S.M. Boyce's Blog: My Journal, page 40

The Stupendously Fun Blogger Book Fair (July 26 – 29)

So the lovely Kayla Curry came up with a really fun idea the other week: the All’s Fair in Blogs and More! Book Fair.

A bunch of authors are going to group together, using our blogs as virtual booths in an online book fair. We’ll discuss books, publishing, and other assorted awesomess.

The book fair’s specifics are still being worked out, but it’ll be a load of fun. The fair goes live on July 26 and goes for four days, ending July 29. In the meantime, here are some ways you can get ready for the fair:

Like the book fair on Facebook

Leave a comment if you want to feature someone on your blog or be added to the fair. We’ll be featuring each other’s work, so it’s a bit of give and take here.
Tell your friends, libraries, and local cafes.
Add that nifty button I have over there on the right to your blog, too.

This will be a lot of fun! I’m looking forward to working with all of the wonderful authors and bloggers who are participating in this fair.

Dissecting Reviews: An Inside Look at Reviewers’ Comments on Editing

This is my first in a series of posts about how to dissect a review and learn from it. Thanks to everyone who submitted your ideas! If you have an idea for a post, you can still let me know. I’m even open to guest posts on the subject as long as we all play nice. We’re here to learn—not attack each other.

 

We as writers are responsible for the quality of our work. In the age-old wisdom of Joe Konrath, “don’t write crap.”

 

Still, you have to remember there’s only so much we can do at this one point in our lives. We’re writers—we’re always learning, always improving. Years from now, you’ll look back on your first book and go, wow, did I really use that old cliché?

 

My point is this: no matter how many rounds of professional editing you go through, you’ll have mistakes—a small plot hole here, an oddly-worded sentence there, and all-too-easy plot development near the end (I know I know I’m sorry). The goal is for you to do your very, very best and improve as the years pass.

 

Now, I am not saying you should shrug off errors and just hit “accept and publish” on Amazon. NO. Do not do that. You need to write well, to research. If there are gaping plot holes in your book, you need to hone your skills a little bit more before you publish.

 

If you’ve never written a thing in your life (or even if you have), do not write one draft and put it online!  Doing that sort of thing is feeding the “indie books are crap” stigma that is only now beginning to go away.

 

Readers deserve quality work, and it is your responsibility as the author to give them your absolute BEST. I’m not talking kindergarten-best. I don’t give two licks about gold stars or participation medals. I’m talking about your absolute, I’ve-read-this-damn-thing-ten-billion-times-and-I-can’t-take-it-anymore BEST.

 

Make sure your novel is coherent. Organized. Well-thought-out. Your characters should be dynamic. Sure, you can have a cliché or two, but don’t write cardboard. Do not publish until you’ve written in all of the above AND had it edited by a professional.

 

Okay, so will some people still say you needed an editor after twelve million rounds of editing? Sure. That’s annoying, but it’s the way things are. There are a couple of reasons for this:

 

The Writer

The problem: sometimes, people only hire a proofreader when they need a copyedit or a full critique. So, yeah, the writer had tons of editing rounds—of him editing his work himself. You can’t do that. That’s not editing in the sense we mean it professionally.

 

The solution: get a real editor, whether it’s a hired copy editor or a group of talented writing friends who know their stuff.

 

Editing doesn’t mean hiring a proofreader and sending the book to print without typos. You have to have several rounds of editing from different people, with at least one critique, one copy-edit, and a proofread. You don’t have to pay for an editor at every stage—you can have a good author friend copy-edit, for instance, or ask beta readers to catch typos for you.

 

But, and this is a big BUT, I recommend you hire or barter with a professional for your copy-edit phase. A detailed line edit can make the difference between “good” and “amazing.” It’s crazy how the little details can stick with people and make them fall in love with your story.

 

The Reader

Sometimes, the source of the “editing” comment comes from the reader, not the writer. Here’s what I mean:

The comment: Sometimes, an editor who also reads and reviews can’t help themselves. They line-edit when they read, and nitpick in their heads. They make a critical remark in the review and follow it up with, “most readers won’t even notice this, so it’s probably not important.”

