Asking the question ‘am I good enough?’ That’s a good sign

Something that pops up a lot on writing blogs is the question - ‘how do I know I’m good enough to make it?’ It’s often accompanied by ‘I don’t want to be like THOSE people on Idol.’ You know the ones – who are so utterly terrible at singing that you wonder why their families didn’t tell them. How could they be convinced their good? What if I’m as blind about my conviction that I can make it as a writer?

I’ve come to the conclusion that if you’re asking the question, you’re not one of THOSE people. In 1999, David Dunning and Justin Kruger published a paper which showed that incompetent people really have no clue as to how incompetent they are (it was being splashed around the internet a month or so ago – you might have seen it).

The Dunning-Kruger effect showed that people who do things badly generally have no idea how bad at something they are and in fact are often more confident of their abilities than the people who do things well. The researchers believe that a certain level of competence is required before you’re able to actually recognise and judge competence. If you don’t develop that competence, you’ll never know that you’re crap.

Therefore, if you’re wondering if you are competent – you’re already on your way. You’ve gained enough ability to recognise what’s required and judge yourself against it. Incompetent people can’t do that.

Let’s use Idol as a comparison – I think if you’re asking the question about whether you’re good enough, whether you’ll make it, then already you’re NOT one of the truly-cringe worthy ones. Writers who are operating at that level don’t question. They’re sooooo sure that they’re brilliant, they’re incapable of judging themselves or others. It’s possible those writers (and those singers) have been told that they just aren’t that good, but they wave those comments away. ‘People don’t understand’, they say. ‘They can’t see my genius.’

Instead, questioners, think of yourselves as the singers who get the good comment from at least one of the judges. There is something there.

As to whether you’ll make it – ah, that’s another question. Only time will tell, and how much time you give it is up to you. If you’re happy to spend the rest of your life trying and trying, then go for it. I gave myself a time limit – I was going to make novels my priority for two years and if at the end of those two years I hadn’t improved as a novellist, then it was doubtful I ever would  and I’d let go the publishing dream. How long you’re prepared to keep working on it, striving for your dream, is a choice that you need to make.

Something you might consider – what ‘make it’ means. In the music biz we tend to focus on the people at the top, the one’s who release albums and hit the charts and get played on radio. But they’re only a proportion of the people who make a living from making music. Think for example of backing vocalists. Session musicians. Writers. Producers. What about the folks whose career is on the cruise ships? People that run karaoke?

In writing, the focus tends to be on ‘the novel’, but even that doesn’t guarantee you a career. Perhaps your future lies in journalism, technical writing, teaching, editing, publishing?

So keep asking the questions. Keep learning and developing. The more you know, the better you can judge your ability and the more accurate will be your decision of what you want to achieve and what you’ll do to achieve it.

Other blog posts

I’ve been posting blogs to other places over the past month, some of which you might wanna read. So here’s a lowdown on some of my thoughts.

Supernatural Underground

At this truly fabulous blog, featuring some of the best paranormal romance and urban fantasy writers on the planet (all published by HarperCollins), I have a monthly blog and here’s the first two.

Lessons learned from characters

Girl Power

At the Ripping Ozzie Reads blog (hosted by the ROR writing group) I blogged about the power of the dream.

At the revamped Galaxy books blog, I talked about the realisation of having people read my books.

At the Voyager Blog, there’s been a couple posts (including one about why we buy books that caused a lot of discussion and gave me a fan girl moment when Sara Douglass responded).

What makes you buy a book

Why attend conventions

The lastest post is at the Australian Romance Readers Association blog, where I talk about how I fell in love with Romance

Then there’s a couple of interviews – Specusphere and A Writer Goes On A Journey.

Finally, I scored a mention in the Penrith Star – Penrith is where I was born, you know.

So there you go – now you can overdose on me :)

The bookcrossing experiment

Authors are always looking for new ways to get their books out and about. My lastest idea is to try Bookcrossing.

Bookcrossing is a system where books are ‘released into the wild’ aka left in public places for people to pick up. People will then (hopefully) log onto the website at www.bookcrossing.com, state where they picked it up and what they thought of it, before re-releasing it again.

The idea is that the book will pass through many, many hands. Most books don’t – one never knows if  they will be picked up and read and kept, or whether they will be tossed straight in the bin by cleaners and never read.

The fantabulous marketing and publicity folk at HarperCollins were more than happy to come to the party on this, and gave me six books to use. I got a range of people around the country to agree to deliver a book somewhere in their city. So in the next couple of weeks, copies of Secret Ones will be appearing someone in Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane and Darwin. I left a copy in Garema Place, Civic last Friday night. No sign of it on the website yet, but maybe someone hasn’t read it yet :)

I hope that at least one copy goes on a fun journey around the place and we get lots of reports. It would be wonderful if more than one does.

