Month: November 2010

Smaller Presses, Bigger Authors

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This article, by Rachel Deahl, originally appeared on Publisher’s Weekly on 11/8/10.

The midlist is dying. That sentiment has been a mantra in publishing circles for years as agents, authors, and editors have decried that corporate publishing will no longer support the kind of author that was once an industry staple—the moderate success who was a consistent seller, if not a bestseller. With the "big six" demanding bigger sales numbers from all their authors, indie presses, which have long been the province of riskier, harder-to-market literary fiction, are finding that more commercial writers are showing up at their doors, as well as writers with serious accolades and lengthier track records.

One shift is that the definition of  the midlist author has changed. A number of agents and publishers interviewed said when editors at the big houses look at the sales performance of an author’s last book in considering acquiring that author’s new book, the number they need to see is bigger than it used to be. While it’s been rumored that a publisher at one of the major houses told his staff they couldn’t acquire authors whose last book sold fewer than 50,000 copies, most sources said they thought the so-called "magic number" was closer to 25,000 or 30,000. One agent, noting that there’s far more variation at the paperback imprints of the big six, said most hardcover publishers today "would settle for 20,000."

Munro Magruder, publisher of New World Library, believes presses like his have become the beneficiary of this trend. In the past few years, Magruder said he’s seen an influx of midlist authors who had spent years at the big houses. He cited two books NWL published in October—Alice Walker’s poetry collection Hard Times Require Furious Dancing and Michael Krasny’s Spiritual Envy—as books he thought he might not have gotten years back. (Walker wrote the megaseller The Color Purple, and Krasny is the host of KQED’s Forum out of San Francisco.) NWL considers both books to have been successes—Krasny’s title has already sold out its first printing of 8,500 copies, and Walker’s collection sold out its 7,500-copy first run.

While authors often find that they and their books are paid more attention when they move from big house to indie press, there is the sting of losing the bigger advance. Most of the smaller publishers PW spoke to cited $5,000 as a high advance, and others acknowledged paying as little as $1,500, and that can be a tough pill for agents, and authors, to swallow.

Johnny Temple, at Akashic Books, said it’s unfortunate that the big houses can’t afford to publish books on a smaller scale, but it’s a reality of today’s industry and one that not all agents and authors have fully accepted: "These big companies, every book they do they’re trying to knock it out of the park, and they don’t have the flexibility to publish books at different levels. The flip side, though, is authors and agents like to have big advances and don’t like to think about what the fiscal reality of that is." Since the big publishers were overpaying for books for years, Temple added, he thinks "some agents and authors got a little soft, and too comfy, being overpaid."

 

Read the rest of the article on Publisher’s Weekly.

Strengthen Your Writing With Stories

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As a professional storyteller with a family oral tradition background, stories come to me naturally. I use stories to beef up both my nonfiction and my fiction writing. They are used differently in each type of writing, so I will explain.

Nonfiction

Back in the 1990s when I was cranking out self-defense and personal security books, I used the power of story a lot. I always introduced and explained my various concepts. Then, I would use a short story of a paragraph or so long as a way to illustrate the concept with an everyday, true-life example. My book Surviving Hostage Situations is filled with true stories of people who survived hostage situations. Each mini-story shows how the concept I was teaching worked in each respective case.

This can work for all kinds of nonfiction. For instance, a business how-to book can include case studies that illustrate the author’s intent. Biographies are built on stories and vignettes. Stories make a book more human, more believable.

Fiction

Now I know some of you are saying that fiction is nothing but a story. That’s true; however, it can be illustrated with true or imaginary tales that help shape the book. Let me explain by using a true story. My 6th mystery needs to start with a bang of a hook to drag readers into wanting to read the rest of the book. My hook will based on a true story that happened to me back in the spring of 1986.

I was hired by Kansas City Kansas Community College to teach a class in Business Law to prisoners incarcerated in the Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary. It was an evening class. One night, a bunch of correction officers came running into the classroom and shouted out instructions, “Prisoners on your feet! Line up in the hallway. Are you OK, Mr. Spear?”

“Yeah, but what do you guys know that I don’t?”

“We found a blood trail out in the hallway and thought it might be your’s.”

Some of the officers escorted the prisoners back to their cells while others tracked down the blood trail. They found a prisoner with a badly gashed hand hiding in a stairwell. He claimed he’d stumbled and cut it on the steps. In actuality, he’d survived an attack from another prisoner with a shank, a homemade knife.

Needless to say, class was over for that evening. While I waited on an officer to escort me out to the front entrance, the Lieutenant of the guard shift told me shanking war stories.

