Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion
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Writing Questions for Josh
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Absolutely. Before digital the book length standard of 90K (which has to do with manufacturing cost, rather than art, incidentally) produced a lot of novel-length stories that had only novella-length plots padded out with digression, mostly in the form of irrelevant sub-plots or backstory. I personally really like side characters in stories. That has a lot to do with often disliking the protagonist (sad to say) and therefore looking for a character to like in the supporting cast. But it's also because I enjoy the ensemble cast generally. I write a lot of side characters--often to the great detriment of the romantic tension--but can't seem to stop.
Maybe its because I know so many interesting side characters in real life. (ha!) But I also think that what complicates a person's life, generally, are other people. Two (or more) complex systems coming into contact and messing with each other, like galaxies colliding and knocking all those carefully coordinated stars all out of whack.
As I re-read that last para I realized that I guess its no surprise that I'm a Wodehouse fan. :)
(Then again, everything he wrote was quite short as well. If you think about it. By modern standards, anyway.)
Mod
One punctuation mistake is not a dealbreaker, generally. Not even one punctuation mistake per page is a dealbreaker. The real dealbreakers are things like:
No hook.
Boring.
No climax.
Confusing prose.
Unapplealing protagonist.
Stuff like that.
Nicole wrote: "Cleon wrote: "I also just found a punctuation mistake on the story I just submitted to a publisher (yes, that one) and I've been fretting if that'll be the deal breaker."One punctuation mistake i..."
Thank you, Nicole. I really hope the editor won't find my story boring or the protag unappealing.
Nicole wrote: "One punctuation mistake is not a dealbreaker, generally. Not even one punctuation mistake per page is a dealbreaker. The real dealbreakers are things like:No hook.
Boring.
No climax.
Confusing prose.
Unapplealing protagonist.
Stuff like that."
TG. I'm getting better as I go along, but I am severely comma-impaired. Never met a syllable I didn't want to insert a comma into. LOL
Mod
Now that I've been to Germany, this doesn't surprise me at all. And come to think of it, the only translation interest in BEB titles has come from Germany as well.
Nicole wrote: "Liade wrote: "I remember reading somewhere that Germany is the biggest market in the world for translated books. "Now that I've been to Germany, this doesn't surprise me at all. And come to think..."
"Now that": does that mean you have been here recently??
Josh wrote: "Any hints what next year's projects might be?Not so far. I'm batting a few ideas around. Probably a couple of long short stories/short novellas. This last PM I did for Jordan, reminded me of ho..."
More audiobooks please!
Mod
I went last summer for a wedding in Bad Herrenalb.
Josh wrote: "Liade wrote: "Josh wrote: "I'll be doing a lot of consolidating my empire. ;-) I have translations of the AE series in the works. I'll be doing another print collection. That kind of thing...."..."
AE in Dutch?? It will be.... weird???
One of the main reason to read books in English is because it is the original language. I always feel it looses something when translated.
So I am curious about a translation
Mod
I think of it as aiming toward a readership I don't currently have and am not likely to get if the books are not made available in the readers' mother tongues.
That's always the challenge for us (writers). I know every English speaking m/m reader has not read or bought my work, but the ones who resist giving me a try will probably always do so, so I have to go further afield to build my audience.
Plus, I've been informed there are horrific pirated other language copies of my work floating around out there, so this way I control some of that and put out good, decent translations and remove one more excuse for pirating.
Nicole wrote: "Liade wrote: ""Now that": does that mean you have been here recently?? "I went last summer for a wedding in Bad Herrenalb."
Sorry yes, now I remember you mentioning it.
Mod
This is something I have to look into, I agree.
Josh wrote: "Ingrid wrote: "Josh wrote: "Liade wrote: "Josh wrote: "I'll be doing a lot of consolidating my empire. ;-) I have translations of the AE series in the works. I'll be doing another print collection...."Only thinking of not professionaly translated books make me want to cry. They can't be good.
I can see why you want this regulated. Good luck, any ideas on a time frame?
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I can see why you want this regulated. Good luck, any ideas on a time frame?
..."
