Elizabeth Spann Craig's Blog, page 196

The Importance of Covers

I've been thinking a lot lately about cover appeal.

Wednesday, I went to our Borders' going-out-of-business sale (which makes me sad) and picked up a book for my teenage son. I looked at the book, briefly read the cover copy and bought it. When my son saw the book that evening, he glanced at the cover, which depicted a dystopian scene of apocalyptic disaster (left). He said, "This will work. Thanks."

Which bothered me a little. I made him read the back cover copy and he repeated that he would enjoy it. Then I thought about it…I'd really done the same thing. Looking at the cover, I knew in a second it was dystopian—his favorite genre. It seemed similar to other books he'd enjoyed—even down to the male and female protagonists on the cover. It made me buy the book, much as I hated to think it.

One of my editors called me about a cover earlier this week. She was preparing for the cover conference for the first quilting mystery and wanted to ask me what the Civil War quilt I mentioned in my manuscript looked like.

I hesitated. "Well, in my head, the quilt wasn't very attractive. It was just old. How about if I sent you some attachments with some quilts that look similar to the one I imagined? And if it needs to be a pretty quilt, that will work fine. I never wrote that it was an ugly quilt."

I knew that something attractive needed to be on the cover.

Then I've been busily working with a designer for the ebook I'm about to release. She wanted to tie in the book with the feel of the first, traditionally-published book in the series. She used the same colors, a similar font. I liked the simplicity and the humor in the cover. And….it looked good in a thumbnail, which is becoming more and more important.

I still like to think that covers are just a small part of a book's appeal. In reality, though, I'm not so sure.

How important do you think covers are to a potential reader? What do you think the qualities of a good cover are….and, are these qualities changing with the digital revolution?

When Your Writing Seems Wooden

You can usually tell when someone really loves to write.

The writing seems animated, sparkling, sharp. When I volunteer at my daughter's elementary school, there are some stories that even really young children have written that just pop off the page.

But frequently I'll read passages in books that seem really flat to me. There's no passion at all in it…just a straight narrative.

Sometimes if we overthink what we're writing, we can mess ourselves up, too. It can also be a sign of over-vigorous editing.

Infusing Life in Your Writing:

Consider your voice. Is the delivery flat? How you tell the story is uniquely yours…but you need to discover that voice.

Get your characters moving. Are your characters spending too much time sitting at diners and talking? Maybe it's time to kick your characters in the rear and get them to move around a little. They don't have to be jogging or anything—they could be looking for something they misplaced and be absentmindedly answering the protagonist's questions. They could be washing their car. Change the scenery, use some verbs. Give them some action to respond to or have them instigate action.

Cut out the dead wood. Is there a scene that's really pedantic? Is it necessary? Pinpoint the information that the scene is there to convey. If it doesn't advance the plot, develop conflict, or assist characterization, then why is it there? Cut it out. If it does advance the plot, see if there's a way to rewrite the scene to give it more feeling.

Create settings that pop. Make your setting pop by using vivid words and imagery.

Change the sentence structure. Are you stuck in a subject-predicate pattern? Try switching the arrangement of your sentences a little. Start a sentence with a verb, prepositional phrase, or adverb.

Consider your choice of words. Are you writing in an accessible way? What kind of an impression is our vocabulary or style giving the reader? The worst thing to do is sound pedantic or as if we're talking down to our reader. Plus, it's not drawing the reader in. And, usually? It reads very woodenly to me.

Use more dialogue. A conversation between characters that moves the plot forward or provides some character development is a great way to liven up a wooden scene.

Use both long sentences and short sentences. Mixing up the sentence length lends the text a different rhythm and pace.

Show, don't tell. Instead of telling how a character feels about something, show the emotion through the character's actions. There are times where telling is better than showing (action sequences, for example), but for the most part, it's more interesting for the reader if they can draw their own conclusions instead of being spoon-fed information.