 

“So why did you write it?” we ask, shaking our computer monitors.

 

The lesson: I fully admit that I’m one of these readers. I can’t help it. When I read, I proofread unless the story just sucks me in. Sometimes I’ll even notice errors then. It’s the editor in me. So I recommend people like me try not to mention the tiny things in the review unless they really bugged you in some way. As long as you enjoyed the story and there weren’t typos or errors, wasn’t it still great? I admire people who can enjoy a novel and edit at the same time, but please remember not to get too involved in your editing and forget why you’re reading—for pleasure.

 

The comment: Occasionally in a review, the reader just missed something. When we read, we don’t catch all the details. Sometimes we misinterpret, and if we went back and re-read, we’d get a different view of what was said. It’s amazing, really. So sometimes, people will mention a writer needs an editor because details were missing…even when that’s not true. It’s not anyone’s fault, of course, but more of a miscommunication.

 

The lesson: It’s still possible to learn from this sort of review. If you see it a lot, maybe there’s something you as the author could have cleaned up and clarified. Pay close attention to the examples people give—were they specific? Did a lot of people comment on the same parts of the story? If so, ask yourself (or better yet, a few of those readers) what exactly needs clarifying and what details you can add to make things more coherent.

 

The comment: A very small number of readers actually look at a book and go, “Oh, it’s indie. There must be something wrong with it. Let the hunt begin!”

 

When they do this, they purposefully look for issues. They pick and prod instead of enjoying the story, and end up with a bunch of criticisms that a lot of times aren’t really that important.

 

The solution: Luckily, an ever-growing number of readers are realizing how many talented writers have gone indie because it’s just the better financial decision for most new writers. It’s really awesome how this revolution has given writers a chance to actually make a living writing!

 

Writers, it’s important to give these reviews a fair look. Can you learn anything from them? Yeah. Often, there is good advice in these reviews. But if you can’t read it without getting mad, just put it away until you can be calm and approach it evenly. If you can’t, then you won’t learn anything from reading it, and that’s the whole point in reading your less-than-glowing reviews.

 

Discussion time! Have you guys gotten any other editing-type comments in your reviews, or have you given similar comments in your reviews of others’ work? What is the most helpful editing comment you’ve gotten from a rating?

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A New Series on Dissecting Reviews—Think this Will Work?

So I’ve been knee-deep in conversations and debates with other authors recently. I like to think we’re learning, but I think it’s a by-product of the fact we just like debating.

 

Something that has come up a lot lately is reviewer ethics. It’s such a strange concept to me—why should reviewers need a code of ethics? Doesn’t that whole “be nice” mentality apply by default? Then again, I can be naïve at times.

 

When I review, I just try to be nice and honest at the same time. I admit, though, that’s been hard for a few books. If I can’t say anything nice, I typically don’t review those. It obviously wasn’t for me, so I don’t need to go around leaving one-star reviews for books that didn’t work out for me or which I didn’t finish. I’ve seen those same books with 50% 5-star ratings. Someone obviously likes them.

 

This got me into reading other books’ reviews. Dude! There are some mean reviews out there, reviews that attack the writer instead of discussing the book. What is up with that? A review talks about the book. That’s all a review is supposed to do—give the reader a safe place to discuss what they liked (or didn’t like) about a book.

 

…right?

 

While that sucks, there is a silver lining to my review hunt.

 

What’s so cool about reviews is that they are a prime chance for writers to learn how to improve their understanding of the craft. As with anything, a writer shouldn’t take all the advice that’s given. However, there are some diamonds in these reviews, some great chances for writers to learn, and I wanted to start a series teaching authors to see through the “hurt” associated with negative reviews to get to that juicy center of self-improvement.

 

So keep an eye out for my new “Dissecting Reviews” blog series. Each post will have a different topic that I see cropping up in reviews time and time again. Maybe it can help you! Maybe not. Either way, I think we can get a good discussion rolling from these dissections, so hop into the pot with me and let’s get cooking!

