Susan Dexter's Blog, page 10
January 10, 2015
Training My Dragon
My Christmas present to myself this year was a Dragon Naturally Speaking dictating system. My plan is to use it to get my out-of-print books into digital format, ready for uploading as e-books. It’s really a lot faster to read in yellowed paperbacks set in 8 pt. type than it is to keyboard them in!
That said, I don’t think I could stand to compose on my Dragon, because until it gets used to my voice, it’s very distracting to pay any attention to the words on the screen.(Not as distracting as my cat jumping onto my laptop, though!) I don’t peek until I’m ready to start editing. I’m still learning the punctuation commands, and teaching it my characters’ names. I’m amazed that it gets words like “eldritch”, but a lot of its best guesses are absurd. On the plus-side, it spells better than I do!
The photo here is not my actual Dragon, but my Garden Dragon, which is wintering under my Christmas tree. That’s my collie, Misty, snuggled up with it.
First book up will be The Wizard’s Shadow.
That said, I don’t think I could stand to compose on my Dragon, because until it gets used to my voice, it’s very distracting to pay any attention to the words on the screen.(Not as distracting as my cat jumping onto my laptop, though!) I don’t peek until I’m ready to start editing. I’m still learning the punctuation commands, and teaching it my characters’ names. I’m amazed that it gets words like “eldritch”, but a lot of its best guesses are absurd. On the plus-side, it spells better than I do!
The photo here is not my actual Dragon, but my Garden Dragon, which is wintering under my Christmas tree. That’s my collie, Misty, snuggled up with it.
First book up will be The Wizard’s Shadow.
January 8, 2015
Writers Should Be Committed
(This was originally written for a writer’s workshop in 2001.
I’ve updated it slightly to serve as New Year’s Resolutions for 2015 and onwards.)
Writers should be committed. No one whom lives with a writer will question that. Writers cry over imaginary tragedies that happen to made-up people. Writers laugh at funny things nonexistent people say. Writers get that faraway look, and it’s hard to get our attention. We lose track of time. Dinners don’t get cooked. We stay up all night at keyboards. We see things that aren’t there. You can’t reject us enough to make us quit, be you lover or publisher.
So, we’re different. We know that. We’re writers. Now to what should we, as writers, be committed?
Commit to work. No waiting for “inspiration” to strike out of the blue. No one builds a story on one day’s work a year. Keep going when the pure inspiration wears off. Writing is work, even if it is fun!
Commit to paper. No one ever revised a blank page. Thinking about writing doesn’t count! Do you want to write, or do you want to “be a writer”? Not the same thing!
Commit to improving your writing. Grammar rules and Spelling are part of your toolbox. Spell Check. As you read-and you should read—notice how other writers handle things you struggle with. Practice may not make perfect, but it makes better.
Commit to time. Books are not written in a day, or a week. Write as little as one page per day, and in a year you have a book. Patience pays!
Commit to priorities. Make writing one of yours, right up there with your job, your family. Save energy for your writing. Choose a work time when you’re alert and interested. Don’t leave it for the last scrap of the day when you’re half asleep, tired, easily discouraged. You deserve better.
Commit to keeping on. Never be negative, no matter how it’s going. Giving up is no answer. Don’t train yourself to quit. Don’t abandon a project as soon as the going gets sticky.
Commit to serial monogamy. Keep at a story till it’s done, then go on to the next. Give each story everything you’ve got! Aim to finish what you start.
Commit to goals. Make them reasonable. Make them achievable. Make them reasonable. “I will write every day”, not “I will write a best-seller.” As you meet goals, set the bar higher. Stretch and grow.
Commit to you. Don’t compare yourself to other writers in a negative way. You are you. No one else is. Be kind to yourself. Recharge your creative self. Read. Listen to music. Walk. Eat right. Don’t do anything to excess.