Consider the project itself. Have you lost interest in it? If you're writing woodenly day after day, it could be symptomatic of a problem on your end. Have you fallen in love with an idea for a different novel? Have you written yourself into a hole? Assess what's changed.

Has your WIP ever sounded flat? What did you do to fix it?

Handling Backstory

I went to see the new Smurf movie with my daughter and her two friends yesterday. :)

When I go to kids' movies, I try to be a good sport. I channel my inner child, I suspend my disbelief, I try to get into a sillier mood.

I'm aware that sometimes I might be a pain to go to the movies with, so I have a rule that I keep my mouth shut if I feel the need to be critical.

So when Gargamel dumped a huge load of Smurfy backstory on Azrael the cat, I just made a mental note of the transgression and didn't make a peep.

It was a pretty obvious dump—he explained how Papa Smurf had 99 boy Smurfs and then ended up with one girl—Smurfette. It was information that, to me, was distracting. I'd always just assumed, as a casual observer (I was a little old for the Smurfs when they debuted on US TV…my little sister watched them) that Papa Smurf was some kind of tribal leader. Did I need to know that the Smurfs were related (except, as more backstory reveals later, Smurfette)? Not really.

These are some questions I ask myself when dealing with backstory:



Is it necessary? Can I edit it out and not lose anything?

Can it be used suspensefully, if I need to include it? Can I reveal it later in the story and use the information to make readers turn pages to discover more?

Can I reveal the backstory to a newly introduced character in a more natural way?

Can I include a small amount in dialogue (without making it sound like Gargamel's conversation with Azrael?)

Can a small amount be included with my character's thoughts or in her memory?

Can I matter of factly slip in concise information as a tag? Mark's sister, Tina, or Mark's sister Tina was a nurse at the regional hospital.

And, by the way? If you're nine, you'll probably love the Smurfs. :)

How do you work in backstory?

Cover Designers, Freelance Editors, Ebook Formatters

Saturday, I mentioned that it was difficult for writers to locate and sort through the wilderness of editors, designers, and formatters.

I suggested, in fact, that there should be some ebook Sherpas to help give guidance. :)

Since there's a distinct lack of ebook Sherpas at this point in the game (I'm sure there will soon be some entrepreneurs in this field…maybe even former agents), I thought that at least we could provide a spot for professionals to announce that they offered services for self-publishing writers.

The editor, designer, and formatter should be the ones to leave their contact info, though—I know most of us know some people in this field (I know a handful, too), but maybe they wouldn't want to be added at this point by a writer (they could be too busy, or wanting pursue another field, etc.) But writers could email or tweet them and ask if they wanted to be added to our list.

This will probably be a list that will grow as we go. :) So I'm leaving the post open.

If you'd like to be added to the list, please either email me at elizabethspanncraig (at) gmail (dot) com or comment on this post. Websites or blogs would be especially wonderful to leave a link to, so we could get a better sense of you or your work.

I'll sort the different professionals into categories (cover designers, etc.) and will open up a new blog with a page for each category, as a sort of directory. I'll link to it on my sidebar and tweet it a bit. I can't be a Sherpa, so this will be an effort such as a writer-with-very-little-time might come up with. :) But I do like the idea of having some sort of Yellow Pages for writers with these kinds of services in one place.

If you know of anyone, please ask them if they'd like to be listed.

Looking at the Benefits of Both Traditional and Self-Publishing

I wrote a post on Saturday that covered the different things I'd learned in the process of preparing a book for e-publishing.

But although I mentioned the fact that many of my friends and family have been surprised (or confused or even concerned) that I was going to put a book out myself, I didn't really talk about the reasons behind my choice to self-publish a book.

So consequently, I've gotten some emails asking me why I am. And if I thought that's what all writers needed to do.

I don't. I think writers should pursue traditional publishing. This is, I think, a fairly controversial opinion! I've seen other authors expressing different opinions.

Positives of Traditional Publishing:

You learn a ton with a professional editor.

Your books will be distributed to stores and can find readers who don't own e-readers.

You learn the particular kinds of errors you're prone to.

