Life – Chasing Driftwood Books

I am never just me and I am never alone

I have the cure for loneliness. And it works.

The cure for loneliness is writing.

But, I hear you protest, isn’t that a solitary pursuit? An activity for introverts and loners? Won’t that just make it worse?

No, and I’ll tell you why.

I remember standing outside school when I was about four or five, trying to understand why I was only me. Why my thoughts and feelings were limited to just mine. I looked at my friends and my mother, and stared into their eyes and realised I could not climb into their heads and become them, I could not occupy the space behind their eyes and see the world as they did. I vividly remember thinking how amazing, strange and sad this was.

But I soon found out that this does not really apply to writers. If you are a writer, you are not limited to being just one person or living just one life. As a writer, I discovered that I was never just me, and I was also, never, ever alone.

When I started to write stories, they were about animals, lost and neglected, looking for love and embarkiing on adventures. I became them. I was them just as much as I was Chantelle. I had to quieten them and hide them when people asked something from me. I had to climb back out of their minds and fully inhabit mine. But I would try to get away with not doing this in full. I’d be eating my dinner, sniffing the air, sure I had picked up the scent of trouble, my eyes darting from side to side, planning an escape. I wasn’t just me. And then when dinner was over, the stories would continue and I would slip back into character.

Throughout my life, I have been all the people I have written about. I have not simply created them, written their stories and then cast them aside. It doesn’t work like that at all. These people come to me, somehow, for some reason. They start off small and grow bigger and bigger, louder, more complex, more real. They are all from me. It blows my mind. It’s like they find me and ask me to tell their story, but that’s not really it. Somehow, they come out of me, because they are me.

And then I am them. I become them in order to write their story, in order to feel what they feel, and do what they do. I think about them so much, picture them, hear them, study them. I lie awake at night, and they are there. Characters from books already written, and characters still developing in my head for future books.

When I least expect it, they pop up and start talking or arguing. They are helping me to write the book. I learn new things about them every day. I will be washing up or making dinner, and suddenly there they are. Because of these people, I am never, ever lonely. I don’t know what it feels like to be bored or alone. Because of them, I don’t know how to have just one train of thought in my head. I don’t know how to have a quiet mind.

Yet, to those that know me, I am often described as quiet.

Sometimes I think the people in my head are the best thing about being a writer. Creating worlds and weaving plots, sharing your work with readers, getting reviews, these are all fantastic, magical things, but being more than one person who is never, ever alone, has to be the best and maybe the most unexpected.

My advice to anyone feeling lonely is to write.

Don’t overthink it. Don’t write for anyone else. Don’t write to get rich or famous. Don’t let anyone stop you. Ignore the naysayers and their frowns of doubt. Write whatever you want. Bend the rules. Break the rules. Make up your own goddamn rules. Write for fun, for frivolity, for yourself, write as if no one is looking over your shoulder. Let it out, whatever it is. Release. Feel better.

How can you ever be lonely again? You can weave words and create worlds. You can listen to the voices in your head then allow them to live, to be alive just like you! You can create whoever and whatever you like.

You will never be lonely now. You have a head full of ideas. Everywhere you go new ones will pop up. Everything you see, hear, smell, taste and touch will become writing material. Conversations, eavesdropping, people-watching — these are your new hobbies! Everywhere you go there is possible content. Stories are everywhere. Everything is a story.

But that is not all. You’re feeling less lonely now but it can go further. To finally cure your loneliness for good, you have to share your words with the world. Release the stories and the poems, the thoughts and the dreams, the hopes and fears, the people you created, the worlds you invented. Share them, spread them, set them free and you will never be lonely again.

And it doesn’t even end there.

There is no need for loneliness as a writer. You can collaborate with others. Share ideas. Throw them around. Join writing groups. Read and support other writers. Share in their journey, give and take, feedback and congratulate, support and take pride in their success too.

You are not alone. You never were.

Written by Chantelle Atkins and previously published on Medium. Chantelle’s latest release, The Mess Of Us can be preordered on Amazon now!

What are the choices available to writers today?

