Shanna Swendson's Blog, page 153
June 17, 2015
The Changing Face of Publishing
I have another reader question for my every-other-week writing post, this one about how the publishing world has changed or is changing.
When you're talking about the major publishers, change happens very slowly. When I sold my first book in the early 90s, I submitted it by snail mail, and the letters from my editor were typed rather than printed on computers. I moved to one of the major publishers in the mid-90s, and the first letter I got from my editor there used all the fonts because she'd just got a computer and was having fun playing with it. Although I submitted on paper via snail mail, they did ask me to send a disc with the final version after revisions. Meanwhile, at my day job we had been using computers for years and had even started using e-mail and the Internet for just about everything.
It's not too terribly different today. I now send all my manuscripts by e-mail and do most of my communication with my editor and agent via e-mail, but my current editor likes to work on paper, so I get edits on paper (I have a box full of versions of the upcoming book). Communication is quicker and easier when not everything has to be sent in the mail, but a lot of the process is similar.
But the overall environment has really changed. Books used to go out of print pretty quickly because the only place to buy books was in bookstores, and there's only so much shelf space. Now, there are all the online retailers that can continue to stock paper books, and with e-books no book ever has to become unavailable. That's meant that contracts now need to be specific about the definition of "out of print" to include a certain number of copies of e-books sold so publishers can't hold on to rights forever because the book is available in electronic form. This has created some nice opportunities for authors, as having books readily available helps them continue to make sales. I'm still getting fan mail for a book that was first published ten years ago, and I continue to earn good royalties on it. I think in the pre-e-book era that book would be long out of print.
Another change that hasn't been so great for authors is the consolidation of publishers. There used to be a lot of publishers you could submit a book to, but now we're down to six (or is it five by now?). They may still have multiple imprints, but they vary on whether they consider a rejection by one at the house means a rejection by all imprints. This also means that they're very bottom-line driven, and computerized sales report systems mean they know exactly how well any book is doing. If it doesn't hit well right out of the gate, they move on to the next thing. It's getting to the point where all the big publishers want to deal with are the big stars and the newcomer potential stars. There's not a lot of room for midlist authors with steadily growing careers.
Fortunately, this is happening at the same time that self-publishing is taking off. This is no longer the vanity press of people publishing poems about their cats. A lot of very smart businesspeople are making a lot of money by publishing their own books. The ones who succeed really treat it like their own publishing company, hiring editors and designers and doing a lot of promotion. Authors are re-publishing their backlist that's gone out of print and publishing new material. Since so many books are rejected by the big publishers not because of quality but because they don't fit a niche or aren't something guaranteed to be an instant smash, this offers a way for those books to find an audience. It might not necessarily be a big enough audience to meet a major publisher's profit requirements, but it might be more than enough to earn a healthy living for an individual author who doesn't have the overhead expenses of a major publisher.
At the same time, publishers are starting to use the ranks of the self-published as a kind of slushpile. Instead of taking a risk on an untested new author, they can pick up someone who's already had some success. This can be a good opportunity for authors, but it also means authors have to shoulder the financial risk of initially getting their books out there rather than getting paid up-front the way they do when selling to a publisher from the start.
And there's the potential for more changes in store. With so many people reading on electronic devices, might we see more things like books with embedded soundtracks or video clips? Or "choose your own adventure" type stories that take advantage of the medium? Serials are currently fairly popular -- a novel published in small chunks. That's a return to the way authors like Charles Dickens wrote, so it's not a new idea, but it's happening in new ways. The new markets may change the form of stories or the way authors write.
I'm currently straddling the line between traditional and independent -- I have books from major publishers and books I'm publishing myself. It's rather liberating to know that even if a publisher doesn't want something, I can still publish it myself. One thing that's changed in the way I work is that this means I'm mostly writing complete novels instead of proposals. I think my proposals are a lot stronger when I've at least drafted the whole thing and polished the beginning with the end in mind, and if I know I'm going to be self-publishing it even if the publisher doesn't want it, there's no reason not to write the whole book and make the proposal as strong as possible. I've been able to continue a series that the US publisher didn't want and launch a new series that didn't fit a niche, even while selling a new book to a publisher. There are pluses and minuses to each side of the equation, so having a foot in each is nice.
When you're talking about the major publishers, change happens very slowly. When I sold my first book in the early 90s, I submitted it by snail mail, and the letters from my editor were typed rather than printed on computers. I moved to one of the major publishers in the mid-90s, and the first letter I got from my editor there used all the fonts because she'd just got a computer and was having fun playing with it. Although I submitted on paper via snail mail, they did ask me to send a disc with the final version after revisions. Meanwhile, at my day job we had been using computers for years and had even started using e-mail and the Internet for just about everything.
It's not too terribly different today. I now send all my manuscripts by e-mail and do most of my communication with my editor and agent via e-mail, but my current editor likes to work on paper, so I get edits on paper (I have a box full of versions of the upcoming book). Communication is quicker and easier when not everything has to be sent in the mail, but a lot of the process is similar.
