Elizabeth Spann Craig's Blog, page 163
December 20, 2012
Traditional Marketing in the Digital Age of Publishing
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Image: Xandert
As a traditionally published writer, I’ve felt guilty for years for my approach toward promo.
I’m extremely uncomfortable with direct sales, so I never fully embraced it. I’ve done only a handful of book signings, gone to just a few conferences, and stopped sending promo postcards out after the first batch. I haven’t purchased business cards or bookmarks in ages. With the advent of e-readers…I just wasn’t sure if readers needed bookmarks.
Besides being uncomfortable with direct sales, I also have a tough time fitting travel into a schedule that’s jam-packed—and leaving my children to pursue marketing.
My third problem with traditional marketing is that it’s expensive. You can reduce your costs using low-budget printers, sharing costs with other book-touring authors, etc., but it’s still going to be high. If you attend conferences and travel for signings, you’re talking about gasoline costs, airfare, hotel bills…the works.
I feel like my sales with traditional publishing are too modest to justify that kind of expense.
I was vastly relieved on a number of levels when the book promotion trend favored social media. That was the perfect way for me to promote—it’s worldwide, it’s basically free with your internet connection, and you can do it from home.
What’s more, social media was immediately embraced by the publishing industry as a great way to promote. This helped me feel less-guilty about turning down invitations from my publisher for dinners they were hosting at conferences. Now this doesn’t mean the publishers were embracing social media—they just wanted the writers to. I think the publishers are now still playing catch-up a little.
Are we reaching readers with our efforts? I think so. What’s more important, though, is that our readers are able to reach us. I hear from readers with astonishing regularity—primarily through Facebook and email. They know how to find me and they do. This is something that’s harder to accomplish if we’re focused solely on traditional marketing….it means readers have to hang onto our business card or bookmark. But if we’re on social media…if we have a website, or a blog, or we’re on various platforms…they can find us when they feel they need to.
One thing that worries me about the authors I know on my various email loops (all traditionally published) is that the ones who continue to focus on old-fashioned marketing techniques are missing out on the global market.
It is a global economy as Apple and Amazon have both reminded us lately as they’ve opened up markets/online bookstores in many new countries. Increasing our reach online is likely a sounder approach than filling up with expensive gas and driving as far as we can to visit bookstores and conferences. Maybe we should schedule tweets and updates during off-hours to engage people in other time zones.
But what is online promotion? I know what gives it a bad rap--all the folks who beg us to buy their books or talk about their books ad nauseum online.
Although I was happy with the advent of social media, I was still unhappy about doing direct promo. So my efforts at making a name for myself as a writer were completely focused on platform-building. How indirect could I go? I settled on blogging (which I enjoy and consider a great way to network with other writers...and I could just stick book info discretely in the sidebar), a website (which I offer information on purchasing my books...if someone is looking for that type of information), a Twitter account where I share writing links (and frequently forget to tweet my own blog posts), and various Facebook pages, which rarely get updated.
When I graduated from college in the early 90s, there was a recession going on. I held my nose and ended up with a sales job--where I constantly got in trouble for not asking for the sale. I figured that if someone wanted the thing, they'd buy it. Why ask for the sale? Asking for the sale only agitated me and distressed the customer.
Yes, I made a lousy salesperson and stayed in the job for mere months. I quit before I was fired and I never tried to find a job in sales again. But really, I have that same mentality now. If the reader wants the book, by golly, they'll buy the book. My begging them to buy the book will likely just run them off.
So I decided that a presence was a good way to promote myself. Not a book. Me. It was a way to put myself out there, a way for me to rise in the Google rankings of other Elizabeth Craigs and Riley Adamses so that readers could find me, contact me, and be tempted by my book covers.
I saw a post by author Dean Wesley Smith recently that I truly enjoyed. He said that writers shouldn't promote. Now, if they were self-publishing, then they could put their publisher hat on and very carefully promote in a business-oriented way. But they shouldn't just hawk their wares as a writer. As Dean puts it in an October 9th post titled The New World of Publishing: Promotion :
"Write the next book. That is the best thing you can do for your last book. Turn around, face the future, become a writer, and write the next book, and then the next, and then the next… get it to a publisher or your own publishing company and then go back to writing."
Ultimately, this is the best way to promote our writing. Write, improve, publish more books, have a bigger footprint in those online bookstores. It means discoverability.
How do you feel about promotion? How do you approach it?
Image: Xandert
As a traditionally published writer, I’ve felt guilty for years for my approach toward promo.
I’m extremely uncomfortable with direct sales, so I never fully embraced it. I’ve done only a handful of book signings, gone to just a few conferences, and stopped sending promo postcards out after the first batch. I haven’t purchased business cards or bookmarks in ages. With the advent of e-readers…I just wasn’t sure if readers needed bookmarks.
Besides being uncomfortable with direct sales, I also have a tough time fitting travel into a schedule that’s jam-packed—and leaving my children to pursue marketing.
My third problem with traditional marketing is that it’s expensive. You can reduce your costs using low-budget printers, sharing costs with other book-touring authors, etc., but it’s still going to be high. If you attend conferences and travel for signings, you’re talking about gasoline costs, airfare, hotel bills…the works.
I feel like my sales with traditional publishing are too modest to justify that kind of expense.
I was vastly relieved on a number of levels when the book promotion trend favored social media. That was the perfect way for me to promote—it’s worldwide, it’s basically free with your internet connection, and you can do it from home.
What’s more, social media was immediately embraced by the publishing industry as a great way to promote. This helped me feel less-guilty about turning down invitations from my publisher for dinners they were hosting at conferences. Now this doesn’t mean the publishers were embracing social media—they just wanted the writers to. I think the publishers are now still playing catch-up a little.
Are we reaching readers with our efforts? I think so. What’s more important, though, is that our readers are able to reach us. I hear from readers with astonishing regularity—primarily through Facebook and email. They know how to find me and they do. This is something that’s harder to accomplish if we’re focused solely on traditional marketing….it means readers have to hang onto our business card or bookmark. But if we’re on social media…if we have a website, or a blog, or we’re on various platforms…they can find us when they feel they need to.
One thing that worries me about the authors I know on my various email loops (all traditionally published) is that the ones who continue to focus on old-fashioned marketing techniques are missing out on the global market.
It is a global economy as Apple and Amazon have both reminded us lately as they’ve opened up markets/online bookstores in many new countries. Increasing our reach online is likely a sounder approach than filling up with expensive gas and driving as far as we can to visit bookstores and conferences. Maybe we should schedule tweets and updates during off-hours to engage people in other time zones.
But what is online promotion? I know what gives it a bad rap--all the folks who beg us to buy their books or talk about their books ad nauseum online.
Although I was happy with the advent of social media, I was still unhappy about doing direct promo. So my efforts at making a name for myself as a writer were completely focused on platform-building. How indirect could I go? I settled on blogging (which I enjoy and consider a great way to network with other writers...and I could just stick book info discretely in the sidebar), a website (which I offer information on purchasing my books...if someone is looking for that type of information), a Twitter account where I share writing links (and frequently forget to tweet my own blog posts), and various Facebook pages, which rarely get updated.
When I graduated from college in the early 90s, there was a recession going on. I held my nose and ended up with a sales job--where I constantly got in trouble for not asking for the sale. I figured that if someone wanted the thing, they'd buy it. Why ask for the sale? Asking for the sale only agitated me and distressed the customer.
Yes, I made a lousy salesperson and stayed in the job for mere months. I quit before I was fired and I never tried to find a job in sales again. But really, I have that same mentality now. If the reader wants the book, by golly, they'll buy the book. My begging them to buy the book will likely just run them off.
So I decided that a presence was a good way to promote myself. Not a book. Me. It was a way to put myself out there, a way for me to rise in the Google rankings of other Elizabeth Craigs and Riley Adamses so that readers could find me, contact me, and be tempted by my book covers.
I saw a post by author Dean Wesley Smith recently that I truly enjoyed. He said that writers shouldn't promote. Now, if they were self-publishing, then they could put their publisher hat on and very carefully promote in a business-oriented way. But they shouldn't just hawk their wares as a writer. As Dean puts it in an October 9th post titled The New World of Publishing: Promotion :
"Write the next book. That is the best thing you can do for your last book. Turn around, face the future, become a writer, and write the next book, and then the next, and then the next… get it to a publisher or your own publishing company and then go back to writing."
Ultimately, this is the best way to promote our writing. Write, improve, publish more books, have a bigger footprint in those online bookstores. It means discoverability.
How do you feel about promotion? How do you approach it?
December 18, 2012
Building a Sense of Place into Your Writing--Guest Post by F.C. Malby
By F.C. Malby @fcmalby
Purchase here
Sociologist, geographers,
historians, writers, artists, and anthropologists have all been interested in
the idea of ‘A Sense of Place’ for a long time. Why? Because this gives a place
it’s character and identity, it gives people a sense of belonging in a place
and an affinity with the locality. Some places can also feel uncomfortable.
So why does this matter with
our writing? A good book can often give the reader a strong sense of why the
characters feel attached to a place or a dislike of a location. When you can
understand a person’s connection to a place, it is easier to understand how
they respond and behave.
Wordsworth described places
in his poetry in a way that was almost magical. I am reading Orpan Pamuk’s
‘Istanbul – Memories of a City.’ He received the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature
for ‘Snow,’ and his descriptions are vivid and inspirational. I love to travel
and this fuels a need to write about a particular setting and get ‘under the
skin’ of a place, to think about what makes a location so appealing.
A few tips on building a Sense of Place into you
Writing:
Description
- describe the buildings, the feel of the air, what you see on the streets.
Detail
- use images to add detail into your scenes – from photographs, online images,
or go there and make some notes.
Geography
– find maps and use Google Earth to look at the area. Is it wooded, on a cliff,
on a river, compacted or isolated?
Character
– think about why your character might feel an attachment to a place – do they
have family there or did they spend a childhood in a particular place? To find
out what makes your character tick, it is important to look at how they react
in a particular setting.
Identity
– The connection a child has with a place has been described as a ‘primal
landscape,’ and psychologists say that this affects the decisions a person will
make later in life. If you feed this into your characters it will add kick to
your story.
How have you created a Sense
of Place with you writing?
F.C. Malby
F.C. Malby is a short story
author and a novelist. Her debut novel, ‘Take Me to the Castle,’ is released
this week on Amazon in paperback and on kindle. The book is set in Prague and
Letovice, in the Czech Republic, during the fall of communism.
