Monica Valentinelli's Blog: booksofm.com, page 99

Pottermore Nails It

I just watched the announcement by J.K. Rowling for Pottermore, and I'm really, really excited. This experience — using technology to bridge the gap between author, reader and gamer — is exactly where I hope to see the rest of the industry go. We are moving toward interstitial experiences to breathe life into our worlds, our stories and our experiences.

Mind you, the reason why something like this could happen, is because the audience is already there. I'll be watching to see how successful this will be. Since one part of the equation is already taken care of, this will be a great test to see if others can and will follow. Not to mention, Sony is behind this and it's no secret I'm a big admirer of what they can do.

Here's the video announcement of Pottermore:

What Does "Write What You Know" Mean to You?

If you're looking for either a full-time writing gig or a freelancing opportunity, you may see something along the lines of: Experience preferred in [subject matter.]

The idea behind those qualifiers, is that an article will be of better quality (and faster written) if it's about "something you know." Can a writer pen an article about how to make a good doughnut when they really prefer chocolate chip cookies? Yeah, absolutely. The idea that "write what you know" doesn't always work, because all writers — regardless of whether you're a subject matter expert or not — have to spend a fair amount of time researching and reading the subject you're writing about. When you're a writer, you are an experienced wordsmith who understands how to provide clear and engaging prose. By its very nature, our profession requires us to be versatile.

Writing "what you know" can have an influence in other areas for non-fiction including: where you pitch and whether or not you're a good fit for the publication. For marketing purposes, publications often want their writers to have a "tie" back to the subject in either a professional or casual way. A lot of times, this opens up opportunities for ghost writers, because not every mountain climber/CEO/politician is a good writer.

In fiction, however, "write what you know" takes on a different meaning because it's fiction. Have you trained a dragon personally? Are you a necromancer in real life? Have you built a robot?

Um, yeah. You get the idea. Here, "write what you know" might be better understood if I rephrase it as: "write what you're comfortable with." Here's some examples of that: I'm not a religious person, but you will see both religious and non-religious characters in my fiction. I enjoy writing horror and stories with darker themes, but I don't normally write so-called gore porn because I'm not comfortable with straight-up slasher flicks that are light on plot.

Writing what you're comfortable with also has subtle meanings and consequences. If you like a genre — like science fiction — then you're probably reading other authors and know what other readers are reading. Last year, I wrote a short story that didn't work, because I wasn't comfortable with the genre I was writing in. This year, I wrote a couple of short stories that did work, because I knew the setting cold and had a lot of fun with them.

When I was starting out, I did write some stories that had a personal theme to them — and I'm glad I did. I would NEVER publish those stories professionally, but what those stories taught me was invaluable. First, it's a BAD idea to "write what you know," because it's almost impossible to get a bird's eye view of your story. Critiques? Oh, man. Talk about taking things way, way too personally. Often, what happens in real life doesn't make a good story because, like movie dramatizations, there are things that have to be altered/omitted/etc. in order for it to fit the structure of a tale. Even in literary fiction, the character (or characters) are often irrevocably changed by their experiences. In real life? Do you think people like change?

Hah. Do I really have to answer that? [Insert current political climate here.] No, no they don't. If people liked to change, then we wouldn't have as many arguments about who puts the cap on the toothbrush and who deserves what rights as we do. Characters, however, do change.

And that, my dear readers, is where writing what you know can be a benefit to your work. Focus on the emotion. How something feels is a great thing to share with your readers, because emotions reach past cultural boundaries — it touches all of us. We fear. We grieve. We're happy. We're sad.

And we're out of caffeine…

What does "write what you know" mean to you?

My Blog is Now Available on the Kindle

And now for a public service announcement.

If you enjoy reading my trials and tribulations and appreciate the blood, sweat and tears that has gone into this blog over the years, then you may want to consider taking advantage of a new service. Now, you can read my posts from the comfort of your own e-reader, the Amazon Kindle.

Included with your subscription is a fourteen day free trial. And yes, the listing is under my name as opposed to mlvwrites.com. And yes, my name is quite long, a subscription in and of itself.

