Anna DeStefano's Blog, page 31

Waterfall Challenge: Hemlock Falls–You're Here

Water is poetry for me. It's breathing. Thriving. Living. It's escape and coming home and coming back. It's today and yesterday and tomorrow. It's dreaming.

Come to Hemlock Falls with my husband and me. This last May. Spring thaw. Never made it to the higher falls. Mudslides everywhere.  Never quite there. Never want to be.

You'll see.

********

Sun peaking. A halo. A path. You're here.

Water teasing. A taste. A promise. Stay here.

Impossible winking. A want. A need. Know here.

Distance. Overflowing.

Closer.

Raging.

Roaring.

 Beside you.

Past you.

Becomes you.

A turn.

In you.

Never there.

Never leave.

Know here.

Stay here.

You're here.

How We Write Wednesdays: Plot Points You Toward Better Drafting

I asked the #weWRITE faithful on Twitter what terms and trending craft topics did they want us to explain in more detail. The top choice? Plot points, and how come they're so important to the escalating tension in a story. It sounds basic, but Jenni and I have learned, just like every other working fiction writer, that you can never take for granted just how important the basics are.

First, let's start with quick glimpse back at where How We Write Wednesdays (HoWW) has already been:

In March, Jenni covered basic story structure terms. It's a great blog on the "secret" to discovering your own writing process (because as much as we like to teach together, we've learned that we plot very differently). Go back and read it for that insight alone. But within the post is an excellent summary of the basic turning points within a novel: Inciting Incident, 1st Turning Point, 2nd Turning Point (also known as Midpoint), 3rd Turning Point, Dark Moment/Black Moment, and Climactic Scene. This  is a purely external way to look at the bones of your story. What happens and how each major thing that happens is connected to the next (and the last) one.

In February, I shared my "Character Chart" that I use to plan/plot my characters' emotional arc through the beginning (Inciting Incident), Middle (2nd Turning Point) and end (Dark Moment/Black Moment) of a story. Take another look, to get a refresher on how I chart my characters' internal growth through the three most important turning points in a novel, long before I figure out exactly how I'm going to motivate the character(s) externally.

So, that's the basics, at least the way we seen them. But what does it all mean, when you're looking at planning/plotting, drafting, and revising your own story?After all, figuring out how to do all this YOUR way is what's HoWW and #weWRITE are all about. So far this year, we've covered character, planning/plotting, rewriting, and drafting…and never once have we said you have to do any of this OUR way ;o) 

When I asked what you wanted to talk about most in your process, someone asked what the popular buzz phrase "upping these stakes" really means. Jenni's going to go into more detail on the technique next week (using details from one of her workshops), but for now, let's see what we can learn from the two examples above. That is–how, when you're either planning, drafting or revising, can you be sure that you're upping the stakes enough in your novel?

I taught the amazing ladies at CRW this last weekend something key I learned from Robert McKee: plot is character. Whatever happens to one, must change the other. You CAN'T change one, without impacting the other.

Keeping that in mind as you do your prep work for a story, discover during your drafting phase, and refine your work as you rewrite–that's your job as a writer. That's your story. That's how you keep your reader hooked and involved and dying to know what happens next. That's upping the stakes (with every scene and chapter and turning point you create).

Let me give you a quick example, then we'll talk more over on #weWRITE until Jenni picks up the conversation on her blog next week:

With the prep work you've done investigating your character's back story, you know what kind of ordinary world (another story structure term, generally referring to the opening of a story, showing the protagonist in his normal life before we throw conflict at him/her) you should paint to give the reader a glimpse of who a character is and what drives him/her (at least on the surface)–emotionally, where the character is as the story opens. You also know how to set the character up for the first change you're going to force him/her into, so that there's something at stake (emotionally and externally) that he/she can't NOT act on.
Enter the Inciting Incident–something unexpected happening in the external plot  that hooks the character (and the reader) into the flow of the story. A change is required for the character to take the journey, motivated by what's happened in the past and directed toward some (tangible) goal the character thinks he/she can achieve in the near future. Why is he/she willing to take this leap? Well, because you've just upped the stakes in the character's life (put something new on the line) and you've properly motivated the character to act. Unfortunately, or your story ends here, he/she cannot succeed at facing this challenge. At least, not completely. Failure becomes his/her motivation to confront the next conflict.
By the midpoint of the story, whatever this initial external goal is must have met with substantial, growing conflict and challenges, so that the character has been forced to rethink and refine his/her goal and motivation. New insights have been gained, and the emotional/external stakes have grown. To the point that an even bigger obstacle pushes the character to fully commit (emotionally) to the ultimate story goal (different or more complex than than the Inciting Incident). He can no longer turn his back on what he/she has to do. Emotionally and externally, the character's now motivated to put everything on the line for what he thinks he wants most.
At the Dark Moment (which I plan, emotionally, in my Character Charting process as soon as I know what's motivating the character at the Inciting Incident), the final/ultimate obstacle is revealed (mirroring the initial challenge and taking the midpoint's conflict to an even more extreme place). If the character hasn't learned enough emotionally from his/her journey, if his motivation isn't fully aligned with the real goal that will bring him resolution, he will fail at this challenge as well, just as he did the Inciting Incident.

It sounds like a lot. And it is. It's a story. And good story is complicated. Good characters are complicated. It's all intertwined, how and why the character is pulled into a journey and how we (writers) pull him through the events that we challenge him with. The cold, hard fact is–you can plan carefully and draft with abandoned and rewrite, rewrite, rewrite, but if you don't nail the escalating tension of the above story/character arcs, you novel will sag somewhere. You'll lose your reader's enchantment with what you're doing. This is the guts of why we buy into one novel, and the next one leaves us cold.

Jenni and I have been teaching HoWW for months, sharing basics and getting everyone talking. And the basics are pretty simple, when you look at them objectively. But there's nothing objective about how you take all of this and create something magical in your work-in-progress. That challenge, more than anything else, is what we hope we're helping to excite and motivate you into learning more about and doing more with and understanding more of with each word and page you write.

The key to writing our novels and to making HoWW and #weWRITE work for all of us is sharing these ideas and talking about what they really mean, beyond quick fixes and 10-steps to success lists, and what it's like to put all these terms and techniques to work, and how we all feel lost sometimes, and how we all fail over and over until we finally get it write. And nothing feels better than getting it right…

So, that's a bit of what we'd like HoWW to become going forward. More tying things together into practical examples that we can talk about on #weWRITE. More asking you what you'd like to learn about most. Don't forget Jenni's going to teach Upping the Stakes next Wednesday. And starting in July, we're going to have guest bloggers join us (both published and unpublished authors) to share their insight.

This is your space. This is your series. Let us know what you'd like to talk about next!

Dream Theories: Examining Dreams–the work of self-development

Modern dream interpreters base the work they do on techniques developed by others before them. They're not inventing anything new, and they all agree that dreams are personal–they should be analyzed in terms of the dreamer's life, not science alone. There are no universal meanings, in absense of the dreamer's presence and reality. That said, let's talk some turkey, then start getting busy with the nuts and bolts of the dream interpretation specifics so many of you have been clamoring for.

There are some dreams, initiated by traumatic incidents in you life, that you should work through with professionals. They can cause to replay an event over and over, and feel threatening to yourself or others. "Playing" around with dream interpretation isn't a fun game in these situations. Talk to someone about your fears, in and out of your dreams, and get whatever help you need to feel more in control of whatever you're dealing with.
Drugs (especially sleep aids) and alcohol affect both natural sleep and your dreams. They (or stopping consuming either)  can cause you to sleep more deeply and dream more vividly, disrupt sleep, inspire more frightening dreams, and result in you more easily remembering/forgetting what you've dreamed. They can skew your emotions while you dream (too often toward self-hate or self-harm). Overall, the boundary between your sleeping and waking realities can blur entirely. DON'T "play" with either, or your dreams, while indulging.