You learn how to correct your errors.

You learn how to be part of a team.

The mechanics of book production are handled by the publisher.

If you're agented, you might receive new writing opportunities from your agent (it happened to me.)

You gain confidence as a writer.

You're likely fulfilling a lifelong dream.

That being said---being traditionally published isn't up to the writer. It's up to professionals in the industry.

These days, getting rejected doesn't mean that you can't share your book with the world anymore.

My reasons for self-publishing:

I'm self-publishing two books (one now, one as soon as I get it whipped into shape.) Both are part of a discontinued series. I received the rights to the character back and I've got readers still emailing me asking for the next story. I decided it didn't make sense for me to sit on books that I could be making some sort of profit on. Plus, I love the characters in the series and wanted to share more of their stores.

But I'm continuing traditional publishing, too. I've got a new series debuting with Penguin next year.

Positives of Self-Publishing

Traditionally published authors who have a backlist that they own the rights to can resurrect series that are no longer in stores.

Writers who don't write commercially viable or easily-defined books can find readers.

Writers have more control over their books and content.

Writers receive a higher profit margin.

Writers who are overwhelmed by the process of querying agents and publishers can avoid it.

The important thing to remember:

We all need to write books that are worthy of readers. Have we edited until we're sick of it? If the book isn't any good, it won't be accepted by publishers…and it won't find readers, even self-published.

I think the best thing we can do as writers is to write as much as we can. If we're traditionally published and keeping up with deadlines, that might mean writing a short story collection or a series written especially for e-publishing.

If we're new writers, that might mean trying to pursue traditional publishing, but continuing to write new books or short stories during the query process (stories which can then either be queried or e-published.)

We should keep writing, keep improving, keep enjoying the process. I really do think this is a very good time to be a writer.

Have you considered self-publishing? Are you still planning a traditionally published career? Have I missed any pros or cons of either choice?

Twitterific

Below are my tweets from the last week.

Hope you'll enter this month's WKB giveaway for a chance to win Donald Maass' excellent Writing the Breakout Novel, from our friends at Writer's Digest. Enter the drawing by signing up for the WKB newsletter.

Blogging with typewriters? Sure! http://bit.ly/p4IpyV

Incompetent characters in crime fiction & how they add to a story: http://bit.ly/onl3lw @mkinberg

The core of the arts: http://bit.ly/nTOM3M @WriteAngleBlog

3 Ways to Rehab Your Inner Critic: http://bit.ly/p7Pwew @BookEmDonna

The 5 Biggest Mistakes Writers Make on Their Websites: http://bit.ly/n0lH7G @thecreativepenn

How to Style Names of Food: http://bit.ly/qKL8TS

Should You Make Your Romance Novel Erotic? http://bit.ly/nZv73e

5 More Mistakes That Will Expose You As a Rookie: http://bit.ly/qkTqEU

The Hybrid Writer: Balancing Traditional and Self-pub: http://bit.ly/qw2uqB @pubperspectives

Writers' Blogs: 5 Essentials for Engaging Your Readers: http://bit.ly/nFRTzB @jfbookman

What 1 writer told her family about publishing: http://bit.ly/npp0Ko

1 Simple Question All Writers Should Ask Themselves: http://bit.ly/pJG3J3

Being the other: http://bit.ly/ogHzMS @bookviewcafe

Healthy Eating Habits for an Awesome Writing Day: http://bit.ly/nG2OXb

How To Make One Story into Many By Being Multimedia Savvy: http://bit.ly/oqxD1d

A Look behind Lod's World, or How to Strike Gold: http://bit.ly/r9rjdI

Reasons why 1 writer opted for a book trailer: http://bit.ly/qwR2z5 @JodyHedlund

Saying You Want to Write Versus Actually Writing: http://bit.ly/p9xvIh

Google+ for writers: http://bit.ly/nzVbQb

Don't query until the manuscript is ready: http://bit.ly/qLzSDn

Research your book's details, but... http://bit.ly/oq3MVw @authorterryo

Thesis statement for fiction: http://bit.ly/pjuls3

3 tricks to make your manuscript seem fresh when revising: http://bit.ly/oXKZmk @jillkemerer

