What are the Mistakes You See in Beginner Writers? By Shannon Mayer, Author of Dark Waters

Guest post by Shannon Mayer

Beginner writers, I still feel like I’m there a lot of days. So I will do my best to share with you the things I’ve learned from the mistakes that I made in the very beginning. This is in no particular order, number 1 is not more important than number 5.

1. Don’t think that your family can actually help you edit or beta read your work. They will lie through their teeth about how good it is because they love you. Trust me on this one. They don’t want to hurt your feelings, so they will do their best to sugar coat everything they say. Try to reach out to other authors either through your community of the web to develop a group. From that group, you can pool your resources and help each other honestly.

2. Plot your books! I have heard so many times people say things like “Oh, I don’t plot, the characters just take me where they take me.” Here’s the thing. I was like that, I had twenty five novels started, not one of them finished. Because when I got to the middle, and I had no plot to work from, I got stuck and started a new idea. Sound familiar? So start plotting, even if it’s only a beginning, middle and an end, that will give you a path to follow.

3. Please don’t think you are artist enough to do your own cover art (this is for Indie authors). You aren’t. And that’s okay, your talent is writing, focus on that. A cover can literally make or break your book, and yes, I did learn this the very hard way. Once I got my cover done right, my sales jumped to a degree I could have only hoped for previously. In fact, I did a whole blog post on this very topic, explaining the ins and outs of cover art. The short version is, don’t screw it up, it can sink your career.

4. Along with number 3. If you are self publishing, allow others to work for you. Hire people to do the jobs that you don’t know, or can’t do. If you think that you can do it all, and do it well, you’re fooling yourself. This will be things like formatting, editing, proofreading, cover art and possibly even marketing.

5. Don’t whine and complain that you can’t afford an editor. You cannot afford NOT to have an editor. They are essential to your success as an author, they will teach you things about your writing that you never knew. Like using the word “palatable” in every single chapter. Or using adverbs like Clearly, heavily, scarily, pushily all the time! (Adverbs are one of the peeves I have when editing others work) Editors will help you grow and they will help you make sure your manuscript is polished so that readers don’t want to throw it across the room because “Ooops” you forgot about that one plot thread.

6. If you are going the traditional route and are going to query editors and agents, LEARN THE RULES OF THE QUERY. The fastest way to get booted out of an agent’s potential list is to not pay attention to the details. Do your research, and then have your query read by a few people before sending it off. I went the traditional route prior to self publishing, I landed an agent. But it took time to figure out how to properly query. In this, please trust me.

Okay, those are six points that I think every green, new, wet behind the ears author needs to take into account. Not that they are all the mistakes I made, but some of the bigger ones for sure.

Dark Waters by Shannon Mayer
Celtic Legacy #1
Published: December 2011
Genre: Urban Fantasy

The bonds of family are stretched to the breaking point as legendary monsters, a deadly prophecy, and soul swallowing fears threaten to destroy them. Magic, secrets, sensuality and mind numbing terror all rolled into one to keep the pages flying.

  
Add it on Goodreads, or buy now at Amazon. 
Note: It looks like Dark Waters is free on Amazon through today (5/31).

About the author:

Reading and writing from a very young age I learned early on that stories built in a fantasy world were where the fun was at. Reading books by Robert Jordan spurred me on and it was the first real epic fantasy that I fell in love with. After that came Piers Anthony, Melanie Rawn and into my older teen years, Anne Rice.

It was in Rice's novels that the idea of urban fantasy really bloomed for me and it was about that time that my grandmother was letting me read her Harlequin Historical novels. (Okay, actually she was slipping them to me when my mother wasn't looking, but let's not get picky.)

The combination of love stories and darker fantasy stuck with me and it's now not only what I gravitate towards to read on my off time (Kelly Armstrong, Laurell K Hamilton, Kim Harrison), but has become the style I love to write in.

Besides writing, I love to spend time with my family and animals, horseback ride, garden and hike with my husband.

Find out more at ShannonMayer.com.

  

Fractured Light by Rachel McClellan - Review & Giveaway

Fractured Light by Rachel McClellan
Expected publication: February 2012
Publisher: Sweetwater Books, an imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc.

I’m dying, I thought. This was unexpected and not at all how I envisioned my death. I was supposed to die gardening in a flowerbed as a hundred-year-old woman, not as a seventeen-year-old trapped in a lake beneath inches of ice.