You can find F.C.Malby on:
Twitter https://twitter.com/fcmalby
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/FC-Malby/118284434987675
Wordpress http://fcmalby.wordpress.com/
Website www.fcmalby.com
Purchase here
Sociologist, geographers,
historians, writers, artists, and anthropologists have all been interested in
the idea of ‘A Sense of Place’ for a long time. Why? Because this gives a place
it’s character and identity, it gives people a sense of belonging in a place
and an affinity with the locality. Some places can also feel uncomfortable.
So why does this matter with
our writing? A good book can often give the reader a strong sense of why the
characters feel attached to a place or a dislike of a location. When you can
understand a person’s connection to a place, it is easier to understand how
they respond and behave.
Wordsworth described places
in his poetry in a way that was almost magical. I am reading Orpan Pamuk’s
‘Istanbul – Memories of a City.’ He received the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature
for ‘Snow,’ and his descriptions are vivid and inspirational. I love to travel
and this fuels a need to write about a particular setting and get ‘under the
skin’ of a place, to think about what makes a location so appealing.
A few tips on building a Sense of Place into you
Writing:
Description
- describe the buildings, the feel of the air, what you see on the streets.
Detail
- use images to add detail into your scenes – from photographs, online images,
or go there and make some notes.
Geography
– find maps and use Google Earth to look at the area. Is it wooded, on a cliff,
on a river, compacted or isolated?
Character
– think about why your character might feel an attachment to a place – do they
have family there or did they spend a childhood in a particular place? To find
out what makes your character tick, it is important to look at how they react
in a particular setting.
Identity
– The connection a child has with a place has been described as a ‘primal
landscape,’ and psychologists say that this affects the decisions a person will
make later in life. If you feed this into your characters it will add kick to
your story.
How have you created a Sense
of Place with you writing?
F.C. Malby
F.C. Malby is a short story
author and a novelist. Her debut novel, ‘Take Me to the Castle,’ is released
this week on Amazon in paperback and on kindle. The book is set in Prague and
Letovice, in the Czech Republic, during the fall of communism.
You can find F.C.Malby on:
Twitter https://twitter.com/fcmalby
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/FC-Malby/118284434987675
Wordpress http://fcmalby.wordpress.com/
Website www.fcmalby.com
December 16, 2012
Cover Conferences
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
My editor emailed me a week ago and said she was going to fit in a cover conference before the staff at Penguin left for Christmas break.
This was a little earlier than I expected for a book that’s coming out in 2014…but I’d much rather do it earlier than later, and I always appreciate this editor’s organization.
I quickly put together some ideas for her to present at the conference and emailed them to her. She and I discussed the ideas during a phone call.
At the end of the call, she said, “Great! Now, Elizabeth, if you get any great visions for the cover, just call me back anytime.”
I said dryly, “If I get any great visions for the cover, we’ll know I’ve had a small stroke.” I’ve mentioned to her before how difficult it is for me to come up with these kinds of ideas, since I’m not a visual thinker—although I’ve gotten better over the years.
For this Penguin (or, I guess, Penguin-Random House) editor, I submit ideas for cover elements—descriptions of rooms or outdoor spaces where major scenes take place, descriptions (and sometimes images, if I have them) of quilts that I’ve mentioned in the books, and how the murders were committed--they like having the knife or the gun, etc., somewhere on the cover.
My editor also likes the manuscript so that she can skim it for ideas for the conference. I’ve gotten better about sending an unfinished manuscript to her. This time was very early though: I submitted her a book with no ending and no chapter breaks…my deadline is in February, so the book isn’t finished yet. I managed not to freak out too much over this. Although I did warn her that I write description in last, so the manuscript might be of limited use to her.
For my other Penguin series, I really have no input in the cover (at least, I haven’t in the past). In many ways, this is a relief to me. :)
For my self-published books, I’ve given the cover designer the book description to give her an idea what we’re talking about, thoughts on a setting for the cover, and the murder weapons. Usually, for cozy mysteries, you have an idyllic scene with an element of danger interrupting the tranquility.
So, some general things to think about if you’re helping to contribute ideas to a designer or editor for a cover design (for either traditional publishing or self-publishing):
Think about what will appeal to your genre’s readers.
Make sure your cover indicates the genre. For me, that’s the element of danger that my editor asks me to indicate—the tea cup on its side, the ominous knife in the foreground…that sort of thing.
Remember to brand the covers in a series. I have several different series and they each have their own look. It helps readers identify the other books in the series.
Don’t be too stuck on having the cover accurately represent what’s transpiring in the book. This is something I’ve managed to relax more over. It used to seem very odd to me that Beale Street is depicted the way it is on the Delicious and Suspicious cover, for instance. But what the cover is meant to do is entice readers and act as a marketing tool. It doesn’t have to replicate a scene from the book. This third quilting mystery will have the series’ corgi on the cover—because it brands the series and readers love the dog (I’m a corgi owner, myself.) But the corgi isn’t present during the third book…merely mentioned.
How involved have you been with cover creation? If you self-pub, do you hire a designer and just give a book summary to the designer? If you’re traditionally published, how involved are you with the cover?
My editor emailed me a week ago and said she was going to fit in a cover conference before the staff at Penguin left for Christmas break. This was a little earlier than I expected for a book that’s coming out in 2014…but I’d much rather do it earlier than later, and I always appreciate this editor’s organization.
I quickly put together some ideas for her to present at the conference and emailed them to her. She and I discussed the ideas during a phone call.
At the end of the call, she said, “Great! Now, Elizabeth, if you get any great visions for the cover, just call me back anytime.”
I said dryly, “If I get any great visions for the cover, we’ll know I’ve had a small stroke.” I’ve mentioned to her before how difficult it is for me to come up with these kinds of ideas, since I’m not a visual thinker—although I’ve gotten better over the years.
For this Penguin (or, I guess, Penguin-Random House) editor, I submit ideas for cover elements—descriptions of rooms or outdoor spaces where major scenes take place, descriptions (and sometimes images, if I have them) of quilts that I’ve mentioned in the books, and how the murders were committed--they like having the knife or the gun, etc., somewhere on the cover.
My editor also likes the manuscript so that she can skim it for ideas for the conference. I’ve gotten better about sending an unfinished manuscript to her. This time was very early though: I submitted her a book with no ending and no chapter breaks…my deadline is in February, so the book isn’t finished yet. I managed not to freak out too much over this. Although I did warn her that I write description in last, so the manuscript might be of limited use to her.
For my other Penguin series, I really have no input in the cover (at least, I haven’t in the past). In many ways, this is a relief to me. :)
For my self-published books, I’ve given the cover designer the book description to give her an idea what we’re talking about, thoughts on a setting for the cover, and the murder weapons. Usually, for cozy mysteries, you have an idyllic scene with an element of danger interrupting the tranquility.
So, some general things to think about if you’re helping to contribute ideas to a designer or editor for a cover design (for either traditional publishing or self-publishing):
Think about what will appeal to your genre’s readers.
Make sure your cover indicates the genre. For me, that’s the element of danger that my editor asks me to indicate—the tea cup on its side, the ominous knife in the foreground…that sort of thing.
Remember to brand the covers in a series. I have several different series and they each have their own look. It helps readers identify the other books in the series.
Don’t be too stuck on having the cover accurately represent what’s transpiring in the book. This is something I’ve managed to relax more over. It used to seem very odd to me that Beale Street is depicted the way it is on the Delicious and Suspicious cover, for instance. But what the cover is meant to do is entice readers and act as a marketing tool. It doesn’t have to replicate a scene from the book. This third quilting mystery will have the series’ corgi on the cover—because it brands the series and readers love the dog (I’m a corgi owner, myself.) But the corgi isn’t present during the third book…merely mentioned.
How involved have you been with cover creation? If you self-pub, do you hire a designer and just give a book summary to the designer? If you’re traditionally published, how involved are you with the cover?
December 15, 2012
Twitterific
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Twitterific is a compilation of all the writing links I
shared the previous week.
The links are fed into the Writer’sKnowledge
Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming)
which has over 19,000 free articles on writing-related topics. It's the search
engine for writers.
Sign up for our free
newsletter for monthly writing tips and interviews with top contributors to
the WKB or like us on Facebook.
Try “My WKB”--a way for you to list and sort articles, view your read
articles, and see your search history. Read more about it here: http://bit.ly/S9thqS. The free My WKB page is
here: http://bit.ly/PV8Ueb. And check out Hiveword to help you organize your
story.
