Jon Lymon's Blog - Posts Tagged "novel"
I Am Deluded
Really, I am. I thought the first novel I wrote was incredible. Groundbreaking. A surefire success. Bound to get critics salivating, demanding more.
Never happened.
Ten years later I ploughed into my second. Ten drafts I wrote. A brilliant concept, I thought. Streets ahead of the first. Only a matter of time before an agent or publisher picks it up.
Never happened.
Then I spent a year learning story theory. McKee first. Then Truby. The brilliant Truby.
And I re-read my first two books.
They were [swearwords omitted].
I could see what I’d previously been blind to. Sure, the writing was good and there were few errors. But they were structurally naïve. They weren’t stories that gripped. The characters weren’t the kind you rooted for.
Upon realising my first novel was beyond salvation, I rewrote my second, with the benefit of my newfound knowledge.
Five more drafts. Another year’s work.
And I’m currently wallowing in the delusion that it’s streets ahead of the previous drafts. Only a matter of time before an agent or publisher picks it up…
Never happened.
Ten years later I ploughed into my second. Ten drafts I wrote. A brilliant concept, I thought. Streets ahead of the first. Only a matter of time before an agent or publisher picks it up.
Never happened.
Then I spent a year learning story theory. McKee first. Then Truby. The brilliant Truby.
And I re-read my first two books.
They were [swearwords omitted].
I could see what I’d previously been blind to. Sure, the writing was good and there were few errors. But they were structurally naïve. They weren’t stories that gripped. The characters weren’t the kind you rooted for.
Upon realising my first novel was beyond salvation, I rewrote my second, with the benefit of my newfound knowledge.
Five more drafts. Another year’s work.
And I’m currently wallowing in the delusion that it’s streets ahead of the previous drafts. Only a matter of time before an agent or publisher picks it up…
When a reader wants their money back
A paper cut to that flap of skin between thumb and forefinger. An errant hair plucked from your nostril. A blunt stake driven through your heart. None is as painful as checking your KDP reports and finding someone who bought your book has asked for a refund.
The first time it happened to me was for a book that was free. Yes, someone had downloaded a non-fiction book. by me, for free, and disliked it so much, they demanded a refund of all the money they hadn’t spent on it. That is dislike, writ large.
The second refund happened just last week, hours after the purchase, it seems.
Why, why, why? are the thoughts that run through your mind. They hated it and hate me. They think I can’t write or my plotting’s crap, my characters cardboard and they’re going to tell everyone they know not to touch my stuff.
After this vicious paranoia came a spell where I tried to reassure myself. They only had the book a few hours, maybe they downloaded it by mistake, they were looking for a similar title and got it all wrong. Fair enough, no problem.
Then the paranoia returned. They read the first chapter and laughingly threw the book aside. (Bit difficult, when it’s digital, but that sort of thing) They disliked it so much, they couldn’t get their money back quickly enough.
That attack eventually died down, and now I’ve come to accept that I’ll never know who downloaded it and why they asked for a refund. It’s just part of the process. But I’ll be waiting for that paranoia to return when the next refund gets processed…
How do you handle your book getting refunded?
The first time it happened to me was for a book that was free. Yes, someone had downloaded a non-fiction book. by me, for free, and disliked it so much, they demanded a refund of all the money they hadn’t spent on it. That is dislike, writ large.
The second refund happened just last week, hours after the purchase, it seems.
Why, why, why? are the thoughts that run through your mind. They hated it and hate me. They think I can’t write or my plotting’s crap, my characters cardboard and they’re going to tell everyone they know not to touch my stuff.
After this vicious paranoia came a spell where I tried to reassure myself. They only had the book a few hours, maybe they downloaded it by mistake, they were looking for a similar title and got it all wrong. Fair enough, no problem.
Then the paranoia returned. They read the first chapter and laughingly threw the book aside. (Bit difficult, when it’s digital, but that sort of thing) They disliked it so much, they couldn’t get their money back quickly enough.
That attack eventually died down, and now I’ve come to accept that I’ll never know who downloaded it and why they asked for a refund. It’s just part of the process. But I’ll be waiting for that paranoia to return when the next refund gets processed…
How do you handle your book getting refunded?
