Okay, I woke up at midnight last night I couldn't turn my brain off and the more I thought about writing there were more and more things that just pissed me off. So I thought I would share.
1- The major one is language barriers between Australian English and American English. - Seriously I think you guys need to think about joining us, (mainly so I don't keep screwing it up). in two of my stories I have both an Aussie and an American main character - So what version am I supposed to write it in. Because I know my editor will kick my arse if I use both.
2- Why do people think they can write your story better than you? and I am not talking other authors or editors - I am talking family and friends. How many times I have heard "I liked it, but I would have written it like this." On: One Last Kiss Goodbye (Title still in thought.) I have a friend tell me exactly how it was going to end and proceeded to tell me - I was like well hang on now, I am writing it and I don't know where it is headed so how can you? (By the way I am 7K into the story).
3- Why is it every time I receive edits it ends up going back to the editor with way more words? The Lines of Marsden: Rules Are Meant To Be Broken, went back to my MLR editor with nearly 4K extra. I don't understand when I reword things I end up like doubling the sentence. Somehow I think my editor is pulling her hair out right about now - (Does it help if I say sorry, Kimberly.)
4- Why is it I am so bad at promoting? Actually it's not that I am bad at it I just forget to do it. Though I did remember to promo Toowoomba Boys 2: Hunting for Clay on Talking Two Lips Yahoo site - check it out if you have time. There are such great excerpts going on there take a look at what is coming out.
5- This is another thing I hate and I do it oh so often - Why the hell do I keep losing my notes? Why can't I be more professional and keep them all in the same place? I even lose them on the computer sometimes because I can never remember where I save them to. I spend so much time trying to track them down.
It is true... family/friends keep telling you "hey, you could write that"... hey why don't you hush cause you are messing me up!!! I don't need someone else's ideas stepping on mine. LOL (and in some cases it is rather creepy!)
ReplyDeleteHang in there with the edits...
Big Hugs,
Z.
You know what how I am feeling - It drives me nuts.
DeleteI would write it in the language you feel most comfortable in. As an Aussie too, I would find it so hard to try and write using American spelling, when we spend up to 13 years in school learning the UK & Aussie version. Spelling the US way just doesn't come naturally to me and I would get so distracted from my writing trying to make sure that I was spelling things the US way. You can always change it later using spell check if your editor insists.
ReplyDeleteAs to the computer, create a writing folder and then create a folder for each series in that one, then you just save your notes to the appropriate one. It should be really easy to find then. Well hopefully anyway :-)
Sadly on the computer thing I do that I am very organise in my files - just sometimes I manage to save something some place completely random - don't ask me why I do it - I just do... Though at the moment it is due to lack of sleep. in the last 72 hours - I have had 6 hours sleep. insomnia big time - but I won't take meds to help me sleep... as my kid has sleep apnoea and I need to keep an ear out for her. Though she is not as bad as she used to be but it is just habit now to listen out - so I am a light sleeper at the best of times.
DeleteYes I am rambling so I will shut up now.
Take a nap deary, you need it. The spelling thing doesn't really bother me most of the time. I do remember a couple of characters that were "American" and the story took place in Montana or Wyoming and the spelling and word usage were definitely British. It was a little distracting, one doesn't expect a cowboy to speak with a "stiff upper lip". Maybe if the story had been better it wouldn't have mattered at all. I guess the moral to my little story is "if you are a good author and produce a strong story it really won't matter that much".
ReplyDeleteEmbry lives in Texas so she is helping me not only americanise but get the lingo right.
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