Larry Brooks's Blog, page 48

Deconstruction of a Novel: "Bait and Switch"

"Bait and Switch" was published in 2004 by Signet (a Penguin-Putnam imprint) in 2004.  This is what it looked like:

 

It didn't sell all that well, but that assessment is, of course, relative. 

In today's self-publishing market, 60,000 copies would be considered a home run.  But it wasn't self-published (indeed, it was from a "Big-6″ outfit), and compared to my first novel ("Darkness Bound," also published by Penguin, in 2000), a USA Today bestseller which sold over 200,000 copies, it was a lame duck, but one with a bit of a pedigree, as it turned out. 

Which is why and how I got the rights back.

Both numbers pale in comparison to the sales of A-list novelists and the rare seven-figure iconic books ("The Help" has sold over 20 million copies, "The Lovely Bones" over 7 million copies, and "The Davinci Code" clocking in at over 90 million copies and counting).

Which proves nothing if not this: we should never compare our results with those of others.  Having anyone — any one – read our work is an honor and a privilege.  The rest is largely out of our control.

I recently republished "Bait and Switch" as a digital downloadable ebook, available through all the usual channels.  That version looks like this:

But there's more to the story behind this book… and the "making of" aspects of it.

Which prompts me to address the question you may be asking yourself, relative to this deconstruction… why should I care? 

I have a couple of reasons to offer.

First, the book was a critical home run.  Which justifies our deconstruction of it (which, I should add, is by rather popular demand since the digial republishing and the little promotion that accompanied it… this is my end of the deal).

Upon publication it received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, followed by their selecting it their lead July 2004 Editor's Choice.  At year-end it was named to two PW lists, one of which I'm proud of, the other of which still puzzles me: "Best Books of 2004 – Mass Market" (lead entry)… and "Best Overlooked Books of 2004″ (the only paperback original so-named).

Then came the reviews, two of which I've posted below to help convince you that this will be time (and perhaps money, since you really should read the book to get the most out of this exercise) well spent.

The other thing, besides the book itself, is the nature of this deconstruction. 

I've yet to see an author — much less someone who claims to be a teacher in this realm — analyze their own work to this level of detail.  I'll lay it all out there for you, including the moments of desperate guesswork (inevitable, no matter how well you plan or how much you know) and the overtly Machievellian manipulation of the reader.

The first post will illustrate the strategy behind the book's double-barbed opening hooks, which set the tone for the whole story.

Hoping you'll join us.  Past deconstructions have — based on feedback — provided a monster load of insight and learning for all, including me.

If you need to find the book, you can get it on Kindle HERE… on Smashwords HERE (be sure to read the review on that page)… on Nook HERE… at the Apple iTunes Bookstore… and as a used paperback from Amazon.com HERE.

I have two other of my earlier novels available as ebooks, as well (see sidebar), in addition to my latest, "Whisper of the Seventh Thunder," which won a big honkin' award last year.

Those reviews…
From Publishers Weekly
In a sexy tale laced with plenty of surprise twists, Brooks (Pressure Points, etc.) examines the underbelly of high society and paints an ugly portrait of greed in America. Wolfgang Schmitt, a newly single former model looking for an excuse to leave the advertising industry, finds his opening when billionaire Nelson Scott offers him a million dollars to seduce his wife. Schmitt's involvement with Kelly Scott would trigger a prenuptial clause, ensuring Kelly can't get her hands on her husband's fortune—or so Schmitt is led to believe. After wrestling with his conscience, Schmitt accepts the assignment and immediately gets swept up in a complicated plot involving betrayal and murder. This intoxicating and intelligent tale of corporate corruption feels as authentic as a true crime chronicle, but Schmitt's first-person narration ensures that it is much more entertaining. Brooks balances Schmitt's wry, wisecracking nature with a rare moral fortitude, resulting in a likeable protagonist whose cynicism never fails to entertain (Entry #201 in Schmitt's work in progress, Bullshit in America: "The price of movie popcorn—the time for rebellion is now. Take a big purse and stop at your local convenience store on the way. Then leave the candy wrappers on the floor so they'll know. It's what Rosa Parks would have done"). In a savvy move, Brooks concludes this book with a question mark, leaving it wide open for a sequel. Readers will welcome the prospect.

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
 
From Bookreporter.com

5.0 out of 5 stars
An addictive novel with surprising and complex plot twists, September 24, 2004


By Bookreporter.com (New York, New York) – See all my reviews


This review is from: Bait and Switch (Paperback)
 

Mass market paperbacks — the ones that you find on the revolving display at the drugstore, or on displays by the hundreds at your local big box department store — lend themselves for impulse buying. Got something long and boring on the horizon, like a plane ride, afternoon at the beach, or court-ordered marriage counseling? Grab a paperback on your way to the chip aisle. Who can resist a paperback? The price of admission is relatively low, so if the book turns out to be a dud, you haven't invested much; they don't take up a lot of room; and they can be held with one hand and, if you're practiced and/or dexterous enough, you can turn the page with your thumb. And, once in a while, you take a chance and find a treasure, like BAIT AND SWITCH by Larry Brooks.

The opening gambit of BAIT AND SWITCH would be only mildly interesting in the hands of a writer with lesser ability than Brooks. Wolfgang Schmitt is a former model currently stuck in an advertising job that he has come by degrees to abhor, and he is still reeling from the abrupt end of the relationship with the love of his life. It is ironic that he is also a part-time relationship expert, being the author of a monthly column on the subject for a women's magazine.

Nelson Scott is a self-made millionaire who can buy anything except his personal freedom. His wife, Kelly, holds the keys to that kingdom and is set to make him pay heavily. Scott's only hope is a condition of his prenuptial agreement that will enable him to escape the matrimonial bonds with his considerable fortune more or less intact. For that to happen, however, Kelly has to cohabit with another man for 30 days. It doesn't look like that's going to happen. Scott's plan, therefore, is to have Schmitt seduce Kelly. Given that Schmitt is an expert on relationships, this should be a piece of cake, especially with Scott's ability to manufacture a new identity for Schmitt right down to the last nuance. Schmitt, in return for his time and trouble, gets to play with lots of new luxury toys and receives a significant amount of money. Of course, wooing and seducing a beautiful woman is nothing to sneeze at either. Schmitt sets to work — that term is applied loosely here — and appears to be well on his way to accomplishing his mission.

BAIT AND SWITCH would be a great book if it was only a subtle reworking of INDECENT PROPOSAL. But it's much more than that. Brooks, a little over a third of the way through, begins dropping hints that there may be much more involved than divorce settlement machinations. And, indeed, what seems to be a fairly straightforward storyline takes some curves and turns that leave you smiling, shaking your head in wonder, and, most importantly, reading. For a while Schmitt thinks that he is the violinist to Kelly's Stradivarius; he is, in fact, only the bow. Schmitt is getting played, big time. But he's not the only one.