OK, so that’s the story. Now, let me explain how I will use it. The hook will begin with a concerned prisoner who has just learned through the prison rumor mill that the head of the Mexican drug gang in the prison has put out a contract on him for having sold some dope without the drug lord’s permission. He suddenly see’s the drug lord’s enforcer working his way toward him through a crowd of prisoners. The victim turns away and runs toward the education center with his executioner close behind and…well you can see where all that’s going, except this prisoner won’t survive the fifty odd stab wounds he receives. I will combine my incident with some of the stories the guard Lieutenant told me to give realistic descriptions of the hook incident.

This is why I’m always on the lookout for interesting stories in the media, on the internet, and wherever else I hear them. Combining real-life stories with your fiction gives it extra oomph. This is why some writers spend time around folks who do in real life what the writers’ characters do in their books. It really adds a sense of authenticity. Never forget the power of story. This doesn’t mean one should overwhelm the reader with backstory, but it helps shape the presentation of plot and action.

 

This is a reprint from Bob Spear‘s Book Trends blog.

What Publishers Ask

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I evaluate fiction manuscripts for a publisher, using a standard form crafted by the publishing house. The form contains a list questions, grouped by subject: premise, plot, POV, character, dialogue, and setting. I’m sharing some of the questions so you can see specifically how a publisher might evaluate your manuscript.

 

Opening:

Does the first page grab the reader’s attention?

Does the first chapter set up the basis for the rest of the story?

 

Premise and Tone:

Is the basic premise or theme interesting? Believable? Unique?

Is the focus of the work revealed early in the novel?

Is the basic premise of the novel well executed?

 

Point of View:

Is the point of view consistent throughout?

Are shifts in point of view, if any, necessary and simple to follow?

Is the point of view used appropriately to convey the thoughts or emotions of various characters?

 

Structure, Plot, and Pace:

Is there a planned series of carefully selected interrelated incidents?

Are there situations that heighten the conflict?

Does the story have a clear conclusion or satisfactory ending appropriate to the genre?

Do the plot and structure sufficiently hold the reader’s interest throughout?

 

Setting:

Is the setting described appropriately without slowing the pace of the work?

Does the novel provide an appropriate sense of place?

 

Characterization:

Does the author provide a clear visual image of the characters?

Does the behavior of all characters seem realistic?

Are the characters presented with realistic challenges and life situations?

Do you feel an emotional connection to any of the characters?

Are characters introduced effectively and for a specific purpose?

 

Dialogue:

Does the dialogue reveal the character’s background or identifying traits?

Is there a good balance of dialogue and action?

Does the dialogue sound authentic, and is it used effectively throughout?

 

As you can see, publishers have high—and specific—expectations that apply across all fiction genres.

 

L.J. Sellers is the author of the bestselling Detective Jackson mysteries: The Sex Club, Secrets to Die For, Thrilled to Death, and Passions of the Dead. All are available as e-books for $2.99 or less.

 

23 (More) Websites That Make Your Writing Stronger

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This post, by Suzannah Windsor Freeman, originally appeared on Write It Sideways on 8/17/10.

A while back, I posted a list of 23 websites and blogs that make your writing stronger.

The post was, and still is, a favourite with readers.

Since writing the list, I’ve subscribed to a number of other sites that continue to help me in my writing journey. They cover fiction, freelance writing, blogging, publishing, and more.

If you want to learn more about writing or enhance your natural strengths, check out the following resources (in no particular order.)

PS If you find this list useful, please share it on Twitter, Facebook or StumbleUpon – I’d really appreciate it!

There Are No Rules
 
1) There Are No Rules: Jane Friedman, publisher at Writer’s Digest and regular contributor at Writer Unboxed, always has a wealth of helpful information on fiction, publishing, and self-promotion. Each week, she also shares a list of the Best Tweets for Writers.
 
 
Word Love
 
2) Word Love: Randy Susan Meyers, author of The Murderer’s Daughters, shares great tips on writing fiction.
 
 
Write For Your Life
 
3) Write for Your Life: Copywriter Iain Broome, whose first novel has found literary representation, provides information on all types of writing, and includes regular videos and podcasts.
 
 
Victoria Mixon's Advice Column
 
4) Victoria Mixon’s Advice Column: This professional writer and editor offers a no-nonsense approach to writing and publishing advice.

 

Read the rest of the post, which includes 19 more sites, on Write It Sideways.

Outlining: Straightjacket Or Lifeline?

