Hello SyFy

Why is it important to create your own website as a writer?

For a long time building a website was a daunting task that I didn’t want to take on. It wasn’t until I got involved in the process that I found it was easier than I thought. There are many website builders that guide you through every step, and let you be creative so you can put your  own personality and style into the project.

But why do you need it?

As a writer you will accumulate many people who not only want to read your work, but to know a little more about you. Nothing is more frustrating than finding out that a writer you have been fawning over has no website, no place to find their other works, and no way to let the reader know that they are still a person.

It’s important to have a website because writing has become more than writing in this century. In the age of social media people want more. They want to know about the dog that sits at your feet while writing. They want to see picture of what your writing space looks like. It’s not only about what you have written for them, but what you represent as a person, and what you like about life.

A website is not only there to show people what you have done,but how you have gotten there. People want a back story, and a recent story. A website is there to show them that you haven’t fallen off the side of the planet, and to give the reader reassurance that there will be more.

You will be able to promote what you have already written, and whats going to be coming out. Every writer should have a website for this reason. It gives you the opportunity to gloat about what you have done, which in turn brings more people to all you works.

Where do I go for a website?

At first I wanted something I wasn’t going to pay much for. I looked up on google what website writers use. The biggest ones I found were Wix and Squarspace. I explored both websites, trying to find something that really stood out to me . In the end I went with Squarespace because I had more creative freedom, and I loved their templates more. Sadly this website can be a little pricey, so make sure you choose something that not only fits your personality, but your wallet as well.

Lets Get Started!

1.       Account

Like any website I started with creating my own account. I was able to connect my Google account with Squarespace, which makes it easy to move my Google Dropbox documents onto the website. At this point you aren’t able to make your website URL yet, it gives you a name that is calculated by a computer system. For example, I would like the URL to have my name in it. This is important because when someone looks my name up, this website will be one of the first searches that they see. Instead I was given the URL dolphin-goldfish-l5ff.squarespace.com. This has nothing to do with who I am or what I’m making this website for, but it is important to notice this little detail so you can change it when the opportunity comes up.

You are first presented with a collection of Templates; subjects are seen on the left side. I scrolled through all my options, having a design in mind, and trying to remind myself that this is for a writer and not something that is picture based. It is easy to get excited when looking at all these templates, but you must remember that you need to find something that will fit you writing style, and what is easy for a viewer to navigate.

I went with what happened to be the first template available, Bedford.

2.       Explore

It is important to take a look at what you have. Choose every tab on your left side. I spent a lot of time of time in the Pages tab and Design tab. These two are set up to do the balk of the work when creating your website.

My first step was to go onto the first page and look at how they set it up. I am presented with a banner, and then a space beyond that to create a few block spaces to lead people to certain areas on mt site faster.

At this point I decided what I wanted to put into these square spaces. My About Me, and my Writings, was something I found to be important for anyone that would come to my website. I added these two to the squares where you can just click editing at the top, and got started.

3.       Start Building

At this point it should be a little self-explanatory on how to get everything done. It is all based on clicking edit and figuring out what you are going to put in certain spaces.

An example of what to add on your website can be, an About me, a Creative Writing tab, a Professional Writing tab, a tab for you blog if you have one, and maybe some additional tabs where you can share other passions that you feel people should know about. I created a tab for authors of the month. Each month I will be sharing an author that has inspired me to write, and have helped me through my writing process. I also have a tab to lead people to all my social medias so they can stay connected with me.

I think it is important to make sure you are keeping everything consistent. If your home page is going to be set in the colors of gray and white, make sure you are doing that for the entire website. It can become disorienting or distracting when there is a background that is too bright, or too busy.

For example, you don’t want to make you background a picture, like tiles of cactus or a backdrop of you children. It will distract from what you are trying to achieve from the website.

4.       Lets Finish

Once you have found all the pictures and pages that you need, it time to finish. As I said before Squarespace can be a little pricey, but to me it will be worth it because I will have something that people can visit. This website was created in my style with the things that are important to me. Since I’m not business I went with personal, where you then put your payment information in. By this point its just a few clicks and you have the website you are looking for. For now I am keeping my URL, but there is an option for you change the URL at the end. For me I haven’t yet perfected my website so I’m going to keep the dolphin handle until I’m done.

