Allie Boniface's Blog, page 54
July 20, 2011
Writers' Wednesday: Two Helpful Links
I'm about halfway through my latest WIP, Beacon of Love, and though I went through over the weekend and made some major plot changes (and a character name that just wasn't working for me), I'm surging ahead now and trying, trying to get to my goal of 60K words by the end of the month.
But...
I wanted to take a moment to briefly share two links with writers today.
The first is Goddess Fish Promotions, partner site to The Long and the Short of It and run by two of very talented writing/reviewing/promoting friends. (That's not why I'm chatting it up though). They have some great options when it comes to promoting your new release. If you'd like to guest blog or do some online appearances but aren't sure how or where to start, they will set up the whole thing for you. Great price ranges, too. Check them out here.
And the second is Savvy Authors. I'll be doing some workshops for them later this summer, but as I was perusing their site I discovered that they have the AWESOME opportunity for writers to pitch to agents and editors, on a fairly regular basis. This week alone, agents/editors from Larsen Pomada, Sourcebooks, Judith Ehrlich, and Ethan Ellenberg have been/will be there. So check it out!
Now I'm back to the keyboard...
But...
I wanted to take a moment to briefly share two links with writers today.
The first is Goddess Fish Promotions, partner site to The Long and the Short of It and run by two of very talented writing/reviewing/promoting friends. (That's not why I'm chatting it up though). They have some great options when it comes to promoting your new release. If you'd like to guest blog or do some online appearances but aren't sure how or where to start, they will set up the whole thing for you. Great price ranges, too. Check them out here.
And the second is Savvy Authors. I'll be doing some workshops for them later this summer, but as I was perusing their site I discovered that they have the AWESOME opportunity for writers to pitch to agents and editors, on a fairly regular basis. This week alone, agents/editors from Larsen Pomada, Sourcebooks, Judith Ehrlich, and Ethan Ellenberg have been/will be there. So check it out!
Now I'm back to the keyboard...
July 18, 2011
Monday Mentionables: A Successful Saturday!
Thoughts on my Saturday signing experience (4th time I've been at this craft fair in my hometown):
1. The "Local Author" angle is a HUGE draw. For the first time I had both a sign and a framed copy of an article that had appeared in the local paper a couple of years ago. The number of people who stopped by simply because of that probably made up at least half of my total sales - and these weren't people I knew, but people who just lived locally who thought it was cool that I had grown up there.
2. But don't discount the word-of-mouth-it's-who-you-know angle. A woman who turned out to be a mother of a classmate of my sister's (are you following this?) was so tickled when she found out who I was that she bought all my books!
3. Online/social media contacts do matter! One person told me they got my electronic newsletter so they knew I'd be there; another saw my post on Facebook about it. There are never too many ways to spread the word!
4. Being friendly (but not overly so) makes a difference. I chatted with one fellow vendor who was making the rounds. She asked which book was my favorite and I recommended Summer's Song, which she bought. About 4 hours later she came back because she was up to chapter 4 and wanted another one of my books! That was probably the highlight sale of my day.
5. Make yourself & your books appealing. One teenage girl asked me if I'd save her a copy of Summer's Song because she had to run home to get more money. I told her I would try, but that one was going fast (truth, I wasn't trying to play hardball). She took her last $12 out of her purse to buy it!
So yes, it was a successful author appearance (I sold 27 books total) - and I would really recommend taking advantage of any place where you can be the "local author" - people love to know/live next door to/shop with someone who's written a book or two!
July 15, 2011
Friday Fun Facts: First of a Few Summer Appearances
OK, the summer signing season is upon us, and so I'll be at the Holiday in Homer craft fair tomorrow, Saturday, from 10 am - 4 pm. Please stop by and say hello if you're in the area! Always a great day :)
July 13, 2011
Writers' Wednesday: The Dreaded Sagging Middle
Well, I've been moving right along, writing about 2000 words/1 chapter a day on my latest WIP, but yesterday I found myself slowing down. Badly. Struggling to care about my scene. My characters. And having no idea what comes next.
Ugh. It's Sagging Middle Syndrome.
To be fair, I'm not quite at the middle yet, but the pace is getting bogged down and I know it's coming. I thought I'd blog today about ways to tackle it, but I still struggle with that myself, so last night I went Googling in search of some help.
I found it on the website of agent Donald Maass, a widely respected agent in the business who gives workshops on, most notably, Writing the Breakout Novel. And this month, he's posting (and Tweeting about) ways to move your novel from so-so to breakout level. Just what I needed to give my sagging scenes a lift!