Subscribe to www.mlvwrites.com on the Amazon Kindle

I hope you'll consider adding me to your queue. I may even wind up emulating the letter "E" in my posts…

Educate, Enlighten, Entertain…

Monday's Manic Musings of Magnificence

After staying up into the wee hours of the night re-reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I was a little groggy this morning. So? Down, down, down I went, down the road of hyper-caffeinated.

And now I'm flying. WHOO-HOOO! The end result being these magnificently manic musings that shall now assault your senses for Monday's post. While listening to Muse. You've been warned…

We're in the process of moving website servers, so it looks like all the traffic-related issues are going to disappear shortly. I'm pretty excited about that, because it's been a pain dealing with load times. I'm going to be writing a new monthly column and plan on celebrating that with an appropriate theme week. Plus, we've got a great promotion coming up in July for FlamesRising.com and I suspect our traffic will spike.

When I started going back to conventions this year, I got the chance to sit down and talk shop with people I've gotten to know. I had a really good conversation with Monte Cook and Matt Forbeck over dinner, and it's still sticking with me. One of the things Matt pointed out was that I'm probably hypersensitive to rampant self-promoters because of my background in online marketing.

Yeah, this is true. However, I think there's something to be said for the brave souls who are trying to navigate through the upheaval in the industry. It does take a lot of gumption/cajones/audacity to put yourself out there and say "buy my book." (Or books, as the case may be.) I'm not comfortable with super-aggressive tactics because that's not my personality. When I walk into a store, for example, I hate being hounded by salespeople. I want the time to browse and decide for myself what I need/want to get.

My style of sales is to build relationships with people. I want to get to know my readers, because I feel they're my clients. I'm not going to make every reader happy, but hearing from them is so, so important because books are the end result of a symbiotic relationship between writers and readers. Without readers, I wouldn't exist.

Sales and marketing techniques are definitely author's choice, because different things work for different people. It's the same thing like developing a writing career. Some authors are happy publishing one book; others are in it for the long haul.

The biggest trick, I feel, is finding that balance of what you're happy with. The more I learn about my work as an author, the more I learn about myself. I think that's pretty tricky for most authors to figure out, but for me? I didn't "choose" to be a writer. This vocation chose me. (Or more like, demanded that I do this or else.)

Like many authors, a lot of things got in the way of that vocation. Job. Life. Etc. No, there's never supposed to be an excuse, but no matter what I'm doing — I always come back to it. I can't quit my word addiction, because when/if I do, I no longer feel whole.

Right now, I don't feel whole persay, because my writing has been touch-and-go due to a bout of Eeyore-itis. But now? I'm energized and ready to rock my keyboard. Ready. To. ROCK.

Of course, it helps that I know exactly what I want to write. BOO-YAH!

Caturday: Cat Invasion

Today's Caturday post takes on a somber tone. I fear that as much as I am a friend to cats, dogs and small woodland creatures everywhere, I will not be safe from…

CATS IN TANKS.

And yes, this is a little violent. Along the lines of Starship Troopers. You've been warned.

Cats in Tanks from Whitehouse Post on Vimeo.

Day 74 of 100: Reinforcing Silence

Today's post will point you to an article on the SFWA.org blog that I feel is extraordinarily relevant to being creative. The author, Leo Babauta, spoke to several writers, actors, musicians, etc. on the value of solitude and what it can do for you. Then, he goes on to explain how participation is also crucial. You can't have one without the other and, if this social media sabbatical has taught me anything, I am finding that to be the case in my own life.

Here's a quote from the article:

I've reflected on my own creative habits, but decided I'd look at the habits that others consider important to their creativity. I picked a handful of creatives, almost at random — there are so many that picking the best would be impossible, so I just picked some that I admire, who came to mind when I thought of the word "creative".

This was going to be a list of their creative habits … but in reviewing their lists, and my own habits, I found one that stood out. And it stands out if you review the habits and quotes from great creative people in history. — SOURCE: The Number One Habit of Creative People

There's several great quotes in the article and it does offer quite a few tips. The Number One Habit of Creative People is definitely worth a read if you have your time.

[Call for Quotes] How Did You Get Published?