Beyond these two caveats, looking deeper into your dream patterns and symbols and themes can be an amazing journey of self-discovery and growing understanding of what you find within. So, let's discover together ;o)

I'm dreaming more vividly than I have in quite a while, I suspect because I'm actively drafting a new novel. I'm bringing imagination to life in my waking reality. My sleeping mind's not one to play second fiddle ;o) I love this place in my creative life, when I feel story moving through me, both consciously and subconsciously. It's a lovely sign that the "gift" is flowing again. But what is it all trying to tell me? Or you, when you find sleeping images flowing just as freely?

Let's begin with a common dream focus–being tested or challenged.

Feeling late for an exam, unprepared, or humiliated while taking a test beause you've studied the wrong thing, is about feeling anxious. And remember, the feeling of what you're dreaming is the key to interpreting it's reflection of your waking reality.

Being on a stage without practice, feeling embarrassed or that you have nothing to say, tends to be about your ego being challenged in some way, or you waiting for someone's judgement over something important to you. Freud would say it's about your parents watching, and what they're thinking about whatever you're conflicted about and whether or not they approve of your actions, but for me that's a little simplistic. Though, isn't most of the emotional conflict in our adult lives about our parents, in some way ;o)
Sometimes these dreams can be about wish fulfillment and whether or not  we ourselves think we're capable of achieving what we want most.
Leaving Freud behind (and his theories that it's all about sex, and I mean ALL of it), dreams about passing an exam or test might reflect that you're nearing a significant passage in your life that you may or may not feel equipped for. These can be your mind's way of preparing you for what you need to do next.
Jungian psychology sees these types of dreams as reflecting our internal examiner, and the pressure we put on ourselves to do the right thing, regardless of the challenge. They can be about confidence and character and our subconscious awareness that we need more of either to better deal with life in the way we wish we could.
And, finally, feeling the anxiety of not having answers we know we should during a dream exam can reflect a sense that we're out of our element in our waking world. In fact, we may not even be aware of our unease, we're so good at bluffing our way through tough emotions in the "real" world. But our sleeping, subconscious minds will know what's building inside, and might take the extra step of helping us work through feelings of inadequacy before the significantly impact our lives.

Having fun yet? Come back next week for more interpretation quick tips ;o)

How We Write Wednesdays: Draft Free, Revise Strong…

Drafting with creative freedom is key. Writing without constraint. Drafting without clinging too tightly to planning or expectation. BUT we've said over and over on How We Write Wednesdays (HoWW)–you have to revise every rough word you draft. How do you lay the groundwork for the "rework" you know needs to be done, while you're giving your stay committed to your creative freedom?

Jenni's taking the lead over on her blog, revealing wondrous and amazing secrets for how she spreadsheets and charts her way into keeping track of story while she writes it. Me? Remember I'm a geeky, techno-loving girl who while drafting must continually slap my hand and let go of the overly organized stuff that enables the more analytical side of my brain. So nix on the forms and charts for me. But keeping track of changes I see coming and new things I draft into the story on the fly is still key. But I had to find a way to do it that wouldn't break the delicate flow of my drafting…

So, what do I do?

I'll talk more about it on Twitter, using our growing #weWRITE hashtag where writers from all levels of experience are sharing their writing process and learning from ours. But, to keep things simple here, let me say that I keep up with everything I'm learning as I draft a story in Microsoft Word.

Using the "Notes" toolbar/feature, which enables you to leave searchable notes you can easily track and keep up with, here's the basics:

 Whenever I recognize a change that needs to be made in something I've already written, I leave a note where the change first needs to be implemented. I DON'T make the change, just the note.
When I introduce something completely new into the story (a new character, unexpected scene, different detail or symbol or mannerism, etc.), I note where it first begins and from where it needs to be worked into the stroy, then move on.