But the overall environment has really changed. Books used to go out of print pretty quickly because the only place to buy books was in bookstores, and there's only so much shelf space. Now, there are all the online retailers that can continue to stock paper books, and with e-books no book ever has to become unavailable. That's meant that contracts now need to be specific about the definition of "out of print" to include a certain number of copies of e-books sold so publishers can't hold on to rights forever because the book is available in electronic form. This has created some nice opportunities for authors, as having books readily available helps them continue to make sales. I'm still getting fan mail for a book that was first published ten years ago, and I continue to earn good royalties on it. I think in the pre-e-book era that book would be long out of print.
Another change that hasn't been so great for authors is the consolidation of publishers. There used to be a lot of publishers you could submit a book to, but now we're down to six (or is it five by now?). They may still have multiple imprints, but they vary on whether they consider a rejection by one at the house means a rejection by all imprints. This also means that they're very bottom-line driven, and computerized sales report systems mean they know exactly how well any book is doing. If it doesn't hit well right out of the gate, they move on to the next thing. It's getting to the point where all the big publishers want to deal with are the big stars and the newcomer potential stars. There's not a lot of room for midlist authors with steadily growing careers.
Fortunately, this is happening at the same time that self-publishing is taking off. This is no longer the vanity press of people publishing poems about their cats. A lot of very smart businesspeople are making a lot of money by publishing their own books. The ones who succeed really treat it like their own publishing company, hiring editors and designers and doing a lot of promotion. Authors are re-publishing their backlist that's gone out of print and publishing new material. Since so many books are rejected by the big publishers not because of quality but because they don't fit a niche or aren't something guaranteed to be an instant smash, this offers a way for those books to find an audience. It might not necessarily be a big enough audience to meet a major publisher's profit requirements, but it might be more than enough to earn a healthy living for an individual author who doesn't have the overhead expenses of a major publisher.
At the same time, publishers are starting to use the ranks of the self-published as a kind of slushpile. Instead of taking a risk on an untested new author, they can pick up someone who's already had some success. This can be a good opportunity for authors, but it also means authors have to shoulder the financial risk of initially getting their books out there rather than getting paid up-front the way they do when selling to a publisher from the start.
And there's the potential for more changes in store. With so many people reading on electronic devices, might we see more things like books with embedded soundtracks or video clips? Or "choose your own adventure" type stories that take advantage of the medium? Serials are currently fairly popular -- a novel published in small chunks. That's a return to the way authors like Charles Dickens wrote, so it's not a new idea, but it's happening in new ways. The new markets may change the form of stories or the way authors write.
I'm currently straddling the line between traditional and independent -- I have books from major publishers and books I'm publishing myself. It's rather liberating to know that even if a publisher doesn't want something, I can still publish it myself. One thing that's changed in the way I work is that this means I'm mostly writing complete novels instead of proposals. I think my proposals are a lot stronger when I've at least drafted the whole thing and polished the beginning with the end in mind, and if I know I'm going to be self-publishing it even if the publisher doesn't want it, there's no reason not to write the whole book and make the proposal as strong as possible. I've been able to continue a series that the US publisher didn't want and launch a new series that didn't fit a niche, even while selling a new book to a publisher. There are pluses and minuses to each side of the equation, so having a foot in each is nice.
June 16, 2015
Booked
I didn't accomplish nearly as much yesterday as I needed to, but then again I managed to check off a number of nagging to-do list items. I now have hotel reservations for all my summer conventions, including WorldCon. I didn't get my preferred hotel at WorldCon because it's pretty much all sold-out, but I may have ended up with a better situation. It's a bit more expensive, but it's an Embassy Suites kind of place (though not actually an Embassy Suites), so I'll have both a bedroom and a sitting room, and it includes breakfast, an evening reception, and free Wi-Fi, plus there's a refrigerator and microwave in the room. So even if I don't have tons of stuff to do at the convention, I can relax at the hotel.
But in the meantime, I need to gear up for ApolloCon this weekend in Houston. I've been creating some book-related swag, and I need to print some promo materials. I also need to figure out some reading material and plan the wardrobe.
And then there's other promo stuff, as Rebel Mechanics comes out five weeks from today. I have a lot of blog interviews and guest posts to do so far, and I'm sure there will be more on the way. It's been a while since I had a big release like this. I'd forgotten how much work it can be. But it's for a good cause.
I still haven't managed to read the book that's currently in my freezer. The last time I checked, it still smelled like cigarette smoke. I'd let it thaw and air out in the sun, except it's about to rain like crazy. Maybe I can put it in the upstairs bathroom under the skylight for a similar effect.
And now I suppose I'd better tackle that to-do list.
But in the meantime, I need to gear up for ApolloCon this weekend in Houston. I've been creating some book-related swag, and I need to print some promo materials. I also need to figure out some reading material and plan the wardrobe.
And then there's other promo stuff, as Rebel Mechanics comes out five weeks from today. I have a lot of blog interviews and guest posts to do so far, and I'm sure there will be more on the way. It's been a while since I had a big release like this. I'd forgotten how much work it can be. But it's for a good cause.
I still haven't managed to read the book that's currently in my freezer. The last time I checked, it still smelled like cigarette smoke. I'd let it thaw and air out in the sun, except it's about to rain like crazy. Maybe I can put it in the upstairs bathroom under the skylight for a similar effect.
And now I suppose I'd better tackle that to-do list.
