Deborah Swift's Blog, page 51
April 20, 2011
Lost Followers
If there is anyone out there who knows how to get the icons of my followers back, please let me know! They just disappeared one day into the ether and now there is a hole in my blog where all the pictures should be. Try as I might I can't find what to click on to get them back. Any clues anyone, or has everyone sunk without trace forever into the Bermuda Triangle of blogging?
April 19, 2011
Tuesday Tip - Rejections
Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach 140 rejections
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo 397 rejections (and it became a film) - (Wow - she was persistent!)
Watership Down by Richard Adams 26 rejections
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle 97 rejections (and it won the Newbery Medal for best children's book of 1963; it's now in its 69th printing)
Cinder Edna by Ellen Jackson 40 rejections (and it has won multiple awards and sold 150,000 hard copies).
The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot 17 rejections
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell 38 rejections
Dune by Frank Herbert 20 rejections
etc etc
Rejections are demoralizing, painful and hard to take. The best advice someone gave me after my book had been rejected by 10 publishers was, "believe in yourself and get on and write the next."
I took the advice, and was able to escape the feeling of failure (even if only temporarily) by immersing myself in a new imaginative world. It didn't make the rejections go away but by the time the next book was half-way done, the first had found its publisher.
Statistics are pinched from the excellent writing website of Mary Carroll Moore:
http://howtoplanwriteanddevelopabook.blogspot.com/
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo 397 rejections (and it became a film) - (Wow - she was persistent!)
Watership Down by Richard Adams 26 rejections
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle 97 rejections (and it won the Newbery Medal for best children's book of 1963; it's now in its 69th printing)
Cinder Edna by Ellen Jackson 40 rejections (and it has won multiple awards and sold 150,000 hard copies).
The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot 17 rejections
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell 38 rejections
Dune by Frank Herbert 20 rejections
etc etc
Rejections are demoralizing, painful and hard to take. The best advice someone gave me after my book had been rejected by 10 publishers was, "believe in yourself and get on and write the next."
I took the advice, and was able to escape the feeling of failure (even if only temporarily) by immersing myself in a new imaginative world. It didn't make the rejections go away but by the time the next book was half-way done, the first had found its publisher.
Statistics are pinched from the excellent writing website of Mary Carroll Moore:
http://howtoplanwriteanddevelopabook.blogspot.com/
April 14, 2011
Still unpublished? First Chapter competition
Great work still has no home? Dust off those manuscripts and give them a final polish.Lightship First Chapter competition - Deadline 30th June 2011
Win a year of expert mentoring from an author, literary agent and editor, and have your finished novel published by Alma books.
http://www.lightshippublishing.co.uk/
April 10, 2011
Tuesday Tip - book trailers, interview with author Cynthia Neale
Book Trailers are all the rage at the moment. If you are writing a book, then I suppose now is the time to start collecting images or material to make a trailer for your next book. If you want to have a go yourself, there is a link at the end of the interview.
Never seen a book trailer? Here's a very good example. I met Cynthia Neale in the historical fiction group on She Writes. Her debut novel, Norah, about an Irishwoman in 19th century New York is just out.
I asked Cynthia:
What made you decide to have a book trailer?
Cynthia: My publisher, Lucky Press, recommended doing a book trailer. She is very progressive and there are other Lucky Press authors with book trailers that I took a look at. And then I also went on She Writes and looked at book trailers. I felt that if done professionally, a book trailer can be a great marketing tool. I had shivers watching a couple of book trailers and wrote down the titles of the books to buy in the future.
Did you do it yourself, or did someone else do it for you? If the latter, what sort of discussions did you have about its content?
My friend's son, Nathan Sorrentino, is a student at Geneseo College in New York State and he created a video for a course that caught the attention of Google who asked him to do some work for them. They live in Rochester, NY and when I visited there in October, we had dinner and brainstormed what kind of trailer I would like. He would do it for the experience and as a friend and I would give him a "tip." We e-mailed back and forth for a couple of months. I wrote up the text and he gave me links to music downloads with a one-time use fee (minimal). He found some images himself in archival material and I sent him photos of landscapes in Ireland I had taken in 2008. Nathan understood the legal requirements and the technical aspects of making this video, but he also could fathom the heart of what I wanted to relay in the video. He advised doing some tweaks here and there. I edited the text a few times and sent it to my publisher who also did some tweaks on my texts. Nathan is a talented young man and anyone who would like him to do a book trailer, should contact him. His information is on the credits at the end of the trailer.
