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Editing Your Own Book

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Last summer, I gave away copies of my latest book, "A Promise Is A Promise" ISBN 0982459505 at my high school reunion to 22 people. My husband and I had a delightful evening, reminiscing with my former classmates. One of the men at my table happened to be a former neighbor when we were growing up. We rode the same school bus. His family bought gas at my parents filling station.

A discussion was started with this man and his wife about my book writing. I admitted I wished all my books were better edited. I’ve had some editing help over the years and constructive criticism from a former teacher which I greatly appreciated, but I hated to always ask her to help me. I’m sure when she first offered she thought I might write one book and no more. The task of editing a book is a large one for anyone who didn’t expect to get paid for their efforts. Anyone who volunteered to edit one of my books could expect to find I liked to write books so the editing isn’t going stop with the next one. That is if the volunteer editor wants to read another book and another and another. That would be up to the volunteer.

Out of the blue after the reunion, I received an email offer from the classmate’s wife to edit my next book just for the privilege of reading it because she likes Amish stories. (Soon to be released "The Rainbow’s End – Nurse Hal Among The Amish – Book 2 . Now for me that is an offer I couldn’t refuse. A fresh eye. I feel as if a writer editing his/her own work is like a doctor treating himself or a lawyer defending himself. Not a good idea. When I read my work my brain reads the words the corrected way I know it should be and skips over the editing errors. Putting a story away and going back later does help find some mistakes. For me reading every other chapter works. That takes the story out of context so I’m reading the sentence structure more for errors rather than the story. Printing the story out to look at hard copy helps but ink is an expense. Takes most of a cartridge to print every manuscript. Even that doesn’t help me catch all the mistakes, because I am too close to the writing. However, I’m thinking giving someone else a hard copy to edit is worth the cost. I can afford a cartridge for that. I mailed a hard copy to my new editor right away.

I just got the manuscript back and the simple errors are so much easier to see once the correction is pointed out. I looked through the manuscript and can’t believe I made such mistakes. I emailed my new editor a thank you for the great job she did. She said she’d be glad to read the next story for me. I emailed back that the next book was a western sequel and not Amish. To my amazement, she emailed that she didn’t care. She likes my writing so much that she wants to read any book I write so send them to her. She says my writing is as good as Cindy Woodsmall and some of the Amish writers. What a compliment!

I find editing errors in almost every published book I read that experienced editors working for a publisher skipped over. I see the errors because I’m looking for them. Along with that, I watch sentence structure and the way a story is put together. All that is a learning experience for me. Does it take me longer to read a book than it would most people? It sure does, but watching how other authors write helps me become better as an author.

Editing by a professional is expensive. An expense that can leave a self published author in the red if the book doesn’t sell well. If I was well known and selling lots of books, I wouldn’t mind taking that expense off my income tax, but I have to get to that point first. I’m not there yet. I’ve heard of authors that spare no expense to self publish their work, go in debt and don’t sell enough books to pay the debt. I didn’t want that to happen to me.

That doesn’t change the fact I feel bad because of the mistakes in my book. I mention it to my book buyers once in awhile. Usually, they tell me that they are reading the book for the content. I write so well, they are absorbed in the story. They don’t notice editing mistakes while they are finding how what happens to the characters. One buyer brought one of my books to my attention. She thought I might like to know my editor missed four typos. I emailed her an apology with the explanation that I did my own editing. She was in awe that I could write a book that was that well done. I appreciated her comment. Still I stopped print on that book and reedited it to get rid of those four errors. Made me feel better.

　

　

　

　

 

Smug

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I watched the most godawful movie the other day. It’s my fault, usually my 10-minute rule is pretty good. But somehow this one lasted beyond 10 minutes and we suffered through it. [New York, I Love You] With a cast of people who I generally like, an interesting soundtrack, and pretty good cinematography I had to think about why it was so terrible to watch. First, the stories were not compelling. They were overly dramatized in these long cinematic sequences.

It was smug. It was self-gratuitous.

It was like the film was masturbating right in front of our eyes. It was fully enjoying itself, in all its glory, parading around in its celebrities, music, and eye-candy. Well guess what, Hollywood, you clearly made this film for yourself and not us, the viewers. Not to mention the inaccuracies, which grate on a viewer like nothing else. NEVER in my life has anyone ever gotten into my cab; and I have never gotten into anyone else’s cab. Doesn’t happen. So, L.A., please don’t use that stupid scene again.

So it got me thinking about self-gratuitous art (elephant dung and Jesus pictures), and self-gratuitous music (5 minute long guitar solos), and self-gratuitous cooking (obscure, tasteless variations of offal with fruit combinations), and self-gratuitous dance. And of course, self-gratuitous writing.