June 15, 2015
Paying Dues and Tackling To-Dos
It's going to be a short week because I have a convention this weekend (ApolloCon in Houston), and it will be a busy week because there's a lot of stuff I need to do to get ready for it. I'm doing some critiques for the writers workshop, I need to find a piece to read, and I have some promo material to put together. Meanwhile, there's some other business stuff to take care of and the usual shopping/laundry/planning/packing.
I did decide to go to WorldCon because I figure it's more exposure, even if it's just exposure to other people who run conventions. So far, I have one panel, but they haven't yet finalized readings, autographings or the children's and YA tracks. If I could get on the YA track, that would be lovely. I suppose I'm still in the "paying my dues" part of my career. Is it tacky of me to think it would be fun if I happen to hit big with this new book so that they suddenly want to scramble to feature me a little more? I guess it would be fun to hit big with the new book, regardless.
So, buy the book! Tell all your friends!
Ahem.
Anyway, it was nice to have a semi-relaxing weekend. I caught up on some things I've been putting off while working on the book. I did some cooking. I was planning to do a lot of reading because a book I had on hold at the library came in. But when I opened it to read, I was smacked in the face by a cloud of cigarette smoke. I guess the last patron to have it checked out was a heavy smoker. I've only had one that bad once before, so this must be an impressive achievement. So it's currently in a baggie with a dryer sheet and some baking soda in the freezer (all methods that are said to work, so I figured why not try them all together?). Then maybe I'll be able to read it without coughing and wheezing. The way that book smelled, I wouldn't even take it into my bedroom.
And now I suppose the work week has begun and I need to get on the to-do list.
I did decide to go to WorldCon because I figure it's more exposure, even if it's just exposure to other people who run conventions. So far, I have one panel, but they haven't yet finalized readings, autographings or the children's and YA tracks. If I could get on the YA track, that would be lovely. I suppose I'm still in the "paying my dues" part of my career. Is it tacky of me to think it would be fun if I happen to hit big with this new book so that they suddenly want to scramble to feature me a little more? I guess it would be fun to hit big with the new book, regardless.
So, buy the book! Tell all your friends!
Ahem.
Anyway, it was nice to have a semi-relaxing weekend. I caught up on some things I've been putting off while working on the book. I did some cooking. I was planning to do a lot of reading because a book I had on hold at the library came in. But when I opened it to read, I was smacked in the face by a cloud of cigarette smoke. I guess the last patron to have it checked out was a heavy smoker. I've only had one that bad once before, so this must be an impressive achievement. So it's currently in a baggie with a dryer sheet and some baking soda in the freezer (all methods that are said to work, so I figured why not try them all together?). Then maybe I'll be able to read it without coughing and wheezing. The way that book smelled, I wouldn't even take it into my bedroom.
And now I suppose the work week has begun and I need to get on the to-do list.
June 12, 2015
Back to Unreality
Done! Well, sort of. I suspect I'll need a fair amount of revising and rewriting, and I know I need a better ending scene, or an additional ending scene, but I think it's better to revise the rest of it first because that will affect the ending. I wrapped up the plot stuff. I just haven't dealt with all the character stuff, and I think some of the character stuff is going to change.
But in the meantime, I have a convention next weekend, so I have a lot of stuff to get done. I started making my to-do list for the next week and then the next month or so, and I've already had to start striking things because it's just not feasible. Today will be about shopping and getting the house somewhat back in order. Tomorrow I have some critiques to do, more getting the house in order, and some promo stuff to deal with. Sunday is going to be mostly relaxation, but I have some music to work on, since I'm singing a solo for the early service the week after next, and obsessive preparation seems to be one of the keys for avoiding stage fright. This will be my first full solo. I've sung in duets and ensembles where I had a solo part, and I've had a solo within a choir piece, but I've never just gone up on my own. Being in the early service helps because it's smaller and usually calmer, and the rest of the choir won't be there. Less pressure.
TV stuff for the weekend:
Tonight is the very last episode of Phineas & Ferb (unless they see the error of their ways and do other stuff down the line). I guess you could say it's been a very, very long summer for these kids who have been trying to have the best summer ever for years, and apparently the last episode is the last day before school starts.
Then Defiance is back on SyFy tonight. I rewatched the last couple of episodes last night because I'd totally forgotten what happened. But that will be an OnDemand later thing because it's opposite Phineas & Ferb. There's also a new show afterward that looks intriguing -- an actual space opera. Yes, a show on the channel formerly known as Sci Fi that's set on a spaceship. However, it seems to be from the people who brought us Stargate: Universe, one of the few science fiction shows that I've turned off and given up on in mid-episode.
Saturday, BBC America starts showing Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. I loved the book so much, and I've heard good things about the series, so I'll be watching.
It's lovely to be able to go back to watching narrative TV after not being able to deal with it while writing.
But in the meantime, I have a convention next weekend, so I have a lot of stuff to get done. I started making my to-do list for the next week and then the next month or so, and I've already had to start striking things because it's just not feasible. Today will be about shopping and getting the house somewhat back in order. Tomorrow I have some critiques to do, more getting the house in order, and some promo stuff to deal with. Sunday is going to be mostly relaxation, but I have some music to work on, since I'm singing a solo for the early service the week after next, and obsessive preparation seems to be one of the keys for avoiding stage fright. This will be my first full solo. I've sung in duets and ensembles where I had a solo part, and I've had a solo within a choir piece, but I've never just gone up on my own. Being in the early service helps because it's smaller and usually calmer, and the rest of the choir won't be there. Less pressure.