BAIT AND SWITCH has a complex plot, but Brooks is such a masterful writer that it doesn't seem so involved. Brooks is in no hurry here; he takes his time guiding the reader through a few labyrinths, but does so with a sure-footed assurance that never permits the plot to drag or droop. Surprises abound, practically to the last page, which contains a surprisingly satisfying ending and a tantalizing promise of more to come. I, for one, will be waiting.

— Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

Author note: that sequel is finished, by the way, and in the hands of my agent.  Stay tuned.

Deconstruction of a Novel: "Bait and Switch" is a post from: Larry Brooks at storyfix.com

Update: New Fiction Posted on the Peer Review Page

A Call For Community

Last week we launched the new "Peer Review Page," where writers at all levels can post their work, and anybody can read it and offer up their feedback.

Feedback is good.  Especially when it comes from other writers. 

It is truly a win-win deal.  Because once you know story architecture — which is the objective here — you can't "unsee" it.  You recognize it on the page when you do see it (with an appreciation of how it makes the story work), and you miss it when you don't. 

Those very realizations cement your grasp of what will make your stories work.

And, it should be noted, despite our best intentions we don't usually see story architecture on our pages the same way others do.  So it's good to get feedback. 

Confirm or coach.  It's a gift both ways.

When we launched there were four wonderful pieces posted, and they have received some solid, illuminating feedback.  They're still here, but now they have company.

Since then other brave authors have followed suit, and now there is a much larger handful of submissions to choose from.  What follows here is a linked menu, including a SYNOPSIS/LOGLINE to catch your eye.

I encourage you to read these pieces and offer your comments.  That's the engine of this opportunity, so please make a little time and read something you just might find amazing. 

Because amazing is here in these listings.

*****

August 23, 2011

AUTHOR:  Melinda Jones

TITLE: "Try To Say No"

GENRE: Adult contemporary fiction

SYNOPSIS/LOGLINE: She should say no. But she won't.

****************************

AUTHOR: Lois Hudson

TITLE: "The Tenth Month"

GENRE: Adult Contemporary/Speculative Edge

PREMISE/SYNOPSIS:  What if God closed the womb to get the world's attention because of our cavalier attitudes toward life?

****************************

AUTHOR:   Olga Oliver

TITLE:  "Lizbeth's Journey" (Mainstream, partial novel)

GENRE:  Mainstream

SYNOPSIS:  What if three secrets are unlocked and give Lizbeth Kelleye her real self.

******

August 21, 2011

AUTHOR: Jennifer Vaughn

TITLE: "When the Demons Come" (WIP)

GENRE: Mainstream commercial fiction

SYNOPSIS/LOGLINE: Lyla Chandler is pregnant. But when the doctor tells her there's something very unique about her pregnancy, it becomes the perfect way to escape a nightmare.

******

August 20, 2011

AUTHOR: Jennifer Vaughn

TITLE: "Echo Valley"

GENRE: Adult contemporary mainstream fiction

SYNOPSIS/LOGINE: Single mother hairdresser Bo Carmichael becomes an unacceptable risk when she unwittingly catches a leading presidential candidate in a compromising position.

******

August 19, 2011

AUTHOR: Luisa Perkins

TITLE: "The Desolate"

GENRE: YA/Fanatasy (novel partial)

SYNOPSIS/LOGLINE: Out-of-body experiences? Cool–until your life gets stolen while you're gone.

******

August 18, 2011 

AUTHOR: Fiona Mackenzie

TITLE: "Watching Chinooks"

GENRE: Women's short fiction

DESCRIPTION: a story told against a military setting

******

August 15, 2011

AUTHOR: Martha Pound Miller

TITLE: "Virgin of the Desert"

GENRE: Fiction/novel partial/thriller

SYNOPSIS: When young Sparrow Thibault takes a swim in an Arizona canal, she is struck by lightning and begins hearing a voice in her head: "You are pregnant and will soon give birth to the next messiah."

*********************************************

AUTHOR: David Monroe

TITLE: "The Get Back Job" (partial)

GENRE: Modern crime noir

SYNOPSIS:  Jocko Myles got outta-the-life of being a bounty hunter for the Mob.  But when sex-slave traffickers' start kidnapping girls – Jocko goes on the hunt again.

********************************************

AUTHOR: Jennifer Blanchard (www.procrastinatingwriters.com)

TITLE: "In the Pouring Rain" (short story)

GENRE: romance

SYNOPSIS:  What if you discovered your new girlfriend's mom is a woman you not only dated in the past, but are actually still in love with her? 

AUTHOR QUESTIONS/ISSUES (how you can help): Do the flashbacks work or do they make it hard to follow the story? Is the plot believable?

*********************************************

AUTHOR: Donna Lodge

TITLE: "Canary"

GENRE: Short story (fantasy/fiction)

SYNOPSIS:  What if a dead coal-miner believes he can save his son from danger by warning him while he dreams?

*********************************************

Update: New Fiction Posted on the Peer Review Page is a post from: Larry Brooks at storyfix.com

Announcing the Launch of the Storyfix Peer Review Page

A place to post your work… get it read… get some feedback… and/or, find something fresh and interesting to read.
Or just maybe… get discovered.

There are many ways to grow as a writer.  On my journey, one of the most enlightening, empowering and affirming of all the available learning modes has been to read and critique the work of unpublished authors.

That's right — unpublished authors.

Unless you belong to a critique group, pretty much anything you read has already been published.  Which means it's been through the grind of agents and editors at several levels.  If there was a mistake or a weakness in the original version, chances are it's been found and fixed. 

Which, in turn means, you really don't learn much as a reader. 

At that point, it either works for you or it doesn't.

This truism is softened somewhat by the proliferation of self-published work via Kindle and the other digital venues. but even then, chances are the work has been vetted to some degree.

Why This Is An Important Opportunity For You

Sometimes the infrastructure of a story is invisible to the unschooled eye of the reader.  Unless, of course, they've been exposed to the nuts and bolts of story architecture, in which case uneven and poorly structured work virtually screams out at you. 

It's like wine tasting.  Some people say they know the good stuff when they taste it… but how many really do?  And how many can describe what's missing?  

Same with writing.  As writers, we need to strive to become practicing sommeliers of our craft.  What we pour out needs to be as vetted, polished and finely aged as what we read.  And for that to happen, we need to practice taste-testing as much as possible, something we can't objectively do on our own work.

As writers we need to know what to look for.  We need to recognize it in what we read before we can execute it in our own work. 

That's the mission of this website.   Then, when we see it — either executed well, or not — we affirm our own grasp of these concepts.  The more you study story architecture (all six core competencies that comprise it), the more quickly and easily you'll spot it — or notice that it's off the mark — on the page.

Published work rarely affords us that opportunity. 

