Do You Want To Write? Then Read!

Sigh....

Everyday, thousands of books are being published, thanks to the eBook format. You can become an author in a matter of minutes; a feat that would have been wonderful twenty years ago when I was making my start in the world of writing.

I do feel blessed to be living in such a time.

However, a lot of people tell me that they've always wanted to write a book and think that they may have a "high concept" idea that people will just love. While I've heard some good and bad ideas over the years, the one thing I would tell a "would be" author is to READ!

You need to read the BEST literature and then you need to read the worst. There are a lot of people out there **cough my fiance cough** that constantly complain that they don't have time to read when they spend an inordinate amount of time catching up on what other people are doing on Facebook and other social media sites. Reading is an investment in yourself and I can't understand why people would rather care about what Rihanna is eating right now over investing in something that will help them in the long run.

If you want to write, read. It increases your vocabulary as well. Readers like stories that flow. They  like words that they have to look up in a dictionary. Words are your tools and should be seen that way. Words are like the different prescription medications that doctors prescribe patients. You should try to perfect your craft all the time. I probably spend more time reading than I do writing.

You should too as a beginner.

Serial Me- New and Upcoming Book from Best-Selling Author Sonya Dickerson

New book from best-selling author, Sonya Dickerson

What would you do if there was a woman going around killing all the eligible and gorgeous men in your town? What would you do if you and that woman happened to look like twins?
Vanessa Johnson has it all as a Health and Fitness editor for a popular magazine; except a boyfriend and a body to die for.
Meanwhile a serial killer is on the loose in the city of Chicago causing mayhem and destruction everywhere she turns.
It isn't long before all fingers begin pointing at her. Vanessa must make a decision; watch her life go down the drain or help the police nab the killer before it's too late and she finds herself behind bars.

What made you decide to write this story?

it was just a silly idea i had. something that i had been pondering for quite some time. when i came up with the concept the story began to write itself.

Did you run into any issues that you'd like to share with your readers?

well it was a very difficult book to do. mixing comedy in with death isn't always easy. death and murder are sensitive subjects with people and i wanted to do it tasteful. my first screenplay was a dark comedy about suicide so i was treading on familiar ground. 

i wanted to make it funny because i enjoy writing comedies. 'stick with what you know' can be helpful advice for some writers but terrible advice for others. a really great writer should be able to write many different different genres without losing authenticity. once you get ahold to a character's voice, you can make them hilariously funny or tragically sad. shakespeare is a great example of his. he wrote many genres and did them in such an authentic voice that people still enjoy him to this day and will continue to do so.

What is your favorite Shakespeare play?

anyone that knows me knows that it's Macbeth.

Are you worried that you didn't portray your character Vanessa correctly? Meaning that because she is overweight, are you worried that people will think her character was too stereotypical? Or not authentic enough? I realize you like that word.

it really depends. and yes i like authenticity. i hope some people can relate to her and empathize. without that, then you really don't care WHAT happens to the character. if that happens then you haven't done your job. time to start over at that point. 

What would you like your readers to know about this book?

i had a lot of fun writing it and i hope you have just as much fun reading it. 

New Book: Serial Me from Sonya Dickerson

Coming September 2013!

What would you do if there was a woman going around killing all the eligible and gorgeous men in your town? What would you do if you and that woman happened to look like twins?

Vanessa Johnson has it all as a Health and Fitness editor for a popular magazine; except a boyfriend and a body to die for.

Meanwhile a serial killer is on the loose in the city of Chicago causing mayhem and destruction everywhere she turns.

It isn't long before all fingers begin pointing at her. Vanessa must make a decision; watch her life go down the drain or help the police nab the killer before it's too late and she finds herself behind bars.

What Does She See? **Diary of A Sick Chick**

Another Lupus video
Featuring the poem, "What Does She See?"

Coming soon

Diary of A Sick Chick: Year Two Of Living With Chronic Illness

Available on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo in February 2013

What's Wrong With Urban Fiction? The Top Five Trends in Urban Fiction That Needs to Stop

Plenty.