TV stuff for the weekend:
Tonight is the very last episode of Phineas & Ferb (unless they see the error of their ways and do other stuff down the line). I guess you could say it's been a very, very long summer for these kids who have been trying to have the best summer ever for years, and apparently the last episode is the last day before school starts.
Then Defiance is back on SyFy tonight. I rewatched the last couple of episodes last night because I'd totally forgotten what happened. But that will be an OnDemand later thing because it's opposite Phineas & Ferb. There's also a new show afterward that looks intriguing -- an actual space opera. Yes, a show on the channel formerly known as Sci Fi that's set on a spaceship. However, it seems to be from the people who brought us Stargate: Universe, one of the few science fiction shows that I've turned off and given up on in mid-episode.
Saturday, BBC America starts showing Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. I loved the book so much, and I've heard good things about the series, so I'll be watching.
It's lovely to be able to go back to watching narrative TV after not being able to deal with it while writing.
June 11, 2015
Soooo Much to Do
Still not done, but close. I had to quit last night because of yet another unexpected development, and I wanted to ponder what I wanted to do with it before I wrote more (I learned my lesson from having to cut 8,000 words). One of the possible outcomes could change the direction of the entire series, and I'm not entirely sure I want to go there. But I'm having trouble seeing other ways out right now.
Oooh, I just came up with one! I love it when that happens. I can still also do the other thing, if I decide that's what I want to do. Must think more.
I should finish today. I need to finish today. I can do about 20 pages on a good day, and 20 more pages in this book would make it unnecessarily long. Then again, I suspect a lot will be cut from the middle.
Meanwhile, I started making a to-do list of things I need to accomplish before Rebel Mechanics comes out, and then I wanted to whimper. I've got a convention next weekend and have to do a lot of stuff for that, including critiques on submissions for the writing workshop at that convention. I also need to get some promo material done, prepare a reading excerpt, and do some of the usual pre-trip preparation, like shopping and laundry. I'm working on a web site redesign and I'm starting to get interviews and guest post questions for blog tours, but that just has to be done by the end of the month.
In other news, after doing some whining about not being asked to be a panelist at WorldCon, I got asked yesterday. I still reserve the right for some whining, since I seem to be among the last group they asked, probably to fill in spaces left by other people they asked who either declined or changed their minds, given that they asked me on the 10th, want all my information by the 13th, and plan to finalize programming on the 15th. I still haven't decided whether or not to go. There aren't a lot of hotel spaces left, and I need to check airline schedules. And then make a pro/con list. Would this convention really be the best use of my time and money? It's in a different region than I usually go to, so it broadens my horizons and visibility among a different group of people, which is good. Being visible there theoretically boosts my chances of being seen by people who might invite me to other conventions.
On the other hand, the airfare is pretty expensive if you don't want to be traveling in the middle of the night, and the return trip is a killer, thanks to the time difference and no direct flights. The "best" option leaves there at 8:45 in the morning and arrives here at 5:49 in the evening. Even if you factor in the time difference that means a shorter day, I could fly to England in that amount of time (though that would all be spent in the air rather than sitting in an airport waiting for a connection).
Any Pacific Northwest fans planning to be at Sasquan who are dying to meet me?
Oooh, I just came up with one! I love it when that happens. I can still also do the other thing, if I decide that's what I want to do. Must think more.
I should finish today. I need to finish today. I can do about 20 pages on a good day, and 20 more pages in this book would make it unnecessarily long. Then again, I suspect a lot will be cut from the middle.
Meanwhile, I started making a to-do list of things I need to accomplish before Rebel Mechanics comes out, and then I wanted to whimper. I've got a convention next weekend and have to do a lot of stuff for that, including critiques on submissions for the writing workshop at that convention. I also need to get some promo material done, prepare a reading excerpt, and do some of the usual pre-trip preparation, like shopping and laundry. I'm working on a web site redesign and I'm starting to get interviews and guest post questions for blog tours, but that just has to be done by the end of the month.
In other news, after doing some whining about not being asked to be a panelist at WorldCon, I got asked yesterday. I still reserve the right for some whining, since I seem to be among the last group they asked, probably to fill in spaces left by other people they asked who either declined or changed their minds, given that they asked me on the 10th, want all my information by the 13th, and plan to finalize programming on the 15th. I still haven't decided whether or not to go. There aren't a lot of hotel spaces left, and I need to check airline schedules. And then make a pro/con list. Would this convention really be the best use of my time and money? It's in a different region than I usually go to, so it broadens my horizons and visibility among a different group of people, which is good. Being visible there theoretically boosts my chances of being seen by people who might invite me to other conventions.
On the other hand, the airfare is pretty expensive if you don't want to be traveling in the middle of the night, and the return trip is a killer, thanks to the time difference and no direct flights. The "best" option leaves there at 8:45 in the morning and arrives here at 5:49 in the evening. Even if you factor in the time difference that means a shorter day, I could fly to England in that amount of time (though that would all be spent in the air rather than sitting in an airport waiting for a connection).
Any Pacific Northwest fans planning to be at Sasquan who are dying to meet me?
