Sally Ember, Ed.D. has been passionate about writing since she was nine years old. She’s won prizes for her poetry, stories, songs, and plays. She began meditation in her teens. Now, Sally delights fans of paranormal and romance by blurring the lines between fact and fiction in a multiverse of multiple timelines with a unique blend of utopian speculative fiction and Buddhism.
Her sci-fi/ romance/ speculative fiction/ paranormal/ multiverse/ utopian books for New Adult/adult/YA audiences, “The Spanners Series,” are getting great reviews…
Many of us have seen the above picture and it’s right. That is a great way to support an author that you enjoy and want to see them continue. Yet, there is another area of support that I wanted to touch on. What do you do if the author in question isn’t a favorite, but part of your non-cyberspace circle? Maybe a spouse, a sibling, a friend, or somebody that you interact with outside of a computer. Is there anything else you can do besides the following phrase?
“I support you and know you can do it.”
This is a powerful phrase, but you have to be ready to back it up with actions such as simply telling others about the book or even beta reading if asked. Don’t say it and follow up by asking about the author’s Plan B, grilling them about sales made, pointing out the odds of success, or anything that you probably think is helpful as a Devil’s Advocate. Authors mentally and emotionally beat the shit out of each other enough. We really don’t need those within our physical presence to add to our stress. As workers of words, many authors even leave themselves exposed to these things in a negative way. Remember that authors work with layers beyond what is really being said, so they can look further into your words than you may expect. Asking about Plan B could easily be interpreted as ‘My support is to placate you, but I really think you should grow up and get a real job instead of acting like a child’.
So, what are some things you can ‘give’ to an author? I can think of four things:
Time– Even if the author is a pantser, writing and editing takes time. Formatting and promoting a book takes time. Getting cover art takes time. Being an author takes a lot of time and you need to understand that. Every non-author event, errand, and request takes away from that time. If you don’t give the author time to work on their craft then you aren’t really supporting them. FYI- Giving them time at the end of the day when you’ve worn them out both physically and mentally, doesn’t count. It’d be like you being run around to help other people and THEN put back into your job without rest or time to gather your thoughts. Since writing is very mental and emotional, this course of action typically results in the author not even trying that day.
Patience– This connects very closely with time. Creating a book and making it the best that can be requires patience. Not just for the author, but for those around them. You will have moments where they refuse to leave the work alone because they are on a roll or something is gnawing at them. This is what most artists are like. It’s an itch that has to be scratched or the author will be unfocused. Maybe even irritable. Patience goes double for anyone trying to make a career of it. Rowling, King, Tolkien, Steele, and all of the big names weren’t famous over night. It took a lot of patience and hard work for them to get there. Don’t believe me? George R.R. Martin published the first Game of Thrones book in 1996. The TV show hit in 2011 and that’s when he became the household name. 15 years for him to reach a level that you might be expecting your author friend/family member to make in 3 years time. Any author who makes it big overnight is DAMN lucky and I don’t think that system exists any more.
Space/Privacy– Many who follow this blog probably know that I don’t have an office. I work on my bed or downstairs at the table. The latter tends to put me in traffic while the former means I only have to deal with the phone. God knows how many times I’ve smacked that cordless bastard. Anyway, an author needs space, privacy, and quiet to focus on what they’re doing. This is the same for any job. You don’t walk about to a construction worker using a jackhammer and start talking to him about the grocery list or a funny article. Just give the person space and if you REALLY need to talk to them, politely ask if they’re busy. Don’t just walk up to them and start jabbering away as if they can drop what they’re doing. It’s insulting, frustrating, and means you’re talking a person that isn’t happy to see you. So somebody better be sick, injured, dead, or some other time of emergency when this happens. Oh, and if you’re excuse is that the author has music or the TV on then I have some insight for you. For some, sounds we can control the source of are fine. I can mute Pandora and the TV with ease. The only way I can mute another person is with a stun gun and that just means you’re going to interrupt me later because you feel I overreacted.
Understanding– No, I don’t mean understanding the author’s story. If they are trying to explain then at least attempt to follow along. Many times an author will be talking about their story to get it straight in their own head. At these points, you’re there so that the author isn’t talking to himself like a crazy person. Anyway, understanding means to realize that this is a path that they love and they look at it as a job. Not a hobby like you might see it, but a way to gain fulfillment and happiness. This means the money doesn’t always factor in and repeatedly bringing it up can cause friction. I admit that his is the hardest way to help even between other authors. You really have to listen and let go of your own priorities/goals/whatever to get a sense of what the other person is trying to explain. If an author feels like they’re not understood by those around them then their entire support structure could collapse. They’re alone and have no idea who to turn to for help. Even admitting you don’t understand, but won’t get in the way is a positive thing. Because if you don’t understand and try to push the author toward what you think they should do then you aren’t helping. In fact, you’re probably hurting them in some fashion and creating that isolation I mentioned.
Yahoo Image Search
So, what if you don’t support the author friend and think they have to stop? I mean, it’s a free country and you might not have the patience to give the space and time to someone you don’t really understand. If that’s the case then simply stay out of the way. Maybe this person can’t be cut out of your life, so you find other stuff to talk about. If called on your lack of support then state that you don’t like what they’re doing, but you’re staying out of the way. It might hurt the author, but at least you aren’t trying to stop them. That usually doesn’t end well.