When this blog was first started it was to not only inform readers of the society and writings around science fiction, but to inform the reader on different methods in which writing could be done. Personal Branding, and Writing Methods and Process are two blogs that were not only made for the read, but for me, the writer as well. This blog was about learning from mistakes and experiences, and also finding a niche that best fit my writing styles.

At the beginning I didn’t really understand formatting, or hyperlinking. I think the hardest thing for me was helping the reader connect with many of the sources I had. I didn’t want to make a large work cited at the bottom of my blog, but I also didn’t want to hyper link every other word with the information I had. I settled with only linking what I found to be necessary, or maybe something the reader would find interesting. As I carry on with this blog I don’t think I’ll be scared to share my hyperlinks anymore. I think I could be sharing more information, and more sources with every reader that comes to my blog.

I think extending my blog is something that needs work too. I think as I move this blog forward I will be making sure not to cut this blog too short. My main fear was creating a blog so long no one would want to read it. I think in the future it was be safe to at least add a few more paragraphs than I have been. Instead of 800 words maybe I could make it 1000.

There was a fun exciting aspect to this blog I didn’t think I would find. Although I don’t think it is my best blog, Females in Science Fiction, was one of my favorite blogs to write. I was able to focus on my real love, nerding out, while also bringing into view some key points of what it is like for females in this genera. I think if I were to write it again I would just add more information.  I think it would have been best to take some statistics, find out how many female writers there are compared to male writers. I think it would have been good to expand on more ideas, like Robo Cop or Star Wars.

Another blog that was exciting to write was Writing Methods and Processes. I think I was able to learn a lot about my writing, and also about myself. I always find writer’s methods to be interesting, especially since some people have some very interesting methods to get their ideas onto paper. I think this is another blog I would have made longer, and the more that I think of this I feel as if it would do better as a video blog. With appropriate editing and a video personality this video blog could be humorous and informative.

No matter how many times you look it up, it will always be the same. What is a writing process, and where do I start? Everyone has their methods; I mean Dan Brown hangs up side down to get his idea’s flowing. I’ve even had a writing friend of mine tell me she goes out into the forest and strips naked to get her process going. Everyone has their own way of getting their story out there; it’s for you to discover how it’s done.

Early into my writing days, as in when I was eight or nine years old, I would spin really fast in a circle; stopping to watch the world tilt as I tried to find my footing. I would make my way to my note pad and write down everything I was seeing, and how I was seeing it. Little did I know that this was the start of a writing process for me. I’m not saying I spin in circles every time I can’t think, but I like doing slow spins in my office chair when it’s hard for me to concentrate.

I think there are a few methods that stand true with every writer, yes we all have our quirks, but we all have to figure out a way to get the story down and out there. You can scawer google for hours, and find that there are usually 5 to 7 step programs every writer goes by, and these are a few of them.

1.       Speed writing:

The most important thing is that you write. Write every thought and every word you can think of, and don’t stop. You need to pump that first draft out, because as much as you think you will have that idea in your head later, trust me, you’re not going to. At this point you’re not thinking of plot holes, or how big of a character development you need for someone, this is about getting your idea written out; even if it’s only one hundred pages or less.

This rough draft is the start of this big adventure you’ve been dreaming about. You need to have it all out there when it’s fresh in your head. I like to call this the speed write, because I sometimes do it in one sitting, for an entire day. I’ll print it out, and let it sit for a few days before going through it and writing in the margins what needs to change, and what needs to go.

Don’t get yourself down at the speed write. In most cases a lot of what you write at this point isn’t going to be amazing, but this is your foundation in which you are writing off of, and it’s important to remember you are going to go back and fix it later.