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One of the arguments I had with my father when I was in grade-school was over the necessity of outlining when writing. He was for it, I didn’t see the need. By college I had a better understanding of the importance of having a clear organization for essays. However, what I tended to do was sketch out a very short outline, then write a quick rough draft–getting all my ideas down, then I would go back and write a new outline (now that I knew what I really wanted to say), and finally I cut and pasted the material into the right sections of this new outline.

By the time I was working on my doctorate, I had become committed to outlining, and my first outlines became more and more detailed. The work I was doing was simply too complicated–particularly once I was writing my dissertation–to wing it. This was long enough ago to be pre-desktop computer, which meant any changes required retyping the whole document, so it paid to be organized from the get go. I spent the next thirty or so years teaching, where I had the same conversations with my students that I had had with my father about the virtues of the outline-only now I was the one for it.

Needless to say, when I sat down to write the draft of my historical mystery, Maids of Misfortune, I outlined the plot. I literally outlined the whole story, chapter by chapter, listing under each chapter the scenes, characters involved, and the information that needed to be conveyed (clues, motivations, red-herrings, etc.) I remember being very puzzled by several members of my writing critique group, who were also writing mysteries at the time, who did not do outlines. In fact, they weren’t even sure who the murderer was, if there were going to be more than one murder, or how the murderer was going to be discovered. This seemed terribly disorganized, necessitating a good deal of rewriting once the plot elements were finally determined.

However, now that I look back at the path that first draft took before it ended up in the version that I published (with it’s new plot twists, new characters, new scenes, and deleted scenes), I am not sure I didn’t end up doing as much rewriting as the non-outliners did.

So now I have started writing Uneasy Spirits, the sequel to my first mystery, and I am confronted with the question, is an outline necessary? Can it become an obstacle to creativity or does it ensure a well-paced plot?

On the anti-outline side of the argument, having an outline can cause tunnel vision. In Maids of Misfortune, I originally had my protagonist, Annie Fuller, go undercover as a maid in the murdered man’s house about half-way through the book. My outline said I had to have all sorts of establishing scenes between Annie and the second protagonist, Nate Dawson, before she could disappear into her role as a servant. It took a number of beta readers to point out to me that this made the plot way too slow, and that I could actually rearrange my outline!

Another anti-outline argument I have heard numerous times (from non-outliner writers) is that once the whole story is plotted out in an outline, they lose interest in telling it. They get bored. They know “who done it,” so they don’t have the motivation to spend the months it will take to flesh out the story. For them, one of the prime motivations in writing is to “see what comes next,” something they feel they have lost when they have the whole novel plotted out. I confess that since I have lectured on the American Civil War about 10 times a year for 30 years (300 times!), always knowing “how it turned out,” but always trying to find new and better ways to describe what happened and why it happened, this argument has never held much weight.

Yet in favor of the anti-outlining argument, I do think that outlines have caused me to overwrite. I spent a good deal of time cutting in the last revision I did before publishing Maids of Misfortune, and a lot of it was because I had been so busy writing scenes in order to introduce the “clues” I had seeded throughout the plot outline that I lost touch with how to keep up the pacing.

On the other hand, having an outline ensures that the main plot points don’t get lost when there is a long time between the conception of the book and its actual completion. For example, I came up with the plot for Uneasy Spirits years ago (when I became discouraged by my inability to sell the first manuscript, and I thought I should move on, hoping editors might be more impressed if I had two books in hand.) I spent several weeks doing some background research for the book, developed character sketches for the main characters (victims, murderer, red herrings), and finally outlined the plot. Then I put this work away (summer was over and I was back to full time teaching).  Fast forward more than five years and the stuff that life throws at you, and I was finally ready to start on this manuscript. Without that typed outline and character sketches I would have been at square one.

A second pro-outline argument is that it helps you develop the story arc. One of the most difficult tasks for the college students I teach is to develop a thesis for their essays. They know what a topic is, and can write about a topic, but they have trouble developing an opinion about that topic. They write, “this happened, and then this happened, and then this happened.” But they can’t tell you why something happened, or why it was important. The books that I enjoy the most–even within the narrow confines of genre writing–are the ones that tell the story about how events changed characters-for better or worse. Writing an outline that not only introduces clues and red herrings throughout the story, but also includes scenes designed to change the main characters by challenging their beliefs and patterns of behavior, ensures that my stories will have that arc (or thesis) and that it is organic to the story itself, not grafted on after the fact.