The Dutch/German translations should be appearing in the fall -- the hold up is me sending out the contracts.
The Spanish translations are moving along at a nice pace but I'm aiming more for next year on those.
Josh wrote: "The Dutch/German translations should be appearing in the fall -- the hold up is me sending out the contracts...."Any idea who the German publisher will be?
Mod
Any idea who the German publisher will be?"
Yes. It's a new publisher. I probably shouldn't say more till the paperwork is complete and they've got release dates.
Josh wrote: "Liade wrote: "Josh wrote: "The Dutch/German translations should be appearing in the fall -- the hold up is me sending out the contracts...."Any idea who the German publisher will be?"
Yes. I..."
Sorry to be so nosy - I understand your reticence, of course.
But maybe you can say if it's print or ebook? The latter is still very much a novel concept in Germany. Usually as expensive as a paperback, and so far all ebooks in Germany are DRM-ed. No discounts permitted in Germany either, book prices are fixed.
Mod
Any idea who the German publisher will b..."
Ebooks to start with. If the books do well, they'll look at print. It's really not going to be a money maker for me, but that's okay. I'm not expecting it to be. I'm looking at it as advertising in a new market.
Josh wrote: "Liade wrote: "Josh wrote: "Liade wrote: "Josh wrote: "The Dutch/German translations should be appearing in the fall -- the hold up is me sending out the contracts...."Any idea who the German pu..."
Same situation here in NL as in DE. Dutch e-books are expensive too.
But e-readers are becoming more popular. And we don't have access to Kindle maybe that it something that keeps e-reading down too.
Ingrid wrote: "Same situation here in NL as in DE. Dutch e-books are expensive too.But e-readers are becoming more popular. And we don't have access to Kindle maybe that it something that keeps e-reading down too. "
Yeah. There's a lot to be said for reading in English :)
Though ... we do have access to Kindle ... sporadically. It's like they just randomly checked books and went, yes, they can have those ...
I just don't like buying ebooks from Amazon (mostly because I don't actually own a Kindle)
I'm very curious about the Dutch version :) There are very good translators. Amazon is asking me double the price on an e-book so I usually buy directly from the publisher or FictionWise. We can buy the Kindle from Holland. I'm actually considering it because my current E-reader is slowly falling apart.
Josh, this isn't a writing question per se, but I hope it is something that you (or some of the other folks who hang around the forum) can help me with.How does one go about setting up an anonymous author website? I.e., one in which the website is www. penname. com (or whatever) but that doesn't point to the legal-name owner of that domain?
To be clear, I'm not looking for info on how to design a website, I can do my own homework on that. But I'm stumped on the anonymity question.
The problem is that apparently (according to my computer geek partner), a domain name must be registered to a real person or company. And there are databases where anyone can go and look up who owns a domain name. So if I register www. penname. com, anyone with a modicum of net savvy will be able to look up my real name.
How have you gotten around this (or are you a company)?
If you (or someone else) have discussed this elsewhere, can you point a general direction? And again, lots of experience on this thread... my ears are open. Thanks all.
Ocotillo wrote: "Josh, this isn't a writing question per se, but I hope it is something that you (or some of the other folks who hang around the forum) can help me with.How does one go about setting up an anonymo..."
That was a service offered through my host. Costs me $10 or $15/yr. Easy peasy. HTH!
Kari wrote: "Ocotillo wrote: "Josh, this isn't a writing question per se, but I hope it is something that you (or some of the other folks who hang around the forum) can help me with.How does one go about sett..."
Cool. 8) Glad to hear it's can be a simple matter. Yay.
hit the hay?
how the hell?
hot to hunt?
...?
thought I knew most of them but you stumped me...
Thanks!
Me and my stupid slang, sorry, LOL -- Hope This Helps!
So, Kari you just found a host and the domain name is registered to them?
