Austin S. Camacho's Blog, page 19

Validation

I don’t know anyone who writes with the specific objective of winning an award. Nor do my author friends list best seller lists as their reason for creating.  It is still true that most of us long for those things, not so much for the sales and money those things bring but for their inner value.  Bestseller lists suggest love and respect from readers.  An Agatha award from Malice Domestic or a Lovey from Love is Murder is validation from fans of your genre.  An Edgar or Nebula award gives a writer validation from his or her peers.
I hadn’t thought about other possible sources of validation as a writer until I received an email from fellow mystery author Neil Plakcy.
I’ve known Neil for three years, since I reviewed his novel Mahu Blood for the International Thriller Writers’ newsletter The Big Thrill.  At the time it was the latest in his much-respected Mahu mystery series, set in Honolulu.  Neil also teaches at Broward College in Florida and recently contacted me because he was assembling materials for a new version of their mystery fiction course.
Neil had read my essay, “Black Ain’t Nothing But a Detective’s Color,” which was published in the summer 2007 issue of the Mystery Reader’s Journal.  In that piece I discuss how being Black makes a detective different.  I was pleasantly surprised when Neil asked permission to incorporate my essay in his mystery course. He explained that many of his students were coming from a multi-ethnic community and that my essay would be valuable to those students.  I could help them understand African-American characters in crime fiction. 
And more, it’s a Master Course which could be taught by multiple instructors over a period of years.  So going into the future it could be that hundreds of people who want to learn how to write mystery fiction will read my essay as part of their course of study.
Of course I still long for fan accolades, reader appreciation and peer endorsement.  But I never realized how much academic validation might mean to me.  It says something about my understanding of my genre that makes me glow with pride. 
And as I prepare to write the next Hannibal Jones novel I’m thinking that all I need to do now is live up to it.

Here's the Real Reason...

Why would a writer take the time to design a class about the craft of writing? Why take more time to present a class at a writer’s conference? Why share what it has taken you years to learn with a roomful of emerging or just aspiring writers? I've often said that presenting to new and future authors is personally rewarding. I’d like to present a couple of concrete examples.
Last weekend I had the chance to present at the Philadelphia Writers’ Conference.  Fifty talented writers signed up to hear my three hour talk about how I create fictional characters.  The group was attentive and inquisitive, and gave great feedback during the class. But even more fulfilling was the feedback I received after the class, like this email:
Austin---I want to express my gratitude and thanks for the presentation you gave at the Conference this weekend. I learned a great deal and found your “delivery” quite understandable, delivered with a sense of humor and giving me new insights. I am a short story writer so maybe not 100% of what you said translates into my work but 99% of it does.
I also heard from one student who appeared to be dealing with a serious disease, one that made it difficult for him to speak.  Nonetheless he contributed during class and asked good questions.  Days after the Con he sent this email:
I wanted take to a moment out of my day to say thank you. I was in your class at the Philadelphia Writers' Conference and I found it very informative and helpful. I loved your style of teaching. You made the class fun, which is what writing should be, with your wit and sense of humor. And from the passages you read from your books, you're an excellent writer.
Thank you very much for coming to the conference and on a more personal and meaningful note, thank you for your patience when I spoke to you after the class. I am the man with the disability and you took the time to listen and to care. To use a phrase I have used before, you saw me as a writer who happens to be handicapped, not as a handicapped man who happens to writer. Thanks very much.
I don’t care how long you've been published or how many books you have out there, no awards, honors or even sales figures could be more satisfying than feedback like that.  This kind of thing makes the time and effort of presenting at writers’ conferences more than worthwhile.

If you’ve seen a great presentation at a conference you attended, or as an instructor received this kind of feedback, why not share with us?

