Emilie Richards's Blog, page 65

Sunday Inspiration: Vote Your Values

“Choose a leader who will invest in building bridges, not walls. Books, not weapons. Morality, not corruption. Intellectualism and wisdom, not ignorance. Stability, not fear and terror. Peace, not chaos. Love, not hate. Convergence, not segregation. Tolerance, not discrimination. Fairness, not hypocrisy. Substance, not superficiality. Character, not immaturity. Transparency, not secrecy. Justice, not lawlessness. Environmental improvement and preservation, not destruction. Truth, not lies.”

― Suzy Kassem

With the election only two days away, I encourage you to vote your values — not just political values of party and tradition — but your deepest religious and spiritual values. For me, those values are expressed well in the above reading.

May whoever wins be a compassionate leader who will bring our nation together and help us to create a a better future.

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Do Readers Want Facts Or a Fabulous Story?

Before I explain today’s title, I’ll remind you that the subject of research has been on my mind in a big way this month, and in last week’s blog I addressed how and when I do it.

I’ve been immersed in the final rounds of research for The Swallow’s Nest, and thinking a lot about how important facts are in fiction. I find this an interesting question, do you? Novelists talk about writing in such a way that our readers can “suspend disbelief.” In other words telling a story in such a way that readers will not be pulled out of our fictional world back into their real world by something they know is not true.

I’m sure that’s happened to you, right? You’re reading along and suddenly a character arrives in a brand new car from a manufacturer who went bankrupt a decade before. Apparently years ago it happened to one of my readers who wrote me the sweetest letter–remember letters?–saying how much she loved my book, but at the same time she was surprised my calendar had Ash Wednesday and Easter in the same week.

Well, no one was more surprised than yours truly.

So in the battle between facts or a fabulous story? I am absolutely thrilled with two new television series this season. This Is Us is the riveting story of an unusual family. Each episode weaves past and present together and stuns its audience with surprise twists. The writing is stellar, far beyond the standards of most television show, and the casting and acting are inspired.

Designated Survivor is the story of an ordinary man, the low man on the totem pole in a presidential cabinet, who finds he is suddenly the president of the United States after a horrible act of terror wipes out the Capitol and most elected officials.

Two very different shows, right? Still, they have many of the same strengths. Creativity. Talented writers and actors. Interesting premises and twists.

Even if you haven’t seen these two, you should be able to draw some conclusions about the research that would be needed for each.

This Is Us is the more realistic. The show deals with the issues you and I and everyone else deals with every day. Family. Loyalty. Disputes. Secrets. Longing. Birth. Death. Racism.

Designated Survivor takes place in a world we know, but after an event we have never experienced. The crisis is global, the stakes couldn’t be higher. And while the internal story deals with many of the same issues I listed for This Is Us, the focus is different.

This Is Us feels real. Designated Survivor feels like reality-based fantasy.

With me so far?

A show that feels “real” needs real research. Since the events could actually take place, we, as viewers, should believe they really did, exactly the way we see them on the screen. A show with a premise closer to fantasy has to feel real, so the parts that seem real must be well researched. The parts that don’t? That where imagination comes in. Within certain parameters, anything goes.

Now, here’s the tricky part. The plot of the “realistic” drama, This Is Us, is based on something that I know for certain would never happen. And if you thought about it, you’d know this, too. Certainly not the way it does in the story. (I don’t want to spoil the show for you, so I’m not going to say what.) But the writers were faced with a decision. Facts or a fabulous story.

The real kicker? If the writers had followed my logic and changed the story to make it realistic, the impact would have been lost.

In the end? Writers walk a shaky tightrope. Do we tell the best story we can, squeezing facts into shapes we can use? Or do we find ways to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but, even if our readers are just a teensy bit bored?

There’s no easy answer, and no answer fits every situation. Novelists or screenwriters have to decide for themselves which path to follow, when to veer away from it, and when to walk the straight and narrow. (Tightropes, paths, it’s a day for piling up metaphors.)

A rule to think about? If the story is so fabulous (This Is Us fits the bill) then veering off the path into more and better drama is probably okay. As long as its not habitual.

I’ll also say this. I had every reason to realize the facts had been twisted around in the pilot. Did I care? Did I even notice? No. Not until much later when I began to think about it. The pilot was that good.

Did this foray into the impossible spoil the show for me?