June 10, 2015
Wacky Creativity Dreams
Still not done, but closer. I was having trouble working out what would happen in the climactic showdown, then late yesterday had the burst of inspiration that I needed to look at it from the villain's perspective. The villain won't be a viewpoint character, but the other characters are reacting to what she does, so I needed to shut them out and think about it through her eyes. I was surprised by how much insight that gave me into the things she'd be saying and doing and the way she'd be reacting to things. It's already given the scene a lot of oomph. Maybe if I'm really good today, I'll finish. I've hit 400 manuscript pages (in the format I use for first drafts -- it will shrink with the font I use for editing), but I have no idea how much longer it will go.
When I get really caught up in a book like this, I tend to have odd dreams that are incredibly vivid and that I remember in great detail. The night before last, I dreamed that I was nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actress, and I was excited about this because I could put "Academy Award Nominee" on my book covers, the way you'd put "New York Times Bestseller." But I was surprised that no one seemed to have noticed, so I told a few friends. Then I got paranoid that no one had heard about it, so I went to verify it. I could no longer find the newspaper where I'd seen my name on the list, and when I looked online, my name wasn't there, though there were suspicious blanks like something had been removed. And then I realized that the nomination had just been a vivid dream, and I was embarrassed about having to tell my friends that it wasn't real. I was very relieved to wake up for real and realize that I had not been going around telling my friends I was an Oscar nominee after having dreamt it.
I suspect this dream was triggered by my irritation about seeing announcements about WorldCon panelists when I still haven't heard anything. They're listing writers I've never heard of, so I started looking them up, since the fact that I haven't heard of them doesn't mean they don't have stronger credentials than I do. One boasted on his web site that he'd sold more than 20,000 words. So, yeah, it looks like I'm being passed over. I'm seriously considering skipping it this year because of the drama (so much drama) going on with the politics of it all and the fact that there are no direct flights from DFW, so it will be an all-day trip to get there and get home. If I'm not even on programming, there's not much point to making that trip. So my ego is feeling rather bruised while at the same time the "maybe they're right and I'm not a real writer" insecurities are flaring. And thus the nightmare about dreaming about success I didn't really have.
Last night, I dreamed a serious conversation with a friend from college in which he didn't believe my assertion that fairy tales were actually a form of secret underground journalism. At first I couldn't remember where I learned this, but then recalled that it was in my journalism history class (it wasn't). According to the class in my dream, this was a way of spreading information in an autocratic society in which the rulers tried to withhold information from the people. People knew that the various common archetypes in the stories actually represented certain real people, and they seemed to just be telling fantasy stories to children that spread by word of mouth, while really they were spreading the news of what was really going on that their rulers weren't telling them -- all wicked stepmothers represented a particular person, all the lucky third-born sons represented a person, and so on, and each of the stories involving these characters was actually a news story about a real event.
And I am totally going to use that in a book. After I finish this one.
When I get really caught up in a book like this, I tend to have odd dreams that are incredibly vivid and that I remember in great detail. The night before last, I dreamed that I was nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actress, and I was excited about this because I could put "Academy Award Nominee" on my book covers, the way you'd put "New York Times Bestseller." But I was surprised that no one seemed to have noticed, so I told a few friends. Then I got paranoid that no one had heard about it, so I went to verify it. I could no longer find the newspaper where I'd seen my name on the list, and when I looked online, my name wasn't there, though there were suspicious blanks like something had been removed. And then I realized that the nomination had just been a vivid dream, and I was embarrassed about having to tell my friends that it wasn't real. I was very relieved to wake up for real and realize that I had not been going around telling my friends I was an Oscar nominee after having dreamt it.
I suspect this dream was triggered by my irritation about seeing announcements about WorldCon panelists when I still haven't heard anything. They're listing writers I've never heard of, so I started looking them up, since the fact that I haven't heard of them doesn't mean they don't have stronger credentials than I do. One boasted on his web site that he'd sold more than 20,000 words. So, yeah, it looks like I'm being passed over. I'm seriously considering skipping it this year because of the drama (so much drama) going on with the politics of it all and the fact that there are no direct flights from DFW, so it will be an all-day trip to get there and get home. If I'm not even on programming, there's not much point to making that trip. So my ego is feeling rather bruised while at the same time the "maybe they're right and I'm not a real writer" insecurities are flaring. And thus the nightmare about dreaming about success I didn't really have.
Last night, I dreamed a serious conversation with a friend from college in which he didn't believe my assertion that fairy tales were actually a form of secret underground journalism. At first I couldn't remember where I learned this, but then recalled that it was in my journalism history class (it wasn't). According to the class in my dream, this was a way of spreading information in an autocratic society in which the rulers tried to withhold information from the people. People knew that the various common archetypes in the stories actually represented certain real people, and they seemed to just be telling fantasy stories to children that spread by word of mouth, while really they were spreading the news of what was really going on that their rulers weren't telling them -- all wicked stepmothers represented a particular person, all the lucky third-born sons represented a person, and so on, and each of the stories involving these characters was actually a news story about a real event.
And I am totally going to use that in a book. After I finish this one.
June 9, 2015
Will it Ever End?
Still not done. I ended up cutting out something like 8,000 words to get back on track, and I'm back on track, but still figuring some things out. I've just started what should be the climactic confrontation scene. Part of me wants to just rush in and write it and get it over with, but I think it's more prudent to take my time and do it right so I don't have to cut another big chunk of words after realizing I was doing it wrong.