But that is about to change… right here, right now. 

Because now you can read the serious work of your peers — unpublished — to test your eye for story architecture and solid writing in general.  And, you can add value to these courageous writers by providing them direct feedback right on the page from which you've read it.

Or, you can become one of those courageous writers yourself by posting your work here and exposing it to the feedback of your peers.

The Storyfix Peer Review Page is up and running. 

There are a handful of high-quality manuscripts already posted. 

CLICK HERE to read them and, if you choose, add your feedback (select from a menu of available postings, then click-through to the Author page to read the submission; all rights remain with the author, including Copyright; this posting does not constitute publication, per se, but rather, a private-venue sharing of work for feedback purposes).

No charge for reading and commenting by the way.  Duh. 

If you'd like to learn more about this opportunity, CLICK HERE to go to the Peer Review Welcome page.

If you'd like to submit your work, CLICK HERE to see how. 

There is a nominal one-time charge for my admin time (a whopping $25), since formatting and page linking is required.

I encourage you to participate at both ends of this opportunity.  And, to share it with your fellow writers. 

Who knows… one of the readers here may be an agent, editor or producer… because I'm going to announce and promote this page to them with great urgency and enthusiasm.  There's already some stellar work on display here, and more is certainly on the way.

Announcing the Launch of the Storyfix Peer Review Page is a post from: Larry Brooks at storyfix.com

Wanted: Your Thoughts about "The Help"… the Film

It came out this week.  I saw it.  I'm betting you did, too.  Or will soon.

You're invited to share your thoughts here, either in general or in context to our recent deconstruction series on the book.  If you missed it, it's all available in the July archives.  Dig in and join the discussion!

My take: great acting, and a wonderful adaptation.  The approach to the story has been criticized, and while I understand the commentary, the overall adaptation is really good, one of the most literal I've ever seen.  I smell Oscar action, at least for two or three actors.

Also… a MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT is forthcoming within a day or two about a new Storyfix feature that will allow you to post your work here on the site and give your peers a chance to review and comment.  Stay tuned.

Wanted: Your Thoughts about "The Help"… the Film is a post from: Larry Brooks at storyfix.com

Guest Post: The Thing About Theme – What Are You Trying to Say?

by Jessica Flory

Theme in your writing is as tricky to pin down as it is tough to implement.  And yet, working in a great theme is absolutely essential to your novel.

If you want to publish, that is.  And, if self-publishing, if you want your work to have an impact.

Dictionary Definition

First of all, what is theme? The definition is pretty elusive, but it can most easily be classified as the overall message of your writing.

Why are you writing in the first place? Writing is hard, so why are you doing it? Ask yourself, why are you slogging through that novel? It's long, at times tedious, but it's still worth it. Why is that?

It's because you have a message.

You have something to say.

Figure out what that is, and you've got your theme.

Why Do I Need a Theme?

It's a good question, one that's pertinent to every writer. Working with theme is crucial if you want to write and write well. No one wants to read a book that floats from topic to topic. Having a solid core to build your story around, that drives your message home at the oh-so -critical climax, will leave your readers breathless.

Now that's just about every author's dream.

Expertly crafted theme will:

    Give Your Writing Life: We all live, we all have problems that we need to resolve, and we all have core principles. Address these problems; bring to light those values!
    Add Depth to Your Writing: Theme, expertly executed, will fill your writing with compelling content and a deeper meaning. When you have a purpose to your writing, a message of human goodness that you're trying to get out there, the emotional level of your writing is dramatically increased.
    Make Your Writing Stick: With theme incorporated, your writing will stick with your readers! Theme will tie your writing together cohesively and give it an undertone with the same message. Your readers may not remember the details of your words, but they'll remember what statement you made and the emotional level that you brought them to.

How to Work it In

Theme is tough to define, and it's even harder when you're trying to artfully weave it into a story. Here are a few ideas for incorporating theme and giving your writing that extra boost:

    No Overloading: First of all, know that where theme is concerned, less is more. Loads more. Don't try to incorporate ten different themes and make them all work. Pick one main theme that you want to address and maybe a few lesser themes that also peek through your story.
    Work With What's Important to You: Chances are it will be important to your readers, too. Have you had an experience in your life that tested your courage? Write about that. Readers will immediately feel drawn to your story. It will demonstrate to them true principles of bravery, and it will feel real because you've experienced it and you can write about it well. A theme can be anything from courage, hope, peace, love, and sacrifice, to fulfilling your dreams, going for your goals, or hard work.
    Center Your Story: Place the central points of your story around your chosen theme. Include anecdotes that demonstrate the quality you're trying to show. The theme should be the main message of your book, and it should come out at the climax.

Extra Tip

A great way to make theme the center of your story is to work with your character's flaws. Give them a flaw that they must overcome before the conclusion of the story can be reached.

For example, if you want courage to be your main theme, make your main character very afraid of facing their fears. Then have them go through a series of events that demonstrate the need for courage, make them determined to overcome their character flaw, and have them face their fears against all peril for a dramatic and satisfying finish.

Congratulations. You've just made courage your main theme.

Theme is as difficult to define as it is to incorporate, but it can be done. When it is, when theme is woven and intertwined in a story so skillfully that it sweeps the reader off their feet and carries them for the ride of their lives, it works. Theme can take your story to new heights, so what are you waiting for? Go for it!

Visit Jessica's site, Write for Life, for more thoughtful blog posts on the writing experience.

Guest Post: The Thing About Theme – What Are You Trying to Say? is a post from: Larry Brooks at storyfix.com

A Tip, An Update, Some Stuff and a Little Rant

The Tip

Don't buy stock this week.

Another tip, this one about writing.

Sometimes the best conventional wisdom gets recycled, all dressed up in  different verbal couture.  

This is a good thing.  Sometimes a golden kernel of proven writing wisdom doesn't resonate (a two dollar word for sink in), and then, when heard differently, it suddenly goes clang in your head (a two cent word for clarity).

Hoping this is a clang moment for you.

I've often quoted William Goldman (major screenwriting dude) when he advises us to enter our scenes at the last possible moment.  Pure gold, just as true for novelists as screenwriters.  Here's a different take on it:

Try to compress time within your narrative, especially when the moment within a scene isn't critical to exposition. 

An example:

Two guys go into a bar.  They have a few beers, then suddenly another guy shows up with a gun, shoots one, gets paid by the other.  A set-up.  Godfather style.

You could spend four pages on those beers.   Back and forth, chit and chat.  And you may need to – this variable is always the writer's call, and becomes the difference between too much and too little – because that chit-chat may be germane to the forthcoming betrayal.  Or not.

Or you could say, "After the fourth beer the tone of the conversation shifted into a darker gear."

That's 90 minutes compressed into one sentence.