The Biggest Problem Facing the Beginning Novelist—And 6 Tips for Avoiding It:
http://bit.ly/XmMGGl @annerallen
Top 5 Reasons Nonfiction Authors Should Be Speakers, Too: http://bit.ly/SK2DBM @jfbookman
The Art of Writing Dialogue: http://bit.ly/XmN2gp @maria_mckenzie
Unreliable Narrators: http://bit.ly/XmN87H
Tips for Writing Superhero Ensembles and Superhero Teams: http://bit.ly/SK2U7S
The Difference Between Paranormal Romance And Urban Fantasy: http://bit.ly/XmNj2L @woodwardkaren
6 Common Myths About Book Reviews: http://bit.ly/SKAOJH @livewritethrive
How to Pick a Good Critique Partner: http://bit.ly/XnrZdq @LyndaRYoung
Stephen King's tips for imagery: http://bit.ly/SKBa2P @galleycat
Famous literary exits: http://bit.ly/Xns9S3 @guardianbooks
10 reading nooks: http://bit.ly/Xnuz39 and
10 secret passage bookshelves: http://bit.ly/XnuwEy @deadwhiteguys
Tips for book beginnings: http://bit.ly/SKDsiq @4YALit
Ask the Agent: Wooing Agents, Focus, and More: http://bit.ly/Xnv4dz @breeogden
Tips for Writing About Serious Subjects: http://bit.ly/SKDOFY @lisaburstein
8 tips for cutting the fat from your WIP: http://bit.ly/TQTIzP @GinaConroy
Dont' get bogged down in language: http://bit.ly/XnvnVQ @mooderino
Learn your characters' secrets: http://bit.ly/SKF2kn @JulieEshbaugh
When your story isn't ready (but you're on top of a deadline): http://bit.ly/SKFSxB
4 Compelling Reasons to Make Guest Blogging a Priority: http://bit.ly/Xnxw3D @alexisgrant
Create Revolutionary Characters: http://bit.ly/XnxDMF @KristinNador
Estate planning and copyright inheritance for authors: http://bit.ly/VBZ7KH @PassiveVoiceBlg
The MacGuffin: A Plot Device From Screenwriting: http://bit.ly/VBZtkc @woodwardkaren
Prepare for the Critics, the Nasty Ones: http://bit.ly/RBj86i @noveleditor
12 Clichés To Avoid When Beginning Your Story: http://bit.ly/VBZJji @writersdigest
A roundup of posts on ebook promo: http://bit.ly/TnGCri @bookmarketer
Develop a Slogan to Help Your Author Platform: http://bit.ly/RBkJJt @robertleebrewer
Tips for focusing on 1 manuscript at a time: http://bit.ly/RBkVbr @DeeWhiteAuthor
Overcoming Dialogue Challenges: http://bit.ly/RBkYEi @wordsbywebb
1 writer's experience advertising with BookBub: http://bit.ly/RBl5zQ @goblinwriter
Use WriteChain to Track Your Progress: http://bit.ly/VC5c9O @galleycat
Defending Your Writing to Scientists, Physicists… And Your Parents: http://bit.ly/RBlXnV @beinglizbreen
Is Serial Fiction Profitable? http://bit.ly/RBm3vW @woodwardkaren
Keep Submitting: http://bit.ly/RBm8jg
@emergentpublish
3 Common Comma Errors: http://bit.ly/RBmaHM @writing_tips
Your readers' online haunts: http://bit.ly/RBmiab @PYOEbooks
Thesaurus Pros and Cons: http://bit.ly/RBmjLs @CMKaufman
Publishers teching up: ‘Transformative, Exciting, Alarming’: http://bit.ly/VAXLNZ @jwikert @Porter_Anderson
@letiziasechi
The "who can be trusted?" theme in crime fiction and its trickiness for
writers: http://bit.ly/Uij7jn @mkinberg
10 Ways to Sabotage Your Writing: http://bit.ly/12lSekn @jamesscottbell
Telling It Twice - Incompatible Versions of a Story: http://bit.ly/XUNXop @camillelaguire
How To Use QR Codes: http://bit.ly/VC8uKm
@ebookrevolution @thecreativepenn
Top 5 Tips for Coping with Writing Pain (Carpal Tunnel, et al): http://bit.ly/RBmEO5 @gailcarriger
Tips for Writing Meaningful Description: http://bit.ly/VC9fD1 @susanjmorris
8 Tips for a Great Conference Experience: http://bit.ly/RCpulO @Janice_Hardy
Maeve Binchy's tips for writing a page-turner: http://bit.ly/VEEmxL @fcmalby
Writing for the YA audience: http://bit.ly/RCq7fs @writersdigest
The writer's lens--our vision makes stories successful: http://bit.ly/RCqdUm @fictionnotes
Sell More Fiction by Activating the Power of Book Clubs: http://bit.ly/VEFktU @janefriedman
After the editorial letter: The editor's perspective: http://bit.ly/VEFMIJ @thejordache
Authors on Publishers: Who’s Sorry Now? http://bit.ly/ZbFDRu @Porter_Anderson
@NigelRoby
Including music in our stories--5 rules of thumb: http://bit.ly/RCqO8w @4YALit
Marketing Begins Before Your Book Releases: http://bit.ly/VEH6v6 @novelrocket
Why 1 writer was glad the internet community didn't exist when she started
writing: http://bit.ly/RCr2MS
@jodyhedlund
Questions readers ask about ereaders: http://bit.ly/YE6czT @junglereds
Self-publishing industry explodes: http://bit.ly/WLpOvt @PassiveVoiceBlg
An effective way of editing your own work: http://bit.ly/YE6SFm @fcmalby
Writing lessons learned from YA book "Just Listen": http://bit.ly/YE7tGY @juliemusil
Allegory: When a Story Is About Ideas: http://bit.ly/WLqlNW @write_practice
Is character more important than worldbuilding? http://bit.ly/YE7H14 @juliettewade
Series vs. Stand-Alone: Pros and Cons: http://bit.ly/WLqoJz @jamigold
Why Author Email Addresses Make a Difference: http://bit.ly/YE7ScK @authormedia
4 traits of successful writers: http://bit.ly/WLqAZ7 @BrianKlems
Tips for formatting synopses: http://bit.ly/YE87EH @lynnettelabelle
The State of the YA Market: http://bit.ly/WLqDnL
How to Write a Killer Logline: http://bit.ly/YE8grt @diymfa
6 Elements of a Great Dystopia: http://bit.ly/WM3VMu @lkhillbooks
Changing Your Process: http://bit.ly/YFrayp @MsAnnAguirre
What Type of Edit Does Your Book Need? http://bit.ly/YFrugv @marcykennedy
Mustering the Courage to Turn Down a Publishing Contract: http://bit.ly/YFrKfz @KfirLuzzatto
Publishers Need to Think Themselves As Community Organizers: http://bit.ly/YFrUDq @brianoleary
7 Creativity Tips From a Top Mathematician: http://bit.ly/YFsb9E @passivevoiceblg
Ephemeral Horror and the Diffusion of Genre Markers: http://bit.ly/WM4ztk @KgElfland2ndCuz
25 Ways To Unstick A Stuck Story: http://bit.ly/YFsAJh {lang} @chuckwendig
A Look at the Merlin archetype: http://bit.ly/VBFAha @genelempp
Pour on the Conflict: http://bit.ly/VOjHaH
@KMWeiland
Speed-Writing: Not Just for NaNoWriMo Any More: http://bit.ly/VBFVAp @adriennedewolfe
Tips for beginning writers: http://bit.ly/VOjZOK @davey_beauchamp
The Anatomy of a Drama Pilot Sale: http://bit.ly/VBG9r3 @Julie_Gray
Selling Ebooks Direct From Your Website: http://bit.ly/VOkrMV
Tips to Surviving the Road to Publication: http://bit.ly/VOwc65 @4YALit @SeanBeaudoin
Amazon Lists: The New Slush Pile? http://bit.ly/VBM2oa @woodwardkaren
Applying the Moral Premise to your story: http://bit.ly/VOwNVp
Top writing tips from 31 debut authors: http://bit.ly/VOx1f7 @TaliaVance
Writerly Uses For Microsoft Excel: http://bit.ly/VBMtPl @JennyHansenCA
10 Things You Should Know About Plurals: http://bit.ly/VBMxyH @writerscramp1
How To Use 5 Online Mind Mapping Tools To Beat Procrastination: http://bit.ly/VOxzSk
Writing an Unplanned Sequel: http://bit.ly/VBMGly @ninapost
Reaching Tween Readers: Content Matters More than Format: http://bit.ly/VBMP8L @pubperspectives
Character vs. gimmick--a tale of 2 short stories: http://bit.ly/VOyn9I @PhilAthans
A Framework for Thinking About Author Platform: http://bit.ly/TwuB5n @janefriedman
"Eagerness to please," and the weakness of database marketing for directing
the future of SF/F: http://bit.ly/X3S40X
@juliettewade
Why it's Worth it to Purchase Your Own Domain Name: http://bit.ly/Ve2btO @HarryGuinness
3 dialogue tag issues to watch for: http://bit.ly/VQeShc
The wonder and imperfection of 1st novels: http://bit.ly/VCCqK5 @Marie_Lu
How 1 writer uses music as part of her creative process: http://bit.ly/VQfHXh @Melissa_Foster
@byrozmorris
3 Vital Pieces for Creative Success: http://bit.ly/VCCOZ4 @originalimpulse
Real dialogue isn't really real: http://bit.ly/VQfWBH
8 Do's And Don'ts Of Writing Fiction From Neil Gaiman: http://bit.ly/VCCRUF @woodwardkaren
Overcoming Your Speaking Fears to Market Your Books: http://bit.ly/VQgcAx
Working premises: http://bit.ly/WP4Rjg
@annerooney
Characterize through Experiential Description: http://bit.ly/YLKDNT @RayRhamey
Eavesdropping on publishers' conversations/concerns is vital for writers: http://bit.ly/ZbHm9q @booksquare @BKGKristen
@Porter_Anderson
How an Enterprising Author Sold a Million Self-Published Books: http://bit.ly/WP4ZPL @copyblogger
5 Common First-Chapter Mistakes: http://bit.ly/YLKJFa @jodyhedlund
How to Gain Quality Feedback from Your Critique Partners: http://bit.ly/WP5ol9 @LyndaRYoung
How To Make Your Readers Care About Your Characters On The First Page: http://bit.ly/YLLEoY @donmaass
@woodwardkaren
When do you walk away from a project? And how do you know when to come back?
http://bit.ly/YLMbHE @juliettewade
Agents and Money: http://bit.ly/WP5MjE
@kristinerusch
Topics to avoid blogging about: http://bit.ly/YLMm5G @rachellegardner
Advice From The Slushpile-8 Common Mistakes To Avoid In Submitting
Manuscripts: http://bit.ly/WP7eCH @
BryanThomasS
To MFA or not to MFA? http://bit.ly/WP7m4U
@fleurphilips
Confessions of a (Paid) Book Reviewer: http://bit.ly/YLPIG2 @luannschindler
Kickstarter for writers: http://bit.ly/TLYQ5T @rachellegardner
@CalebBreakey
An editor on writer habits and processes: http://bit.ly/TLYTyw @theresastevens
Ideas for making blogging less of a burden and best practices for ending
blogging altogether: http://bit.ly/TQIHP0
@michellerafter
Resilience: How To Deal With Criticism And Rejection: http://bit.ly/TLYZpY @markmcguinness
@thecreativepenn
How Twitter Hashtags Help Authors Find Readers: http://bit.ly/TLZ0dx @jfbookman
Self-Publishing Young Adult Fiction: http://bit.ly/TLZ5xK
The 7 Skills of Screenwriting (and Almost Every Other Kind of Writing): http://bit.ly/TQJ7VE @CockeyedCaravan
How To Use Permanently Free Books To Increase Sales: http://bit.ly/TLZdNR @woodwardkaren
3 Rules of Revision: http://bit.ly/TLZdgO
@AnnieNeugebauer
3 Ways to Get Your Story Unstuck: http://bit.ly/TQJiAc @writersdigest
Name generator: http://bit.ly/TLZhNE
@galleycat
The Un-sexy Side of Self-Publishing: http://bit.ly/TLZv7w @VictoriaSmith76
Targeting your readers with your website: http://bit.ly/TLZOPG @janvbear
What Is Your Character's Wish-Song? http://bit.ly/TQKt2I @jacobkrueger
Episodic Storytelling Is A Problem: http://bit.ly/TQKtQn @mooderino
Tips for writing your query: http://bit.ly/TLZVKQ
New survey reveals self pub sales data and writers' opinions toward trad.