2.       Mourning Period

This is the point in my writing process where I look myself in the mirror and I say, “What were you thinking?” I call it the mourning period because I tend to get down in the dumps about what I have just produced. I think the hardest part of writing is going through the first draft. It’s usually not much of what you pictured your story being, and there still so much work that needs to go into it that it gets you down. The best thing to remember is that this is just the beginning, yes it may be missing a lot of stuff, but now you get to fine tune it. You get to pass it along to writing friends, if you have them, and ask what they think about what they would change.

Never let you self be talk out of your writing. There has been far too many times where I look down at my first draft and just hide it away, never to be seen again because I felt as if nothing would come of it. You need to go through that manuscript over, and over, and over until you feel you might go crazy. Write everything you think in the margins, grab sticky notes and scrap pieces of paper. Make sure you scratch things out, and write things back in, because at this point you are really getting to know the plot, and what makes your story tick.

At this point you are learning who your characters really are, and maybe discovering that another character needs to be added. Don’t let the mourning period get you down, because I have heard so many people say they have given up at this point, me included.

3.       Rewrite

After crying over your first rough draft, it is finally time to write it all back out. At this step I like to open a new word document, and I don’t work as fast as I did the first time around. I read over the notes I written myself, I put on some music, and I make myself a million coffees. Sometimes this takes me a few days, but by the time I finish, that hundred page rough draft turns into three or four hundred and I feel proud of myself.

At this point it’s all about fine tuning. Do I want this word here; do I want this scene played out in this way? Does this make any gaps in the story line, if so how do I fix that? I like to make a few copies, I send one to my mom, a writing friend, my grandpa, and I wait for what they have to say. These people are the ones to tell me what they think before a reader really lays their eyes on the piece. They give my tips on how to form a character more, they tell me who they like and who they don’t like, and in my mom’s case she gives me a hug and says, we need to work on this some more.

It’s important to at least have one person there to do this with. It could even be someone you work with, any one you trust with your work. You won’t know what people think until you put it out there and let people really see it.

 You can always add more steps to this; even then you didn’t have to follow this entirely. It’s important to know that every writer had their own way of going about their art. It’s all about discovering where you write best, when you write best, and how you go about producing your own works.

The Write Life is a great blog to follow. They share not only methods, but jobs, prompts, and acknowledge different types of writers. This is great place to go when you are running out of ideas, or feeling down about writer block.

You can also check out The Literary Hub for more samples of how to get writing done, and for inspiration on what your writing could be in the future.

Don’t forget, that as a writer you are going to have your ups and downs. These methods are used to help guide you in the right direction to get your adventure down on paper. Don’t feel discouraged, writing is hard, but when you get to the end you’ll feel amazed by what you have accomplished.

So you wrote a story, but what do you do with it?

It’s easy to get caught up in the frustrations of figuring out what to do with your story. It’s complex, and is held dear to you. It’s something you have been working on for months, maybe years, and you don’t want to just hand it over to any publishing company.

Many beginner writers don’t think about the complications of contracts, along with the editing that comes with it. Some editors will take things out of your writing; it will be months of going back and forth. Either agreeing with some additions or subtraction of what you have written, or maybe some fuming over what has been taken away from your story.

These things are sometimes not thought about when writing a novel. Some writers go into the field without realizing what can come from it. As a writer you have to take two steps back and think of the possibilities that can come from publishing your book; editorial decisions, and contracts.

Edits:

Depending where you publish, or what kind of story you are publishing, you will have an array of different editors. If you are starting off small, you may be working with one editor over the course of a couple months. This editor will go through each sentence, reading and rereading each chapter to make sure everything a-lines. They may send back editing critiques, asking you to fix what they have highlighted.

Other companies can have multiple people working on your book. Debating on how big they think your novel will be it won’t just be on where you should place a sentence, but also how the cover of the book should look, how the back of the book should look, and even what your dedications say on the first few pages.

It is easy to feel overwhelmed at this point. You are getting pages and pages back every day of the writing you have been working on for forever; and now they are telling you something is wrong with it. It’s important to remember no one can write a book alone and have it be perfect. Even big name writers have editors sending their writing back for rework. It’s important that you take your editors seriously. Make sure you go over every suggestion you have, and if you disagree with something they want to get rid of, make sure you have a good reason for keeping it. Editors usually know better than you for what will work when it comes to the readers, but that doesn’t mean you don’t know what’s best for your book either.

