The online lives of writers (published or not) is quite hectic, right? While you might feel the need to be everywhere, most of us do not have the time to do that. Some of our favorite guest bloggers posted on their marketing techniques here. But here are a few more websites for the unpublished writers, especially if you are unpublished yet. Shall we talk to Victoria already, shall we?
Say hello to Victoria!
Hello, I’m Victoria Jayne, a writer. For the longest time, I couldn’t even identify myself as a writer. I struggled with the title fearing I lacked the clout to call myself such.
I’ve since learned that to call oneself a writer, one must simply write. I do that. I am a writer.
Websites for the unpublished writers
With that sorted, I moved on to another handy dandy self-identifier, author. Ohh, this one is tricky. In my head, this one required a bit more validation than a writer. For me to refer to myself as an author, I decided I needed to get published.
This post is going to focus on some of the tools I used on my journey to calling myself an author. Translation: here are some websites a previously unpublished writer used before publication and will continue to use for future works.
This little gem has a lot to offer unpublished and published authors alike. The main thing I took away from Scribophile was the ability to get feedback on my writing. A writer can sign up for free with Scribophile and get an author page where you fill out all sorts of nifty things about yourself. You gain access to works by other authors both long and short.
Scribophile works on a critique system where you earn “karma” by critiquing other writer’s work. The amount of karma you earn is based on the length of critique and whether or not the work is “spotlighted.” You need five karma (points?) to post your piece. When a work is spotlighted, more karma is awarded. There are several avenues to “spotlight” your work.
I like to think of Scribophile as a way to get honest beta readers. Scribophile also offers a paid version allowing to post an unlimited amount of works, and other things. Scribophile also offers writing contests frequently which can earn you karma or cash! Yes, cash! It also has forums, comments sections on profiles, and a messaging system.
Finding ManuscriptWishList.com was like finding gold! This website contains the profiles of people in the publishing industry telling the world what they want. It is their manuscript wish list. In their profiles, they talk about what they want right now.
Writers can search by name; they can search by genre; they can search by keyword. As far as I can tell, this resource is free. This is a wonderful resource when you are at the query stage. This leads to my next two suggested websites.
I like lists. I like spreadsheets. And I like to track the crap out of things. That said, query tracker is a way to track publishers and literary agents you think might be interested in representing and/or publishing your work. You can search by genre, company name, agency name, location, and whether or not someone is open to queries.
Each agent gets a snippet of information about how they like to be contacted, and there is a comment section. This was invaluable. I got a peek at what this agent received. I got a glimpse at response times. In the free version, you can sort of gauge response times, or lack of response, by users updated their comments on the agent. In the paid version, you have access to this in graphs. I like graphs.
Additionally, querytracker hosts forums where you can feedback on your opening paragraph, chapter, your title, etc. You can also get some insight as to what it is like to work with some agents or agencies — a wonderful tool.
Social media? Come on Victoria, that’s where I follow celebrity meltdowns and get my sports news. Well, this is where you are going to get your agenting information too. Agents and publishers have a twitter presence.
They often post about what they are looking for using #MSWL (manuscript wishlist, see how that ties in?) and they discuss horror stories. They talk about querying pitfalls and also provide updates as to where they are in their queries. You follow an agent you will get a lot of information about who they are and what they want.
Additionally, Twitter has a very active writer presence. #writingcommunity #amwriting These are other writers sharing their experience and supporting one another. There are also pitch parties. You can use Twitter to pitch agents. Yes, you can get published by reaching out to an agent via a hashtag!
Also, if you are struggling with getting into the mind of your character, #authorconfession and #writerlywipchat offers daily exercises geared toward putting you in your characters heads. You can connect with your characters by answering questions like “what video games does your main character play?” or “who does your main character have a crush on?” These questions, while the answers may not appear in your story, will help you get a better understanding of your characters as well-rounded people and make them fully dimensional in your writing.
The wealth of information that is Reedsy, I really can’t begin to explore in this post. There just isn’t enough time in the day. As an unpublished writer, what can you get out of reedsy? Resources. You have access to articles about writing, some of which can be emailed directly to you.
You also have a directory of editors, promotion experts, and anything you can think of that will help you get on the road to publishing and if you have already been published. Seriously, this is a one-stop shop where you can get almost everything you need to get published.
