M … is for Mutual (Support)

On 14/04/201415/04/2014 By TomIn Achievement, General, Insight, Novel, Poetry, Review, Short Stories, Uncategorized21 Comments

is for mutual, as in mutual support.

Now, how am I going to spin this into a writing connection?

We all enjoy what we’re doing; writing. We all recognise that if not a lonely life, it can be safely construed as a solitary life. Outside of your shed, study, or wherever you write, you may have family or even friends. They may or may not make all the right noises when they see your work, but let’s look at our blog-life.

Instead of using this post to talk about writing, I thought I’d touch on what we’re all doing right now – blogging and communicating. We’re strengthening ties and creating a better, larger, writer’s community.

Is it good to see a ‘like’ about your blog?

For me, the answer to that is yes, and no. I can’t see the point in telling somebody new that you ‘like’ an aspect of their blog, unless you qualify it with the reason. If you give a ‘like’, give a comment the first time, even if it’s brief. There is an exception to this theory. Once you’ve established a rapport with the blogger, and actually written a comment or two, an unsupported ‘like’ is still nice to see – it shows you’ve made the time to get over for a look.

Why is it so important?

It leaves a bitter taste to find that somebody has ‘liked’ about four aspects of your blog, and clicked on ‘follow’, simply so that you will go and check out theirs, possibly even deciding to ‘follow’ it. In the last month I’ve had five such attempts at using me to increase ‘followers’. I’ve grown wise to it, and the transgressors have been unceremoniously removed. This blog is still very much a learning process for me.

Is this a rant?

Most definitely not. I did feel though that, now that we’ve reached the halfway point on this rather excellent challenge, it was time to show my colours so to speak.

I refreshed my blog at the beginning of the year, and started from scratch. My previous blogging efforts were going largely unnoticed. I now have 59 followers according to my statistics, but I know it’s not accurate so I’ve got a couple of ‘red herrings’ to find. I’m actually following about 40 blogs, and though it’s hard work at times, I want to see how things look at the end of April.

Don’t worry, we’re nearly there; the point is coming.

My aim is to have a manageable list of blogs, where there is mutual support between myself, those who follow me, and those I follow. If I have 30 ‘followers’ who are actually ‘following’, I will respond in kind. If I have 50 followers, I will work hard to support them.

I’m not expecting that there is a closed group of blogs, like a Facebook group. Good manners and integrity suggests to me that it doesn’t have to be a reciprocal exercise, as long as we are faithful when we hit that ‘follow’ button. If the target blog gets boring, then ‘unfollow’. It can be that we are following 25 blogs, but we have 50 followers. Even an occasional response to comments is good manners.

I know there are some out there with followers in three figures, and I salute you. You are what blogging is all about. My actual writing time is too precious to follow too many blogs. I will however work to support any writer who feels they need an opinion, a tip, or even a listening ear. I am not beyond asking for those things myself. No, sadly I’m not perfect or infallible, but I’m working on both.

What I’m saying in a nutshell is, that those of us that are serious about writing and blogging don’t really need ‘hangers-on’. We do need genuine, like-minded individuals, who can see beyond their own screen, and want to help, and be helped.

Okay. I think I’d better stop writing, or the decent folk among you will stop reading. By the way, there was no intent to injure any blogger, mentally or physically with the contents of this post.

Thank you once again for reading, and where appropriate, following. I’ll see you tomorrow with ‘N‘

L … is for Layout

On 13/04/201414/04/2014 By TomIn Achievement, General, Insight, Novel, Poetry, Short Stories18 Comments

is for layout. In this case I am using layout, but for the purpose of explanation, it could also be described as presentation, or format. However you’d like to consider it by name, it is a massive area to cover, so I’ll touch on it with a few basic points.

I self-publish my novels and poetry anthologies as eBooks, so it is fitting that I refer to my own particular layout in the body of this post.

An eBook is no less a book because it is in digital format, so it should have a similar general appearance to the printed page, and it should contain the appropriate supplementary information.

Do you require a fair grasp of e-pub formatting?

I’m not an authority on it, but I have a reasonable knowledge of the task. I formatted both my novels, and my five poetry anthologies. It isn’t easy, and if I’m being honest, it can raise the heart-rate at times, but it is rewarding.

There is a feeling of accomplishment when you download the book to your Kindle or other e-reader and know that you have been responsible for every aspect of the production.

In self-publishing, there is a greater requirement for self-promotion, and this should be taken into consideration at the formatting stage.

How does an author promote within an eBook?

My own method is twofold. First, I wait until I have at least two 5* reviews before I update and include them. Secondly, I promote my other writing within the endnotes. There are obviously no reviews at initial publishing; the scary stage.

My layout is: Title, copyright, acknowledgements, reviews (in brief), contents, and then the story. After the story: Epilogue, a word from the author, about the author, also by the author, and contact details.

I don’t believe in pushing the ‘author’ information until after the story is read, because initially, it’s the story the reader is buying into. If by the end of the story, they like the writing, then they will take more interest in the endnotes.

Considerations when formatting for e-publishing?

1. Line spacing is a key factor. Too little space creates blocks of text that fill the screen. Too much space creates too much white space. Both achieve one thing; an uncomfortable reading experience. I use 1.15 spacing.

2. Fancy fonts can create issues, and the procedure is complicated enough. Stick with a standard font that will do the job; Arial, Courier, or Times New Roman. I use Times New Roman, headers size 14, regular text size 12.

3. Throughout the process, it is a good idea to keep the number of fonts and styles, to a minimum. This maintains a better reading experience. I tend to use bold capitals for chapter headings, or supplementary headings, regular text for the story, and italics for emphasis, or when dealing with telephone dialogue.

4. Paragraph indents should be less than for the written page. An indent on an e-reader is much more pronounced and can spoil the reader’s enjoyment. Standard indent is approximately 1.27cm. I reduce this to 0.25cm.

5. A line break, should be used after sections of supplementary information (copyright, reviews, etc.), or it all becomes a constant stream of text.

6. A line break, should be used at the end of each chapter to avoid the beginning of a fresh chapter occurring part-way down the screen.

7. An asterisk (centre-aligned), is useful to create a natural break between scenes, and this ‘educates’, or guides the human reader, just like signposting within the text.

8. Placing all the author info at the back of the book provides the human reader with more of a sample of the story, before deciding to make a purchase.

This is only an introduction to a challenging, but rewarding task.

Please note, that the procedure for formatting poetry is even more ‘challenging’.

Once again, thank you for reading my post, and if you have any queries, I respond to all comments.

See you tomorrow for ‘M’.