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The love/hate relationship with deadlines

6/2/2014

Let's be honest: we all have a love/hate relationship with deadlines.

On one hand, deadlines are big, awful, scary things. Like running late for an interview, deadlines can cause untold amounts of stress and anxiety. I have to get this done! I'm falling behind! I'm not going to make it!

Deadlines are the reason college students pull all-nighters and 8 hour days turn into 12 hour days. They cause stress.

They also "cause" focus.

When you have a deadline, you don't forget about that project. You don't sit down and watch three hours of Antiques Roadshow. You don't go on a leisurely Sunday drive. You work.

And that can be exciting. My latest (and greatest) version of my book The Talented was finished on the deadline for this year's ABNA. My work on The Bodyguard is on a deadline so that I can start releasing it as a serialized novel June 16th.

My recent surge of job applications forced me to focus on my goals and philosophies as a teacher.

Deadlines are big, awful, scary things that result in focus and hard work.

I don't know that there is any single thing more important than that. Not if you want to be a serious writer. Or really, a serious anything.

Deadlines provide an impetus for action. That impetus is especially important when the action is for something secondary in your life. If you write for a living, you are going to keep working on that next novel because that's your job. When you write for a hobby or a sideline, there needs to be something more. Something that makes you work.

And that is what deadlines do.

So find a way to give yourself a deadline. Find a writing buddy or critique partner who expects 5,000 new words a week, and if you don't deliver you owe them $5 (or a beer). Enter a contest. Set yourself a goal that, if reached, will result in some sort of reward. If I finish this draft by July 1st, I get to buy a new pair of shoes.

Trust me, a deadline can make all the difference.

And since I only have hours left on my Kickstarter campaign, that is giving me a strict deadline on asking for last minute donations. As I write this I am sitting at 91%. I invite everyone to throw me a couple bucks or share the following on Twitter or Facebook: Only hours left to raise funds for The Talented by J.R. McGinnity via Kickstarter. http://buff.ly/1jMpIOT

Donations go through your Amazon account, making it a quick and painless process through a trusted company.

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ABNA Update

3/19/2014

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I'm sad to say that The Talented did not make it through the pitch round this year. This surprised me, seeing as the exact same pitch (except for the changed names) made it through the last two years.

Either the new names tanked it, or it wasn't meant to be. I am going with the latter.

Although I'm disappointed that I did not make it through, I'm just seeing it as a sign that it is time for me to move on to the next stage: indie publishing.

A lot of people will be querying agents now that they are done with ABNA (because as Thomas A. Mays ( @ImprobablAuthor on Twitter) says: if it was good enough for ABNA, it's probably good enough for an agent. I, however, have decided that the self-publishing route is the one for me. I want the control, the flexibility of being beholden only to myself, and also the (near) instant gratification that will come from publishing in the next couple of months rather than the next couple of years.

My first step on this self-publishing road will be running a Kickstarter campaign. Kickstarter is a crowdsourcing site where donors can help you raise money to fund a project, and my project will be funding the publication of my first novel.

Although you can self-publish for free, to do it well you need professional editors and professional cover designs. And I didn't spend years working on The Talented to publish it poorly. I want to produce the best product I can, and I'm going to use Kickstarter to help me do that.

So I need to figure out how much money to raise, what rewards to give, when to run the campaign, and what, exactly, the funds will go toward.

I expect that it will be a lot of work, but when I hold that finished product in my hand I know it will be worth it.

So my ABNA adventure is over, but my Kickstarter adventure is just beginning.

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Just a short blog about ABNA

2/27/2014

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I have just finished submitting the final draft of The Talented to the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award and the relief from that has been huge. That stress has been hanging over me for weeks, and now that the final draft is done and submitted I can wait with some semblance of calm and peace until March 18th to see if I made it through the pitch round.

On one hand, I'm not worried about the pitch round because that pitch has gotten me through the last two ABNA contests, but on the other hand I realize that out of all of the rounds of the contest, it is the pitch round that is a crap-shoot.

But what's done is done, what's past is prologue, and the next 20 days will be spent waiting semi-patiently until my 1st round fate is decided.

Of course, I'll keep stalking the ABNA boards, but that is more for fun than anything.

Best of luck to everyone in the other four categories and 499 of the people that entered the fantasy/sci-fi/horror category with me (sorry you other 1,500, but I'm not a good enough person to wish all of you luck and keep no spot open for myself. I'm a bit more Howard Roark than altruist.

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The Final Stretch to ABNA

2/14/2014

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The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award starts accepting entries on the 16th, which is only two days away. Which means I should have my story whipped into shape in 2 days. I'm giving myself 5 at the most (I don't want to risk it filling up early, although I hear that rarely happens).

In my mind, this is me: staying strong right to the end, where I will sprint across the finish line on the 16th (or 19th) full of strength and glory.

It will be a thing to tell the grandkids about!

It will be what I tell all my adoring fans about when I bring home the grand prize!