One thing you SHOULD NOT DO, is question the people who still support the author and attempt to make them feel like they’re idiots for doing so. Say you do get through and start turning people against the author. You may think you’re gathering an army to save this poor soul from him or herself. In reality, you’re isolating them from their circle and creating resentment and distrust. Not only toward you, if they even know you’re behind it, but to everyone around them. It isn’t that they’ll suddenly think they weren’t good enough to make it. It’s now that they were abandoned by their circle and never given a chance, which isn’t a person you want to deal with when you need help. Maybe all the earlier support is now seen as lies too. Honestly, attempting to pity those who support an author trying to make it does so much damage once that author finds out. Relationships across the board take some hits and all because you had no faith in the other person. See, how much easier it is to simply stay out of the way or avoid the topic?
Wow. This was a really long post. As you can guess, I needed to get something off my chest. I’m sure I’ll have some real world conversations coming out of this one from various blog spies. Whatever. I think this had to be said because an author is only as strong as his or her support team. At least that’s what I believe.
Time. That precious commodity no one has. Everything is about time. I bitch about time, ALL THE TIME! But it’s a misnomer. See, if I have time to shovel a chocolate bar… (fine two bars) in my gob, then I can find time to schedule tweets, finish that bloody book, and pin my posts to Pinterest.
Everyone knows Twitter is in the top 5 tools for boosting traffic, but scheduling tweets is another matter. I have tweets scheduled up to 6 months in advance. Yeah, really, and no, it’s not because I’m super organised. Once I write a post, I use a program to create template tweets and then schedule them for the next 6…
First . . . the heck was I going to say here? Whatever. This is all about how I need to change the publishing/writing thing this year. Sort of. Not really sure how to describe this since it’s been a bad week in terms of confidence, mood, self-esteem, stress, and I think I’m obsessed with lists today.
Do I say second if I really didn’t have anything for first? Whatever again. I’m simply going to list the projects and their fate below. I’ll put something about life or a goal list at the end or something. Don’t you feel me being so into this post? The energy is just ebbing through the computer and making you . . . at least close the door behind you, people! Letting all the lukewarm air out of here. (Did not know lukewarm was one word before writing that sentence.)
Gozer from Ghostbusters
Ravens’ Game
Alas poor Dawn and Corvus. We barely knew ye and now you’re going to get shelved unless I find another story for you to join. The truth is that I don’t feel confident about the sequel. Third and fourth books seem clearer, but I don’t have the bridge needed to get to those. Another problem is that I really don’t have the time to write a long story that will be blog only. This was an experiment and I really like the characters, but not enough that I want to sacrifice part of my time to keep them going. So I apologize to the people who were looking forward to more.
Ichabod Brooks
Alas poor . . . Just kidding. Ichabod is going to be staying. In fact, I just finished writing Ichabod Brooks & the Starwind Egg. Even better news is that I won’t be publishing it! *wait for tension* Ichabod is going to be the blog only story and I might even put out more than one a year. The reason is because the stories are only 25-35 pages long. That’s a 99 center and cover art is expensive. I never made my investment back from the first book, so I felt it was smarter to make him an introduction to my style through my blog. Still deciding on if I want to take down Ichabod Brooks & the City of Beasts since money was put into that. These stories don’t really go in any order. If I do take it down then I’d put it first. To avoid long waits, these stories will be posted daily section by daily section over the course of how many days it takes.
By the way, I’m not sure when I should start releasing the short story. Part of me wants to do the summer to give me winter and spring to focus on the bigger projects. Possibly even write another that I can use in November when things are extremely slow.
Lord of the Rings/Monty Python
Crossing Bedlam
Will remain as another series. Still looking for volunteers to help promote. Not sure which story to take for the sequel too. Torn between them going to the Florida tourist attractions, escorting vaccine carriers, them having a bucket list (probably Lloyd focused), or them getting involved in the Theist War. Still on the fence about even doing that last one because I’m sure it will piss people off. Mostly because I don’t understand some of the groups involved and the whole thing is revolving around zealots anyway. There’s also a story that involves celebrities being collected, but I have to look into how far I can go in my descriptions. Doubt I can use names or anything there. Maybe I should do a poll or something later.
Legends of Windemere
Still planning to release 3 books this year and write the final 3. I’ll be diving into editing Tribe of the Snow Tiger, Charms of the Feykin, and The Spirit Well starting Tuesday. That should bring to my son’s February break or maybe even into it, which is also the potential release date for Crossing Bedlam. That means by the time he goes back to school, I can dive into Ritual of the Lost Lamb. Gives me a good run with only a few days of distraction. Not sure what I’ll be using as a cleanser after that. Maybe I’ll do characters and an outline for the next Bedlam book.
There you have it!
That’s what this week has led to. Stress is still pretty high and maybe the editing will help me get back into novelist mode. I’m going to be making a special post tomorrow to test out the Bedlam Blurbs. Beyond that:
Watching Police Squad! In Color tonight. I’ll put the intro below for those curious.
