In an interview with Jessica Chambers, she asked me if I had to give an aspiring writer one piece of advice, what it would be. Here’s what I said:-

Don’t rush into the publication process. Take time to learn the craft and everything else will follow. I don’t think it’s possible to write for a year and produce publishable material, unless, of course, one is a genius.

Like every other skill, it takes trial, error, perseverance and lots of practise to have something marketable, over time. I made the mistake of thinking Contraband was ready before it was and earned a couple of rejections for my troubles.

This is something I wish I understood when I started writing seriously in 2004. I wrote Christine’s Odyssey (young adult novel) before I quite understood that I should have learnt the craft beforehand. I’m paying for that mistake in spades. Like Contraband, it’s gone through more than several rounds of editing and I’m still not satisfied with the book.

However, it won a bronze medal in competition in 2008 and I look at it today and see where there is room for much improvement. I recently found out that a Caribbean publisher based in Jamaica is looking for young adult manuscripts, so I decided to do yet another round of editing.

In my opinion, writing is one of those pastimes we never ever master. I look at the things I wrote years ago and know I’m a much better writer today. I also know I can still improve. I cringe each time I come across something like ‘Christine saw’, ‘Christine heard’, or ‘Christine watched’, which are phrases I no longer use because they create a kind of filter between reader and character. Nowadays, I try to put the reader directly into my character’s head.

As I bring Christine’s Odyssey up to snuff, I see where I had a good plot, some intriguing characters, but I also had some stilted phrases and places where I could have gone deeper into my main character’s thoughts. I’ve also fleshed out her main helper much more and I’ve done the same with the mother who abandoned her.

People who have read the story loved it. They laughed and cried with Christine as she went from feeling rejected to forging a relationship with her mother. However, I have grown through seven other complete works in that time and today, I can confidently say that I’ve done my internship.

It never ceases to amaze me when someone who’s been writing for a year actually sends out a query, but I can afford to say that now. That’s almost exactly what I did, thinking that my novel was the best it could be. I wish I had a mentor to tell me that I needed to know a lot more about the craft end of things before I sent my baby off to meet rejection.

Hundreds of articles later, I knew what to do to hone the raw material I had into a good book. Alas, many new writers fall into the same trap. In our hurry to be published, we send off material that’s just not ready, and heaven forbid if someone should give us an honest opinion which says anything other than what we think.

I may be wrong, but I now believe that it takes at least five years - shave off a year or two if you’re writing and/or editing every day - for a first time writer to produce a publishable novel.

Am I off base? Making little sense? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Like I’ve said before, lists work for me. I finally edited my Things-To-Do down to one liners, which I’m working my way through. I pasted them on the ‘notice board’ my son made for me.

Picture four sheets of plain paper stapled together and taped to the wall over my desk. On it, he stuck 3-4 bright orange Post-It notes reminding me to buy this or that item for him. D’you see why he was so generous with his time?

I’ve been thinking about the different ways in which I can get my name out in the public domain while I wait for Contraband to become widely available in Jamaica. There’s no sense starting a publicity stir if the book is in limited supply, so I think I’ve hit upon a strategy that might work.

From time to time I write stories or ‘how to’ articles for the Sunday Observer. These are printed in the literary pages. Now I figure I can do a series of articles on the craft of writing. I’m sure there are people out there who feel they have stories in them, but are not motivated enough to do anything about it.

Sharing the knowledge I have is the least I can do to give back while I’m gaining the publicity I need to establish myself as a writer. An editor told me not-so-recently that the wheels in the publishing business turn slowly. I’m finding this out firsthand, but like I’ve also said before, another thing I’m learning is patience.

So now, I’ve written the first in the series. In this one, I talk about my editing rituals. Had I given thought to the series earlier, I’d have begun with an article on how to get started with writing. In the long term, I figure I’ll do something with the entire series.

Meantime, I continue to edit one book for submission to my publisher and another to try and get an agent.
More than ever, the publication process is teaching me life lessons. The only way to convert my dreams to reality is by well-thought-out action. After that, I need staying power to push ahead despite the roadblocks.

Is there anything you’d like to achieve about which you’ve done nothing? I’d encourage you to do some investigating and then take that first step. Do it today!  You won’t regret it.

