DEAR FELLOW WRITERS

DEAR WRITERS,

I CREATED THIS PLACE AS MY WAY OF PAYING IT FORWARD. I HAVE BEEN IN THE INDUSTRY FOR MANY YEARS NOW, SINCE 2004, AND I AM STILL HERE. I THINK I HAVE SOMETHING TO CONTRIBUTE TO MANY ASPIRING ROMANCE WRITERS HERE IN WATTPAD, TO THE ONES WHO REALLY WANT TO MAKE A NAME IN THE INDUSTRY. YES, THERE IS A WAY BUT THERE’S NO SHORTCUT TO IT. WELL, IF YOU WILL LISTEN TO THE THINGS I SAY HERE AND ADD THEM TO THE GROWING ARSENAL OF WRITING WEAPONS YOU’VE ACCUMULATED FROM OTHER EXPERIENCED AUTHORS, GOOD FOR YOU. YOU WILL MOST LIKELY BECOME A WRITER WHOSE BOOKS READERS ANTICIPATE NOT ONLY HERE IN WATTPAD (FREE READS) BUT IN THE MARKETPLACE (SOLD READS), AS WELL.

I DO NOT CLAIM TO KNOW ALL NOR DO I CLAIM THAT EVERYTHING I SAY HERE WILL WORK FOR EVERY WRITER. ALL THE THINGS YOU WILL READ HERE ARE BASED ON MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCES AS A ROMANCE AUTHOR, EDITOR AND PUBLISHER OF ROMANCE PAPERBACKS AND E-BOOKS. THIS IS A FREE ENDEAVOR, SO IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH SOME OF THE THINGS I SAY HERE, YOU’RE WELCOME TO DISCUSS IT WITH ME OBJECTIVELY. I THIRST FOR NEW KNOWLEDGE:) LET’S RESPECT EACH OTHER. AFTER ALL, WE MEAN WELL, RIGHT? I WILL ONLY WELCOME AND ANSWER INQUIRIES REGARDING WRITING AND PUBLISHING. KINDLY PLACE YOUR QUERIES IN THE COMMENTS SECTIONS UNDER EACH ARTICLE.

        Magtatagalog ako.:) Pasintabi sa mga ingglisera diyan.

        Halos dalawang linggo pa lang akong aktibo dito sa Watty pero may mga nagre-request ng magpabasa ng mga akda nila sa akin o kaya’y magpa-evaluate. Hindi ko naman alam paano mag-respond kasi writer account ko naman ito at hindi website ng Love Match, ang aking publikasyon. Ganunpaman, ayokong sayangin ang pagkakataong kayo’y lumapit sa akin upang humingi ng aking opinyon o payo. Ipagpaumanhin ninyo na sa ngayon ay hindi ko pa magawang mag-evaluate ng mga akda dahil sa kakulangan ng oras, pero hahanapan ko ’yan ng panahon sa susunod na mga buwan.

        Sa ngayon, ang aking magagawa ay magbigay ng mga writing tips sa inyo kung paano ninyo ma-improve ang inyong pagsusulat. Para sa akin, ito ang pinakaimportante para sa isang aspiring writer, ang mapabuti ang kanyang pagsusulat. Sabi nga nila, first impressions last. Ibig sabihin, huwag kayong magsumite sa isang publisher na hindi maayos ang inyong mga trabaho. Parang interview din ’yan kapag nag-a-apply ng trabaho. Kailangang presentable ang inyong mga akda. Sayang naman kung sa reject pile ang punta niyan pagbuklat pa lang ng unang pahina. Merong ganun, maniwala kayo.:)

        Kaya, subaybayan ninyo ang aking mga articles dito. Iyon ang mga naging pamamaraan at pamantayan ko upang magtagal nang ganito sa industriya. Sana matutunan din ninyo. Pandagdag sa kaalaman.:)

        So, see you in the next pages.

THE BIG, FAT LIE.

I WILL CUT TO THE CHASE.

People write to express. AND to impress. Let’s not be hypocrites on this matter.

An art is meant to be appreciated. Therefore, an artist looks for people who would appreciate his art. Nobody here in Watty writes to simply express. In order to express, you have to have an audience. If you just wanted to write for the sake of letting it out of your system, you didn’t have to bother opening an account here. You could have just gotten a notebook and started a diary. If you don’t care that nobody sees your work, that nobody reads it, that nobody understands it, that nobody takes joy from it, then don’t be here. Go back to your bat cave and write in silence, in solitude.

A writer is an artist. Let us all declare ourselves that, artists. Let us embrace the idea that we create, build, improvise our art to express our emotions.

Art is vast and deep and there’s plenty of room for all the artists in this world to express it in their own unique ways. But there is one bottom line for all these expressions. One intention. One purpose.

TO AFFECT PEOPLE.

So, I will kick this lie out of the picture from the get go. The I-don’t-care-if-nobody-reads-my-stuff BIG FAT LIE. That’s the ego talking and it’s a very insecure one. Well, insecurity is a good thing too, but that would be in another topic.

Truth is, every writer cares. We want our works to be read. Deep inside, We DESPERATELY need our works to be read. It’s the food that feeds us inspiration. It’s the fuel that fires up our passion. It’s the elixir that expands our imagination.

It’s simply called APPRECIATION.

We need to be appreciated for what we do to be able to continue doing what we do.

So, are we all on the same page on this? In order for you to grasp what I’d be imparting in the next pages, you have to open your hearts and minds to the beauty of writing, to the pains, to the challenge of it. No egomania at this point. That’s the biggest deal-breaker of all for an aspiring writer, to have the ego that overshadows his talent.

But we do need ego, mind you. A BIG one. But that would be discussed in another page.

So, we all agree that WE CARE ABOUT OUR READERS.

We want them to appreciate our works.

Now, how do we get reader appreciation?

That would be our next discussion.

Thanks for reading.

  ***

Insights welcomed. Comment anytime.

Copyright Eve Montelibano

All rights reserved

WHAT KIND OF WRITER ARE YOU?

First, I will apologize for being blunt and straight-talking from here on. When I say blunt, it may hurt your feelings at some point because the things you will read here were learned from the university of hard knocks. You know what I mean? Lessons learned the hard way. The painful truths and realities of writing and publishing.

So, before we proceed,  identify yourself and decide.

If you are writing…

….just for fun and expression and have no ambitions of taking it to the next level, I don’t think proceeding to the next pages will add anything to your writing experience. But who knows? Read at your own risk.

…with that I-don’t-give-a-damn-if-nobody-reads-my-stuff attitude, PLEASE, do not proceed to the next pages. You will only get pissed and hate my guts for slapping you with a lot of hard truths. Thank you for reading this far. Bye.

….to be popular but doesn’t want to put in the hard work, I’m sure you have your own ways of achieving your goals and won’t be needing my tips. Thank you. Bye.

….to learn how to be a notable professional writer (meaning you’re getting paid for your works) and obtain popularity in the process, pleased to meet you. Learning is ALWAYS good.

….to learn more about writing and publishing but content to be just a low-profile but respected free-read author, then you’re THE man! Salute! Welcome to my digs!

….to become a popular, notable, best-selling author, hop in! I’m sure you’ve done some homework in advance and are ready for some serious challenges.

Those who managed to strap their egos in straitjackets, see you in the next pages. We’ll discuss some sucking and rocking.

Copyright 2014 by Eve Montelibano

All rights reserved

Insights welcomed.

  Comment anytime.