Work Ethic

I have not released a novel in what seems like forever. It will be 5 years in February 2015. I took a lot of time off to study my craft to see what I could do to improve as an author and a publisher. During my time away from the game I’ve been able attend writing groups and speak with some trusted book industry people who’ve been very instrumental in helping me to reach new heights. I’ve attended various meetings with writing groups such as the Liar’s Club and another one here locally in Delaware called The Written Remains Writers Guild. They helped me to understand that sometimes you need to just write freely and let the chips fall where they may. The tools to become great are right at our fingertips. We as authors must decide if we want to use them or not. I’m making a concerted effort to use them. The entire time away I’ve been writing feverishly. I have two completed manuscripts. At the time of writing this post one (YA/New Adult Novel) is with a developmental editor and the other one (Detective Fiction) will be going to another developmental editor on the eleventh of this month. I also have a novella lined up for Nano Wrimo month tentatively titled Hurt Me No More. I’ve went so many years starting and stopping with a project during that month and I’m sick of it. This is the year that I finally complete a novella in the national writing month. Another important thing for writers is finding the right editors. They are huge as far as a writer’s career is concerned. A great editor to me is like a head coach in basketball. Yes the writer is talented, but the editor is the one who helps mold the writer into a well-rounded literary force. I believe the editors I’ve had a chance to work with have given me the assistance I need to take my writing to another level. Reading has been a huge boon for me, too. I’ve gotten to read in some different genres as well as the new ones I’m currently writing in. I made the transition from writing urban fiction to Young Adult fiction/detective fiction. I understand that reading outside of your preferred genre gives you a sense of different writing styles and just overall different experiences. Studying different techniques and being able to carve out my own voice allows my writing to come more naturally than it did in the past. As a result of this both of the first drafts of my two most recent novels I’ve completed became easier when I stopped self editing. One of my future goals is to release a detective novel every year and to expand my platform so people can get to know me as a writer. I feel like I am fully equipped to give readers novels they can sank their teeth into. Hopefully I can be propelled into a writer to check for. No matter what I plan to make an impact on the literary industry.