I can enjoy a great UF book every once in a while but it has gotten to the point where if you've read one, you've read them all.There seem to be recurring themes in quite a few of them. The UF book that doesn't deal with these sterotypical characters will bring a new day in UF and if crafted right, could make a killing with Hollywood beating down their doors. Not to mention agents fighting to sign them to multiple book deals.

Here are a few of the stereotypes that I would like to die a quiet but certain death:

1. The Bad Bitch

There is a bad bitch in every novel. Her skin color runs the gamut from pecan to honey. Her hair is long, past her shoulders due to her Indian heritage. She is no taller than 5'4" and the baddest bitch on the block. Every girl wants to be her while every dude wants to have sex with her. There simply isn't another girl badder than she is in the game.

2. A Drug Dealer Named Nino

Does this need any explanation?

3. Label Dropping Fools

Everyone wears Prada, Gucci, Fendi, etc. It sounds like a really bad rap lyric. Everyone is fresh to death wearing the latest in fashions from these designers. The label dropping in Urban Fiction is just atrocious and over used.  Boring and no imagination.

4.The N Word

A few of these dropped in an UF book is to be expected but only in dialogue. I was reading a book the other day where the author was using the N word in her exposition!!! Not to sound like a broken record, but if we want people to stop using the word, then we need to stop using this so much in our literature, especially when it's not in the dialogue. The omniscient voice of the narrator should never refer to the characters as N*****s. It's demeaning.

5. No Editing Whatsoever.

Too many Urban Fiction books are written so poorly, they are unreadable. I was recently accused of attacking UF writers and making them look stupid.  I had to think about that for a moment. Was that my ultimate goal? Making UF writers look stupid? Of course not and the thought makes me sad. What really makes me sad is that some of these self published books with poor grammar are a reflection on the educational system in this country.

There is nothing wrong with a gaffe here and there (I know my books have a few) but some books are so unreadable it makes you wonder how the author got through life without the ability to construct a sentence. It's embarrassing. Some authors choose to argue over these reviews instead of taking the constructive criticism and working on their novels to make them better.

How Can You Complain About Free? Kindle Freebies Anyone?

It's something I absolutely enjoy doing when I get up in the morning. I check the Amazon free lists of great books for the wonderful price that can't be beat: $0.00.

With the advent of self-publishing, your cat can become an author in probably ten minutes. People all over the world have probably kicked the idea of writing a novel in their heads at one time or another. 

Well some of those people just scratched that off their "bucket" list because sites like Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com are turning your next door neighbors into authors.


Now people from all walks of life can share their life experiences and stories with the rest of the world. The problem for some is that the stories that are being shared are not the most "polished" and grammatically correct as they need to be. 

Sure there are lots of Grammar Police out there in the world on patrol, noting every missed comma or misspelled word. But there are some books on Amazon that can make you think that English (or whatever language) is not their native tongue because of all the grammar problems. 

There was one book that I read about Lupus that had such a long run on sentence that lasted all the way to the second page before a period was placed. 

Some of the novels are just plain unreadable and it's a sad state that displays a lack of education around the world.

But what happens when that book is free?

Some books have typos here and there but you are able to get the general point of the story.

I have a problem with downright mean, insulting, and downright personal attacks on authors when they are giving their work away for free. It doesn't matter if a two year old can do better, it was FREE. 

Constructive criticism can go a long way but insulting someone's intelligence doesn't. It just makes a hostile world more hostile. 

But then again, no one twisted your arm to buy it. You picked it up because it was FREE!!! It's like purchasing a fake Coach handbag for one dollar. It looks just like the real thing and feels like the real thing but then five minutes later when the strap breaks, you're ready to ring someone's neck.