pubs: http://bit.ly/VD8gAA @samatlounge
@Porter_Anderson
4 Left-Brain Exercises to Jumpstart Your Writing: http://bit.ly/TQKCDd @writersdigest
4 things 1 writer learned about self-pubbing: http://bit.ly/TQKHqC
7 Examples of Valid Passive Construction: http://bit.ly/TM02Gx @writing_tips
Why Stories Should Never Begin At The Beginning: http://bit.ly/TQKMdM {lang}
5 book marketing strategies for authors: http://bit.ly/TM0412 @bookmarketer
5 traits of writers: http://bit.ly/TQKZxC
@rileymagnus
5 Ways to Use Images to Make Your Posts Irresistible: http://bit.ly/TQL3xo @problogger
Using Excel To Outline Your NaNoWriMo Novel: Defeating the sprawl: http://bit.ly/TQL4S2 @woodwardkaren
Care About Your Characters Or Your Readers Won't: http://bit.ly/TQLKa9
7 Habits of Highly Prolific Writers: http://bit.ly/TM0BQx
Book Marketing Plans: Begin with the End in Mind: http://bit.ly/TQLSWW @janvbear
How to Juggle Writing and Life: http://bit.ly/TRp61p @ava_jae
Why your flaws should define your writing career: http://bit.ly/TMsWX1 @krissybrady
Using Setting to Add Humor: http://bit.ly/TRpixs @annastanisz
"Wool" author Howey cuts print deal with Simon & Schuster...but keeps his
digital rights: http://bit.ly/12dq9fJ
@Porter_Anderson @JDGsaid
December 14, 2012
The Importance of Doing Nothing
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Lately, I’ve had ideas bursting out of me at crazy times of the day: frequently when I’m doing something else.
I’m driving a car and am struck by three or four ideas or bits of dialogue or plot points or character names. I was honked at yesterday while dreaming at a stoplight (particularly irksome for me because I'm usually the honk-er and not the honk-ee).
I’m having a conversation with someone and get ideas.
I’m falling asleep (this is happening on a daily basis now) and getting ideas.
These ideas are for current projects, future projects, and a nonfiction project I don’t have time for but am doing anyway.
My creative thoughts are just leaping out at me during any halfway quiet moment because I’m so busy they don’t have the opportunity to naturally develop during brainstorming sessions.
The funny thing (here in the States, anyway) is that free time, where you’re just doing nothing, isn’t particularly valued.
My son, for instance, was involved in way too many activities last year. He was gone most of the time—day in and day out, on weekends, and in the evenings. He was drained, so I pulled him out of one of the main time-stealing culprits—marching band.
I ran into one of the other marching band parents and she asked me about it. I said that he was too busy and was too rarely at home.
“Well, what’s he going to do with that free time?” she asked.
I just blinked at her. Of course I was the wrong person to ask this question of. “Whatever he wants to,” I said. “Stare off into space if he wants to. It's free time."
“He’ll be bored,” she said.
“That might be a good thing.”
I can’t remember the last time I was bored. I’m frequently restless, but never bored. Being bored always led to creative pursuits for me, though.
This importance placed on structured activities is apparently not only a modern phenomenon. Here’s a bit of dialogue where Christopher Robin explains to Pooh that he won’t be around as much anymore (he’s being sent off to boarding school):
The House at Pooh Corner. A.A. Milne. 1928.
There does seem to be a conspiracy against nothingness.
I was glad to see that the other parent plans to pull her child out of band at the end of this year. Nothing against band—I take any opportunity to support arts for children—but because her son was equally run ragged.
When was the last time you penciled in some nothingness into your schedule?
Lately, I’ve had ideas bursting out of me at crazy times of the day: frequently when I’m doing something else.
I’m driving a car and am struck by three or four ideas or bits of dialogue or plot points or character names. I was honked at yesterday while dreaming at a stoplight (particularly irksome for me because I'm usually the honk-er and not the honk-ee).
I’m having a conversation with someone and get ideas.
I’m falling asleep (this is happening on a daily basis now) and getting ideas.
These ideas are for current projects, future projects, and a nonfiction project I don’t have time for but am doing anyway.
My creative thoughts are just leaping out at me during any halfway quiet moment because I’m so busy they don’t have the opportunity to naturally develop during brainstorming sessions.
The funny thing (here in the States, anyway) is that free time, where you’re just doing nothing, isn’t particularly valued.
My son, for instance, was involved in way too many activities last year. He was gone most of the time—day in and day out, on weekends, and in the evenings. He was drained, so I pulled him out of one of the main time-stealing culprits—marching band.
I ran into one of the other marching band parents and she asked me about it. I said that he was too busy and was too rarely at home.
“Well, what’s he going to do with that free time?” she asked.
I just blinked at her. Of course I was the wrong person to ask this question of. “Whatever he wants to,” I said. “Stare off into space if he wants to. It's free time."
“He’ll be bored,” she said.
“That might be a good thing.”
I can’t remember the last time I was bored. I’m frequently restless, but never bored. Being bored always led to creative pursuits for me, though.
This importance placed on structured activities is apparently not only a modern phenomenon. Here’s a bit of dialogue where Christopher Robin explains to Pooh that he won’t be around as much anymore (he’s being sent off to boarding school):
I'm not going to do nothing anymore."
"Never again?"
"Well, not so much. They don't let you."
The House at Pooh Corner. A.A. Milne. 1928.
There does seem to be a conspiracy against nothingness.
I was glad to see that the other parent plans to pull her child out of band at the end of this year. Nothing against band—I take any opportunity to support arts for children—but because her son was equally run ragged.
When was the last time you penciled in some nothingness into your schedule?
December 11, 2012
Writing in Small Chunks of Time—Pros and Cons
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I’ve mentioned before that I have a hard time sitting still. It makes me feel like I’m about five years old when I admit this, but it’s true.
This means I’ve tailored my writing routine around my restlessness.
I live by my timers (the one I use the most is a free online timer), writing straight through in short bursts of time until the bell rings. Then I usually will do either something fairly active (yard work, housework, take a walk….I have a list at the start of each day for what I need to accomplish in my non-writing time), or I’ll check in with some of my social media stuff (and I’ll set a timer to get off of social media, since it’s so easy to get sucked in there.)
I write before my kids get up—I give myself 30 minutes then.
If I’m on a tight deadline, I’ll write again in the morning, setting my timer for short periods of time until I finish that goal.
Then I write in the carpool line for about 30 minutes.
If I know that I’m going to do other things after I write, it helps me to focus on what I’m doing. It’s harder for me to know that I’m going to be writing for a couple of hours at a stretch. In fact, I won’t write for a couple of hours at a stretch unless it’s a true emergency (when I have simultaneous deadlines, for instance.) If I know I have to write for a couple of hours straight, I don’t stay at home: I’m at the library or a diner or something—I can’t stay at home with all the distractions and work.
Pros to writing this way:
Goals seem a lot less-intimidating.
I seem to get more accomplished because I’m keeping such tight track of my time. There’s no chance for social media to derail me.
I don’t get burned out.
I’ve gotten into the habit of picking up my story at a moment’s notice and working at it for anywhere from five to fifteen minutes. This is a useful skill to have. Who knows when you’ll have dead time in your day?
Cons to writing this way:
Sometimes transitions get squirrelly because I just jump right in.
I’ve found that I’m much more likely to write echoes into my writing. (Echoes are what my editors call repeating words or phrases on the same page or last couple of pages.) I think this is because a word from the previous session will stick in my head and I use it again, thinking I haven’t used it recently.
But still, even with the cons:
It all gets fixed in the edits.
So…how long are your writing sessions? Do you knock it all out at one time for a longer session? Do you break it into smaller, shorter sessions? Why have you chosen to do it that way?
I’ve mentioned before that I have a hard time sitting still. It makes me feel like I’m about five years old when I admit this, but it’s true.
This means I’ve tailored my writing routine around my restlessness.
I live by my timers (the one I use the most is a free online timer), writing straight through in short bursts of time until the bell rings. Then I usually will do either something fairly active (yard work, housework, take a walk….I have a list at the start of each day for what I need to accomplish in my non-writing time), or I’ll check in with some of my social media stuff (and I’ll set a timer to get off of social media, since it’s so easy to get sucked in there.)
I write before my kids get up—I give myself 30 minutes then.
If I’m on a tight deadline, I’ll write again in the morning, setting my timer for short periods of time until I finish that goal.
Then I write in the carpool line for about 30 minutes.
If I know that I’m going to do other things after I write, it helps me to focus on what I’m doing. It’s harder for me to know that I’m going to be writing for a couple of hours at a stretch. In fact, I won’t write for a couple of hours at a stretch unless it’s a true emergency (when I have simultaneous deadlines, for instance.) If I know I have to write for a couple of hours straight, I don’t stay at home: I’m at the library or a diner or something—I can’t stay at home with all the distractions and work.
Pros to writing this way:
Goals seem a lot less-intimidating.
I seem to get more accomplished because I’m keeping such tight track of my time. There’s no chance for social media to derail me.
I don’t get burned out.
I’ve gotten into the habit of picking up my story at a moment’s notice and working at it for anywhere from five to fifteen minutes. This is a useful skill to have. Who knows when you’ll have dead time in your day?
Cons to writing this way:
Sometimes transitions get squirrelly because I just jump right in.
I’ve found that I’m much more likely to write echoes into my writing. (Echoes are what my editors call repeating words or phrases on the same page or last couple of pages.) I think this is because a word from the previous session will stick in my head and I use it again, thinking I haven’t used it recently.
But still, even with the cons:
It all gets fixed in the edits.
So…how long are your writing sessions? Do you knock it all out at one time for a longer session? Do you break it into smaller, shorter sessions? Why have you chosen to do it that way?
December 9, 2012
Cutting the Fat from Your WIP by Gina Conroy
by Gina Conroy, @GinaConroy
When I contracted my mystery novella last year and had to cut 36,000 words from my WIP, I knew it was going to be hard. In fact, I almost bailed on submitting the anthology because I knew that would mean cutting more than half my story. The pain of deleting my brilliant prose aside, I knew it would be difficult to edit this mystery whose characters and clues were tightly woven together.