When I'm writing something I know is key but can't get my head around exactly how to use it most effectively, I note that, too. Almost like leaving myself a marker–"Don't forget to come back and explore this more. Work on this as you write forward, then come back and clean the cr**p up here!"
I even use these notes to indicate where I've dramatically changed turning points and so forth that I'd planned to hit but as I draft have realized don't work the way I'd thought they wold. These are kind of road signs showing where I chose to take a new path and why. That way, when it's time to rewrite and I go back to my planning documents to see how best to focus my rewriting efforts, I have a history of what I was thinking while I drafted and why I chose to write in the new directions I have.

Like I said, I'll share more out on #weWRITE (or in the HoWW comments). I don't mean to make this kind of analysis, "while I'm not allowed to be analytical," seem overly simplistic. The complexity of what I do, I think, comes from compartmentalizing the notes/makers I  leave in my wake while I plug into the unrestrained creative part of me from which stories bloom. Discussing my process usually evolved into a lively couple of hours when I'm teaching rewriting during a weekend retreat. My brain's that off-centre, I guess ;o)

And, remember, you might be like Jenni. You might need the analytical stuff to feel comfortable enough to draft free. We're all different. That's the point of HoWW. Listen to what we do, watch others, then figure out your own process and how best to improve how YOU write. So YOU can draft better and more productively and have what you need to rewrite something brilliant from those rough first words.

Starting next week. Jenni and I will be talking about our take on basic story structure and writing craft terms and techniques that many who regularly visit HoWW and #weWRITE have asked us to discuss in more detail. We're also lining up some amazing authors to guest blog about their unique writing processes.

We'll be here all summer ;o) Don't forget to tip your waitress, LOL!

Don't miss a single Wednesday!

Revising a Year: Full Circle…

Last May,  I was working with my editor and my agent and my family and my doctor, to try and find a way to finish Secret Legacy. Because if I didn't, there was a very real chance I'd lose my nerve and never attempt another novel. My health was in that bad a place. Fast forward 12 months, and this is me and Secret Legacy this May, at a spotlight signing at the Book Expo in New York City.

Both my beautiful mainstream novels were there, actually, repackaged as sci-fi/fantasy, because that's what Secret Legacy became with each word I wrote and rewrote last year, until it emerged as a dream come true I hadn't fully grasped until I held the finished draft in my hands.

The opportunity sign at BEA came at a difficult time this year, when I could only make it for a day. But I went anyway, because when dreams call you, you go.

Yes, I was as tired as I look in the photo, from flying late the night before and not getting much sleep and getting up early that morning to catch car service into NYC. But I was surrounded by enthusiastic associates from my  publishing house. And readers and librarians and book sellers who flocked around our table and got more and more excited about the dream theory and parapsychology and metaphysical concepts in my fiction, the more I answered questions and talked about what inspired me. And there the vice president of the publisher was, holding books open so I could sign them quicker because the line was getting ridiculously long. Amazing. Absolutely surreal and amazing, to feel that kind of support and encouragement and positive energy surrounding something that almost never was.

There were smiles and wows and surprised expressions from readers, and looks of satisfaction and pride on those publishing faces around me. And I was glowing. Exhausted, but glowing as I took the red-eye home to my family and the "other" life I'm so lucky to have here, too. That one day was, hands-down, the most exciting experience I've had with readers yet. And I've been doing convention and conference signing events for the last six years.

All just a year beyond me wondering if I'd be able to finish Secret Legacy or ever again travel to meet fans and readers and my business associates.

Some days are still hard, and sometimes my system's still not back one hundred percent, but I couldn't stop writing a year ago. And I'll never stop wanting to connect with readers who love what I write, the way I was lucky to have the chance to this week. I'll always be grateful for the family I have supporting me here at home, as well as the extended family I've built in my writing world that are always there for me, making amazing dreams like this one come true.

It's been an amazing year.

Here's to revising an even more fearless, exciting, dream-filled year to come ;o)

How We Write Wednesdays: Let's #weWRITE our way to a new draft!

