Jennifer Bray-Weber's Blog, page 88

Hump Day Kick Start – Floor Play

Song of the Day: Secrets by One Republic

Hump Day Kick Start – for your muse, a writing picture prompt, or just a visual treat.

Let’s have some fun with today’s prompt.

Take notice of the details: the dress over the arm of the chair, the bottle of liquor he’s holding, her nearly empty glass, and his gaze upon her face. What is he thinking? Is he calculating her next move? Is she calculating his? Did she just reveal a troubling secret? Is he withholding from her? Who is seducing whom?  Maybe she tripped.

What’s your take?

Link of the Week – Promocave

This week’s link is for authors looking to market themselves on a platform designed just for them.

“Promocave.com is an online community where authors can market their work and readers can find great books and interact with their favorite writers.”

What author doesn’t want that? Check it out and see if this new site is right for you.

http://promocave.com/

http://promocave.com/what-is-promocave.html

Talk Back: what is your writing plan?

On my Kindle: A Feast for Crows: A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin

Do you have a writing plan? Do you have a good idea of where you are going with your writing? What will you be writing and where will you be submitting your stories next?

It’s been a long time since I have contributed to the blog and it feels so good to be back. I had to step away for a while as I went back to school then found myself a steady job as a science teacher, and kept my writing to just that -writing.

As I come back here, I am very curious to find out more about you all, wonderful readers and members our Musetracks community. I want to know more about your writing and how you survive this crazy endeavor that is stringing words together to delight others and perhaps make a bit of a little living out of it.

So I return here with a new feature to the blog. Please talk back to us by commenting below. I really want to know. Tell us here so we can all learn from each others.

This week I am very curious to know if you have a writing plan. Is it very organized or kind of loose? Do you have a plan A, B and C in case things don’t work out the way you want to? Are you writing your first novel? Your tenth? Are you submitting to New York or small presses? Or perhaps you have a solid self-publishing 5 year plan all laid out for you? Where are you going with this?

Much love,

Marie-Claude xoxox

Location:Seattle

Is your manuscript ever, really, ready?

I know… It’s almost 11:00pm on a Sunday night. I SHOULD be sleeping…

I usually post on Sundays and I totally flaked today. I have an excuse, and it’s a good one. It is NOT that my dog ate my homework.

I’ve been busy editing a 86K novel in less than 48 hours!

WHY? you ask.

Because when a publisher asks to see your manuscript, the world around you halts. And it’s okay!

Really. It’s okay. Give yourself a break!

Everything in our lives can stop because of other commitments, other responsibilities, other holy-crap moments. Why not for writing?

I don’t care how many times that manuscript has been edited. There is always something else to fine-tune, something to delete, something to fix. Even after your book comes out, you can find things that make you cringe, or you wished you’d built up more, or even wish you’d made more important.

It is, what it is.

But while editing, I found that I had to be very careful. In the search for perfection, I was losing my voice. I was editing out me. It’s important to remember NOT to edit out our own voices. In the grind to make a manuscript as enticing as they can be, sometimes we OVER edit.

Don’t lose your voice. It’s what sets you aside as an author. It’s what makes you – well - you.

And let’s face it. We all want our work to be as good as it can be, but we also want to stand out from the crowd.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled program…

Happy reading and writing everyone.

Candi

You Are Being Tracked- How Do You Feel About That?

Did you know your e-reader tracks:

what time of the day you read and for how long?

what passages you highlight?

what notes you might make while reading your book?

if you stop reading the book and where?

how many times you re-read something?

your digital file?

….and we don’t know what they do with all this information?

You just thought you were going to curl up by yourself and read a good book. Who knew you had someone looking over your shoulder and taking notes about you?

From this technology, they now know that the average time to read the Hunger Games is approximately 7hours, nearly 18,000 people have highlighted the same line from the second book, and the first thing that happens on The Nook is that readers immediately downloaded the next book in the series.

In the past when books were tangible items and you actually owned what you bought, the experience was a personal tete a tete with the author. No one was with you two except the wonderful characters that took up residence on the collaborative journey called reading.

Obviously from a business stand point this information is golden. If a significant amount of readers stop reading a book by page 165, then something must be done to bolster that story line. Suggestions have been made that at that point they could then insert a short video or other props to re-capture the readers’ attention. Should they invest in an author if folks only read through the story once or should they only heavily promote those that get their books annotated and highlighted? Amazon is now a publisher as well, this could be the golden ticket to marketing and higher returns.