If you want to keep track of it yourself, go to www.bookcrossing.com and search for Secret Ones.

Some might say that giving away free books defeats the purpose of publication – why would people buy the book? The thing is, the biggest marketing tool there is in the world of publishing is word-of-mouth. The six people who first pick up the book may well read it and not pass it on, but if they each tell a couple of friends and those friends go and buy the book and they enjoy it and tell more friends…

If they do pass the book on, then tell friends about this cool book (or even go buy a copy themselves) then we get those sales, and the next person to do it might do the same.

Regardless, these books are part of the marketing/publicity budget for the book and don’t count against my sales, so they might as well get out of the storeroom at HC office and into the world for people to enjoy.

Author, promote thyself.

Had a wonderful day yesterday, going around some of the Canberra bookstores with the local HarperCollins rep. Met the store owners/managers, chatted to some of the staff, signed some of the stock.

It was fascinating to see the various approaches that retail chains take in regards how much say people have about the stock they carry. Was yet again a reminder of how little control I have over what happens to the book now and how I’m relying on other people to sell it for me.

At most places, I signed a lot of books (two hadn’t got any stock in yet – that was another surprise, that this month’s books don’t automatically make it into stores at that point in time). Borders was the biggest – in fact, I’ve got a whole end shelf to myself (go the fantasy/sci fi section, facing non-fiction and there it is) with a great review from one of the staff. I had a fabulous chat with her – the first real ‘so, tell me what’s going to happen, no no don’t I don’t want to know, I want to wait and enjoy reading it’ fan chat, which was lovely.

There was lots of chatter about author promotion and bookselling because fellow Voyager author Duncan Lay had been through just over a week earlier. Duncan is extremely proactive and hands-on when he’s in a bookstore and selling his books – as evidenced by the fact that he’s hand-sold more than 800 books on his tour this month (and it’s not over yet). He’s got a real knack for it, something I’m quite sure I couldn’t do.

The rep and I started chatting about promotion, and we both agreed that it’s important that authors not do things just because it’s expected. If you aren’t into what  you’re doing, the potential-reader will see that and your efforts will probably hurt rather than help you.

Certainly, I think you should push the boundaries so you’ll grow. Going out and talking to complete strangers (even people I don’t know that well) like I did yesterday is something that I’m not all that comfortable with, but it’s worth doing. The more I do it, the better I’ll get.

Networking at Worldcon will also be something that tests me – a reason I’m going to the smaller New Zealand Natcon first. I’ve never gone to a con knowing I have to sell myself, so I thought I should try it out first.

There again, blogging is something I’m reasonable comfortable with. Twitter - I’m definitely there. Facebook I’m slowly getting into. Don’t have an issue on convention panels, and am working on becoming a good workshop giver. Don’t mind being interviewed.

If I was more artistic, I’d probably get into other ways of sharing the message, such as book trailers, or artist cards, or bookmarks, or book plates.

So I’m working out the things I’m good at, the ways in which I can connect with people that are honest and will allow me to really show my joy over the books and sell me and them. I won’t stress over the things that I’ll never feel comfortable doing, because there’s no point in doing them. Hopefully all up, I’ll come to a place where I’m being authentic and readers will appreciate that and thus think better of me and my books.

And biggest hope of all – all that will translate into book sales.

Itsy-bitsy road trip

Went for one of my drives yesterday. Didn’t go too far or for too long – hubby is at home so didn’t want to spend too long away. My destination was Googong Dam, the youngest and largest of the catchment dams in the Canberra/Queanbeyan water system (for those who are interested, more info http://www.actewagl.com.au/water/catchment/default.aspx)

I used to be quite knowledgeable about the dam system here – I was the main water use reporter at the Chronicle. There’s been some interesting stuff being proposed around here – at one point the ACT Government wanted to go with recycled water and had the system designed (I believe this is still on the backburner). At the moment, they’re enlarging the Cotter Dam to double it’s size (Cotter is by far the smallest of the dams, so we’re not talking a huge increase in the water supply). When I left, the major issue for Queanbeyan (who technically buys its water from the ACT) was that the ACT Government had just started two new infrastructure levys, which Queanbeyan Council were refusing to pay because a) we’re in NSW, so why pay an ACT tax? and b) we didn’t use that much of the infrastructure. Last I heard the court case was in the Federal Court – must find out where that went to.*

Anyhoo, Googong is, as I said, the largest dam in the catchment. It’s about eight ks south of where I live, and was built in the late 70s. Apart from creating a (when full) 121 gigilitre lake (compared to Sydney Harbour, which all water courses are, it’s a tad over a fifth the size), the dam also stopped the regular flooding of Queanbeyan (which was at times disastrous – the worst being the year the cemetary was washed away and coffins ended up bobbing in Lake Burley Griffin – one of my favourite stories ever!).

