So here is a new version of a scam that came at me over the last week or so.
Before anything else, I must state that a writer by the name of Sarah Moss is a real author with many published titles all of which are well reviewed.
A short time ago, I received a message on TikTok from Sarah Moss with the handle sarah.moss182 claiming she had come across my novel Flashback and wanted to connect – one writer to another. Naturally, I looked at the details of her profile and, like most writers, I thought it would be nice to connect with her. I looked up her author profile on Goodreads and Amazon and saw that Sarah Moss is a well-published and respected writer.
We messaged back and forth a couple of times. She asked me to exchange book links (Missed Clue #1 – if she was interested in Flashback, all she had to do was look it up on Amazon). She gave me hers – a link to Ghost Wall on Amazon. Then I went to paste my link in a message, but TikTok blocked it because they had to review it as it might be in violation of their TOS (Missed Clue #2 – that had never happened with any other message exchange). I found that odd and tried to question TikTok what that meant – but admittedly their customer service is pretty poor and that got me nowhere. I told “Sarah” about it and she opened a group chat so we could correspond.
She showed me a graphic she’d ordered mine and it was in her cart. I then did the same for Ghost Wall. A few days later the book arrived and I posted a picture of it and sent it to her as proof that I’d purchased and received her book on the private group chat. She apologized for not having followed through on buying mine.
She mentioned my book didn’t have many reviews (Missed Clue #3 – I don’t think that would generally be a topic one author would talk to another author about). This was followed by her asking if I were open to suggestions. What was I going to say to a successful, well-published and reviewed author while I’m struggling to get my books out into the world?
Now I waited for an email from her book guru, Herbert. By next morning, there it was – Gmail address and all plus “Sarah” wasn’t even copied on the email, nor had “Sarah” copied me on her email to Herbert as would be normal for an email introduction.
I responded:
Guess what happened…
Screenshot
Result?
1 – Now armed against a different form of scam,
2 – I’m out $18.36,
3 – I own a copy of a very good book.
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There are significantly more indie authors out there than in years past and a common complaint you hear is that the quality of writing has diminished by the infusion of books that would otherwise fail to meet the standard of a traditionally published one. By no means should that insinuate an indie or self-published author is incapable of putting out an equally good product. But that doesn’t happen without putting in the work. Is it hard work? Yes. Does it sometimes cost a fair amount of money? It can.
But I think it’s possible to acquire certain skills to get your book to a higher level. Having said that, I wanted to recommend six books that I consider fundamental in attaining a higher level of competency as a writer.
1 – Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, by Renni Browne and Dave King. It’s available online for around $11 and is on the shelves of many bookstores in the self-help or reference section. The secondary title on the cover says: How to edit yourself into print. It covers a wealth of clues as to what will strengthen your writing by assessing your own work against the techniques they discuss. Things like show, don’t tell, point of view, dialogue, character, and pacing. By upping your game, using these filters, your reviews will be better and if you so desire to choose a path to traditional publishing, agents will regard your product in a more favorable light.
2 – Master Class in Fiction Writing, by Adam Sexton. This book is also available online, I think for about $17. As the title would suggest, it’s like taking a course that walks you through all the elements of writing a book: a books structure, characters, plot, the use of description and dialogue, point of view, along with others and everything that goes into each. I went back to school for an MFA in Fiction. I learned a lot of what is discussed in this book along with an entry into a greater writing community as a result, but it was costly.
3 – On Writing – A Memoir Of The Craft, by Stephen King. It’s available online and often found alongside Mr. King’s other books. Yes, Stephen King is my all time favorite author, who wrote my all time favorite book – The Stand. Most love his writing and some don’t. Many think he’s just a writer who writes scary books, but he is SO MUCH MORE than that. He breathes life into characters like no one else. So, love him or not, his book is for every writer. It begins with his journey to becoming a best-selling author, but then freely offers some of the best advice and does not pull punches about what it takes and whether you’ll ever achieve the top tier of authorhood.
4 – The Elements of Style, by William Strunk Jr., E.B. White, and Roger Angell. It’s available online and most certainly in any good bookstore. If you’re like me, you’ve probably owned a copy since high school or college. I will simply say the book is invaluable. It first came out in 1918 and was commercially published in 1920. It’s been updated several times throughout its history. I owe my entire knowledge and understanding of punctuation to this little, 105 page book. Keep it on the side of your desk as you write.