For a final pro-outline argument, it can guard against writer’s block. I read about writers block, how people stare at a blank page for hours, days, weeks, and this just has never happened to me. While I can procrastinate with the best of them, once I sit down to write, I have always had that outline in front of me, and I have always been able to write something. I know what the next scene is supposed to be about, who is in the room, what they are supposed to be talking about, and this makes it easy to start writing.

This doesn’t always mean the scene comes out the way I planned it. As most writers will tell you, writing can be a magical experience where the characters have a decided mind of their own. For example, according to my outline for Uneasy Spirits, the first chapter was supposed to be set in Annie Fuller’s boarding house (Annie is my protagonist), and it was supposed to be a scene between Annie and Miss Pinehurst (who somehow mutated from a Miss Pringle in the outline). Instead as I sat down to write, while it was set in the boarding house, a completely new character, Mrs. Crenshaw, started talking to Annie. Instead Annie and Miss Pinehurst had their meeting in the next chapter, but in a cemetery rather than in the boardinghouse. So, whether I follow my outline, or rebel against it, I seem to have something to write–hence–no writer’s block.

I guess my conclusion is that I will continue to use outlines for my novels, but try to remain flexible, so that they will carry me along, not hem me in.  But I would love to hear from all of you.

Do you outline your plot before writing, or do you just wing it? And what are your reasons for outlining or not.

 

This is a reprint from M. Louisa Locke‘s The Front Parlor.

Self-Publishing Company Comparison: Amazon CreateSpace, Lulu or Lightning Source?

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This post originally appeared on Blogthority on 11/15/10.

This article will compare the book costs and overall costs (including distribution) for three of the biggest self-publishing companies – Amazon CreateSpace, Lulu and Lightning Source.

Ok, so you wrote a great book and were rejected by every publishing company in North America.  Or maybe you would rather self-publish your book and do your own promotion and maintain more control over the book.

The question now becomes:

Which self-publishing company do I use?

Lulu and Amazon CreateSpace are probably the best known self-publishing companies, but there are many to choose from.  Lightning Source is another option, but it is not a publisher – in fact it is a printer and you have to set up a publishing company (easy) in order to get an account there.

Most of the self-publishing companies you will encounter (such as Lulu) use Lightning Source as the printer for your book.  Needless to say, having an intermediary company involved will cost you money, but it should also be a bit easier to get your book into print.

How self-published compensation is calculated

In order to analyze the self-publishing options properly, we need to understand the costs involved with self-publishing – printing and distribution.  Note that the distribution costs are only applied to books sold through a distributor such as Amazon.com.  If you buy the books directly from your publisher and sell them yourself – then you are the distributor.

To calculate the book profit, you simply subtract the printing cost and the distribution cost from the retail price (set by the author).

Example:  An author has a book with a retail price of $10, the distribution fee is set to 40% and the printing costs are $3.50.

The profit  = Retail price – distribution fee – printing cost = $10 – $4 (40% of $10) – $3.50 = $2.50 per book.

Using a Third party publisher

 

Read the rest of the post on Blogthority.

I'm An Indie Author

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This post, by Cathryn Grant, originally appeared on her Suburban Noir site on 11/11/10.

While I was finishing my novel, the universe shifted. The economy imploded and ebooks exploded. Since my head was buried in my manuscript, I didn’t immediately realize the impact of these events.

I’d followed publishing for long enough that I knew a fair amount about the ups and downs of getting a novel published. In fact, I originally started writing and submitting short stories because I’d been told that short fiction publication credits would help catch the eye of an agent. While I worked on the final rewrites of my novel, I began compiling a list of potential agents. I started working on a query letter and following agents’ blogs.

There was never a doubt, until early 2010, that I’d follow the traditional path. But the world changed.

In addition to upheaval in the publishing industry and the global economy, two significant things happened in my life.

The first was in January 2010. I’d had a simple website up for about eighteen months. The site provided my author bio and two short stories that had been published in Alfred Hitchcock and Ellery Queen Mystery Magazines.

One Sunday morning I woke up to a message from a stranger in my in-box. A man in Australia had read the stories on my website, liked them and was interested in knowing whether I had any novels that he might consider developing into an Indie film. I checked out his credits – legit, including an award and a very suspenseful, skin-crawling short film. We started corresponding. The chapters I sent him (from an earlier novel) weren’t a good fit for an Australian setting. Nearly a year later we’re still in touch, and he’s still interested in future work. I don’t know if anything will ever come of it, but his email made me realize the power of the web for getting my fiction out far beyond my little corner of the world.

 

Read the rest of the post on Cathryn Grant‘s Suburban Noir.

