Internet Marketing Freedom

Interested? The link is in the comments. Enjoy ☺️

The Code, my new thriller, written under the pen name I. C. Cosmos, just became #1 Hot New Release on Amazon ☺️

Published!, my guide on self-publishing, written under the pen name I. C. Cosmos - just as my thrillers 😉, became #1 New Release on Amazon... 🙂
See the next post for more...

*** 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮…

Writing is about many things, and one of them is searching. Searching for the right words, searching for the tone of voice your story asks for…and searching for what works for you as a writer.

Unless you are writing experimental literature that no one else reads, you are writing for readers. But writing for others doesn’t mean that you must follow others’ rules on how to write. It would be impossible anyhow, due to the sheer volume of opinions out there – just Google “how to write a novel.” The last time I tried this, Google came back with 9,260,000 results ;-)

Not only would it be impossible to read it all, but much of the advice is contradictory. Do this and never that…no, do that and never this. Remember the discussion about plotters vs. pantsers? (see the post on taming a wild page, part 2).

So, experiment and figure out what works for you. If you want to write in the morning, write in the morning. If your “pen” produces magic in the middle of the night, write in the middle of the night.

If you need a precise plot and your story “writes itself” when you start at the beginning and proceed linearly from one finished chapter to the next, do that. If you prefer to start in the middle and write your book circularly (returning to partially completed chapters later), that’s fine too.

If 1000 words per day isn’t realistic, start with 500 and see where it takes you.

What you want to achieve is a process that moves you forward. Once you’ve established a routine that works, it will help you out and do some of the work for you - the right words will come to you in the middle of washing dishes, sentences you struggled with will “all of a sudden” rewrite themselves, scenes will play in front of your eyes, ready to be written.

But to get into the flow, you have to keep writing (yes, that’s the mantra). Paradoxically, what also helps is not to police the process too much. It’s the same as being on a too strict diet – sooner or later you start cheating or even quit.

Thus if you didn’t meet your quota one day, don’t force yourself to make it up the next day – just keep going and write as much as you can.

And if you do your best and realize that you want to publish a book, but writing isn’t your thing, hire a ghostwriter. You’ll still have to manage the process and make sure the ghostwriter delivers the book you want… Just remember, it’s all about what works for you ;-)

Wishing you lots of inspiration :-)

P.S. In the next post I’ll tell you how my newest book, The Project, became #1 Hot New Release on Amazon with just one review.

*** 𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝

OK! You are on your way… :-)

You’ve conquered the dreaded blank page, filled it with words, and started to shape these words into bestselling content (if you are new here, please check out the previous three posts).

Starting is tough, but it’s not the most difficult part of writing a book. The most difficult thing is to keep writing. You have to keep the show on the road. No. Matter. What.

Maintaining your writing routine takes commitment and meaningful goals... Oh, I see the eye roll... Got you - you’ve heard enough about this “productivity” stuff to know that goals don’t finish books. Agree. But goals, meaningful goals, will help you keep the show on the road.

Many people use word count to measure their progress. It helps but isn’t always meaningful. For instance, when you’ve just started and are plotting, sketching scenes, and developing your characters, the number of words you’ve written doesn’t tell you much because most of these words will not end up in your book - they are just words telling you what to write. At this stage, you are building the foundations of your book and have to put in the hours to do it right.

So, to start with, commit to HOURS. X hours per day or per week, whatever works for you…

Once you have enough material to begin some serious writing, word count is your best friend. X words per day. 1000, 2000… again, what’s realistic and works for you.

When the first draft is finished, word count loses its meaning again - if anything, it will probably go down as you are streamlining and polishing your text. But you still need something to propel you towards the finish line. For instance, a number of cleaned-up chapters or scenes per week. Or, if you are the more precise type, start the word counting all over again - this time only the cleaned-up words count.

So, HOURS - WORDS - CHAPTERS

Try it. And have fun :-)

Wishing you happy writing...

*** 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞. 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟐

Know what you are selling. Because knowing what you are selling is the lodestar for writing compelling content. Non-fiction typically sells a solution to a problem. Fiction promises a story, but that’s only the top of the iceberg – in reality we are selling a few hours (or days) in which readers can immerse themselves in someone else’s life.

Unfortunately, the sheer realization that we aren't just selling a book for $2.99 but are enticing readers to spend some serious time with our characters could easily result in blocked imagination, paralyzed fingers, and the dreaded blank page. Or a page filled with words that don’t do what we want them to do.

So how do we get out of this trouble? An often recommended remedy is having a sharp story outline. This solution works miracles for non-fiction writers, but fiction is a tad more complicated. Which brings us to the much debated issue of plotters vs. pantsers. Plotters wouldn’t even consider writing a word until they have a detailed plot and know exactly where the story is going. Pantsers, on the other hand, just start and write happily by “the seat of their pants.”

I suspect that many of us are neither plotters nor pantsers but found our own sweet spot somewhere between these two extremes. For instance, I know where my story begins and ends; I know a thing or two about my characters and about the conflicts that will fuel the story; usually a few scenes play in my head like a movie, but that’s it. The rest evolves along the way. :-)

Anyhow, the larger point is that you can get stuck whether you are plotter, pantser, or any combination of these two. And when that happens, you need something to unstuck you, pull you out of the morass, show you the light.

And that something is your blurb. Thus it’s a great idea to write your blurb first. If you have never written one, go to amazon.com and read the blurbs of your favorite authors. See how they introduce the story, the characters, how much they reveal, the overall mood, what makes you want to buy their book right now… And then sit down and write the first draft of your blurb. Or several different drafts.

Don’t worry about perfection, blurbs are like good wines – they get better with time. So let your blurb “age” in your mind and the final version will emerge as you work on your book. In any event, just as a non-fiction sales letter (see my previous post), even an imperfect blurb will guide you and give you clarity and inspiration when you are stuck.

After all, your blurb is the first thing your readers read, it’s what sells your book - your blurb is your loadstar. :-)

Wishing you happy, productive writing...