Elena Giorgi: Tuesday Two Cents' Worth

Welcome to Tuesday 2 Cents' Worth, where authors and writers answer one question: If you could share one piece of writing advice with other writers, what would it be?

I'm pleased to introduce you to the talented Elena Giorgi who has kindly agreed to share her two cents today.


Take it away, Elena!

"Lately the one question I'm asked a lot is: should I self-publish? I'm happy that people are asking because up until a few years ago you were immediately deemed unworthy just for posing such a question. But today writers have a choice, and I can't tell you how happy this makes me. I've seen too many writer friends mistreated and intellectually abused by publishers, editors and agents. Of course, that doesn't mean that self-publishing is the perfect alternative. Nothing's perfect and no matter what route writers choose, they have to do a lot of work. The job doesn't end when you write "The End" on the last page of your manuscript. In fact, that's when the job really start. And yes, the first question should be: should I self-publish? And my answer usually is: it depends.
     What kind of writer are you? Are you part of a writing community, do you do a lot of online networking, do you write fast and plan on publishing many books and/or a series? If so, go for self-publishing. It will take longer to build your readership (and start making money) but if you can promise many books to come and are patient with letting that readership grow, you will be rewarded in the end.
     On the other hand, if you are the kind of writer who can produce one book per year, and likely the literary kind, you are probably better off trying the traditional route, unless you have really good networking connections. Of course, I do know writers who've become extremely successful by self-publishing one book only (there are always exceptions, right?), but it's rare.
     No matter what you decide: get on-line and talk to writers from both sides. Set some goals, ask questions, and find out for yourself what works best for you and your career."

 E.E. Giorgi grew up in Tuscany, in a house on a hill that she shared with two dogs, two cats, 5 chickens, and the occasional batches of stick insects, newts and toads her dad would bring home from the lab. Today, E.E. Giorgi is a scientist and an award winning author and photographer. She spends her days analyzing genetic data, her evenings chasing sunsets, and her nights pretending she's somebody else. On her blog, E.E. discusses science for the inquiring mind, especially the kind that sparks fantastic premises and engaging stories. Her debut novel CHIMERAS, a medical mystery, is a 2014 Readers' Favorite International Book Award winner.

 

Links:

Blog: http://chimerasthebooks.blogspot.com/

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/E.E.-Giorgi/e/B00J4900R6
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chimeras/166368693451952
 
Elena, thanks so much for sharing your writing advice!

A to Z "I" is for Inspiration: Cinderella and Star Wars

Inspiration...let's see.  

When you write, when you paint, when you play music, when you design, create, tell stories...or just daydream, what is your inspiration? 

An oft asked question during an author interview is, "Who was/is your inspiration?"  And the answers are as different as the authors answering.  Yet, there seems to be a common thread running though the replies.  If the author writes scifi, the answer is generally a well-establsihed scifi author, or a scifi movie or TV series.  If the author writes romance, then the inspiration is usually a romance writer, a movie--or a romantic person in the real world.

For me, with my strange shape-shifting genre...I would have to say, Carl Sagan, Ray Bradbury, CJ Cherryh, Gene Roddenberry, George Lucas, Tolkien, the guys who wrote the 1960s television show "Lost in Space", and Charles Perrault.

Huh?  Charles Perrault?  Who is he and what is he doing on that list?

Well, your useless trivia for today is that Charles Perrault is the person most often credited with having written "Cinderella". Awe, go ahead and Google it. You will find dissension opined freely about who--among the over 3,000 version of Cinderella, was THE author. I am satisfied with Perrault.

But, who wrote it isn't the point.  That the author of a romantic fairytale is on that list, is.

I have read a lot in my lifetime, watched movies, been inspired by real life people and events,  but when it came time to set ink to paper, it was fantasy/scifi/romance that poured onto the pages.  My genre(s) chose me.

I suspect--but have no proof, that our inspiration as writers is seeded deeply within us at an early age.  The child who grew up reading Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys, is more inspired to write mysteries. The kids who wanted to be cowboys,and grew up reading Zane Gray, lean a bit toward western in their writing-even if it is scifi.  Or, the child who was fascinated with crime reporting on television and newspaper, or watched detective series like Mannix, or Magnum P.I. ,grew up to write Crime Fiction.
  

It may not be a specific genre, like Nancy Drew lovers who write mystery--writing a plot (mystery) that they like over and over.  But instead, might be like the Zane Gray fans who write a character type over and over, returning to the image of the cowboy, the loner, the hero, to whom they felt a kindred calling?

Maybe I am just full of crap and have way too much time to think?  That's okay.  If our opinions differ, it is a reassurance that the world is a big, wonderful place full of diversity.

So, back to why I write fantasy/scifi/romance:

I cried every year when I watched this. It  was broadcast on network TV once a year from 1965 until 1974.

And then there was this one:

And this one:

*laughing*  What a mixed up bunch of inspiration.

People have given me advice, "Write what you know."  I thank them and smile, because I know that I write what I love.  

What about you?  Inspiration at a young age, relative to what you write now...