Blog tour: Author Laura Libricz … October 2nd, 2017. #RRBC @LauraLibricz @4WillsPub

Hello, and welcome to this October 2nd leg of author Laura Libricz’s Tour.

What this #author learned by completing the second novel @lauralibricz

This last year has formed my writing more than any of those past. These five lessons I’ve learned have pushed me from a novice to an advanced novice. For the first time, I am proud of my project. I say that with a humble heart because without those who work with me, this project would never be in the form it is now.

1. I can take criticism.

This last year, I learned how to take criticism. This was the most important lesson. Finally, I am able to dampen that personal, precious attachment I feel about my project. I am separate, a living person, and the project is just that, a piece of work. It is not me. I originally wanted to release The Soldier’s Return in December 2016. It was about 95K words and, on the surface, I thought it was good enough. But together with my editor, we saw that there could be so much more made out of the story. That meant a big picture structure change. We decided to shift the focus from one main character to another, pulling that character more to the forefront. By doing that, I had to write twenty new chapters. The restructure and the rewrite took me five months. This major overhaul was the best thing I could have done to bring this piece of work up to the next level. The lesson learned: I must step outside myself long enough to accept advice.

2. Editors’ corrections can be painless.

Waiting for the corrections of my first novel was a horrible experience filled with self-doubt, fear and loathing. But this time, as I waited for the corrections of the second novel, I was actually looking forward to my editors’ input! I knew they would make the work better, great even. I am grateful to be working with such high caliber colleagues. Even before I saw the corrections, I knew this project was on the right path. This feeling of letting go, this is what helped me this past year to truly grow as a writer. My editor is not out there to discredit my artistic ability. We have the same goal—to make this a great piece of work. The lesson learned: the time it takes to find the best professionals for a specific project is definitely worth it.

3. Take your writing advice, please.

There is plenty of writing advice out there. I have read every blog post and every show-don’t-tell essay. I get it. There are times it works for me and times it doesn’t. Writing this last novel has helped me find my own way. Should this writer disregard all that advice? Not at all. Once I internalized all that how-to stuff, I could experiment with what worked for me and my story. I compare writing to cooking and making music. I can choose to incorporate different ingredients and techniques into my work. For me, words are chocolate, sentences are songs. Writing just to fit into someone else’s rules, that’s not art. I can break their precious rules if I want to season my stories like a fine meal. The lesson learned: I must first learn the rules to break them.

4. I am a slow writer and that’s fine.

There are those who are writing their tenth, their twentieth, their thirtieth book. I have just finished my second. Please allow me to take a moment to let that sink in: I have finished my second novel; emphasis on the fact I can , a project at all. It takes me a long time to write. I have a family, a day job with a very cool guitar brand, http://www.hutchinsguitars.com, an ongoing EDM project https://www.facebook.com/lagzzmusic/.

I started my writing project, the Heaven’s Pond trilogy, in 2009. That’s almost ten years. The third book in the trilogy exists as a 50K word zero draft written in 2012 and I haven’t looked at the manuscript in years. I will probably have to start it over from scratch. It may take me two years to finish. But, so what if it does. The lesson learned and internalized: Valerie Douglas https://www.facebook.com/Valerie.Douglas.Books/ is right: this is a marathon, not a sprint. Here’s an interesting article about the slow writer: http://annerallen.com/2014/03/is-there-place-for-slow-writer-in/

5. Marketing is not a dirty word.

I am slowly getting a grasp on what it means to market a product. I am not a marketing whiz and there are lots of things I coulda, shoulda, woulda done, but there you go. I do what I can and every little bit helps. Active participation on all artists’ part is imperative. Whether one is a musician or a visual artist or a wordsmith, some sort of promotion is needed if one wants to sell one’s work. No matter if one works with an agent, a publisher, a gallery, a record label. We still have to build our brand, spread the word. Now there are great support groups out there. I found one with a good fit: https://ravereviewsbynonniejules.wordpress.com and work a lot with them. We can’t do it alone and no one is asking us to. There is so much noise out there and we have tons of competition. The lesson learned: marketing takes a lot of ongoing research, trial and error. It’s a lot of work. Get used to it.

Let’s Meet Laura Libricz.

Laura Libricz’s Media Kit: Pictures, Book Covers, Links, Bios, Book Blurbs: Laura Libricz Blog

 Bio:

Laura Libricz’s Media Kit: Pictures, Book Covers, Links, Bios, Book Blurbs:

https://lauralibriczblog.wordpress.com/about/

Long Bio:

Laura Libricz was born and raised in Bethlehem PA and moved to Upstate New York when she was 22. After working a few years building Steinberger guitars, she received a scholarship to go to college. She tried to ‘do the right thing’ and study something useful, but spent all her time reading German literature.

She earned a BA in German at The College of New Paltz, NY in 1991 and moved to Germany, where she resides today. When she isn’t writing she can be found sifting through city archives, picking through castle ruins or aiding the steady flood of musical instruments into the world market.

Her first novel, The Master and the Maid, is the first book of the Heaven’s Pond Trilogy. The Soldier’s Return and Ash and Rubble are the second and third books in the series.

WHERE TO FIND ME ON THE WEB:

Website: http://www.lauralibricz.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LauraLibricz

Google+ private page: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+LauraLibricz

Google+ brand page: https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/111626375322992289353/111626375322992289353

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3c-yIyoN-UprxB15L5l8zA

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraLibriczAuthoress/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauralibricz/

Blog: https://lauralibriczblog.wordpress.com

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.de/lauralibricz/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6526953.Laura_Libricz

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-libricz-8980a43a/

 Please join in with your thoughts and comments at the conclusion of this post

“This tour sponsored by 4WillsPublishing.wordpress.com.”