Spare Time Novelist - So what's stopping you?

Welcome to the Spare Time Novelist. I've put this article together for those writers who dream of some day being on the New York Times Best Seller List. (Don't we all have that aspiration!!??) Maybe you've dreamed of being the next Robert Heinlein,

Nora Roberts, John Grisham, Toni Morrison, Tom Clancy or one of my favorites, Susan Krinard. Or maybe you're striving higher, to become the next Aristotle, Euripides, Machiabelli or Freud. Whatever your choice, there's always a starting point, a place to begin. Hopefully, Spare Time Novelist can be a part of your destiny. These pages are dedicated to YOU, to those of us who need, who feel the urge to tell a story.

Genre Associations & Information

Let's begin with your choice of Genre. There are dozens of genres a writer can choose to write. Romance, Mystery, Science Fiction, Horror, Fantasy, Travel and Children's Books are just a few a writer can embark upon. Within each category of writing, there awaits another facet of that genre. Romance includes Traditional, Contemporary, Series and Historical. Science Fiction, open-book Horror and Fantasy are limitless in their quest to scare us to death, to give us insight into the future or tell us of a world we could never imagine possible. We can help form young minds in Children's Books, a Travel Writer can tell us of places to see, places we haven't been to yet. But where do we begin? The first step is to find out as much as you can about your genre of choice. Most Genre Associations go to great lengths to make sure you know exactly what their genre is about. Articles, How-To's, information and links make your search worthwhile. But beware, some Genre Associations charge a fee, so be informed and choose wisely.

Okay, you've got a good idea of your genre of choice, whats the next step?? Reading, reading a little more and then reading again. Every writer will tell you that reading is the most important part of being a writer. I read everything I could get my hands on about writing. Some of it is darn good, some of it is a little lame and the trick is to figure out which is worth your reading time and which is just a rehash of what you've already read. Reading is important, not only books about writing, but reading books in your genre of choice keeps you informed as to what publishers are looking for in todays writing market

Writing as a Career
Writing is and always will be an art form, whether it be fiction, fantasy, horror or technical writing. There isn't a writer in this world who wouldn't give their most prized possession to be able to write full time. As for most of us, we squeeze a half hour of writing in between the pasta salad and garlic bread and dream of the day when we can write without the kids asking for a peanut butter sandwich or the dog isn't scratching at the door. The decision to write full time is a major one and has lots of questions that need to be addresssed before the decision can be made.

Let's start with the writing basics:

1. Do you write every day?

2. Do you finish your projects?

3. Do you have a file cabinet full of EDITED work you're sitting on?

4. Has someone other than friends and family provided positive critiques? (Face it, Mom has a tendency to be melodramatic!)

5. This is the moment! A publisher is standing in front of you, waiting for the sales pitch for your book! Can you tell him the premise without choking?

6. Do you have a publishing contract?

7. Do you have a secondary source of writing income.

These are only a few of the questions that need to be asked if you are seriously considering writing full time. Of course there are the realistic questions such as: Will my loving spouse be so loving when he/she realizes there's only one income now? How will the car payment get paid? And the dentist bill!! Those BRACES!! Do I need to go further? Get the picture yet???

Think long and hard about writing full time. If you're doing great writing part time or when you can, that's okay too. Writing is the 3 D's: Drive, Discipline and Desire. If you have all three, you'll make it to that top ten list for sure!!

Reference Library

A good Reference Library is essential to all writers and the sheer number of reference books available is astronomical. Of course, we can't go out and buy them all, that would be foolish as well as expensive. (That's what Christmas, birthdays and holidays are for...to make sure our families help us build a great Reference Library!) Spare Time Novelist has a thorough list of resource and reference books. There are many I have in my own library, as well as some that are specific to a particular genre. There are many writers of reference books too. Ben Bova, Gary Provost, Mona McCormick, David Michael Kaplan are just a few. From Creating Fiction Names, Fiction Research, Manuscript Handbook by James Mitchner, to Syd Field's Screenplay, you'll find every kind of reference and resource book you could ever want or need. Check out your neighborhood book store. They always have a few writer's books on their shelves. First priority should be '1998 Writer's Market'. This has a comprehensive listing of places to sell what you write. It also gives you submission guidelines and editorial needs with contact information, including addresses, phone numbers and even websites with email addresses. The Writer's Market is number one for resource information. Let's not overlook the internet as the most valuable resource a writer has also. What use to take months of research in the library, can now be done in just a couple of weeks or less on the internet.

Showcase Your Writing

Whenever a writer's site allows writers of all genres to showcase writers projects, I jump for joy. Writing is a solitary job and for many writers, especially writers just starting out, their work most likely will sit in a file drawer or stay on their computers hard drive, unseen except for the eyes of the writer. There is no better way of getting your work recognized or better yet, read, then to place it out among cyber space for those of the web to read it!! Some people may not like it, some will love it, some will offer you constructive critisism, but in the long run, you'll get a real feeling of what the public thinks about your writing. Believe me, it's an important start!! Here are a few tips:

1. Find a high profile writer's site to showcase your work. It wouldn't do any good to showcase your masterpiece if no one come to the site to see it in the first place.
2. Submit only a chapter or two in the beginning. Make arrangements with the Webmaster for the site to implement more chapters if requested by readers.
3. Be willing to take whatever criticism is offered. Writers are part of a writing community, and most all writers have had to start at the bottom and work their way up. Their critiquing of your work will come from the heart and from experience

Writer's Groups, Writer's Classes, Critiquing Groups, Book Clubs

Feedback is important for all writers. Being part of a Writer's Club, Critiquing Group or Book Club can help you immensely. Another place for a writer to gain information and contacts is at a Writer's Conference or Workshop. To make it work for you, you need your manuscript, your pitch and most of all, your psyche in order. You laugh....psyche? YES!! We all would like to think that writing is about art and creativity, it's also about business. If your goal is to sign a publishing contract, you've got pencil to have your psyche thinking big business. The first thing to do is find the right Writer's Conference or Workshop that's right for you. Send for brochures, check out their URL's if possible. Review the speakers' and instructors' credits, read about the editors and agents attending the conferences.

• Are they suited to your writing?
• Are you a Literary Writer, but the speakers and instructors' are genre writers?
• What about the classes being taught?
• Are they for beginning writers, intermediate, advanced?
• Where do you fit in?

If you've never written before and are just thinking about jumping into the publishing arena, you probably need a conference that teaches you the basics of writing, querying and the publishing process. On the other hand, if your manuscript is completed, critiqued and printed, you might need a conference of editors and agents only. Don't forget though, choose the conference for your style of writing.

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Literary Agents and Publishers

I don't want you to get cold feet because of Agents and Publishers, but they are a breed of their own. They are the most important part of writing after the writing is through. Without them, you don't get published. Agents are valuable only after you have been offered a publishing contract. Don't sign the contract until you have talked to an agent or industry attorney.

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The publisher is running a business and is not your fan. The publisher's marketing department doesn't like you. The distributor is busy, keep it short. Independent bookstore owners do like you and want autographed books. Chain bookstore employees don't know you from Adam. Chain buyers talk only to designated distributors. Fans will gush at you after you've published six novels, not before.

And if you want to Self Publish–well, that's a whole 'nuther page!!

Have I discouraged you yet? If you still want to be a writer whether it be full time or part time, then take the plunge. There is nothing as wonderful as the written word. Writing is a solitary business, it has its moments of fame. But personally, I'm not seeking fame, only the acknowledgement that the story I write will be enjoyed by others. And... if a decent advance payment just happens to be a part of that acknowledgement, who am I to argue????