 

That was a weird metaphor. I know. But deep down, you liked it a little.

 

I have a post ready about comments on editing in reviews. That goes up next week. However, I would love to hear what you’ve learned from reviews, or what you wish you could learn from reviews. What ideas do you have for posts? I’m also open to guest posts once I get the series going a little bit.

 

So throw your opinions in! Can’t wait to hear them.

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Book Review: Four in the Morning by Christi Goddard

 

The Short Version:

Excuse me for a moment. I’m still geeking out from this awesome book. Though the pacing was a little slow in the beginning, I couldn’t put it down once the action picked up. It’s just so good: the characters were detailed and imperfect; the story was intriguing and had plenty of twists, turns, betrayal, and deception; and the ending left me salivating for a sequel. Urban fantasy and paranormal fans alike should read this book.

 

The Details:

Four in the Morning has a snarky wit that I can appreciate. I was laughing aloud a good deal of the time, and there are plenty of quotes that still come to mind. Kinda like this one:

He would be sort of cute if I didn’t have the urge to kick him in the head.

Or this:

I went for his face with my [fingernails]. It was ridiculously more pathetic than it sounds.

This is, as you can see, written in first person. It really works with the way the novel’s plot develops, too. Because our character has a limited perspective of the events as they unfold, there’s a level of mystery and betrayal we wouldn’t have gotten otherwise—even with limited or deep third.

Our main character is Kathleen (not Kathy): a social outcast who likes pale makeup, dark eyeliner, and thick boots. Her mother is abusive, her father doesn’t notice, and her sister is flawless. Kathleen has developed a deep dependency on sarcasm to survive through high school, and her wounds show through her projected image of indifference thanks to the close perspective the reader is given. She was a very relatable character because let’s face it—we were all ridiculed in high school. Perhaps not to her extent, true, but that component of her character is incredibly relevant to most people and makes her sympathetic despite (and sometimes for) her flaws.

There weren’t many characters in this novel, but the others were interesting. Most shied away from stereotypes the more you learned about them, and that was nice. IMO there were no drool-worthy boys, but that fits because Goddard’s novel is ruled by the uncool. Aka piqued my interest, but more because I was curious than anything else. I spent most of the book wanting to think he was evil, but I won’t tell you if that was at the beginning, middle, or end. Haha.

In keeping with Kathleen’s voice, the style had a curious blend of loquacious and to-the-point narrative. Sometimes it had almost a stream of consciousness bend, which I hate most of the time. However, it worked here. I don’t know how Goddard did it, because I usually complain about SOC. But it works for her. I’m jealous.

The story is full of lies and deceit that kept churning and turning everything up as soon as it settled. It was great. I was on my toes through most of the story, not knowing who Kathleen could trust. I got completely lost in the narrative. I know I must have had some interesting expressions when I was reading on the train (holy hell, he did WHAT??). I even doubted whether some characters were human, or if they were playing with Kathleen by turning into her “fairy god-skunk”—the annoying skunk that somehow talks in a British accent and won’t leave her alone.

It figures my fairy godskunk would be a total asshole.

That’s my favorite line of the book, by the way. Oh yeah, and there’s cursing. Quite a bit of it.

I won’t lie. The pacing was slow for me at the beginning. It took me about six chapters to really get into it, but these chapters are short so I wasn’t too bothered. Once you see the magical skunk, it gets hard to put the book down. But this is one of those books that begins with strong exposition. It sets up the characters and their relationships, which you need in the book’s climax to fully appreciate what happens.

The editing was really good. I only saw maybe one typo. Honestly, that might not have been a typo because some of the words required a dictionary. But again, that’s part of Kathleen’s voice: wordy at times to prove her point.

The ending has me chomping at the bit for the sequel. OH GOOD LORD that last line nearly made me squeak in excitement, which would have been just weird on a crowded train. Still, it was amazing. There had better be a sequel on the way, Miss Goddard.