Name That Genre

In conversations at the Philadelphia Writers Conference this weekend I learned of the common belief that “genre” only exist so booksellers will know where to shelve books.  However, I think that genre labels serve a purpose for readers, helping them to select their next book based on their own tastes.
When we established Intrigue Publishing we decided to narrow our focus more than most small presses.  We would publish only genre fiction, and only four specific genres at that.  However, over the last two years we have found it challenging to define the books we want to publish.  It’s even more challenging when you consider all the sub-genre books can fall into.
For example, one of our four genres is crime fiction.  That encompasses thrillers and mysteries.  But thrillers can be international, or political. They can be military or spy thrillers, action/adventure books, caper stories, or novels of suspense that can sometimes border on horror.  Similarly, mysteries can be noir, hard boiled, police procedurals, or cozy (excuse me, I mean traditional mysteries.)   We love them all.
We also publish Young Adult (YA) fiction.  I believe YA to be an audience rather than a genre, and those young readers enjoy EVERY kind of fiction.  We’ve published Y-As that could be classified as science fiction, fantasy or espionage thrillers, but a coming-of-age story would fit us too.
We’ve been looking for sensual romance books, but keep getting erotica.  Not the same thing, people.  Keep it romantic.  A lot of paranormal writers like Sherrilyn Kenyon hit the right spot.  So do Jude Devereaux and Amanda Quick.
And then there’s urban drama.  We’ve learned that when most people see “urban” they think “African American” which was not our intent.  No "street lit" please.  And contemporary drama tends to bring in chick-lit and we are NOT looking for Nicholas Sparks.  Our first example is B. Swangin Webster's upcoming "Let Me Just Say This."  
Maybe we need a new label for the books we want to publish.   So, help us out - not for bookstore shelving, but to help authors know what to submit to us. How shall we label the stories we’re looking for? We want fiction with strong characters facing real life challenges - things that happen every day in American cities. These are stories of personal struggle and triumph. Help us define this genre, because we know a lot of women who want to read these books.    

What's Wrong With Being Passive?

Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, there are rules good writers are expected to follow.  One of the most commonly accepted rules, by editors of books and newspapers, is that good writing is always in active voice.  Recently a good friend and excellent writer raised the obvious question.  Why?
Put simply, a sentence in active voice presents the subject before the object, as in “Bill hit the ball.” In a passive sentence, the object appears first: “The ball was hit by Bill.” Passive voice often adds some form of the verb “to be” to a sentence, but one wonders why that is considered evil.  After all, people talk this way all the time.  No one will tell you that passive voice is grammatically wrong, and sometimes it just makes sense to emphasize the object of the sentence “The entire city was destroyed by that fire” makes it clear that this story is about the city, not the fire.
The fact that passive voice is very popular in governmental writing might be a clue to why the rest of the world hates it. It’s common to read that “Taxes were raised for the third straight year,” or that “the toxic waste dump was undetected for years.” What you may notice is that in the passive construction, it is very easy to leave the subject off completely.  It is consequently rather convenient to not name the person, group or entity that actually took the action. Passive sentences make it easy to obscure the blame.  You probably want your writing to be clear.  Passive writing helps a sentence be more vague.
Journalist Sydney J. Harris said, “We have not passed that subtle line between childhood and adulthood until we move from the passive voice to the active voice - that is, until we have stopped saying 'It got lost,' and say, 'I lost it.'”
So, while a writing instructor might tell you that active sentences have more pizazz, help a story to have a stronger pace and promotes clarity in your writing, I’m comfortable with the idea that writing in active voice is just the grown-up way to write.

All's Fair...

I spent last Saturday enjoying the sunshine and warm breeze while signing books at the Middletown Arts & Crafts Festival. I was no star attraction by any means, just one of the dozens of vendors there at Middletown Community Park. I was also wondering how many other authors enjoy this kind of activity.

As time passes there are fewer and fewer bookstores in which I can do signings. Social media is nice, in fact essential, but I crave the personal interaction with readers.

Also, I've never had much success at book fairs, where I'm one of dozens of writers talking about their books. Most attendees can only buy one or two books and in a room full of authors that slants the odds against me.  Plus, many people are overcome by the variety of options, or feel they're being unfair if they buy from one and not others.  Paralyzed by indecision or guilt they may decide not to buy any books.  And how memorable can I be to readers who talk to a dozen authors that same day?

At local festivals and craft fairs I stand out better because I'm usually the only author in the place.  Yes, I have to set up a tent and table, but then I'm in a relaxed atmosphere. The folks I see neither feel pressured or guilty when they stop to chat with me.  I usually do as well at these events as I would at a book signing in a book store, and I just might spot a perfect gift for someone's birthday or Christmas. 

The Middletown Festival was a good time, and profitable.  The low point? Well, the live entertainment left something to be desired.  The high point? The fellow who sought me out because he heard I would be there.  He had bought his dad one of my books for Christmas. Dad loved it so much he needed to get more of my work for future gifts.  Of course, I was happy to oblige.

Is it worth the time and energy to sign ten or twelve books in an afternoon?  To me, it's worth it to reconnect with even one fan, and maybe make a couple new fans.  I think every indie author or small press writer should give it a try!