Nearly a dozen days have gone by since I posted an update. I’m not sure I’ve achieved much, so this evening, I’ve taken a little time to catch up with my list.

* I’m still editing my last novel. I had given myself until the end of this month to get through the print-out and I’m a third of the way through.

* I have written an article which I plan to submit to the local literary pages by midweek. It’s unreal how long it takes me to get started, but when I do, it doesn’t take more than an hour or two to get that first draft down. I hope to complete another in the series by the end of the month, but I’m not too sure it’ll get done.

* I found out that the closing date for the 2010 Jamaica Cultural Development Commission’s Creating Writing Competition was extended to the end of July. I might actually get a short story in. It’s already written. I just have to edit it.

* I spoke with the book distributor and they agreed to import and distribute Contraband. That was several weeks ago, but nothing has happened yet. I called again last week and it’s still a go. I have no other choice but to be patient.

* I have started editing Sweet Music Man with a view to finding an agent. I aim to finish editing this novel by the end of July. The agent search will begin in August. I’m three chapters in, so I’m way behind. I’ll have to pick up the pace here.

* I did get my new website up and running. It’s a major improvement on the old one, I think. Pop in and have a look if you haven’t already. It’s at http://joylcampbell.com I have some really cool book trailers up, thanks to Sybil Nelson.

* I still haven’t applied for that grant, but I did print out my writing resume. Does that count?

* I’ve finally gotten around to printing out a list of things to do writing-wise. Let’s see if I can stick with it.

In case you haven’t seen the trailers yet, watch them here.  Enjoy!

My friends Corra and Sybil reminded me that we’ve now gone half the year, which is a good point to review what I’ve achieved so far. I posted a list of goals on January 5 and I haven’t looked at it much, but I did keep some of the stuff in the back of my mind. Let’s see what I got done.

* Writing time. I noted that I needed more, which I still haven’t got. I planned to complete my last project at the end of February, but got it done by April. I’ve printed it out and I’m in the process of editing it. I’m keeping track of the edits here. This project should be complete in another month or so.

* Article a month for the local newspaper’s literary pages. - Nothing happened here except for a story or two. I plan to get at least a couple done within the next two months.

* Complete sequel to Sweet Music Man/Distractions - I set a deadline of year end for this. I should be able to get it done.

* I wanted to submit a young adult novel in the 2010 Jamaica Cultural Development Commission’s Creating Writing Competition. That’s not on since I only managed to get three chapters written since last November.

* Contraband was edited and is now published, so that’s been put to bed. Oh and Sybil made me a cool book trailer. You can see it here.

* Agent search . - The trouble is still lack of time. Within the next 10-15 days I need to start editing Sweet Music Man with a view to finding an agent. I aim to finish editing this novel by the end of July. The agent search will begin in August.

*I’ve taken on additional projects - Annika’s Revenge, Grudge, Lost & Found, and one other that doesn’t yet have a name. I know I can’t possibly write all of these at once, so I’m keeping a blog where I put down ideas as they come. By the time I’m ready to write, I’ll know my characters and the path their stories will take.  Not sure what deadline to put on these projects, but let’s just say maybe in another year or so, I’ll have maybe two of them written.

* My website needs a makeover so bad! I did a great job and then couldn’t load it up. Now I’m using Web Expression, but I don’t like the program, so I play with it for a while and then quit to surf the net. Don’t know when I’ll get this done. I’ve been playing with the thought of using a blog for my official website. I can’t even begin to think of a deadline to get this sorted out. If I had money to pay for this sort of stuff, things would be sweet!

* I was speaking to someone who suggested that I apply for a grant, based on some of the things I want to do for my writing and my books. I must get this done within another fifteen days. I’ve been dawdling too long over it.

Here’s hoping that come December 30, I’ll be able to take most of this stuff off my list. Thanks Corra and Sybil!  There’s nothing like accountability to keep me on track.

God willing, in a few months I’ll be going through the process of getting another book on the market in Jamaica. Everything I’m learning now will be of value then. Forgive me if I’ve said this before, but one of the most important lessons I’m learning is patience. I’ve had to wait for everything and I’m still waiting.