This is Googong Dam -

This is the lake at the moment (it’s about half full) -

Googong Foreshores is run by the ACT Parks and Wildlife Service. You can go on a few walks, which are quite nice, or have a barbecue or picnic. You can go out on the lake (although not in boats with any sort of petrol prepulsion ). There is a swimming hole, but it’s closed at the moment cause they’re working on the spillway.

I went for a walk, and it was very pleasant. As you can see from the photos, it was one of those glorious Canberra winter afternoons where the sun shines, there’s no wind and you can break into a sweat and strip down to a tshirt if you try hard enough (I almost got there but didn’t want to carry my jumper).

At the moment, there’s quite a few islands in the middle of the lake – I’d love to see it again when almost full to ascertain how many get covered up (although I think it’s likely I’ll never see the lake full in my lifetime).

So if you’re looking for something to do on a beautiful winter afternoon in Canberra, I can recommend grabbing your camera, something picknicky and heading out to Googong.

On the way home, I stopped and took a pic of the massive quarry just over the other side of the hill from my place. Why? Cause I could.

* Latest on the court case – as of June 1, still ongoing. The Federal Court upheld Queanbeyan’s position on one levy, dismissed on the other. Both Queanbeyan and the ACT Government are counter-appealing.

Some footage of the launch of Secret Ones

I’m going to get the whole video up online (one day, but it’s long so it’s taking time). Meanwhile, here’s the short version:

Still learning…

Some people might consider that achieving the holy grail of a publishing contract means that you know everything. You’ve got the craft of writing mastered. Well, that’s not true. Sure, you’re at a point where what you’re writing is good, but there’s still loads of things to learn, skills to be polished, ambitious ideas around the corner.

Sometimes, the things you have to work on are quite obvious to you. For example, I know that plotting is a weakness, but each book I write it’s getting better and better and I’m learning the things I need to do to fix problems when they arise.

Othertimes, you realise you’re doing things wrong too late in the piece and you just have to swear to fix them next time. To whit – I’ve realised, after some reviews and a bit of thinking, that my pov characters are getting away with things a bit too easily.

Around them, people are getting horribly injured, terribly sick, even dying. But the guys and girls I’m writing about – not even a scratch. Now, the fact that these are romances means I can’t go too far down the maiming them trap – romances mean that the pov characters come through scrapes relatively easily cause they’ve got the whole falling-in-love, living-happily-ever-after thing to accomplish by the end of the book. However, I can kinda make my guys pay a bit more for what they’re doing.

Problem with that – I set up in book one that it’s damn easy for them to heal themselves. I read the line where I did it at the launch and cringed as I realised how stupid I’d been. Despite that, I think I need to find a way to make them feel the bumps and bruises more.

There’s a couple of places in book two I can add a few lines – hopefully I can do so at the proof stage without upsetting the pagination (and having to pay a fee). However, I’ve got the perfect solution for book three. Once again, it’s one of those natural things that I’ve built into the world and the storyline that when you take it to it’s conclusion, provides you with the answer you need.

Hopefully by the end of the book three, I’ll have hammered into my skull that my pov characters have to face physical and emotional consequences of their actions, just like everyone around them.

Fave reads of 2010 – so far

I’ve been on quite a streak for 2010 – only five of the 38 books read from Jan 1 to June 30 scored five or less, and 13 scored nine or more.

The first half of the year was all about Sookie Stackhouse and it seems the second half of 2010 will be all about Joanna Archer from Vicki Pettersson’s Zodiac series.

Discounting Sookie (which I’ve spoken about before), here are some of my fave reads so far.

A Tour Guide in Utopia by Lucy Sussex – I loved the really interesting concepts that were dealt with in such an accessible and easy to read style. Sussex had a fabulous grasp of language and a conviction she doesn’t need to show that off, so the right word is chosen every time and if that’s a simple word, she doesn’t run from it. Fabulous.

Scary Kisses, edited by Liz Grzyb – as I said earlier, this is one of the most balanced and complete anthologies I’ve ever read, with some absolutely cracker stories.

Mao’s Last Dancer by Li Cunxin – this was a Christmas present from the in-laws and a wonderful read. Inspiring in terms of the commitment to his art and his determination to dance his way.