The Dark Side Of Your Novel's Hero

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We all know our HERO requires a weakness. But did you also know he needs a dark side, a shadow if you will, and this part of him needs to come out? I didn’t until I read my EDITOR’s suggestions for my current manuscript. In one of her four hundred thirty-two suggestions, she recommended I needed to play up my hero’s dark side a bit more.

(Listen to a PODCAST of this article.)
 
The fact she mentioned this proved I didn’t know enough about the concept, so I did some reading on the subject. I now feel I have a better handled on the idea and thought I’d pass along what I’ve come to know. After all, it is all about the sharing, isn’t it?
 
To start, if your hero must have a dark side, what good is it if it doesn’t come out of hiding? That was the editor’s point. As I reevaluated my manuscript and the character in question, I realized my hero had a shadow, I’d simply not used it to effect.
 
So, what is this shadow and what might cause the good guy to turn to his dark side?
 
His dark side is the villain. Surprised? So was I until I thought it through.
 
The villain personifies those qualities opposite of your hero, right? He therefore possesses those characteristics your hero despises or those that may even frighten him. And why does the protagonist hate those qualities? It’s because these aspects of his personality are his own shadow, a deeply subdued part of himself.
 
Whoa… Flashback to Psych 101.
 
In any case, how might the hero’s dark side come to the fore? Most often it is the villain who draws it from him. It is he who pushes the hero’s buttons and forces the good guy over the edge. In effect, he provokes your hero to his breaking point.
 
Consider "The Lord of the Rings." The master ring pulls from its owner their worst, does it not? How about "The Wizard of Oz?" Dorothy kills the witch who, in turn, wants to kill Dorothy for killing the witch’s sister, all of which is contrary to Dorothy’s basic personality. This all makes sense when we realize a villain must force the hero into some sort of obsession if the good guy is to complete his quest.
 
Think of it like this. Take your hero’s finest characteristic and use it against him. Does he think himself a brave soldier? Them maybe he should run away when he first faces combat like in "The Red Badge of Courage." Does he believe marriage is sacred? Then have the villain force him into a divorce. Is he a happy-go-lucky guy? Then turn this characteristic into irresponsibility. The secret to this, is to ensure the motivation for this transformation is valid. Did Dorothy have a reason to kill the Wicked Witch? Yup.
 
What keeps the hero from becoming a bad guy himself? It’s choice. He chooses not be become like his nemesis, thus again subduing his own dark appetites.
 
The good part of this whole shadow concept? It allows for character growth. It fills in his personality and gives you a more three-dimensional character. It overcomes the imbalance that kept your hero from his goal.
 
You can develop this dichotomy in your hero by way of a three-pronged technique. You first develop his high qualities. Then find the opposite of these. Finally, you assign a physical behavior to this contradictory characteristic.
 
For example, if your hero loves children, the opposite is to hate children. The activity that might brings this out is he causes a child’s death.
 
So, a major aspect of a fully developed hero, is to give him a dark side, a shadow, then bring it out of him by way of a button-pushing villain who posses those same traits.
 
I don’t know about you, but I found this interesting. Regardless, I’ve got work to do on "Born to be Brothers."
 
Have you brought out the dark side to your hero? How did you do it?
 
Until we speak again, know I wish for you only best-sellers.

 

This is a reprint from C. Patrick Shulze‘s Author of Born to be Brothers blog.

How To Write Drunk And Edit Sober

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This post, by Mark Dykeman, originally appeared on Thoughtwrestling on 5/12/10.

Writers are supposed to write drunk, then edit sober, according to the late Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway knew a lot about writing and drinking, so he must be right.

But what does the phrase mean? Should it be taken literally?

Let’s talk about Hemingway’s quote. I’m going to suggest some healthier alternatives to cirrhosis and death for the sake of trying to write. After all, if our readers take his advice literally, we’ll run out of readers.

Write drunk

If you want to follow Hemingway’s advice literally, I’m assuming that you know how to procure and imbibe alcoholic beverages. That clearly sets the stage for writing drunk.

There’s two main reasons why you shouldn’t follow Hemingway’s advice:

  1. It’s bad for your health because many people fail at exercising moderation and too much alcohol damages your health.
     
  2. It costs money that you could be using to support [Thoughtwrestling] by purchasing future products and services.

Instead of literally writing drunk let’s reflect. What is it about alcohol that is good for the creator?

  • Blurred vision?
  • Slurred speech?
  • Loss of balance?
  • Passing out?

Or, is it…

The removal of inhibitions?