I’m in dialogue with the biggest book and magazine distributor on the island, but have to wait until the purchasing manager comes back to work some time next week. However, he already has a copy of Contraband and contact information to make their order.

I now have to be patient and wait for this to happen. Until then, I’ll try to get at least one review organized for the newspaper. At this rate, I’m thinking the launch will probably be in late July or early August. We’ll see.

Got another bit of good news today. A small book and stationery outlet asked me to bring them copies. That whole arrangement took about two weeks to complete. Not bad in the scheme of things.

Naturally, I’ll have an advantage when Dissolution comes out. I intend to capitalize on that.

I’ve done some business cards, which I should have done long ago. It makes the job of people contacting me a lot easier if I’m able to leave a card along with copies of the book.

My website needs some attention. I did a marvellous job updating it, but now it won’t load, so I have to approach it from another angle. I’m thinking about using a blog template, but I need to chew it over some more. I suspect it’ll be a while longer before I have everything figured out.

Still, I console myself with the thought that nothing that’s worth having ever comes easy - not in the writing world and not in life.

So now that I have actual copies of Contraband in hand, I’m back on the inland promotional trail big time. I’ve spoken with the largest book distributor on the island and once they ‘approve’ the novel, I’m good to go.

I spoke with the manager of another bookstore I had contacted previously and I have the go-ahead to bring them copies of the book. I’m sweetening the deal by inserting a book marker in each. Hopefully, they’ll reach the people buying the book. I’ll be sure to leave some in the store as well.

I told myself I wouldn’t do the launch until October when the second book comes out. My girlfriend steamrolled me and kicked that idea to the curb.

“Are you crazy?” she asked. “We’ve waited so long for this and now you don’t want to have a book launch! We’re gonna do it no later than the summer. October? Are you kidding? We have to hit the ground running with this!”

And so on, and so forth.

Sooooo, I guess we’re still having a book launch.

She gave me a brilliant idea while she ranted. I’m going to bind the 3-4 copies I’m using for reviews, so they don’t start looking tacky. I should have that done by tomorrow.

It feels good to be doing something other than editing, writing, and spinning my wheels.

This is both an exciting and a little bit of a trying time for me.

My book was released in the middle of April and I still haven’t seen it yet. I know there could be worse things, but a pal of mine who’s read Contraband told me how gorgeous it is, so now I wanna see it even more. The mail van came already today, but no dice.

I want to get started on the book launch, using a particular store as the venue. Before I can do that, they need to get a review copy, read it and decide to get behind me (or not). Naturally, I can’t do the invitations until I have a venue.

I have to go down the list of things I need to do and see what can be done based on the foregoing.

On an exciting note, I’ve started a new project. Another pal has been pushing me to write this book, which would be the story of Paul’s twin. (Paul is the main character in Contraband) I did some brainstorming yesterday and came up with a beautiful opening scenario. I’ve got that half-way done and can’t wait to get moving on the second portion.

I see my young adult project getting pushed even further backward.

I must put myself on a strict schedule to get different things done each day. Otherwise, I’ll work on one thing while the others fall by the wayside.

Speaking of which, I’m asking myself what I’ve done to promote Contraband today.

I have a few reasons to be relieved today.

Thanks to Alan Miles, my blog is up and running once more. My book, Contraband, was released last Friday.

That project is a five-year adventure, helped along by a band of people I’ve never met, yet I call them friends.

I still marvel at this thing we call the internet. It’s helped me reach individuals I wouldn’t have otherwise. I’ve learned most of what I know about writing through studying material I found on the net. And now, I’ll continue marketing my work, using this wonderful communication tool.

I’m feeling especially grateful. I had a sort of epiphany. The meaning below I took from dictionary.com

e•piph•a•ny

-noun, plural-nies.

a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.

I’ve known for some time now that I need more time in which to write. I have completed novels that must be edited and sent on their way into the world. There are other projects I should start writing. And there are those for which I need time to do mind-maps so I can get them out of my brain and posted somewhere.

I’ve spent half my life working for other people. Now, I need to find a way to make a decent living working for myself so as to be able to concentrate on what I enjoy doing.

Initially, I put out feelers to get started with editing for other people. I’ve done nothing more about that. I must move on this and other things.

To borrow a phrase, I need to start living my life on purpose.