Llona Reese is used to living on the run. After the Vykens killed her parents, she knew they would eventually come for her too. She can’t take any chances. But when she starts to make friends for the first time in her life, she gets careless and lets her guard down. Big mistake.

As an Aura, Llona can manipulate light and harness its energy. But if she wants to survive, Llona will have to defy the Auran Council and learn to use her power as a weapon against the Vyken whose sole desire is to take her light. Now she’s caught in something even bigger than she can understand, with a power she can’t wield, and no one she can trust, except, just maybe, a mysterious stranger. 

My review:
Llona isn't like other teenagers. She has pale skin, white hair, can manipulate light, and has an excess of energy during a full moon. Llona is an Aura, like her mother was. Her mother was killed by a Vyken several years earlier. After her father also dies, she lives with her uncle, Jake. However, that means she doesn't have anyone who can teach her what it means to be an Aura, except for her aunt, Sophie, who wants Llona to attend a special school for Auras, Lucent Academy. Llona also doesn't have any friends, except for May, who still isn't a close friend. The two girls are drawn together because they are aware there is something different about the other, but they do not talk about their secrets. When Llona finally starts letting herself get close to May and meets Christian, she is finally ready to stop moving from place to place like they have been doing. Llona finds out she has a guardian. All Auras have guardians assigned to them, but usually only when they are older and have left Lucent Academy. However, the danger that they knew was a possibility is closer than she or her guardian realized, and Llona must learn to harness the power of light to protect herself and the ones she has come to care about.

The idea of someone who is going to protect you no matter what does have a strong appeal. On the one hand, it is hard to resist this character and this theme. On the other hand, there is a part of me that doesn't like the type of lead female character who needs someone to protect her. I was very surprised and pleased when Llona ended up being willing and able to protect herself, even though she did have a guardian.

Rachel McClellan did an excellent job writing her characters and spacing big moments in just the right places to keep your attention. There may have been some elements which didn't seem believable. (For example, the girl who wants to be invisible being the star player on the basketball team - during the full moons, of course.) However, to enjoy this type of novel, you have to lose yourself and let yourself believe in the fantasy. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Fractured Light. I would recommend this to anyone, and I am looking forward to reading the next book from Rachel.

A copy was provided by the publisher for review.

About the author:

"My mind only knows how to write. Other people perform simple tasks like cleaning their house or using the bathroom without a distracting thought.

I can't.

Yesterday I meant to vacuum, but ended up scrubbing blood out of my carpet instead. The body's still in the freezer. And when I went to take a shower, a little girl in a red dress and pigtails appeared to me in the vanity mirror. Again. I wish she would go away.

See what I mean? My life is a story and the only way to stay sane is write it all down. I only hope others can find joy in my insanity" - Rachel McClellan

Rachel McClellan was born and raised in Idaho, a place secretly known for its supernatural creatures. When she's not in her writing lair, she's partying with her husband and four small children. Her love for storytelling began as a child when the moon first possessed the night. For when the lights went out, her imagination painted a whole new world. And what a scary world it was…

Fractured Light is her debut novel.

Find out more on Rachel's website, Twitter, Facebook, and the Book Poster page.

View the rest of the tour stops.

Giveaway:

One copy of Fractured Light to one winner, provided by Cedar Fort.

Giveaway is open to international entries. If winner is international, an eBook will be sent. Winners in the US will have the option of a print copy or an eBook.

How to enter:

+1 Follow Krazy Book Lady on Twitter.
+1 Like Krazy Book Lady on Facebook.

+1 Follow Rachel on Twitter.

+1 Like Rachel's page on Facebook.

+1 Follow Cedar Fort on Twitter.
+1 Like Cedar Fort on Facebook.
+1 Leave a blog post comment.

Please do not leave emails or usernames in the blog post comments. Please include usernames, name you used to leave a comment, etc, in the section for comments on the entry form. 

Giveaway details:
Giveaway is open internationally. This giveaway will run until midnight on January 25. Must be 13 or older to enter. Winner will be chosen using Random.org. Winner will be emailed and this blog post will be updated to include the winner's name. Winner has 3 days to contact me or a new winner will be selected. Cedar Fort will be notified, and the book will be shipped from them.

Thank you for entering and good luck!

Sorry! This giveaway is now closed.

Winner: Rachel V.