Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion
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Writing Questions for Josh
Aleksandr wrote: "KZ - I know people - like LA Witt - who write 5-10k a day and their craft is flawless."Yikes! Fast AND flawless? (I'm with you, Reggie. Just shoot me now.)
Maybe if I left out all those Oxford commas, my speed would skyrocket. ;-)
KZ - Yep. The good news is, they keep readers busy while we slowly drag ourselves to the finish line. :)
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Me too. But Jesus God the debates over it. This is the kind of thing where I just can't bring myself to care anymore. :-)
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I think, had all the continuity and misspellings and so on been caught, I'd have been much more tolerant over the battles on subjective things like dialog tags. But to miss the unquestionable errors because you're so busy arguing the stuff that seriously DOES NOT MATTER...that's what fried me. And apparently still fries me all this time later.
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..."
I'm trying to think.
I've held off doing sequels to see whether there was really enough demand for it. The Dark Tide, for example. I wanted to do it but I didn't think it was really necessary and it felt self-indulgent. So that was one I let myself be persuaded.
I won't give ground on Come Unto These Yellow Sands, though. I do know better on this one and I'm going with what I know. :-)
It's a gamble because, assuming you want to write for a living, you do have to write what readers want to read! So there's a little bit of compromise going to have to take place there.
And when writers won't or can't compromise you see anger and frustration. It sometimes plays out against readers, but often it's directed at other authors who *do* write what readers want to read.
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..."
A lot of the time I'm genuinely surprised anyone likes my stuff at all. Not being modest, just my stuff is pretty different from what seems to be really popular in this genre, so to this day I'm truly surprised I've gotten as far as I have just writing what I like to read.
Josh wrote: "Na wrote: "Not being modest, just my stuff is pretty different from what seems to be really popular in this genre..."That's true, and I'm very glad you are so successful even though you swim against the current.
Antonella wrote: "Josh wrote: "Not being modest, just my stuff is pretty different from what seems to be really popular in this genre..."That's true, and I'm very glad you are so successful even though ..."
I'm glad it works too. The trick must be writing what you want to read.
Josh wrote: "I've held off doing sequels to see whether there was really enough demand for it. The Dark Tide, for example. I wanted to do it but I didn't think it was really necessary and it felt self-indulgent. So that was one I let myself be persuaded."Oh my gosh--I'm glad you did! That was my favorite of them all! And for me, it felt totally necessary. I mean, Pirate King ended on a positive note, but...*thinks about several lines of dialogue in TDT between Jake and Adrien that still make her shiver*...The Dark Tide just brought everything together.
Josh wrote: "Not being modest, just my stuff is pretty different from what seems to be really popular in this genre"*coughs* It can make it a little frustrating to find similar authors and stories to feed the addiction. ^.^
...Not that I'm actually complaining.
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I know I over-use this comparison, but my other job is cooking in a restaurant and the fact is, if peoples wants to eat chicken and you make good chicken why not offer chicken on the menu? Maybe the chicken is not by itself art--maybe it's not what you want to make every day--or even your best dish--but why deprive your customers of the stuff they really want just because you can?
On a totally unrelated note, the restaurant where I work ran out of chicken today 5 hours before close. Customers did not run away. They chose other menu items. But you could see that some of them just really wanted a chicken sandwich.
We offered free chocolate cake to these disappointed souls.
Till we ran out of that too. (lol)
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Your stuff really is different. But you've got such a nice voice. I think it's a matter of the author's personality coming through the narrative. Reading one of your books is like listening to a friend whisper a secret down a dark and twisting phone line. I think that's the secret ingredient to a Josh Lanyon book... "joshness."
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You explained the joshness beautifully, Nicole. That's exactly how I feel about Josh's voice and his books. :)
Nicole wrote: "Reading one of your books is like listening to a friend whisper a secret down a dark and twisting phone line."That is beautifully stated, Nicole. I didn't realize to what extent that is my reaction to Josh's voice until I saw your words in print. Thank you.
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Yes, very beautifully said, Nicole. These days the more I read, the more I appreciate Josh. Such an amazing blend of talent, insight, and craft.
Nicole wrote: "But you've got such a nice voice."That's it right there, I think. A smooth, pleasant, somehow comforting and trustworthy voice. One can't help but want to come back for more.