I re-started my Facebook ad yesterday, but I tried to mix up this experiment a bit.  My bids to target those in the United States netted nothing.  Not even a view.  The United Kingdom attempt yielded the same result, but I understand why that experiment failed.

Yesterday, when I looked at the recommended bid for the UK, Facebook suggested I bid between 0.59 and 0.82 for each click.  This is the range that other advertisers are willing to pay to reach their market. On my limited budget, these bids would be beyond my reach, although I stood the chance of having 163,160 persons see my ad (by Facebook’s estimate).

Budget constraints considered, I ran another little experiment.  I went for a combination of islands - The Bahamas, Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica.  I also added in some other key words that I felt described the book, such as reading, relationships, police story, fiction, customs officer, writing.  The numbers of persons I would reach topped out at 68,920, but that could have been a boo-boo because my attempt to use ‘family’ as a key word kept converting to ‘Family Guy’.  At the end my potential reach was 43,720 persons.

The suggested bid was much lower (the range being 0.14 - 0.25). Based on my understanding, the amounts are what other advertiser have paid to reach the people I’m targetting. Today, I’m up to 160 fans from 102 on Monday and I’m close to 470K views.  I’ve spent an additional $12.00, with the clicks now averaging 0.15 per pop.  I plan to end this campaign at 10:00 am local time.

After that, I ‘ll be working on questions for the book giveaway on April 2, the day of Contraband’s release.

In the past couple of days, I’ve been mulling over what to do about exposure for Contraband.  I’ve been concerned about Facebook, where the number of fans was pitifully small. I’m reluctant to ask people to be fans. I feel like I’m imposing when I do this. Anyway, I did send out messages to some of my writing pals and most of them were kind enough to ‘fan’ my book.  I knew I was going to do an ad, I just wasn’t sure when.  I thought now would have been an opportune time with the book coming out on April 2.  So I went ahead and penned a simple ad.  I included the book cover, the release date and a short message:

A tale of greed, betrayal, loss and redemption.
Coming April 2 from Nevaeh Publishing.
Follow this Jamaican writer

I had to fill in various bits of information to hit what I thought would be my target market, so I started out with the following:-

Targeting:

Who live in the United States
Age 18 and older
Female
College Graduate
Who like Action/Adventure Suspense, Romance, Marijuana
Who speak English
Who are not already connected to Contraband

Result: Not much happened, other than a lot of clicks, with no resulting fans.

I decided to mix things up a little yesterday.

Targeting:

Who live in Jamaica
Age 18 and older
Male and Female
I left education open to all
Who like Action, Marijuana, Romance or Suspense
Who speak English (US)
Who are not already connected to Contraband

I should note here that I started out with 33 fans.

Look at the difference in the Stats below.

Daily stats for the week of March 14:
Date Imp. Clicks CTR (%) Actions AR (%) Avg. CPC ($) Avg. CPM ($) Spent ($)
03/19/2010    12,114     9          0.07    2    0.02    0.16    0.12    1.44
03/18/2010    75,396   49           0.06  20    0.03    0.18    0.12    9.02
03/17/2010          13     0          0.00    0    0.00    0.00    0.00    0.00
03/16/2010          71     0          0.00    0    0.00    0.00    0.00    0.00
Lifetime          87,594   58          0.07    22   0.03    0.18    0.12  10.46

Immediately, I saw that people who live in Jamaica relate better to what I’m marketing. Also, it could be that tag line in the ad.  ‘Follow this Jamaican writer.’

I think I’m going to run this experiment for another day and see how many fans I come up with.  Facebook does say that you only pay for people who become fans.  It’s not expensive, and I’ve seen results.  I’d recommend that if you do use their ads, you read up on the process beforehand.  I came across an excellent article by Viriginia Wild, Facebook Goldmine.

Getting the fans is the first step.  Keeping their attention is another.  I plan to find different ways of doing that.  One option would be to give away a copy of the book, but that’s down the road, when I think of a nifty idea to get to that point.

There’s a school of thought in Jamaica that people do not read much.  I know some people who do, but as to how many direct sales will come from this effort, I do not know.  One thing I notice is that most of the fans who have pictures posted are young people.  I’d be thrilled if I can find a way to get them invested in reading the book.

More on this as I go along.