But I signed that contract, took a deep breath, and said a prayer. I could do this!
The first 10,000 words went easily when I realized there were plenty of unnecessary words I could delete. Then I started messing with my characters’ voices and that hurt. So I moved on to the boring, not so important scenes. Found a few of those. Cut a couple of fun, but unnecessary characters, and started the whole process again.
This went on for months until I was down to the last 8,000 words. I wrote to my agent telling him I was having a hard time swallowing this elephant. I couldn’t see how I could cut the last 8,000 words. He very wisely told me that when the ark is sinking, I should throw the elephant out first. In other words, find big chunks I could cut.
Problem was, I did that. Over and over again. Or did I? Sure, I got rid of the easy stuff, then the scenes I could live without, but now 8,000 words shy of my goal I had to take a closer look and go chapter by chapter salvaging the voice and heart of my story as well as cutting the stuff my book could live without. Notice I didn’t say “What I could live without!”
Was it easy? No, but I got my mystery from 56,000 down to 21,000 words. Here are some things I learned that hopefully will help you write tight and cut the fat from your WIP!
Don’t Show Everything
I know it’s been drilled into us to show don’t tell, but a wise author once said that refers primarily to emotions. I learned that I could “tell” how a person got from point A to point D and skip the details in between. Not only will it make your story move, but it will cut the word count.
Cut the Unnecessary Words
YOU KNOW that word or phrase your character ALWAYS uses all the time JUST like my character DOES. JUST cut it out ALREADY! JUST do a search for those words and CAPITALIZE them, so when you go BACK through your WIP, they jump out at you. I cut several thousand words this way.
Cut the Double Talk
I admit I’m wordy. Editing this story made me realize I often say the same thing a couple of times in different ways. For example, I might have internal dialogue and external dialogue that say similar things or my character might ask himself a question when it was already expressed in another way in a previous chapter. Not only can it be annoying to the reader, but it slows down the action. Just cut it out, no matter how much you’re in love with all the creative ways you’ve said it.
Resist the Urge to Explain (RUE)
In an effort to make my character’s motivations clear, I often tried to explain them through internal dialogue, external dialogue or both. Then I started asking myself “Does the reader need to know this now?” If the answer was no, I cut it and looked for a shorter way to weave in the motivation later. I learned, most times it was unnecessary. I had packed the scene enough that I believe the reader understood without me telling them.
Pick Your Adverbs, Adjectives, and Conjunctions Carefully
Most times, if your writing is strong, you don’t need many adverbs and adjectives. Sometimes you do. I noticed my adjectives would sometimes come in pairs. That’s when I chose one over the other. When it comes to starting a sentence, I seem to favor AND and BUT. I’m not sure why, but now that I know, I can go back and keep the conjunctions that add to the story. And I’m not talking word count.
Get Rid of Prepositions Trying to cut those last 8,000 had me looking closer at my sentence structure and prepositions. I learned by cutting certain prepositions I could save one or two words. For example, instead of “the pieces of the telescope” I could say, “the telescope’s pieces.” “Clutching a bottle of Pepcid AC” becomes “clutching a Pepcid AC bottle.” With the search and find feature, I could track down these pesky prepositions and send them packing.
Cut the Scene Short
I like to wrap up a scene sometimes with a cliff hanger, often times with internal dialogue. But if I cut the last sentence or two from the scene, it still works. Often times it reads better.
Contractions are Your Friend
This might not work for historical stories, but since my WIP was contemporary, anywhere I could use a contraction, I did. Unless your character is “proper” or foreign, most people talk in contractions anyway.
Deleting our wonderfully crafted prose is one of the hardest things we do as authors, but it’s necessary especially if you’re contracted for 20,000 words and have a story that’s 56,000. I didn’t quite make 20,000 words, but I knew my anthology partners were a little shy of their word count. I submitted 21,000…and got a note back I needed to cut another 700. How did I do it? By going back through the list above.
How do you get your word count down and what techniques have you found to make it easier?
Gina will be giving away an ebook to a randomly-chosen commenter today. Thanks for your comments!
Gina Conroy used to think she knew where her life was headed; now she’s learning to embrace life’s detours. After seven years of dream pursuit, she held her first novella, Buried Deception in the
Cherry Blossom Capers
Collection, in her hands and recently released her first full length mystery,
Digging Up Death.
Gina founded Writer...Interrupted to encourage busy writers and chronicles her triumphs and trials as she pursues her dreams while encouraging her family and others to chase after their own passions. Gina loves to connect with readers, and when she isn’t writing, teaching, or driving kids around, you can find her on Facebook and Twitter , or pursuing her new passion — ballroom and swing dancing!
Summary:
Archaeology Professor Mari Duggins is adjusting to life as a single mom and trying to balance a television career, but gets caught between the pull of her former flame, a field archaeologist, and her ex-husband who is wanted by the FBI on an antiquities crime. Then her colleague is murdered, and she gets in over her head as she searches for truth in a desert of lies. Mari Duggins’ life caves in as she tries to excavate the truth, but realizes only God can dig her out of the hole she’s created. Will Mari sort through her muddled feelings and put her trust in someone else before her world caves in? Or will the truth bury her alive?
My Novella: Buried Deception in the Cherry Blossom Capers Collection
Mount Vernon archaeology intern and widow Samantha Steele wants to provide for her children without assistance from anyone. Security guard and ex-cop Nick Porter is haunted by his past and keeps his heart guarded. But when they discover an artifact at Mount Vernon is a fake, Nick and Samantha need to work together, set aside their stubbornness, and rely on each other or the results could be deadly. Will Samantha relinquish her control to a man she hardly knows? Can Nick learn to trust again? And will they both allow God to excavate their hearts so they can find new love?
When I contracted my mystery novella last year and had to cut 36,000 words from my WIP, I knew it was going to be hard. In fact, I almost bailed on submitting the anthology because I knew that would mean cutting more than half my story. The pain of deleting my brilliant prose aside, I knew it would be difficult to edit this mystery whose characters and clues were tightly woven together.But I signed that contract, took a deep breath, and said a prayer. I could do this!
The first 10,000 words went easily when I realized there were plenty of unnecessary words I could delete. Then I started messing with my characters’ voices and that hurt. So I moved on to the boring, not so important scenes. Found a few of those. Cut a couple of fun, but unnecessary characters, and started the whole process again.
This went on for months until I was down to the last 8,000 words. I wrote to my agent telling him I was having a hard time swallowing this elephant. I couldn’t see how I could cut the last 8,000 words. He very wisely told me that when the ark is sinking, I should throw the elephant out first. In other words, find big chunks I could cut.
Problem was, I did that. Over and over again. Or did I? Sure, I got rid of the easy stuff, then the scenes I could live without, but now 8,000 words shy of my goal I had to take a closer look and go chapter by chapter salvaging the voice and heart of my story as well as cutting the stuff my book could live without. Notice I didn’t say “What I could live without!”
Was it easy? No, but I got my mystery from 56,000 down to 21,000 words. Here are some things I learned that hopefully will help you write tight and cut the fat from your WIP!
Don’t Show Everything
I know it’s been drilled into us to show don’t tell, but a wise author once said that refers primarily to emotions. I learned that I could “tell” how a person got from point A to point D and skip the details in between. Not only will it make your story move, but it will cut the word count.
Cut the Unnecessary Words
YOU KNOW that word or phrase your character ALWAYS uses all the time JUST like my character DOES. JUST cut it out ALREADY! JUST do a search for those words and CAPITALIZE them, so when you go BACK through your WIP, they jump out at you. I cut several thousand words this way.
Cut the Double Talk
I admit I’m wordy. Editing this story made me realize I often say the same thing a couple of times in different ways. For example, I might have internal dialogue and external dialogue that say similar things or my character might ask himself a question when it was already expressed in another way in a previous chapter. Not only can it be annoying to the reader, but it slows down the action. Just cut it out, no matter how much you’re in love with all the creative ways you’ve said it.
Resist the Urge to Explain (RUE)
In an effort to make my character’s motivations clear, I often tried to explain them through internal dialogue, external dialogue or both. Then I started asking myself “Does the reader need to know this now?” If the answer was no, I cut it and looked for a shorter way to weave in the motivation later. I learned, most times it was unnecessary. I had packed the scene enough that I believe the reader understood without me telling them.
Pick Your Adverbs, Adjectives, and Conjunctions Carefully
Most times, if your writing is strong, you don’t need many adverbs and adjectives. Sometimes you do. I noticed my adjectives would sometimes come in pairs. That’s when I chose one over the other. When it comes to starting a sentence, I seem to favor AND and BUT. I’m not sure why, but now that I know, I can go back and keep the conjunctions that add to the story. And I’m not talking word count.
Get Rid of Prepositions Trying to cut those last 8,000 had me looking closer at my sentence structure and prepositions. I learned by cutting certain prepositions I could save one or two words. For example, instead of “the pieces of the telescope” I could say, “the telescope’s pieces.” “Clutching a bottle of Pepcid AC” becomes “clutching a Pepcid AC bottle.” With the search and find feature, I could track down these pesky prepositions and send them packing.
Cut the Scene Short
I like to wrap up a scene sometimes with a cliff hanger, often times with internal dialogue. But if I cut the last sentence or two from the scene, it still works. Often times it reads better.
Contractions are Your Friend
This might not work for historical stories, but since my WIP was contemporary, anywhere I could use a contraction, I did. Unless your character is “proper” or foreign, most people talk in contractions anyway.
Deleting our wonderfully crafted prose is one of the hardest things we do as authors, but it’s necessary especially if you’re contracted for 20,000 words and have a story that’s 56,000. I didn’t quite make 20,000 words, but I knew my anthology partners were a little shy of their word count. I submitted 21,000…and got a note back I needed to cut another 700. How did I do it? By going back through the list above.
How do you get your word count down and what techniques have you found to make it easier?
Gina will be giving away an ebook to a randomly-chosen commenter today. Thanks for your comments!
Gina Conroy used to think she knew where her life was headed; now she’s learning to embrace life’s detours. After seven years of dream pursuit, she held her first novella, Buried Deception in the
Cherry Blossom Capers
Collection, in her hands and recently released her first full length mystery,
Digging Up Death.
Gina founded Writer...Interrupted to encourage busy writers and chronicles her triumphs and trials as she pursues her dreams while encouraging her family and others to chase after their own passions. Gina loves to connect with readers, and when she isn’t writing, teaching, or driving kids around, you can find her on Facebook and Twitter , or pursuing her new passion — ballroom and swing dancing!