It will be something I think about on my death bed!

It will result in me celebrating with sushi instead of consoling myself with a large pizza!

But sometimes I worry that this will be me, lagging behind from the start, hopefully squeaking in right before that final deadline in March.

But to be honest, this is probably me, coming in ahead (making the deadline) but with no real idea what is going on.

I'll probably make it in by dumb luck and little else. But in all honesty, I'm okay with that.

I've gotten into ABNA in a timely fashion the last two years, and I don't think that this year will really be that different. It will be a combination of hard work and dumb luck, and there will be times when I feel like that middle picture there, but I'll make it.

And I hope that everyone else entering the ABNA contest does to.

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Book Cover Artist

2/7/2014

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Floating in the back of my mind has been the worry that, if I decide to self-publish, I won't be able to get hold of some good cover art. They say you can't judge a book by it's cover, but let's be honest...we totally judge books by their covers. Especially fantasy books.

So I've been thinking and worrying about what I would do and where I would go, and I stumbled upon Ravven. She charges a reasonable price, seems like she works extensively with the author, and most importantly has beautiful art work. I'm not committing to anything yet (because, you know, I plan to win the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, and then cover art and the rest will be Amazon's problem). But if all of the reviewers go insane and don't select me as the winner, Ravven is someone I will definitely be taking a closer look at.

Fellow indies, I suggest you go and check her out. And if you have another cover artist that you are happy with, I would love to hear about him or her. Here is her portfolio, although of course there is more on the rest of her site.

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Calling all muses...

2/5/2014

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... to the tune of "Calling all Angels."

I need a sign, to let me know you're here
All of these words just read so bad, no meaning's clear
I need to know the plot is gonna pick up
'Cause I feel the middle sagging with no luck

When there is a good thing to write but no good writing left
When I know what I want to say but it don't read how I meant

[Chorus:]
And I'm calling all muses
I'm calling all you muses

I won't give up if you don't give up [Repeat x4]

I need a sign to let me know you're here
Cause the scribbles on my page don't make it clear
I want a reason for the way things have to be
I need to know why you don't just write the stupid thing for me.

I acknowledge (and humbly apologize to) the band Train, who sang (and maybe wrote?) the original lyrics. It was a beautiful song before I got my hands on it.

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ABNA is officially on!

1/17/2014

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For those of you who don't know, ABNA is short for Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, a terrific contest brought to the unpublished novelists of the world by Amazon and CreateSpace. Contestants can enter a novel 50,000-125,000 words in length with no entrance fee and compete for a Grand Prize of a publishing contract with Amazon plus a $50k advance. Four 1st Place winners get a publishing contract and $15k advances.

So basically, it's the best writing contest around, imo.

And there was some concern that ABNA would not be around this year. The contest is typically well-advertised (if you know where to look) and opens in mid-January. This year there wasn't a peep, all of the admins on the ABNA discussion boards were very secretive, and us die-hard contestants were living in anticipation and fear. But it has been announced that it opens February 16th, which means that it is time for me to whip Talented: Fire (or maybe I should call it The Talented?) into shape.

Last year I made it to the semi-finalist rounds, and this year I am (obviously) hoping for more. I've just got to get from top 25 to top 5 and I can get published by a traditional publisher. This isn't the Holy Grail that it used to be, but it would sure be nice not to have to pay a copy editor and cover artist out of pocket!

Anyone else planning to enter ABNA, or know someone who is?

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ABNA Update

4/24/2013

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Unfortunately, Talented: Fire did not make the next round of cuts in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest. On the bright side, it did get a very favorable review by the Publishers Weekly reviewer. Talented: Fire was being judged against other Fantasy, Science-Fiction, and Horror books, and I feel nothing but pride that my book made it as far in the contest as it did.

Congratulations to the 5 in my category to progress to the semifinals, and I have every confidence in those writers and their writing abilities. I wish nothing but the best for B R Sanders, J. Lincoln Fenn, Joe Occhipinti, Johanna Hofer, and Timothy Frame, the 5 semifinalists from my category, and I suggest that you all go check out their excerpts on Amazon.

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Big Announcement!

3/12/2013

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Today is much too busy for a Tuesday, but I had to share the amazing fact that I made it into the quarter finals of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. My novel Talented: Fire (which for some reason shows up as Talente: Fire on Amazon) was entered into the contest back in January, and quarter finalists were announced earlier today.

If you would like to read the excerpt that has gotten me this far, just follow this link and download it onto a kindle or into the kindle cloud.

I'd love a review on Amazon, but I'd also love for you to comment here and let me know what you think.

And now back to the busy-ness of my Tuesday.

--J.R.

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Welcome to my blog

The love/hate relationship with deadlines

ABNA Update

Just a short blog about ABNA

The Final Stretch to ABNA

Book Cover Artist

Calling all muses...

ABNA is officially on!

ABNA Update

Big Announcement!

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