 

Read the rest of the post on Thoughtwrestling.

The Indie Publishing Life

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You’ve arrived at the end of your journey to publication. Slowly the realization dawns that you have now transitioned into being an author/publisher. As you promote your book you’ll start to connect with the wider community of indie authors and self-publishers.

This is a rapidly-growing cohort of people who have traveled a similar path. It surprises a lot of new self-publishers to arrive here, and realize that all the work they have put in—sometimes for years—is actually the introduction to a much larger world.

As an indie author you will keep learning about book marketing and promotion opportunities. Part of being a self-publisher is having an activist mindset. You are tuned into your niche, your genre, or your subject area. You know what’s happening and who the players are.

One day you’ll be surprised when an author who is just starting to think about self-publishing starts asking for your advice, leaning on your wisdom.

Learning from Other Self-Publishers

Indie publishing is a field full of helpful, active, intelligent people. You had the drive to write, publish and market your book, and that sets you apart from many people who only dream of doing what you’ve done. Hearing from other self-publishers is a powerful way to connect to the drive that’s common in us all.

Self-Publisher With Drive: The Amazing Tania McCartney
Where Beauty Meets Art: An Interview with Jennifer Robin, Author of Growing More Beautiful
Chris Finlan—From Page One to ‘Take One’ in Less than a Year

Book Marketing in the Social Media

A lot of our interaction takes place at industry events and workshops, and like many self-publishers you’ll find these groups and their online counterparts powerful tools in continuing your education.

Networking online and off also opens you to co-publishing ventures, leads you to skilled vendors for your books and marketing projects, and helps you address the inevitable questions that occur in this fast-changing environment.

2010 BAIPA Get Published! Institute
Top 5 Discussion Forums for Self-Publishers

Living the Indie Author Life

Of course, although our book is finished and on the market—and hopefully selling well—there is more writing to do. It’s long been my feeling that the best way to make your publishing program a success is to take what you’ve learned and start on another book that can be sold to the same people who are enjoying your first book.

There are lots of things to keep up with in the changing world of publishing, and lots of ways to do it.

Dear Suzanne: 7 Things Writers Need to Know Today

One of the great things that has happened as a result of the growth of self-publishing is a gradual fading of the “stigma” self-published authors have been fighting for a long time. But it’s gradual, and there are times when it seems that we are only getting reluctant acceptance.

Indie Bookstores and Indie Publishers: On The Same Page?
Self-Publishing Pro and Con(temptuous)

The Ending is the Beginning

From here it looks like we are well into a golden age for indie authors. It’s the best time ever to be a self-publisher and more people are achieving life-changing success by publishing their own books. And so let’s bring this journey to it’s end:

8 Reasons Self-Publishing is Entering a Golden Age

Thanks for traveling a little way on this road with me, and I hope I’ve been able to speed you on your journey. May you publish well, and with satisfaction. You deserve it.

 

This is a reprint from Joel Friedlander‘s The Book Designer.

Book Publicity Tips For Authors

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Book publicity is the process of seeking and getting media coverage for books and their authors. Media coverage can potentially exposure your book to a large number of people and it offers more credibility than some other promotional methods. It’s also a great way to build your author platform, name recognition, and expert reputation.

Although a newspaper article or radio interview won’t cost you anything, you may have costs associated with generating interest from the media, such as hiring someone to write a press release, paying for press release distribution services, or hiring a publicist to prepare publicity materials and make media contacts on your behalf. If your budget is limited, you can do these tasks yourself.

Below are some resources to help you learn how to generate your own media coverage:
 

  • Award-winning publicist Sandra Beckwith offers a terrific publicity workbook packed with book publicity forms and templates.
  • Author and marketing expert Marcia Yudkin recently wrote and distributed nine different press releases for her new series of books. In this case study, she shares the details.  Also, take a look at Marcia’s article on how to generate media coverage.
  • This book publicity article by Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound, has some very helpful tips for the most effective ways to pitch the media.
  • Joan also offers an excellent free course on how to use news releases effectively. You can sign up to receive a daily lesson by email for 89 days at no charge, or purchase the entire series in ebook format so you don’t have to wait three months to get all these great publicity tips.
  • This collection of book publicity tips on the Savvy Book Marketer blog includes several guest posts written by experts in book publicity and promotion.

There are many online press release distribution services. For my most important releases, I use the paid service at PRWeb.com. For routine releases, I use the free service as PRLog.com.

Media coverage can be valuable way to gain attention for your book. If you don’t already have a book publicity plan in place, get started today.
 