Look for opportunities to do this and your story's pace will improve, and your readers will thank you for it.  Cut the chit-chat.  Cut to "the moment" that is the scene's expositional mission. 

A little piece of advanced craft, yours for the taking.

And like all nuances, look for it in the books you read.  You'll see it clearly, and often.  Seeing is believing, often leading to that clanking sound in your skull.

  The Update – Deconstruction on the way.

The deal was this: if enough folks buy my newly republished novel, "Bait and Switch" in July, I'll do a deconstruction series on it.  The goal was to move 1000 copies.

Good news and bad news: it didn't happen.  Got about halfway there (counting the other two republished books this month), which folks are assuring me isn't bad.  Not sure I buy that, but it is what it is.  But it's just the beginning of a longer road. 

So I'm good to go.  Deconstruction of "Bait and Switch" is happening, look for it later in August.  If you haven't read it, there's ample time.

By the way, a reader posted the first review of the republished version, you can read it HERE (scroll down).  Please do.

Workshop, Anyone?

I'm doing a two-day workshop for the Oregon Writers Colony (a world-class writer's group) on "The Six Core Competencies," with specific application to your WIP.  This is a hands-on, interactive, walk-out-with-a-better-manuscript workshop.

It's happening in Portland, Oregon on October 29 & 30,  2011.  The fee is only $190, which includes a one-year membership in the OWC (no, you don't need to live in OR…  but you might want to after coming, provided you're waterproof from November through June).

Click HERE to register online, or contact Martha Miller (a world-class lady) with questions at mattie@chantiquesltd.com.

A Little Irrelevant Rant

A few words about wasteful government spending.  About the lack of oversight and accountability, and the sheer magnitude and omnipresence of the problem.

Not sure why, but I need to get this off my chest.  It's my blog and I'll rant if I want to.  Relevance to writing craft: zip.  Other than hopefully applying it.

But it is a true story, a classic example of the problem.  It involved the U.S. Post Office.  The year was 1985.  If you've ever wondered why the price of stamps goes up every other year, here you go.

I was a copywriter with a small training company.  Our client was the Northeast Division of the Post Office (we were in Oregon, they were in Boston… go figure… this was perhaps the first clue regarding the forthcoming cluelessness).  The assignment was to develop a comprehensive safety training program for mail carriers, using visual media and workbooks.  The objective: learn to lift properly, carry things safely, drive that little truck without hitting anything that breathes, and avoid the occasional rabid neighborhood dog jonesing to take off your leg.

It was that last one that caused the problem.

Our "content expert" was an experienced mailman, a veteran (dare I say crusty) carrier who had spent his career going door to door with a heavy satchel over this shoulder and a pair of dull blue shorts worn with knee-highs.  Very old school. He'd seen everything, survived it all, and had the bad back to prove it.

One of the safety tools of the trade was his "dogbrella."  His word.  And just what it sounds like – an umbrella that doubles as dog-protection weaponry.  Nothing special about it, just click and open. 

Unless it was a dog you were worried about, in which case you used it like a Louisville Slugger.

Dogbrella.  I asked him if he was sure.  He said yes.  So it went into the scripts and was used in the training manuals.

All 35,000 copies of them.

It was approved, produced and distributed.

And then we got the call. 

Somebody in the U.S. Post Office version of an ivory tower got his hands on the program and wasn't happy with the word "dogbrella."  Which, again, had been vetted and approved by someone on a lower floor of that ivory tower. 

Not official-sounding enough, he said.  And the U.S. Postal Service is nothing if not official.

So we re-did the whole thing.  Re-recorded the audio and reprinted all the books.  Never used the old ones, not for a day.  Just a huge pile of recyclable paper, which they no doubt didn't recycle.

The bill?  Significant.   Almost as much as the original contract.  A year's pay for a mail carrier, and then some.

That's how it happens.  Nobody was watching.  Nobody was accountable.  Somebody who didn't care had the power to spend a truckload of the government's dimes because of a single word of slang.

Thanks for listening.  Back to the writing stuff.

A Tip, An Update, Some Stuff and a Little Rant is a post from: Larry Brooks at storyfix.com

Just Possibly the "Next Big Thing" Novel

Make sure you're buying the right story.

Sometimes publishers and their paid prognosticators (called PR agencies) get it right.  They call the next mega-selling, iconic novel before a single book has been sold.

And in doing so they, in effect, ordain it as such.  The chicken and the egg can't tell each other apart. 

Buzz lights the fuse on a self-fulfilling prophesy.  At least when they are right.  Because all that pre-release hype jacks the rollout numbers, and that, in turn, ignites further reader and media interest and the book takes off from there.

It must be good, right?  Even me writing about it here will make some of you want to buy it on Day One.  Because it is, after all, The Next Big Thing.

People sometimes buy books like they place bets. 

They are playing the odds.  If you've ever bought a book by your favorite author without really knowing much about the story, then you've done it, too.

Such is the upside of having your name branded in the marketplace.

Of course, ultimately a book has to stand on its own, and that's what nobody can predict with certainty.  And sometimes it doesn't work. 

Many are the novels that came out to loud fanfare and quickly disappeared (like "Derailed" by James Seigal), leaving the author to console themselves with their pre-release million dollar movie-rights deal and a truckload of rationalization on their hands.  Never to be seen or heard from again.

The DaVinci Code was ordained, based on pre-release raves from the independent bookstore community, which has significant clout.  The first Harry Potter wasn't ordained (it was rejected 12 times), but the next Potter novels certainly were.  Everything with an A-list author's name on the cover is, to some extent, ordained.  When a John Grisham novel doesn't show up on the bestseller list on Day One it'll be a sure sign of the apocalypse.

Some major books don't get the on-the-come royalty treatment.  They earn their way onto the bestseller lists – The Lovely Bones comes to mind.  Nobody had heard of Jonathan Franzen before The Corrections (and then his fame had as much to do with his hubris as his storytelling).

Go ahead, look at the NY Times fiction bestseller list and see how many names there you don't recognize.  Maybe one.  Maybe none at all.  Success breeds success, and it's an almost impossible circle to break into.  Unless your publisher, for whatever reason, ordains it.

Now that DaVinci, The Help and Harry Potter have had their respective runs, it's time for a new cash cow to show up.  And apparently it has.  There's a new J.K. Rowling in town, and she's here to tell us all how it's done.

Don't listen.  Just read.

How it happened usually has nothing to do with, a) how good it is now that it's published, and b) the viability of the author's writing process. 

The novel is called Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern, and it will be published by Doubleday in September, with an initial print run of over 100,000 hardcovers – huge by today's whittled standards – and the usual compliment of full page magazine ads, tours, talk shows and sparkling reviews. 

It's a debut novel, which is unusual, but also strategic.  Buzz has that added dimension when the name doesn't roll off the tongue. 

And here's a big surprise… it's very Potteresque. 