Contracts:

The amount of stories that have come out about writers losing the rights to their own books because they didn’t read the contract is sad. If you are going in on a big contract, if everything looks promising, and they think you will be the next J. K. Rowling, you need to make sure you bring a lawyer in for that contract before you sign it. There have been many authors, Rowling included, that have lost many things when it comes to their writing. Many writers don’t have the right to how movies based on their books are made, or how they create the front covers because they didn’t read their contracts fully.

Lawyers are also important when it comes to your contract signing because it involves money. It is every writers dream to write and make money off of it, but you have to make sure you are getting your far share from the project. Many writers end up practically selling their books through their contracts, only making a few hundred dollars when their book is making thousands.

Always read over the contract; that’s something to live by in any situations.

It’s always going to be hard as a writer to determine which piece’s of work represent you the best. It’s important to go through every bit of your writing, figuring out which one’s shows the best qualities of you writing.

A portfolio is made for writers who you like to not only write professionally, but for those who would like to get their work published in any kind of way. One can always publish their book or work on their own, but that is not only time consuming and soul breaking, it can also be really expensive and hard to get a following.

Portfolio’s are sent to publishing companies, or any ordinary company looking for a writer. For this blogs sake we are going to go the route of a creative writer. We will follow the guides of setting up a portfolio, and what kind of writing should be inside of it.

The Set-Up:

Make sure to make a cover page. For some, all it needs is your name, the company you are addressing, and maybe the date. After the cover page you should set up a sort proposal of what they can find within the portfolio. You can talk about what your writings are about, and always end with thanking them for their time, and consideration.

Next you need to figure out what writing you are going to put in. If you are writing a book, and wish to submit your book you can always put your first chapter. Some publishing companies ask first the first 50-100 pages, and other ask for a certain amount of chapters. Sometimes they will ask for the entire book to be submitted; make sure you have your book written before sending any piece of it in.

You can also add sort stories, if that is what you are trying to get published. You can label them by their genre, maybe you have a Syfy, fantasy, and thriller as you assortment. Take those three genre and make them into categories, taking two sort stories for each section.

The same goes for poetry. Maybe you write in multiple different styles. Make sure to make categories for them, submitting two or thee into each.

When submitting to a company or website make sure you follow their guidelines. Many websites will tell you how to construct you portfolio. You must follow their guidelines and make sure that all your grammar mistakes have been fixed before sending it in. If they immediately see that it is not in the format that they want it they will disregard it.

How To Choose Your Writing:

From experience, I have found that sending in two different styles has worked in my favor. There are many publishing magazines, or publishing companies that take multiple different types of genres. You can always submit two or three that are totally different from one another.

Sharing your work with someone else makes the process easier as well. Having a writing group, or a friend, to look over you writing can help with not only expanding you idea’s, but choosing the right story to put into your portfolio.

The most important thing to remember when submitting your writing is that you are sending in something you are proud of. It is always a horrible feeling to have a piece out there you are actually embarrassed in. I have send in a portfolio once with three short stories, two piece’s i was proud of and the other not so much. The only one that got chosen was the short story i didn’t like, and now it is public for the world to see. Always for confident in the pieces you put into your portfolio, and always follow your gut.

Portfolios can be a daunting task when you are first making it, but as a writer you probably have a lot of material to work with. It’s always important to keep trying even when you get turned down, and always remember you will make it somewhere you just have to keep trying.

Below are a few example of proposals and portfolios for creative writing.

Proposal

Never underestimate the tool of being organized. As a writer it is important to know where you are going each step of the way, and understanding the world you are creating, but how can multi-media help your writing? There are many steps one can take when it comes to multi-media and writing organization, this blog will explore just a few ways these tools can help you further your writing career.

1.Infographics

At some point you will probably come in contact with a publishing company. During the first few processes you will not only have to share a few chapters of your book, but also an outline of where the story goes, and for some writers where the series will take the reader. Infographics are a great tool to organize and show case this amazing story you have in store for them.