There is absolutely no logic in that. What did you really expect? You had your own set of expectations of this purse that LOOKED like a Coach purse so it should BEHAVE like a Coach purse, even when you didn't pay Coach money. You put very high expectations on something that didn't have much value in the first place and have the gall to be disappointed in how your fake Coach purse performed.

Yes, continue looking through the Freebies on Amazon because there are lots of gems out there that have authors with tremendous talent. 

But if you happen to download something which your dog could have written better prose, you have no one to blame but yourself.

AND THE AUTHOR RESPONDS.....URBAN FICTION CONT.

 Browsing through Urban Fiction, I decided to download three books. Of the three, two were unreadable because they were so bad. The grammar and English were that of an eight year old and even I've seen plenty of them do better. 

I enjoy many genres and with some of the great covers and interesting storylines, (not to mention many of them are priced at .99, I decided to give this genre a chance since I don't read many authors that write there. 

It made me so angry, mostly at the educational system. I don't know these writers at all. But we come from such great writers like Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, James Baldwin, Richard Wright, is THIS acceptable? 

My father was illiterate but he didn't have the oopportunity that we did, growing up as a sharecropper in the early 1930's. Why is illiteracy acceptable today in 2012? Why do we turn a blind eye to authors that write books devoid of English and peddle it on Amazon for profit? Why is this acceptable?

I left my review here....

ME:
I tried to enjoy this book but had to delete it after reading it. I could not understand much of what was going on because of bad English, run on sentences, and no concept of elementary grammar. It was that bad. The author can paint a picture and tell a story well if they just understood the rules of grammar. Too bad, because the story had great potential.

 This is where she responded and it got ugly.

First she responded to a review I made on someone else who agreed with me.

 no you need to get some glasses or maybe stay out of urban fiction all together its sad how people are so judgmental when they haven't got a clue . I do think editing is a must with anyone's novels but to be so sadistic and leave a nasty review for anyone it just shows where your mind is . I have seen all your reviews and you seem to be a bitter person maybe you should stop reading all together. ---AUTHOR NAME DELETED

Then she responded to my review below in the comments section.....

Initial post: Dec 9, 2012 10:35:33 PM PST

AUTHOR NAME DELETED

says:

of course you have an opinion like money so you are able to use the both but as for your comment I find them to be down right stupid and very untrue. you need to maybe try getting a class in reading 101 sad and down right horrible

You just replied with

1 of 2 people think this post adds to the discussion. Do you?  

---

Your post, in reply to  on Dec 10, 2012 6:45:19 AM PST
You edited this post 

 

  SONYA says:

Instead of taking the constructive criticism ( I take you to be the author, no?) and making the book better, you decide to resort to name calling. I can hardly understand your reply because it's NOT in English. If you're going to be serious about your craft, you need to perfect your English. It's like someone who wants to be a Doctor but they have the slightest clue of Anatomy. It just can't be done.

Even your author's bio is riddled with errors! That should have NO errors PERIOD! It tells the audience to expect the same in your books. Readers are persnickety when it comes to grammar and English. You, as a writer, should know that.

Learn to be humble and listen to the criticism of potential fans if you would like to go far in this business. Otherwise, you're wasting your time. Read other great African-American writers in different genres and learn from them. Study English and pick up "The Elements of Style" by William Stunk and see how to really craft a story.

This is not an insult, but your material is unreadable. I'm sorry. Reading and studying is the only way to get better as a writer.

And I find it downright insulting for you to tell me to get a reading class when you can benefit from a writing class. No matter how mad a reviewer makes you, never attack your audience. I learned the hard way that this looks very bad on the author. It's upsetting to get a bad review, but even Stephen King will tell you (as he's said in a few interviews) you get mad, you scream, don't respond, and keep writing.

Keep writing dear. It will get better.
Peace

PS. I can help you edit your Author's Bio to get rid of the errors so that will be cleaned up. I'm from the "Chi" as well. 

 Hopefully our discourse will end here. Hopefully she will do some reading of her own and get better as a writer. I'm not on a mission to help everyone learn English, but it's disappointing.