Where did you source the images for the trailer, and how did you go about finding the music?
The sources are listed in the credits of the trailer. I listened to a lot of the music on various sites. I have a lot of Irish music I listen to and dance to, but I didn't want to go about getting permission, etc. I had even thought of asking some musician friends to play for the video, but time was of the essence. It took quite a few hours for me to pick out just the right music for the video, but I felt quite pleased with deciding on the tunes I found. And the cost was only about $30.00!
What sort of feedback have you had about the trailer and has it raised interest in your book?
Since the trailer went up mid-January, there has been nearly 1500 hits and many positive comments. Comments from some people in other countries, including Ireland. As an American writer, I wanted to be delicate, but strong, about the subject of The Great Hunger. I was not born in Ireland and many of the Irish-born still have a good deal of angst over this event in their history. I found that it was necessary to include the background (my first book material) of An Gorta Mor to make it understood what was at stake for the Irish, and especially Norah McCabe, to have immigrated to a city such as New York. I have had positive feedback from the Irish-born and from everyone who has viewed the trailer. Now...for a screenwriter!
Thank you Cynthia. Very best of luck with "Norah."
Review
Norah is a story of a young immigrant woman battling hardship, poverty and prejudice in New York in the 1850's. It has obviously been lovingly researched. The portraits of Norah Mc Cabe and her family are beautifully drawn, and we catch most of the character of Norah from the attitudes of her Mam and Da who want the best for her but are unable to understand just how far she wants to climb. Cynthia Neale is particularly good at getting inside the minds of her characters to understand their motivations. This is her first novel for adults, previously she has written books for children.
Make no mistake, although at times the language is breathtakingly lyrical, this tells it like it was, grit and all. All the hard facts of life for an Irish immigrant are between these pages; poor housing, the bordellos, street fights, and the cut and thrust of the gang underworld. At a time when to be black made you a second-class citizen, the book raises the question of what forms a person's identity, particularly for a white minority such as the Irish in New York.
Da discusses black equality with Norah:
"We all feel inferior, Norah."
"We all feel inferior? The Irish? Or all human beings?"
At times this novel is rather documentary in style, and it is certainly not the usual run-of-the-mill historical, but I can highly recommend it as a slice of real life for anyone with an interest in this period of New York history, particularly those with family or connections to Ireland.
Fancy making your own book trailer? Here's how with the excellent article by Brenda Coulter.
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977019853
Never seen a book trailer? Here's a very good example. I met Cynthia Neale in the historical fiction group on She Writes. Her debut novel, Norah, about an Irishwoman in 19th century New York is just out.
I asked Cynthia:
What made you decide to have a book trailer?
Cynthia: My publisher, Lucky Press, recommended doing a book trailer. She is very progressive and there are other Lucky Press authors with book trailers that I took a look at. And then I also went on She Writes and looked at book trailers. I felt that if done professionally, a book trailer can be a great marketing tool. I had shivers watching a couple of book trailers and wrote down the titles of the books to buy in the future.
Did you do it yourself, or did someone else do it for you? If the latter, what sort of discussions did you have about its content?
My friend's son, Nathan Sorrentino, is a student at Geneseo College in New York State and he created a video for a course that caught the attention of Google who asked him to do some work for them. They live in Rochester, NY and when I visited there in October, we had dinner and brainstormed what kind of trailer I would like. He would do it for the experience and as a friend and I would give him a "tip." We e-mailed back and forth for a couple of months. I wrote up the text and he gave me links to music downloads with a one-time use fee (minimal). He found some images himself in archival material and I sent him photos of landscapes in Ireland I had taken in 2008. Nathan understood the legal requirements and the technical aspects of making this video, but he also could fathom the heart of what I wanted to relay in the video. He advised doing some tweaks here and there. I edited the text a few times and sent it to my publisher who also did some tweaks on my texts. Nathan is a talented young man and anyone who would like him to do a book trailer, should contact him. His information is on the credits at the end of the trailer.
Where did you source the images for the trailer, and how did you go about finding the music?
The sources are listed in the credits of the trailer. I listened to a lot of the music on various sites. I have a lot of Irish music I listen to and dance to, but I didn't want to go about getting permission, etc. I had even thought of asking some musician friends to play for the video, but time was of the essence. It took quite a few hours for me to pick out just the right music for the video, but I felt quite pleased with deciding on the tunes I found. And the cost was only about $30.00!
