Comments on: My Writing (meltdown) in April. https://grahamclements.com/my-writing-meltdown-in-april/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=my-writing-meltdown-in-april Writer, blogger, and dreamer. Mon, 02 Dec 2024 05:23:40 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.5 By: Unknown https://grahamclements.com/my-writing-meltdown-in-april/#comment-1110 Tue, 26 May 2015 23:22:10 +0000 https://grahamclements.com/my-writing-meltdown-in-april/#comment-1110 Forgot to pop back in here and didn't receive any notification of additional comments (forgot to tick the box)! Hope you're going OK Graham. I am plugging away. But the mountain I'm trying to climb in terms of my next book is huge. My biggest concern is that by the time I finish it (probably a few more years) and publish it (probably a few more years again!) no one will read books anymore… or at least not enough people for me to make a living out of it… man it is hard…

In terms of Facebook. One of the key reasons I stay with it is to keep up with you both and other authors and readers. I don't have many friends in my life who share the same passion for writing that I share with you both. So when you're not around on facebook, I feel like I lose touch with people who I get and who get me and my determination to write at all costs. 🙁 I think it is a matter of using it and don't let it use you. I try to be selective on what I read and do on there as much as I can…

]]> By: Graham Clements https://grahamclements.com/my-writing-meltdown-in-april/#comment-1109 Tue, 26 May 2015 13:59:04 +0000 https://grahamclements.com/my-writing-meltdown-in-april/#comment-1109 Hi Chris, I wonder whether there will be any readers left too, especially of science fiction. I recently read an article about the drop in science fiction sales and the fact that the average science fiction reader is an old white guy. But that does not take account the massive sales that YA science fiction series like Divergent and the Hunger Games have – whose readership would be predominately young females (I have enjoyed the Hunger Games movies though). So perhaps writing YA, like my current novel, is the way to go. Interestingly, the original idea was a stand alone novel with an ending that explains most of what has happened, but leaves some aspects hanging. As I now get very close to the end, I can see how easy it would be to write a sequel (just as I wrote that a whole lot of ideas for a sequel popped into my head). I think the fantasy market should grow, partly due to Game of Thrones. Perhaps your book will come out just as Game of Thrones comes to an end and there are all these people desperate for a fantasy fix turning to books. We can hope that something happens to get people reading more. Perhaps the Chinese might mandate that all Chinese have to be literate readers of English, opening up a huge market. But then again, probably flooding it with millions of more books. As my next blog post will show, since I have quit facebook my word output has risen drastically. And I have critiqued a few stories. But I miss the contact with people like you and Anthony greatly. Perhaps I could trial a half hour at the end of the day on facebook, and force myself to ignore all those interesting political posts and posts on climate change and force myself not to comment on all the recent crappy science fiction movies like Mad Max (the original is still the only good one). I also want to use Facebook to plug articles I write for Divine. I am still on Google+ mainly because I created a community there devoted to publicising all the articles written for Divine. But I have always used Google+ differently from Facebook.

]]> By: Anthony J. Langford https://grahamclements.com/my-writing-meltdown-in-april/#comment-1111 Wed, 13 May 2015 08:42:03 +0000 https://grahamclements.com/my-writing-meltdown-in-april/#comment-1111 Yes, I'm well and truly over it. If it werent for the prospect of future works being published, I would probably quit it now, permanently. I think I only sold two copies of Caged through Facebook, but then again, hardly sold any anywhere so perhaps it was the fact that its a poetry book. Can't rely on Facebook but I suppose its a useful tool.

Hope you enjoy yr break and get some work finished.

]]> By: Graham Clements https://grahamclements.com/my-writing-meltdown-in-april/#comment-1112 Sun, 10 May 2015 23:34:32 +0000 https://grahamclements.com/my-writing-meltdown-in-april/#comment-1112 I have been thinking about your situation in regard to Facebook. Your situation is different to mine, I hope to one day join you as a published author and will need to market my book(s) on social media. I reckon as soon as a publishing contract is signed, or as soon as I start the self-publishing process, I will be back on Facebook, if it is still around. I know you had two sales from me because I ran into you on Facebook. I bet you don't spend anywhere near as much time as I did on it too.

]]> By: Graham Clements https://grahamclements.com/my-writing-meltdown-in-april/#comment-1113 Sun, 10 May 2015 09:48:46 +0000 https://grahamclements.com/my-writing-meltdown-in-april/#comment-1113 Yes Anthony, I have the pain of rejection to look forward to. I think that fear of rejection has a fair bit to do with me not finishing anything to put out there.

]]> By: Anthony J. Langford https://grahamclements.com/my-writing-meltdown-in-april/#comment-1114 Sat, 09 May 2015 09:29:57 +0000 https://grahamclements.com/my-writing-meltdown-in-april/#comment-1114 Quitting Facebook seems like a good idea. Been contemplating it alot lately.

Anyway, hang in there Graham. I think its a good idea to focus on one novel, get it finished and get it out there. Then you too can get depressed haha
There's a lot of crap out there as you know, so its a matter of luck I think. I believe its also mainly about contacts.. anyway, I'm pretty jaded after almost 10 years of trying to get novels published.

Stick with it mate. At least you've done something productive with your life that you enjoy. Cant ask for more than that.

]]> By: Graham Clements https://grahamclements.com/my-writing-meltdown-in-april/#comment-1115 Fri, 08 May 2015 22:53:59 +0000 https://grahamclements.com/my-writing-meltdown-in-april/#comment-1115 Thanks Chris, my editor did reassure me that my writing wasn't crap too. I did buy the ebook of Wired for Story – but I have not made time to start reading it yet, I will. I know self doubt is huge among writers. Hopefully that is all it is with me. I think you're a good writer too, and considering the limited time you have you seem to be devoting significant time to it, and are a lot further down the process with your publishing of Running Against Time. I noticed you have a novella on Amazon too, which I bought – but have not read yet. I need to get something finished and approach publishers.

]]> By: Unknown https://grahamclements.com/my-writing-meltdown-in-april/#comment-1116 Fri, 08 May 2015 10:05:35 +0000 https://grahamclements.com/my-writing-meltdown-in-april/#comment-1116 Will comment here since it seems you may not read it on Facebook. I'm using it a lot less these days too. And gave up blogging too quite a while back as you'd have noticed, all to focus on my fiction writing. The book I recommended to you a while back, you've got to read it. I promise it will help. Has some great tips in it regarding getting the best out of your critics and beta readers. But, that being said, I've been having a very similar crisis as you so far this year myself. Even today, I was working on re-writes and starting to seriously question if I can even form correct paragraphs anymore!! Self doubt for writers is like an illness itself…. All I can say is I hear you, I think you are a good writer, and keep fighting….

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