Why Blogging About Writing Can Help Writers Improve: http://bit.ly/okjVzx

Everything I Needed to Know About Living with a Writer I Learned by Living with a Writer: http://bit.ly/neyhps @BTMargins

Author branding vs. experimentation: http://bit.ly/o6rqYW @mkinberg

A mid-distance point of view: http://bit.ly/n9RoHo

An agent on first lines: http://bit.ly/qR7Zcx

What everybody misses about chapter breaks: http://bit.ly/p6soPN @dirtywhitecandy

Why Most of What You've Read About Characterization is Untrue: http://bit.ly/p7Nqcq

Choosing Narrative Distance in Multiple Third Person: http://bit.ly/o88kCz

4 Writing Crutches that Insult the Reader's Intelligence: http://bit.ly/nqefsO

Should Books Have a Rating System? http://bit.ly/qcSOuz @JamiGold

Revisions: raising your story on multiple levels: http://bit.ly/pTMArF @JulietteWade

The Art of Revising: Macro Revision: http://bit.ly/nbpfQZ

How to Make Yourself Write When You Really Really Don't Want To: http://bit.ly/pTtwJj

Why Fantasy Isn't Just for Kids (WSJ): http://on.wsj.com/ql88vr

Why Your Serial Fiction Is Likely to Fail and What To Do About It: http://bit.ly/r4FPSy

What it Takes to be an Indie Author http://bit.ly/pzs63T @JoanSwan

A look at layering in subtext, with Harry Potter as an example: http://bit.ly/nAUSVe

Writing lessons from the U.S. women's soccer team: http://bit.ly/phTKii @laurapauling

Editors are Calling For Projects, But Where Are The Authors? http://bit.ly/qWxHAJ

6 More Things Writers Won't Miss About the Big 6 "When They're Gone": http://bit.ly/nn6xE2 @annerallen

4 Tips for Pitching Guest Posts Like a Pro: http://bit.ly/rkGy6B

How to rewrite rapidly and efficiently: http://bit.ly/ndwMui @jammer0501

What Will Publishing Look Like in 2021? http://bit.ly/okihUn @AnneRAllen

Scaling Syndication: http://bit.ly/pQxUkh @RavenRequiem13

Word Count Goals: How Much is Too Much? http://bit.ly/raWEEq @GeoffreyCubbage

Writing with an IPad: http://bit.ly/nFSohy @yamuses

On Brands and In Person Appearances: http://bit.ly/p0dQCz

Beasts, Monsters and Eldritch Abominations: http://bit.ly/qlEUpG

Why 1 social media guru failed at maintaining 2 Twitter accounts: http://bit.ly/qTlldS @MarianSchembari

The best-laid plans: http://bit.ly/ni6dhy @elspethwrites

The importance of writers' networks: http://bit.ly/rpR3EA

So, You Want to Sell More Books at Amazon--reviews: http://bit.ly/py3pbS

Conference Prep: Six Essentials for Your Checklist: http://bit.ly/ofHJZ3

Writers: You Are Responsible For Your Own Career: http://bit.ly/nUn3ZA @PassiveVoiceBlg

The "New Author Platform" – What you need to know: http://bit.ly/pDf6Gi

Choosing the Right Literary Magazine for Your Work: http://bit.ly/ofpepr

An agent with tips for effective email communication: http://bit.ly/pT1ONJ

The Three P's of Writing Women's Fiction: http://bit.ly/r4tPDX

Logic, Emotional Truth and Inspiration in Stories: http://bit.ly/pSqWOW @dirtywhitecandy @Janice_Hardy

Identifying Your Writing Strengths, step 3: http://bit.ly/oxLaeu @msforster

Draft Your Platform Action Plan: 5 Worksheets: http://bit.ly/np8goc @JaneFriedman