Here's the link - as of last night there were 40 tips listed for ways to jump-start your writing. A couple of my favorites:
What miracle does your MC pray for? Make it impossible...then make it happen.
Find a corner, crossroads or dark object in your story. Invest it with eeriness, unknown portent or dread. Go there three times.
Before a new character debuts, give your MC an expectation or fear. Make the reality three times better or worse.
Now, go check out the whole list - and be inspired! Happy writing......
Ugh. It's Sagging Middle Syndrome.
To be fair, I'm not quite at the middle yet, but the pace is getting bogged down and I know it's coming. I thought I'd blog today about ways to tackle it, but I still struggle with that myself, so last night I went Googling in search of some help.
I found it on the website of agent Donald Maass, a widely respected agent in the business who gives workshops on, most notably, Writing the Breakout Novel. And this month, he's posting (and Tweeting about) ways to move your novel from so-so to breakout level. Just what I needed to give my sagging scenes a lift!
Here's the link - as of last night there were 40 tips listed for ways to jump-start your writing. A couple of my favorites:
What miracle does your MC pray for? Make it impossible...then make it happen.
Find a corner, crossroads or dark object in your story. Invest it with eeriness, unknown portent or dread. Go there three times.
Before a new character debuts, give your MC an expectation or fear. Make the reality three times better or worse.
Now, go check out the whole list - and be inspired! Happy writing......
July 8, 2011
Friday Fun Facts: A New Book
Well, I started a new work/project/book a little over a week ago, and I'm happy to report that I'm making steady progress and meeting my word count goals...so far...I wanted to write 2000 words a day - not impossible, certainly, but that definitely requires the Butt-in-Chair-Hands-on-Keyboard approach, since it takes me anywhere from 1-3 hours to write that much.
What's the story? It's tentatively titled Beacon of Love and it's about the host of a travel show, Sophie Smithwise, who comes to a small town in Connecticut to do a piece on the haunted lighthouse there. She meets Mitch Thomas, all-around good local guy, handyman, volunteer firefighter, and sometimes-cameraman. He steps up when one of her cameramen gets sick - but the real conflict here is that the fifty-year old murder-suicide that took place inside the lighthouse, and supposedly began the hauntings, belongs to Sophie's grandparents.
Something like that.
I haven't planned out the entire plot - unusual for me - but I'm just writing and letting the story happen. So far I like where it's going. I mostly like how the hero and heroine are interacting. She's a smart ass, and he's low-keyed but keeps up with her in more ways than one. I also like (and this always happens, such a great part of writing fiction) how the characters do things I would never have predicted, or how plotlines turn based on conversation that I didn't intend when I sat down at the keyboard.
Okay, I have 2000 words to go write. Happy Friday!
What's the story? It's tentatively titled Beacon of Love and it's about the host of a travel show, Sophie Smithwise, who comes to a small town in Connecticut to do a piece on the haunted lighthouse there. She meets Mitch Thomas, all-around good local guy, handyman, volunteer firefighter, and sometimes-cameraman. He steps up when one of her cameramen gets sick - but the real conflict here is that the fifty-year old murder-suicide that took place inside the lighthouse, and supposedly began the hauntings, belongs to Sophie's grandparents.
Something like that.
I haven't planned out the entire plot - unusual for me - but I'm just writing and letting the story happen. So far I like where it's going. I mostly like how the hero and heroine are interacting. She's a smart ass, and he's low-keyed but keeps up with her in more ways than one. I also like (and this always happens, such a great part of writing fiction) how the characters do things I would never have predicted, or how plotlines turn based on conversation that I didn't intend when I sat down at the keyboard.
Okay, I have 2000 words to go write. Happy Friday!
July 6, 2011
Writers' Wednesday: Self-Publishing Still the Kiss of Death?
Self-publishing: to many people, it's still a red flag. In a nutshell, some think if you can't get your book published through traditional channels, then it probably isn't good enough to be published at all. Thus, if you decide to take on the kiss of death and self-publish, you're trumpeting to the world that your book wasn't good enough to make it any other way.
Or are you?