Not for a moment. Someday I would like to veer off a path with the same spectacular results. I just hope, as I wend my way into those woods, I know what I’m doing.

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Sunday Inspiration: What Scares You?

 

Yes, Halloween is tomorrow, and the goblins will be out in force trying their best to find out what scares you.

But another holiday that is celebrated in many parts of the world between October 31 and November 2 is the Day of the Dead. In Mexico and Central America this is a raucous but meaningful day that gives people the opportunity to remember and be inspired by those who have “passed on to the Great Majority.”

It’s also a chance to laugh in the face of death, to take our fears — and aren’t we all afraid of death? — and shine a light on the boogeyman instead of hiding under our beds.

When my husband visited Guatemala several years ago, he was impressed by the joyousness of the people, the colorful kites flying everywhere, extravagant picnics on the graves of ancestors, and lavish tables overflowing with photos of loved ones who had passed, skeletons, candles, and food.

If you want to know more about the Day of the Dead, you can check out it out here.

Who do you remember and honor on this Day of the Dead?

 

 

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Researching a Novel: Accurate But Vague

I’ve spent the past week diligently researching a novel. Not just any novel, but The Swallow’s Nest, my work in progress which is now entering the home stretch.

It may seem odd to you that in the home stretch of my novel, I’m still doing research. You might ask yourself why, um. . . is she finally getting around to it now? I mean, don’t you think she’d have done it before she wrote the first sentence?

Yes. Well, good news. I did. In fact I’ve been knee-deep in research since this idea occurred to me.

Can you stand a quick digression? When I originally came up with this story, I said, “no way.” In fact I shook my unconscious and demanded it join hands with my little gray cells for an exorcism.

The one thing I had promised myself? I would not, under any circumstances, write another research-heavy novel. I had just finished When We Were Sisters, and while it may not look research heavy to you? Take a look at some of the files I created as I worked on the story.

These are a sampling of folders that contain information from multiple sources. This doesn’t include the hundred or more websites I bookmarked and went back to multiple times.

While I received a very moving email this weekend from a former foster child who found it surprising that someone who hadn’t been a foster child got the facts straight, I wasn’t a foster child and I’ve never been a foster parent–at least not officially. I had to depend on books, the internet, and the kindness of strangers and friends.

I live for emails like that one.

When I began scratching around for a new idea I realized that this time, I needed something simpler, a story I could throw myself into without sacrificing weeks or even months.

Instead, I came up with The Swallow’s Nest, set in California–where I have not lived for many decades–and heavily immersed in California child custody law. (Sorry, but those are the only tidbits I’m feeding you today.)

For me, researching a novel has three distinct phases:

Checking facts and digging just deeply enough to be sure a new idea is feasible. For instance, if I decide I want to write a story about a parakeet who escapes its cage on a cross-country trip (don’t look for that book any time soon) I would have to research parakeets, their life span, how far they can fly on an average day, their predators, how weather would affect the flight. Once I was satisfied I might pull it off, I could plot the story or move on to something else.
Once an idea is approved or decided on, in-depth research to develop plot and character begins. Where was the parakeet’s family traveling? For what purpose? What kind of jobs do the owners have? What’s their story and does it involve issues, for instance homelessness or divorce law? Once I’m sure I know enough to start, I do just that. Often I discover plot or character ideas I can use in the novel. That’s why I don’t use a researcher.
While I need to be sure an idea will work, I rarely know for sure what specifics I’ll need until I write my way toward them. The most intense research occurs as the novel is being written. I look for details to make a story come alive and I target the particulars.

When making use of research, I try to be accurate but vague. I can’t be an expert on everything. So I need to really know the basics and at least a few shiny details. If I have serious questions about the way something works, I need concrete, well-researched answers. But an elementary school library might have everything I need.

Exceptions persist, however. I spent most of this past week tearing out my hair. I had done weeks of research on child custody law in California. I had faithfully copied every statute. I had made lists of how things developed. The truth is, that after all that work, I was still so confused, I knew I couldn’t proceed.

I had two choices–three if you count giving up on the book. I could wing it. I could keep tearing out my hear. Or I could bite the bullet and look for an expert who would talk to me, in this case a California lawyer specializing in family law.