The Author's Final Step

My next novel, Beyond Blue, has been written, re-written, edited, proofread, formatted and, as you can see, it has been fitted with a beautiful cover. As a publisher I have lots more to do but as an author, you would think my work was done. But no, I have one more crucial duty.  Now I must face the galley proof. 
In printing and publishing, proofs are the preliminary versions of publications meant for review by authors, editors, and proofreaders. They are created for proofreadingpurposes, but at Intrigue Publishing we also use them as the Advance Reader Copies we send to reviewers. 
They are called Galley proofs because in the days of hand-set letterpress printing, the printer would set the page into galleys, the metal trays into which type was laid and tightened into place. These would be used to print a limited number of copies for proofreading.
When we print them, one copy goes to the author.  His or her assignment is to go over that book with a fine toothed comb, read every word, looking for errors.  This is that writer’s one last chance to find anything wrong, be it a formatting error, spelling, grammar or that character’s name that changed halfway through without us noticing.  This is the writer’s final “I meant to say…” opportunity. It isn’t meant to be rewrite time, but if an author thinks a particular turn of phrase looks clunky in print and he is inspired by the perfect wording, we usually accept it.
So in addition to my other duties, I’m re-re-reading Beyond Blue. Not something I look forward to, but as editorial director I do need to practice what I preach. This being the first book of a new series, I’m not as familiar with the characters and setting as I am with Hannibal Jones or Stark & O’Brien so I have to look extra closely.
What’s the book about?  Well, I try to make this blog about my writing/publishing life rather than my writing itself.  However, if you’re good, maybe I’ll tell you a little about it next week.

The Joy and Frustration of Choices

One of the biggest changes the publishing industry has had to face in the last decade or two is the rise of a variety of formats in which a book can be published.  Since Amazon launched twenty years ago the e-book has come into its own.  That fact has been a book for self publishers and small presses, but it has also made publishing a bit more confusing.

The publishing business was already confusing when all books were paper.  A publisher would sell books to bookstores at a specified discount.  Each time a book was sold the publisher would pay the author a certain percentage of the price. The bookstore discount was pretty consistent at 40%, and cover prices for hard covers, trade paperbacks or mass market paperbacks were also pretty consistent.  For those reasons, author royalties were also pretty consistent across publishers. 

Of course this process continues. But now that author or publisher can also distribute this book for use on the iPhone, iPod Touch, Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader, Barnes & Noble Nook and probably some devices I haven’t thought of. Each requires a slightly different format and pays a different royalty.  If a publisher is handling these books, the company has to take those various royalties into account, which means that royalties to authors is not consistent from one publisher to the next. In the future a standard may well appear, but at this point both authors and publishers are still figuring out what seems fair and profitable.

AND there are variations on these variations. For example, if you give Amazon.com exclusive rights to your e-book you can get 70% royalties and even get paid when people just borrow your book. Otherwise your royalty will be just 30%, but you may actually make more if people with other e-readers buy your book.

Beyond that, each publisher (or self-publisher) sets the price for his or her book and there is no consistency there either.  I’ve seen e-books available for 99 cents and for 12.99.  One can assume the lower the price the more books sold but how do you establish what price will bring the publisher the most money?

If you choose to self-publish, good luck deciphering the new world of publishing.  If you find yourself trying to figure out  whether or not a publisher’s contract is fair to you, just now that the publisher on the other side of that contract thought long and hard on the decisions that, he hopes, will lead to a profit for him and for you… but that noboby has it all figured out yet.

Why Should You Blog?

Recently I posted a link to my blog on a LinkedIn group called Writers and Author’s Circle.  It was the post about how to have a successful agent pitch session.  I quickly received this comment: “This is not the place to self advertise your commercially- motivated blog. If you want to join a conversation you are very welcome but remove this spam; stuff like this is driving the proper members away.”

I just as quickly left this group (so the proper members wouldn’t be driven away) but the incident did get me thinking about this process.  Is my blog commercially motivated?  I will admit that I first started blogging years ago because all the marketing experts at the time were saying that an author HAD to have a blog.  Without one, no one would ever know about your books and you would never have any sales.

Did it work?  Does my blog give me greater visibility?  I think so.  Has it led to book sales? I highly doubt it.  If that ever was a path to book sales, I don’t think it is now.  Facebook and Twitter are much more efficient for that purpose.  Besides, I believe I have a lot more writers than readers here, and other authors are not the best market for my novels.

Of course there ARE more commercial blogs.  Fiction writers who blog about their characters every week, and nonfiction writers who blog about their topic of expertise probably do boost their sales.  Bloggers that feature author interviews or sample chapters certainly aim to boost their guests’ sales.  And there is still a strong belief among authors that going on a blog tour will generate book sales.