5 – Reading like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write them, by Francine Prose. Available online for a little over $10. You cannot be a writer unless you are a reader. It would be like trying to learn a language without listening to others speak around you. There is a difference between reading a book for enjoyment and reading a book as a writer. Approaching a novel as a writer, you must learn how to understand what other writers have done and why it works. I joked in a post the other day about how writers “steal” from other writers. It’s not truly stealing, but I wasn’t kidding, learning how to absorb the tricks and techniques that others use successfully and then employing those lessons in your own writing will make you stronger. This is the book on how to do that. I can’t speak for all authors, but the only drawback for my having digested this book is that I’m much quicker to pick up on examples of poor writing with the books I read – books I would have happily consumed once upon a time with no judgement.
But that leads me to my final book on the list.
6 – Toxic Feedback: Helping Writers Survive and Thrive, by Joni Cole. I don’t know if bookstores carry it, but it is available online for about $20. The first thing a writer needs to develop is a thick skin. You won’t survive without one. If you are still writing your first book, secretly hiding it on your computer and not having shared it yet, then the time will come, as it has come to us all, when your words will be read by others – and I’m not talking about a family member who will praise even cringe-worthy prose, just because…Someday, an editor or a beta reader or an agent is going to assess your work with all the honesty of a Marine drill sergeant. After your book is published, you’re going to get awful commentary from readers with 1 and 2 star postings. You must be prepared for that. It also means you need to know how to discuss other peoples writing in ways that offer legitimate, supportive advice and feedback. It is a critical skillset that needs to be acquired – from both directions – giving it and taking it.
So, for less than a hundred bucks you can arm yourself with some amazing advice and tools to help you polish your work to a higher standard. I hope you take a look at these and find them helpful.
Happy writing…
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There are a lot of jokes about what, where, and how writers write. I’ve heard that Stephen King works 24/7/365 and listens to loud music. I read that both Ernest Hemingway and Virginia Woolf stood in front of their elevated desks and Roald Dahl sat in a backyard shed. I like the shed idea. One of the writers I personally know does something similar up in New Hampshire and another takes a long, quite walk through the woods before settling down with a clear head.
Whatever the routine…and it’s different for everyone, the setting and the prep are crucial to getting words to pour out of their heads. It’s not as simple as sitting in front of a laptop and doing word crunches. Some of the jokes I mentioned is often of writers doing anything other than writing – they’ll clean the kitchen, do the laundry, toss a ball across the living room for the dog to fetch, write social media posts about writing instead of actually writing. Or we’ll just stare off into space looking like someone who’d just had a lobotomy.
I’m sure many writers are like me. Once the flow begins and you hit that zone where the outside world no longer exists because you’ve managed to achieve the Vulcan mind-meld with your characters, the slightest interruption – you’re wife telling you she’s going to the store or someone choosing that moment to call on your cell, even a TV playing in the background are sure to turn a mild-mannered Dr. Jekyll into a raging Mr. Hyde. AND, that slight hiccup will cost another 20 minutes before you get back to where you were.
Then there is the writing environment. Everyone has heard the cliché of the writer’s garret – the small space which occupies the top floor or the attic of someone’s house. I’d kill for one of those. I don’t know how some manage to create sitting in a Starbucks.
When I was writing my novel Alfheim, I rented a cubicle in The Writers Room – a space just off Broadway in lower Manhattan in New York City for some solitude, but for this book I needed mood enhancers. I didn’t have a quiet forest to clear my head, and I was dealing with fae creatures and elves who existed in a woodland realm. I was trying to conjure episodes of fairy magic and build a world that grew from Celtic mythology and settings.
Music and fantasy art took the place of a forest. My go to was Enya and Loreena McKennitt – from the opening bars of their music to the closing notes, pieces such as Enya’s May it Be or McKennitt’s The Mummers Dance and The Mystic’s Dream transported me instantly to the place where my characters were. And the visuals from a host of talented graphic artists displaying their work on DeviantArt.com helped me with the brushstrokes of my world-building.
For you fantasy writers, you don’t have to be a member of DeviantArt, just go to the site and hit the button for Fantasy and you can plunge down the rabbit hole of imagination from the sheer amount of talent out there.
And, I’ll let you in on a little secret. Writers are thievish. We don’t plagiarize, but we do steal…well, let’s just call it borrowing. We find things that work for other writers and artists and we “borrow” their “tech” and put our own spin on things. Think of it as the Sword of Gryffindor – it only takes in that which makes it stronger. It’s about creating a flavor.
If you have a notion of writing a story, I urge you to find the place and mood that puts you where you’re ready to set words on paper. If you are a writer share some of your techniques and go-to’s in the comments.
Happy reading…or writing…
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For my debut novel, Alfheim, I wanted control of my cover, so I decided to produce it myself. I don’t think AI was actually a choice back then, but this process felt organic, and I would choose it again – using professional artists to pull my ideas together. It can certainly be more costly, but I felt it was worth it in the end. The total cost at the time came to $1,400.
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