What sort of feedback have you had about the trailer and has it raised interest in your book?
Since the trailer went up mid-January, there has been nearly 1500 hits and many positive comments. Comments from some people in other countries, including Ireland. As an American writer, I wanted to be delicate, but strong, about the subject of The Great Hunger. I was not born in Ireland and many of the Irish-born still have a good deal of angst over this event in their history. I found that it was necessary to include the background (my first book material) of An Gorta Mor to make it understood what was at stake for the Irish, and especially Norah McCabe, to have immigrated to a city such as New York. I have had positive feedback from the Irish-born and from everyone who has viewed the trailer. Now...for a screenwriter!
Thank you Cynthia. Very best of luck with "Norah."
Review
Norah is a story of a young immigrant woman battling hardship, poverty and prejudice in New York in the 1850's. It has obviously been lovingly researched. The portraits of Norah Mc Cabe and her family are beautifully drawn, and we catch most of the character of Norah from the attitudes of her Mam and Da who want the best for her but are unable to understand just how far she wants to climb. Cynthia Neale is particularly good at getting inside the minds of her characters to understand their motivations. This is her first novel for adults, previously she has written books for children.Make no mistake, although at times the language is breathtakingly lyrical, this tells it like it was, grit and all. All the hard facts of life for an Irish immigrant are between these pages; poor housing, the bordellos, street fights, and the cut and thrust of the gang underworld. At a time when to be black made you a second-class citizen, the book raises the question of what forms a person's identity, particularly for a white minority such as the Irish in New York.
Da discusses black equality with Norah:
"We all feel inferior, Norah."
"We all feel inferior? The Irish? Or all human beings?"
At times this novel is rather documentary in style, and it is certainly not the usual run-of-the-mill historical, but I can highly recommend it as a slice of real life for anyone with an interest in this period of New York history, particularly those with family or connections to Ireland.
Fancy making your own book trailer? Here's how with the excellent article by Brenda Coulter.
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977019853
April 7, 2011
Tiny cathedral windows that sing
Up until the 17th century there were no real guitars - the only instruments similar to a guitar were the lute and, in Spain, where my new work in progress is set, the vilhuela.
In the early 17th century the Guitarra Morrisco became popular in Spain in the Moorish areas where what we know now as flamenco guitar and dance began. This type of guitar spread to other European countries where it became known as the Baroque Guitar or sometimes simply the Spanish Guitar. A good example of this sort of Baroque guitar can be seen in Vermeer's painting "The Guitar Player."
Also evident here is the inlaid decorative edge and "rose" or fretwork, which was a feature of this period in many instruments. In the 17th century there were specific craftsmen who made a living carving this sort of decorative panel. They are so beautiful and intricate.
They are crafted from of wood, or for the more detailed ones, parchment, cut in ornamental layers to give a three dimensional effect.
You can click on the picture below to see more examples. I am almost tempted to invent a "rose" carver just so that I can feature a description of someone making one of these, but unfortunately I already have quite a few craftsmen populating my novel already!
The designs are similar to those of "rose" windows such as in the great cathedrals, but in miniature.As it is, the Spanish guitarist is a "bit-player" in my cast of characters - nevertheless, I think the look and feel of the guitar is important to the book, and I love this sort of research.
April 5, 2011
The Tuesday Tip - en-dashes, em-dashes and hyphens
I asked another writer friend why my computer won't supply me with the right sort of dash when I need it, and seems to make an arbitrary decision about the length of dash. This led to a discussion on which sort of dash should go where. For the benefit of anyone else struggling with this, this is what he sent me. Thank you James!
The Hyphen
These are shorter than en-dashes and are only used to link two words or parts of a word:
There is a trend towards fewer hyphens.
• Don't hyphenate compound nouns, like dressing gown, dining room, etc.
• BUT compound adjectives are hyphenated when they qualify a noun:
half-open eyes or the eyes were half open
dressing-gown cord
• Be consistent: use ear ring, earring or ear-ring, but use the same one all the way through a piece.
• Sometimes they are necessary to make things clear
thirty-odd people ≠ thirty odd people
extra-territorial rights ≠ extra territorial rights
re-cover ≠ recover
re-creation ≠ recreation
re-sign ≠ resign
• No hyphens between an adverb of degree and the following adverb or adjective: slightly ill, not slightly-ill.