These days, it seems, ebooks and the ease of digitally self-publishing have taken away that stigma, at least to some degree. Lulu, of course, has been around for a while for authors who want to self-publish a print version. But that requires a certain amount of cash up front, that authors may or may not recoup. But Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing program (as well as Barnes and Noble's PubIt) allow authors to upload a file, format it, and have it available in digital form almost immediately - with very little financial output (excluding, of course having an editor go over your work and/or having a cover artist design your cover). Royalties through KDP are 70%, which is higher than you'll find with any other publisher. Of course, keep in mind that you are solely responsible for all marketing of your work - and that can be hugely time-consuming, especially if you don't have a reader base already established.
But what if you do? This is where things get a little interesting, in my opinion. What if you're a published author, with a fairly solid reader base, and you have a work or two that either doesn't fit with your current publisher, or is a backlist title that you have the rights for, or is simply a short work you want to have available to readers in between releases of your full-length works?
I'm friends with an author who's in just that situation, and last year she formatted and uploaded one of her previously-released books when her publisher folded and she had all rights returned to her. She spoke of the process as being very easy (esp. since the book had already been edited, and she's savvy enough to create her own cover). I emailed her last week to ask about the whole experience, and she couldn't recommend it highly enough. Since then, she's uploaded 3 of her works (2 previously released and 1 new work that had been rejected in a few places - yes, established authors get rejected too), and along with her regular sales through her publisher, those titles have brought in a solid chunk of cash.
So....it's something to consider. For a new, unpublished author, self-publishing through one of these channels might be a way to test the waters, or a way to finally get that work out in the public eye. For published authors, it might be an interesting way to supplement your backlist, especially when you don't have anything releasing for an extended period of time. Am I thinking about it? Maybe. I'll keep you posted!
Until then, I'm interested in anyone's thoughts or experiences with KDP or B&N's program. Done it? Recommend it?
Or are you?
These days, it seems, ebooks and the ease of digitally self-publishing have taken away that stigma, at least to some degree. Lulu, of course, has been around for a while for authors who want to self-publish a print version. But that requires a certain amount of cash up front, that authors may or may not recoup. But Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing program (as well as Barnes and Noble's PubIt) allow authors to upload a file, format it, and have it available in digital form almost immediately - with very little financial output (excluding, of course having an editor go over your work and/or having a cover artist design your cover). Royalties through KDP are 70%, which is higher than you'll find with any other publisher. Of course, keep in mind that you are solely responsible for all marketing of your work - and that can be hugely time-consuming, especially if you don't have a reader base already established.
But what if you do? This is where things get a little interesting, in my opinion. What if you're a published author, with a fairly solid reader base, and you have a work or two that either doesn't fit with your current publisher, or is a backlist title that you have the rights for, or is simply a short work you want to have available to readers in between releases of your full-length works?
I'm friends with an author who's in just that situation, and last year she formatted and uploaded one of her previously-released books when her publisher folded and she had all rights returned to her. She spoke of the process as being very easy (esp. since the book had already been edited, and she's savvy enough to create her own cover). I emailed her last week to ask about the whole experience, and she couldn't recommend it highly enough. Since then, she's uploaded 3 of her works (2 previously released and 1 new work that had been rejected in a few places - yes, established authors get rejected too), and along with her regular sales through her publisher, those titles have brought in a solid chunk of cash.
So....it's something to consider. For a new, unpublished author, self-publishing through one of these channels might be a way to test the waters, or a way to finally get that work out in the public eye. For published authors, it might be an interesting way to supplement your backlist, especially when you don't have anything releasing for an extended period of time. Am I thinking about it? Maybe. I'll keep you posted!
Until then, I'm interested in anyone's thoughts or experiences with KDP or B&N's program. Done it? Recommend it?
July 4, 2011
Monday Mentionables: Happy 4th of July!!!
Happy Independence Day, to all my friends and readers in the United States!
Wednesday I'll be back here to talk about self-publishing through Amazon's Kindle program - it's becoming more and more popular, for already-established authors as well as new, unpublished ones. Is it something to explore and consider? Seems like maybe it is....I welcome your thoughts!
Wednesday I'll be back here to talk about self-publishing through Amazon's Kindle program - it's becoming more and more popular, for already-established authors as well as new, unpublished ones. Is it something to explore and consider? Seems like maybe it is....I welcome your thoughts!
July 1, 2011
Friday Fun Facts: A Review of The Hunger Games
All year long my students read and devoured The Hunger Games, the dystopian YA novel by Suzanne Collins that's the first book in a trilogy (and coming out soon as a movie). I finally got a chance to read it last week, and though futuristic fiction isn't my usual favorite genre, I did enjoy it, for a few reasons. The story itself is clever - when publishers talk about wanting a "high concept" novel, this is what they mean:
In a not-too-distant future, the United States of America has collapsed, weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war, to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 12 districts. Each year, two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts, the televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem as the 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss's young sister, Prim, is selected as the mining district's female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart, Peeta, the son of the town baker who seems to have all the fighting skills of a lump of bread dough, will be pitted against bigger, stronger representatives who have trained for this their whole lives.