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:-D
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I think a lot of it comes down to readers who, like myself, just don't have energy for a lot of high drama. :-D And like a little bit of a sense of humor about...everything.
Josh wrote: "I think a lot of it comes down to readers who, like myself,...like a little bit of a sense of humor about...everything."That, and the level of intelligence your characters possess.
Susan wrote: "Josh wrote: "I think a lot of it comes down to readers who, like myself,...like a little bit of a sense of humor about...everything."That, and the level of intelligence your characters possess."
And the fact that you don't underestimate your readers' intelligence.
Not to mention that your writing is very good, but that is what we are saying, in so many ways already, isn't it?
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That, and the level of intelligence your characters possess."
And the fact that your characters have been around the block a bit. :) And yes, the sense of humor is important and a very satisfying part of your stories. :)
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And that's both the plus and the downside of our new interactive publishing world. Not that readers HAVE to interact with the author (or vice versa, really, although I think there is an increasing expectation) but if you want to, the ability to do so is there in a way it never was before.
One thing I noticed myself was how impatient I now am if I'm looking up an author and their website is out of date or they have a FB page but it's clearly neglected. Goodreads author groups...not so much. Most author groups aren't that active and readers really do most of the upkeep as far as bibliography and all that, so I don't think negatively of an author if they don't have a personal group or if that group isn't hopping.
But don't start FB pages or Twitter accounts and abandon them. And not having an up-to-date website is just nuts.
I think authors who think FB is the solution to have a website are making a mistake. The vast majority of our readers, even though, yes, they are now buying ebooks, still do not want to personally interact with us (beyond perhaps the occasional email), and FB is too interactive for the reader who just wants to see what you have coming up. They're not going to bookmark all your publisher pages -- they probably aren't even paying attention to who your publisher is -- and they don't want to have to friend you or follow you just to find out when the next book in a series is going to be available.
I've heard people say the traditional author website is going the way of the dodo, but I don't think so. I've been paying more attention to stats lately, and the vast majority of traffic feeds in through my website portals.
Josh wrote: "Ha! Well, all that works if you like Josh. But if you don't like Josh, then the books won't work either, I'm guessing.And that's both the plus and the downside of our new interactive publishing w..."
I am not so sure. Through this forum and the FB site I have come to like Josh, how you represent yourself and interacts with us, your readers. But
I read several books before I found this place and would have said the same about your writing if anyone had asked befor getting to know an like Josh :).
In fact, it was the books that drew me to finding out about Josh, not the other way around.
Josh wrote: "I've heard people say the traditional author website is going the way of the dodo, but I don't think so. I've been paying more attention to stats lately, and the vast majority of traffic feeds in through my website portals. ..."I agree with you, Josh. I am also amazed how often I find out-of-date author websites. At a minimum, there should be an easy to find section with booklists: each series showing all the books in their correct order and identifying whether the series is complete or not, and stand-alones clearly identified as such. If there is a "coming soon" section it must be accurate; nothing looks worse than if it shows a book which has been out for months or even years. If an author is releasing a book and is busy promoting it then its details must be on the website!
I suspect that some authors set up a website which is too complicated, so maintaining it becomes a real effort. Better to keep it simple and up to date. Remember that readers are most interested in your books, so focus on them! You can always have links to other social media.
I don't think authors can rely on Twitter or Facebook. Many readers who are computer users and will check a website stop short of them.
I like to use my blog and Twitter for announcements, updates, and other topical issues, because both are interactive. (I'm not only wary of Facebook, but it confuses me.) My website is primarily an organized central "keep" for already-published titles.The prospect of having a GR Author Page scares me. I can't shake the conviction it would be like having a party that nobody attends. :-)
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That's where an active publisher group can fill the gap, but I'm very bad at taking part on the publisher groups. In fact, I'm horrible at taking part in anything that isn't this group.
Josh wrote: "That's where an active publisher group can fill the gap, but I'm very bad at taking part on the publisher groups. In fact, I'm horrible at taking part in anything that isn't this group. ..."But what *is* "an active publisher group"? I have to confess I've no idea, so I wonder how useful they are in terms of communicating with readers.
Josh wrote: "I'm horrible at taking part in anything that isn't this group."Exactly. This is far and away the best kindred-spirits group I've found on the Web. No whining, no snarking, no pimping. Just a lot of smart, literate, friendly folks with a wide range of interests.