Yeah. And yes, I know, that wasn't wise, but I'd just sold 3 books, 2 were releasing incredibly fast...I was a huge fan of make-my-life-easy at the time.FWIW, I did Wordpress via Bluehost. I pay a little over $100/yr and adapated one of their templates. I dragged my feet on making the header for the longest time, but I had my site up and running within a day or two, tops. Granted, my site isn't great shakes. It's basic, but more importantly, it's functional and doing anything to it doesn't launch a crying jag or irresponsible drinking which both earn very high marks with me. ;D
Kari wrote: "Yeah. And yes, I know, that wasn't wise, but I'd just sold 3 books, 2 were releasing incredibly fast...I was a huge fan of make-my-life-easy at the time.FWIW, I did Wordpress via Bluehost. I pay ..."
I did Wordpress too. I didn't pay for the domain name so my site is kajeharper.wordpress.com. I don't know how much of an issue that is for people to find it. It's been fairly easy to work with (although I've had one or two technical glitches because I'm really not good at this stuff.) I was able to link my covers to the publisher sites and put up writing and things without much trouble.
So the hosting service that I was looking into first ('inmotion';only because my partner uses it) says that for $9/y, I can make it private but then they go on to show an example where my contact info is erased but not my name.And could y'all clarify the above comment? Do you mean that there is an option between having the hosting service register the name to itself or to you? I presume that affects whether or not you can take the name with you if you leave them, but it may also affect how private your information can be.
And yeah, Kari, your whois lists bluehost.
Thanks. :) HT be H'ed.
Kaje wrote: "FWIW, I did Wordpress via Blu..."Thanks! I might try that option...at least to begin. But I'd also like to register a pen name before I choose it.
Kaje wrote: "Kari wrote: "Yeah. And yes, I know, that wasn't wise, but I'd just sold 3 books, 2 were releasing incredibly fast...I was a huge fan of make-my-life-easy at the time.FWIW, I did Wordpress via Blu..."
You know, I have WP also, and I seem to remember that I can pay to upgrade so that I can have a www.annetenino.com address or something. But I'd still be on WP. I should look into that. Although I probably need to not abandon the blog...
Kaje wrote: "I did Wordpress too. I didn't pay for the domain name so my site is kajeharper.wordpress.com. I don't know how much of an issue that is for people to find it. It's been fairly easy to work with (although I've had one or two technical glitches because I'm really not good at this stuff.)"No reason you can't do that. I think having your own domain name without the wordpress added on looks less cluttered, smoother. It's easier for people to remember. And I do think it looks just a bit more professional. Plus, it looks prettier on swag, either online buttons/badges or the vistaprint goodies of awesomeness.
I highly rec getting your domain name, if you can swing it. I (and the IRS) look at it as an investment in my business so it's tax deductible.
Oc, bluehost has my domain name, not me. If I leave bluehost, I'll have to be www.KariMGregg.com or some such, but I'm entirely too lazy to leave my host. I'm still paying another webhost for a site I run under my RL self $25/mth because I'm too lazy to move it and I *own* that domain name, free and clear.Of course, that's how that one idiot tracked down my home phone #...People are freaking scary, you know that? LOLOL
Yeah, so I'm still stuck with thinking that if you own your own domain name, your name will have to be accessible from whois.We'll see if someone knows a go-around for that (or alternatively, can tell me that's wrong). If not, I'll fall back on the other options.
Looking over wordpress real quickly, my impression is that if you blog on W_P_ .com your address will be yourname at w_p_ . com. If you want to get rid of the wordpress part of that, it looks as though you need to choose a host (ie., bluehost) and then download the wp software to use for that site.
Thanks Anne and Kari and Kaji and Lou. I'm reading and learning.
Oh- And ocotillo is awkward, right? Folks at LJ call (or write, heh) me Oco. Easier on the tongue than Oc. But whatever, I don't actually care what you call me (err...okay, please be nice), hopefully I'll show up with a brand new shiny easy first name in a while.
Edit: Yes to scary. Whew. That's why I'm going to this trouble. And I'm lazy too, about shit like that. That's why I'd just as soon get it (close to) right the first time.
Ocotillo wrote: "Yeah, so I'm still stuck with thinking that if you own your own domain name, your name will have to be accessible from whois.We'll see if someone knows a go-around for that. If not, I'll fall bac..."
Oops, sorry about abbreviating your name! I just got to typing fast...I'll use Oco, if that's okay.
