Developing the Art and Learning the Business of Writing

As I sit and write using sentences from magazines and books as prompts, I am learning how to open my mind. At first it seems silly to do. Then you start to hit brick walls with ideas and then next if you are not careful you will quit. This is where many writers go wrong. You must push through the mud and complete a short story, blog or book. You must go for it every day. You must push yourself to put fingers on the keyboard or pen to paper. Whatever you must do just keep on moving forward.

If I quit now, I will never make it! I must type one more sentence or paragraph. Then return the next day and start all over again. Never, ever quit! If using one prompt does not get you to your goal use another and another until you have reached your goal. Finish the race drag across the finish line if you must.

Just had an idea for a mini memoir I will list it on my projects for 2021, in shaa Allah. For 2020 I have to complete Parallels a screenplay about a middle-class family whose city gets placed on the map of a group of aliens who must leave their home in time to avoid total destruction and rework Emerging Victorious under the working name of More Than One. I will need to interview a couple of people add their stories to what I already have and go into more detail on what is already printed, in shaa Allah. No shortage of material to work on just finding the will to stick to it.

Now I have discovered a way how to increase my vocabulary and write more. By using the word of the day from my online dictionary I can learn the word use it in a sentence and then write about something from my childhood or present-day life using the word. This so far is working out well. This morning I have typed about 800 words using this method. I began talking about how my mom, grandmother and aunts use to get by and even make things nicer for our home using S&H Green Stamps. This morning I am so pumped up I can go back and add to writing prompts I have started in the past like this one from December of last year. My goal in doing this is to have enough pieces of writing subjects to use later when I am working on a novel or other form of writing that requires hundreds or tens of thousands of words.

Just came across this today and released a lot has happened since I started writing this not sure what to call it. I have two books that are on Amazon.com one is a collection of some of my short stories titled Pieces of Me with Company, another is one of my more recent short stories Mary Goes Missing that is now an eBook and paperback. Also, I signed a traditional publishing contract with Reverend Crown Publishing company located in India. Now I wait my contract states that it will take six-months for the book to be ready for release. Until then unless they contact you do not contact them. This is very trying on my nerves. It has been a month and I have not heard from an editor about the manuscript. It is taking all I can do to remember a phrase that I use in my work with survivors of domestic abuse “No news is good news.”

Now I am educating myself about how to write horror. Learning the inner workings of a great horror story by viewing videos on the topic on YouTube.com. Top selling authors like Stephen King have many videos they have made on the topic of writing great horror and just good writing in general. Authors like Stephen King have made it to the top of genre by producing great works on a consistent basis. Jerry Jenkins is another such author and has many videos on the topic of writing in general as well as on specific topics.

As I wait for my first traditionally published book to be released, I feel somewhat helpless in the process. I have not heard from an editor, nor do I know what the cover will look like. The suspense is making me anxious, and I am re-thinking the whole decision to send the manuscript to a stranger to publish in the first place. Being traditionally published is probably going to more financially rewarding with much less effort than self-publishing. However, I do miss being with my work from start to finish. I pray they do my manuscript justice. What I am learning from this experience is to decide what works. Do I send my manuscript out to someone else, or do I self-publish? Maybe do both?

I sold ten books to a dear friend on July 5 it had been almost two weeks since I had sold a book. These long dry spells cause me to be anxious. It does not matter what other good news I get about my writing the fact of not selling at least three books per day bothers me. Yes, I write for the art however I know money keeps the art flowing and available to all who choose to enjoy it. Establishing a good balance between the art and business is a challenge.

Now as I wait to hear from an editor about my baby, they are handling is a good time to also learn more about marketing my work. How to earn and gather new readers. Since I write short stories at this time my work is solid and authentic. It is easy to follow a trend that is selling well to make the money but that is not me. Being in a crowd as a someone who blends in so much, they disappear has never been me.