It is not only possible to end writer’s block forever, but you can actually use it to your advantage!
First, let us define it in some useful way: Writer’s block is the inability to
1) Produce new text.
2) Edit and polish existing text
3) Finish projects on a reasonable schedule
4) Send those projects out for editorial judgment.
5) Continue sending them out until they are sold.
Accepting the above, I’m going to give you a definition of the root cause of Writer’s Block that will actually help you in every arena of your life.
“Writer’s Block is nothing more than a confusion of two different states of mind: the Flow state, where you produce new text, and the Editing state, where you evaluate and polish what you have written.”
WB is such a killer because most of us have done far more reading than we have writing, and spend far more time in critical analysis of finished, polished work of the masters than in experiencing our own early drafts. So when we try to create text, we measure our first draft efforts against the polished work of the world’s great writers. Immediately, that “this is garbage!” voice goes off in your head, and you have a block.
It is said that novice writers must work through a million words of garbage before reaching their true voice. How in the world will you ever get through it if you constantly judge every word? If you will learn to turn that voice off, you will learn a massive and important lesson about the structure of the human psyche.
But what exactly is “Flow”? It is the psychological state where time seems to vanish, where you “fall into the page”, where the rest of the world floats away as you concentrate. This is similar to the “hypnogogic” state experienced just prior to sleep, and the first thing in the morning. It is experienced in distance running, dancing (remember the lyrics to Continue reading
So you have finally finished writing the book for which you toiled so hard and just like your newborn, is very close to your heart? And you thought that you have crossed the biggest hurdle? Well now comes the tougher part, which is to get your book printed and making it see the light of the day. For this, you would need the services of a book agent. Not just any book agent, but also someone who is good at his work. There are many kinds of literary agents and hence you have to be careful with who you choose to represent you.
To start with, do a background search on the area of specialization of the book agents. This is important since some agents work with fiction, some specialize in poetry whereas other love technical titles. Once you identify a list of agents who deal in your area of work, you would need to zero down on someone who can ensure that your interests are protected. This is difficult since finding agents who know their jobs is very difficult. It’s almost like searching for a needle in a haystack. Don’t be surprised if you keep bumping into scammers disguised as book agents. Though people like these are available in plenty, they are in it only for themselves and can be really terrible at their job. Continue reading
In this simple article, I will show you step-by-step how to create your own e-book.
Step 1:
Open your HTML editor (Dreamweaver, FrontPage or etc); if you do not have one, go to search engine and type, "free online editor WYSIWYG".
Step 2:
Type your message or idea into your HTML editor or copy and paste it from your text editor. Design your page and make it simple. After you, finish your work, save your file into specific folder. When designing your page, consider creating your file in single page or multiple pages that link to each other like website. If you new to website design, better you design it in single page.
Step 3:
Compile your file into ebook using ebook compiler. Go to (http://www.ebookcompilers.com) and download ebook compiler. This is directory of ebook compiler and there are free ebook compilers too. Download and install ebook compiler into your computer. On the other hand, go to search engine and type, “free ebook compiler.”
Step 4:
Open your ebook compiler and browse your file (html file you create in step 2) and follow the instruction in your ebook compiler until finish. Continue reading
If you are a first time writer or a bestselling author, you will have a moment or maybe even too when you just do not know what to do next.Here a couple of good rules to follow to keep moving forward with your first book or your next in a series of reader favorites.
1. Write. Just keep writing and it will come to you.
2. Put one word after another. Find the right word, put it down. You can always correct them later.
3. Finish what you're writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.
4. Put it aside. Read it pretending you’ve never read it before. Show it to friends whose opinion you respect and who like the kind of thing that this is.
5. Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right.
6. Laugh at your own jokes. If you do not think it is funny others might not as well.
7. The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, you’re allowed to do whatever you like.
These tips will not always be the solution but they can help to keep you on the right track and moving forward.
Bestselling authors speak of their fans in almost reverential tones, as well they should. A loyal readership that comes back for more, book after book, is the real key to long-term publishing success. Savvy authors work diligently to produce great work that will continue to please their audience, but many of them also communicate directly to their fans. Author’s web sites are all the rage, some of them quite elaborately produced. What is the most unusual publicity program you've developed? “We’re proud of our ability to harness all the power of the Web in the service of authors and their books, and we’re especially committed to making the online presence fit the project.
Quite a few author websites are just storefronts whose major purpose is to sell books. Others have a much more intimate feel, inviting visitors to: “Come on in and meet me. Stay and chat.” With all the other pressures on their time, why do bestselling authors go to the trouble of answering fan e-mail, or posting responses to message boards on their web sites, and continually upgrading them with information about their new project or where they will be appearing? Continue reading