What To Do With Unfinished Work

With this blog we encourage writers to write, and keep writing. That is how you get better and find your inner most thoughts and ideas. But what happens when you write and write and don’t finish? What do you do with the work?

Well…we have some tips for you on how you can use your unfinished work to your advantage!

  1. Combine them.

As a writer, many of your pieces may have the same tone, setting, or even characters. Go through your old works and see what pieces can fit together. I never said this was going to be an easy task…but it could be a fun one!

  1. Learn from them. 

While this task might be the easiest, and the most obvious it can still be a challenge. Ask yourself why you never finished a certain piece. Then keep asking yourself questions. See if there is any similarity to your answers with your pieces, then devise a solution. 

  1. Finish them.

Pick up from where you left off. Sometimes all an unfinished piece needs is time! Clear your head and try to keep the momentum going! There is no better way to grow as a writer than to finish your work, leaving no rock unturned!

I challenge you to try these tasks. And in the future, before you are about to throw in the towel, ask yourself why you are stopping. And NEVER delete your work! It is unique to you and can help you grow. It was part of your adventure and can become your beginning if you work at it. 

Happy Writing!

Submit Your Work Today at Hershman Rights Management!

We are Hershman Rights Management, a literary agency where we help authors and publishers break into new markets and expand into new platforms. If you are an author (either indie or traditionally published) or a writer who is looking to get started, visit our website and we can help you grow!

If you are an already published author and looking for representation for subsidiary rights, click here. You can receive an instant representation offer! If you are an unpublished author or looking for representation on an unpublished manuscript, please click here and tell us more about yourself and your work. 

We work with you to help reach your literary goals!

Happy Writing!

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What’s On Your Writing Desk

As most of us have made our homes our temporary work locations, setting up a space where you can actually get work done is very important. While our beds may be our safe havens and comfy places, hop out of there and find something that more or less resembles your real work space. I know it may be a faint memory, but you can do this! 

Everyone’s situation is different, which is very understandable. While some may have a whole room dedicated to their work space, others have to round up whatever free space they have. But that doesn’t mean you can’t make it just as comfortable. My recommendation is to create an uplifting space. Put a few words of encouragement or photos around you, light your favorite candle and try and go about your daily routine as best as possible. 

As time goes on you will find out what works best for you. Is it too noisy in your space? Try and work with headphones on. Do you get distracted easily? Play around with different locations, and create more of a day to day outline. We can do this together! Let us know what works best for you!

Happy Writing!

Let Freedom Ring!

With technology comes plenty of responsibility…or distractions. Mainly the latter. When it comes to writing and technology, distractions aren’t needed.

Focus should be your best friend!
This is where Freedom comes in.

Freedom is an app you can purchase by year or with a Forever plan. This app can be used across devices and operating systems. You have the ability to block the entire internet, block apps, websites, and review your sessions while Freedom is activated. With a premium account, you can utilize a schedule and receive perks!

Overall, Freedom can be used for any type of work but we think it would be most helpful towards your writing career. It will help you control your distractions! Social media? Blocked! Your favorite online store? Blocked! Video streaming services? Blocked! (It’s also good for your health to control your digital habits, but that’s just a plus.)

With Freedom, you select your devices, set your schedule, and block whatever keeps you from meeting your word quota.

Your manuscript will thank you later.

Visit our website to learn more about us!

Listen While You Work

I am a multitasker. While I may not be good at it most of the time, I enjoy using multiple parts of my brain at once. My new form of multitasking is doing just about anything while listening to an audio book. 

There are so many opportunities throughout the day to incorporate listening to your audio book. Why settle for one when you can have more fun, am I right?

Some of my daily encounters of such multitasking include: getting ready in the morning, going to the gym, cooking dinner and  while I do my nightly scroll through social media. Now I understand, sometimes it is hard to focus your brain on more than one thing at a time, but it is always something you can get used to. You will quickly discover some simple changes that will make the task easier for you

For instance, I found that when listening to my audio book at the gym I had to make sure I had the right headphones. At first I was using some rinky-dink ones where I could hear my surroundings all too much to a point I lost concentration, and they would constantly be falling out. While I do not need complete silence in order to listen I do tend to block out just about everything that I can so I can truly enjoy it, and that tends to work better when they can also stay on my ears. 

For me, I feel like when I listen along with doing other activities It makes me feel more accomplished and self fulfilled. I get to listen to many books and it keeps my ‘must listen to’ list flowing. 

There are other ways to incorporate listening to audiobooks into your daily schedule you just have to find the best times for you!

Visit our website to learn more about us!

Blushing Language

We all know the writing motto: show, don’t tell.

But don’t we all get overwhelmed when we think we need to show everything? Are there certain categories of showing emotion or a character’s feeling towards something versus telling? Well, you can answer those questions because we’re going to share a quoted post. The original author is MIA but we do want you all to know – it wasn’t our idea. We’re simply adding a bit of input!

How to write ‘they blushed’ without writing ‘they blushed’:

  • They took a step backwards.
  • They shifted their weight from one side to the other.
  • They hid their face in their hands.
  • They shifted their glance to something else in the room, all around the room for that matter.
  • Their eyes widened.
  • They crossed their arms.
  • They leaned into themselves.
  • They scratched the back of their head.
  • Utilize hand motions. When people are nervous or embarrassed, they tend to use their hands to declare their frustration.
  • Quirks! Each character should have their own quirks even before you begin writing. It’s their go-to and displays some of their negative traits sometimes.

 

Foot Traps

caltrops.jpgCaltrops

 

  • This was a weapon used to maim or kill infantry, and/or others not shielded with armor. Caltrops specifically had two or more sharp nails. In the past, caltrops were used against foot troops and cavalry. Today, caltrops are used against wheeled vehicles. We’ve all watched high speed chases!
  • The name of this device if from Latin. The original meaning is “foot-trap.”
  • Caltrops have been used in heraldry. Mainly as charges in the shields!

All Aboard!

genoese boarding sword.jpg

Italian Boarding Sword

  • The Italian boarding sword was a tool used by sailors or pirates. When ships collided and one crew needed to get aboard another vessel, this sword was used to cut rope with ease or hack closed doors.
  • Although considered a tool, it was also used as a weapon. It could pierce a victim and the fighting style is very similar to fencing (except with a shorter blade.)
  • We are accustomed to seeing sailors and pirates with curved blades (cutlasses for example) but this particular sword has a straight blade.
  • It is also called a Genoese boarding sword because of a captain who hailed from the Republic of Genoa.

New Just Broke…

We’re going to sum everything up: the APA (Audio Publishers Association) reported the rise in audiobook sales in 2018 being 24.5%!

headphone.gif

According to Publisher’s Weekly, this is a more accurate percentage. It’s accounting for sales receipts rather than estimated sales. Over 91% of audiobook sales are coming from a digital format…we’ve entered the digital age! Kidding, we’ve been living in it for quite some time now!

The more popular genres include general fiction, mysteries/thrillers/suspense, and sci-fi/fantasy. Nonfiction sales have risen and represent 32.7% of units sold in 2018; starting with general nonfiction, history/biography/memoir, and self-help.

The age group dominating a little over 91% of sales are adults. Young adult titles increased by double digits and audiobooks geared for children rose moderately.

Production of audio has risen 5.8% from 2017!

(This report was based on figures from 20 publishers, including all Big 5 houses.)