Summary:
Archaeology Professor Mari Duggins is adjusting to life as a single mom and trying to balance a television career, but gets caught between the pull of her former flame, a field archaeologist, and her ex-husband who is wanted by the FBI on an antiquities crime. Then her colleague is murdered, and she gets in over her head as she searches for truth in a desert of lies. Mari Duggins’ life caves in as she tries to excavate the truth, but realizes only God can dig her out of the hole she’s created. Will Mari sort through her muddled feelings and put her trust in someone else before her world caves in? Or will the truth bury her alive?
My Novella: Buried Deception in the Cherry Blossom Capers Collection
Mount Vernon archaeology intern and widow Samantha Steele wants to provide for her children without assistance from anyone. Security guard and ex-cop Nick Porter is haunted by his past and keeps his heart guarded. But when they discover an artifact at Mount Vernon is a fake, Nick and Samantha need to work together, set aside their stubbornness, and rely on each other or the results could be deadly. Will Samantha relinquish her control to a man she hardly knows? Can Nick learn to trust again? And will they both allow God to excavate their hearts so they can find new love?
December 8, 2012
Twitterific
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Twitterific is a compilation of
all the writing links I shared the previous week.
The links are fed into the Writer’sKnowledge Base search engine (developed
by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 19,000 free
articles on writing-related topics. It's the search engine for writers.
Sign up for our free newsletter for monthly
writing tips and interviews with top contributors to the WKB or like us on Facebook.
Try “My WKB”--a way for you to
list and sort articles, view your read articles, and see your search history.
Read more about it here: http://bit.ly/S9thqS.
The free My WKB page is here: http://bit.ly/PV8Ueb.
And check out Hiveword to help you
organize your story.
How to Use Google+ as an Author
Platform: http://bit.ly/UM9oDn
Is Your Dialog Doing Double
Duty? http://bit.ly/ToPoZj @sdwriter
Media Kit for Indie Authors: http://bit.ly/UM9JpM
UK agency brings UK authors'backlist to Amer. audience--via KDP: http://bit.ly/VBFiqn@Porter_Anderson @jonnygeller @laurahazardowen
An agent with 13 business
etiquette tips: http://bit.ly/ToPxMz
@rachellegardner
Manuscript Revisions –
Exposition and Incluing: http://bit.ly/UManDJ
@VeronicaSicoe
The Super Power of
Encouragement: http://bit.ly/UMaEGT
How to Generate Ideas in Your
Sleep: http://bit.ly/ToPVL0 @write_practice
More Writing Advice From Jim
Butcher: http://bit.ly/UMb5Rj @woodwardkaren
Writing as an Act of Faith: A
Case Study: http://bit.ly/ToQ2Gj
@cherylrwrites
What one writer has learned
from self-pubbing: http://bit.ly/UMjofU
@livewritethrive
Are Some Realities Too Real For
Fiction? http://bit.ly/ToT1yw
What makes a folktale? http://bit.ly/ToT6lR @bookviewcafe
L.A. Indie Book Publishers Are
Thriving: http://bit.ly/UMmuR9 @josephalapin
Is book pirating bad for
writers? http://bit.ly/UMmDUO
How to Effectively Rebrand Your
Social Media Profiles: http://bit.ly/ToU41u
@smexaminer
Your Author Central Page: Tune
Up, Tune In: http://bit.ly/UMmZdT
@WhereWritersWin
Integrating Feedback into the
Writing Process: http://bit.ly/ToUchy
How to 'Do More' with Your
Writing: http://bit.ly/ToUk0p @serbaughman
Writing Tip: Keep an Ideas
List: http://bit.ly/UMnQLR @ava_jae
A Beginner's Guide to Marketing
Indie Literary Fiction: http://bit.ly/UMob0V
@jamesccamp @duolit
5 Questions to Ask When
Choosing an Online Writing Course: http://bit.ly/UMowRg
@krissybrady
Self-Publishers Aren't Killing
The Industry, They're Saving It: http://bit.ly/UMoTLJ
@DavidGaughran
65+ apps and resources for
writers: http://bit.ly/UMpwEW
@michellerafter
Increase your blog followers
through a giveaway: http://bit.ly/UMpRaU
@nickthacker
More thoughts on libraries and
ebook lending: http://bit.ly/UMq5ie
@MikeShatzkin
30 Windows 8 Features You
Should Know Before You Upgrade Your PC: http://bit.ly/ToV6uo
@lifehackorg
16 Paintings Featuring Books: http://bit.ly/UMqm4O @MissLiberty
All about publishing auctions: http://bit.ly/S8J7A4 @sjaejones
How (Not) to Be an Awesome
Critique Partner: http://bit.ly/S8INBx
@ava_jae
What does "literary
style" mean in terms of writing a screenplay?http://bit.ly/XZmN0x
@gointothestory
Turning Fact into Fiction: http://bit.ly/Wt5qz4 @DeeWhiteAuthor
How to Take Constructive
Criticism Like a Champ: http://bit.ly/XZn3g0
@lifehacker
Tips for Self-Publishing in the
iBookstore: http://bit.ly/Wt5tuz @galleycat
4 Lessons Running Can Teach You
About Writing: http://bit.ly/XZnbMG
@writersdigest
On stealing good ideas: http://bit.ly/Wt5zCm @mooderino
In Storytelling, Emotion Trumps
All: http://bit.ly/XZnw1Y @HP4Writers
The smartest thing in
publishing is to be flexible: http://bit.ly/Wt5E9p
@booksquare
How To Get Your Readers To
Identify With Your Main Character: http://bit.ly/XZnZkH
@woodwardkaren
How To Fund Your Book Using
Kickstarter: http://bit.ly/Wt5ONU
@whiskyguyrob
Creating characters readers
love to read: http://bit.ly/TnaFyW @4YALit
Booksellers Resisting Amazon's
Disruption: http://nyti.ms/TtzRXu
@DavidStreitfeld
Dos and Don'ts of Synopsis
Writing: http://bit.ly/TtzVq2
@lynnettelabelle
How (& Where) to Get a
Short Story Published: http://bit.ly/TnbhEC
@writersdigest
How to Become a Financially Fit
Freelancer: http://bit.ly/TtG4m1
@krissybrady
Admitting Defeat to Find
Success: http://bit.ly/Tnu0Qp @ThereseWalsh
What's the Best Way to Connect
With Readers Online? http://bit.ly/TtGgll
@JodyHedlund
12 Most James Bond Worthy Tools
for Freelancers: http://bit.ly/TnuAOc
@Susan_Silver
1 writer's journey to
publication: http://bit.ly/TtGx7O
@brandontietz
You Can Write Today: http://bit.ly/TnGqbx @noveleditor
Chuck Wendig And The Battle
Song Of The Storyteller: http://bit.ly/TnGwQp
@woodwardkaren @chuckwendig
Why Did Publishers Get So Big? http://bit.ly/X3RksS @scholarlykitchn
Can You Publish Blogged
Material As a Kindle Ebook? http://bit.ly/TnGJmz
@ninaamir
When writing romantic scenes
where does one draw the line? http://bit.ly/TnGOqz
@CindyMcDonald7
Differences in male and female
POV: http://bit.ly/TnGVlP @rebeccaberto
"Eagerness to
please," and the weakness of database marketing for directing the future
of SF/F: http://bit.ly/X3S40X @juliettewade
Tips for handling publishing's
waiting game: http://bit.ly/TgO2N7 @aswinn
Synopsis writing tips: http://bit.ly/YaxLze @lynnettelabelle
All about publishing auctions: http://bit.ly/S8J7A4 @sjaejones
Top 10 Tropes in YA: http://bit.ly/ToGiII @StrangeChem
Using Excel Keep Your Novel
Organized: http://bit.ly/ToIY9n @PBRWriter
What is Science Fiction for? http://bit.ly/TwtQcA @KgElfland2ndCuz
Tips for writing compelling
antagonists: http://bit.ly/ToJowj @KMWeiland
Tips for writing scary: http://bit.ly/TwuA1i @TaliaVance
A Framework for Thinking About
Author Platform: http://bit.ly/TwuB5n
@janefriedman
An outlining technique--answer
questions to frame your plot: http://bit.ly/ToKpEB
Why one writer signed with a
traditional publisher: http://bit.ly/TwuVkE
@lkblackburne
An agent says, "There is
no time for despair." http://bit.ly/ToKRTn
@rachellegardner
How to Speed Up Your WordPress
Site: http://bit.ly/Twv0ET @smexaminer
10 Great Authors We Should All
Stop Pigeonholing: http://bit.ly/ToLcFw
@flavorpill
Answers to Questions About
Commas: http://bit.ly/Twvivk @writing_tips
The bane of
niceties--deconstructing online commenting: http://bit.ly/ToLv3g
@jodicleghorn
The Dreaded Conference
Appointment: http://bit.ly/TwvB9s
@stevelaubeagent
Tips for better dialogue: http://bit.ly/ToMosB
The rise of literary genres: http://bit.ly/Twwejs @guardianbooks
"Amazon's the devil — and
I love it": http://bit.ly/Twwtej @salon
Losing Perspective on Your
Writing: http://bit.ly/VajyOq @roniloren
When Bad Ideas Sabotage Killer
Concepts: http://bit.ly/QSdc98 @storyfix
3 agents on the changing industry: http://bit.ly/YGkJuT @NeilBlairTBP @jonnygeller @AitkenAlexander @Porter_Anderson
3 Social Media Myths that Can
Cripple Our Author Platform: http://bit.ly/VajOgt
@kristenlambtx
Read Like an Agent: http://bit.ly/QSpZIq @diymfa
Technology: Help Or Hindrance
To Writers? http://bit.ly/QSq672
@kimber_regator
Story Questions Worth Pursuing:
http://bit.ly/VaGVYn @mooderino
Secondary characters can add
dimension and tension: http://bit.ly/VaH8dU
@juliettewade
4 Things a Character List
Reveals about Your Novel: http://bit.ly/QSqlPe
@fictionnotes
Blank Page? 5 Ways to Find
Inspiration: http://bit.ly/QSqxOI @L_Meyer
Hiding in the Writing Closet:
Good or Bad? http://bit.ly/VaHKjR
@jodyhedlund
Using ancient beliefs in the
Underworld to inspire our writing: http://bit.ly/VaIfdA
@GeneLempp
A Writing Exercise For Engaging
Your Readers: http://bit.ly/RoSUUy
@writersdigest
Think Outside Your Genre: http://bit.ly/Vc2nw3 @amiekaufman
2 Ways Your Brain is Wired to
Undermine Your Story – And What To Do About It: http://bit.ly/Vc2WWz
@LisaCron
The Art and Use of Fantastic
Criticism: http://bit.ly/Vc3c80
Tips for writing dialogue: http://bit.ly/RoUfdS @JordanDane
Tips for better book signings: http://bit.ly/RoUhCx+|+Duolit%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
@duolit
How To Earn A Living As A
Self-Published Writer: http://bit.ly/Vc3wnb
@woodwardkaren
Freelancers--how to collect an
overdue payment for a story: http://bit.ly/VoNnyw
@michelleRafter
Self-publishing requires a