The En-Dash
This is as wide as the letter n: –
• It indicates a pause: "Paul could hardly stand – his legs were covered in blood."
• Parenthetical, with space before and after.
(Note on autocorrect: Word converts a hyphen to an en-dash when you follow it with a space, a word and either another space or a piece of punctuation. If you insert a hyphen between two words it'll just sit there, even if you put spaces around it. Put another space after the next word (then take it out of course) and the hyphen will change to an en-dash.
The Em-Dash
This is twice as wide as an en-dash, a bit wider than a letter m: —
It is only used to show cut-off dialogue if speech is interrupted.
The dashes go inside the quotes if other punctuation is replaced, outside if not.
There's no keyboard key for this, just as there isn't for the en-dash. But in this case, there's no Autocorrect either. Ctrl+Shift+m makes a good shortcut.
How to set up a keyboard shortcut in Word:
Menu Insert Symbol. If that gives you a choice of Browser and Advanced, pick Advanced.
Find the em-dash in the list of symbols – on my version it's about half way down and a little right of centre – it's distinctly longer than the en-dash on the top line – and select it. (If you don't want to set up a shortcut, just click Insert to drop the symbol into your document at the current insertion point.)
Click on Keyboard Shortcut.
Press the key combination you want to use, check it's okay, and press Assign.
Press OK, then Close on the previous window.
The Hyphen
These are shorter than en-dashes and are only used to link two words or parts of a word:
There is a trend towards fewer hyphens.
• Don't hyphenate compound nouns, like dressing gown, dining room, etc.
• BUT compound adjectives are hyphenated when they qualify a noun:
half-open eyes or the eyes were half open
dressing-gown cord
• Be consistent: use ear ring, earring or ear-ring, but use the same one all the way through a piece.
• Sometimes they are necessary to make things clear
thirty-odd people ≠ thirty odd people
extra-territorial rights ≠ extra territorial rights
re-cover ≠ recover
re-creation ≠ recreation
re-sign ≠ resign
• No hyphens between an adverb of degree and the following adverb or adjective: slightly ill, not slightly-ill.
The En-Dash
This is as wide as the letter n: –
• It indicates a pause: "Paul could hardly stand – his legs were covered in blood."
• Parenthetical, with space before and after.
(Note on autocorrect: Word converts a hyphen to an en-dash when you follow it with a space, a word and either another space or a piece of punctuation. If you insert a hyphen between two words it'll just sit there, even if you put spaces around it. Put another space after the next word (then take it out of course) and the hyphen will change to an en-dash.
The Em-Dash
This is twice as wide as an en-dash, a bit wider than a letter m: —
It is only used to show cut-off dialogue if speech is interrupted.
The dashes go inside the quotes if other punctuation is replaced, outside if not.
There's no keyboard key for this, just as there isn't for the en-dash. But in this case, there's no Autocorrect either. Ctrl+Shift+m makes a good shortcut.
How to set up a keyboard shortcut in Word:
Menu Insert Symbol. If that gives you a choice of Browser and Advanced, pick Advanced.
Find the em-dash in the list of symbols – on my version it's about half way down and a little right of centre – it's distinctly longer than the en-dash on the top line – and select it. (If you don't want to set up a shortcut, just click Insert to drop the symbol into your document at the current insertion point.)
Click on Keyboard Shortcut.
Press the key combination you want to use, check it's okay, and press Assign.
Press OK, then Close on the previous window.
March 31, 2011
Agent seeks Historical Fiction Pitches - contest
Irene Goodman is seeking pitches from historical novelists. Anyone got a manuscript ready?
www.irenegoodman.com/historical_fiction_contest.php
"Irene Goodman is looking for brilliant new historical fiction, and is holding a pitch contest to find those hidden pearls. Irene currently represents historical fiction authors Diane Haeger, Carrie Bebris, Amanda Elyot, newcomers Anne Barnhill and Juliet Grey, and many other New York Times bestselling authors.
The event will start with pitches only. A pitch should consist of 3-4 single-spaced paragraphs. It should include a brief plot description, the major characters, and the time period and setting. The final word count of the novel should be indicated."