Summer ballet starts tonight, and I really should sign up and go because I need the exercise, but I'm very tempted to take the summer off because I have so much going on this summer. My teacher is taking the summer off, so we've got a different one, and they're combining the adult class with the teen class. I suppose having teens in there might be a good marketing opportunity, but then again "I have a book coming out the last day of class!" isn't natural conversation in a ballet class. This may be the busiest six weeks of the year for me, leading up to the book coming out.
And that means the new book comes out six weeks from today, since the class is six weeks long and it starts tonight and ends the day the book comes out.
I suppose a compromise might be to sign up for four weeks, skip tonight (while I'm finishing the book) and skip release night, in case I end up with some kind of event that night. Suddenly, I feel a lot better about things.
But now I need to find something to eat for lunch because I'd planned a big lunch meal today with a light dinner before dance, but then I didn't get around to actually cooking the big lunch meal. It may be a cheese toast and V-8 kind of day.
I just want this book to be over with. I want to see how it ends.
Summer ballet starts tonight, and I really should sign up and go because I need the exercise, but I'm very tempted to take the summer off because I have so much going on this summer. My teacher is taking the summer off, so we've got a different one, and they're combining the adult class with the teen class. I suppose having teens in there might be a good marketing opportunity, but then again "I have a book coming out the last day of class!" isn't natural conversation in a ballet class. This may be the busiest six weeks of the year for me, leading up to the book coming out.
And that means the new book comes out six weeks from today, since the class is six weeks long and it starts tonight and ends the day the book comes out.
I suppose a compromise might be to sign up for four weeks, skip tonight (while I'm finishing the book) and skip release night, in case I end up with some kind of event that night. Suddenly, I feel a lot better about things.
But now I need to find something to eat for lunch because I'd planned a big lunch meal today with a light dinner before dance, but then I didn't get around to actually cooking the big lunch meal. It may be a cheese toast and V-8 kind of day.
I just want this book to be over with. I want to see how it ends.
June 8, 2015
Productive Distraction
Well, I'm not done with the book. I did a lot on Friday and felt like I was perfectly positioned to fly into the big climactic showdown, so writing it would be a piece of cake. It turned out to be a struggle. I just couldn't seem to concentrate. For some odd reason, my brain picked that time to start thinking about the at-home vacation it might be nice to take before the new book comes out, so I found myself sitting around researching things like day spas. That led me to think that a nice hotel I've stayed at before for a conference has a spa, and then I was planning a hypothetical vacation and looking up hotel rates. Mind you, my one day spa experience wasn't something I enjoyed all that much because I'm not crazy about being touched. I was mostly thinking about a therapeutic manicure -- not about nail polish, but skin treatment -- because my hands are kind of a mess. Somehow I got from finding a local place to get a manicure to planning a weekend getaway. We're talking master-level distraction here.
I finally forced myself to get to work, wrote a couple of scenes, got the pieces in place for the big showdown … and hit a brick wall. There wasn't really any conflict or action inherent in the showdown. So, off to brainstorm. During the brainstorming session, I realized that I was making the showdown happen in the wrong place at the wrong time, and that's why there wasn't so much conflict or action. All the distraction seemed to be my brain's way of getting the conscious mind out of the way so the unconscious could do some work and figure it all out.
I was still distracted on Sunday, so I mostly let myself have the day off because I still wasn't sure exactly where I needed to go with it and there was no point in forcing myself to write something I'd end up deleting. Then late at night, just before bed, I had the big realization: I still had things happening at the wrong time. Like, a day too late. The way things were going, there was a lesser showdown between the villain and one of the heroes that led to a clue about what the villain was up to. That hero discussed it with another hero, and they realized something. Then there were more scenes in which the various heroes shared information with each other. And then there was another showdown. But once I started really thinking, I forced myself to admit that the hero shouldn't have escaped that lesser showdown, that it should be the starting point to the real one, and things get a lot more interesting if the heroes haven't had a chance to compare notes and all be on the same page.
This means scrapping most of what I wrote on Friday, including some scenes I love, but it also cuts so much talking. I have some details to work out about how things will go and what to do about one subplot that now doesn't seem to fit so well (the resolution to it is one of the things that gets cut because one of the characters is needed elsewhere, so either I change the resolution, move it, or cut the plot entirely), but this makes so much more sense.
Something I've noticed when I get really caught up in a book like this: other people's stories are less interesting to me. I can't get into a novel to read it, and I'm not even all that interested in fictional TV. Most of my TV viewing in the last week or so has been World War II documentaries, though I did branch out into one on the Black Death and one on Atlantis on the American Heroes Channel (formerly the Military Channel, and now basically what the History Channel used to be before it was mostly about rednecks, pawn shops and alien conspiracies). The Atlantis one was interesting because it wasn't a cheesy "In Search of" kind of thing. It was about an archeological find on a Mediterranean island that fit the descriptions of a fairly advanced (for the time) civilization that had been wiped out by a volcanic eruption larger than Krakatoa. Like the History Channel used to do, they used some reenactment to dramatize events, but unlike the History Channel, it wasn't just a bunch of extras running around in bad costumes, with the same few clips repeated over and over again. They actually wrote a story and hired real actors -- it was a BBC production, and I think I recognized a few people. So basically, it was a cut above a SyFy disaster movie in quality, with bits of science interspersed to talk about what would happen in each phase of volcanic activity and how it would have affected the people. Mostly it was about the science and the archeology, with the only speculation being whether this was the city that was later written about as Atlantis. This meant we got scenes of our "Jack" and "Rose" playing out as they tried to avoid being captured by priests to be human sacrifices to the volcano (the dig found what appeared to be the remains of a young man at what looked like an altar), with a narrator giving us play by play of what the volcano was doing. It was kind of awesome, and I wish it had been feature-length instead of just an hour.