I really think you (Josh :)) have to take some credit for the success of your group and the resulting group spririt.I have suggested to a few other successful writers I email with that GR group may be a good idea, and not all actually recoiled in horror :). But their results have been varied *practises British understatement*.
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I have suggested to a few other successful writers I email with that GR group ..."
I take credit for recognizing that if the group was just about me it would be numbingly boring for all of us, myself included. But beyond that...some groups just develop their own energy and personality, and that's what happened here. It's not like I could transplant this or set it up for someone else. It happened organically.
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Well, I think some of those old yahoo groups were very successful. Has that success continued now that we have Goodreads groups (not to mention Twitter and FB and all that?) I couldn't say.
I do think it probably remains true that you have readers who follow particular publishers, who are loyal to a publisher brand. Their authors benefit from that, I'm sure. And the better the overall brand, the more the authors benefit.
It does take a certain amount of teamwork from the publisher and the authors working together.
Na wrote: "Questions to authors : How does co-writing work ? Do you like it ? If so, or not, why ?"I haven't a clue, but I've read some accounts here and there by writers who've done it (like Josh and Aleks). My impression is that sometimes it works gloriously well and sometimes not. I suspect it depends on the authors' temperaments and their interpersonal dynamic. But the process itself still mystifies me. All I can figure is that it requires a LOT of emails. :)
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I haven't a clue, but I've read some accounts here and there by writers who've done it (like Jos..."
I like the kind of cowriting where everyone is working on the same theme or contributing stories to a particular world.
I'm not cut out to be a cowriter of a single work.
KZ - Co-writing can be heaven or hell. I've had both. Essentially, you just fire up a shared document (say, on GoogleDocs), do your brainstorming, set up your characters, decide on "what happens next" and you're off. However, you do need to be pretty good at editing, and you have to trust and respect each other (one such relationship broke on the respect issue). Pros: It's fun, it's not lonely, it's very fast and productive.
Cons: Rights issues when the relationship breaks up. A "friend" might turn into a mortal enemy. You're "stuck" with them in readers' mind forever. The fighting, the bad blood, the rivalry (if it does go bad). And if they want to hurt you, they'll use the things they know about you for their own gain, disclosing possibly personal information (as it happened to me).
When I start a co-project - any co-project - I do want the rights issues sorted (if the "marriage" breaks up, who gets what kid), and communication and honesty are absolute top priorities.
Also, only ever team up with an author who's roughly at your own craft level. Essentially, both sides get resentful of each other - the newbie thinks s/he's getting "taught", the old hand feels s/he's dragging the n00b behind themselves. I've seen it happen and it's no fun.
Hmmm. Anything else?
A comprehensive and thought-provoking answer, Aleks. But your "cons" -- yikes! And I hadn't thought about this: only ever team up with an author who's roughly at your own craft level. I can see how not doing so would be a problem.
Hello all! I'm wondering if Josh or any other writers here have any tips on how to approach editing one's work. I took part in NaNoWriMo and have a novella length piece of work to show for it; however, I haven't even bothered to look at it since. I seem to be more intimidated by the written page than the blank one. Go figure. Any thoughts on the best way to get started? Thanks in advance for any replies.
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Yes to all those points.
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My number one tip for self-editing? Build in plenty of time to step away from the project between rounds of edits. That's ideal. If you can afford to build that kind of time in, you'll get the very best results.
Aprilrain wrote: "Hello all! I'm wondering if Josh or any other writers here have any tips on how to approach editing one's work. I took part in NaNoWriMo and have a novelette length piece of work to show for it; ho..."Gosh darnit. I had an entire reply typed out, then Goodreads decided to refresh itself. Will I ever learn to compose replies in another application??
Sigh. In any case, I think my advice was mostly moot, so I shall start again:
I'd HIGHLY suggest checking out Roz Morris's Nail Your Novel
. It's a thin little volume, easy to read and gets right to the point. I love Morris's advice on practically and systematically approaching writing, rewriting, and editing. She lays out a process and provides lots of tools, but she doesn't pretend any of what she says is dogma. Take what you want, leave the rest. A useful toolkit.