Taking the third option I went to newsgroups I belong to and asked for referrals. Then I asked professional friends, family and readers for suggestions. In the end, four great contacts stepped up, but while each was helpful, none were California attorneys. So I did the unthinkable. I went online and looked for family law attorneys in the county where my novel takes place. And I sent emails to complete strangers.

I am delighted to say one of them bore fruit. I found the nicest, most helpful, most knowledgeable attorney who took more than an hour with me, answered every question, made suggestions, and helped me make sense of all the research I had done to that point. No lawyer jokes in my presence, please.

Talk about the kindness of strangers? But more good news. Every time I’ve asked strangers for help on any book, somebody has stepped forward.

Will my book be better because at least I tried my best to get the facts right? You decide. Next week let’s discuss my new favorite TV show, This Is Us, and different choices they’ve made. Until then.

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Sunday Inspiration: Get A Life

Get a life in which you are generous. Look around at the azaleas in the suburban neighborhood where you grew up; look at a full moon hanging silver in a black, black sky on a cold night. And realize that life is the best thing ever, and that you have no business taking it for granted. Care so deeply about its goodness that you want to spread it around. Take money you would have spent on beers and give it to charity. Work in a soup kitchen. Be a big brother or sister. All of us want to do well. But if we do not do good, too, then doing well will never be enough. It is so easy to waste our lives: our days, our hours, our minutes. It is so easy to take for granted the color of the azaleas, the sheen of the limestone on Fifth Avenue, the color of our kid’s eyes, the way the melody in a symphony rises and falls and disappears and rises again. It is so easy to exist instead of live. –Anna Quindlen

Happy living to all of you!

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The Election: The Five-Hundred Pound Gorilla in your Living Room

I’ve debated writing a blog about the election for a while. I don’t believe Southern Exposure is the right place for politics. In fact I’m sure it’s not. At the same time I like to think what I say here is relevant to our daily lives, mine and yours.

Last Sunday’s inspirational post was about the delights of autumn. Truthfully, I think this particular autumn hasn’t been nearly as delightful as usual for anybody who reads the news, turns on their television set or even drives down the street.

The election is overshadowing so much. A woman in our city was a recent victim of road rage because of her political bumper sticker. Social media has become a frightening place to visit. I’ve watched the destruction of long-standing friendships, and authors forced to step forward and defend deeply-held opinions, knowing that by doing so, they will lose readers.

Anger and frustration have taken over the airwaves and our print media. An appeal to violence is no longer subtle. Hints of conspiracies and blatant threats against fellow candidates contribute to a national atmosphere of uncertainty and fear.

But you know all that. Right? Because you breathe the same air we all do. Even if you’re reading about the election from a different country, you are slack-jawed and open-mouthed at what you see.

My point today is not to tell you how to vote. I love being part of a democracy where voters have choices, and the right to make them. I have never walked in your shoes, heard exactly what you’ve heard, been raised by your parents or sat at the dinner table with your spouse.

If we really believe in this amazing government of ours, then we also believe that people of good will, people who have carefully considered issues–not simply their own volatile emotions–will make the right choices. Not always. And perhaps not even in our immediate future, but I am a fan of this quote by Theodore Parker, born in 1810, a Unitarian minister and Transcendentalist.

“Look at the facts of the world. You see a continual and progressive triumph of the right. I do not pretend to understand the moral universe, the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways. I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight; I can divine it by conscience. But from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice.”

If that sounds vaguely familiar? More recently Martin Luther King paraphrased Parker’s quote this way: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

Together can we help that moral arc bend a bit faster toward its “continual and progressive triumph?”

Here are some things we might try together in the next weeks as the election draws nearer to make a difference in our own lives and the lives of people we love.

Mindful meditation. Let’s stop reacting to every comment, every new accusation, and instead take charge of our own emotions. Let’s take some time each day to breathe, to let our minds drift and our bodies relax.
Pray for peace. If we’re comfortable with prayer, let’s pray for a better understanding of each other, for patience, tolerance, clarity of thought, and a return to an agenda that puts making our world safer and more livable right at the top.
Get our facts straight. Let’s not believe everything we read. If something sounds too ridiculous to be true, it may be. Let’s use good sources, responsible journalists and pundits, researchers, fact-checkers without a specific political agenda. There’s a lot of garbage out there and it’s not limited to one party or the other. Dig for the real story. Let’s never settle for less.
Resist the impulse to make enemies of old friends. “Unfollow” people on social media who upset you, at least until the election is over, but don’t abandon them for good. If we find we must comment on a post or a tweet, comment without anger, acknowledging the other person’s right to his/her opinions. Don’t preach and don’t use sarcasm. When tempted, let’s try to remember a time when either a sermon or an insult made us change our minds about anything. Bet we can’t.
When faced with prejudice and anger, try the following tips from a recent article in the . Change the subject, often the only thing needed. If we must comment keep our tone and demeanor gentle and kind; don’t publicly embarrass anybody; and most interesting? Assume people, even the most bigoted, are able to change. If we go into a confrontation with a light touch and a positive attitude, the chances it will end positively are better.
Work for the candidates we support. Instead of getting angry, let’s get results.