Aha, some digging around on IMDB reveals that the dramatization parts were from a feature-length BBC TV movie, thus the recognizable cast. Then they stuck clips from it into this documentary that's apparently part of a series on various scientific topics. Now I want to see the whole movie, though it wouldn't be as much fun without the science lesson about volcanos going on in voiceover.
But maybe if I'm really good today I can get back to enjoying real fiction.
I finally forced myself to get to work, wrote a couple of scenes, got the pieces in place for the big showdown … and hit a brick wall. There wasn't really any conflict or action inherent in the showdown. So, off to brainstorm. During the brainstorming session, I realized that I was making the showdown happen in the wrong place at the wrong time, and that's why there wasn't so much conflict or action. All the distraction seemed to be my brain's way of getting the conscious mind out of the way so the unconscious could do some work and figure it all out.
I was still distracted on Sunday, so I mostly let myself have the day off because I still wasn't sure exactly where I needed to go with it and there was no point in forcing myself to write something I'd end up deleting. Then late at night, just before bed, I had the big realization: I still had things happening at the wrong time. Like, a day too late. The way things were going, there was a lesser showdown between the villain and one of the heroes that led to a clue about what the villain was up to. That hero discussed it with another hero, and they realized something. Then there were more scenes in which the various heroes shared information with each other. And then there was another showdown. But once I started really thinking, I forced myself to admit that the hero shouldn't have escaped that lesser showdown, that it should be the starting point to the real one, and things get a lot more interesting if the heroes haven't had a chance to compare notes and all be on the same page.
This means scrapping most of what I wrote on Friday, including some scenes I love, but it also cuts so much talking. I have some details to work out about how things will go and what to do about one subplot that now doesn't seem to fit so well (the resolution to it is one of the things that gets cut because one of the characters is needed elsewhere, so either I change the resolution, move it, or cut the plot entirely), but this makes so much more sense.
Something I've noticed when I get really caught up in a book like this: other people's stories are less interesting to me. I can't get into a novel to read it, and I'm not even all that interested in fictional TV. Most of my TV viewing in the last week or so has been World War II documentaries, though I did branch out into one on the Black Death and one on Atlantis on the American Heroes Channel (formerly the Military Channel, and now basically what the History Channel used to be before it was mostly about rednecks, pawn shops and alien conspiracies). The Atlantis one was interesting because it wasn't a cheesy "In Search of" kind of thing. It was about an archeological find on a Mediterranean island that fit the descriptions of a fairly advanced (for the time) civilization that had been wiped out by a volcanic eruption larger than Krakatoa. Like the History Channel used to do, they used some reenactment to dramatize events, but unlike the History Channel, it wasn't just a bunch of extras running around in bad costumes, with the same few clips repeated over and over again. They actually wrote a story and hired real actors -- it was a BBC production, and I think I recognized a few people. So basically, it was a cut above a SyFy disaster movie in quality, with bits of science interspersed to talk about what would happen in each phase of volcanic activity and how it would have affected the people. Mostly it was about the science and the archeology, with the only speculation being whether this was the city that was later written about as Atlantis. This meant we got scenes of our "Jack" and "Rose" playing out as they tried to avoid being captured by priests to be human sacrifices to the volcano (the dig found what appeared to be the remains of a young man at what looked like an altar), with a narrator giving us play by play of what the volcano was doing. It was kind of awesome, and I wish it had been feature-length instead of just an hour.
Aha, some digging around on IMDB reveals that the dramatization parts were from a feature-length BBC TV movie, thus the recognizable cast. Then they stuck clips from it into this documentary that's apparently part of a series on various scientific topics. Now I want to see the whole movie, though it wouldn't be as much fun without the science lesson about volcanos going on in voiceover.
But maybe if I'm really good today I can get back to enjoying real fiction.
June 5, 2015
Almost There (Maybe)
I made a ton of progress yesterday, but I'm still nowhere near the end of the story. Stuff keeps happening. I imagine there will be a lot of cutting in the middle, but that's good for the book. Tighter is better.
And to think, when I started this book I wasn't sure I'd have enough plot to fill a novel. The scene that takes place at the 3/4 mark now (for now, based on my earlier length projections -- it may end up being a halfway point) was initially in the first third of the book.
I had high hopes of being done with this draft by last night, then getting a weekend off before doing revisions. I guess not. Maybe, just maybe, if I'm really good today and tonight and then tomorrow, I might finish this week.
There also may be more rewriting than I thought there would be, since the latest realization of what's going on means I can cut out a lot of side trails, but then that means that some pivotal scenes will need rewriting.