Certain authors have come out in favor of utilizing this information as well. Scott Turow, award winning author, lawyer, and president of the Author’s Guild says he’s waited for this type of information for years. He once had an argument with his publisher over the fact that he had been with them for years and had sold almost 25 million books yet they couldn’t tell him who bought his books.” He also argues that if you find a book is too long then you have to be more rigorous in cutting.

While I can understand that this information may be useful to authors, are they really sharing it with the authors? If you’ve published, how many of you have gotten reports on your readers’ habits? How many of you know the intimate details of what your audience did with your book? Is that information actually getting back to you? Would you want that kind of data?

Let’s play what if. What if Jane Austen or Herman Melville had access to this, would their masterpieces have been written the same? Would they have written artistically or tailored their stories to marketing feedback? Would it still be their stories or a book written by committee? So many questions.

If I take off my author hat and put on my reader/consumer hat, you’d find that I have some serious issues with strangers being in my head. I don’t want to be a marketing pawn. I don’t want someone looking over my shoulder while I go back and re-read passages or even whole books. This should be my own private fantasy world. I read to escape, to immerse myself, by myself, in worlds and adventures. I’m not a bleeping ride at Disney Land where folks buy a ticket to come along! (Not that I feel strongly about this issue.)

A few of the readers give you the power to turn off these features, but you have to find them and opt out, they come turned on. Most don’t even give you this option. I provided a link on Tuesday to EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) and they show a nifty table of all the different formats and how they are set up. I encourage you to glance over the information. You should be informed. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/11/e-reader-privacy-chart-2012-update

Let me know what you think as an author and as a reader!

Happy Endings, Expectations, and a Hatchet Wielding Hunk

Song of the Day: Slow Burn by Atreyu

This week I finally saw the movie Snow White and the Huntsman. It was a fun, dark, entertaining twist of the classic Snow White fairy tale. And I truly appreciated Kristen Stewart not once swiping her hair behind her ear ala brooding Bella-style. Overjoyed really. BUT, and much like my rear-end, it’s a big but, I was 100% unsatisfied with how the movie ended.

Oh sure, there was a happy ending—evil was vanquished and good reigned once again. Just it was not a happily-ever-after ending. As the credits rolled, I shook my head feeling I’d been cheated. It’s a fairy tale, with Chris Hemsworth, for Grimm’s sake. Where’s the damned happily-ever-after?

A good story doesn’t have to end in wedding bells and Disney-esque promises of eternal love. A good story can end in ambiguity. It can end with a tragic, yet beautiful goodbye. It can end with lines like “After all, tomorrow is another day.” It can leave you in stoic thought or just end with a certain finality. Heck, it can even end horribly. But the story should end satisfyingly.

As an aside, there was one movie with an ending so appalling, so shocking (even for me) that I was beyond unsatisfied. I was angry and even a little depressed. It was the 2007 adaptation of Stephen King’s The Mist. *shudders*

Back to my point.

I got to thinking about books. In romance, there is an unwritten rule (or maybe it is etched in a golden tablet hidden in the labyrinth sewer system beneath New York City) stating there must to be a happy ending for the heroine. The happy ending may include the happily-ever-after or it may allude to a life of happiness with her hero. Oftentimes, the heroine’s quest for love and/or happiness doesn’t end in one book, continuing on throughout a series of books instead. Yet, at the culmination of each tale, there is a gratifying conclusion to her adventure.

In Snow White and the Huntsman, there was a building trust, personal growth, and discovery of the heart. At times, it was subtle, but it was there most certainly. There was even a true love’s first kiss. Much mightier than any sword or incantation, mind you. It stands to reason there would be a happily-ever-after, or at the very least a pledge of one. For all that, the appropriate ending was glaringly neglected in the final scene. How frustratingly uncool. Boo…hiss…

If this happened in a romance novel, I doubt I would pick up another book from that author and I suspect I wouldn’t be alone. It’s the writer’s obligation to fulfill the reader’s expectations. Whether it is to leave the reader sighing from the perfect HEA, breathless with an explosive finish, or anticipating the next installment, authors must give the reader satisfaction. I believe this is true for all books, regardless of the genre, romance or otherwise.