Interesting, current, compelling.
I thought the book did a great job (though maybe didn't go far enough) in exposing our current society's fascination with reality TV and the huge/sometimes awful influence of the media. The pacing itself is also one of the book's strengths. From the opening pages, it moves along at lightning speed, and since you know that the ultimate ending of the book means the death of every character save one, you read on wanting desperately to know who that will be. There's also a romance included between the two main characters, though it's more a device of the Games than an actual love story (depending on which character you identify with).
Downsides for me? A couple of plot devices that I thought forced the conflict of the story where the author didn't need to. I won't give them away, but they're responsible for the ultimate outcome of the Games. I also wasn't crazy about the ending, since it's obvious that the author meant for the story to continue in another book. There are minor conflicts introduced that felt "tacked on" in order to set up the next book in the series, Catching Fire.
Also, just a warning: there's a lot of violence in this book, especially for a YA novel. It's integral to the plot, of course, but younger readers (and their parents) might find it pretty strong and nightmarish. I've also read quite a few scathing comments about Collins' "stealing" the plot from a Japanese story, Battle Royale. Authors do borrow - nothing's original, people always say - but I can see that perhaps using SO many plot elements/tropes from another work might rub some readers the wrong way. As always, read at your own peril!
Anyone else read The Hunger Games? Thoughts?
In a not-too-distant future, the United States of America has collapsed, weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war, to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 12 districts. Each year, two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts, the televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem as the 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss's young sister, Prim, is selected as the mining district's female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart, Peeta, the son of the town baker who seems to have all the fighting skills of a lump of bread dough, will be pitted against bigger, stronger representatives who have trained for this their whole lives.
Interesting, current, compelling.
I thought the book did a great job (though maybe didn't go far enough) in exposing our current society's fascination with reality TV and the huge/sometimes awful influence of the media. The pacing itself is also one of the book's strengths. From the opening pages, it moves along at lightning speed, and since you know that the ultimate ending of the book means the death of every character save one, you read on wanting desperately to know who that will be. There's also a romance included between the two main characters, though it's more a device of the Games than an actual love story (depending on which character you identify with).
Downsides for me? A couple of plot devices that I thought forced the conflict of the story where the author didn't need to. I won't give them away, but they're responsible for the ultimate outcome of the Games. I also wasn't crazy about the ending, since it's obvious that the author meant for the story to continue in another book. There are minor conflicts introduced that felt "tacked on" in order to set up the next book in the series, Catching Fire.
Also, just a warning: there's a lot of violence in this book, especially for a YA novel. It's integral to the plot, of course, but younger readers (and their parents) might find it pretty strong and nightmarish. I've also read quite a few scathing comments about Collins' "stealing" the plot from a Japanese story, Battle Royale. Authors do borrow - nothing's original, people always say - but I can see that perhaps using SO many plot elements/tropes from another work might rub some readers the wrong way. As always, read at your own peril!
Anyone else read The Hunger Games? Thoughts?
June 29, 2011
Writers' Wednesday: A Couple of Writing/Promo Opps
Yes, I did take Monday off - the first day of summer vacation! From a teacher's POV (and of course from students' too), it's better than Christmas :) Now I just have to remember how to relax....
Writers, here are some opportunities that came through my email inbox the last couple of days. Remember, any chance you have to get your name in front of readers (or fellow writers, or editors, etc....) is one to consider. Weigh the time, effort, and cost involved, see how much it will take you away from your own writing, and then perhaps select 1 or 2 that are good fits for you:
Savvy Authors Summer Symposium: We're looking for workshop presenters, chat, and Q&A hosts on topics related to any aspect of writing genre fiction as well as raffle prizes to give away on the last day to the registered attendees. Prizes can be books - novels or books on craft or other topics of interest to authors - magazine or site subscriptions or best of all a 3-chapter critique. (**Note to blog readers: email me directly if you'd like more, and I'll forward the entire email to you)
Just One Bite Anthology: Authors wanted for All Romance's Just One Bite Short Story Contest! Thirty-two of the paranormal romance short stories submitted will be deemed "Semi-Finalists" and released onto the AllRomance.comand OmniLit.com websites on October 1, 2011.