Look at the website for full details.
www.irenegoodman.com/historical_fiction_contest.php
"Irene Goodman is looking for brilliant new historical fiction, and is holding a pitch contest to find those hidden pearls. Irene currently represents historical fiction authors Diane Haeger, Carrie Bebris, Amanda Elyot, newcomers Anne Barnhill and Juliet Grey, and many other New York Times bestselling authors.
The event will start with pitches only. A pitch should consist of 3-4 single-spaced paragraphs. It should include a brief plot description, the major characters, and the time period and setting. The final word count of the novel should be indicated."
Look at the website for full details.
March 22, 2011
Tuesday Tip - Location, Location, Location
I've just moved house so I have suddenly become only too aware of the importance of location.
I read so many books where the important scenes happen in the obvious places - domestic arguments in the kitchen or the bedroom for instance. But perhaps these scenes could be more vivid in another place.
When a scene is not working, consider just changing the location.
An argument can be much more vibrant if one person is chasing another down a busy street, or if the disagreement takes place in a library where people are supposed to be quiet.
When revising your work, why not list three alternative locations for your scene? At first I was reluctant to do this, worrying about "how will they get there?" but for important scenes, the "where" of the scene outweighs the smaller consideration of the backstage transitions from one place to the next. And a change of location breathes new texture into your work.
An excellent book on location and how it can be both background canvas or foreground character is "Description and Setting" by Ron Rozelle in the series "Write Great Fiction."
And now - I'd better get on with unpacking those books.....
I read so many books where the important scenes happen in the obvious places - domestic arguments in the kitchen or the bedroom for instance. But perhaps these scenes could be more vivid in another place.
When a scene is not working, consider just changing the location.
An argument can be much more vibrant if one person is chasing another down a busy street, or if the disagreement takes place in a library where people are supposed to be quiet.
When revising your work, why not list three alternative locations for your scene? At first I was reluctant to do this, worrying about "how will they get there?" but for important scenes, the "where" of the scene outweighs the smaller consideration of the backstage transitions from one place to the next. And a change of location breathes new texture into your work.
An excellent book on location and how it can be both background canvas or foreground character is "Description and Setting" by Ron Rozelle in the series "Write Great Fiction."
And now - I'd better get on with unpacking those books.....
March 15, 2011
The Tuesday Tip - One sentence
Scent and smoke hit the taste buds with a thwack at three o'clock in the morning. (first version)
Scent and smoke and sweat can suddenly combine together and hit the taste buds with an acid shock at three o'clock in the morning. (second attempt)
The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three o'clock in the morning.
Opening sentence of Ian Fleming's first James Bond Novel, Casino Royale.
Tuesday Tip - One sentence can be the key to your whole book.
This anecdote from "Writing Your Way" by Manjusvara.
Scent and smoke and sweat can suddenly combine together and hit the taste buds with an acid shock at three o'clock in the morning. (second attempt)
The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three o'clock in the morning.
Opening sentence of Ian Fleming's first James Bond Novel, Casino Royale.
Tuesday Tip - One sentence can be the key to your whole book.
This anecdote from "Writing Your Way" by Manjusvara.
March 14, 2011
Calling unpublished novelists:Virginia Prize for Fiction 2011
THE VIRGINIA PRIZE FOR FICTION 2011
Call for entries open Jan to July 2011
The Prize is open to any woman over 18 who has written an unpublished novel in English. The shortlist will be compiled in August 2011 and the £1000 prize will be awarded in November as part of Richmond's Literary Festival.
The Prize: In 2009, to celebrate 20 years of success as a small independent publishing house, Aurora Metro launched a new competition to encourage and promote new writing by women. Heartened by the quality and depth of the response to this, Aurora Metro is pleased to announce the second Virginia Prize for Fiction, in 2011, named in honour of the inspirational author Virginia Woolf.
Aurora Metro are also open for year-round submissions, see their website for details.
Call for entries open Jan to July 2011
The Prize is open to any woman over 18 who has written an unpublished novel in English. The shortlist will be compiled in August 2011 and the £1000 prize will be awarded in November as part of Richmond's Literary Festival.
The Prize: In 2009, to celebrate 20 years of success as a small independent publishing house, Aurora Metro launched a new competition to encourage and promote new writing by women. Heartened by the quality and depth of the response to this, Aurora Metro is pleased to announce the second Virginia Prize for Fiction, in 2011, named in honour of the inspirational author Virginia Woolf.
Aurora Metro are also open for year-round submissions, see their website for details.