business mindset: http://bit.ly/Ve1OiZ
@thecreativepenn
Timeframes and The Editing
Process: http://bit.ly/VoNCtJ @LRGiles
The Business of Screenwriting:
Low-budget filmmaking: http://bit.ly/Ve1YHf
@gointothestory
Why it's Worth it to Purchase
Your Own Domain Name: http://bit.ly/Ve2btO
@HarryGuinness
An agent's tips for writing a
1-sentence summary: http://bit.ly/TEn5Di
@rachellegardner
Which Point of View Is Right
For You? http://bit.ly/TEn7v5 @woodwardkaren
How to Write a Book Proposal: http://bit.ly/TBms0x @janefriedman
Creating a Cliffhanger in 3
Easy Steps: http://bit.ly/TEnjKM
How spending even 15 min. a day
on writing can benefit your story: http://bit.ly/TBmzZO
Bringing The Theater to Your
Writing: http://bit.ly/TEnAgF
@fantasyfaction
Are You Cut Out to be an Indie
Publisher? http://bit.ly/TBmKUV @ninaamir
Creating The Perfect Villain: http://bit.ly/TEnHsw (video) @jacobkrueger
Actions Speaks Louder Than
Words…Especially in Fiction: http://bit.ly/TEnTbp
@writtendreams
Blogging a book--killing 3
birds with 1 stone: http://bit.ly/11tAN1M
@ninaamir
A Writer's Five Stages of
Rejection: http://bit.ly/11tB3xw
Cardboard Characters: http://bit.ly/11tBgB3 @novelrocket
Physical Attributes Thesaurus
Entry: Eyes: http://bit.ly/11tBs2Z
@beccapuglisi
Writing Rules and Fantasy:
Show, Don't Tell: http://bit.ly/11tBUOY
@VickyThinks
Checklist for a Helpful
Critique: http://bit.ly/Tyws7k
@howtowriteshop
10 Ways to Stay True to
Yourself in Publishing: http://bit.ly/11tCufp
@writersdigest
The Simplest Advice for Writing
to "The End": http://bit.ly/TywzQ7
@museinks
Screenwriting--script diaries: http://bit.ly/11tCOLf @gointothestory
Yes, Your Submission Phobia Is
Holding You Back: http://bit.ly/11tD0tZ
Getting your book in front of
readers: http://bit.ly/SJ4G98 @LauraHoward78
Synopsis writing tips: http://bit.ly/XlxWaS @susanspann
Self-publishing strategizing: http://bit.ly/SJ53AF @authornordin
7 Ways to Get Your Book
Reviewed: http://bit.ly/XlHmmK @LauraPepWu
8 Words to Seek and Destroy in
Your Writing: http://bit.ly/SJcuHS
@robdyoungwrites
7 Best iPad Apps for Freelance
Writers: http://bit.ly/XlHAdH @nickthacker
Tips for approaching book
bloggers for reviews: http://bit.ly/SJcGqE
@bookmarketer
A Study of Plot: Looking for
Cause and Effect in a Synopsis: http://bit.ly/XlHLW9
@janice_hardy
The transformation of
publishing: http://bit.ly/SJcKXF
@guardianbooks
Bridging the Sales – Visibility
Gap: http://bit.ly/XmKwXs @sharonbially
Freelancers--Spinning Your Way
to Profits: http://bit.ly/XmKH53 @bob_brooke
The Sensual Writer--Taste vs.
Flavor: http://bit.ly/XmKZc7
Serial Fiction: Is It
Profitable? http://bit.ly/XmL5At
@woodwardkaren
20 Ways to Use and Enhance Blog
Photos: http://bit.ly/SK1x98 @heidicohen
Forget grammar during your 1st
draft: http://bit.ly/XmLrac @GrammarGirl
Book Covers: Photography vs.
Illustration: http://bit.ly/SK1OsE
@blurbisaverb
The Perils of Internet
Information: http://bit.ly/XmMxmu
@jamesscottbell
E-Serials as the “3rd Layer” in
the Publishing World: http://bit.ly/SJTmcZ
@dcroog @pubperspectives
The recipe for writing a
bestseller [infographic]: http://bit.ly/SK26j7
@dgquarterly
A dual crime-fiction
trend--violence against women, but strong female protagonists: http://bit.ly/RBi56s @mkinberg
Crowdfunding: Is Kickstarter
Losing Its Kick? http://bit.ly/VC34yQ
@Porter_Anderson @PatrickRwrites @Suw
3 NaNo NoNos: http://bit.ly/RBwkZ4 @jemifraser
@writeangleblog
Industry expert and indie
leader on the Author Solutions deal with S&S: http://bit.ly/VBBINc
@MikeShatzkin @DavidGaughran @Porter_Anderson
Tips for collecting and organizing ideas--"couponing" for authors: http://bit.ly/VOMFr2
December 6, 2012
“Couponing” for Authors—Guest Post by J.L. Greger
by J.L. Greger
“Couponing” for Authors
Every shopper likes a good deal; every writer likes a clever idea. Most of us see lots of great ideas, but forget most of them. That’s why I “coupon” them.
Is “couponing” a real word?
One definition (found on The Free Dictionary) is the sending out or turning in coupons. That’s not the meaning I want to focus on today. I want to target all the “guides to couponing” found on the WEB and in popular women’s magazines.
Couponing ideas for writing:
I substituted the word ideas for coupons in a composite guide for couponing. My examples will focus on the development of my two novels Coming Flu , a medical thriller published by Oak Tree Press in July 2012, and Murder: A New Way to Lose Weight, a medical mystery to be published in April 2013. They are the start of a medical mystery series set in the Southwest.
Look for ideas everywhere. Printed materials, TV, ads, etc.
I like to include bits of science in my novels to add authenticity. So when I read Science and other scientific journals weekly, I pull pages that look interesting. I save maps and postcards (with notes) when I travel. Now for the hard part.
Identify a use for ideas.
Write on each saved item an anticipated use when you clip it.
For example in April 2010, I read an article “The Microbes Made Me Eat It” (Science 328: 179-180) and labeled it, in my messy scrawl, “novel on obesity.”
Focus your collection activities.
Random collections are difficult to use and bulky to store. That’s one problem with computers, most of us save too much unsorted (or poorly sorted) fluff.
Throughout 2010, I looked for and found interesting articles in medical journals on how the trillion microorganisms in our guts influence us, including our weight control or lack of it. The result was Dr. Izzy Roth and Dr. Richard Varegos, the diet doctors in Murder: A New Way to Lose Weight . Of course, Izzy is killed in the first chapter of this medical mystery and Richard is suspected.
Keep a file of quotes.
Ads and students comments in classes often provide the best quotes.
Currently I’m trying to create a character to be described by this quote from Oscar Wilde. “Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go.”
Don’t save stuff that is easily available on the Web.
To emphasize how difficult it is to lose weight, I set many scenes in Murder: A New Way to Lose Weight in popular restaurants in the Albuquerque area. I used the menus published on the web to give descriptions of food.
File ideas the day you get them.
This is a good idea, but I can’t give an example because I’m not that organized.
Review ideas regularly and purge.
In 2006, I started saving articles on mutations in the flu virus, the development of vaccines, epidemics, and the Model State Emergency Health Powers Act with the intent of using them in a novel. Re-examining the file when it was a half-inch thick finally gave me the incentive to start writing Coming Flu . Yes, I did use this information to create a realistic (certainly not optimal, but not a worst case scenario either) of what could happen if a new and deadly mutation of the flu virus hit a community before vaccines to the new virus were available.
Are you ready now to start couponing your ideas?
JL Greger was a faculty member in the biological sciences for more than for 25 years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She also served as the associate dean in the graduate and medical medical school at UW and as VP of Research at the University of Connecticut. Now she enjoys putting tidbits of science into her fiction. She hopes her novels help to increase interest by women and minorities in careers in science.
Coming Flu (paperback and ebook versions) is available now on Amazon.
Look for Murder: A New Way to Lose Weight in March 2013.
“Couponing” for AuthorsEvery shopper likes a good deal; every writer likes a clever idea. Most of us see lots of great ideas, but forget most of them. That’s why I “coupon” them.
Is “couponing” a real word?
One definition (found on The Free Dictionary) is the sending out or turning in coupons. That’s not the meaning I want to focus on today. I want to target all the “guides to couponing” found on the WEB and in popular women’s magazines.
Couponing ideas for writing:
I substituted the word ideas for coupons in a composite guide for couponing. My examples will focus on the development of my two novels Coming Flu , a medical thriller published by Oak Tree Press in July 2012, and Murder: A New Way to Lose Weight, a medical mystery to be published in April 2013. They are the start of a medical mystery series set in the Southwest.
Look for ideas everywhere. Printed materials, TV, ads, etc.
I like to include bits of science in my novels to add authenticity. So when I read Science and other scientific journals weekly, I pull pages that look interesting. I save maps and postcards (with notes) when I travel. Now for the hard part.
Identify a use for ideas.
Write on each saved item an anticipated use when you clip it.
For example in April 2010, I read an article “The Microbes Made Me Eat It” (Science 328: 179-180) and labeled it, in my messy scrawl, “novel on obesity.”
Focus your collection activities.
Random collections are difficult to use and bulky to store. That’s one problem with computers, most of us save too much unsorted (or poorly sorted) fluff.
Throughout 2010, I looked for and found interesting articles in medical journals on how the trillion microorganisms in our guts influence us, including our weight control or lack of it. The result was Dr. Izzy Roth and Dr. Richard Varegos, the diet doctors in Murder: A New Way to Lose Weight . Of course, Izzy is killed in the first chapter of this medical mystery and Richard is suspected.
Keep a file of quotes.
Ads and students comments in classes often provide the best quotes.