This is a reprint from Dana Lynn Smith‘s The Savvy Book Marketer.

NANOWRIMO DAY 11: Feeling the Burn? Writers Tools (Scrivener!) and Toys (Pandora!) That May Save the Day

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This post, by Andrea King Collier, originally appeared on SheWrites on 11/11/10. Hopefully it’ll offer some help and support to Publetarians who are also NaNoWriMo-ers at the halfway point.

As Andrea Collier, our NaNoWriMo correspondent, nails the near-half-way mark (20,400 words), she has an epiphany about her protagonist and turns to Scrivener, Pandora, a digital voice recorder, and…oh yes, old-fashioned notebook and pen.

DAY 11: Oh She Writers and SheWriMos, all the cake is gone. Even though I am clipping away at my 50,000 words, I feel like I’m hitting the wall. Time for writer’s toys and distractions.

Okay, I should not be feeling like this until next week, which is the half-way point. But I’m getting ADD. I’m still laying down words at the rate I promised myself– steady and messy. But SheWriters, I am back to wondering what I was thinking. I am beyond the put butt in chair phase. The glow of focus is blurry. And sometimes I embed stupid stuff in my work just to keep me interested. Like today, I added a section called “It was a dark and stormy night.” I listed all the things that could happen on a dark and stormy night. This was not good. It was just a diversion. I notice that I play computer Scrabble more. I curse at the computer more. And the critic is really getting to me. I curse at her too. (But as fellow She Writer Tayari Jones points out, criticism can hurt, but it’s essential!)

I am now at 20,400 words. Can you believe it? So technically I am almost at the halfway mark. Consistency has its virtues. Consistency is like the NY City Marathon. It’s worse than that. It is like running the marathon blindfolded, with a drunk seeing-eye dog. I don’t have a clue where I’m going—except that I’m going to 50,000 words or bust. I have gained three stressed out pounds. And I split open my toenail after kicking the scale.

So let’s talk about writer’s toys and tools. It’s a topic of discussion over at GalleyCat, and I know I can no longer be singularly focused. I eventually have to find ways to trick myself into writing my NaNoWriMo words. I have had a hard time posting anything on their site. So that is not on my list of fun diversions this week. But I did get a terrific, inspirational pep talk from the fabulous writer Aimee Bender. Her words will knock out any writer, NaNoWriMo or not.

The toys and tools:
 

Read the rest of the post on SheWrites.

Dealing With Characters In A Series Of Novels

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I’m preparing to write the 6th mystery in my Enos Hobson Leavenworth Mysteries Series; therefore, some of that which I will share with you is fresh in my mind. As a professional storyteller, I have always believed that the best stories are based around their characters. If we don’t consider characters, there is no basis for plot.

When I wrote my first book in my series, I considered who I would need to tell my story. I named them, assigned them roles, defined their appearances, defined their interactions, and considered their back stories to explain who they were and why. I developed a computer data base to keep all that straight, which became my Bible or ready character reference. That data base has become rather extensive now. I needed a system to determine how my characters should change or stay the same. The following is a method that seems to work well for me:

Character Development Spreadsheet

You can use a spread sheet or a table in a word processor to do this. Create three columns, 1 for the character’s name. 1 for the good things, & 1 for the bad things. This is not a Bible but a simple set of statements of where each character is at the start of the story and in what directions should he or she go in this story. It looks something like this:

Character:
Good  –   Negatives

Tommy (protagonist):
Proud of HS graduation.  –  Doesn’t know where money for college will come from.

Lucy (Girlfriend):
Happy she & Tommy graduated.   –    Going away to college. Needs to break up with Tommy.

Bill (Tommy’s Brother):
Looking forward to being star of football team.  –   Will become paralyzed by a car wreck soon.

Dad:
Plays favorites w/ Tommy.  –   Bill’s injury causes Dad to begin drinking heavily again, losing job.

Jimbo (Hoodlum):
Has been gone to reform school.  –   Gets out, gets drunk, crashes into Bill’s car to cause the injury.

Now, this is way too simplistic of an example, but it helps to develop character motivations and directions in the story. You can see the possibilities for conflict already. Is Tommy going to possibly be placed in a position of either ignoring the family problems, forget about college to help the family with Bill since Dad is no longer capable of doing so? Should he acquiesce to the breakup or try to go to Lucy’s school? What will happen to Jimbo. Should he become a major character who reforms and takes on responsibility to help Bill throughout the story? Or, should he be sent to jail for the rest of the story?

