Finding Your Voice As An Author

For newbie authors, pay attention...

When you're finally ready to sit down and take a serious stab at writing that first novel, be careful of how you do it. Stay away from books that deal with your specific genre while you’re writing because you don't want to be swayed by the writing of another author who composes in the same category.
This is not to say you can't have influences per se; certainly you can be inspired by other authors, but as a writer you need to find your own voice. You don't want to mimic someone else's style. In certain cases it's okay if you want to give a nod of respect to a favorite author, but find your own way

For example, I wrote a historical fiction about Billy the Kid. My book was three years in the making while I read and read and read before sitting down to write my book, but when I decided I was ready to do so, I deliberately stayed away from other female writers who have written about Billy (which there are not many of, admittedly; and this is just fine by me to be one of the few) because I did not want another female’s opinion to mark my writing. I did not want to be predisposed by their thoughts or words—I did not want my writing to be subjective. It was very important that I tell his story from my own perspective based on the facts.

Many authors who are worth their salt will tell you that it is very important for a writer to find their own voice via sentence structure. If you have to steal from another author’s style then maybe you should consider giving up on writing altogether because you don't take the craft seriously. No serious author should be a hack.

 

Finding Your Voice As An Author

For newbie authors, pay attention...

When you're finally ready to sit down and take a serious stab at writing that first novel, be careful of how you do it. Stay away from books that deal with your specific genre while you’re writing because you don't want to be swayed by the writing of another author who composes in the same category.
This is not to say you can't have influences per se; certainly you can be inspired by other authors, but as a writer you need to find your own voice. You don't want to mimic someone else's style. In certain cases it's okay if you want to give a nod of respect to a favorite author, but find your own way

For example, I wrote a historical fiction about Billy the Kid. My book was three years in the making while I read and read and read before sitting down to write my book, but when I decided I was ready to do so, I deliberately stayed away from other female writers who have written about Billy (which there are not many of, admittedly; and this is just fine by me to be one of the few) because I did not want another female’s opinion to mark my writing. I did not want to be predisposed by their thoughts or words—I did not want my writing to be subjective. It was very important that I tell his story from my own perspective based on the facts.

Many authors who are worth their salt will tell you that it is very important for a writer to find their own voice via sentence structure. If you have to steal from another author’s style then maybe you should consider giving up on writing altogether because you don't take the craft seriously. No serious author should be a hack.

 

One Of The Great Things About Being Published

Aside from having your very own editor to help you through, most publishers deal in submitting your manuscript for use in film.

Of course I had to write up my own movie treatment, but nonetheless, it's exciting. And of course in having a publisher, they help with the marketing and do all the rudimentary ordeals such as cover art, helping with your title because they want the book to make money. And that's okay. You're not selling out by allowing them to do that--change the title that is. If you love your story, you want the story to get out there. And what's wrong with making some money while you're at it?

I was attached to my title, but eventually I got over it and am happy with the title my editor and their marketing division chose. They have my best interest at heart, and of course they have their best interest at heart. Publishers want to make money.

So...If you want to make your living as a writer, then jump through the hoops your editor and their marketing department offers to you. If you're lucky and your story takes off and you become a celebrated author, or at the very least a modest one, you can then have a say with the next novel.

Don't let anyone tell you that you're selling out by bending over backwards for your editor. If you want to be a writer, then do what needs to be done. It's not fair for anyone to tell you that you're forgoing your integrity by changing anything. First time authors needs to get their foot in the door, and as long as they're not changing your story completely (most publishers/editors won't even do such a thing), then what's the big deal?

Me? I love my story to death, and I've got the sequel in the works. But I want to make money being an author, so therefore whatever my editor asks of me, I'll do. You should, too.

If you're lucky enough to receive a contract from an author, be careful...if you complain too much or are difficult, arguing with your editor over things they may want to change, you could get dropped. No editor/publisher wants to work with a difficult writer.

One Of The Great Things About Being Published

Aside from having your very own editor to help you through, most publishers deal in submitting your manuscript for use in film.

Of course I had to write up my own movie treatment, but nonetheless, it's exciting. And of course in having a publisher, they help with the marketing and do all the rudimentary ordeals such as cover art, helping with your title because they want the book to make money. And that's okay. You're not selling out by allowing them to do that--change the title that is. If you love your story, you want the story to get out there. And what's wrong with making some money while you're at it?

I was attached to my title, but eventually I got over it and am happy with the title my editor and their marketing division chose. They have my best interest at heart, and of course they have their best interest at heart. Publishers want to make money.

So...If you want to make your living as a writer, then jump through the hoops your editor and their marketing department offers to you. If you're lucky and your story takes off and you become a celebrated author, or at the very least a modest one, you can then have a say with the next novel.

Don't let anyone tell you that you're selling out by bending over backwards for your editor. If you want to be a writer, then do what needs to be done. It's not fair for anyone to tell you that you're forgoing your integrity by changing anything. First time authors needs to get their foot in the door, and as long as they're not changing your story completely (most publishers/editors won't even do such a thing), then what's the big deal?

Me? I love my story to death, and I've got the sequel in the works. But I want to make money being an author, so therefore whatever my editor asks of me, I'll do. You should, too.

If you're lucky enough to receive a contract from an author, be careful...if you complain too much or are difficult, arguing with your editor over things they may want to change, you could get dropped. No editor/publisher wants to work with a difficult writer.

The Big Pay Off

Once you've written your manuscript and have submitted it to publishers and have received the exorbitant amount of rejections, you may find you get lucky and finally find a publisher who likes your story, making all of those rejections worth it.

That said, so many people write stories these days, and they wind up self publishing. Although anybody can do it, it doesn't mean they should. Writing takes a certain degree of talent, and not every Tom, Dick, and Harry can do it. And while I say "Kudos" to those who make the attempt and then put themselves out there by self publishing, I don't feel that many of them take the time to respect the craft. Writing takes a lot of research. It is an endeavor that should hold up against your story line. The story itself should not be flimsy, and it turns out that those who want a book published simply so that they can get the faux respect that comes with having a book published often do not back up their work with the strength of a real author; this, one can imagine, is disrespectful to real authors, such as myself and many others. In my opinion, and in the opinion of many other authors, you are not a legitimate author until a publisher says you are; until a publisher takes you under their wing. With the advent of self-publishing, as mentioned, anybody can do it, but again, and I cannot stress this enough, not everybody should. It's frustrating.

I would like to take this time to point out, however, that I have become friends with and am familiar with authors who do take the route of self-publishing, and they are serious authors. There are plenty of serious authors that prefer self-publishing, but they are publishing their works alongside those who simply want to be published authors. Research who the respectable self-published authors are before downloading their stories.

Rayne Hall is one such author, and I've had the good fortune of getting to know her through Twitter. You can check out her stories on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_10?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=rayne%20hall&sprefix=rayne+hall%2Cstripbooks%2C232&rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3Arayne%20hall   

And on Twitter she can be found at: @RayneHall

I of course have met many more self published authors, but Ryane is one of the most serious authors.