The reveal was unexpected, caught me entirely off guard, and was not the climax you see in most books where the characters’ lives are strengthened and better off for what happened. Oh no, no, no. It was so refreshing and heartbreaking at the same time.

Oh, and just so you know, Christi Goddard is an author published by Immortal Ink before they signed me on. I’m just getting that out there now because it doesn’t matter—I don’t fluff reviews. If I like a book, I tell you. If I don’t, I don’t bother reviewing it. Now you know.

Bottom line: I’m in love with this book. I’ve gone fan girl for Goddard. I read this in maybe two days, even with a full schedule and a book of my own to finish. It breezes by and the chapters are short. Once you get into the story, I doubt you’ll have much luck putting it down.

I hope you give this one a chance, because I think most people who love urban fantasy will geek out with me.

 
Grab Your Copy

Amazon (US) | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

 

Today (Wednesday) is the last time the Grimoire will be free on Amazon!

Today is the sad/happy day I say goodbye to Amazon Select. It’s been fun, but my experiment has run its course. I’m ready to be back on other distribution sites, mingling with all their titles.

So The Grimoire: Lichgates is free today only, June 13, 2012. Grab it while you can! Boost my ego and hit the like button while you’re there.

Grab your copy of The Grimoire: Lichgates

I’m celebrating my final free day with a blog hop from the amazing Kathy at I’m a Reader, Not a Writer.

 
The Indie Blog Hop

After you grab your free Kindle copy, enter to win a signed print edition. I’m even adding a free, limited edition artwork bookmark for anyone who leaves a comment with the word “magic” in the comments. I want to see how many people actually read this versus just jumping down to the giveaway. Haha! Extra cool points if you make up something subtle and clever at the same time for your comment.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out the other blogs in the giveaway:

A Novel is a Writer’s Mad Science Experiment

Over the past couple days, I’ve been talking a bit about my novels’ style and structure.

 

As a writer, I am constantly trying to improve my grasp of the writing craft.  I developed my skills as an editor in part because I love to see others’ writing styles and work with them to hone it. I workshop my friends’ work and will hopefully have time to start critiquing again on Scribophile as well.

 

When it comes to writing my books, I like to challenge myself with each story. So instead of just writing a novel—which is no small feat, don’t get me wrong—I also choose something to challenge the story and improve my understanding of writing.

 

Admittedly, my first novel (Lichgates—Grimoire Trilogy #1) was an experiment in actually finishing a book, draft one to published. I had the freedom to let this be my primary focus because I’d spent seven years developing the world, plot, and characters, so I didn’t have to narrow my focus too much to still produce my best work.

 

Book two in the Grimoire Trilogy (Treason) is another matter. When I sat down to actually write it, I knew the draft-writing process. I understood how to make schedules, who to go to for editing, how to market, how to prepare the release and blog tour.

 

With book two, I could stretch my legs a little bit. I could experiment.

 

So I sat back and thought about the book’s purpose. What was the core reason for including it? The age-old advice is to add only what is necessary, so what would define my second book?

 

As you know, the novel is called Treason. That’s because I ultimately chose to make it an experiment in betrayal.

 

There are several types of betrayal, and I wanted to experiment with them. Which were the most effective? Which were cliché? Which were just stupid and needed to be ignored? Which could I pull off brilliantly? Which just wouldn’t work with my story?

 

I didn’t include all types of betrayal, of course (how much of a spoiler alert would that be??) and the novel isn’t riddled with back-stabbers. No, please don’t think that’s what this is about. I was simply able to analyze the various implementations of betrayal and use some of Treason to employ what I’d learned. This way, I could add another tool to my writer’s toolkit.

 

My biggest discovery: what can appear as a betrayal to one character is a saving grace to another. It’s all in the character’s point of view, and that gave me wide range to experiment.

 

One of these days, maybe I’ll write a post that dissects this thematic undercurrent in Treason, but I’d much rather see what you guys find. It’s so amazing when someone hits the nail on the head in a review (like this one of Lichgates)…it’s remarkable to know that my intent was delivered.

