S.L. Viehl's Blog, page 69

Write Noise

Some people have a tough time doing certain things (working out, writing, sleeping,) in complete silence. While I prefer to write in silence, I find rain sounds (especially with thunder) knock me out better than any sleep aid, and I tend to sew better if I'm listening to the some ambient bird or garden sounds.

If you're looking for the same, here are some links for you:

Ambient-Mixer.com not only has a ton of ambient soundtracks for you to listen to, it also allows you to mix your own.

Calm Sound offers a nice variety of nature sounds along with accompanying videos; the relaxing mix is my favorite.

For when you can't get outdoors, here are 11 hours of sounds from an English garden.

Fresh daily rain sounds site Rainy Mood claims rain makes everything better. I think they're absolutely right.

Simply Noise offers three types of ambient sound -- white, pink and brown (I love the brown, actually.) They also explain why they labeled the sounds with colors.

Soundrown.com offers ten ambient sounds for you to listen to (and you can combine them by enabling more than one.)

This Youtube fireplace video allows you to watch as well as listen to the flames.

Waterfalls are natural white-noise generators; here's a Youttube video with fourteen minutes of waterfall sounds.

Story Carding

Long before manga or anime there was Kamishibai, a form of Japanese storytelling with picture cards based on the same practice used by 12th century Buddhist monks who used picture scrolls to teach morality lessons. This is now a popular form of storytelling in schools on this side of the planet, and board versions of kamishibai are even employed by some corporations as a visual management tool.

Back in 2008 I came up with the idea to make character trading cards using Big Huge Labs photo trading card generator, and I've always been interested in cards like as a storytelling tool. If you take the kamishibai approach to creating cards for your story, and use a strong symbolic image, some titles and descriptive sentences, you could card every chapter like this:



Now to show you how that template works with a real story, here are two cards I've made for my NaNoWriMo 2014 novel:





I think this might work as well if not better than index cards, sticky notes or all the other ways we outline stories. You can also do these cards for scenes versus chapters. Also, you can use any card form you like; I just went with Big Huge Labs's card generator because it's easy and the results are attractive.

What do you think of the idea? Let me know in comments.

Sub Op

I saw this listing over in the Paying Markets forum at AbsoluteWrite.com:

"JMS Books LLC is a small press specializing in LGBT romance ranging from sweet to erotic. We have over 120 authors publishing with us and our YA imprint, Queerteen Press. We release 4 e-books a week and 6 print books a month. We are currently open to submissions. ALL submissions must follow our guidelines. Length: 7-130K; Payment: "We pay 50% net royalties on sales through all distribution channels. Our contracts are for an initial period of 2 years. A sample contract is available upon request." On reprints: "We accept reprints and previously published content (including self-published stories) on a case-by-case basis." Electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details.

Going Ghost

Ghost writing (also known as writing for hire) has a long and rich history about which hardly anyone knows anything, thanks to the skills and discretion ghost writers wield (as well as the invention of the non-disclosure agreement.) If we ghost writers ever formed a club we'd have some illustrious members, too: Sinclair Lewis, Robert Graves, Kingsley Amis, Katherine Ann Porter, Robert Jordan and Larry McMurtry, to name a few. H.P. Lovecraft was a ghost writer for Harry Houdini; Shel Silverstein penned one of Johnny Cash's most memorable songs.

Ghost writers are also responsible for probably 90% of the celebrity-authored books you buy, including those supposedly written by former Presidents and Secretaries of State. Sometimes an author is really a group or succession of ghost writers, such as Nancy Drew's Carolyn Keene, or (allegedly) anything with the byline James Patterson.

The first time I went ghost was for a minister whose ideas were great but who had trouble crafting them into effective sermons. He hired me to translate his concepts onto the page (which later led to me working as a transcriptionist for the author of a Little Golden Book; satisfied clients often rec you to others who need to hire writers.)

Most ghost writing gigs for individuals work this way; someone wants or needs to write something but doesn't have the skill to do so; they hire a writer who does it for them in return for a flat fee or an negotiated arrangement that can include royalties, shared byline credit and other perks. Writers who ghost for individuals often get no credit for the work, however, and in most cases are usually required to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) that prevents them from ever claiming the work is theirs. I haven't done this sort of work since I turned pro, but it's certainly a lucrative type of ghost writing.