Commit to keeping up with the field. Read books. Read whatever you’re trying to write. Knowledge is power, so study the history, the trends. Read outside your chosen field as well—good things are found everywhere. You never know what will be useful or inspiring. Writers who don’t read are rare. Successful writers who don’t read are rarer still.
Commit to keeping up with the market. Do your research—browse the internet, visit book stores. If a field is saturated, then your book must be sensational to stand out. Best to understand this. Know what your competition is.
Commit to hope. It’s the book that gets the one-star review, not you! Feel the pain, then move on. Write more. Vent into a journal. Eat chocolate. Go for a walk. Don’t waste energy flaming the reviewer, don’t beat yourself up, just go write something! The next project is always the best!
December 10, 2014
On the way to World Fantasy 2014
Cabin John Parkway
The TripTic said “take Exit 43, George Washington Memorial Parkway.” At Exit 39, the GPS said: “In Point Five miles, turn right onto Cabin John Parkway.” It beeped. How nice, a shortcut around the hellacious traffic. We turned. The lights of the Beltway fell behind us. Ahead, all was dark. It was raining, somewhere between a drizzle and light rain. One or the other, who can tell?
Suddenly a ship sailed out of the night, black sails spread wide. Glowing letters on her bow read Marie Celeste. The road was dark, and lined with dark, wet trees. There was very little traffic.
Ahead, our lane was blocked. We could only bear left, watching for traffic coming from Maryland or Virginia. We turned. We came to a fork in the road. We went right, and the signs said: Clara Barton Parkway.
“Cabin John Parkway,” the GPS Lady said. “In Point Five miles, continue right on Cabin John Parkway. So we did. The road was dark, and wet, like black glass. Five planes lumbered overhead, propellers laboring. Navy planes, Avengers I think. We came to a barrier that sent all traffic to the left. We came to a fork in the road. We took the left-hand way, and entered the Clara Barton Parkway. Still raining.
The GPS Lady identified Cabin John Parkway once more, and directed us to turn right onto it. We turned. The dark closed in. There were no lights behind the trees, no houses, no streets, no exits. There were no deer crossing signs, but Judge Crater rode by on Shergar. The road ahead of us was still closed, so we turned left and drove uphill, in the dark and the drizzle. We came to a fork and turned right. Clara Barton Parkway.
“In Point Five miles, turn right onto Cabin John Parkway.” We turned. We saw no cabins. There were no lights, but only the wet blacktop, fringed with wet trees. Another plane drummed over, a Lockheed Electra, the kind Amelia Earhart flew. Well, we were expecting to be near Reagan Airport. Onto the Clara Barton Parkway once more.
“In Point Five miles, turn right onto Cabin John Parkway.” The men carrying the Ark of the Covenant on their shoulders must have gotten the same message from their GPS.
“In Point Five miles, Cabin John Parkway, turn right. Beep.” But we pressed on to Exit 43, scooted across a dozen lanes of Beltway traffic, and went on to Arlington via the George Washington Memorial Parkway. We circumnavigated the hotel four times, found the underground passage into the parking garage, figured out which hotel we were checking into, walked around the block, crossed the street, crossed back across the street, crossed another street, crossed the Hyatt lobby, went down two escalators—and made the World Fantasy Convention in time for the Ice Cream Social.
The TripTic said “take Exit 43, George Washington Memorial Parkway.” At Exit 39, the GPS said: “In Point Five miles, turn right onto Cabin John Parkway.” It beeped. How nice, a shortcut around the hellacious traffic. We turned. The lights of the Beltway fell behind us. Ahead, all was dark. It was raining, somewhere between a drizzle and light rain. One or the other, who can tell?
Suddenly a ship sailed out of the night, black sails spread wide. Glowing letters on her bow read Marie Celeste. The road was dark, and lined with dark, wet trees. There was very little traffic.
Ahead, our lane was blocked. We could only bear left, watching for traffic coming from Maryland or Virginia. We turned. We came to a fork in the road. We went right, and the signs said: Clara Barton Parkway.