Changing The Title Of Your Novel
Michael Caine. Cliff Richard. That other fella. They've all changed their names and found success. So why not a book, I ask you?
It can't be a good idea, can it? Not a year after its release. In fact, it's so far from being a good idea that I can barely see it from where I'm standing here on the shoreline of Good Idea Land.
And yet I'm seriously considering doing it.
The novel in question is my debut, The Money Star.
Sales are sluggier than a sluggish slug, and although that's not all down to the title I suspect (I was naive back then, and wrote the thing without a genre in mind, so marketing it has been tricky to say the least) the title isn't doing it any favours methinks.
The title that methinks might do it a bit more of a favour is The Diamond Rush. That's what it's about, essentially a 21st Century space version of The Gold Rush.
And the title will sit well with the current cover artwork, so what's to lose apart from sales that I'm not getting?
Dear faithful, solitary reader, I shall let you know how I get on as soon as I get on and do it.
Wish me luck, and plenteous sales.
It can't be a good idea, can it? Not a year after its release. In fact, it's so far from being a good idea that I can barely see it from where I'm standing here on the shoreline of Good Idea Land.
And yet I'm seriously considering doing it.
The novel in question is my debut, The Money Star.
Sales are sluggier than a sluggish slug, and although that's not all down to the title I suspect (I was naive back then, and wrote the thing without a genre in mind, so marketing it has been tricky to say the least) the title isn't doing it any favours methinks.
The title that methinks might do it a bit more of a favour is The Diamond Rush. That's what it's about, essentially a 21st Century space version of The Gold Rush.
And the title will sit well with the current cover artwork, so what's to lose apart from sales that I'm not getting?
Dear faithful, solitary reader, I shall let you know how I get on as soon as I get on and do it.
Wish me luck, and plenteous sales.
When To Abandon A Writing Project
How do you know when a project isn't working?
When a short story is short of an exciting lead character or a brilliant ending, or a gripping beginning, or all three?
Or when writing a novel turns out to be not quite so novel as you imagined it when you first thought of the idea?
We've all got projects lying abandoned in drawers like shopping cart left in multi-storey car parks. We know they won't be there forever, but right now we can't get them in the place they ought to be. Maybe we'll pillage the best bits and get the hell out of there, feeling a little guilty about leaving it abandoned.
But how long do you flog the dead horse before you realise it will neigh no more?
I think it's all down to how much time you've invested in the project or, to use poker parlance, how pot committed you are. If you've planned for months and written a whole draft or two, giving up that baby there and then isn't going to be easy. You're going to try and make it work, no matter what. You may be tempted to get the script out there for others to feed back on. Maybe it's not as bad as you think? It usually is.
For me, I seldom get as far as writing a draft. I'll spend ages planning it out, hoping a spark might save it from the oblivion of unfinished-dom. Yearning for a plot twist to turn it on its head and save it from the dreaded Drawer Of The Poor.
If nothing happens for a month, I'll move onto something else. But there's no escaping that feeling of failure, especially every time I go shopping and see those abandoned carts...
When a short story is short of an exciting lead character or a brilliant ending, or a gripping beginning, or all three?
Or when writing a novel turns out to be not quite so novel as you imagined it when you first thought of the idea?
We've all got projects lying abandoned in drawers like shopping cart left in multi-storey car parks. We know they won't be there forever, but right now we can't get them in the place they ought to be. Maybe we'll pillage the best bits and get the hell out of there, feeling a little guilty about leaving it abandoned.
But how long do you flog the dead horse before you realise it will neigh no more?
I think it's all down to how much time you've invested in the project or, to use poker parlance, how pot committed you are. If you've planned for months and written a whole draft or two, giving up that baby there and then isn't going to be easy. You're going to try and make it work, no matter what. You may be tempted to get the script out there for others to feed back on. Maybe it's not as bad as you think? It usually is.
For me, I seldom get as far as writing a draft. I'll spend ages planning it out, hoping a spark might save it from the oblivion of unfinished-dom. Yearning for a plot twist to turn it on its head and save it from the dreaded Drawer Of The Poor.
If nothing happens for a month, I'll move onto something else. But there's no escaping that feeling of failure, especially every time I go shopping and see those abandoned carts...