I’m no movie critic. Nope, I’m just another yahoo with an opinion. For the most part I was entertained by the film. But as a romance writer, I’d say the movie makers missed the mark. Now if you’ll excuse me, I must pick up popcorn kernels thrown at the TV screen.

Have you seen the movie? What are your thoughts? Has any movie or book left you disappointed? Let’s hear from you.

Link Of The Wekk

I’ve found a web site that we should all be aware of in this fast and furious age of technology. This site is dedicated to defending your rights in a digital world. This is such a new frontier that laws are not set in place yet to protect you from this virtual cornerstone that we find ourselves relying on more and more. I especially like their “Deeplinks Blog” which discusses a whole range of matters. Be sure to read the article on E-readers and how much information is tracked from your reading habits….What???? You thought that was private- think again…..

https://www.eff.org

 

***My blog on Thursday will do a more in depth look into this matter.

Cheers,

Stacey

 

Agent Shop w/ Jessica Alvarez of Bookends LLC.

Good Morning Everyone!

I’ve had one of those super busy weeks, but it’s at its end today. YAY! And since things are a bit slow at work, I have THREE days off next week. Anyone wanna guess how I plan to spend those days while kids are at school? Big wordcounts planned!

Anyway, I’m happy to say that Agent/Editor Shop is becoming something of a buzz. I’m constantly amazed by the amount of people who know about it, and have participated. We’ve even been getting e-mails from agents/editors interested in being guests for future Shop dates!

So thanks to everyone who’s participated, blogged about us, mentioned us to writing/professional friends and such. Musetracks was based on the concept of giving back to the writing community for all the help we all received and continue to receive over the years.

February’s Agent/Editor Shop will be Feb. 16th around 10:00am EST. and as you can see from the title, we have Jessica Alvarez with Bookends LLC as our guest agent, and I couldn’t be more excited. I’ve spoken with Jessica several times via e-mail, and she is not only a super nice person, but it’s easy to ‘hear’ the love she has for what she does.

Here’s the link to Jessica’s information:

Jessica Alvarez

After ten years as an editor, Jessica Alvarez joined BookEnds in April 2011. She began her publishing career in 2001 as an editorial assistant at Harlequin Books. There, she had the opportunity to acquire and edit a wide array of fiction, specializing in historical romance, romantic suspense, and inspirational romance. Jessica left Harlequin in 2008 to pursue a freelance editing career, and completed projects for Harlequin, Scholastic Books, Thomas Nelson, and independent writers. She uses her editorial background to help writers hone their skills and develop strong, marketable stories. Jessica is actively building her client list and is proud to work with a wonderful group of clients. She is a member of AAR.

Jessica read her first romance at the age of nine when she pilfered from a friend’s mother’s Harlequin Presents collection and was instantly hooked. Though her pilfering has passed, her weakness for alpha heroes and exotic settings remains.

A New Jersey native, Jessica still resides in the Garden State. She is perpetually over-caffeinated in an attempt to keep up with her young son and two energetic wheaten terriers.

You can contact Jessica via email or follow her on Twitter

Jessica’s areas of interest include historical romance (particularly 18th and 19th century!), inspirational romance, contemporary romance, category romance, erotic romance and smart, female-focused erotica, women’s fiction, and cozy mysteries.

Her authors include Andrea Laurence, Jennifer Delamere, Lorrie Thomson, Melissa Cutler, and Stacy Henrie.

Hope to see you all here! Until next weekend, happy writing, reading and life.

Best~

Candi

The Biography Series- F. Scott Fitzgerald

Either you think, or else others have to think for you and take power from you, pervert and discipline your natural tastes, civilize and sterilize you. F. Scott Fitzgerald

I’m waiting impatiently for The Great Gatsby starring Leonardo Di Caprio and Tobey Maguire to come out on May 10th. You don’t get incredible movies without an incredible book behind it. This story has the distinction of being heralded as the greatest American novel ever written. It has endured with time and still sells consistently as it is required reading for many high schools. Who wrote this iconic book? F. Scott Fitzgerald, of course.

Who was this man? Was he a failure or an underappreciated genius of his time? Perhaps we should start at the end with him dying at the young age of 44, living with a girlfriend, almost broke and a raging alchoholic.

“Mr. Fitzgerald in his life and writings epitomized “all the sad young men” of the post-war generation. With the skill of a reporter and ability of an artist he captured the essence of a period when flappers and gin and “the beautiful and the damned” were the symbols of the carefree madness of an age.

