Ryan Field's Blog, page 561
April 25, 2011
Are You Getting Conflicting Advice From Publishing Blogs?
I'd like to point out a few examples of conflicting advice new writers often see on publishing blogs. And I'm including my own blog in this as well. I just post what I know, not what everyone knows.
It's not that anyone is giving out bad advice on a blog. At least I hope not. Most think they are giving out great advice.
But there are, especially in publishing, always going to be conflicting opinions. And no matter how much you read, there's always going to be someone with a different opinion who thinks they are 100% completely correct...and they never back down (smile).
This past week I wrote a post about John Irving, with an excerpt from his novel, LAST NIGHT IN TWISTED RIVER, about "write what you know." In the novel, the main character, Danny Angel, is a writer and the main character is not fond of Hemingway or the theory of "write what you know." Here's the excerpt again in case you don't feel like clicking the link.
This kind of question drove Danny Angel crazy, but he expected too much from journalists; most of them lacked the imagination to believe that anything credible in a novel had been "wholly imagined." And those former journalists who later turned to writing fiction subscribed to that tiresome Hemingway dictum of writing about what you know. What bullshit was this? Novels should be about people you know? How many boring but deadeningly realistic novels can be attributed to this lame and utterly uninspired advice?
And in this blog post, written by literary agent, Rachelle Gardner, I read about the six things writers can learn from Hemingway.
Of course Ms. Gardner is right. There are many things writers can learn from Hemingway. Just as there are many things that can be argued about Hemingway's style and technique. There's no clear cut, definite right or wrong here.
Then I read another publishing blog this morning where an ex-literary agent is giving advice about how having the wrong literary agent can be worse than having no agent at all. And the post ends with a line that suggests writers only get one chance with one manuscript.
I do agree that an agent client relationship should be built on trust and respect. And there are some questionable agents out there. The ex-agent isn't totally wrong by posting about this.
But WTF? You don't get just one chance. As authors the most wonderful thing about publishing is that you can have many chances, many times. I know this from my own personal experience and I know this from a good friend who has been a literary agent for over thirty years now. Unfortunately, my friend doesn't blog. I wish he would. But it's not his thing...because he doesn't have to promote himself anymore.
The moral of today's post is this: please take all the advice handed out on publishing blogs as lightly as you can. No one knows everything, no matter how great they sound. And, from what I've seen so far, the bloggers who seem to think they do know it all, know the least.
Blogging is a form of social media, and most bloggers use blogging as a means to promote themselves in one way or another (trust me, none do it out of the goodness of their hearts). I do promote here all the time, admittedly, with announcements about my books and reviews for my books. It's what I'm supposed to do as an author.
But I also try to balance my posts with information that isn't related to my books or my publishers. And I never, never, claim to know it all when it comes to publishing. And that's because as an author I care about other authors. And when I see them getting bad advice, it galls me.
There are no set rules in publishing.
People are going to disagree all the time.
Most of all...you never get only one chance as a writer...NEVER. Unless, of course, you read a silly blog post, written by a self-promotion monger, who leads you to believe you only get one chance at having your book published. And I'd hate to see this happen to anyone. Because what you believe in your heart is usually the way things will turn out in the end.
It's not that anyone is giving out bad advice on a blog. At least I hope not. Most think they are giving out great advice.
But there are, especially in publishing, always going to be conflicting opinions. And no matter how much you read, there's always going to be someone with a different opinion who thinks they are 100% completely correct...and they never back down (smile).
This past week I wrote a post about John Irving, with an excerpt from his novel, LAST NIGHT IN TWISTED RIVER, about "write what you know." In the novel, the main character, Danny Angel, is a writer and the main character is not fond of Hemingway or the theory of "write what you know." Here's the excerpt again in case you don't feel like clicking the link.
This kind of question drove Danny Angel crazy, but he expected too much from journalists; most of them lacked the imagination to believe that anything credible in a novel had been "wholly imagined." And those former journalists who later turned to writing fiction subscribed to that tiresome Hemingway dictum of writing about what you know. What bullshit was this? Novels should be about people you know? How many boring but deadeningly realistic novels can be attributed to this lame and utterly uninspired advice?
And in this blog post, written by literary agent, Rachelle Gardner, I read about the six things writers can learn from Hemingway.
Of course Ms. Gardner is right. There are many things writers can learn from Hemingway. Just as there are many things that can be argued about Hemingway's style and technique. There's no clear cut, definite right or wrong here.
Then I read another publishing blog this morning where an ex-literary agent is giving advice about how having the wrong literary agent can be worse than having no agent at all. And the post ends with a line that suggests writers only get one chance with one manuscript.
I do agree that an agent client relationship should be built on trust and respect. And there are some questionable agents out there. The ex-agent isn't totally wrong by posting about this.
But WTF? You don't get just one chance. As authors the most wonderful thing about publishing is that you can have many chances, many times. I know this from my own personal experience and I know this from a good friend who has been a literary agent for over thirty years now. Unfortunately, my friend doesn't blog. I wish he would. But it's not his thing...because he doesn't have to promote himself anymore.