Final words
So that’s my top five. Those websites for the unpublished writers were a gift from the heavens. I learned a lot along this journey. My debut paranormal romance novel came out on December 4, 2018. It’s been a wild ride where I have learned more than I ever thought possible.
It’s all worth it to hold my first book in my hand. That was something I never thought I’d be able to do. Now, it is done. You can do it too. Happy writing.
If you have something to add to Victoria’s story, drop a comment here or send him a word of thanks on the social media. Both of us would love that.Also, if you are interested in writing a guest post for the independent publishing community, write to me right away. I am still accepting guest post submissions.
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Let us chat
Authors, what are your go to sites for resources, motivation or maybe just networking? What are your fave websites for the unpublished writers? And readers do you even spend time scoring out Social media to read about the writing community? Let us talk.
Though Fahrenheit 451 has been on my TBR list for a while and it took a push from both the Banned book club and Classics N Christie book club to make me pick it up in March. And guess what? Like the other books the club has picked so far, it was great and I have no idea why I was hesitating to pick it up at all. Let us get with it shall we?
Fahrenheit 451 is set in dystopian world where books are banned and if found in person or house firemen were set upon to burn them. This is just strategy by the government to control the minds of the masses. The people too have lost interest in reading and television screens have taken their lives.
The protoganist Montag is a fireman who takes his job seriously and follows the rules to the T without any remorse until he meets his young neighbour Clarisse. Clarisse questions everything in life and doesn’t hide her enthusiasm from Montag. Her suspicious disappearance sparks something in Montag and he starts reading bits of books that he had stolen whilst on his job.
The little knowledge he gains from the books changes not only his idea of life and to know how it does read Fahrenheit 451 right now!
Book review of Fahrenheit 451
Fahrenheit 451 talks about censorship but it was more about the technological growth and how people can get dependent on them. It is also about political autocracy and the controlling the masses. Fahrenheit 451 is the temperature at which the paper burns but it is also about what makes the human mind tick and engaged. Reading does it. Period.
The first thing that happened when I finished the book was talk to everyone else who has read the book about its relevancy even today. The book is full of metaphor and I can’t believe how foresighted the author was, given the book was written in the early 1950s.
Of course the book was banned, and I would not be surprised if it were banned today had it been released now. I cannot emphasis on how powerful the book is, especially for the current global political scenario.
Things that worked for me
The book is full of metaphors and you can’t stop reading if you started matching it with real world.
The story and the plot are simple and direct, which helps it becoming the powerful book he is.
The book is filled with quotes and if you hoard quotes, you are in for a treat.
Fahrenheit 451 is still (or more) relevant to the current scenario.
Things that didn’t work for me
It was really hard to get into initially, like most other classics.
Bottom-line
Fahrenheit 451 is for all the bookworms out there. If you are look for a book, any book, PICK THIS. If you want to read just one book in a year Fahrenheit 451 is the one for you. It will change your world and thoughts about books and reading.
Have you read this book? Do you have it in your TBR? What do you think of this book, if you have read it? What other banned books have you read? Let us talk.
I love April and I am not sure if it had something to do with being my birthday month or the summer holidays we used to have when we were younger. Either way, I look forward to April right from January.
And this year I had huge plans for my birthday (this Friday April 12th) and the month as well but they feel through, thanks to the weird place am at with most of my relationships and friendships. Still, I am okay now and you guys (yes, you my online friends) have played a large part in that. Otherwise I would be too depressed to get out off bed.
But now I have posts to be written, books to be reviewed and DMs to be replied to. I guess keeping busy gets me through. For now. So let us get on with a quick recap on what happened in my life last month on the March’19 wrap up, shall we?
March 2019 started with a bang with Emirates Literature Festival where I got to volunteer for two weekends. I met so many cool authors like Sandhya Menon, Pierce Brown, Cassandra Clare, Holly Black et al, and got books signed up from them.
I met so many like minded readers in the form of other volunteers and attendees. And just seeing younger bookworms with their books just makes me feel all warm and gooey.
I found and joined a local book club called Bookworms of UAE, which is surprisingly active!
Speaking of the weather, Dubai, the desert city, had two full days of rain out of nowhere just as we returned from the beach. And to put all your questions to rest, we are back to the warm spring weather this week.
What I read this month:
I read five books last month, bringing a total of 15 books for the year as of now. And I suppose I should be thanking all the book club choices because let us face it, otherwise I would not be reading as fast at all.
