You’ve written a book. You want readers, right? Of course you do.
So you market (hopefully before your book is available). You use social media to get the word out and you’ve created a website or blog page. You want your site to be exciting and popular. So you dazzle with lights and colors and action.
*
You might be making a big mistake.
*
I like book categories. They save me time. I know exactly where to go to find the books I want to read. (And I’m very unhappy with my library’s decision to remove the mystery and science fiction categories and place everything under “fiction.” Come on, people! How much time do you think we have to go through the stacks?)
I was horrified to walk into a number of used bookstores and discover that the urban fantasy authors I liked to read were not in the fantasy/sci fi section. Instead, for some inexplicable reason, they were all in the paranormal romance section. And some of the stories didn’t even have a romance in it! (A nasty little voice in my head whispers it’s because they’re written by women but I hope I’m wrong.)
I use categories to help me find other books, other authors, who might not fall on my radar screen. Mislabeling means we, as writers, become more invisible.
Mislabeling drives me bats. What can we do about it? Any ideas?
*Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
I’ve been decluttering lately. The paper monster reared up and attacked. At first I defended, then I pressed the assault.
*
The first skirmish was a draw. I still felt tired and overloaded, unable to write a word.
The second, third and fourth skirmishes were better. Then I lost count as I continued paring down the piles of the past. It takes time and effort to think about each line written.
There’s a brief respite now as I pause to write this. Here’s what I’ve learned.
*
I’ve been spending the past week decluttering. And it’s been tough. But the paper monster rose up to the point where I couldn’t write. Couldn’t focus. So I’m heading back to an earlier post I wrote on this topic and I’ve got my paper shredder primed:
https://www.jmlevinton.com/writing-amid-clutter/
See you next week on the other side of the pile.
*Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
*
Isn’t it free to post a book at, say, Amazon? Well, yes. But that’s the end of the process so let’s start at the beginning.
I’m not going to try and figure out how many reams of paper or toner ink I went through for my printer. Everyone expects that.
Let’s talk about the cost of professionally putting a book together for publication.
*
When I tell people that my forthcoming novel is urban fantasy, I often get blank looks and an honest “I don’t know what that is.” When I say, “It’s fantasy—you know, like science fiction/fantasy?” they nod, reassured that they now know what I’m writing. But when I try to explain further, it’s like wading through mud.
*
I wrote about taking a piano class at a community college (see A Writer Learns Piano), and the class ended on Thursday. I learned how to move my fingers along the keyboard, something I couldn’t figure out before. A thrill crawled up my spine when I played a simplified (really simplified) version of Für Elise. Centuries of music stirred under my fingertips.
And the thing that really surprised me? That I enjoyed playing Für Elise. Aside from loving the Nutcracker Suite, I had no real desire to play classical music. My goal was to learn enough to play jazz/blues. I surprised myself.
What if I had hated it? Or been bored with it? Then that would have been another thing learned about myself. How would I know any of it if I hadn’t tried?
I’ve decided I’m not done. I’m looking into more lessons.
Find something that looks interesting. Go. Try.
If you do, how do you do it? Seriously, I want to know.
I think it looks so cool to see people typing away on their laptops (alas, I seem to be the only one who uses pen and pad), but how do writers do that?
I used to say I didn’t but realized I do. Just not the way people think.
I outline backwards.
I know people who jump into November’s NaNoWriMo with enthusiasm and verve. (For those who don’t know, NaNoWriMo is an event where people pledge to write a novel—50k words—in the 30 days of November.) I know people who have successfully participated and I am in awe of their accomplishment.
Copyright © 2026 J.M. Levinton. Theme customization by il.lustr.us Media