I will never be done with this book!< /whine>
At least I have the "movie" of the next two scenes playing out in my head already, so I know a lot of what I need to write today. The big, climactic scene is remaining a blank so far, though.
Before I start work today, I need to make a quick errand/grocery run. I'm going to indulge myself and get some frozen stuff for meals so I don't have to take long meal breaks.
And to think, when I started this book I wasn't sure I'd have enough plot to fill a novel. The scene that takes place at the 3/4 mark now (for now, based on my earlier length projections -- it may end up being a halfway point) was initially in the first third of the book.
I had high hopes of being done with this draft by last night, then getting a weekend off before doing revisions. I guess not. Maybe, just maybe, if I'm really good today and tonight and then tomorrow, I might finish this week.
There also may be more rewriting than I thought there would be, since the latest realization of what's going on means I can cut out a lot of side trails, but then that means that some pivotal scenes will need rewriting.
I will never be done with this book!< /whine>
At least I have the "movie" of the next two scenes playing out in my head already, so I know a lot of what I need to write today. The big, climactic scene is remaining a blank so far, though.
Before I start work today, I need to make a quick errand/grocery run. I'm going to indulge myself and get some frozen stuff for meals so I don't have to take long meal breaks.
June 4, 2015
Springing Surprises
I'm making a lot of progress on the book and am at the point where I'd have something long enough to be considered a novel (actually, it's quite a bit longer than a lot of the official definitions, but it's at the point where I'd feel comfortable calling it long enough to be a real fantasy novel). Of course, it would be a novel without any kind of resolution if I stopped now, so I have to keep going. I don't know for sure how long it will end up being because the ending keeps slipping away from me. Stuff keeps coming up in between.
Something I've noticed about this book is that most of the turning points have been completely unplanned. I'm far more interested in the relationships among the characters right now, and I keep catching myself writing scenes that are nothing more than conversations. I decide that the scene needs some action, preferably of the fantasy variety, so I make something happen. Then that something that happens ends up revealing some clue or giving me some idea, and the next part of the book springs from the thing I just had happen because I needed some action. In revision, I may even be able to go back and trim the conversations around the action, so I guess it's good that it's going to end up being longer than I really need it to be.
I suspect I also have a few scenes that will end up being relegated to "offstage" material. They're scenes that don't need to be in the finished book but that aren't a total waste because writing them helped me get a sense of what's going on with the characters for their subsequent scenes. These events will still be canon and will have happened, but they don't need to be in the finished book and only matter in establishing the characters' mindsets in later scenes. That's something I remember from the acting class I took in college -- when you step onstage in a play, your character isn't appearing on stage. She's leaving one place where things were happening and arriving at another place. Usually the things happening in the other place aren't in the play because they aren't important to the plot, so as an actor you have to mentally create those scenes and imagine going through them in order for your character to really convey the impression of arriving from elsewhere. I think I've been writing a lot of those "stuff happening elsewhere before the arrival" scenes.
Yesterday my challenge was letting a character do something I probably wouldn't do. I think it's in character for her, even though I disapprove, and it fits the plot. Now I have to decide if it was a good idea or a bad idea for her to do it. I'm not sure if it's going to lead to another "Oh, Emily, what now?" situation or if it's just crazy enough to work. I might end up juxtaposing it with Sophie doing something that seems utterly sane and rational at the time but that turns out to have been a mistake, just for fun.
I'm not a natural "pantser" so this is driving me insane. I should have a nice plot outline that I can follow, not a book that keeps springing surprises on me.
Something I've noticed about this book is that most of the turning points have been completely unplanned. I'm far more interested in the relationships among the characters right now, and I keep catching myself writing scenes that are nothing more than conversations. I decide that the scene needs some action, preferably of the fantasy variety, so I make something happen. Then that something that happens ends up revealing some clue or giving me some idea, and the next part of the book springs from the thing I just had happen because I needed some action. In revision, I may even be able to go back and trim the conversations around the action, so I guess it's good that it's going to end up being longer than I really need it to be.
I suspect I also have a few scenes that will end up being relegated to "offstage" material. They're scenes that don't need to be in the finished book but that aren't a total waste because writing them helped me get a sense of what's going on with the characters for their subsequent scenes. These events will still be canon and will have happened, but they don't need to be in the finished book and only matter in establishing the characters' mindsets in later scenes. That's something I remember from the acting class I took in college -- when you step onstage in a play, your character isn't appearing on stage. She's leaving one place where things were happening and arriving at another place. Usually the things happening in the other place aren't in the play because they aren't important to the plot, so as an actor you have to mentally create those scenes and imagine going through them in order for your character to really convey the impression of arriving from elsewhere. I think I've been writing a lot of those "stuff happening elsewhere before the arrival" scenes.
Yesterday my challenge was letting a character do something I probably wouldn't do. I think it's in character for her, even though I disapprove, and it fits the plot. Now I have to decide if it was a good idea or a bad idea for her to do it. I'm not sure if it's going to lead to another "Oh, Emily, what now?" situation or if it's just crazy enough to work. I might end up juxtaposing it with Sophie doing something that seems utterly sane and rational at the time but that turns out to have been a mistake, just for fun.
I'm not a natural "pantser" so this is driving me insane. I should have a nice plot outline that I can follow, not a book that keeps springing surprises on me.