There’s a lot at stake in this election. We can’t ignore that. But we can approach the final weeks of campaigning with the most positive attitude we can muster. And when all else fails?

The five hundred pound gorilla in your living room probably really weighs about twenty pounds. Turn off your television and read a good book. (I can recommend a few.) Smile more, call your kids or your parents, bake cookies. Your happiness counts. The more you project happiness and calm, the better place our world will be.

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Sunday Inspiration: The Grand Finale

“Fall has always been my favorite season, the time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if Nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale.” -Lauren Destenfano

I love living in Florida, but I miss the colors and cooler temperatures of autumn. I did spot one fallen leaf the other day with patches of color. The little leaf clung tenaciously to our lanai screen, as if to say, “See what you’re missing?”  While I suspect the patches of yellow were more bug infestation than cooling weather, it still made me homesick.

We’ve enjoyed such beautiful falls in places where we’ve lived: Cleveland, Ohio, Arlington and Roanoke, Virginia, Meadville, Pennsylvania.

There’s something about autumn that is so fresh and cleansing. It seems to wash away the clutter of summer, the rambunctious schedules we keep, the rush to see far away family and new vistas. Fall means hunkering down, appreciating the lives we lead, scuffing our feet through piles of leaves on rambling walks with no particular destination.

Wherever you live, may this fall be a season of simplicity and solitude, a time of beauty and joy.

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Publishing Questions You Weren’t Afraid to Ask.

When I started my recent mini-series which extended over five weeks, I opened the door to publishing questions.  I received some great ones from readers Marjorie and Pat.

Marjorie wanted to know a few things about how books go to print, timetables, drafts, etc. And Pat wanted to know how decisions are made about format for publication. Let’s tackle those publishing questions today. For the record, this is my favorite kind of blog.

1–How long does it take a book to get published after the first draft?

Each author’s first draft is different. I edit as I go, then I edit again and again, going back chapters at a time and making changes. So by the time my first draft is finished and I’ve typed “the end,” (which I never actually do) the manuscript is fairly well polished. From the time I send my final revised and edited copy to my editor until it arrives at the bookstore, as little as 6 months or as much as a year can go by. However, that’s my personal experience. Some writers zip through their first draft and only edit later. Some publishers hold books for as long as two or more years before they put them into print.

2–Are copies marked as uncorrected proofs in their final stage? What happens after they are printed?

Uncorrected proofs, a designation sometimes found on Advance Reading Copies, are usually the original drafts of manuscripts which, at the time of printing, have not yet been edited, copy-edited or proofread. Time tables sometimes require that the ARCs go out before the editing begins. Otherwise there wouldn’t be time for reviewers to see and review. Mine often go out that way. Of course this is a bit dangerous. What would happen if an editor demanded, say, a happy ending when the original was a huge tear jerker? Confusing for everybody, right?

3–How is the number of published books per year decided between the publisher and the author – does the publisher honor the author’s wishes? Or does the publisher insist on what they want?

As long as we have publishers and authors there will be disagreement. Publishers look at the bottom line for their publishing house and imprints. Authors look at their families, their sanity, their wobbling creativity, their need for rest and rejuvenation. Hopefully somewhere between the two an acceptable middle ground arises. I will say that in days gone by, publishers truly had the upper hand. Nobody wanted to lose their spot on a publisher’s list. These days authors who aren’t thrilled with a publisher’s terms are waving goodbye and publishing on their own timetable. That said, the pressure is much the same. Indie-pubbed authors know that the only way to build their audience and reputation is to write quickly and often. This is one of those publishing questions that has no good answer.