That is, the magical world setting plays a huge role in what the publisher is betting will be the attraction.  As the name implies, this story unfolds in a circus in which two young magicians – sexual chemistry ensues – compete with each at the behest of their fathers. 

It's Hogwarts in a tent.  It's Water for Elephants with magic wands and puffs of smoke.

If you think Big Publishing will place their bet (as in, huge marketing dollars) on something completely different and unproven… that's just not gonna happen.  Just ask Alice Sebold.  Just ask J.K. Rowling when 12 idiot editors told her to take a hike.

Of course, the cliché raves tell us Night Circus will be "better than The DaVinci Code and The Help, and it's all because of the writing.  That and a few abracadabras and the proximity of forbidden romance.  It's for adults, but appropriate to younger readers.

Isn't that just perfect, in a business school sort of way.

Not saying the story or the setting is cliché – sounds kinda cool, actually – I haven't read it.  I'm sure it's terrific.  I'm just suggesting that we look closely at the hype to understand how you might position your story against market trends plays a role in how it may be received.  It's a two-edged sword that can backfire on you – ask anyone who's submitted a religious thriller in the last 10 years.

Like me.  A few readers said that was better than The DaVinci Code, too.

Beware the suddenly wise-waxing phenom.

I'm sure Ms. Morgenstern is a terrific writer, a certifiable prodigy about to turn proven literary genius. 

In fact, she sounds like one, and this is what's dangerous here for newer writers. 

Because she's a painter.  An artist.  She claims to write like she paints, by throwing colors at a canvas to see what happens.  To just "write and write and write and revise*" until, well, she has the next Big Thing on her hands.

Yeah, like that always works.

Remember when your kid learned to ride a bike?  They just rode and rode and rode and rode, until they got it.  And once the got it, they remained upright.

Score one for the pantsers, it really can work. 

And if it doesn't result in the Next Big Thing, it certainly can lead one to an effective story.

But don't be fooled.  This is like telling a young surgeon to just cut and cut and cut until they find that pesky lump that's causing all the problems.

But wait, the resistant, validated pantser says.  That's not a fair analogy. 

No?  This is commercial storytelling, not experiment art.  It's craft.  It's not finger painting, you're not reinventing the form.  It's more like those galleries in the mall, and you're looking for the next dogs-playing-poker phenomenon.  There are standards in play – find the lump and cut it out without maiming the patient – and all the slashing in the world won't change the effectiveness of the end result, nor is it required to achieve it.

Unless it's a cadaver… and cadavers don't get up and do book signings.

I promise you, old hands like – insert your favorite author here – don't "write and write and write and then revise"… because they don't have to.  They don't need to.  They already know what the end-product – yeah, it's a product – looks like when it works.  So even if they don't plan it, they write toward it, and from the standards that define it.

That profile, that architecture, is available to all.  Or you can figure it out on your own, or maybe like Morgenstern, stumble upon it with the application of your innate genius self.

The reason this fortunate new author writes and writes and writes, and then – pay attention to the fact that she tossed this in –revises, is because she didn't know better.  She wasn't sure what she was writing relative to what it needed to look like at the end of the process.   And who knows how long that took.

And then, she didn't know what to revise until she had written something and realized it could, and should, be different than it was when it was splashed all over the pages like a spilled jigsaw puzzle.

Writers who know their craft revise less because the first cut comes closer to what it should be.  That's just flat-out true.  Bragging about doing it otherwise is… well, ironic.  The pre-release hype of Morgenstern's novel has nothing at all to do with the efficiency – or the romantic suffering – of her process.

And as for effectiveness… well, even a cadaver can look good with the right make-up.  That's what words are – make-up applied to a story to make it the best it can be. 

However we discover our stories is a good thing. 

No, it's not cheating to know what you're doing. 

Don't be seduced by successful authors who claim that their story somehow emerged from a pile of random, directionless and criteria-ignorant writing.  The only thing that emerges from such a pile is, if you're lucky, an awareness of what isn't working, and what the story could become once you've cleaned up and reorganized the pile.

Either way.  Whatever works for you.   

I wish Ms. Morgenstern great success.  Sounds like it's hers to lose, at this point.

But I'll bet you money her next book is written from a different process.

(*from USA Today's article by Carol Memmott and Brian Truitt)

Please see the previous post about my FREE eBOOK offer, and three newly republished novels that are not remotely Potteresque and were written from a plan.  A plan based on proven principles.  And yes, the critics loved 'em.

 

Just Possibly the "Next Big Thing" Novel is a post from: Larry Brooks at storyfix.com

My Ridiculous August FREE eBook Promotion…

… to unabashedly, unashamedly, motivate you to read my newly republished novels… as digital downloads.
Here's the deal.

Buy one of my novels, and I'll send you a FREE writing ebook.  A big, meaty one, with over 100 pages of good stuff about how to get your bad self published.  In fact, that's the title: "Get Your Bad Self Published" (click to read about this FREE ebook).

Learn what sells, what doesn't, and why.  Learn how a book is sold to a publisher.  Learn how to write a query, how to assemble a synopsis and treatment, how to score an agent, how to avoid the common mistakes and separate yourself from the hopeful crowd. 

This is the real skinny on getting published by an established imprint, not a how-to about self-publishing.  Those books are everywhere these days, but the truth remains on how to get yourself into a bookstore for real, and this ebook delivers it.

And by the way, the novels (ebook versions) are only $2.99. 

So what's up with this?

We are living on the cusp of a new age in publishing.  Everything is changing.  And I want in, same as you.   My novels are visceral, reflective stories that put my stamp on things, maybe even mess with your head, and I want to share them with you.  Same as any other author.

I have four successful (that's all relative, of course, but these books have a track record) novels with my name on them, and my intention is to be at the forefront of this new market venue as it continues to evolve.  Many previously-published, proven authors are going this route, and now I'm hanging my hat with theirs.

It's good to be published.  It can be good to be self-published.  And I'm happy to bribe you with free stuff to help establish my fiction brand, as I have done here as a story coach. 

My strategy: earn your trust and readership here through over-delivery, reward your loyalty and aesthetic expectations with killer novels that will not only entertain and remain with you, maybe even touch you in ways you weren't expecting (so sayeth reviewers), but will also motivate you as an author, as well.  Because I practice what I preach.

Read the reviews, please.  I'm not over-blowing this stuff.  Publishers Weekly named one of my books ("Bait and Switch") to two lists: "Best Books of 2004 – Mass Market"… and "Best Overlooked Books of 2004." 

I'd like to un-do the latter distinction.

So now I have republished three of these critically-praised novels on the major ebook venues – Kindle, Smashwords, Nook and (soon) the Apple iTunes Bookstore.  I also have another novel, my latest ("Whisper of the Seventh Thunder"), available on these venues and as a trade paperback. (If you're wondering about the whereabouts of my other novel, "Serpent's Dance"… so am I… I can't locate the orignial digital file; the ebook version will have to wait until that happens.)