It's been four months of HoWW craft talk, from characterization to planning to rewriting to drafting. Amazing! And Jenni and I are amazed by the growing enthusiasm for our #weWRITE Twitter hashtag. It's time to put our money where our mouth is, and challenge our readers and fellow writers to WRITE EVERY DAY for a week. Not for a month. Not an entire novel or story. Not a perfect draft. Just write, fearlessly, until you plug into the energy that calls you to create.

This year, more than any other, that's what this blog has been for me. If you follow my Revising a Yearseries, you know I needed something to daily inspire me to re-engage my creativity. I challenged myself to write something interesting and meaninful and creative, every day. And the various categories to the right have been buckets of inspiration that refuse to let me off the hook when I sit in front of a blank screen and the doubt demons begin to weigh in on whether I can put imagine on the page that anyone in their right mind would want to read.

Not just How We Write, though working with Jenni on this series has been an amazing experience. But talking about my teenager's quirky view of life, and about the crazy things I hear throughout the day, and my shoe obsession, and how Publishing Isn't for Sissies, and my personal challenge to visit all the waterfalls I can reach in North Georgia,  Tennessee, and North and South Carolina. And some of the most amazing mornings have been writing about the dream theories and psychic realm parapsychology that thrives in my psychic fantasy novels.

But… That's not getting the next book written.

Sure, I've worked on several proposals that are now with publishers. Still, the need to write books is always there, waiting for me to dive back into that flow. And I know many of you are in the same place daily. Will I write today? Will I make real progress toward my daily goal? Will I make that book or story or whatever real, when it only exists for now in my head???

So. Here we are. We've talked the basics of writing craft. Jenni and I already have plans to cover more formal story structure, etc., because we get so many questions about the terms and techniques we use. And we're approaching other authors to join us for guest blogs over the summer, to share how THEY write. But that doesn't get those words on the page, and filling that page with amazing story is ultimately what HoWW and #weWRITE are all about.

Hence, my challenge for you this week, both here (feel free to share in the comments) and on Twitter (follow our band of enthusiastic writers on #weWRITE).

Write into a new story or book every day.
Don't get up from your computer until your daily progress is reported either here or on #weWRITE.
Don't buy into the excuse that you can't, because it's too hard. It's supposed to be hard, especially when you're distracted or afraid or worried or mired in some other details of your life.
Don't think you're alone. I'm right there with you, with guest blog deadlines everywhere for my Secret Legacy release, and a trip to BEA in New York yesterday and Monday, and my son taking his first high school finals, and other mayhem going on at home. It's a rockin' bitch of a week at Casa Destefano. If I can deal with it, you can. So, deal with it ;o)

And you know I wouldn't leave you floundering without some, hopefully, helpful suggestions to keep you writing, right?

Here are a few techniques that inspire me when I'm "improvising" new pages. We'll be using them through the next week on #weWRITE, to get each other going and keep those fingers typing. Check in over there or here and let us know which ones work for you. 

Get that first sentence out. Make it amazing. Let it surprise and inspire you. Share it with your writing buddies, then write the NEXT sentence, and then the next… Each new idea will be easier, once you've tuned into your momentum.
Set a timer for 10 minutes and free write without stopping or allowing any distraction of any kind.  You'll amaze yourself, how much you can get done.
Hook up with a small group and form a 30-minute, impromptu challenge that gets you all going at the same time, then all sharing your results. The enthusiasm is priceless.
Write a scene out of sequence. One you know will come later in the story/novel, that you're no where near yet in the linear progression of the story. Write that exciting, thrilling moment you can't wait to sink your teeth into, and see if it doesn't inspire you to get back to where you were earlier and drive the story forward.
Write in a new point of view. One you haven't tried in this story yet. Free write anything within the world of the story/book from this new person's perspective to challenge you to see things in a different way.
Write the next scene in a different tense (shift from third to first, or from first person past to first person present, or to omniscient/narrative). Tell the story a different way, while you write the next sequential thing happening in the flow of your narrative. For many of us, this will be our true voice breaking through and showing us what we might be missing.

These are just a few suggestions. Share your own techniques with the group, and we'll follow your lead ;o) Who knows, we just might make this a weekly thing!