4–Who makes the decision whether the book is printed in hardcover or paperback? Is it became the publishing companies–the Big 5–decide what will be a success.? Is it all financial?

This is such a good question. A lot of it is financial certainly. Publishers look at who is reading what, and whether those readers are likely to buy something as expensive as a hardcover. And hardcovers are a bit problematic these days, because while a hardcover is out, publishers are reluctant to set the price for the matching ebook much lower if at all. Readers used to getting a discount on ebooks (and why shouldn’t they?) are angry. So a hardcover really has to have a secure, enthusiastic audience. And, of course, no matter how good the data, publishers are still making a leap of faith.

Hardcovers, by the way, are often printed with the idea that they’ll mostly be bought by libraries. These are a limited run, but readers can still find them in the months after a book comes out. My last few books have had matching hardcovers targeted to libraries.

The other part of this question is about publishers gambling on success. And yes, sometimes debut authors are first released in hardcover. Publishers have “feelings” as well as data about what books may zoom to the bestseller lists. However, if they print more, and more bookstores order them, they are also nudging that book toward bestsellerdom. Does it always work? Absolutely not. But sometimes it’s a gamble worth taking.

5–How about the really good selections I have found at the Dollar Tree? How do those books get shuffled off to those stores? I have found great treasures there and surprisingly often too! Why? Don’t they sell fast enough or with high enough reviews or ratings?

And I am sorry to say I have no clue. One guess would be small presses that package them specifically for this purpose? (And there are a lot of Dollar Stores, don’t forget, so they would have a larger print run.) At one time Walmart had its own romance line, Precious Gems, and those romance were only available there. So if somebody out in blog comment land knows the answer, we’d like to know it, too.

6–And, the last of the publishing questions: Back to the quality. Or the size of a book. The shrimpy and cheaper paperbacks vs the nicer, larger paperbacks that are prettier, and easier to read, and hold up so much better. Such a huge difference in so many. Who decides?

Remember mass market? Sure you do. Those smaller, cheaper paperbacks described here? Well, mass market still exists, but these days mass market sales are quickly being taken over by ebooks.  Trade paperbacks, though, (accurately described in this question as larger, prettier, easier to read and more durable) are becoming more popular. My books are no longer in mass market, but only in trade, ebooks, and limited hardcover.

For those of us who write longer books, mass market means smaller print, with sentences dipping into the spine. There have been times when I wanted to issue magnifying glasses with some of my mysteries and general fiction. So trade works well for longer books, too, in addition to the reasons noted. But then, so do ebooks. Readers can download a book of any size, adjust the font on their ereader to their preference, and read away!

Hope you’ve enjoy our answers to publishing questions that arose during my mini-series. Send more and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Happy reading!

 

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Sunday Inspiration: Let It Go!

“If someone has offended you, insulted you, or disappointed you, LET IT GO! If you are remembering all the ways you have been hurt or forgotten, let it go! Ask yourself, what good does it do for me to hold on to this?” –Iyanla Vanzant from http://theforgivenessproject.com/

Today’s quote is in honor of the High Holy Days now being celebrated by Jews around the world. This is also a time to reflect on those whom we have hurt or harmed during the past year and to seek forgiveness.

Not your faith or tradition? Don’t worry. This is a worthy practice for people of all religions and one of my favorite religious holidays and messages.

Who do we need to forgive? What past hurts and insults do we need to release? Let it go. If we can’t, why not? Are we better, happier, healthier for holding our painful past so close?

My thanks to one of the world’s great religions for this welcome reminder.

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Publishing Today: Readers Have Choices

I’ve just finished my annual trip between houses and to a fabulous writer’s conference. Along the way I thought you might enjoy a brief trip through the world of publishing. We started with traditional publishers, moved on to small presses, then indie publishing, took a quiz and added some fun facts. Now today’s blog is all about you, the readers.

Over the past month we’ve done a quick run through the publishing business.

Today, I want to talk a little about the way all these changes affect readers. Publishing has come a long way from the days when stories were scratched on to papyrus or penned and illustrated by monks. The common man or woman–especially woman–never saw those books. Today books are everywhere. Most of us have libraries nearby. Every tag or rummage sale has massive piles of books for a dollar or less. Try walking through an airport without salivating over displays of the juiciest bestsellers.