The offer is good for all four novels.  (Keep reading for a quick pitch on each title.) 

And then some.

All these titles were, just a few years ago, tradionally published. 

Three by a so-called "Big Six" outfit (Signet, a Penguin-Putnam imprint), and one is still out there from a visionary small press (Sons of Liberty).

The three republished books sold tens of thousand of copies each, and one ("Darkness Bound") was a USA Today bestseller.  All were critical hits, books you may have seen on the top shelf at your local bookstore a few years back.

They're psychological thrillers, a little sexy, a little dark, definately fast-paced, at times scary, as well as conceptually and thematically compelling and thought-provoking.  Check out the reviews on Amazon and elsewhere, that's the common thread among readers.

The rights have reverted to me, and I'm digitally republishing them with new covers as ebooks for reading devices, including your PC if you don't yet own an e-reader. 

Why?  Because I'm a novelist.  It's what I do.  In addition to teaching this stuff.  For me they go hand in hand. 

I humbly invite you to consider these novels.  If you like Storyfix, I think you'll like what you see.

And, to be honest — examples being the most effective teaching tool – I want you to see how my books "walk the walk" relative to the principles of story archtecture and core competencies discussed here on Storyfix, and in my bestselling writing book, "Story Engineering: Mastering the Six Core Competencies of Successful Storytelling."

Okay, let's throw that in, too.   Buy "Story Engineering" and I'll send you the free ebook, as well.

Here's the gift-with-purchase deal again:

When you buy a book — any of 'em, at the listed price (the three republished novels are $2.99) — I'll send you my writing ebook: "Get Your Bad Self Published" for FREE, which until recently was selling for $14.95. 

Just forward your online receipt from Amazon, Smashwords or Nook, or elsewhere, and I'll send you the free writing ebook within a day.  It's that simple.

Thanks for considering this. 

Here are the books:

 The USA Today Bestseller from Larry Brooks, named by Publishers Weekly to their "Best Books of 2004″ and "Best Overlooked Books of 2004″ lists, as well as their lead Editor's Choice in July 2004.

FROM PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (starred review):

In a sexy tale laced with plenty of surprise twists, Brooks (Pressure Points, etc.) examines the underbelly of high society and paints an ugly portrait of greed in America. Wolfgang Schmitt, a newly single former model looking for an excuse to leave the advertising industry, finds his opening when billionaire Nelson Scott offers him a million dollars to seduce his wife. Schmitt's involvement with Kelly Scott would trigger a prenuptial clause, ensuring Kelly can't get her hands on her husband's fortune—or so Schmitt is led to believe. After wrestling with his conscience, Schmitt accepts the assignment and immediately gets swept up in a complicated plot involving betrayal and murder. This intoxicating and intelligent tale of corporate corruption feels as authentic as a true crime chronicle, but Schmitt's first-person narration ensures that it is much more entertaining. Brooks balances Schmitt's wry, wisecracking nature with a rare moral fortitude, resulting in a likeable protagonist whose cynicism never fails to entertain (Entry #201 in Schmitt's work in progress, Bullshit in America: "The price of movie popcorn—the time for rebellion is now. Take a big purse and stop at your local convenience store on the way. Then leave the candy wrappers on the floor so they'll know. It's what Rosa Parks would have done"). In a savvy move, Brooks concludes this book with a question mark, leaving it wide open for a sequel. Readers will welcome the prospect.

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Buy "Bait and Switch" on Kindle… on Smashwords… and on Nook.

*****

Orignally published as "Pressure Points" (Onyx, 2001), "The Seminar" is a complex and disturbing thriller set in the world of self-help seminars and gurus. Three ad agency executives seeking to buy out their boss and take over the business face one final hurdle. The departing agency founder demands they attend a personal growth seminar that changed his own life, in the hope it will equip them for the tough road he knows awaits them as partners and major advertising players. But there is much more to it than that, and the stakes reach far beyond ownership of the agency.

Nothing in this story is what it seems, and as the week-long seminar unfolds the lines between reality and curriculum begin to blur, and when the wheels come off it's every participant for themselves.

This fast paced thriller novel takes the reader on a journey of self-discovery and reflection in a way that transcends entertainment. Much like James Redfield's "The Celestine Prophesy" and the novels of Richard Bach made readers think and feel, "The Seminar" grips and surprises with the pentrating touch of an author whom Publishers Weekly dubbed as "a master of suspense and terror."

 

Buy "The Seminar" on Kindle… on Smashwords… and on Nook.

*****

 From Publishers Weekly:
Teasingly erotic, Brooks's first novel is that rarest of sexual thrillers, in which the sex isn't gratuitous but a convincing means to an end. Unfortunately, the book's erotic cover may cause horror/thriller fans to overlook this title on the bookshelf. What begins as a way for Seattle stockbroker Dillon Masters to live out his sexual fetishes turns into a high-stakes game of strategy and deceit, in which the prize is life. The players in this game are few, including Masters, his wife, his mysterious lover (whom he calls the "Dark Lady"), her husband, a detective, a psychiatrist and a lawyer friend of Masters.  The extremes these players go to in an effort to destroy the others are shocking. Midnight phone calls, secret dalliances and dangerous play-acting ensue until Masters realizes he's caught in a complex scam and could be pegged for murder. The novel's final scenes burst with the intensity of a first-rate horror film, and it's difficult to detect a loophole in the intricate plot.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
A 2004 Onyx paperback USA Today bestseller, "Darkness Bound" is a fearless look into the darker side of desire and intimacy, asking the question: how far would a man go, if suddenly free to pursue his deepest yearnings, to achieve that which he's always dreamed of, which his wife has rejected, and which he truly doesn't even understand? And how far would he then go to extricate himself from the abyss into which he will most certainly fall in doing so?

Hailed by critics (Publishers Weekly hailed it as fresh and provocative, with a killer ending), hidden behind proper bookshelves while capturing the voice of an entire generation of men and women who keep dirty little secrets, even from themselves, "Darkness Bound" is a one-of-a-kind thriller, called by some "the sexiest novel of the decade."

Love, desire, fetishistic fascinations and fear-driven passion await those who dare risk losing themselves in this forbidden story.

Buy "Darkness Bound" on Kindle… on Smashwords… and on Nook.

 

My Ridiculous August FREE eBook Promotion… is a post from: Larry Brooks at storyfix.com

Novel to Script to Screen – One Writer's Journey

An Interview with Chuck Hustmyre, author of "House of the Rising Sun"

(A little set-up from Larry here.)

Admit it.  You'd love to see your novel adapted and playing on the big screen.  You envision opening night, you in your tux or killer heels (heck, maybe both, I don't judge), you imagine yourself there in the dark munching popcorn while watching the sea of dimly-lit faces staring up at the characters you created, saying your lines (for the most part, directors tend to change things), riveted, unable to tear their eyes away. 

