a matter of good luck and good timing.  Likewise, knowing when to just shut up and let the judge speak is an invaluable tool of the trade.  I hope you enjoy.  

***

“Thank you for deciding to join us today, Mr. Valdez.”  Judge Sarah Andolette chimed as I hustled into the courtroom the next morning.  I braced myself for a withering follow up, given that I was twenty minutes late for court.  Judge Andolette was in her late fifties, yet she still dyed her hair to match the same strawberry blonde in the photos of when she first took the bench over twenty years ago.  She was far from slender, despite the appearance that her black robes implied.  The woman had become a fixture of the Osceola County court system and no one ever dared run against her. 

     “Your counterpart at the State Attorney’s office decided to call in sick today, apparently. She seemed fine during her hour and a half long closing argument at yesterday’s trial.”  Judge Andolette’s smile was anything but pleasant. 

     “I’m sorry for being late, your Honor.”  I apologized, trying to make my way to counsel table.  Several private attorneys were already sitting there and the seats behind counsel table on the defense side of the courtroom were likewise taken. 

     “Don’t apologize to me, Mr. Valdez.  Apologize to your client for making him have to wait so long for you.  I told him he had to wait for his lawyer to show up before I addressed his case.”  The judge continued. 

     “Judge?”  I stopped looking for a place to put down my files and looked over at Judge Andolette in confusion.  Of course my client had to wait for me.  Looks like a back to back trial week for me.

     “Because I’m ready to dismiss the case…”  The judge said as she learned back in her chair. 

     “Um, your Honor.  The State would ask that you just reset this case, as I’m sure that Miss…”  The lead prosecutor for our courtroom, Alfred Bell, spoke up hesitantly at first.

     “Isn’t here and doesn’t appear to be ready to go forward.”  Judge Andolette said politely, yet pointedly.

      “Yes, but as I mentioned, all we know is that she’s out sick and…”  Alfred stammered less as he started to gear up for a fight with the judge.  “…there are other cases, older cases, that either could be tried in a day or should take priority anyway.” 

     “I see.”  Judge Andolette looked down and ran her index finger over the side of her lip.  “And you’d like to get to those cases today, correct, Mr. Bell?”

     “Yes, your Honor.”  Alfred glanced over at me when he thought the Judge wasn’t looking at him.  I could not help but simmer at his smug, scrunched up little smile.

     “Fair enough, Mr. Bell.  Mr. Valdez, has Speedy Trial ever been waived in this case?”  The judge asked, turning to look at me.

     “No, ma’am.”  I replied.  “In fact, it already expired.”  I perked up, realizing that with everything else going on, I had almost forgotten that one of my trials had a Speedy Trial issue. 

     “The State is entitled to the recapture period, judge.  We get fifteen days to…”  Alfred spoke up, looking back over at me again.  I could see in his eyes that he still was playing catch up to what was unfolding in front of him.  I smiled back at Alfred and winked.

     “The State is correct, your Honor.  But the Defense would like to point out that we already had the hearing on my Notice of Expiration of Speedy trial…about two weeks ago, as a matter of fact.  So, I believe that today’s the last day of the recapture period.”  I said, walking to the podium since the judge was clearly addressing my case.

     “I see.  And are you ready for trial, Mr. Valdez?”  Judge Andolette asked.

     “Yes, your Honor.  The Defense is ready.”  I replied, forcing the smile off of my face. 

     “State ready?”  The judge turned over to Alfred. 

     “Judge, this isn’t my case…Miss…”  Alfred began to stammer again.

     “Isn’t here and seemed perfectly healthy all day yesterday.  Defense announced ready for trial, so are you ready to try this case?”  The judge leaned forward in her chair and stared down at Alfred. 

     He turned to the other two prosecutors, who were typing away on keyboards and going back and forth between their screens.

     “State?”  Judge Andolette barked after waiting for almost half a minute.

     “Judge, if the Court intends to call up this case, we can be ready to pick a jury after lunch?”  One of the other prosecutors, Nelson Brown, announced.

     “Thank you, Mr. Brown; however, I’m ready to call up a jury now.  Are any of you ready to try this case in Ms. Murray’s place?”  The judge asked incredulously.  There comes a point in every lawyer’s career, I believe, where you learn to just shut up and let the judge speak.  At this point, I resisted the urge to say something and decided to let the prosecutors keep burying their own cause and case.