Remember, this is a week-long challenge to WRITE EVERY DAY, then to share with us how you write. Here at HoWW or on Jenni's blog or on #weWRITE, or in all three places. We're a community of writers, and we need all the support we can get ;o) Then come back next week, where Jenni will be sharing our guest blog plans for the summer and much, much more!

Dream Theories: Group Your Dream Emotions and Learn…

Ever wake, overwhelmed by the emotion of what you're dreaming? We've talked about feelings being the link between your sleeping and waking world. But how, exactly, does that happen, and what are we supposed learn from the residue of our fantasies, once we leave them behind?

Sheila English asked those very questions last week when, she interviewed me about Secret Legacy's release for Blog Talk Radio. She LOVES talking about dream theory and lucid dreaming technique. So, naturally, we spent more time than we should have in the interview sharing our personal experiences. We just couldn't help ourselves.

We both believe there's something there, when we close our eyes and escape this reality. We both have experienced the power of that "something" crossing back into our everyday lives. And when you connect with someone who's felt and believed the unbelievable things that have impacted your life, you don't pass up the chance to revel ;o)

But where, exactly, does this energy come from? How is it that a dream can be so emotionally consuming and meaningful that it impacts your waking life?

Understanding the details of how some scientists believe this emotional connection works can help you better remember and process your dream work. And the more you know about how your mind's working for you when you sleep, the more you can do with the wealth of information and emotion it's helping you deal with.

A important start is to recognize the categories of emotional dreams we tend to have. This gives us a frame of reference for the  powerful places we're transported to when we sleep. And these places, remember, tell us a lot about the things in our waking lives, and within in us, which inspire them.

Don Kuiken, a Canadian researcher, found peoples' emotionally intense dreams could impact their lives for days afterwards.

He categorized the emotional content of dreams in five distinct ways:

Existential dreams, we're told, are those where we're dealing with feelings with separation and loss. These are emotionally distressing experiences that feel very real to the dreamer. They tend to contain strong sensations of sensory awareness (vision, touch and sound), as well as detailed references to the body, as you process the vividness of the emotions that you feel–feelings which often continue into waking, along with the knowledge for many that they were self-aware while they were dreaming. These are the dreams about dying or nearly dying, about losing something important and searching for it (a purse or a wallet), about giving birth or being born, etc.

In anxiety dreams, we face what we fear most, and tend to not be able to move while we confront the intense emotions that result. The terror of what we confront can awake us from these visions. Here's where you're taking and/or failing an exam, missing a life or death appointment, being chased or falling, etc.
Transcendental dreams bring us strong, joyful emotions. These are the magical, thrilling, dreams where we tend to have supernatural powers or can do things we'd never be able to accomplish while awake. The excitement and energy and magnificence of these experiences leave us feeling elevated when we wake. These are fantastical experiences where we often find ourselves flying, these are our "hero" dreams, and these are our sexual dreams ;o)
When we have alienation dreams, we're processing feelings of being rejected. Sad, downhearted emotions fill these visions. But if we're lucky, we'll sense these feelings begin to shift while we dream. In fact, you'll tend to experience a very clear sensation of "movement," when there are few of any other sensory cues. Anything that makes us feel lost belongs in this category.
And, finally, mundane dreams are the once that DON'T  contain these strong cues–and, therefore, don't offer much emotional benefit for the dreamer. We remember these dreams, but little or no emotions return with the images.

The idea is that once you recognize the type of dream you've had, you're in a better place to deal with not just the emotions that return with you to the waking world, but also the daily challenges that inspired the sleeping world you mind created. We'll talk more about dream interpretation, but before we get into what you remember seeing in your dreams, the key for understanding their meaning is to first grasp the feelings that your sleeping fantasies bring to you.

Publishing Isn't for Sissies: Tim DeYoung–Creating a Bridge Between Print and Digital Publishing

Dorchester's abrupt shift from a mass market publishing model to focusing on digital and trade paperback releases has been dissected and discussed and bandied about for kicks and giggles by just about everyone. Mostly by folks not involved in the ongoing change. But was it so abrupt? Was it Dorchester's choice alone? Was the story really simple enough to be covered in a tweet or a Facebook update?