Wordpress (the free part, not the paid part) is perfectly fine when you're just getting your feet under you. I went in whole hog right off the bat, but I'm told that upgrading to the paid/name-only domain thing isn't a difficult transition. So you can do wordpress now and just do the upgrade later without it being a mind-melter. I don't know how to hide your real name without registering it to the host, though, sorry. =(
L.C. wrote: "Ocotillo, I own my domain names outright. Yes, names. I have four, but one is a variation that directs to the same site. I register my domains, and host my sites, through GoDaddy.com. I've found th..."Yes. It does, thanks. I will look into them, although in a way, you've basically told me that it *can* be done, and if they do it, I'm sure others do as well. Which, I've been looking over some geek threads and it sounds as if that won't stop a dedicated hacker, but I haven't quite descended to THAT level of anxiety yet. :) And besides, it sounds as if very little could stop a dedicated hacker. You'd have to be using anonymous payments and the like to do that.
Which, reading over these geek threads is giving me plot bunnies... or at least, scene bunnies.
And Kari, srsly, I should be the one apologizing for going by such an unwieldy name! Ha. It's hard to get sensitive about a name you make up, after all. :p
Okay, so one of these days I'm going to upgrade to a better web address, and I need opinions. Is it better to keep the blog and have both, or should I just go whole hog now and switch over before I get too much more traffic? I'm generally under 50 hits a day (sometimes way under).
Rachel has both. I'm a fan of easy...My home page *is* my blog, with tabs for the the other stuff like my book list, excerpts, bio, and whatnot.If you need to later, you can always do a redirect to steer people where you want them to go.
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We'll see if someone knows a go-around for that (or alternatively, can..."
I'll ask my web guy, Ocotillo. There's a way you can set it up so that it filters through another site which keeps your info private. Josh Lanyon is my legal DBA, though. My checking accounts, etc. are set up under that name.
Anne: I'm also a big fan of easy from both the author side and the reader side. My sense would be to shift now and blog from your website, leaving a redirect in place for a while at your old site. And soon, given how popular your first(?) novel has been.But then, considering my experience....I could be talking out my ass.
Josh: Thanks. Yeah, I kind of suspected that from when I paid you for the ms service, but I figured that you'd done a lot of thinking about it anyway. And I knew this was a good place to ask, anyway. Lots of savvy people with reasons to hide. *lol* Ah, the life of
I agree, Oco. It seems easier to switch now.Okay, when you register your DBA, is that paperwork public? Can someone find out me real name that way? Anyone know?
I don't know, but my guess is that since that is a state requirement (not federal) it will vary by state? I.e., some states don't require registration. I think. Errm.Okay. Shutting up now.
Here is a page that does NOT answer your question. HTH! :D (not much, I know).
http://www.sba.gov/content/register-y...
I think at this point, I'm just here to avoid writing, so I should let the pros take over.
Just asked the husband, who is my source for all things business. He said that people can look up the paperwork and see the legal name of the person who registers the DBA, at least in our state.
Yeah, I'm on LJ and basically like it, though if I were starting over, I'd probably go with blogspot. At the time, I was posting a lot of free fiction, so LJ made more sense to me. But I've already got a strong presence there, so I doubt I'll move. Whatever I choose as a pen name will probably tie in somehow with the name of my LJ so that it doesn't come off too clumsily to keep it.But I'd like something I can customize a little better, and where I can offer free pdf etc. downloads and other whistles and bells. Blog specific sites just aren't set up to do that very well.
Glad to have confirmation that the privacy thing is simple. Barring illegal activities, it doesn't seem right that you'd have to divulge your ID to have a voice. I'll probably do as you do, try to keep the website semi-static. The fewer distractions I have, the more I write.