Josh wrote: "Aprilrain wrote: "Hello all! I'm wondering if Josh or any other writers here have any tips on how to approach editing one's work. I took part in NaNoWriMo and have a novelette length piece of work ..."Funny--my initial response was basically this, but said in many more words! :)
Time is really the best tool in editing. Time to step away, time to let ideas marinate, time to develop solutions. I loves it.
Christine wrote: "Josh wrote: "Aprilrain wrote: "Hello all! I'm wondering if Josh or any other writers here have any tips on how to approach editing one's work. I took part in NaNoWriMo and have a novelette length p..."Josh and Christine, thanks for the advice!
I downloaded Nail Your Novel. It'll hold me over until Man Oh Man comes out. ;-)
Hi AprilRainI completely agree with all the advice about taking time over it. It's surprising what you can see to improve in a piece of your own work after you've let it rest for a while.
You also seem to be looking for a way into beginning editing and when I used to write prose one of my starting points was a handy little summary - 10 easy ways to make your writing stronger. It's fairly basic with advice about trimming excess words, using sensory detail to show rather than tell, avoding disruptive action reversals etc - in fact all the stuff which seems obvious but can so easily be there is a first draft especially one written at speed like NaNoWriMo. If you'd like to befirend me I'll send it over to you.
I have a vital editing question to ask of you all. How do you stop? How do you let go of the manuscript even when you think it isn't quite as ready as it might be?
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And I'm very interested to read all the answers to Caroline's question, because I often have the same problem with painting... and I suspect that the tricks to let go of the artwork might be similar in both cases... :)
Caroline wrote: "I have a vital editing question to ask of you all. How do you stop? How do you let go of the manuscript even when you think it isn't quite as ready as it might be?"That is a very good question!
The only manuscripts I have sent out so far have been on deadline, and so the answer is pretty simple for me: I edit till my time runs out and I'm not embarrassed with the product I send out. Thankfully, I've always got the embarrassing parts smoothed out before my time runs out--barely.
Incidentally, I do the same thing with my school papers. ;)
The manuscripts I'm not writing on deadline? It'll be interesting to see where I stop. Rewriting and editing one right now that I suspect I'll edit till I no longer cringe when reading it. After that, I'll let my critique partner beat at it. I might do betas. Then, a final round of edits and proofreading. Actually, maybe more than one "final" round, since I can be a compulsive proofreader. Then, out.
Caroline wrote: "I have a vital editing question to ask of you all. How do you stop? How do you let go of the manuscript even when you think it isn't quite as ready as it might be?"Your editor makes you send it back. Or (if you don't have anyone breathing down your neck for it) you're sick of it.
Johanna wrote: "And I'm very interested to read all the answers to Caroline's question, because I often have the same problem with painting... and I suspect that the tricks to let go of the artwork might be similar in both cases... :) "My father's a painter. He gets to this point where he can't see the work clearly anymore, and he knows if he continues at that point he'll mess it up, so he stops for a while, sometimes years. I've seen him pull out canvases from decades ago and stick them on the easel for a few days, mull them over and then start painting on them. I've seen him continue to paint on canvases from shows he just took down. He told me once he thinks it probably isn't really done until he sells it and can't do anything else to it.
I never thought of it before, but writing is very similar.
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That's so interesting about your father and the way he works! And yes, I too can see many similarities between visual arts (in this case painting) and writing. If we'd dig deeper I suspect that the whole creative process from the idea phase, doing research, making drafts and experimenting would be somewhat similar on both counts. :)
And yes. I usually paint just for fun, so I don't have to worry about deadlines, and when I'll get "blinded" and don't see the picture clearly anymore, I'll do like your father does: I put the painting away for some time, before I take it out again and leave it like that or continue to work with it. That's probably the best way to let go of the painting.
My students often have the same problem, but unfortunately (or in many cases: fortunately) they have their deadlines! ;)
Does anybody know (well, I'm sure Josh does) if and where The Dark Farewell is still available or when it will be available again? I've been in the mood to read it, but it seems to have disappeared from cyberspace!
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Q&A with Josh Lanyon
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You're doing it all wrong. Everyone knows grocery lists need to be bullet lists. :P"
I like to consolidate by aisle:
* Dairy - sour cream, lactase, half-n-half, and aged cheddar.
Yes, I am a wanker, Why do you ask?
:-P