The emotions running high then and now were real enough. The circumstances weren't great for anyone involved, either before Dorchester's move or since. The publishing industry itself, never a source of enduring security for most who challenge it, was has been in a very public tailspin for the last few years.

Exactly how much of Dorchester's move was about one publishing house's floundering dynamic? How much of it was industry trends playing out on a small enough stage for us to dissect every bit of it and hopefully learn something new?

From the start, I wanted Publishing Isn't for Sissies to be about seeing the bigger picture. There's a larger story here. Every publisher and author is playing it out, in various arenas, trying to find their place in what we're all about to become. I applaud the brave approach Vice President Tim DeYoung and the rest of Dorchester's staff are taking to innovate and pioneer an uncharted path they're determined to make work for their authors.

To see a bit more of that bigger picture for yourself, spend a few minutes looking at our publishing world through Tim's eyes…

******

Some people have asked me why Dorchester turned from mass market centric publishing to a digital and trade model.  The response to this question involves an understanding of the marketplace and the changes within. 

I don't think anyone will disagree with the statement that the biggest trend in the publishing industry is the extraordinary growth of the e-book.  Articles, blogs, and editorials are everywhere you turn, trumpeting the demise of print.  There is no question that e-books seem to be the future, what with all the new platforms springing up, some that feature interactive participation or even the use of color.  Still, even with the fantastic growth in the last couple of years, e-book sales are far overshadowed by the sales of physical books.

Several years ago, the wholesale marketplace started going through very real upheaval.  Many retailers that relied on them for their books began cutting space and limiting the number of new titles and the quantities they would display.  The result was especially felt in the genre publishers.  The move to best-seller dominant distributions severely cut the romance and other genre pockets in the marketplace.  In the last couple of years, this has been exacerbated by the tremendous sales of hardcover and trade titles like the Harry Potter series, Twilight series, and the promotion of similar titles. 

After a couple of straight years with diminishing sell-through and huge returns, two major distribution agencies declared bankruptcy. One ended up liquidating all product and closed completely.  This shock further increased returns: books that had not sold and would be applied against publisher and author revenues.  Authors  selling 100,000-200,000 copies per title and growing were suddenly selling 50-, 60-, or maybe 90,000 copies.  Even major bestselling authors were losing 50% of their sales.  That, with the addition of or possibly because of the financial problems of the country, pushed mass market publishing to the brink.

Into this market appeared the e-book.  It offered a way to recoup losses the author and publishers were experiencing.  The marketing of strong authors with large followings through e-books produced very strong secondary sales.  This rapid growth did not make up for other losses entirely, but did ease some of the crush.  The loss of rack space cut off many ardent supporters of genre fiction as the books they wanted to read were no longer available where they shopped.  Most likely they have not turned to e-books yet as demographically, they are not the same as e-book purchasers and readers.

As a result of the continuing mass market decline, we put together a plan to ease some of the financial stress by partnering with a distributor/sales group to move much of our backlist into trade and to make it better available to the independent and chain bookstores.  Easing the cost of carrying hundreds of titles in stock by taking advantage of new printing technology was a very strong move on our part.  It would have effectively made a greater percentage of backlist titles by our authors available at all times.  In addition, we had worked out a plan and had scheduled some new titles to be published in trade first, before being brought out in mass market. 

This would have taken advantage of increased space in some markets and a growth in trade sales in general.  It was to be a gradual process as we weaned ourselves from our mass market centric publishing program.  Circumstance resulting from the decisions made in August of last year forced a major shift to new title publication in trade.  Understand that this is not on demand printing.  This is a full scale, trade printing program. 