There was once a time when the only way to get your book published and in front of readers, was to get an agent followed by a publishing contract. This option still exists, of course, and is now usually referred to as ‘traditional publishing’. It’s traditional in the sense that the same rules have applied for a long, long time. These days the traditional model is not the only option for aspiring authors and in this blog post we will briefly examine the other options available.

But first – a very brief history of the rise of self-publishing!

1993 the worldwide web becomes accessible to all, opening the doors to self-publishing

1997 Lightning Source, POD company is founded, opening the market up to small presses and indie pubs and inspiring companies such as Ingram Spark and Lulu.

In 1999, blog hosting takes off. Writers use blogs to share their work.

In 2000 Stephen King was the first major author to self-publish a book (The Plant) online in electric instalments.

In 2007 Amazon launches Kindle Direct Publishing, allowing authors to self-publish their books to be read on the Kindle e-reader.

2008/09 crowdfunding platforms like IndieGoGo and Kickstarter make it easier for artists and writers to raise money for projects.

2011 increasing numbers of people own e-readers and companies like BookBaby and Smashwords allow writers to publish and distribute ebooks worldwide.

And since then, things have continued to change and evolve! In fact, it’s pretty hard to keep up and anyone thinking of discussing the subject or offering a workshop or course, would certainly need to do their research again to ensure their information is up to date.

We’ve mentioned self-publishing so let’s examine that first.

Self-publishing

Many people assume self-publishing simply means uploading a manuscript and book cover to Amazon and pressing ‘publish’. In reality, it’s far more complicated and complex than that, and even self-publishing has more than one option available to you.

Go it alone with Amazon Select

Go with Amazon and other distributors. (Draft 2 Digital is a major one)

Go with a publishing platform such as IngramSpark, BookBaby or Smashwords

Pay for a publishing company to edit, format and market your book

join up with other indie authors and form a publishing collective, such as Chasing Driftwood Books

All of these options have benefits and drawbacks to them and if self-publishing is the route for you, it’s a good idea to research the various options available before you start. Your final choice might be what suits you and your book or it might be decided by finances as the options have different price tags. The most important thing to consider is the professionalism of your book. In order to compete with traditional books, a self-published book needs to look and read just as good, if not better!

Indie Small Press

This option is becoming more popular and is an attractive one to most aspiring authors. Independent presses or small publishers are just that – independent and small. They are more likely to take on unique and original manuscripts and more likely to take a risk on you and your book. Often they are themed, as in some cater purely to crime writers, some to romance and so on. But there are plenty out there who publish books in multiple genres. Usually, you do not need an agent to submit your book to these publishers. There are drawbacks though: they will often require you to have a social media following or author platform on the go and they will certainly ask you to do as much of the ‘marketing’ of your book as possible. They just don’t have the same funds as the big trad publishers. You’re also unlikely to receive an advance.

Traditional Publisher

The model of publishing most people are familiar with. You polish up your manuscript and send it to a multitude of suitable agents. If you are lucky enough to be signed with an agent, it is then the agents job to sell your book to a publisher. If successful, you might receive an advance, but possibly not one as generous as in days gone by. The publisher will do the bulk of the marketing and selling of your book. This is often the preferred or ‘dream’ route for many authors, but it’s important to remember that the big publishers and agents often know what they are looking for and they are looking for what they already know will sell. You might also be waiting many, many years to see your book in print.

Creating an Indie Collective

This is a more unusual way to get published but it seems to be growing in popularity. In essence, this is self-publishing, but with a slight difference. You can set up your own publishing name, perhaps with similar authors and create a logo and a website. Although your books are still self-published, they have a ‘brand name’ attached to them and possibly a logo. If you are in a collaborative group with other authors you can all help advertise and market the books and this will lead to increased sales. You could have a group newsletter to sign up to, have group giveaways, competitions and appearances and so on. It’s very much a DIY approach and can be a lot of fun for creative people. Chasing Driftwood Books is a small indie collective with this ethos very much in mind: we can do more if we help each other!

So, there you have it. These days, if one door closes on your manuscript, you can be sure that there are still plenty of other doors to try. That doesn’t mean it will be easy – but that is a topic to explore another time!

Tag: Life

Writing – A Fail Safe Cure for Loneliness