The sort of projects I pursue are those for clients who purchase the rights to the work and publish them under a trademark or pseudonym they own, which can be completely fictitious or belongs to a deceased or non-active writer (sometimes ghost writers are also hired to finish works left incomplete by writers who unexpectedly pass away, too.) Publishers, writer estates and other corporate/group entitites that are more interested in the product than taking credit for it generally opt for this sort of arrangement; one well-known example is V.C. Andrews, whose family hired a ghost writer to continue her series after her passing. Occasionally ghost writers who step in for deceased authors are given credit for their work, as Brian Saunderson was when he was hired to write Robert Jordan's final Wheel of Time novel, but generally speaking the same type of arrangements are made for these gigs as are made with individuals.

As these clients usually look for an experienced ghost writer these jobs are more difficult for beginning writers to land; the clients generally go through agents and you're often required to send in published work samples or do some audition writing. I've done three series now as this type of ghost writer, and it's generally a great source of reliable writing income (if you can get it.)

Discretion and confidentiality are absolutely job requirements for ghost writers. You may think it does no harm to tell your BFF that you're writing Gwyneth Paltrow's next cookbook, but when she posts a thrilled gush about it on Facebook you may find yourself in very hot water with Gwynnie (and her attorney.) If you can't respect and abide by your client's NDA then you have no business being a ghost writer, and you'll almost certainly end up being sued.

As to how to find ghost writing jobs, these days they're everywhere; they even post them on Craigslist now. Any job you find listed online is probably not going to pay very well, and will likely be glutted with applicants, but it's a place to start. So is advertising your services online. Building up a resume of ghost writing credits and making contacts can lead to better clients who are willing to pay more. To look for entry-level ghost writing jobs you can check sites like Elance or Freelance Writing Jobs, but again be prepared for a lot of competition.

Clients will frequently state what they're willing to pay upfront, but occasionally a client will ask you for a rate quote or you'll be invited to bid on a project, so you need to work up a list of reasonable charges. You should also consider that every ghost writing job is different, so it's best to find out first exactly what the client expects from you, how long you estimate it will take you to do it, and then quote a price. Also have a professional resume and some writing samples and excerpts of your published works prepared to send to your prospective client. Your writing samples should be pieces or excerpts that showcase your particular talents as they apply to the job in question, such as some really great blog posts for a client looking for content.

How you calculate your rates is also important. If you go with minimum wage to write a 100K novel for a client that you estimate will take you a thousand hours, that works out to $7250.00 here in the U.S., but you'll find very few clients willing to pay that much (or wait that long for a project.) If you go with a per word rate, such as three cents, that works out to $3000.00 for the same job. Turn around time is also a factor; most clients generally want the work delivered quickly, and some have very tight deadline requirements. Always get a deadline schedule first and be sure you can stick to it before you commit to any writer-for-hire project.

As to what sort of jobs you should work as a writer-for-hire, that's up to you. My advice is to be sure you're okay with the arrangements you make with your client, and how your work will be used once you turn it over and take payment. Also, be aware of the potential fallout if anyone ever discovers you're the real writer behind any byline (and if you're not okay with being exposed as the author of any work, don't take the job in the first place.)

Writing for hire is writing without any excuses or safety nets; there is usually no room in a ghost writing gig to be a diva or have a bad writing day or give up on something in mid-project. If you're easily blocked, you don't care to be told what to do, or you think you know how to write better than anyone on the planet, then ghost writing is also probably not for you. If you're not sure if you'll like it, try a small or short-term project first (writing product descriptions, short blog posts or small amounts of copy are great tester jobs.)

Okay, any questions that won't violate my NDAs? Ask away in comments.

Closure

I've been mulling over what to do with the photoblog, which I've left on hiatus for a couple of months now. I'm not getting out enough to take new pictures very often lately, and I hate to keep putting the blog on hold until I do find the time.

I began the photoblog back in 2009 as my first year-long online art project challenge, which was to take a pic every day of something interesting. I managed 346 pics that year while I learned how to use my first digital camera. Before PBWindow I was definitely a mediocre photographer, and the challenge of maintaining a photoblog and using the camera constantly helped me improve quite a bit. I also became aware of more of the world around me, and began seeing it a bit differently, too.

