ANNIE SEATON AUTHOR
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In Annie's chair...

How close are you to having written your first half million words?

2/21/2017

4 Comments

 
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Anna Jacobs is the fourth most borrowed author of adult fiction in the UK library system. She was thrilled to pieces to hear that news recently, and I'm thrilled to have her in my chair today!



Please welcome Anna to the chair!
Anna says: 

I’ve been thinking about what a ‘brand’ is lately. The word is tossed around in writing circles as if it’s the key to heaven, ie getting published and staying published. (The latter is as hard as the former, by the way.)
 
To my mind the main component of authors’ brands is their voice ie how they tell their stories and the sort of stories they choose to tell. That’s what readers go for.
 
It’s exactly like training for a sport: you become good by doing it and working hard at whatever training is needed. For writers, the need is to write and (except in extremely  rare cases) write a lot! One book isn’t usually enough to develop good story-telling skills. And notice that I call it story telling. That to me is the crucial element in a novel.
 
Twenty years ago industry wisdom said you need to write half a million to a million words to learn your craft and settle into your own style. I don’t see that mentioned these days but I think it’s still true. Instead, people talk about PR/brand and being on social media, as if they give you some golden key. They may help as you go along but IMHO only if you have developed your skills and style first.
 
So . . . good luck with your writing – how close are you to having written your first half million words?
Anna Jacobs

You can find all of Anna's books here:
http://www.annajacobs.com/book-list.aspx
What an amazing achievement!

Her most recent release is A Stranger in Honeyfield. Click on the cover below.


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4 Comments
Vonnie Hughes link
2/22/2017 10:53:57 am

Great to hear those good, plain, sensible words from an accomplished long-term author.

Reply
custom essay services link
2/23/2017 07:46:44 pm

I'm not even close to writing a hundred thousand words. I'm very excited for this magical journey ahead of me. I know that I'll learn a lot from writing literary pieces in the future. I also appreciate your knowledge and intuition. I hope to read and learn more from your knowledge on this site.

Reply
Ronnie Warner
2/24/2017 06:03:49 am

Anne just this afternoon when I was sitting reading your Stranger to Honey Field. And I suddenly thought when I speak to you your voice stays with me for a long while you have a soft lilt that holds your attention and I can imaging you reading stories to an audience and holding them spellbound. This and the fact you do not go all around the houses to get to a point makes me determined to keep on re reading your books which I keep in my private bookcase. Keep writing. Anna and keep the ideas coming, for me you are the top writer in the world

Reply
Bowling Near link
6/20/2018 07:02:53 pm

The truth is that I am still quite far, especially due to the short time I have. But I keep trying, and I hope to one day...

Reply



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    Annie Seaton

    Annie loves sharing her writing chair with special guests! If you'd like a turn...please email her! annieseaton26@gmail.com

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annie@annieseaton.net
  • HOME
  • About Annie
  • ALL BOOKS
  • Audio Books
  • Store
  • Editing and Graphic Design Services
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Cover Creation Service
  • East of Alice
  • Secrets of River Cottage
  • Aussie Christmas
  • Porter Sisters
  • Second Chance Bay Series
  • PENTECOST ISLAND SERIES
  • The House on the Hill series
  • The Augathella Girls series
  • Love Across Time Series
  • The Richards Brothers series
  • Book Tour
  • Workshops