Admit it.

And if you can't see it there, you'll take a direct-to-DVD deal.  Happily.

Some writers — the more famous they are, the more this is true — bemoan the adaptations of their work, usually after they've spent the big check that gave the filmmakers the right to do anything they want with it.  Sometimes they sue to get the rights back or have their name taken off the credits.  But you and me… no, it'd be a dream come true.  Even if you're standing in front of a Redbox or in the aisle at Blockbuster instead of a mutiplex marquee.

That's where I saw Chuck Hustmyre's "House of the Rising Sun."  At a Redbox.

I'd known Chuck and was familiar with the pending movie deal, and I've posted a link to the trailer here on Storyfix.  (Note: Definately Rated R.)  It's good stuff, too.  Gritty, smart, a study in noir and a cut above what you'd expect in a film positioned like this.  A darn site better than the latest Nicholas Cage.

Now that the film is out I thought I'd ask Chuck to share a bit about this journey. 

And by the way, the novel is available at Amazon, paper or Kindle.  Amazon also has the DVD (here), in case your local Redbox doesn't. 

****

How did this happen?  What was the status of the story – published, or not – when the movie people found it?  How did they find it?  How did it go down?

The novel originally came out in 2004 from a tiny POD publisher in Oregon. It sold fewer than 100 copies, or so I was told. Fortunately, one of those copies fell into the hands of a local film producer in my hometown of Baton Rouge. He called me and asked if I would consider writing the script adaptation — for free, of course. I had some experience with screenplays and had written two or three by that time, so I said yes.

That began a saga that lasted several years. The local producer brought in a buddy of his from L.A. who he had gone to film school with and who had since gone on to win two Academy Awards for a couple of big blockbuster movies. The awards were in a technical field, and now this guy wanted to branch out more into directing. I was hoping that with his two Oscars he could raise the $4 – $5 million budget. But it seems money is always tight no matter what your trophy shelf looks like.

Fast forward to 2010. I got all the rights back from the POD publisher, and with the producer's option long since expired, I decided to start shopping the script myself. I sent out dozens of queries on my own and used a query service that sent out hundreds more. One guy — that's all it ever takes — in L.A. passed my query onto a buddy of his who was looking for a gritty crime thriller. That producer took out another option on it — again, no money changed hands. And then he started shopping it to other produces who had money.

From that point things started to move fast. There were some rewrites along the way, but in October I sold the script to a Toronto-based production company, Berkshire Axis Media, and the producer, Mark Sanders, started shooting the movie in December. The budget dropped to $1.5 million, but the results look a lot more expensive. Mark already had a deal with LIONSGATE for distribution in the U.S. and with Cinema Management Group for foreign sales. So far the film has sold in more than a dozen foreign countries.

With the movie in the works, my literary agent shopped the book around and sold it to Dorchester in New York. We also sold the translation rights in Russia and Poland.

The new edition of the novel came out July 15, and LIONSGATE released the movie on July 19.

You got screenplay credit… how did that go down?  Then the director re-wrote you, were you involved?  Didn't see your name in the acting credits (did see the Director's though), were you asked?  How were you treated?

I wrote the script, so I got the screenplay credit. However, this was a non-WGA production, and the director did some rewriting on the script and claimed half the writing credits. When a production is covered by the WGA, a production member, such as the director, has to change more than 50% of the script to claim a writing credit. That wasn't the case with my script — I think about 70% of the finished film is from the original script — but the director took the credit anyway. I guess a directing credit wasn't enough for him. He also wrote himself into the movie and took an acting credit.

As far as how I was treated. I think every new screenwriter imagines he or she will be treated with some respect and be considered part of the production team. The truth is, once you sell the script, you're a nuisance. Nobody wants your input. Nobody asks for your opinion. My wife and I flew up to Michigan to watch a little of the shooting. They actually thought we were extras. Everyone was courteous, but you could tell they had better things to do than talk to us.  

How do you feel about the final product?  I liked it, by the way.  Batista was a surprise.

 I like the movie, but I have to say I do not like the changes the director made. I had a much bigger role for the character Jenny Porter, played by Amy Smart, than made it into the film. I also had a much different ending. My ending was definite and lacked the ambiguity of the film's ending. And of course, I wish they had filmed it in New Orleans, but that was a business decision.

What has been your experience now that the film is out?  Has it changed the prospects of the novel, and/or your other work?

Having a produced movie has opened some doors for me. I now have a manager who is aggressively trying to sell my new scripts. But things haven't changed as much as I thought, or at least hoped, they would. Hollywood agents still won't answer my emails. Producers are not bidding on my next script. Selling my next novel has not been any easier. In fact, even with a movie in production, selling the novel "House of the Rising Sun" was not easy.

That said, the pay for a low-budget screenwriter is certainly better than for a mid-list author, at least in my case. 

Anything you'd like to add, and/or, advise other writers hoping to live this dream?

I really am reluctant to give any advice because every situation is different, but some general principles seem safe to reiterate. Don't give up. If you give up you'll never make it. But be realistic. Selling a novel to a big publisher or a script to Hollywood (even low-budget Hollywood) is about as difficult as picking a winning lottery number. Not quite but almost. A hundred things have to fall into place, most of which you have no control over. It's as much luck as anything, but, of course, you can't get lucky if you're not trying.

Also, it's not true that if you write a great story the market will find you. That's bullshit. As an unpublished novelist or unproduced screenwriter every door — and I do mean every door — is closed to you. If you want to succeed, you have to find the right door and kick it open.

Visit Chuck Hustmyre's website HERE. 

He has three other novels out, as well (linked from his website), all of which are waiting for me on my Kindle.  If you like the genre, then you'll like Chuck's stuff.  I know I do.

Novel to Script to Screen – One Writer's Journey is a post from: Larry Brooks at storyfix.com

An Interview with NY Times Bestselling Author Chelsea Cain

Be afraid.  Be very afraid.

Chelsea Cain is one scary writer.  And one very cool lady. 

And perhaps those two attributes help describe her success… in the first three of her first fourbestselling novels (Heartsick… Sweetheart… Evil at Heart, the fourth being The Night Season), she brought us the sinister Gretchen Lowell, the most beautiful and sadistic serial killer to have stalked the pages of any thriller, ever. 

That alone is a killer idea.  And look what happened.  One word: superstar.

These novels, when considered together, become a clinic in not only writing a crime series, but one with a recurring antagonist (not an easy trick) that tries to push the hero (the cool, calm and very manly Detective Archie Sheridan) off center stage.  Will Gretchen return?  Only Chelsea knows for sure.  (Sidenote: the movie is in development.)