Thnx. :)
Ocotillo,There are three levels you can do this:
o If you want to run your own physical server/DNS service etc -- you can register your own domain directly with the domain authority. I'm assuming you don't want to do this.
o You can get a virtual domain from any number of intermediary infrastructure shops like Wordpress -- if you have a blog, it already has something that is yourblogname.wordpress.com. This is mostly blog software but WordPress has an upgrade at cost that allows you to write your own CSS stylesheets and create your own pages (you can do most of what you might want to do on a basic website). This is basically a trumped up blog that provides most of what the website needs.
o You can have Wordpress or regular ISP providers host a domain for you. You choose the full domain name, and they typically provide a large amount of the software, tools, and services that you need to run your website.
Most ISPs (including WordPress) will ask you whether you want an anonymous domain or not. This means that they register with the domain authority and you register with them. It's not your name/postal address that goes on the public record, but theirs. You should absolutely ask for (and ensure/double-check) that your domain registration is anonymous. Most good ISPs don't actually charge extra for this, or charge a very trivial amount (less than $5).
Of course, webhosting has become really trivial and really cheap. You can be up and running in minutes (assuming you don't do what I did -- which is write your website using css/html from scratch for everything, but I was doing it for fun, and it is rather trivial).
Webhosting, in any case, has become really cheap ($3.88/ month at mine) for a basic website...
Okay, ns, so I can go to Wordpress and tell them I want a domain name then use their templates to set up a static blog to use as a webpage. Right?Seriously, pretend I'm from a planet with not technology.
Wow. Thanks for such a well-thought out answer. What little I didn't totally understand (for example, I've only got a general sense of what CSS stylesheets actually are), my partner will be able to explain (it's always easier in person). I'm actually pretty good with computers -- have even done a fair bit of programming, just that all dates from the mid-90's so I'm not up on a lot, especially where internet issues and methods are concerned. But I'll pick it up pretty quickly. I'm leaning towards the third option, but only slightly. I'll run it past P, he has a good sense of my strengths so will be able to help me choose. His own option (for his website) was the third you list, but it may be that the second option will suit me better.
Thanks beaucoup buckets, everyone.
Josh: If you get this in time, I've gotten plenty of answers that along with a savvy partner, will help me choose, so please save yourself some time/trouble and don't worry about asking your contact. Would rather have another paragraph of that sequel (whichever one!) written! :) Thanks for having such erudite fans.
Anne wrote: "Just asked the husband, who is my source for all things business. He said that people can look up the paperwork and see the legal name of the person who registers the DBA, at least in our state."Anyone in the world can look up the registered record of a domain (there are programs that do this as well as, now, many, many websites -- search on "whois").
For example, just google "whois www.goodreads.com" -- one example it brings up is this URL, and if you click on the bottom link for more information on the whois record, you get this URL.
It is part of the Internet specification to have the domain owner (responsible party) identified with their postal address, email address and phone number. If the site (router) went down, or had technical issues, they could be contacted (by anyone) so that the problem could be resolved.
That is, it's a required public record for historical (and some current) reasons.
Anne wrote: "Okay, ns, so I can go to Wordpress and tell them I want a domain name then use their templates to set up a static blog to use as a webpage. Right?Seriously, pretend I'm from a planet with not tec..."
Well, when you signed up for a Wordpress blog, they've already given you say, anntenino.wordpress.com. WHatever you picked for your wordpress blog name, with .wordpress.com (as you're a little cell in the giant wordpress.com behemoth site).
So you now have the above Wordpress blog (and URL). You can create a web page by creating a blog page. You can make this a sticky (your blog front, for instance). And you can have other pages that are minimally navigated from your first page and the listing of pages in your blog. This is a very limited kind of blog (but if you're not going to have too many pages or do too much futzing with it, it might serve your needs).
You can also get a virtual Wordpress website (they have a full domain name that points to your blog). So let's say you wrote up a sticky page for your blog front. You can ask them for the domain name anntenino.com. That would point to your blog. They would have you fill up some info (pretty small amount).
You can even ask them for anntenino.com, and have them register that domain for you, but it can point somewhere else, not your blog (say you have a website somewhere else). In that case, they would just be the guys who tell everybody else where to go when they type in "anntenino.com."
WordPress has a lot of documentation on this, so I'd look there, too, for the latest info and charges.
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Q&A with Josh Lanyon
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You should totally read The Rifter. Longest. M/M. Novel. Ever. :)