Melissa Maygrove

My blog visitors range from unpublished to traditionally published, so I thought I'd list the major tasks on my to-do list for those who might be curious. Caveat: This is not an exhaustive list, nor is it necessarily in the best order. Each person's experience is different, and his/her needs are unique. A Self-publisher's to-do list: Plot and write the story (that's a whole list of its own. LOL) Search stock images and hire a graphic artist or buy a pre-made cover  Choose a formatter and make contact (some are busy and have a waiting list) Choose an editor and make contact (they have even longer waiting lists) Make editing passes and polish manuscript Send it out to CPs and beta readers  Part II of that is: and give them a deadline While you're waiting...

This is my Insecure Writers Support Group post for March.   For more information about the group, see the bottom of this post. Alex's awesome co-hosts for March are: MJ Joachim, Elsie, Elizabeth Seckman,   and Julie Flanders! Please stop by their blogs and say thank you. Publishing a debut novel is one heck of a ride. One minute I'm reading Susan Kaye Quinn's Indie Author Survival Guide and feeling like I'm twirling on top of the mountain shown on the cover, and the next, I'm pulling my hair out, trying to understand ISBN barcodes and trim sizes — all the while biting my nails, waiting for the beta feedback to come in.  Gah! I must've been temporarily insane when I took this on!

Below are links to articles I've come across lately that I thought you might enjoy. Craft Tips Do you struggle to avoid head-hopping in your work, or find it difficult to smoothly switch POVs? Jami Gold can help.  7 Methods for Handling Point-of-view Changes Ava Jae at Writability posted about tackling the overwhelming job of editing. How to Edit in Passes Multi-published author Sylvia Rochester also has a good post on editing. Taking Out The Trash Author Politics

Stop that senseless querying. Don't bother finding an agent. The secret to making it big in publishing is hiding right under your nose.  Just get a job in the publishing industry, jump on the NA bandwagon, and self-publish under a pen name. Heck—promote your alter ego as if you’re two separate people and write a review for your own book if you feel so inclined. Before you know it, you'll be raking in thousands! I'm sure you've all heard that the author behind the pen name Cora Carmack ( Losing It ) is really literary agent Brittany Howard. You can read her confession here . Well, guess what? It's happened again.

This is my Insecure Writers Support Group post for June.   IWSG is the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. It's a monthly bloghop that offers a safe haven for writers to express their feelings and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. It's also a venue for offering support, both in the form of comments and positive posts. Writers of all kinds are welcome.  We 'meet' the first Wednesday of every month. If you're interested in learning more, click on the link above. And don't be intimidated by the size of the group. We're not expected to visit everyone on the list.  One thing about being a writer that makes me anxious is meeting deadlines. I'm a responsible person, and I'm usually very organized, but not everything is within my control. The fear of getting involved with a publisher and then being unable to turn out a finished product fast enough sends my sympathetic nervous system into overdrive. It's one reason I le...

This is my Insecure Writers Support Group post for April.   IWSG is the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. It's a monthly bloghop that offers a safe haven for writers to express their feelings and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. It's also a venue for offering support, both in the form of comments and positive posts . Writers of all kinds are welcome.  We 'meet' the first Wednesday of every month. If you're interested in learning more, click on the link above. And don't be intimidated by the size of the group. We're not expected to visit everyone on the list.  I make blank place-holder posts for IWSG, and this one sat empty for a long time. I kept waiting for a flash of inspiration about what to write. In light of my impending blog hiatus, I decided to address the semi-scathing article I posted last week. In it, I took a strong stand against careless self-publishing. The post generated many cries of support...

Today, I'm taking an honest look at some of the reasons people choose to self-publish.  Warning: The gloves are coming off. This is not IWSG. W riters need to encourage each other, but we also need to hold each other to a reasonable standard. If you're feeling insecure about your writing, you might want to bookmark this post and come back later. For the record, I support self-publishing —might even do it myself —but with that choice comes responsibility.  Still with me? Here we go...

No, I haven't gone off the deep end or dyed my hair to look like a rainbow snow cone. The title of this post refers to my stubborn nature to control. I might as well admit it. "My name is Melissa and I'm a control freak." "Hi, Melissa," comes a rippled murmur from the audience.  Okay. So there's really just a lone cricket. I can pretend, right?  :P I thought I'd open it up for comments today about how our love for our stories combined with our personality determines the amount of control we like to have over our writing and how that control affects both the way we process critiques and the choices we make when it comes time to publish.  I must admit, this mix of protectiveness and stubbornness has not only made it hard for me to see reason with negative comments from my critters at times, but it has also been one of the driving forces behind me viewing indie and self publishing as more desirable than the traditional route. I'll readily admit I do...

Image Source: David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net “If you get a bad review, it’s because someone outside your target audience has found your book and gave it a shot. It’s no reflection on them as a reader, and no reflection on you as a writer. If, as an author, you don’t understand this, your writing will suffer, because you’ll be writing not to get bad reviews instead of writing to reward your target audience.”   – John Locke The current consensus on whether or not authors should reply to a bad review is 'don't.' Some say don't even read them at all. I personally find myself torn between reading my (eventual - thinking positive here) reviews to see if there are repeated comments on certain aspects of my writing that might need improvement and ignoring them entirely to spare my feelings and my motivation. For a thought-provoking post on the subject, click here . And for a hilarious post on the subject, [click here... Update: Unfortunately, Melj...

Well, whata ya know... you get two posts from me today. = P Here are links to two good articles on self-publishing by Susan Kaye Quinn, author of Open Minds . How Many Book Sales Equals "Success"? & How Do You Price an E-Book?