Infographics are used for many mediums, business, politics, and even small pamphlets about toe fungus. These graphics will take (in your case) the publisher through a series of well-organized thoughts on a summary of you character and their journey. You can add images, maps, and maybe small blurbs of information that will help make your story credible.

In science fiction in general, it is important to outline the main cause and effect of the situation. Who is your character, what trouble do they get into, and how is it solved? Was it aliens, a chemical spill, maybe a real government conspiracy theory? This can all be outlined in the infographic from top to bottom.

Infographics are also great tool when it comes to creating ideas for the writer. You can use a infographic just for yourself to organize your thoughts. Taking your story from point A and figuring out how to get them to point Z. This multi-media tool can be used in multiple different ways when it comes to writing.

 Traci Gardner writes a great short blog on what to write for a multi-media project, and what should be added to inforgraphics.

There is also a few templates on what kind of infographics one should use for their right here.

2.Twitter

What a world that we live in where Twitter is a go to source of multi-media writing. Many authors from J.K. Rowling to Stephan King use twitter to not only speak their mind on everyday issues, but also to promote what they are creating, and what others are creating around them. Twitter can be a great tool to use when trying to get noticed for your writing; you can share you blogs, or even direct people to different website where you are published. Pictures can be used for informational needs, or just peer entertainment.

Twitter is also used for the media, and the spread of news. As a writer you can use this to direct your readers to certain news outlets you will be writing about, or maybe as examples for up and coming events you will be attending to.

3. Blogs

Blogs can be used as great ways of spreading information, and story lines. Just like twitter it can be a place for the readings to get more information on your writing, and how far along you are before the release of a new book. Blogs are used to inform, entertain, and express thoughts for those who are interested in your medium. This is also a great way to show case book cover idea’s, along with sharing short stories or videos.

A big part of science fiction is the over whelming focus on masculinity. This genre has always had trouble facing, and realizing that there are few story lines that focus on a strong female heroine; yes I realize Ellen Ripley (Alien) is a great example of female empowerment, but just hear me out for a second.

Let’s look at the great and wonderful Star War; which I consider (Sigh) a space opera, but it still holds a great example of what I’m about to talk about. Let’s go back in time, the 1960’s and 70’s where Star Trek and Star Wars ruled the science fiction community together, bringing any nerds to their knees. Star Wars , sorry Star Trek nerds, took over the science fiction scene. This movie brought the idea of science fiction to an entire new level, and the best part about it was that they had a strong, independent woman as one of their lead characters; until she wasn’t. Yes, I’m thinking of the infamous Princes Leia bikini from Return of the Jedi.

What a classic move in science fiction history. Let’s put the only female in this movie in a sexy bikini, needing to be rescued by the amazing men of the movie because she couldn’t do it herself. Now I get it, this was a different time, woman were sexualized, blah blah blah. Well guess what guys, I don’t care. This is such a classic way to bring women character into the science fiction realm. Making them hot and sexy damsels in distress has been the way since Metropolis (1927) where women are represented as sexual objects.

The focus in the 1980′s slightly takes a shift as it bring the side kick female and puts her into battle as well. This shift is greatly appreciated by the female population, finally showing that even though they have femininity they can still be a bad ass. Robocop is a great example of a woman kicking ass, as the first view of Ann Lewis is her kicking ass.The suckiness of this is that as the series of Robocop continues, so does her backing away from the fight and becoming more girly with long blonder hair.

Now how do we change the science fiction community into not only a masculine environment, but also a bad ass female heroine world. The good news is that it’s already happening. We see it in many films and books in our present day genre. It’s not as present as us females would like, but it is quickly changing as females take charge of the writing and hopefully one day directing.

X-File is a great example into this. Not only do they have female writers, a great female antagonist, but they have had many female director taking over as well. The X-Files team is working hard to bring more and more females onto the science fiction scene, even on this twelve season that they are working on.

