Writing 101

In the two weeks I'm taking off from looking at my current book, I've started to write Gorgoyian Chronicles #3 for my son (a young adult book). Whenever I come back to write a book for my son, I remember how much fun I had writing it the last time. I wrote books for his birthdays and Christmas. I try to keep up with that, but it's really challenging. I've discovered that although I could have a stack of books on my night stand and try to read all of them (I'm actually quite successful at jumping between books. I'm sure most of you are, too, especially one or several of them are turning out to be surprising bores), I can't seem to write two vastly different books simultaneously (it was a dismal failure last time). But just because I failed last time, that doesn't mean I'll fail this time. So, I'm going to start editing my current book and write book #3 for my son.

Going back to writing.... What's important is that you write. Period. Although I complain, sometimes quite bitterly, about editing, I think it is easier than writing fresh stuff, especially if you're experiencing a writer's block. With my son's book, I'm trying to keep a chapter relatively short (5 pages) and if I push myself to write a chapter everyday (this is pushing it), then I could possibly have a good length book (1st draft. All the books I write for him are 1st drafts. They're probably not fit for anyone else's eyes except for my son's and mine) for him on Christmas.

So, start today. Write your pages for today (you decide the length that's most comfortable and encouraging for you) and keep on writing them until you have a book. I truly believe that all of us have stories to tell.

Need of an inspiration

I got whammied yesterday. I entered a self-published book contest and found out that I didn't place anywhere, which is quite discouraging, even if I knew in my heart that this was a long shot. There is a big difference between knowing and having it shoved in your face. So, I've got to get over that.

The other thing is...I've been pretty laxed about scheduling book talks or book signings because I've been looking for a job. I don't mind talking in front of people, but I find it very difficult to stand in a bookstore chatting with people (easier) or standing alone wishing for someone to come up to me and talk to me (I don't even have to sell a book. I just don't want to stand alone). But I need to schedule more events, especially since I've already paid $300 to have my book stay "returnable" for another year.

The thing is...I've sold between four to fourteen books at a single book signing event. I've got to do a lot of these to make any kind of progress. I need to figure out a way to create demand online. If I ever figure this thing out, I'll be sure to share it. I keep thinking, I'm sure I can figure this thing out....

My next book update -

I've finished it, but I need to fix the ending and shorten the length of the book. for a first time author, the target page length is 350 pages. My current book is at ~450+. I've taken out a lot of material, but I've also had to put in a lot of historical material to "anchor" the book in the period.

This editing process looms before me and I feel quite intimidated by it. Yikes. wish me luck.

I really do wish I could have something more or better to write about on my blogs, but at this point, it's only this. Sorry.

Online Marketing

A friend of mine asked me the other day if I knew anything about viral marketing. First I had to laugh out loud, then I answered, "If I had known anything about viral marketing, would my book be still languishing in a hair's breadth above obscurity?"

In the last week, I've gotten a couple of emails and a phone call from someone who wants to help me market my book. I've ignored the emails and he finally called me. The thing was...when I started asking him questions, he could barely answer my questions in English. He kept referring me to a website and wanting to schedule an appointment with a senior consultant. I declined because I thought if this website or whatever couldn't even find someone who spoke English fluently to talk to writers (who tend to use words well and probably love words in general), there's absolutely no hope of this thing succeeding.

So,after the phone conversation, I checked the website out and it seems like it charges money for what's readily available out there as far as marketing through a website or having your own website. It also charged money (more than iUniverse does) for mass press release emailings of your book (my previous readers will know what an utter failure this is. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY THIS WAY. If you want to see what I got for my money, go check out my previous posts. I think the title is something like...What I got for my $300 or something like that).

I don't know about viral marketing and I am trying to figure that out, but I do know of a couple of websites that I think are awesome as far as getting your free "author" page.

1. Amazon.com's author central. I think this is great because this is where the book lovers come to buy their books. If a lot of them are like me, they'd check out the author pages, too. So, I think it's definitely worth checking it out.

2. Did I tell you I LOVE goodreads.com. Besides giving authors a good "author" page, you can list your books under their giveaway section. This always draws a lot of attention. I know. I don't know how many of these convert to actual sales, but I love this site and you should check it out.

3. You could buy your web domain for pittance. I bought mine for waitingforappa.com and jenniferrkim.com. Haven't done much with it, yet, but they are mine.