While we are pushing our e-books very hard and attempting to get as many backlist titles into e-books as quickly as we can, we firmly believe that the real success and growth in e-book sales will not be from e-book only publishing.  The ability to print books, build authors, and develop a following for their work will make the e-book side of publishing that much stronger.  It is very difficult for first time authors to get e-books noticed without some other type of publishing to market the title/author.  With a solid trade line backed up by marketing and publicity, it can only help the release of e-books and increase the sales of the backlist titles in e-books as well. 

We strongly believe in our overall program and believe it will only grow stronger as we move forward.  We are making more changes to assist in making this program work, from paying as we go, to clearing up past royalties, and to the creation of a new contract to make the royalties earned in trade and e-books equal to or better than current industry standards. We need to make this program strong and viable for all authors.  We need and covet their support.

Will e-books overtake the printed word?  Probably.  Will there be a market for the printed word, yes.  What our program is attempting to do is not delay the growth of e-books, but create a program that can act as a bridge between all print publishing and the ever evolving digital publishing.  We want to position Dorchester and our authors to take advantage of all opportunities to grow their sales, market and following.

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So, advantage. Opportunity. Creating programs that bridge authors to a stronger and more viable future. That's what Dorchester was about when I first signed with them. And it's still what they're about, even though Secret Legacy, the second novel in my sci-fi/fantasy series, isn't a mass market release like its prequel was.

No, publishing isn't for sissies.

But if you're looking for insight into what's really happening in the unstable world of publishing, and the opportunities and challenges coming at all of us faster then we ever expected, Dorchester and the new path they've chosen to navigate remain one of the games to watch. Not for entertainment or shock value, but to learn from professionals fighting in the trenches to make all of this work for their authors and readers.

How We Write Wednesday: Draft Challenge!

Plan, understand how you rewrite on the other side of your rough draft, then challenge yourself to WRITE! We've been talking writing craft all year here at HoWW, and drafting all month. And we're thrilled with the hundreds of you who join our blogs each week. Last Wednesday, we launched the #weWRITE twitter hashtag and had a blast chatting writing craft all day (and ONLY writing craft–no promo, no links whatsoever).

We've kept the #weWRITE community and conversation going over there ever since. Now Jenni's kicking us off this Wednesday with her HoWW post and #weWRITE questions,  challenging you to commit to YOUR plan to complete your WIP.

We both believe in the value of NANOWRIMO and other writing challenges–but only after you've–

 planned as much of your plot and character arcs as you need to know what you're going to write (or at least what direction you're going to write in) each time sit own to work
observed your writing and "other" world, and figured out the best place(s) and time(s) to draft each day, so you have  a effective plan in place to consistency give yourself the time you need to work

Last week, I got specific about what blocks my drafting process and what I do to push past the fear. Today, Jenni's talking about her plan over at her place.

But the gist of this month's posts are–what's your plan? What we see a lot of writers stumbling around with when they try to stay on a daily drafting schedule, is that there's NO schedule. No plan in place that recognizes their personal challenges where drafting/writing daily and consistently is concerned and how they're going to work through it.

The key to a daily writing routine is to get into the flow of your writing, your creativity, and not let yourself off the hook–each and every day. Write. Each day. No excuses. No procrastination. That's what we're talking about all day (and all week) over on #weWRITE, so check out Jenni's final questions at the end of her post to see how we're kicking the conversation off over there.

Then look for our #weWRITE writing challenge prompts on Twitter throughout the day and week. We're going to ask the writers following the hashtag to lead, same as we have from the start. But we ARE going to begin pushing for those drafting goals and schedules and commitments. Whether it's just 100 words a day or 1,000, we want you guys writing! And we're dying to know how you're getting those drafts done. That's what we're here for–to offer a place where writers can talk about their process and learn from others'.

If you don't do Twitter, share your goals an strategies and schedules in the comments on either mine or Jenni's blog. I'll b back next week to wrap up drafting, while we're planning some amazing surprizes to take How We Write into June!

A Dream in a Glass… Guest "Recipe" Blogging at Authors and Appetizers

I'll actually have a guest blog up over there on Friday. But check out Authors and Appetizers today for my "Dream in a Glass" Guest recipe post .

Frozen Brandy Alexander. Yummm…