“Cabin John Parkway,” the GPS Lady said. “In Point Five miles, continue right on Cabin John Parkway. So we did. The road was dark, and wet, like black glass. Five planes lumbered overhead, propellers laboring. Navy planes, Avengers I think. We came to a barrier that sent all traffic to the left. We came to a fork in the road. We took the left-hand way, and entered the Clara Barton Parkway. Still raining.
The GPS Lady identified Cabin John Parkway once more, and directed us to turn right onto it. We turned. The dark closed in. There were no lights behind the trees, no houses, no streets, no exits. There were no deer crossing signs, but Judge Crater rode by on Shergar. The road ahead of us was still closed, so we turned left and drove uphill, in the dark and the drizzle. We came to a fork and turned right. Clara Barton Parkway.
“In Point Five miles, turn right onto Cabin John Parkway.” We turned. We saw no cabins. There were no lights, but only the wet blacktop, fringed with wet trees. Another plane drummed over, a Lockheed Electra, the kind Amelia Earhart flew. Well, we were expecting to be near Reagan Airport. Onto the Clara Barton Parkway once more.
“In Point Five miles, turn right onto Cabin John Parkway.” The men carrying the Ark of the Covenant on their shoulders must have gotten the same message from their GPS.
“In Point Five miles, Cabin John Parkway, turn right. Beep.” But we pressed on to Exit 43, scooted across a dozen lanes of Beltway traffic, and went on to Arlington via the George Washington Memorial Parkway. We circumnavigated the hotel four times, found the underground passage into the parking garage, figured out which hotel we were checking into, walked around the block, crossed the street, crossed back across the street, crossed another street, crossed the Hyatt lobby, went down two escalators—and made the World Fantasy Convention in time for the Ice Cream Social.
September 9, 2014
Canfield Fair 2014
I had a great time at this year's Fair! I demonstrated art every day with the Trumbull Area Artists, I ate a Chyro, I won a Blue Ribbon...and the last time I wrote this, the whole thing dumped. And I'm just pretty sick of this. I would like to show you Fair pictures, but I can't. I had a great time at the Fair but I am struggling endlessly just to make a blog post. And that stinks.
August 10, 2014
Dear Inkshares
So…you sell editing services, but you don’t proofread? You are “a traditional publisher that let’s the crowd select our books.”? (Cold contact letter, Thad, 7/11/14) Not that traditional publishers don’t have a few mistakes slip through, but they generally do employ editors, copy editors, proofreaders—and authors are expected to pitch in and proofread as well. You only get one chance to make a great first impression! Your mail client? Your stubby fingers? General paucity of sleep? Which will be your answer if the typo is on the title page of my book, 1,000 copies crowdfunded and printed?
So…you sell marketing services? But you cold-contacted me without researching me or the book you referenced, The Ring of Allaire. (Ballantine Del Rey Books, paperback original 1981.) You are a start-up. I am not. I have a background in advertising and extensive experience with a major publisher, having published 7 Mass Market paperbacks with Del Rey Books. What can you do that they could not? That KDP and Createspace are not better platforms for? (FYI—I get a 70% royalty from both. Without Inkshares.) And if you still aren’t sleeping after launching in January…but wait, was the letter written in January, and sent to me in July? Is it by some chance a form letter? Are you marketing your start-up with a badly edited form letter?
One marketing strategy traditional publishers employ is the Cover Quote. It’s like a product endorsement. M.R. Brazear is a many times self-published author with respectable sales. You might have wanted a cover quote from her, for one of your projects. But if there ever was a bridge possible there, you burned it when you replied to her post on the KDP Voice of the Author forum and addressed her as “Margie”. In fact, napalm comes to mind. (Her given name is Margaret.)