Currently I’m trying to create a character to be described by this quote from Oscar Wilde. “Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go.”
Don’t save stuff that is easily available on the Web.
To emphasize how difficult it is to lose weight, I set many scenes in Murder: A New Way to Lose Weight in popular restaurants in the Albuquerque area. I used the menus published on the web to give descriptions of food.
File ideas the day you get them.
This is a good idea, but I can’t give an example because I’m not that organized.
Review ideas regularly and purge.
In 2006, I started saving articles on mutations in the flu virus, the development of vaccines, epidemics, and the Model State Emergency Health Powers Act with the intent of using them in a novel. Re-examining the file when it was a half-inch thick finally gave me the incentive to start writing Coming Flu . Yes, I did use this information to create a realistic (certainly not optimal, but not a worst case scenario either) of what could happen if a new and deadly mutation of the flu virus hit a community before vaccines to the new virus were available.
Are you ready now to start couponing your ideas?
JL Greger was a faculty member in the biological sciences for more than for 25 years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She also served as the associate dean in the graduate and medical medical school at UW and as VP of Research at the University of Connecticut. Now she enjoys putting tidbits of science into her fiction. She hopes her novels help to increase interest by women and minorities in careers in science.
Coming Flu (paperback and ebook versions) is available now on Amazon.
Look for Murder: A New Way to Lose Weight in March 2013.
December 4, 2012
The Evolving Published Story
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I read a Salon post by Joseph Lord-- “Walking Dead” author is OK with AMC’s creative liberties"-- on Sunday that struck a particular chord with me.
The article was about Walking Dead creator, Robert Kirkman’s, thoughts on AMC’s plot changes and character changes for the series (Walking Dead started out as a graphic novel.) Basically, as the post’s title indicates, Kirkman was fine with it.
But what I was especially interested in was this statement from Salon writer Joseph Lord:
The article goes on to explain that Kirkman is creatively involved with the television show, which means he’s helping craft the changes.
What I found most thought-provoking was the attitude behind this statement—that creative fulfillment can be found by tinkering with a completed, published story.
Now, the reason Kirkman’s story is changing is primarily because it’s going from one medium to another. But I’ve also noticed this post-production editing phenomenon with the sudden popularity of ebooks. Even with some of my stories.
No matter what you might hear about traditional publishing’s superior editing process—mistakes still happen. I hate to admit that. I didn’t catch them, even though I read the manuscripts until I was cross-eyed. My editor didn’t catch them and Penguin’s proofreader didn’t, either. I’ve made small mistakes in, I believe, nearly every single one of my books. Not big mistakes—but hey…they’re all big mistakes if readers contact you over them.
And readers do contact you. They don’t look at the acknowledgments page and find the editor’s name and send her an email. Which is fine—it’s my book. I’m the public face for the book.
I’ve heard about a variety of different flubs on my part with my Penguin books. Each time I apologized to the reader who drew it to my attention, explaining that the last thing I wanted was to draw her out of the story. And…that was basically it. When the reader asked if the book could be corrected, I said if I was told it was going into another printing, I’d ask my editor to see if it could be corrected. As far as the ebooks…I’ve never heard it suggested that Penguin will correct those after the fact.
On the other hand…I’ve also heard about a couple of minor errors (still…errors…grr) in my Myrtle Clover self-published mysteries. You won’t find those errors—I removed them myself and republished the books. Again, I apologized to the readers who drew my mistakes to my attention. But this time, I had the real pleasure of telling them that I would correct the errors. And that was a pleasure. There’s nothing like fixing a problem.
That’s a big difference right there between traditional and self-published.
But, aside from proofreading….what might evolving books mean for the future?
I have some mixed feelings about changing books, post-publication. I’ve read posts where writers argue for story integrity—the story is the story. I understand where they’re coming from.
What if our story is a bit outdated? What if we mention Facebook in our ebook and Facebook goes under (oh happy day!)? Should we go back into our story and remove the reference and republish? Or will this destroy historical texture in our books? Okay, maybe we won’t do that with a Facebook reference. But what if our backlist book referred to the Twin Towers and we were republishing it as an ebook? Would we update those types of references, given the opportunity? What if Dickens and his descendants had updated his story all the way to the present day?
Of course, nonfiction might acutally benefit from this approach. Imagine creating a resource that doesn't become obsolete or outdated.
On the pro side—I don’t think I’m the only one who has ever reread an old book I wrote and wanted to make changes. A better word, a better bit of dialogue. A stronger verb. Who’d even notice the difference?
On the con side--there is such a thing as over-writing. I know I used to write the life out of my story and the personality out of my characters by scrubbing relentlessly at my manuscript over and over again...when it was really fine to begin with.
What about reader preference? What if an author read complaints about the sagging middle of his published book—then he had a fantastic idea about changing it? Should the readers influence the book’s text?
Maybe the above example was a weak one…because I think many authors would want to fix a weak scene or two if they knew how to. What if it were a more controversial change? What if a writer received complaints about the profanity in his books? Should readers get a vote on that? What if it were fifteen readers complaining? What if it were a hundred? Would that change our answer? How much input should readers have? How responsive should future authors be and what’s our responsibility to our readers, ourselves, and our story?
One other point…we do need to get on with writing our next book, don’t we? To establish a name for ourselves, income, and a career. It’s probably not in our own best interests to stay stuck on the same books…after a certain point, anyway.
Or—can we/should we, as the article stated—“revel in the opportunity to revisit, re-craft and re-create”?
How much messing with a book is too much? And y’all…I don’t have an answer for this, so I was hoping you could weigh in. Maybe our responsibility is to the reader to provide the most perfect entertainment we can and to capitulate to their requests. Maybe that's outrageous for a finished book. Maybe our responsibility is to the story itself. But...I know that when I’ve gone into my self-pubbed books to make my proofreading corrections, I couldn’t resist tinkering with other stuff, too. Where does it stop?
Image: MorgueFile: jdurham
I read a Salon post by Joseph Lord-- “Walking Dead” author is OK with AMC’s creative liberties"-- on Sunday that struck a particular chord with me. The article was about Walking Dead creator, Robert Kirkman’s, thoughts on AMC’s plot changes and character changes for the series (Walking Dead started out as a graphic novel.) Basically, as the post’s title indicates, Kirkman was fine with it.
But what I was especially interested in was this statement from Salon writer Joseph Lord:
…he doesn’t mind the implicit criticism — and revels in the opportunity to revisit, re-craft and re-create five-year-old writing.
The article goes on to explain that Kirkman is creatively involved with the television show, which means he’s helping craft the changes.
What I found most thought-provoking was the attitude behind this statement—that creative fulfillment can be found by tinkering with a completed, published story.
Now, the reason Kirkman’s story is changing is primarily because it’s going from one medium to another. But I’ve also noticed this post-production editing phenomenon with the sudden popularity of ebooks. Even with some of my stories.
No matter what you might hear about traditional publishing’s superior editing process—mistakes still happen. I hate to admit that. I didn’t catch them, even though I read the manuscripts until I was cross-eyed. My editor didn’t catch them and Penguin’s proofreader didn’t, either. I’ve made small mistakes in, I believe, nearly every single one of my books. Not big mistakes—but hey…they’re all big mistakes if readers contact you over them.
And readers do contact you. They don’t look at the acknowledgments page and find the editor’s name and send her an email. Which is fine—it’s my book. I’m the public face for the book.
I’ve heard about a variety of different flubs on my part with my Penguin books. Each time I apologized to the reader who drew it to my attention, explaining that the last thing I wanted was to draw her out of the story. And…that was basically it. When the reader asked if the book could be corrected, I said if I was told it was going into another printing, I’d ask my editor to see if it could be corrected. As far as the ebooks…I’ve never heard it suggested that Penguin will correct those after the fact.
On the other hand…I’ve also heard about a couple of minor errors (still…errors…grr) in my Myrtle Clover self-published mysteries. You won’t find those errors—I removed them myself and republished the books. Again, I apologized to the readers who drew my mistakes to my attention. But this time, I had the real pleasure of telling them that I would correct the errors. And that was a pleasure. There’s nothing like fixing a problem.
That’s a big difference right there between traditional and self-published.
But, aside from proofreading….what might evolving books mean for the future?
I have some mixed feelings about changing books, post-publication. I’ve read posts where writers argue for story integrity—the story is the story. I understand where they’re coming from.
What if our story is a bit outdated? What if we mention Facebook in our ebook and Facebook goes under (oh happy day!)? Should we go back into our story and remove the reference and republish? Or will this destroy historical texture in our books? Okay, maybe we won’t do that with a Facebook reference. But what if our backlist book referred to the Twin Towers and we were republishing it as an ebook? Would we update those types of references, given the opportunity? What if Dickens and his descendants had updated his story all the way to the present day?
Of course, nonfiction might acutally benefit from this approach. Imagine creating a resource that doesn't become obsolete or outdated.
On the pro side—I don’t think I’m the only one who has ever reread an old book I wrote and wanted to make changes. A better word, a better bit of dialogue. A stronger verb. Who’d even notice the difference?
On the con side--there is such a thing as over-writing. I know I used to write the life out of my story and the personality out of my characters by scrubbing relentlessly at my manuscript over and over again...when it was really fine to begin with.
What about reader preference? What if an author read complaints about the sagging middle of his published book—then he had a fantastic idea about changing it? Should the readers influence the book’s text?
Maybe the above example was a weak one…because I think many authors would want to fix a weak scene or two if they knew how to. What if it were a more controversial change? What if a writer received complaints about the profanity in his books? Should readers get a vote on that? What if it were fifteen readers complaining? What if it were a hundred? Would that change our answer? How much input should readers have? How responsive should future authors be and what’s our responsibility to our readers, ourselves, and our story?
One other point…we do need to get on with writing our next book, don’t we? To establish a name for ourselves, income, and a career. It’s probably not in our own best interests to stay stuck on the same books…after a certain point, anyway.
Or—can we/should we, as the article stated—“revel in the opportunity to revisit, re-craft and re-create”?
How much messing with a book is too much? And y’all…I don’t have an answer for this, so I was hoping you could weigh in. Maybe our responsibility is to the reader to provide the most perfect entertainment we can and to capitulate to their requests. Maybe that's outrageous for a finished book. Maybe our responsibility is to the story itself. But...I know that when I’ve gone into my self-pubbed books to make my proofreading corrections, I couldn’t resist tinkering with other stuff, too. Where does it stop?
Image: MorgueFile: jdurham
