DMB Files

Writing Page One De Novo

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mutation of DNA double helixIn the beginning. De novo. Anew.

For a writer there is nothing more thrilling and terrifying than sitting down to write page one, paragraph one, word one. And it is my personal belief that this process looks like a bell curve.

For true beginners the excitement far outweighs the terror, and it should. For ignorance is bliss. If every pre-baptized writer were to catch a glimpse of the suffering they must undergo to adequately finish what they have so flippantly begun he/she would shat him/herself and take up knitting.

If the uninitiated knew the terrifying difficulty of condensing the entirety of their novel’s ethos into a page,

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Evolution of an Indie: Delay Success

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Evolution of an IndieEntering my third year as an indie, it is my responsibility to impart sage wisdom to the world. (Don’t blink, or you might miss it.) See the series introduction post for more on my saga. But for now, lesson #8 for 2012:

Plan on having no success until one year after the release of your third novel.

As always it is critical to know thyself. If you are more of an entrepreneur than a writer, you may be able to shake your money maker and find commercial success with one or two novels. I’ve seen a few people do it.

On the other hand, if you are like me (an incompetent boob living in a fantasy bubble high off his own fart gas) it will take you even longer. (I’m not even going to go into doomsday scenarios due to the Department of Justice decision in regards to agency.)

If you are primarily a writer focus first on creating more and better content.

But, you will have to make up for marketing and sales deficiencies via adjustments to your writing.

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