I launched this blog based on the idea that readers would want to know what’s involved in being a novelist, to see the writer’s life from the inside.  Over time it has evolved into a place where I share what I’ve learned about this passion and this business called writing.  I get to express my opinions, and other writers enter into dialog here. Sometimes I just report recent events that have affected my work.  Sometimes I use this space to explore my own thoughts and attitudes.  Ultimately I have to say that I find blogging very rewarding, but not financially so.

So why should an author blog?  Maybe we should be asking why people read blogs.  Probably not to find new books to read, but maybe to be entertained.  Maybe to learn more about what it’s like to be a writer.  Maybe to learn more about the writing business, or the writing process.  And maybe just to get to know a writer better.  If you want to fulfill any of those needs then you definitely should try posting something every few days.  You might find it rewarding too, even if it’s not commercially motivated.

The Best Path to Better Writing

There is no shortage of classes on line, at colleges and at writers conferences that promise to improve your writing.  All may be valuable (I regularly teach writing classes myself) but I believe that the best way to become a better writer is through reading… but you have to read the right way.

Read technically – If you want success in a particular genre, read what’s popular in your genre and note the commonalities.  Look at the book like a product being sold. How long a book do these readers prefer? (Fantasy novels and thrillers may range over 100,000 words.  Mysteries suspense books skew closer to 80,000.) How long are the chapters? How many major characters? How important is the setting? What are the conventions in this particular genre? (Cozy mysteries keep the violence off screen; hard boiled detectives have strong if untraditional moral codes; in Westerns, cowboys are more philosophical and skilled than they ever were in real life.) You may not choose to stick to these conventions, but you have to know and understand the rules to break them successfully.

Read emotionally – Let yourself just be a reader and FEEL the book you are reading. If you react strongly to a particular scene, ask yourself why.  Is it because of the use of particular details?  Key words?  How did this writer get you to feel this way?  When you read dialog that really feels right, try to figure out exactly what the reader did in that dialog.  If you find yourself breathlessly flipping the pages, back up and see how that writer hooked you so solidly and dragged you along.  And what if a scene doesn’t move you?  Go back and try to figure out why you didn’t like it.  Then you can say, “Well, I know not to ever do THAT!" 

Read comparatively – When asked how I learned to write mysteries I usually answer truthfully, that I outlined three books I particularly loved and deconstructed them.  Thru this technique I was able to compare these favorites objectively.  I could see how plots were developed, what they all had in common, and how they varied. In later years I’ve come to compare books in a different way.  I find it valuable to read more broadly, in a variety of genres. I’d never write a romance or science fiction myself, but I learn things from these other genres that I can apply to my own writing. Every novel has SOME romance in it.  Why not learn how to display that from the experts?  Every fiction author has to deal with suspension of disbelief.  The best sci-fi authors excel at that.  And while I’ll never write poetry, I have learned about how to use the language and a bit about rhythm and flow from reading it.

There’s nothing wrong with classes and critiques, but there is no better way to improve your own prose than by paying attention to that of others.

The Human Element

In this blog I’ve discussed several facets of the publishing business – submissions, editing, marketing and more.  But one part of our business that I haven’t gotten into is more ephemeral and harder to define. For want of a better term, I’m calling this side of the business the human element.

It is true that writing is both a skill and an art, while publishing is a business. But a publisher is more than a venture capitalist, investing in the potential value of a product.  That is because a publisher doesn’t simply invest in a book.  He also invests in the author, and dealing with the artistic temperament of a creative fiction writer is often much more challenging than dealing with that writer’s work.

For example, editing is the process through which good manuscripts become great manuscripts. At Intrigue Publishing, like most small presses, that process is collaborative.  Professional editors know how to improve pace, strengthen characters, and fill plot holes. But only the author knows how to present his theme, establish the chosen atmosphere and preserve her own voice. We want to end up with the best book possible, but we never want to take the book away from the writer.  Better to let the book and the writer go than to have an unhappy or bitter author in our stable.

The same applies to cover design.  Our job is to create a book cover that will get a reader’s attention, express the book’s genre and tone, and prompt the reader to pick that book up. But authors feel, often very strongly, that what matters is that their cover represents their story accurately.  So for many writers it can’t be a great cover if it depicts a scene that doesn’t actually occur in the book, if characters are facing each other who don’t meet in their story, or if the heroine is wearing a gown she would never wear.  This type of thing may not matter much to the big six publishers (or are there only five now?) but we don’t want to have one of our authors out there promoting their book but hating the cover.

Every press is bound to make decision an author doesn’t favor (we’ve debated the font, page layout and even chapter heads with writers) but we consider every choice carefully and always stand ready to explain why a writer’s preference isn’t followed.  We must never forget that it takes a special person to create a novel others will want to read, and that the publishing industry really rests on that human element.