Readers will vote for their favorite short stories during 5 rounds of voting with the field being narrowed at the end of each round. The first prize winning author will receive $1000 US.
Submissions will be accepted between July 1 and September 1, 2011. Each title must be an original, never before published paranormal romance work between 2,500 and 3,000 words.
I'll be back here Friday with my (very informal) review of The Hunger Games, a wildly popular YA novel that my students devoured this year and that I finally got around to reading.....Hope to see you then!
Writers, here are some opportunities that came through my email inbox the last couple of days. Remember, any chance you have to get your name in front of readers (or fellow writers, or editors, etc....) is one to consider. Weigh the time, effort, and cost involved, see how much it will take you away from your own writing, and then perhaps select 1 or 2 that are good fits for you:
Savvy Authors Summer Symposium: We're looking for workshop presenters, chat, and Q&A hosts on topics related to any aspect of writing genre fiction as well as raffle prizes to give away on the last day to the registered attendees. Prizes can be books - novels or books on craft or other topics of interest to authors - magazine or site subscriptions or best of all a 3-chapter critique. (**Note to blog readers: email me directly if you'd like more, and I'll forward the entire email to you)
Just One Bite Anthology: Authors wanted for All Romance's Just One Bite Short Story Contest! Thirty-two of the paranormal romance short stories submitted will be deemed "Semi-Finalists" and released onto the AllRomance.comand OmniLit.com websites on October 1, 2011.
Readers will vote for their favorite short stories during 5 rounds of voting with the field being narrowed at the end of each round. The first prize winning author will receive $1000 US.
Submissions will be accepted between July 1 and September 1, 2011. Each title must be an original, never before published paranormal romance work between 2,500 and 3,000 words.
I'll be back here Friday with my (very informal) review of The Hunger Games, a wildly popular YA novel that my students devoured this year and that I finally got around to reading.....Hope to see you then!
June 24, 2011
Friday Fun Facts: Last Day of School!
Last day of school! Yes, New York State is (finally) done for the school year! Now to tackle all those writing projects I haven't had time for all year long...
But speaking of which, looking at that video clip I posted Wednesday, it's true more often that not: people who have never written a book of any kind really don't have a true concept of how much work is involved. I mean, that's probably true of a number of skills/projects/professions. But it continues to surprise me all the same. Right now, a number of my friends & relatives are asking when my next book is coming out, and I have to say "I don't know" because I don't have one contracted at this point. There's a whole slew of reasons why, of course, and I wish I did, but life and a full-time job do sometimes get in the way. But I do think many readers think, oh, a few weeks/months and you can turn out a book. Doesn't take took long after that, right? Most people don't realize it's AT LEAST a year once you go through edits, cover design, and finalizing copy before a book hits the shelves.
But I still have people tell me they have a great idea for a book, they've written some pages down already, and could I just give them some resources where they could find out about publishing it? And of course I do (I always start people at Absolute Write - great initial resource), but I wonder how many of them follow through. Then of course there are those people who have a great IDEA and want me to write the story "with" them (I think that means their "idea" and my sweat & time & heartache in turning it into a novel).
So interesting to witness the learning curve - and so rewarding to have a group of friends and a support network of fellow writers who understand exactly how much is involved.
Happy Friday!
But speaking of which, looking at that video clip I posted Wednesday, it's true more often that not: people who have never written a book of any kind really don't have a true concept of how much work is involved. I mean, that's probably true of a number of skills/projects/professions. But it continues to surprise me all the same. Right now, a number of my friends & relatives are asking when my next book is coming out, and I have to say "I don't know" because I don't have one contracted at this point. There's a whole slew of reasons why, of course, and I wish I did, but life and a full-time job do sometimes get in the way. But I do think many readers think, oh, a few weeks/months and you can turn out a book. Doesn't take took long after that, right? Most people don't realize it's AT LEAST a year once you go through edits, cover design, and finalizing copy before a book hits the shelves.
But I still have people tell me they have a great idea for a book, they've written some pages down already, and could I just give them some resources where they could find out about publishing it? And of course I do (I always start people at Absolute Write - great initial resource), but I wonder how many of them follow through. Then of course there are those people who have a great IDEA and want me to write the story "with" them (I think that means their "idea" and my sweat & time & heartache in turning it into a novel).
So interesting to witness the learning curve - and so rewarding to have a group of friends and a support network of fellow writers who understand exactly how much is involved.
Happy Friday!