The moral of today's post is this: please take all the advice handed out on publishing blogs as lightly as you can. No one knows everything, no matter how great they sound. And, from what I've seen so far, the bloggers who seem to think they do know it all, know the least.
Blogging is a form of social media, and most bloggers use blogging as a means to promote themselves in one way or another (trust me, none do it out of the goodness of their hearts). I do promote here all the time, admittedly, with announcements about my books and reviews for my books. It's what I'm supposed to do as an author.
But I also try to balance my posts with information that isn't related to my books or my publishers. And I never, never, claim to know it all when it comes to publishing. And that's because as an author I care about other authors. And when I see them getting bad advice, it galls me.
There are no set rules in publishing.
People are going to disagree all the time.
Most of all...you never get only one chance as a writer...NEVER. Unless, of course, you read a silly blog post, written by a self-promotion monger, who leads you to believe you only get one chance at having your book published. And I'd hate to see this happen to anyone. Because what you believe in your heart is usually the way things will turn out in the end.
April 24, 2011
Last Night In Twisted River...The Androscoggin
According to my Kobo, I'm 90% finished reading LAST NIGHT IN TWISTED RIVER by John Irving. And, once again, like all Irving's novels, I hate to see it end.
And because this was the first John Irving novel I've read on my Kobo e-reader, it was a new experience for me. Actually, I planned to read this particular book on purpose. I figured if I was going to get used to a new e-reader I wanted to have an old friend with which to do it.
And I don't have any complaints at all, not with the Kobo or with LAST NIGHT IN TWISTED RIVER.
This isn't a review of the book. I'll do that eventually. But whenever I read certain authors I always do a little research about where the books were set. In this case, a good deal of LAST NIGHT IN TWISTEd RIVER revolved around a logging in camp along the Androscoggin River in New Hampshire. And the images of this part of the world were written so well, and with such detail, I'm going to drive there this summer when I'm in Maine again.
And I can't recommend this book enough to other readers or authors. I'm from a school of thought that truly believes writers get better by reading well-crafted novels like LAST NIGHT IN TWISTED RIVER. In other words, don't just read the books in the genre in which you write. Branch out and read more literary novels to see how novels are created. You may agree with some things; you may disagree with others. But you'll walk away with knowledge you can't find in a classroom, a crit group, or from any online source that offers writing advice.
April 23, 2011
When A Book Reviewer Has To Cross Her Legs...
Some blog posts can be short and sweet.
Just like this one.
Earlier today I read a blog post about an erotic romance. Actually, this was a review on a review site I don't frequent often. And it wasn't a very positive review, to say the least.
But I'm glad I went there today, because the reviewer was so shocked, and so completely taken aback by one particular steamy scene in the book, she had to cross her legs.
Seriously!
*I thought so as I shuddered and crossed my legs.*
Well!
A review well worth my time. And I ran right over and bought the book.
Just like this one.
Earlier today I read a blog post about an erotic romance. Actually, this was a review on a review site I don't frequent often. And it wasn't a very positive review, to say the least.
But I'm glad I went there today, because the reviewer was so shocked, and so completely taken aback by one particular steamy scene in the book, she had to cross her legs.
Seriously!
*I thought so as I shuddered and crossed my legs.*
Well!
A review well worth my time. And I ran right over and bought the book.
April 22, 2011
Five Diamond Review From Got Romance Reviews
This was going to be a one post day, but I was just tagged on facebook with this review from Got Romance Reviews.
I'm mostly thrilled now that I can put up the Got Romance Banner here on the blog. I love that banner, and I've never had a book reviewed by them before. And I'm also happy because this short story e-book, STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM AT THE PLAZA, is one of the few works of fiction I've ever written in the first person. It's also one of the few books I've written with practically no erotica. Oddly, it's more difficult for me to write something with emotion that doesn't have erotica.
Big thank you to Jillian over at Got Romance Reviews!!
I loved this story. Flat out adored it. The emotions were so pure and the writing was some of the best I've seen, which is refreshing and gave me the opportunity to enjoy the story without my internal editor flashing. Telling a story in first person POV can be tricky, since the reader may not get a sound idea of what the character telling the story is like, except through his eyes. However, the author did a superb job of giving the reader a very good visual of who Kellan is. And the descriptions of the other hero, Jason, were so detailed, with layers that proved how great a writer Ryan Field is.
The story itself was a wonderful, if very short, journey of discovery. Kellan wants more than sex...he wants a deeper and more meaningful connection. The fact that he finds it right under (or above, as the case may be) his nose, is so perfect. Truth is stranger than fiction and even though this story is fiction, I was able to suspend disbelief without any problem whatsoever because I truly wanted these two men to find and fall for each other. Kudos to the author and I'll definitely be looking for more from him. This earned every diamond!