How to Save Money on Your Book Proof Corrections: http://bit.ly/nA3gZp

5 ways to keep our writing brains active: http://bit.ly/rj57Tb @JulieMusil

The 99 Cent Ghetto: http://bit.ly/rapRbM

The Art of Writing Continuities: http://bit.ly/oJ63q3

Good Writing = Good Grammar: http://bit.ly/q7nbR4

Tips for Surviving the Pitch Session: http://bit.ly/nIk5A9 @MuseInks

The Cure for Frustrated Writer's Syndrome: http://bit.ly/nZ8KHW

Saturated settings: http://bit.ly/puJWoL @RavenRequiem13

Cyberpunk as a SF subgenre: http://bit.ly/mXqyOS

My thoughts on Google+: http://bit.ly/qUCesO

5 Ways to Use Flickr Photos for Writing Inspiration: http://bit.ly/nvwzq1 @writeitsideways

On ADD and Writing: http://bit.ly/poAIFs

On influencers: http://bit.ly/nbUmqt

A 10-Point Comma Quiz: http://bit.ly/num7rL

Would You See Your Character At The Mall? http://bit.ly/ntU1PQ @greyhausagency

A ratings system for books, part 2--including context? http://bit.ly/oPzPtR @JamiGold

What Drives a Story: Plot or Characters? http://bit.ly/qhumER @JamiGold

6 Daily Habits for Facebook Marketing Success: http://bit.ly/pYdkxg

Anton Chekhov's First Lines: http://bit.ly/qKbjzs

The importance of team-building on Twitter: http://bit.ly/p4v58r

An agent on creating genres: http://bit.ly/p5IMAy

Speech mannerisms and body language: http://bit.ly/qNDtdG @JulieMusil

Tips for short story writing: http://bit.ly/r0UaTY @sherryisaac @JoanSwan

Twisting and deepening the final battle (with plot twists): http://bit.ly/ngnIvf @HP4Writers

Dangling, Squinting, Messed Up Modifiers: http://bit.ly/nRwPXb @YAHighway

17 Stock Plots: http://bit.ly/oqzCIf

Turn off your distractions: http://bit.ly/p9GFfu

Working with book bloggers: http://bit.ly/re3fLG

One writer asks, "Do I still want an agent?" http://bit.ly/rjVZfB @DorteHJ

3 mistakes 1 newbie critiquer made: http://bit.ly/rlaSVu @marybaka

Creating the *Feel* of a World: http://bit.ly/oLHZ8M @JulietteWade

How to Keep Up Online Without Losing Your Mind: http://bit.ly/pw1RSt

Agents in Conflict with Clients – Issues and Responses: http://bit.ly/qbj7BE @PassiveVoiceBlg

Why Bad Writing is Essential to Good Blogging: http://bit.ly/qqgnkC

In Praise of Working Late: 10 Reasons to Write at Night: http://bit.ly/njYgnR @GeoffeyCubbage

Powerful Settings: Finding What is Unique for Your Characters: http://bit.ly/pb1zMn

Killing the Sacred Cows of Publishing: Book as Event: http://bit.ly/n5NV2A

Why You Should Never Comment on Blogs. Ever. http://bit.ly/pfCEc2

Writing from the Panicked Side of the Brain: http://bit.ly/nMOXp1 @BTMargins

Why Prologues Often Don't Work: http://bit.ly/qgOani

How book bloggers are like agents: http://bit.ly/pxmfdT

Dialogue Development: http://bit.ly/ruLiu6

On phobias and tips for handling public speaking (1 of the most common fears): http://bit.ly/qL9iKr @Jhansenwrites

How to build a villain: http://bit.ly/riR0k6

How to speak publisher - D is for deadline: http://bit.ly/qJOkxv

Revising a scene--remembering the big picture & questions to help you edit: http://bit.ly/q5Ufmd