I made it a point to read your online information, first the FAQs and then the contract. I know you say it only takes five minutes to read, but I like to read for comprehension, so I took a bit longer. I’m not sure why you suggest reading a legal document so quickly—unless it’s so no one notices the typos. (Bejeweled is a word, bedecked, is a word, benighted is a word, bedazzled is a word—but “bedeemed” (Page 13) is not, at least not in English. You surely meant “be deemed”—two words.) Your contract also states that it is “non-exclusive” (Pages 2, 11) Your usage suggests that you meant to write “exclusive”. (…irrevocable, and transferable right to print, publish and sell your work worldwide, in both electronic and print format. Page 2.) I submit that if I can’t sell a work anywhere else in the world, that contract is exclusive. A non-exclusive contract would have both parties able to release, say, a Kindle edition of a work. Does the wording of the contract present legal difficulties? I’d only care if I’d been dumb enough to sign it. If it makes difficulties for you….well, you wrote it.
The bottom of your contact email reads “No thanks—Unsubscribe. Thad. Jeremy. You contacted me. When did I subscribe? What did I subscribe to? Please take me off your list—though I suspect you already have.
So…you sell marketing services? But you cold-contacted me without researching me or the book you referenced, The Ring of Allaire. (Ballantine Del Rey Books, paperback original 1981.) You are a start-up. I am not. I have a background in advertising and extensive experience with a major publisher, having published 7 Mass Market paperbacks with Del Rey Books. What can you do that they could not? That KDP and Createspace are not better platforms for? (FYI—I get a 70% royalty from both. Without Inkshares.) And if you still aren’t sleeping after launching in January…but wait, was the letter written in January, and sent to me in July? Is it by some chance a form letter? Are you marketing your start-up with a badly edited form letter?
One marketing strategy traditional publishers employ is the Cover Quote. It’s like a product endorsement. M.R. Brazear is a many times self-published author with respectable sales. You might have wanted a cover quote from her, for one of your projects. But if there ever was a bridge possible there, you burned it when you replied to her post on the KDP Voice of the Author forum and addressed her as “Margie”. In fact, napalm comes to mind. (Her given name is Margaret.)
I made it a point to read your online information, first the FAQs and then the contract. I know you say it only takes five minutes to read, but I like to read for comprehension, so I took a bit longer. I’m not sure why you suggest reading a legal document so quickly—unless it’s so no one notices the typos. (Bejeweled is a word, bedecked, is a word, benighted is a word, bedazzled is a word—but “bedeemed” (Page 13) is not, at least not in English. You surely meant “be deemed”—two words.) Your contract also states that it is “non-exclusive” (Pages 2, 11) Your usage suggests that you meant to write “exclusive”. (…irrevocable, and transferable right to print, publish and sell your work worldwide, in both electronic and print format. Page 2.) I submit that if I can’t sell a work anywhere else in the world, that contract is exclusive. A non-exclusive contract would have both parties able to release, say, a Kindle edition of a work. Does the wording of the contract present legal difficulties? I’d only care if I’d been dumb enough to sign it. If it makes difficulties for you….well, you wrote it.
The bottom of your contact email reads “No thanks—Unsubscribe. Thad. Jeremy. You contacted me. When did I subscribe? What did I subscribe to? Please take me off your list—though I suspect you already have.
Publishing Insanity
To Whom it May Concern—
(Seems stupid to address this to Dear Hachette & Amazon)
As an author, I have no right to an opinion on anyone’s e-book prices—those are the business of the publisher. I self publish on several platforms, and I set my prices as I choose. (I will observe that I enjoy a much higher royalty rate than I ever did as a mass-market, mid-list author under traditional publishing. And as an Indie Author/Publisher, I am able to bring out the books my readers want to buy and read.)
As a reader and purchaser of books in all formats, here’s my policy: if the price is too high, I don’t buy the book. If I want to read the book, I go to the public library, or I wait for remainder copies to hit the used book market. I still read the book. You lose the sale. Your authors lose the royalty.
The rest of this fracas? Follow the Golden Rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Both of you, Amazon and Hachette.