Six years later I take my camera with me everywhere, and have a built a large archive of pics I've taken for the blog. I have all kinds of new respect for you dedicated photographers out there, too -- this is a wonderful, maddening art form that I don't think anyone ever masters.

Of course the photoblog was never very popular, but that didn't matter. It was mainly for me and a couple of people who followed my progress. Since I don't have time to keep it current, however, I'm going to close PBWindow and call it done, although I will leave the blog intact and online for as long as Blogger/Google allows.

Love You

I try to keep politics off this blog, but I have a lot of friends and readers in Europe who are dealing with some major scariness right now. This video is for them (narrated with background music, for those of you at work):

An Awesome Book of Love from Furlined on Vimeo.

Off to Work & Sub Op

I'm finishing up a job for my editor today so I will have to skip Just Write Thursday this week. Anyone who is posting new writing online today is welcome to leave their link in comments. I've also got a sub op I wanted to share:

Timeless Tales has an open call for Perseus and Medusa themed short stories: "Timeless Tales exclusively publishes retellings of fairy tales and myths. We don't accept original fairy tales or stories outside of our current theme. Please be creative! We love to see modernizations, sci-fi retellings, continuations, mash-ups, etc. Just no eroticism, please." Length: up to 2K (under 1.5K preferred); Payment: $15.00 flat rate. Reprints okay, electronic submission only, see guidelines for more details. Submission window opens February 8th, 2015; Deadline: March 23rd, 2015.

Pages Winter 2015

Due to the usual holiday madness I was a little late picking up the Winter 2015 issue of Pages magazine, but I thought the journal-maker's instant fix would make a nice creative kickstart for the new year. I'm planning on making all my journals for 2015 -- no more being lazy and buying them from the store or Etsy! -- so I was quite interested to see what sort of inspiration they were offering.

It's an okay issue for the most part. This time nearly all the projects were fairly standard book-type journals (as opposed to past issues that explored making a journal out of a paintbrush, a fake piece of fruit, etc.), which will appeal to the traditionalists. I did like the Illuminated Tangles page project by Wendy Currier and Marcia Thornton Jones, which is a kind of fusion between Zentangle-type doodling and illuminated manuscript techniques. The steps of the project are explained very well, and the results are impressive. It's also a project basically anyone can do.

The techniques in this issue ranged from interesting to useful to scary. Making a book you don't have to sew or glue and assembling a simple pop-up were likely the best of the lot. Watercolor travel journalers will really love the piece on visual fieldnotes, while those of you who are interesting in less traditional journals will enjoy the project on deconstructed journaling. There are also some stunning journal pages showcased in the back of the issue that look as if they've traveled through time.

Because I'm a nut about old sewing notions I have a substantial amount of old buttons cards that I've never done anything with, and in this issue Mandy Russell shows you how to use them as covers for wee journals. The artist does use a Coptic stitch to bind the journals, so it's a bit more advanced in the technique department, but she has excellent directions and a couple of stitching illustrations to show you how to manage the binding. The scary project was one that involved cutting up and weaving strips from aluminum cans to make journal covers; while I appreciate the recycling aspect it definitely looked like an exercise in slicing your fingers to pieces. If you can't resist that one I advise you proceed with extreme caution and make sure your tentanus shot is current.

I did feel this issue is a bit light on new ideas, and I get the feeling Pages may be heading in another direction now. I really liked this magazine because it started out genuinely invested in real, creative book-making. In this issue I do see some signs (the results of a subscriber challenge, making your own "cozy journaling corner") that it could be evolving into another Butterfly people rag (and Lord, don't read the article about the scroll journal in this issue unless you want to cry all morning.) If the next edition is more of the same I think I might have to move on, but I'm hoping it won't be.

Not So Smart

I don't own a Smart Phone*, so I tend to notice how people who do sometimes behave. I'd like to share my observations, too, so here are

Ten Dumb Things About Smart Phone Addicts

Conversation Monkeys: When I try to talk to any of you smart phone addicts lately, you listen for only about half a sentence before you start talking about your phone, then check your phone, and then begin texting someone. While you do this last part you mutter "sorry" to me four or five times until you're ready to listen to another half a sentence, and then the whole process repeats until I walk away, which you don't notice for at least ten more minutes. Then you get mad at me for being rude.