How to Write Like a Viking: http://bit.ly/nPyoEI

Beating the "Sugar" Addiction–Tightening the Writing: http://bit.ly/olScOK

Finding Your Hidden Audience: Advice from a Book Marketer: http://bit.ly/qxd0u6

Being careful of what we say and write: http://bit.ly/pTClqW

Why You Should Kick Your Story Aside and Write a Different One: http://bit.ly/pdRk8P @KMWeiland

Pre-Revision: Before You Break Out the Red Ink: http://bit.ly/qMC0nm

Using dashes instead of ellipses: http://bit.ly/oOJYHJ

An agent's tips for writing queries: http://bit.ly/r83H8B

How To Co-Write A Book Without Falling Out (Or Committing Murder!): http://bit.ly/qUwIAk @BubbleCow

Working mythical allusions into your story: http://bit.ly/ptaBvY @HP4Writers

Build your brand name: http://bit.ly/qBZhVN @keligwyn

Thoughts on writing for kids: http://bit.ly/nVSyRn

Quirky Characters: Can You Relate? http://bit.ly/pGYTZI

Friends or Enemies? http://bit.ly/ogglSS @KatieGanshert

Ageism in the literary world: http://ind.pn/qa4Skb (The Independent)

It's Not Who You Circle; It's Who Circles You: http://bit.ly/qEhRgb

Practical Tips on Writing a Book from 23 Brilliant Authors: http://bit.ly/qIrSL5

Novel Pitching Made Easy: http://bit.ly/p15zaq @catewoods

The true price of publishing (Guardian): http://bit.ly/r62Wtn

How to Read a Book Contract – Agents and the Law: http://bit.ly/pRfGud @PassiveVoiceBlg

Digital and high r.r.p.s hitting hardback sales: http://bit.ly/o9iWBn

Tips for writing for kids: http://bit.ly/pvGGP3 @writeangleblog

The Don't Ask, Don't Tell of Writing: http://bit.ly/qg84cg @AEWrites

The ultimate ordeal from the hero's journey, with Harry Potter as an illustration: http://bit.ly/okMvZ4 @HP4Writers

The 23 Blogger Breeds—Which Are You? http://bit.ly/oFMexQ

Dialogue as a rhythm: http://bit.ly/rbTVvK @FantasyFaction

5 Ways to Kick Your Writing up a Notch: http://bit.ly/nqVDEL

If you normally blog about writing, how will you promote your fiction? http://bit.ly/q2Mppb @dirtywhitecandy

The correct way to format dialogue: http://bit.ly/oB4nOH @bubblecow

How Books Work: The Hunger Games: http://bit.ly/nejVVk

Using Distractions to Your Advantage: http://bit.ly/pmQUUn

Write even faster: http://bit.ly/nFsNlB

How to lose a reader in 10 pages--the visual disadvantage: http://bit.ly/qpkhLV

How to Silence Readers From Commenting on Your Blog: http://bit.ly/naPvzr

1 writer's tools of the trade: http://bit.ly/qrr1VK

On Showing Up, Changing Your Life & Limited Goals: http://bit.ly/pSbiM9

Things Are Changing But We Have To Be Careful: http://bit.ly/p2FWzO

When writers embellish the truth: http://bit.ly/oerUtn

5 Reasons Why All Freelance Writers Should Learn To Write a Sales Letter: http://bit.ly/okuQ3x

Finding your voice: http://zenhabits.net/voice/

The art of getting more traffic for your blog: http://bit.ly/oC7hH2

The tricky nature of sending free book promo to bloggers: http://bit.ly/oVyluh

Antidotes for excuses: http://bit.ly/q4PDVq @JulieMusil

What's Inside Your Dystopia? http://bit.ly/pke9KV

5 filler words to choke out of your writing: http://bit.ly/qppVZO @Grammar_Diva

How to Undress a Victorian Lady in Your Next Historical Romance (WSJ): http://on.wsj.com/nNxbuW

Book Blog Tours and Review Sites: http://bit.ly/ogzZ9d

Thoughts on Creating Ebooks

Creating an ebook has been a learning experience.