(Seems stupid to address this to Dear Hachette & Amazon)
As an author, I have no right to an opinion on anyone’s e-book prices—those are the business of the publisher. I self publish on several platforms, and I set my prices as I choose. (I will observe that I enjoy a much higher royalty rate than I ever did as a mass-market, mid-list author under traditional publishing. And as an Indie Author/Publisher, I am able to bring out the books my readers want to buy and read.)
As a reader and purchaser of books in all formats, here’s my policy: if the price is too high, I don’t buy the book. If I want to read the book, I go to the public library, or I wait for remainder copies to hit the used book market. I still read the book. You lose the sale. Your authors lose the royalty.
The rest of this fracas? Follow the Golden Rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Both of you, Amazon and Hachette.
July 21, 2014
Thistledown Launches in Print
Just in time for Confluence, Thistledown is now available in trade paperback. Teddi Black did an amazing job of transforming the e-book cover into a front and back, still featuring my pastel painting of a unicorn. I will at least have proof copies at the convention, but I stand in awe of the leap forward in technology that allowed me to have the book in my hand nine days after I uploaded the interior file to Createspace. July 16, 2014
Inferiority Complex?
Do Indie-Authors suffer from inferiority complexes? I’ve been following forums on KDP Voice of the Author and Goodreads for a bit now, and I’ve noticed some common “threads” if you can bear the play on words. Schemes to get your self-published book noticed. Begging for reviews. Moaning about one-star reviews. Sites to promote your self-published book. Ways to trade reviews or move books up on “lists”. Do I need a new cover/book description/agent/blog? Requests for recommendations of overlooked self-published works. Cheek by jowl: I need reviews to become a bestseller/someone is rating my books unfairly, how can I make them stop?
Here’s my question: If you present your work professionally (and that means well-edited and properly formatted) when exactly does the customer in the Kindle Store tumble to the fact that your book is self-published? You have to scroll down really far, well below the book description to find the publisher data. Do readers do that? Or do they just go to the Look Inside, then make their choice about purchasing? I looked at a couple of pages of an Amazon Search for “Epic Fantasy”, as a test, and I really couldn’t tell unless I clicked on an individual book and looked inside it. There’s no cover blurb that screams “Self-Published”.
If we can remember that we are Indie Authors and Indie Publishers, and do all aspects of both jobs with equal attention, if we make our writing the best it can be, and don’t rush a project into print too soon, we are more likely to have a decent product to promote—and no reason to apologetically refer to our books as anything other than…books!
And then the readers, the sales, the reviews will come. But the writing comes first!
Here’s my question: If you present your work professionally (and that means well-edited and properly formatted) when exactly does the customer in the Kindle Store tumble to the fact that your book is self-published? You have to scroll down really far, well below the book description to find the publisher data. Do readers do that? Or do they just go to the Look Inside, then make their choice about purchasing? I looked at a couple of pages of an Amazon Search for “Epic Fantasy”, as a test, and I really couldn’t tell unless I clicked on an individual book and looked inside it. There’s no cover blurb that screams “Self-Published”.
If we can remember that we are Indie Authors and Indie Publishers, and do all aspects of both jobs with equal attention, if we make our writing the best it can be, and don’t rush a project into print too soon, we are more likely to have a decent product to promote—and no reason to apologetically refer to our books as anything other than…books!
And then the readers, the sales, the reviews will come. But the writing comes first!
You Might Be An Indie Author If...
Your book title won’t fit on your cover.
You have 20 pages of thank-yous, author notes and a prologue at the front of your book.
Your text isn’t justified.
You don’t know what “justified” means.
You double space between paragraphs.
Your indents are two inches wide.
You back cover copy has to be set in 8 point italic condensed type to fit on the page.
Want to look like a pro? Look at other books. There are millions out there, in stores, libraries, and if you’re me, all over the house. If you create in an unnecessary vacuum, resign yourself to reinventing the wheel.