A lot depends on what has happened in previous stories and deciding if the characters should stay the same or should they grow and develop in different directions?  Once all this is decided, you can decide how they fit within the context of a set of plot points. In other words, where have they been, where are they right now, and where will they be going.

Outline

Now it’s time to list the chapter numbers and consider what happens in the story along the way to the end by considering the good and negative aspects of the characters. I write a few sentences about what should happen in each chapter right under the chapter number. Those stay in as a reference until I write each chapter, after which I delete them. This insures the characters go in the directions I felt they should be going. Now I realize this process may sound too much like a strait jacket to you seat-of-your-pants writers, but there is plenty of room in this structure for your muse to run wild. None of this has to be locked in concrete. There are times when I have changed the descriptive sentences under a chapter number to accommodate a creative idea I got that would change everything. The methodology is meant as a means to energize creativity while keeping the story on track with good reasons for all the characters doing what they do.

Blending Techniques

I do the spread sheets and then I use Contour software (designed for screenplays, but I’ve found it works for novels as well) which asks pertinent questions that cause one to create a meaningful story framework. Once I’m done with that, I combine the considerations of both approaches to create the chapter outlines.

 

This is a reprint from Bob Spear‘s Book Trends blog.

You Have To Dream Big

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I’m a big believer in reaching for the stars. If you only ever have mediocre dreams, you’ll probably only ever have medicore results. I firmly believe in working your arse off and holding onto those dreams of great success in whatever it is you want to do. If you don’t have faith in your ability to achieve great things, why should anyone else?

Work hard, dream big, don’t be a tit. That’s my philosophy lesson for today.

With that in mind, Joanna Penn pointed this out to me and I thought it was hugely entertaining. So I’m using it to dream big. Click on the pics for a bigger version. Go and try it yourself.

realmshift magesign billboard 1 300x200 You have to dream big

realmshift magesign billboard 2 300x213 You have to dream big

(I’m not sure if I’m expecting my books to one day be Broadway musicals, but that would be kinda mad.)

 

This is a cross-posting from Alan Baxter‘s The Word.

Anatomy Of A Bestselling Novel

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This post, by Kristen Lamb, originally appeared on her blog on 11/1/10.

Want a way to stand out from all the other writers clamoring to get an agent’s attention? Want to be a best-selling author with stories that endure the tests of time? Learn all you can about the craft, particularly novel structure.

Structure is one of those boring topics like finance or taxes. It isn’t nearly as glamorous as creating characters or reading about ways to unleash our creative energy. Structure is probably one of the most overlooked topics, and yet it is the most critical. Why? Because structure is for the reader. The farther an author deviates from structure, the less likely the story will connect to a reader. Agents know this and editors know this and, since they are in the business of selling books to readers, structure becomes vital.

Story that connects to reader = lots of books sold

Story that deviates so far from structure that readers get confused or bored = slush pile

As an editor, I can tell in five minutes if an author understands narrative structure. Seriously.

Oh and I can hear the moaning and great gnashing of teeth. Trust me, I hear ya. Structure can be tough to wrap your mind around and, to be blunt, most aspiring writers don’t understand it. They rely on wordsmithery and hope they can bluff past people like me with their glorious prose. Yeah, no. Prose isn’t plot. You have to understand plot. That’s why I am going to make this upcoming series simple easy and best of all FUN.

Learning narrative structure ranks right up there with…memorizing the Periodic Table. Remember those days? Ah, high school chemistry. The funny thing about chemistry is that if you didn’t grasp the Periodic Table, then you simply would never do well in chemistry. Everything beyond Chapter One hinged on this fundamental step—understanding the Periodic Table.

Location, location, location.

See, the elements were a lot like the groups at high school. They all had their own parts of the “lunch room.” Metals on one part of the table, then the non-metals. Metals liked to date non-metals. They called themselves “The Ionics” thinking it sounded cool. Metals never dated other metals, but non-metals did date other non-metals. They were called “The Covalents.”  And then you had the neutral gases. The nerds of the Periodic Table. No one hung out with them. Ever. Okay, other nerds, but that was it. Period.

All silliness aside, if you didn’t understand what element would likely hang out where and in what company, the rest of chemistry might as well have been Sanskrit….like it was for me the first three times I failed it.

Novel structure can be very similar. Back in September we talked a lot about novel beginnings (pun, of course, intended). Normal world has a clear purpose, just like all the other components of the narrative structure. Today we are going to go back to basics, before we ever worry about things like Aristotelian structure, turning points, rising action, and darkest moments.

 

Read the rest of the post on Kristen Lamb’s blog.