First off, for some reason I'm always surprised that non-writers aren't really aware of the major changes going on in publishing. I guess I shouldn't, but I'd think that as a reader, they'd realize that things were rapidly changing. I've certainly been aware of changes in the music and film industries.

But when friends and acquaintances ask me if I've got any releases coming out, I tell them, "Yes, I've got a book coming out in November—the third book in the Memphis series with Penguin. And I'm about to put out an ebook, myself." And you should see the reaction. They're very confused about my reasons for self-publishing. Actually, every one of them have been completely shocked. I just tell them that the industry is changing and I'm trying to just go with the flow and pursue both traditional and e-publishing.

Another thing I've noticed is how confusing the process is for someone who's just been casually reading about e-publishing for the last six months. You can find advice supporting nearly any position you want to take on price, platform, and formatting. The writer has to pick through this huge mess of services and information to find a match—who can edit? Who can design a cover reasonably? Who can do interior design (which is something I wanted—page design for my ebooks)? Is it better to upload to Smashwords? Through each platform separately? Where do I get ISBNs and should I get them? And e-publishing is changing daily.

It makes me think that there is definitely a job market there for ebook service Sherpas. I don't think it's something agents should go into unless they quit being agents, though, for obvious conflict of interest reasons. (If they want to sell you e-publishing services, are they actually going to try to send your manuscript out to traditional publishers? How thorough would that search for a publisher be?)

I've also noticed a reticence among some traditionally published writers to give e-publishing a go—although this reticence is being quickly eschewed to chase the money. :) But I've seen real arguments on some of my writing loops where authors who've already taken the plunge are fussing at other authors for not wanting to put more money into the upfront costs of the project for the long-term benefits.

That's because, I think, traditionally published writers haven't had to worry about all the mechanics of book production and suddenly picking up those costs is a shock. Many traditionally published authors also tend to quickly forget that ebooks are forever….they don't have the short shelf life of our physical bookstore novels. So any upfront investment is for a long-term harvest.

Have you taken the e-book plunge? What have you learned in the process?

Short Descriptions of Our Book

A couple of weeks ago we visited family in Alabama.

My father-in-law offered to take the kids and me to see the new Harry Potter movie. Of course they were delighted (it was all sold out here in Charlotte) and we headed off to the theater.

We settled into our seats, put on our 3-D glasses, and I leaned over and asked my father-in-law if he'd seen part one of the movie, prepared to set the stage for him a little if needed.

"No," he said. "I haven't seen any of the movies."

I froze. "None of them? And you haven't read the books, either?"

"Not a one."

The previews were starting. I leaned closer and said, "Okay. Harry Potter is with the good guys. The bad guys want to kill everybody. It's good versus evil." It was all I had time to tell him.

He nodded. "Got it!"

Amazingly, although obviously he missed a lot of references and the whole wand thing at the end might have been confusing, he was able to really enjoy the movie and not be totally lost. Because it did boil down to a suspenseful question of whether the good guys were going to beat the bad guys. A familiar scene whether you're talking about Macbeth or Lord of the Flies or an episode of Law and Order.

The nice thing about writing traditional mysteries is that the theme is very basic and understandable. I can quickly summarize my books: someone rubs people the wrong way. This person is killed. A sleuth investigates and learns who did it.

But all books should be able to be fairly easily summed up. This is important for pitching a book in person or writing a query letter. It's also important if you're writing sales copy for a self-published book. Because readers usually want a book that sounds like something they can understand.

Looking at the New York Times' bestseller list right now, there are super-short descriptions of each novel. Some of them are better than others:

PORTRAIT OF A SPY, by Daniel Silva. (HarperCollins.) To stop a network of death, an international operative must reach into his violent past.

NOW YOU SEE HER, by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge. Nina Bloom, who years ago changed her identity to save her life, is forced to confront the past and the killer she thought she had escaped.