Last Night in Twisted River, by John Irving, and Write What You Know
I'm finishing up John Irving's Last Night in Twisted River and I've been dying to post the following excerpt from the book. And, just so this is clear, this not John Iriving's personal opinion on the subject, "write what you know." I have no idea how John Irving feels about "write what you know." This is John Irving's character's opinion about "write what you know," Danny Angel the writer.
I know I've heard, from teachers and crit groups, that fiction writers should always "write what you know." Thankfully, I never paid attention to any of them. (There's always been a lot of bad advice out there, and now more than ever the Internet has expanded this.) I've always believed fiction should be larger than life.
I'm not commenting on the character Danny Angel the writer's opinion any further. I'm just blogging about it because I think a lot of new writers wonder about, "write what you know," and when I read this I thought I'd share it. I think it sums up the concept of "write what you know" better than anything I've heard or read in years (smile to all the creative writing teachers out there).
This kind of question drove Danny Angel crazy, but he expected too much from journalits; most of them lacked the imagination to believe that anything credible in a novel had been "wholly imagined." And those former journalists who later turned to writing fiction subscribed to that tiresome Hemingway dictum of writing about what you know. What bullshit was this? Novels should be about people you know? How many boring but deadeningly realistic novels can be attributed to this lame and utterly uninspired advice? [image error]
I know I've heard, from teachers and crit groups, that fiction writers should always "write what you know." Thankfully, I never paid attention to any of them. (There's always been a lot of bad advice out there, and now more than ever the Internet has expanded this.) I've always believed fiction should be larger than life.
I'm not commenting on the character Danny Angel the writer's opinion any further. I'm just blogging about it because I think a lot of new writers wonder about, "write what you know," and when I read this I thought I'd share it. I think it sums up the concept of "write what you know" better than anything I've heard or read in years (smile to all the creative writing teachers out there).
This kind of question drove Danny Angel crazy, but he expected too much from journalits; most of them lacked the imagination to believe that anything credible in a novel had been "wholly imagined." And those former journalists who later turned to writing fiction subscribed to that tiresome Hemingway dictum of writing about what you know. What bullshit was this? Novels should be about people you know? How many boring but deadeningly realistic novels can be attributed to this lame and utterly uninspired advice? [image error]
April 20, 2011
COLLEGE BOYS Wins a Gaybie Award
An anthology I'm in, COLLEGE BOYS, edited by Shane Allison, just won a TLA Gaybie Award for Best Erotic Fiction, here.
My short story in this book is titled, "Off Campus, Man," and I've read all the stories and like them a lot. The book can be purchased here, and below is a product description.
Is it any wonder that college boys are the stuff of fantasies the world over? These dreamy hunks stride across campus, stirring lust in their wake. Whether toweling off after a swim, lurking in the library stacks, or engaging in some male bonding at the frat house, these gorgeous undergrads are good for page-turning, arousing action. An explicit collection of gay erotica, College Boys explores the first feelings of lust for another boy, all-night study sessions with a classmate, and the excitement of a student hot for teacher. This steamy collection relishes the joys of self-discovery and the revelations that happen when a young man has freedom to pursue his interests—in bed and out. From coming out to falling in love, these stories of sexual awakening will evoke trembling, heart-pounding, sweaty-palmed excitement. Featuring the top erotic authors Rob Rosen, Simon Sheppard, Neil Plakcy, Christopher Pierce, Rachel Kramer Bussel, and more. With searing male-on-male action and wickedly inventive writing, these stories are more provocative, authentic, smart, edgy, and hotter than gay erotica published anywhere else.
Excerpt/Quote from STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM AT THE PLAZA
Sometimes we think of things we wish we had done after a book or short story e-book has already been published. And while I was going through files this morning looking for a pdf for STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM AT THE PLAZA I wanted to send to a reviewer, I read a quote inside the book I wished I'd used as the tag line on the cover of the book.
It's too late to do anything about it now. But if there were a way to change it, this is how the tag line would read:
Excerpt/quote from "Strawberries and Cream at the Plaza" ..."People born with money often spend a lifetime apologizing for it; whereas people who earn their own money spend the rest of their lives making other people apologize to them"...
April 19, 2011
Words Matter!! By Johnny Miles
Check out this guest post by author, Johnny Miles, on Rebecca Leigh's writer's blog...here.
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month.
Today is a very special edition of TELL ALL TUESDAY. My guest is a man you've met here before. JOHNNY MILES. In the past you've been introduced to him as a fabulous gay erotic romance writer. Now, I introduce you to him as someone who wants to teach us how much WORDS MATTER. Take it away, Johnny . . .
Check Out 1placeforromance
There's a web site where you can buy romance books from your favorite authors called 1placeforromance. None of my ravenous romance books are there, but all of my short story e-books with love you divine are there. I like the way this site is so simple and easy to navigate. So I figured I'd give them a shout in case people don't know they are around.
I also like the product descriptions, which is important nowadays when buying anything online.