By the way, Archie does just fine in the fourth book, while Gretchen is safely behind bars, with critics raving.

Here's what she has to say for herself.

SF:  Your books are on the dark side. Is there anything you are exploring within yourself, or your past in your stories (ala Dennis Lehane with his consistent themes of child abduction and abuse), or is this stuff coming from some other place?

 

No.  Except maybe a childhood love of mysteries and TV cop shows. 

I had a very independent childhood.  I was raised by a single mom, who was also a feminist and a bohemian, so I was given a lot of freedom.  Even as a young kid, I went where I wanted, and was left to my own devices a lot.  I think this gave me an absurd sense of self-reliance and a sense of being safe in the world.  (It also meant I had to learn to entertain myself, which made me good at making up stories in my head.)  When you protect kids from everything they tend to grow up thinking the world isn't safe.  When you don't protect them (ironically) they grow up thinking the world must be very safe. 

I don't have the base level of fear that many of my female friends have (about being alone in the house at night, or walking in an "unsafe" neighborhood alone, that kind of thing).  So because of this, because I am not afraid, I am able to go to dark places in my imagination and then leave it on the page. 

Interestingly, I also have a very violent imagination.  (This is why I am a vegetarian, I think.)  Even as a kid, I loved sneaking into the medical book section at the library and pouring through the pictures of terrible deformities or surgeries.  It seemed at once forbidden and compelling.  I like going places that make me feel a little uncomfortable.  I think I just have to go farther than most to reach that point.   

 

SF:  When people ask if  you are Gretchen, what's your response, and do you kill them later?   

What's incredible – and it's taken me a few years to realize this – is that these people mean the comparison as a compliment.  I am not Gretchen.  She is made up completely.  She is the most made-up character in the books. 

When I first started writing Heartsick and started researching violent female serial killers (of which there are few) and psychopaths (who are, as a group, not nearly as interesting as Gretchen is) I knew I was going to have to just go for it and make her the person I wanted her to be, and throw the criminology textbooks out the window.  She is beautiful.  And she's clever.  And witty.  And seductive. 

So I get that readers like her.  And they really do.  I had no idea when I started the books that they would become The Gretchen Lowell Series.  I thought of them (and still do) as The Archie Sheridan Series.  But I think that fiction has so few strong female archetypes, you know?  So Gretchen really resonates.  She sucks all the power in the room (and on the page).  So, as a person, when readers tell me they love her, I am troubled, but as a writer I love it.   

 

SF:  Do you read within your genre for pleasure, or is it all business?  If not, what/who do you read?

 

I read much more for business than I ever did before the series – this is one of those things you don't think about when you dream about hitting the big time.  There are SO many ARCs (Advanced Reading Copies) to read.  I probably get asked to read an ARC a few times a week.  Those books pile up.  Also, I read a lot of non-fiction criminology or medical stuff – always looking for inspiration.  So I have to choose my pleasure books very carefully because I don't have time to read something lame. 

Right now, and this is surprising even to me, I am reading "Moneyball" by Michael Lewis.  It's about baseball, which I don't care about at all, but it is so well written and smart that I am completely intrigued.  Maybe I will have to have Gretchen murder someone with a baseball bat.  See that – I am always working.  

 

SF:  What's your take on the current trending in publishing toward self-posted ebooks, the difficulty in getting and keeping a contract, and the explosion of Kindle and other digital formats?

 

That's a big question.  I think that self-publishing will do quite well for a few people for a short amount of time, but that it's not a viable long term solution.  Someone needs to cull and aggregate.  Or we end up with this glut of unformed work and no way to sort through what's good and what isn't. 

When I buy a book, I like knowing that an agent had to reject 500 manuscripts before accepting this one, and that an editor worked on it and a copy editor and a graphic designer, etc.  I cannot believe the number of people who work on my books.  And because I work with a publishing house I have to work on my own book long after I think it's done.  I've gotten incredibly important editorial advice that has made the books so much better.  I think too many self-published author put their work out there before it's cooked. 

My disclaimer, of course, is that there are some terrific self-published books out there as well.  As for the difficulty of getting and keeping a contract, I've been really lucky, so I'm a bad person to weigh in on this.  It's a tough market out there and the industry cuts a lot of people loose too soon, and agents reject a ton of amazing manuscripts because they don't think they'll float in the current economy.  I have friends who have written incredible books and they can't get anyone to represent them.  So I get the frustration.  I get why people just want to put it online and say, okay, it's in the world, it's for sale.  And I have friends who go this route, too. 

Honestly, it's the Wild West right now.  We're developing a whole new platform (e-readers) and the industry is going to look like something else completely in five years.  What it will look like, I don't know.  No one does.  So there is a lot of scrambling.  I think e-readers are great.  Anything that will get people reading is great.  Half of my sales are electronic.  But it's a game changer.  So it makes me nervous.  And while I have a Kindle and an iPad, I only read books electronically when I'm traveling.  Then I love the format.  It's terrific and easy and convenient.  But when I'm at home, I like to pick up a book-book.  I stare at a computer screen all day long.  The last thing I want to do when I'm sitting down with a good read, is to look at another screen.  

 

SF:  Are these self-published books viable, or is this all a watering down of the marketplace?

Some self-published books are indeed quite viable.  But, in my opinion, many are undercooked.  The trick is in finding the ones worth reading, which has historically been the job of the "legacy" publishers. 

I think the numbers we hear are a little misleading.  They're selling books for a dollar.  People will buy anything for a dollar.  With the right marketing you can get a million people to buy a rock for a dollar.  So you've made a million dollars off of rocks.  It still doesn't say much about the product.  How many people are reading the books they're buying for a buck?  And as long as I'm ranting, the whole Amazon delivery system worries me.  The feds broke up the movie studio monopolies that made the product (the movie) and then sold it (through the theaters they owned), and I wonder sometimes if Amazon isn't positioning itself as another monopoly.  What will writers and readers do when it is the only place to self-publish and the only place to buy books?    

 

SF: What will you be writing five years from now, and if different than your current lane, what is taking you there?

 

I will be finishing book 10 of the Archie Sheridan series.  And I will have another thriller series (also set in Portland, but with occasional mysteries in Hawaii, which I will have to visit often for research).

Visit the Chelsea Cain Author Page on Amazon, and her website, to learn more about her books, her life, her thoughts and other cool stuff.

And be sure to check out her newest, The Night Season, for the latest Archie Sheridan caper. 

 

Also… if you prefer your villains seductive and gorgeous and deliciously female, please consider The Dark Lady in my USA Today bestseller, Darkness Bound.  She's not exactly a serial killer, per se, but she's in Gretchen's league when it comes to pure feminine evil of the sadistic variety.  And, like Gretchen, she's smokin' hot. 

 

An Interview with NY Times Bestselling Author Chelsea Cain is a post from: Larry Brooks at storyfix.com