So here are the ones I read this month on the March’19 wrap up , and remind me to update the A-Z 2019 page soon!
My monthly top picks from the movie world Why not make a list based on the entertainment value now that I have spent hours watching these series and movie right? So here they are on the March’19 wrap up!
The Umbrella Academy
Green book
Queer eye Season 3
Us
The Punisher Season 3 (now why would they cancel it!)
Captain Marvel
A star is born ( left me a sobbing mess)
Sorry couldn’t stop with five!
On my blog
Here is a quick recap in case you missed my blog post last week.
Let us talk about posts I loved from the blogging community last week now.
Being a multilingual myself, I resonated so much with Cat from Pages and Plots on her post on why she doesn’t read much in her own native language. Who else is with me on this one?
Dani’s post on Instagramming without being discouraged is a lifesaver, especially if you do not have a huge following yet, like me. Take a looksie!
Speaking about social media pressures, Sam from WLABB posted an awesome discussion post how she battles the social media game, which I seemingly have lost already.
If you know Shruti then you have been warned enough. Read this hilarious post on the things that JK Rowling said about the Potterverse on her blog.
The Orangutan Librarian posted this how to (not) read review guide and I wish every author read it, just to save the world from all the drama and personal attacks.
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Let us chat
How many books did you read last month? Did you watch any of these series and movies mentioned? What are your favorite posts of the week? Let us talk.
Not too long ago, I shared about my love for unreliable narrators in fiction and I even came out with a list. But recently I had a discussion about these narrators and I realized some of my friends had pretty serious opinions about them as well. And not everyone loves them. Shocking!!
It was for me, at least. I mean what is there to not like in them, right? RIGHT?
Credit: Tenor
Well, my so called friends (am seriously reconsidering my allies here!) gave me bunch of reasons to support, which I begrudgingly have to accept, that the unreliable narrators might not be for everyone.
But I am sure there is at least one kind of unreliable narrator that each of us like. They are not all the same!!!
Types of unreliable narrators
Yes today I am gonna talk about the kinds of unreliable narrators that we usually find in fictional world and why they are so important in their books. Ready for the ride?
Unreliable narrators that are naïve
Okay not totally naïve but they can’t help it. For some reason they are not fully aware of what is happening to/around them, maybe by their own doing or not.
For example, Jack from the Room was inside the shed for years before he was broken out and seeing the world with the innocence of a young boy is definitely not reliable.
Unreliable narrators whose perception is misleading
There are many characters that fall into this category in the recent times. Christopher Boone from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, for instance, cannot be taken at his face value, as he on the Asperger’s / Autistic spectrum and his understanding of things is quite literal and lacks depth.
Patrick Peoples from The Silver Linings Playbook and Charlie from the Perks of being a wallpaper have repressed memories, while Rachel from the girl on the train has been under the influence of alcohol almost the entire time of the story.
And these books largely depend on these narrators and otherwise would have been another run of the mill novel.
Omitting to state the facts is also kinda lying, of course. But Eva does that so well in We need to talk about Kevin. The whole books is written in the form of letters to her estranged husband and she talks about everything but why Kevin did what he did (mass shooting at his school) and if she did enough to prevent that from happening.
I recently read the Woman in the Window for my book club and found that Dr Anna Fox holds back a lot from others and the reader as well. Well, on a happier note that backfires right at her and that plays so well into holding the suspense to the story.
Unreliable narrators that outright lie and manipulate
These are my favorite kind of unreliable narrators!
Man, they toy with us and mislead us perfectly into their trap without breaking a sweat. Take Patrick from American Psycho, he is suave, well read and smart and he commits gruesome murders with a finesse (or not!). His unreliability is the only thing that left us questioning the reality at the end.
Credit: Giphy
I love Gone Girl and I adore Gillian Flynn‘s writing and her unreliable characters (yes there are many). Nick and Amy seem sincere and innocent until we start unraveling their traps and deceit. I mean talk about the plot twists these unreliable narrators provide.
Final words
Yes, they misrepresent facts, break our trusts and some time lie to our faces even. But so what?
Credit: Giphy
I mean what narrator is truly objective and trustworthy! They all talk about the things they believe are true. So what if these narrators add a bit of bias, color the truth or even hold stuff back from the reader? They are as amazing as their lying conniving selves they can be, to me!