 

I always aim to write an entertaining story. That’s first and foremost, no matter what, and I think that should be every fiction writer’s goal. But then, if the reader is so inclined, they can hunt for the layers of depth I wrote into that story: themes, symbols, motifs, parallels, allegories. These layers give way to alternate explanations, deeper understanding, and hopefully a really fun treasure hunt filled with “aha!” moments.

 

To my authors out there: push yourself! Experiment. Let every novel stretch you and teach you something. If it’s not teaching you anything, then what’s the point? What have you learned from recent books you’ve written?

 

To my readers: I hope you enjoyed this look into Treason. I’ll continue to post my experiments with my novels, but please let me know what you see, too! I don’t talk about everything on my blog, so it’ll be wonderful to see if you pick up on the nuances of the series and my future work.

 

Stay awesome!

Fun News, Everyone! I’m Joining the Immortal Ink Publishing Team

Hey guys!

So I have good news! I’m joining the Immortal Ink Publishing team as an acquisitions editor. Woohoo!

For those of you who haven’t heard about Immortal Ink Publishing, they are an independent publisher who really excels at what they do. I like their business model, I love the people, and I’m thrilled to be a part of this team. Check out the video for more details!

Why Breaking the Rules of Writing Can Be FUN

The other day, I told you about the basic stylistic setup of the Grimoire Trilogy. I thought it might be fun to go into a little more detail.

 

Though the basic setup of Lichgates was pretty standard, I did something in the middle of the book not everyone liked. I love it, though, as do most of the people I encounter. I will be using it for the last two major books in the series, too. I call it the “guest perspective.”

 

In the middle of each book, there is a clear shift in the movement of the story. This happens in all three of the Grimoire Trilogy novels. And when the tides change, neither Braeden nor Kara are there to witness what happens. There is a crucial component of the tale that needs to be told, but can’t be told through the two main perspectives.

 

So I tried something a little risky.

 

The guest perspective concept is technically a no-no when it comes to traditional rules of the writing craft because it’s sudden. There is no introduction to these characters’ POVs, nor are they ever revisited. But my favorite professor back at Florida State always said to only break the rules if you could do so brilliantly. Because there was an element of the story that needed to be told—an element that would enrich the story and give the reader dramatic irony—I felt it could work.

 

In each guest perspective chapter, I add two voices that aren’t mentioned previously and are never mentioned again. These two characters are always connected to each other in an important way. By adding their voices, I could show readers how these characters see those around them. Through this new perspective, you get a greater understanding of the full scope of the trilogy’s characters and world, rather than the bits that Braeden and Kara see. I figured I couldn’t ignore the seemingly minor characters who play a much larger part than it otherwise appears.

 

So in Lichgates, you see the world through the Queen of Hillside’s POV, as well as that of her son Gavin. In Treason, you meet two more characters—and I think you’ll be surprised just who you meet. In Heritage, you’ll meet another two, and I think their stories are the most incredible of them all.

 

My exception to the guest perspectives rule is my epilogue. The epilogue in Lichgates features Deirdre. Deirdre carries the undercurrent of the series, and her story is a darkly beautiful one. I can’t wait to see what you think of her. I’m keeping mum about the subsequent epilogues to keep you on your toes.

 

So there you have it: the guts of the Grimorie Trilogy, spilled for the world to see. If you’d like, you can tell me about your book—what are you doing differently with it in the stylistic sense? Or, for my Grimoire fans out there, did you notice the shifts in perspective? Did you feel they helped, or maybe even hurt? I love hearing your thoughts.

A Look into the Stylistic Structure of the Grimoire Trilogy

Though I released Lichgates (Grimoire Trilogy #1) in October 2011, I’ve never really talked much about the structure of the trilogy. I figured I’d take a few minutes to explain it a bit.