And an afterward about book titles: this is part of marketing, and major publishers have never had any trouble changing an author’s working title to something they feel works better for their line. When I did my experiment to see if I could tell whether books were self-published, it was the titles that gave them away, not the covers.
Titles are not copyrightable, but you’d still be nuts to call your novel Gone With the Wind unless you’re a meteorologist and it’s your autobiography. Do a search to see if there are other books with similar titles—you don’t want your work to get lost, or be confused with another book. I went back to the original title for Moonshine, because there were lots of books called Moonlight besides mine, but no other fiction with Moonshine in the title.
That title/subtitle that won’t fit on your cover? Folks, this is a bit like registering a baby thoroughbred with the Jockey Club. Which sounds like a quality horse? Secretariat, or Suzy Q’s Fuzzy Princess? Unbridled or Makemesomebigbucks5starreviews? Naming your book is an art, like naming your characters. It’s worth your time and consideration, and it’s not entirely the author’s preference—it’s part of your marketing, your book’s identity, your branding.
You have 20 pages of thank-yous, author notes and a prologue at the front of your book.
Your text isn’t justified.
You don’t know what “justified” means.
You double space between paragraphs.
Your indents are two inches wide.
You back cover copy has to be set in 8 point italic condensed type to fit on the page.
Want to look like a pro? Look at other books. There are millions out there, in stores, libraries, and if you’re me, all over the house. If you create in an unnecessary vacuum, resign yourself to reinventing the wheel.
And an afterward about book titles: this is part of marketing, and major publishers have never had any trouble changing an author’s working title to something they feel works better for their line. When I did my experiment to see if I could tell whether books were self-published, it was the titles that gave them away, not the covers.
Titles are not copyrightable, but you’d still be nuts to call your novel Gone With the Wind unless you’re a meteorologist and it’s your autobiography. Do a search to see if there are other books with similar titles—you don’t want your work to get lost, or be confused with another book. I went back to the original title for Moonshine, because there were lots of books called Moonlight besides mine, but no other fiction with Moonshine in the title.
That title/subtitle that won’t fit on your cover? Folks, this is a bit like registering a baby thoroughbred with the Jockey Club. Which sounds like a quality horse? Secretariat, or Suzy Q’s Fuzzy Princess? Unbridled or Makemesomebigbucks5starreviews? Naming your book is an art, like naming your characters. It’s worth your time and consideration, and it’s not entirely the author’s preference—it’s part of your marketing, your book’s identity, your branding.
The Great and Powerful Oz
Goodbye, OzzyIt’s the price of unconditional love. We can’t have it for more than a few years. Not quite eleven, not till some time in August. The year I lost my first horse, before I got my cat, a friend and I lured Oz out of a creekside garbage dump where he’d been stashed, strayed or abandoned in a choke collar so tiny it had to be cut off of him. He was a big puppy. He got bigger. But his easygoing temperament never changed. He was happy living among the old paint cans and cement slabs. He was happy to be in a house. He loved kids and dogs and cats and food of all kinds. At 8 PM he’d go upstairs to bed, whatever house he happened to be at. He was always smiling.
Retrievers are called by their color—Golden—or where they come from—Chesapeake, Labrador. Oz was the world’s one and only Neshannock Creek Retriever, and our family dog. He lived with me from the August rescue until he went to my brother’s house in January. He came back to me whenever my brother was away, and he spent a lot of time with my mom and sister. When Mom broke her hip, he visited her at the hospital, with all and sundry pretending not to see a hundred-plus pounds of happy dog strolling by. Ozzy went with me to Light-Up Night downtown, unfazed by fire trucks blaring sirens and marching bands and fireworks. Search & Rescue wanted to recruit him, that night. The next year, he met the mayor at the parade. (The mayor was impressed by his size. Oz was just Oz.)
Oz, it wasn’t long enough, and we were blessed to have you. Good Boy!