Hi folks,

Based on the popularity of my article yesterday for SFWA.org entitled Message to New Writers: It's Okay to Focus on Your Craft, I would like to follow up in July with a new article that highlights how published authors got their start.

If you are a published author who has gotten paid for your fiction, please consider telling us about the first story you ever published and where it was featured.

You may contact me directly or provide a quote in the comments below along with your website.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: no two paths within this industry are alike. You and I may have opinions about the approach an author has, but at the end of the day those thoughts mean diddly. What matters, is focusing on your own work. What you are comfortable doing. What you are happy with.

I hope by exploring other people's stories, in addition to my own, that we'll not only shed some insight on these diverse paths, but we'll also provide new authors with some much-needed encouragement.

[My Guest Post] A Message to New Writers at SFWA.org

This month, I decided to write a column geared for new writers at SFWA.org. This month, I talk about how it's okay to ditch all the writing advice and focus on your craft. Then, I offer several resources where you can turn to sharpen up your plots and trim your prose.

The mentality that you have to "get your first stories published or else" is incredibly foreign to me. I opted for an undergrad degree that allowed me to simply learn and write. Due to the flexibility of my Creative Writing program, I developed my own course requirements to focus on multiple forms of writing. While there are benefits and drawbacks to any academic program, I have no regrets: the environment allowed me to concentrate on the words I wrote as opposed to selling them. — SOURCE: Message to New Writers: It's Okay to Focus on Your Craft

I hope you'll give Message to New Writers: It's Okay to Focus on Your Craft a read. I recommended Nascence as one of the resources and author Tobias Buckell was kind enough to provide me with a quote.

I feel that this issue is worth exploring, especially given the glut of writing advice and popularity of different topics. No, this article may not be relevant to you, but it's definitely something to think about when you're fresh out of the gate.

[Recommended] 23 Authors Share Tips for Writing a Book

An article written by Steve Silberman is making the rounds, and I thought I'd share this with you if you haven't seen it. Dubbed "Practical Tips on Writing a Book from 23 Brilliant Authors," the article shares a plethora of advice. I really liked Steve's comment about dialing back Facebook and Twitter to focus on his work.

A few things became clear as soon as their replies came in. First of all, I'll have to throttle back my use of Twitter and Facebook to get this writing done (and I may never rev up my idle Quora account after all.) Secondly, scheduling intervals of regular exercise and renewal amid the hours of writing will be essential. And thirdly, I'll certainly be buying and downloading a software program called Scrivener, which is a powerful word processor specifically designed for writing books and keeping vast amounts of related data in good order. — SOURCE: Practical Tips on Writing a Book from 23 Brilliant Authors

Authors include both fiction and non-fiction writers, ranging from Carl Zimmer to Cory Doctorow. If you have a chance, check out the article. There's some great tips in there!

Growing Pains are a GOOD Thing for Apex Publications

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to drop by and mention today that Apex Publications, which operates Apex Magazine, Apex Book Company and The Zombie Feed, is growing. They're in the process of inking a deal with a major distributor and their books will be on a shelf near you.

This is fantastic news for Jason Sizemore and it's been a long time coming. However, with new opportunities comes some amount of growing pains. The distribution deal means that he has to literally change his business model overnight to fulfill demand. To offset the printing costs, he's started a peerbacker program with several tiers of rewards. While his business is doing well, this growth opportunity means he'll have to order a large print run of books, which isn't something he normally does.

This fiscal requirement goes above and beyond our normal business operations and normally, I wouldn't be opposed to that. In this instance, however, the issue is time. The distributor is anxious to get Apex out on the market. To do that, I need to come up with the initial investment for a full-scale run. So I'm trying out a Kickstarter clone called Peerbackers. Any funds raised by Peerbackers will supplement the additional business loans I'm taking to cover the new production costs. — SOURCE: Our peerbacker Project: Apex Lands Major Distribution

I think it's pretty cool that a publisher has the ability now to share news as-it-happens and ask readers, authors, editors and fans to be a part of that success. I have a vested interest in this deal doing well, too, for I have a story out now with The Zombie Feed Volume One anthology and a dystopian science fiction story coming out through Apex Book Company this year.

If you're interested in helping Apex Publications, visit: Apex Publications Lands National Distribution Deal.