 

As soon as I started writing the Grimoire Trilogy, I knew I wanted to do something different and push a few literary boundaries. Writing a book—especially your first one—isn’t exactly a cake walk, so you’d think I would just be happy to write a good story and be done with it. Nah. That’s not quite how I roll.

 

The trilogy’s core setup is fairly typical: deep-third POV with two primary narrators. We see the story through their eyes and experience each chapter from only one view.  Time is linear, though I so add some interestingly-conceived flashbacks to explain past events and current character motivations. Important note: these aren’t the only two perspectives to appear, but they are primary. I’m going to post in a few more days with details).

 

Limiting myself to two primary narrators who only got a chapter at a time was actually very limiting. If I could go back, I would insert bits of Braeden’s POV into the “Kara Chapters” and vice versa. I cut out entire scenes (now posted for your viewing pleasure) because the linear timeline restricted my ability to include them.

 

That’s why you’ll see alternating perspectives within some chapters (not all) when you read Treason. This allows me to tell more of each story, to show other interpretations of the action. For instance, there’s a lot that goes on in Lichgates which Kara doesn’t even realize until Treason, but adding Braeden’s perspective in Lichgates could have made this evident back then and prevented some of the minor confusion that appears in some reviews.

 

…Yes, I read reviews and learn from them. It’s amazing to get so much input, and I won’t lie: every 5-star review makes my week! I don’t take every piece of advice, of course, nor do I agree with every review, but that’s a topic for another post.

 

The point is, I learned a lot from Lichgates. I noticed things that could be improved, and I changed them in Treason. I’m sure I’ll learn from Treason to improve Heritage (Grimoire Trilogy #3). It’s all a learning process, and we as writers must always remember to stay flexible.

 

To my published authors: what have you learned about writing from your experience with past novels? If you could go back, what would you change?

 

To my readers: You’re awesome. Oh, I guess you want a question, too. Hmmm…since books teach us, what have you learned from reading lately? Do you notice craft when you read, or do you prefer the story? Characters? Something else entirely?

Some News About Treason (The Grimoire Trilogy #2)

As many of you likely know, I’m currently wrapping up draft one of Treason, the sequel to Lichgates and the second book in the Grimoire Trilogy.

It’s been a long road riddled with a cross-country move and a lot of non-book-related stress, so I’ve been writing much slower than I intended. However, what matters to me is quality, not speed—I want you to get the best possible book I’m capable of writing at this point in my life.

Treason is going to be so much fun. It’s been a blast to write and develop because Ourea gets darker and the characters go through so much self-discovery. It’s a real test in growing up, which I think both Braeden and Kara needed (particularly Kara, according to my dad).

You’ll discover more about your favorite—and one or two of your least favorite—characters. The second book is a test in faith, betrayal, honesty, and love. I’m really looking forward to releasing Treason, and I hope you’re as excited as I am.

I may even be able to release by my birthday at the end of August (three months early!). And you know I throw a good party, so you better be there for the blog tour.

I adore you guys, and I want to make sure you’re happy. I have two options for you:

The Release VIP List

Want the insider access to all things Treason? I have a Grimoire Trilogy release list set up just for that. There are already close to a hundred people on it, which is nothing short of freaking awesome. Want in? Hells yes you do!

 

The Treason VIP list gives you first dibs on the books when they’re released as well as a discounted copy when it’s first release. You’ll also get a monthly (or very rarely, bi-monthly) look at the books, special features, deleted chapters, free short stories, awesome events, and more. You can always unsubscribe after the Treason release if you like, so there’s never any pressure associated with it.

 

Sign up for the Grimoire Trilogy VIP List

Advanced Review Copies

Sign up for the ARC List to get some of the first copies of Treason. The ARC list has limited spots that are filling up quickly, so hop on while it’s still open. I can only give out eBooks at this point, so make sure you add which file type you need.

 

An ARC comes free with the promise that you’ll give me an honest review when you’re done. If you post these reviews on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Goodreads, I’ll do a jig. Now, whether or not I film and post said jig is entirely dependent upon how many reviews I get.