THE CONFESSION, by John Grisham. (Knopf Doubleday.) A criminal wants to save an innocent man on death row, but he must convince the authorities he's telling the truth.

Can you sum up your story super-briefly? How have you boiled it down to just the bare bones?

Looking at the Big Picture When We Revise

Hi everyone!

Today is my day on A Good Blog is Hard to Find. I'm posting about scenes that don't work and my approach for diagnosing the problem and finding a cure. Hope you'll join me!

Do I still want an agent? by Dorte H. Jakobsen

Hope you'll welcome my friend, Dorte Jakobsen, here today. Dorte has a brand-new release, The Cosy Knave, her first novel (I'm about 1/3 of the way through, and it's a delight.) Welcome, Dorte!

It will hardly come as a surprise for any of Elizabeth´s readers that I found the inspiration for this guest post via one of her own links. Elizabeth, your blog is an invaluable source for the aspiring writer! And thank you for inviting me; it is a pleasure and an honour to be here.

In January I took the first, tiny step towards becoming a self-published author by sending out a collection of thirteen flash fiction stories. At that time I really believed I would continue searching for an agent for my humorous novel, "The Cosy Knave". And I did send off a handful of queries to various agencies in the spring, but without much success.

I know that some of you will think ´a handful is not many´, and you are right, of course, but one of the things I have learnt is that I absolutely, totally loathe writing queries. And the power of British & American agents and publishers also bothers me. Hardly any Danish writer uses an agent, and no matter which serious publisher we send manuscripts to, they will at least send us a standard rejection before or later. No one celebrates rejections, but at least you know where you stand. And honestly, how much would it cost the agent to send back a short ´no thank you´? (Some of them do, but it seems to be the minority).

So I don´t know exactly what happened when, but in April I sent off two queries and received this auto-reply:

"I have received your query/submission. You will not hear from me again unless I want to see more of your work. If you haven't received another email from me within 8 weeks, assume that I do not wish to read more of your work at this time."

And somehow my eyes fixed on those ´8 weeks´, and I made up my mind I had written my last queries (certainly for "The Cosy Knave", possibly for ever).

Well, the eight weeks are history, and on the first of August I published my first full-length novel via Amazon and Smashwords. Now the big question is: do I still want an agent?

Honestly, I am not so sure. It would be nice to have a traditional publisher who would print and distribute paper books for me, someone who could add weight and credibility to the upstart from tiny Denmark, plus an experienced editor I could discuss certain manuscript points with, but an agent? Someone who could take 15 % of my income for doing things I have struggled hard to learn over the last six months? I have already learnt that though I prefer Smashwords in some ways, I definitely need Amazon (well, their customers that is). I have learnt the power of offering short stories and flash fiction cheaply or for free, getting some reviews in return. I have also learnt a lot about the generosity of blog friends, and which social media that seem to suit me. I can recommend Facebook and Goodreads, I am not quite so sure I really feel at home on Twitter yet.

If my debut novel turns out to be a total flop, I may reconsider the agent question (though it will probably be next to impossible to get one in that case), but on the whole I really like being my own master. I listen to the excellent advice I get from friends and fellow writers, but basically I can do exactly what I like whenever I want to. So even though an agent might land me more money in the long term, I am probably too stubborn to give up my independence now. And 15 % - forget it!

Dorte Jakobsen is a Danish teacher who lives in the beautiful region of Thy. In her spare time she reads and writes crime fiction. The Cosy Knave released August 1. You can find Dorte on her blog, and on Facebook.

The Cosy Knave is priced at $3.99, but if you buy at Smashwords and use this coupon code: PN22N, you get a 25% discount. A synopsis: The vicious attacks begin when the prodigal son of Knavesborough returns to the sleepy village after forty years in Argentina with fame and fortune. No wonder that spiteful Rose Walnut-Whip is killed, but when the violence escalates, Constable Penrose knows he needs help from his fiancée, librarian Rhapsody Gershwin.

"The Cosy Knave" is available on Smashwords.com, Amazon.com
and Diesel ebooks.