Don't Get Too Crazy About Diversity

One of the problems with diversity is that it can get a little bit weird when you try to fill in spots that we think that are underrepresented. Granted, the more voices that we have the better. It enriches us as a culture to have access to as many different voices and diverse perspectives. Unfortunately, the problem is that there a lot of writers that are more interested in trying to find those groups that are underrepresented.

However, there are some major issues that you need to keep in mind before you get too crazy with diversity. First, you shouldn't be tackling a character just because you think that character is under-represented. You need to tackle that character because itis gonna be fun. It can be interesting because it's going to be a challenge. You need to tackle that character because it's something you actually want to do. 

You should not tackle a character just because you think it's going to fill some sort of goal. Token employees don't work in the real world just as token characters don't work in the story. 

You create a lot of interesting problems for yourself, and none of them are good. When you read a story, you need to have the story come first. If anything else comes first, the story suffers as well everything else in the book. You need something to tie everything together and that's what the story does. It also moves things forward and actually allows people to explore your world a little bit more. 

If you worry more about a particular type of person than a particular type of character you're going to create the wrong culture. You're going to be creating all these little details that are about the character, and how the character interacts with the characters specifically because of that different perspective.

And a lot of those details are going to be wrong. Odds are pretty good that you will get the big details right but will get the small details way wrong. Then you are likely to idolize the culture to the point of worshiping it rather than treating it honestly. You will be so focused on trying to make the character a typical member of the race that you will more likely make them a stereotypical member of the culture. In short, in your attempt to portray another culture is going to be offensive to those of the culture.

Ironically, some from the culture try so hard to put a positive face on their culture that they make those from the culture so incredible that they do their own culture a disservice. In all cases, you need to be willing to look at the good and bad sides of the culture or else it quickly becomes a parody of itself. 

You are going to get so worried about that character that you forget about the story. You know, the part that should be coming before everything else in book. and so worried about more about writing the best possibly version of that particular character that he will likely overshadow everyone else in the story.

In short, don't do something just because you feel there has to be some sort of political need to do so but do it because the character works for the story. Worry about making the best possible story you can first, all else second, and you will find that the characters you are trying to present will be more than just token characters, upgrading them from mere stereotypes to actual characters.

Don't Do Anything Without A Business Plan

Do typically have a plan? Look, a lot of writers tend to suck at the whole business thing. It's just straight up, we're not geared that way. This goes into that whole general category of we don't want to deal with people. 

Nonetheless, it sort of can help to have an idea what you plan to do with the book once it actually gets written. And this is basically going to come down to some sort of marketing plan. We basically have most of the steps pretty much covered: 

1) We know why we're doing it.
2) We know who we have to compete against.
3) We know why we're writing the book.
4) We know how we're going to distribute it.

We just need to come up with some sort of marketing plan to get news about our book out. We need to come up with some sort of plan in order to sell our book once we actually have it ready to go. I don't care if it's as simple as a team blasting all your social media as often as you possibly can, that's still better than just uploading it to Amazon and hoping people just come across it. 

You want all of your friends to know that you've got this new book out, so going on discussion boards and selling yourself as some sort of expert works really great if you're doing some sort of non fiction book. By establishing you know what you're actually talking about will create interest in what you're actually writing. If you're selling some sort of fiction, you need to create some sort of interest in what the book is about. 

Either way, you need to get the message out. Just hoping that someone will come across your book just doesn't sell your book.

You need to come up with some sort of plan, be it a podcast interview, advertising, pretty much any kind of social media out. You need to have some sort of plan for marketing your book. You need to actually develop that plan as quickly as possible. So make sure that when you start writing you have some sort of plan for when your book is actually published and you'll be steps ahead of the competition.

Make Sure That You Have a Support Team At The Ready

Writers tend to forget that writing as well in business. Yes, it can be fun, it can be creative, and you can use it to relieve stress every so often. But the bottom line is that it is still a business; at some point in time, we actually have to have some sort of product that goes through some kind of quality assurance process, and that we get the word out that the product is on this way. Oh, and that product has to be completed and made ready for purchase. 

We also have to make sure that well, at some point, our actual copy gets into the device or the hands of our readers. 

However, as writers we have certain handicaps in this process. As editors, we pretty much suck because when we're done with that first draft, we want to publish and we want to be on to the next thing. When it comes to marketing, we're just a little bit on the introverted side; if most writers had their way, they would never ever deal with anybody. And course we have distribution to worry about, but the more we can keep our hands off that so much the better; we hate being pushy, as it means going out and dealing with people.

We need somebody to help us with those things. While there are ways around this: If we upload to Amazon, for example, they'll take care of the printing and distribution for us, as well as a little bit of marketing. 

We still need somebody to help us with the marketing we definitely need help with the editing. Because of this we need some help once in a while. We need artists for covers, lay-out artists to make the text look pretty, editors to go through the copy looking for errors, and even marketers to help with ads. We need people to do all of the things that we don't want or lack the skills to deal with.

So if you are serious about your writing, make sure that you have some sort of support team or you may as well just write for yourself. 