Amazon Authors! What's Up With All The Serials?

Yes Harry Potter was an exceptional example of a successful series, but if you're not a known name, then your series won't be worth the paper that it was written on.

Yeah, I'm kind of cynical about them, but hear me out first.

Within minutes, my cat can become an author on Amazon and publish whatever she wants to basically. I don't have a problem with that at all. It's just that publishing serials doesn't work for the average reader.

When you're new, you want to write an amazing story from beginning to end. When you write a serial, you don't want to leave out so much that the reader HAS to purchase the second book in order to find out what happens. If this is your first time, what if you suck? You're almost guaranteeing that they won't come back.

New writers need to find their audiences in different  ways than teasing their audiences with books that are sixty six pages long and that have titles that say this is "Book #1 out of 60 of the Dragon Knight Baby Specials"

Huh?

Have you even built an audience yet with the more  traditional route?
What makes you so sure that I'm going to stick with you long enough to read through the second book all the way to your sixtieth?

It's presumptious.

Stick with your first book and knock them dead with that one. Join book clubs that deal with the subject matter that you're writing in. Smooze book club owners. Talk with other writers. Utilize social media. Create a blog. Read other books in the same genre. Read books in other genres. Completely immerse yourself in the world of writing. Find out what the experts are doing. Find out what the idiots are doing and then, don't do that.

Then if you think you've got what it takes to write a trilogy (and God help you if you don't) go for it. It better be damn good and damn worth it.

A writer should never go into a project thinking that they want to create a series off the bat unless they are under a contract to do so. You, as the inexperienced writer with no base, have no clue that people will give a crap about what you write. You could very well be wasting your time.

Write that first novel but leave a little room at the end to possibly create a teaser. Then wait damnit. Wait. Check the reviews. Have other people professionally critique your work. Mull some ideas over in your head for a possible part two of the series.

Have you ever seen any of the Pirates of The Caribbean movies? The first one was genius but then the scripts became some overloaded with such nonsense that even Johnny Depp threw up his hands and said, "I don't even know what this means!"

You're in the business of writing and entertaining people. You want them sitting on the edge of their beds while their spouses are asleep waiting to jump up at any moment and scare the daylights out of them. You want them rooting for your characters! You don't want the main character in the middle of the scene that YOU wrote saying, "What the fuck is THIS shit?" It's not good.

 Concentrate on what makes a great story. Concentrate on how to tell a great story. Then go from there. If you're new in the game, the trilogy will come much further down the line. Captivate your readers and then you shall build a great and loyal audience. They will follow you wherever you go from there.

Getting Stuck

Ugh....

Writer's block sucks. You have this great outline that details your story from beginning to end and then Bam! You're stuck. What do you do?

With me, it's more self doubt.

This plot isn't plausible. I'm going to lose all credibility with this scene. No one is going to believe this. It's just too out there. My reader is going to throw their Kindle against the wall and then send me the bill for it.

My thing? Continue to write the story. Stopping is Death. Write until the end and then do the rewrite. Find the flaws and pull them apart. Don't stop writing. Don't stop giving up.
 

The Teacher's Pet--Amazon Standings

I'm number one in sexual abuse.

Spread the word. You or someone you know has a life that has been touched by sexual assault or rape. 

Download this book for free today.

The Teacher's Pet

http://www.amazon.com/The-Teachers-Pet-ebook/dp/B00A11XGYK/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1351943613&sr=8-5&keywords=sonya+dickerson

It's ready to download today! Please purchase your copy now!!!. Thank you for all your support. IT was one of the hardest things that I've ever had to write in my life. I ask that you keep your judgments to the side for now and just read my words and hear the truth.

Thank you.

My Birthday Gift To You!

I'm giving away these two books on the Amazon store for free on my birthday September 10th 2012 so take advantage of this today

Thank you so much for your support!

Early Success With Hannah!

Screenshot taken with iPad of Hannah at 2:21PM Sunday 8/12/12