4. Your name. Your book. Your image. You are a brand. You are valuable. Brand it well. Safeguard it and protect it.

5. For me, I'm not sure how effective social networks are. I don't know. Maybe I'm not that social....

I know there are many other good book sites, but I haven't had the time to check them out. I need to. Once I do it, I'll let you know. It's the full time mom thing that gets in the way of working on these more, but I'm not complaining. I just try to pick my battles or pick my low hanging fruit.

Finished!

Hurray! The first draft of Kwangsook (the main character's name) is finished! I do have a title for this book, but it would give away too much to reveal it right now. So, I'm just going to use the main character's name which means Virtuous Light in Korean (based on Chinese characters).

This was the first book I wrote, before Waiting for Appa, but it's an epic. After getting a lot of negative feedback on the book length alone (~550 pages), I've decided to work on a shorter, more manageable book. I did have an agent for this book before and she dubbed it Gone with the Wind Korean style, but I'm not sure about that description.... Anyhow, it's also the first book of a trilogy, so I've got a lot of work ahead of me to finish off this trilogy well.

I do have a lot of problems though. I still don't like the ending very much. You see, I can forgive a mediocre book if it finishes well. No matter how slow, how boring, it is, if I got passed 100 pages, I'll most likely read on. And if the ending is good, I forget about all the other things and rejoice in the great ending. So, I want a great ending for my book. I want my reader to forgive me of a lot of flaws if I give them a great ending. I'm not sure if I'm being too tough on myself, but I want a better ending. I hope something will come to me soon.

I've decided not to work on this book for two weeks. My dear friend will read the third section (she's read the first two sections already) and give me feedback. I don't know how long that will take, but I'm giving myself two weeks away so that I can look at the book with some fresh eyes. I get too familiar with the material and I can't catch anything. So, in the two weeks I've decided to take a break, I'm going to work on the 3rd book of the Gorgoyian Chronicles for my son. Hopefully, I'd have enough written to have it done by Christmas for him. My son told me to work on this series before anything because it'd surely bring me success which had eluded me so far. I have an uncanny feeling that he's going to be right and he's going to spend the rest of his life reminding me of that. That would be really funny.

Things I need to do for Waiting for Appa:

1. I really need to schedule some books signings soon. It's just that I haven't been too motivated for several reasons....

2. Need to craft a letter/email to community colleges/adult schools for book talk/book signing opportunities.

3. Continue looking into contact person for the community colleges/adult schools book talk/book signing opportunities.

4. Work on branding ideas for Waiting for Appa as well as Jennifer R. Kim as whole. What immediate message do I want to send?

5. Work on website layout and web content ideas.

Did I mention that I'm a full-time mom with two young kids who is looking for a job currently? I'm not sure how I'm going to find the time to do everything, but I will eventually.... It's all a matter of setting priorities, I guess.

Late night/early morning inspirations

I wonder if most writers are insomniacs.... I certainly am and what's worse, I'm also a light sleeper. So, I have a lot of sleep related issues. Last night was one of those nights when I woke up for no apparent reason and couldn't go back to sleep. By the time I decided to come down to the living room, an hour had passed already.

I came down, sat with my laptop trying to solve my ending dilemma. I'm struggling with the last chapter (or possibly last two chapters) of my new book. It's just not strong enough. OR as strong as I want it to be and I was completely lost as to how to fix that problem. Well, last night, an idea finally came to me to fix the problem at ~5:20 am in the morning! I quickly jot it down in my notebook and tried to get some sleep. I'm a stay-at-home mom who needs to be functional in the morning. This is why the idea still needs to be written into the book.

The problem is this. My book is about lives of women, with historical events anchoring the book. At the end of the book, I'm dealing with the Korean War and the more I learn about it, the more fascinating it gets. Anyhow, the whole Korean War is in effect derailing my book. It's taking the story away from the women and I want a more elegant way of weaving the men's stories from the Korean War and the women's stories from home. I just need time to write the final couple of chapters (and it's the most precious commodity).

I wonder if it's like that for most of the writers...the best ideas come at the most inconvenient moments of the day. Well, at least I've got my fix.

Waiting for Appa update:

I had a great talk at the New Haven Unified School District's Adult School class on Monday. I was very excited to be there. I sent the instructor a review copy of my book and she had used it to teach her class spelling, vocabulary, and grammar. The instructor was gracious and the students were attentive. They had a lot of good questions for me and what overwhelmed me was the fact that every single people there put in a whole day's of work before coming to school that evening. What an honor to be there!

I was inspired by them. I have so much respect for them. They reminded me of my parents who had a great work ethic and a tremendous drive to make something of themselves. They laid the foundation for me to pursue my dreams. I need to do more of these talks....