Watching Inside Out with the kid. Maybe.
Finishing the last 6 February posts for this blog.
So I was nominated by Ed Ireland to do this award thing. I don’t usually do these and I know I’ve rejected plenty in the past. The difference here is that I’m currently locked in limbo for the next hour and looking for something to do. Not the noblest of reasons, but maybe this will jog me of my melancholy too.
So I answer Ed’s questions, write some of my own, and then nominated 5 people to do as they will. Either ignore or carry on. Here we go:
My answers:
What are your favorite things to wear while writing? Clothing. Preferably warm stuff in the winter and airy stuff in the summer. Usually something of the denim persuasion is on me.
Who inspires your works? So many people, places, and things. I leave myself open to just about everything. The two current series have different origins. Legends of Windemere is off a Dungeons & Dragons game. Crossing Bedlam started as a quirky daydream and probably stemmed from Mad Max, Deadpool, and other violent action flicks.
How much are your characters a copy of real people? Who are they? Since the current series is based off a D&D game, they share aspects of the players. Beyond that I don’t usually do characters based off real people. I used to in high school, but people found out and that opened a door of opinions and critiques.
Are you a planner or a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pantser type writer? Judging by the shelf full of notebooks, folder full of outlines, and scraps of notes everywhere, I’m going to say planner. Either that or I enjoy owning the processed corpses of trees.
Aside from what your preferred genre is, what other type genre do you enjoy writing? I’ve tried a few beyond fantasy, but most haven’t really grabbed my attention. That and I didn’t feel like I was good at them. My newest series is going to be a Rated-R action, comedy, post-apocalyptic ride, which was a lot of fun. Just threw off the restraints and let my inner imp run wild. So I might be adopting whatever this is as a secondary genre.
What famous faces are behind your characters? Start the casting call. I actually don’t have anyone. I used to just grab random names off IMDB and act like I knew what I was doing. Then I just stopped. Maybe the D&D thing affects this too since the players have their faces kind of on the characters.
Which modern writer do you find fascinating? Hard to choose since I’m a horribly slow reader. I’m really into John Flanagan’s series Ranger’s Apprentice, which I love for the world-building and characters. As far as fascinating goes, I don’t really know who I’d pick. For a bit, I was fascinated by the whole 50 Shades craze, but only in that I was confused on how it got so mainstream. Don’t remember erotica getting that much attention and spread. Then again, I never really paid attention to it in general.
What famous voice would you like to hear reading your book? Torn between Morgan Freeman and Mark Hamill.
One part of The Mercenary Prince that I’ve yet to mention is that it’s a big step in Stephen Kernaghan’s development. This seems to be running alongside Delvin’s journey and it isn’t pretty. Mostly because he’s a sadistic monster who has rapidly become more unhinged as the series progresses. So how do you evolve a villain who you want to stay truly evil?
I won’t call myself an authority on this because there’s probably a hundred ways to accomplish this feat. I went with Stephen getting worse and becoming even more monstrous with every defeat and victory. His goal has become entirely about bending Nyx to his will and using her against his father along with Trinity. It’s no longer about the champion prophecy or being a good son, which makes him more dangerous than ever. In a way, he’s become weaker too because he lacks what little caution and patience he had. This book is where Stephen either recovers or breaks entirely, which does culminate in one of my favorite scenes to write. Still, it wasn’t easy keeping him truly evil through it all.
Part of the problem is that I enjoy villains with a touch of humanity in them. The Lich had loyalty to his master and Trinity fights for her people. Baron Kernaghan is rather benevolent and kind for an immortal warlord. Stephen never had a good side and I made it a point to prevent that from coming up. In fact, one could see how he’s probably the weakest of all the characters in the series. Sure, he has magic and power to throw a small army around with ease. Yet, mentally he’s really nothing more than a scared man who is doing whatever he can to prove he is powerful. I’ve come close to pitying him at times, but then I remember how much of a bastard he is. Stephen is definitely one who earns whatever hate he gets. This makes his evolution even more difficult, but maybe one could call it a de-evolution instead.
What do you think about evolving villains? What’s your favorite one where the villain didn’t become a hero?
The unexpected can happen when you’re writing. Minor characters can rise to main cast while big events can fade away. No matter how much you plan, things can make a wrong turn without warning. So let’s share our wacky experiences:
What is the strangest or funniest thing that has happened to you when writing or reading? (For me: Timoran Wrath ending a fight with one blow instead of the complicated battle I had in mind. In fact, I think he’s done this twice.)
Has there ever been a character that caught you by surprise by being either bigger or smaller than expected? (For me: Kira Grasdon. Began as background and steadily made her way up to central supporting cast.)
How do you react to people saying ‘writing is easy if you have a plan’? (For me: I nod my head and try not to laugh. Then again, it probably works for some people.)
Time. That precious commodity no one has. Everything is about time. I bitch about time, ALL THE TIME! But it’s a misnomer. See, if I have time to shovel a chocolate bar… (fine two bars) in my gob, then I can find time to schedule tweets, finish that bloody book, and pin my posts to 