Roughly, his own career began and ended with the Nineteen Twenties. “This Side of Paradise,” his first book, was published in the first year of that decade of skyscrapers and short skirts. Only six others came between it and his last, which, not without irony, he called “Taps at Reveille.” That was published in 1935. Since then a few short stories, the script of a moving picture or two, were all that came from his typewriter. The promise of his brilliant career was never fulfilled.” (Taken from his obituary at The New York Times)

This “sad young man” was born September 24, 1896 was named after distant cousin, Francis Scott Key. He grew up in a comfortable home and attended private schools throughout his education. His parents had a rather unconventional idea of learning and got the schools to agree to him only attending a half a day and he got to choose which half he wished to go.

He began writing at an early age and published a mystery in his high school newspaper. Princeton was his next stop and he dove into the many literary organizations there. He even submitted a manuscript to Charles Scribner’s Sons, but was rejected. His immersion into this world of literacy took a toll on his grades and he withdrew, failing, in his junior year. Mr. Fitzgerald joined the army and was afraid that he might not make it back from war so he wrote another novel called The Romantic Egotist which he again submitted to Scribner’s and was also rejected. They did, however, praise him for its originality and encouraged him to send in other work.

While in training, he also met the love of his life. Zelda Zayre was the belle of the ball and the daughter of a district judge. She chafed at the constrictions of proper society and saw a way out through this unknown writer. Zelda wasn’t a fool and told him to make his fortune before she would marry him. He tried to make a career in advertising and writing short stories but she got cold feet and called off the engagement. Nursing a broken heart, he returned to his parents’ house and revised The Romantic Egotist. Charles Scribner’s Sons accepted the manuscript and sold 50,000 copies which was an enormous amount of books at that time. While it became the most popular book of the year, he married Zelda in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.

They lived a lavish lifestyle around the world and even lived in Paris for a time as he tried to re-capture his writing muse. It was there that The Great Gatsby was published and received good reviews. Even so, it did not earn enough money to keep them in the lifestyle they had become accustomed. While he wrote, Zelda decided to become a ballerina and trained exceptionally hard for 3 years with a ballet master. This led to a nervous breakdown and a journey into schizophrenia that plagued her for the rest of her life. ( She died during a fire at a sanitarium.)

While in Paris, F. Scott Fitzgerald spent his time making friends with other writers, namely Ernest Hemingway, and writing articles for countless magazines to earn a paycheck. He hated this part of his career but knew he had to “hack” out articles and movie scripts to keep up with the enormous debts he and Zelda accrued. They returned to the States and he headed for California to be closer to the movie studios. Even though he found the work degrading, he wrote some of the un-filmed parts of Gone With The Wind. During this time Zelda had an affair and they became even more estranged. She checked into another institution and he began an affair with Shelley Graham, a Hollywood columnist.

He created a character in a series of short stories that mocked himself as nothing but a Hollywood hack that sold at a brisk pace. He wrote more novels but couldn’t seem to capture the acclaim his first two provided. He was a notorious drunk and began to suffer poor health because of it. It is said that he also suffered with tuberculosis. Becoming increasingly frail after a heart attack, he moved in with Shelley because she lived on the ground floor and he could no longer climb stairs to his apartment. His final heart attack on December 21, 1940 took his life. The poet and satirist, Dorothy Parker, was heard while standing at his open coffin to mutter, “the poor son-of-a-bitch” which was a line of dialogue at Jay Gatsby’s funeral.

Hump Day Kick Start – Pirate Edition

Song of the Day: Justice by Rev Theory

Hump Day Kick Start – for your muse, a writing picture prompt, or just a visual treat.

Oh, Theo. I’ve missed you so.

Okay, mates. Tear your eyes away and let your imaginations sail on high tide. Tell me about our pirate-clad hunk du jour. Is he a modern day buccaneer, hell bent on taking his next prize? Could he be a time-traveler seeking revenge? Maybe he’s not a pirate at all. Maybe he’s a sea captain, instead. Or perhaps he’s an actor who plays at the nightly dinner show. What is he looking at? His next *lucky* victim? The man (or woman)  he plans to kill? The rival who has been trying to steal his lead role? Me, who has his bottle of rum?

What’s your take? As always, I love to here your stories and quips. Pipe up!