A.L.'s comments

A.L.'s comments from the Goodreads Sci-Fi/Fantasy Authors group.

Note: A.L. is no longer a member of this group.

Yeah, what happened to Gary?

Are you looking for strict science fiction, or is fantasy acceptable?
A.L. Travis

I agree with Jana. Going to some of the medium-sized online reviewers is often better. All though, I must confess, I often wonder if the only people reading these sites are other authors!

Teensreadtoo.com is very willing to look at stuff, especially if they have a sample chapter to look at, and they get several 100,000 hits on their site every month, plus they'll do contests (you send them the prizes and they organize everything else) for books they've reviewed.

I'm trying to do a give-away contest of my own right now, but it's so hard to spread the word on that kind of thing. Check it out at altravis.webs.com, on the Contest page. I'm giving out free books, one for every 100 that enters. After this, TeensReadToo invited me to do a contest with them, so I think I'll try that!

Thanks for the tip David!

Hooray! I just found out my book has been honored as a "Finalist" in the "Fiction & Literature: Young Adult Fiction" category in the National Best Books 2008 Awards!

Ummm... so now what?

Any tips? Any great ideas how to use this to help get my book (The Pillar of Light) out there?

I sent a note asking the same of my marketing rep, but thought I might get some of the best answers from this group!

Gary said: "The big question is feedback. All authors need it, and every author should hope that it is both on target and thorough."

I've found that it helps to be *really* specific when you ask someone to read through your work. You have to say "I just want you to get a feel for the story and tell me if there are any places you get lost," or "Help me look and see if I made silly mistakes like 'duck tape' instead of 'duct tape' that spell check won't catch."

Plus I think this is less daunting for any friends you ask to read through. Giving them something specific tells them you already know your work's not perfect, and people seem to worry less about hurting your feelings by pointing out a major plot hole when you have specifically asked them to do just that!
A.L. Travis

Naomi,
I used to daydream my world a lot more, which helped me plan out a lot of my scenes. And then I had kids... the first didn't really interrupt that much - I had time for imagining while he was napping (they sleep a ton that first year), but once he got bigger and started running and we added the second one, it's been harder to find time where I can just think!
Do you have kids?
A.L.

Amen about the flowers Marc! If the character doesn't care, then why should it matter to the reader? Course, there's always that Weird Little Thing that later saves the day, which you have to smoothly mention without bringing attention to it, so that later on the reader marvels at your brilliancy (J.K. Rowling was really, really good at that - it was one of my favorite things to look for as I read her books)!
A.L.

I wouldn't say that I've reach commercial scale or anything, but I am published and I do have an opinion about short & to the point writing.

Having 700 pages is not some kind of gold medal standard. There are books with 700 pages that stink to high heaven and books with 700 pages that have amazing writing and stories. It is the same with "short" books.

I think that if you have said everything that needs to be said, then you should stop! There's a reason the Harry Potter #1 was hundreds and hundreds of pages shorter than #7.

I will also point out that (although they appeal to adults) Narnia was written for a younger audience. I have no idea what your book is about, but you may want to think about marketing to young adults. If they're packed with action, to-the-point and swift-paced you may have a hit with young, reluctant readers!
A.L. Travis

My biggest issue is also marketing, as I am with a small publisher. They've treated me great (and my book too), but they don't have the connections and pull needed to put it in all the stores.
I don't know which is better for my next book: finding an agent or finding a publisher with more oomph, or doing both. I've heard that even though agents take money, they generally make you enough that you're still making more than you would have without them.
But is that only as far as getting a contract and all that? I still think that after that it's up to your publisher to get the thing in stores. Does anyone know different?
A.L. Travis

Book 5? You are not alone Tess!