Power and Majesty by Tansy Rayner Roberts – the more I think about this book, the more I love it. It’s just so bloody clever, the characterisations wonderful and the ending has me hooked. Mad I have to wait until January for more.

Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane – the first book in a new trilogy. Chess Putnam isn’t your usual heroic protagonist and that’s a good thing. What Chess is going through is very real, and there’s nothing like a bit of internal conflict to deal with along with the world going to pot around you. Next book in trilogy is already out – must get my hands on it.

Scent of Shadows by Vicki Pettersson – this is the first book of the Zodiac series (at the moment, there’s five of them). The whole premise of this is fantastic – using the zodiac to make up superheroes, having their shadow counterparts, and having the whole thing recorded in comics that anyone can read. There’s some really clever stuff here, great characters and it made me break my self-imposed ‘no books until the cons’ rule to get the rest of them.

This is also proving to be the year for urban fantasy and paranormal romance, which I’m loving, although I’m trying to interlay that with other sorts of books. At the moment, thought, my brain is wired to love me some modern fantasy with mystery, intrigue, danger and romance.

Perhaps cause that’s what I’m writing. :)

Back to work

So having spent the weekend celebrating the achievement that is Secret Ones, it’s time to return to the last book of the trilogy – Rogue Gadda.

So as I mentioned on June 20, I’d realised that a plot point I was using in Rogue Gadda is also in Secret Ones, and therefore I needed to come up with a new idea. I came up with that idea, but then copyedits for Power Unbound intervened and I had to put RG aside.

That turned out to be a good thing, because in the process of doing the edits for PU, one of the characters took it upon herself to whisper in my ear what she was really up to. I’d thought I knew but I had no idea.

This entails a major change to RG, and what’s more the changes start far sooner in the book than I’d realised. So it seems I’m now about to start a major re-write of the last half of the book (and therefore the end of the trilogy).

I’m going to take advantage of this to do some awful things. One piece of feedback I’ve received is that the characters get out of things too easily. Well, not this time, my friends. They are going to SUFFER.

I’ve got until August 9 to have this done – five weeks. So, let’s get to work.

Secret Ones is launched

Unfortunately, I don’t have any pics or footage yet, but I’ll do up a special page of images and that later.

For now, here are my thoughts on the afternoon/evening – Firstly, I looked FABULOUS! My hair was terrific, the dress diabolical in a way only those of us who are well-endowed can manage and overall, was pretty fantastic. I was doing fine nerves-wise until we were in the car, on the way to the bookstore and it all started to hit. Luckily, the wine was already out when we got there, so I grabbed myself a glass.

The crowd was huge – I think I had RSVPs from around sixty people. I tried to make my way around to speak to everyone, but I’m sure I missed people. If I did, I’m sorry. It was particularly pleasing to see so many members of my family there, who are all so insanely proud of me. The best moment – my brother telling me he’d read the book the day before and loved it. He’s very picky about what he reads, so for him to get so into a book means in his mind it’s really something.

Donna and Maxine did a wonderful job of the speeches. Poor Donna’s been so busy lately, it was wonderful for her to do what she did. Maxine gave this fabulous speech which would have brought tears to my eyes if it wasn’t also funny. Another favourite moment – Maxine so in love with one of the characters that she wants to read his story early.

Then I spoke and I read part of the book out – it’s so sad when you start reading  your own book and you find all these terrible sentences, and uses of the wrong word. Must do better with remaining two books.

Then the signing. The line was long, and my author signature is still a work in progress, and I was so happy and a little giddy that some signatures were extremely weird. Hold onto them folks – they may be worth something one day.

We sold between 55-60 books, which I was really happy with.

Then close friends and family headed back to our place, and the party continued until after midnight. Again, I tried to get around to as many people as I could, and spend time with them, but it was still quite a crush so if someone missed out, again my apologies.

Page 310 has become infamous. Much was made of the sex scenes, and there’s been some interesting moments already. Such as when my cousin found her thirteen-year-old daughter (and one of my god-daughters) had read the book. Sarah says she realised there were certain pages she didn’t want to read and she skipped them, just reading the last sentence until it was safe to read the whole page again. We’re wondering how accurate that is …

Anyway, someone flicked open the book to page 310 and read the first sentence, which features the word ‘clitoris’. I’m not sure how many people made it past that sentence, but it became the catch-phrase of the night – page 310.

If they’re freaked by that, wait until they read the next two books :)

It was a wonderful celebration and marked both the beginning and the end of my real involvement with Secret Ones. Sure, I have promotional stuff to do but the book it out there, it’s launched, and really the main thing is hoping that I’ve written a good enough story to catch people and get them telling others to buy the book.

Signs so far are good on that front.