Holiday Sales Work!

You're going to find that selling your book at certain times of the year can be better for book sales. Obviously, the weekend after Thanksgiving is going to be one, and the lead up to Christmas is going to be another. You're also gonna notice something at the beginning of winter and summer; that is the months when people have pretty much nothing to do and they're looking for something to entertain them.

You're also going to notice that certain books do better during certain times of the year and you're going to want to take advantage of that. For example, you're books that involve the supernatural are going to be best towards Halloween. Conversely, if you have books that draw family together, they are going to do well during winter. And, of course, you're going to see sales take off during the summer when people want to read anything that they can get their hands on.  

Look at how TV generates viewers for their shows: TV sitcoms plan everything around maor holidays so you see the Thanksgiving show, the Christmas show, the Valentine's Day, even shows that highlight summer and winter activities. They see spikes of viewers when they do that because it links those shows to events that their experiences, helping add to the spirit of the season. 

If your book is geared to a specific holiday or season, by all means take advantage of that. 

It's incumbent upon you to figure out when the best-selling seasons the year are and take advantage of that. That is when you have your marketing charge up and you have your sites ready to take on the influx of customers. Make sure that you know when your books going to take off. Not everybody's going to have that same schedule in that regard. Make sure your marketing is ready. make sure information on your books are available, and definitely make sure your sites are ready. 

Just simply take advantage of that you're going to find out real quick that selling for the holidays work, especially if your books are set up that way.

Spend For Effect

One of those unwritten rules is that you're gonna have to spend money for something in order to get attention. I don't care if it's for the editing, the marketing, or even have a really cool book cover design but you need to spend money to make money. Yeah, it's a sad state of affairs, but you can't do everything for free

While it sucks there's nothing wrong with this; sometimes you need to pay to play. It's just that when you do spend money, you want to make sure that what you're spending on is actually going to be effective for whatever you need it to be effective for. You need to check out the product, and that means that you need to check out reviews if possible. You need to get some sort of sample. 

You need to be able to justify that spending. 

Then you need to avoid the person who will get what you purchased to you when it suits him. Yeah, that's not gonna work. You have deadlines, even Informal ones, and you need to stick to those deadlines. Sticking to someone else's schedule when you have one of your own needs to be avoided at all costs.

So that means that not only you have to make sure that whatever money you're spending is actually being used effectively but you need to have some sort of way to actually track it. If you can't put a tracking system of some sort in the place, then don't bother spending the money in the first place; you'll just end up wasting money one way or another. You need to not only have confidence in what you're doing, but to be able to shout out confidence in your system as a whole. 

So when it comes down to it you need to make sure that you're working with the best possible product for your particular situation. You need to make sure there's some sort of work samples available. You need to check out reviews if possible. And you need to have some sort of system in place that allows you to check up on what's going on with with the money you're spending. When you are doing that then Congratulations! You are spending money to affect

Have Someone You Can Talk To

One of the problems with being a writer is that sometimes it'll be seem like it's just you and your laptop. You can have a lot of collaborations with other artists throughout the years, and sometimes you'll have employers and employees working with you. But the bottom line is that you are going to encounter a lot of weird problems that you're going to need to have somebody talk to. I don't care if it's calling Mom, an online discussion board, or even a therapist. 

You need to have somebody who can actually talk through those problems with. 

There are going to be days when you just need a little bit of encouragement or to go completely off topic, just talking about the most inane subjects known to man. There are going to be those days where you just need to get away from your writing. You need to just talk with someone, be it over Zoom, a cup of coffee, or a glass of wine. 

This is when you can need people you can go to and discuss things most people would take to a therapist. You need to have somebody you can talk with, so that when you have problems, you know who to discuss those problems with. 

And keep in mind that sometimes the other person you're talking to you is going to have the exact same problem. So just as much as you need have somebody to talk to you, remember that other people may need to talk to you. You need to reciprocate your relationships. Just remember that you're not alone and having somebody to talk to is one of those secrets you never see in an "How To Succeed" article. So find someone you can talk with and enjoy that relationship.

Why You Need Some Sort of Family

One of the coolest things you have right now is not just beta readers, but people that know you well, that love you, and are more than willing to slap you down. You need support, you need someone to hug you when you need it. That's what we get from family, however we define that family.

You need that but at the same time sometimes you need somebody who's going to basically come in and slap you down. Not only will family support you and evendefend you, but occasionally they'll let you know that when you're being an idiot. 

And that's something every writer needs. 

Writers tend to go on really long rants about absolutely nothing that do absolutely nothing for the stories we are working on. That's where family comes in. You've got people who have absolutely no problem giving you a hot cup of cocoa while they make fun of how you're messing up. And you need somebody that has absolutely no problem coming in and slapping you down. You need somebody who's going to be a harsh critic. If that harsh critic isn't going to be you, it better be somebody you love. So if you're serious about writing, I don't care how you define the family. I don't care if you use close relatives, people you've known for years, or even just people you spend a lot of time around, if you serious about ready you need to make sure that you have family of some sort near you.