Not only are print books readily available, now readers who live too far from a library to go frequently can easily order books on the internet. If buying books is too expensive, many libraries allow you to download them on to your own reading device. Readers can enjoy their favorite authors on their e-reader, on their laptop or tablet, even on their phone. In fact some authors are carefully editing their work now to make sure it can be more easily read on smart phones. Shorter sentences and paragraphs. Less description. Quicker pacing. Pared down chapters.

Several decades ago publishers began to narrow their lists.

Publishers must pay close attention to trends in order to survive. Decades ago they noted that book selling was changing. Many independent bookstores had gone belly-up (50% according to Forbes in the past 20 years) because book chains like Borders and Barnes and Noble appeared and offered at discount everything the indie stores didn’t have room to carry. Remember the movie You’ve Got Mail? The arrival of Tom Hanks’ chain bookstore put Meg Ryan’s cute little bookstore out of business. Luckily Meg got Tom as a consolation prize, but when a change is documented in a Hollywood film, you know it’s a big deal, right?

Publishers noted that bestselling authors like Steel, King, and Grisham, were keeping bookstores alive, so authors who sold far fewer copies (midlist authors) were cut from publishing lists to make room for the bestselling authors’ backlist. (Remember that word?)

Big Chains began to shrink.

Then another change. The big chains began to disappear. First your favorite mall bookstores like Waldenbooks and B. Dalton quietly faded away. Then Borders went belly up (to my personal dismay). Barnes and Noble, Books A Million and others are still hanging in there, but the big players these days are online giants like Amazon and to a lesser extent iTunes, Kobo, and B&N’s Nook. (The same 2014 Forbes article I mentioned claims that Amazon made $5.25 billion from book sales alone that year, 7% of their total revenue.)

I remember a conversation with a publishing exec about ten years ago in which I was assured that Amazon book sales figures meant very little. Clearly publishers were not truly prepared for what was about to happen.

Why online bookstores?

A bookstore has limited shelf space. But an online bookstore? An online bookstore is limited only by warehouse space, and, of course, that’s easily remedied. And what about ebooks? How much space do they take up?

Of course the result, for readers, is a much wider variety to choose from. Now authors who are willing to publish independently can choose their own subjects, subjects that appeal to a more limited group of readers. But often those readers are voracious and willing to buy everything in their chosen genre. Because royalty rates are much higher for indie authors, they can afford to write the books they love for a smaller, enthusiastic readership.

If there are more books available now, how do we find the stories we love most?

Bookstores have always organized shelves by genres. Walk through almost any store and you’ll note that all the mysteries are in one section, the romances in another, and the “literary” and general fiction is off to one side under “Fiction and Literature.” Organizing this way is meant to help you quickly find what you want.

If your tastes are even more specific, what happens? I love to choose a novel set in the country or city I’m about to visit. Novels are more fun than a travel guide, so what if, for instance, I decide to look for a mystery set in Venice–as I did the last time I went to Italy.

At that time after laborious searches I was lucky to find a few. Today, I can go to Amazon, type in “mysteries Venice,” and an entire page appears. Wait, not just a page, but 46 pages of results, many if not most of them relevant. But what if I target my subject even more? What if I want a little romance with my mystery?

Here’s an example of a real search.

I key in “mysteries Venice romance” and this time the result is 6 pages of relevant results. But what if I’m in the mood for a romance/mystery set in Venice that features a psychic? Yep, one result there.

Amazon and other search engines have made searching so easy for readers. Type in your search terms, then at Amazon, check the column to the left. Amazon has thoughtfully provided more search possibilities. They’ve broken down books that fit your search terms into categories. In my example I see psychic mysteries, historical fiction, thrillers, etc. And if I scroll down I can choose results based on customer reviews, condition, in or out of stock.

The possibilities for narrowing choices are endless.

Yes, publishing has changed.

Publishing has changed through the years and a lot of changes have occurred in the years I’ve been writing. Perhaps some changes should be mourned. But looking ahead at all the choices now available to both writers and readers? Today writers can expand their creativity and audiences. Readers have choices that were never before available, choices made so much easier because of search engines. Online bookstores provide books with only a click or two, or as always, your favorite brick and mortar store has helpful staff to recommend books they think you’ll like.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this quick look at publishing today. I’ve tried to be as accurate as possible, but don’t blink. Because soon it will be publishing tomorrow, and who knows what the future will hold.

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