Date Voiders: This is something I see almost every time my guy and I go out for a meal: a nice young couple who should be totally involved in each other, yet who never say a word to each other because they're both on their phones the entire time they're in the restaurant -- even while they're eating. So romantic!

Find Mining: Why must we watch you unload your purse every single time you need to answer or use your smart phone? This would be the purse with the empty zippered phone pocket on the outside, btw. Ever consider actually putting your phone in the phone pocket? It's a radical idea, I know, but it might help.

Grocery Store Gamers: One of the great joys of having grown up kids is that I don't have to listen to that stupid video game music anymore. Until you get behind me in a long line at the market and start playing [insert name of smart phone game app] and then alternately yay or curse it while you play. This is especially attractive when you're doing it one-handed while dragging a wailing toddler along with you. P.S., the next time you shove your cart into my back because you're so wrapped up in your phone you don't look before you push? I'm handing your toddler a king-size energy bar.

Lookee! Or Not: Probably a dozen times last week someone tried to show me something on their smart phone which wouldn't load or they couldn't find. At which point they have to explain what I'm missing, but it's been so long since they've actually spoken to anyone they can't remember half the words they need to use. Totally unriveting.

Low Battery Bitching: Once you realize your smart phone battery needs charging, and you're somewhere where you are unable to do this, you have to whine to me every five minutes as to what percentage of power is left. While you're still using the smart phone. And when it finally dies you spend the next twenty minutes bitching about how lousy your battery is while you begin to twitch and fidget uncontrollably (which is the part I really like to watch. Can you get the Lookee! addicts to do that?)

Phony Drivers: I don't drive anymore at night because you people who have to be on your smart phone while you're behind the wheel do. I know, it's incredibly selfish of me to refuse to die just because updating your Facebook status made you run a red light, but there you go.

Plug Slugs: Once a week I find a charging cord hanging from one of my outlets where it was left after someone who is not my relative charged their smart phone. I used to try to find out who they belonged to; now I add them to what has quickly become an extensive personal collection. And do you know there's a guy at the flea market who pays five bucks a piece for them?

Selfieshing: While at any event I inevitably have to wait five or ten minutes while you people ahead of me take sixty selfies, which you immediately have to show to all the people who are already there with you and watched the whole thing in person, you idiot.

Text Gagged: This always makes me laugh, actually -- the growing number of smart phone addicts who refuse to make phone calls anymore and will only communicate by text. When you ask them why they say "It's easier" (if they still remember how to talk.)

*I do have one of those disposable drug dealer-type phones for road emergencies; it sits in my purse turned off until I get a flat or break down or someone needs to borrow it. Aka a dumb phone. It only makes phone calls. This horrifies everyone who borrows it, btw.

Sub Op

World Weaver Press has an open call for their second Far Orbit SF adventure antho: "We are once again looking for modern space adventures crafted in the Grand Tradition. We are not looking for slavish imitations of past classics. Rather, we would like to receive stories that establish a new tradition in the much maligned sci-fi adventure genera — smart, modern stories built around the classic traditions. We are looking for adventure stories that are creative, readable, and memorable. We are also looking for midnight indulgences; exciting stories that transport you from the everyday grind and leave you wondrously satisfied. All adventure-based sci-fi genera are welcome but stay away from fantasy elements unless they are genetically engineered or cybernetic. Stories can begin on Earth but the major action should happen out there, beyond the edges of our blue marble. Dystopia (Mad Max) and fantasy-like adventures (John Carter of Mars) have to be very special to be included in this anthology. Please, no fan fiction." Length: "Because adventure stories often take more space to develop, World Weaver Press is accepting stories up to 10,000 words in length." On reprints: "Previously published stories are acceptable but we will not publish stories that have been previously anthologized." Payment: "$0.01/word. All contributors will receive a paperback copy of the anthology. For previously unpublished works: Seeking first world rights in English and exclusive rights to publish in print and electronic format for twelve months after publication date after which publisher retains nonexclusive right to continue to publish for a term." Electronic submission only, see guidelines for more details. Submission period opened January 1st, 2015. Deadline: March 31st, 2015.