Another great example is the new Star Trek films, which not only had bad ass females fight one another, but also some bad ass female in the writing room, and working on set.

Many male writers are yelling to the skies, wanting more females to join their community. Stephan King is a great example, because he has always be one to big talk how great woman are in the science fiction realm.

You may be asking, “Personal branding? I don’t care what people think I just want to write what I want,” but the reality of this business is that people want to personalize it, even if you are just writing science fiction. It’s not just about the story, it about who’s writing it, and how the reader can connect to their favorite author. Personal branding isn’t just about your image, but also what you have accomplished. You think your writings good, but how are you going to get anyone to read it if they don’t know who you are.

As a writer it might be scary to think of something so corporate, but let’s think of how you view other authors you look up to. How did you come to finding their writing? Did you hear an interview of them promoting their book? Did you see a picture of their book in a book store? Were you scrolling through Barns and Nobles online and find the store promoting them? These are all personal branding skill, promoting, talking about themselves, and placing their products where ever they think the reader will find them.

Let’s get started!

So how do you get started? If you’re someone like me, a little no one writer struggling to make it big, you need to produce and publish where-ever you can. Send send send, and when you’re done sending you might want to send again. Without getting your name out there how are people going to know who you are? For some authors it all starts with short stories, and poems published in writing magazines. For the sake of this blog let’s talk about science fiction magazines.

Probably one of the most popular science fiction/ fiction magazines for writers is Book Riot, Science Fiction/ Fantasy. They publishes anything that plays into the scientific sphere, and all it takes and dedication. Unfortunately for the beginner writers this is more of a platform for those who are already well known, but the website is a great example of personal branding. They guide you through some great authors, letting them tell you a little bit about themselves and what they have written. This helps readers find someone they feel connected with before diving into their works.

Shimmer is another great online magazine for getting your personal branding done. They take submission, with guidelines, all science fiction based. This can give a beginning for any science fiction writer who is new to the scene.

It’s easy at first to get intimidated by the act of people reading you work online; they can leave comments, see your picture, and know where to find you on social media. It’s important to remember that not everyone will like what you have to write, but the more people that see your words, the more recognition you will get.

Social Media

The world of social media can be an unforgiving place. It can be a world where people are unafraid to say whatever they want, but it can also be a world of opportunity. When looking at authors like Stephen King and R.k. Rowling they both have a strong online presents and it actually helps them in the long run.

Stephen King is not only known for his hundreds of different writings, but also for his big twitter display of political talk. His presence on twitter has even caught the eye of Present Obama and President Trump. His political and controversial tweets have led to gaining many followers on this social plat form, bringing in many new writers and fans.

This is a perfect example of how to bring in a following through a personal brand. His ability to express his personality through social media has created a new generation of fans, even at an older age.

J.K. Rowling is another great example. Known for her book series, Harry Potter, she struggled in the early 2000’s to guide people to other books she had written. Her new online presence was presented to a playful website that launch in 2006, where users could play mini puzzles, and games while scrolling through the website. She provided a website that was not only easy to guide through, but also show cased every book published under her name. She was able to bring people into her personality with this website, giving fans a better understanding of who she is, and also what she had done.

So what should we remember?

  We should remember that in a world of social media and online commercialism it is important to have an online brand. This industry isn’t just about selling your book, it about sell people the love of whom you are. Personal branding within the writing industry helps shapes the author and what kind of followers they will accumulate. Also remember to personal brand as you grow as an author. Find a social media site that is relevant, find a voice that will bring fan in, and always remember that in a world of writing also be proud of what kind of person and writing you are producing.

Book Riot:  https://bookriot.com/author/rita-meade/

Shimmer: https://www.shimmerzine.com/guidelines/fiction-guidelines/

Hello my fellow Science Fiction fanatics. I will be here every Sunday to tell you about the professional world of writing Science Fiction. I would like to hit topics such as, how to professionally present your Science Fiction writing, who to look for when you are trying to publish your writing, as well as jumping into topics such as women in the Science Fiction community. Not every topic will be fiction based, some will revolve on opinions in hope to spur conversation within the science fiction community.