Hey Gary,
I totally know where you're coming from! My book, The Pillar of Light (The Legends of Milana series), follows a group of nine. It moves along very quickly, and I stick to the perspectives of a couple of people, but reserve the right to occasionally jump to the other nine (and I do).
And, as a reader, I eventually gave up reading Robert Jordan's stuff (gasp! I admitted that out-loud?!) because I got tired of reading about carpet and upholstery, when I wanted to know what was happening to Rand!
Anyways, I know that a great many authors plow through their first drafts, attempting to balance flesing and plot, only to have to go through and chop up all their painstaking work on their next draft.
So here's my tip: Do it backwards. Don't write a first draft, write a skeleton draft. I write like mad, put in the things I need to, and focus on getting where I'm going: the end. When a swordsmith creates a sword, he bangs it into a close idea of what he wants, then re-heats and works in all the details. When you have a skeleton done (not to mention that heady feeling of oh-my-gosh-I-finished-it), put the thing away for a month (Trust me, if it's worth anything, you won't forget it).
After you've gotten over you're euphoria, pick it up and read it. It's really easy to see where you need details, and I find it way more enjoyable to *add* richness, fun ideas, and all those neat tidbits that you're brain has been working on over the last month, rather than cutting up your work. Call this your flesh draft, and resist the temptation to edit silly little flaws - don't waste your energy, focus on fleshing out what needs it. If you're a real glutton for punishment, you can type the whole thing in from scratch, as it will probably change a lot!
Take another break.
Now, do your skin draft. Read it again. Does it make sense? Now you can cut anything that was "too much," do a spellcheck, look for consistency, grammar, etc. Get a friend to read it (be specific: do you want them looking for grammar or details or places where they are confused?).
I know, it may seem a bit backwards, but for some reason, working with the bare minimum and building on that is easier for me. Readers are always telling me they can "see everything so clearly!"
Good luck Gary,
Hope this helps a bit,
A.L. Travis
The Pillar of Light: The Legends of Milana series
www.altravis.webs.com

Wow Dee! How cool! Yesterday my family went hiking at this neat little place where you can climb into these tiny little crevices between three story rocks. For the first hour and a half we had the whole place to ourselves, and my mind kept wandering off into my stories.
Not stone henge, but it was beautiful, and reminded me of my little world of Milana!
A.L.

You know, I've wondered about the snake bite thing, it always seemed to be in the same line as using leeches to suck out bad blood to me... I think I'll have to check out the US Army Survival Guide! Thanks David!

GW, thanks for the tip about pants/jeans under tunics - I don't think my hubby would be willing to go along to one of their events without it! There's a largish event planned for the end of Sept here, but we've got plane tickets and will be missing it. Oh well, it'll give me time to research other stuff and get some tunics together!
A.L. Travis

GW - I've been looking into making a tunic, since I'd like to go check out some of their events too (my boys are little, but they'd totally love this kind of thing)!
Also, I enjoyed what you posted from the short story, and would love you to send me the rest!

Oh, and Norm - I have a soft spot for the former VP - my husband was setting up the lighting for a formal Christmas bash at the Naval Observatory (where the VP lives) one year. He was crawling through the bushes, looking for a plug and when he crawled out he was staring at a pair of feet that belonged to the VP. The VP who happened to be alone, the VP who's secret service agents hadn't noticed my bush-dwelling hubby. But when the agents came rushing in, Dan waved them off, and he's had warm, fuzzy feelings from my direction ever since, no matter what his politics may or may not be!
A.L.

Wow, this SCA thing is a goldmine (if you're intersted in any of the medieval highlights)! There are two nearby groups, and I'm going to see if I they'll let join them for their archery & sword fighting practices a time or two next month! Let you all know how it turns out!
A.L.

Wow everyone! This is so interesting to me! And GW, thanks for the tip about the SCA, I'm going to see if there's any of them in my area! That would be incredible!
Hmm - sometimes I wonder if the writing is just an excuse to do fun research (har, har)... All right, I'm going to go look up the SCA right now...

A.L.

What's the strangest research you've ever done for a book?

For example: I write about a group of kids who find themselves in the world of Milana, where they have very few of our modern conviences. They go a long time without being able to use shampoo, and I wanted to find out what that would actually do to a person's hair (well, at least mine), so right now I'm only scrubbing my hair with baking soda (hey, I have to look somewhat normal), to get a feel for what it would be like.

I would also like to know what it *really* feels like to use a sword, or just have to haul one around all the time (and a bow, daggers, etc), so I'm trying to figure a way to experience that too.

Sometimes imagination can carry you the whole way, but a great many of the adventerous things I really love to write about are actually things I've done (like sailing, diving and being in the woods). It makes me want to experience (as best I can) some of the smaller points of life on the world I've got orbiting in my imagination!
What's your favorite type of "research"?

I'm with you. The re-write is definately better, it just seems to flow. The first version is jerky; you assume that the character being described is the one that's speaking (as it's all in the same paragraph), but when you realize it's someone else you almost have to stop and do a quick double-take.
The second one is quick and clear about who's saying what, yet still describes the extra very well.
(Do you often do these quick re-writes in your head when reading Gary? I hope so, it's nice to know I'm not alone!)
A.L. Travis