What exactly do I mean by self-gratuitous? Being different just for the sake of being different, without any particular meaningful purpose is a component of this characterization. Or writing overly descriptive passages that don’t serve the story–or worse, divert from the character development or the story. When I took my first acting class, the instructor kept telling us not to act self-gratuitously. I had no idea what he meant and I was terrified of violating this cardinal rule, yet I didn’t know what to do to avoid doing so. Then I watched two guys do the seminal passage from Waiting for Godot and it was just dripping with an indescribable smugness that our instructor couldn’t even explain, but to stomp around and throw things and curse in Russian. It was then that I learned what it was to be smug on stage.

One could even argue that the beloved Chuck Bukowski wrote self-gratuitously. Certainly some poetry is self-gratuitous, serving only the writer in the secret code of meaning. Experimental writing walks a fine line; and self-gratuitous to one may be high art to another. But the discerning judgment lies with the reader, ultimately; and that is what should keep any writer (and artist, musician, filmmaker, fashion designer and dancer) staying on the right side of the self-gratuitous argument.

Gaining confidence in your art and writing shouldn’t necessitate smugness; but it also shouldn’t be a continuous struggle, right? As I get started on my new novel whose characters I’m absolutely in love with, I will keep that front of mind through the duration of my writing so they don’t become small details of masturbatory writing exercises.

This is a cross-posting from Jenn Topper‘s Don’t Publish Me! blog.

Developing Subplots

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This article, from Laura Backes, originally appeared in the February 2010 issue of the Children’s Book Insider newsletter and is reprinted here in its entirety with the CBI’s permission. While the CBI newsletter is primarily aimed at authors of children’s books, the advice given here is applicable to any work of fiction.

If you’re writing a book that’s longer than an easy reader or early chapter book, you’re going to need sub-plots. Sub-plots give heft to longer fiction and allow you to introduce more characters and other aspects of your protagonist’s life. Well-crafted sub-plots are related to the main action plot line, and often give the main character the tools he needs to solve his most pressing conflict.

 
Like your main story, your sub-plots will also have a beginning, middle, and probably an end (more on this later). As with the action plotline, your sub-plots begin with a catalyst (see Module 7 for a review of plot catalysts [Publetariat Editor’s Note: registration required]). Where in the book your sub-plots begin, and how often they weave through the primary plot line, depends on what purpose they serve. Sub-plots tend to have one or more of the following jobs:
 
To develop secondary characters and their relationship with the protagonist. In Charlotte’s Web, Wilbur the pig is the main character. He’s got the problem that defines the action of the overall plot: he learns he’s being fattened up for slaughter. But Charlotte, the spider, is a vital secondary character. We get to know Charlotte as she reveals herself to Wilbur. Without Wilbur, we’d never learn Charlotte existed (this is another clue as to who is the protagonist and who is the sec­ondary character). But without Charlotte’s involvement in Wilbur’s life, we’d have a very different book. This is an example of a sub­plot that provides essential support for the main story arc.
When creating secondary characters, especially those as complex as Charlotte, go back to Module 5 ad follow the same steps as you used to develop your protagonist. These supporting characters must be fully formed, with their own lives, to add substance to the protagonist’s story.

To add texture and depth to the main action plot. Sub-plots simply make a story more interesting. Where would Charlotte’s Web be without Templeton the rat, and his evolution from self-centered, gluttonous scavenger to heroic, gluttonous ally? Some sub-plots are small diversions (think of Fern’s spending less time in the barnyard as she gets older), others crucial to the progagonist re­solving his problem. Sub-plots offer the au­thor another opportunity to throw obstacles in the main character’s path (by distracting the protagonist, making his life more difficult, or introducing characters with their own competing agendas), or give the protagonist tools to make his life easier.

To press the "pause" button. Sometimes, a story may be so tension-filled or stressful that the reader simply needs a break. Sub-plots keep the reader involved in the characters’ lives but offer a rest from the action. Conversely, if the main story is quiet and thoughtful, a more action-filled sub-plot helps vary the pacing. Be sure your sub-plots always develop elements of character or story that give the reader new information that relates to the primary story arc. Plot tangents that dead end, rather than loop around and eventually come back to the central story, are pointless.

To illustrate your theme. Sub-plots are often emotionally-based, exploring relationships or internal aspects of your protagonist. Because of this, a story’s theme is often revealed in the sub-plots. If the main plot of Charlotte’s Web is whether or not Wilbur will die, then the friendship between Charlotte and Wilbur is a primary theme. This friendship ultimately saves Wilbur’s life. Because E.B. White illustrated the power of friendship through a complex sub-plot, he showed us the theme. He never had to tell us what his message might be.
Another way to show theme is through the growth and change of your protagonist. Sub-plots are a vehicle for this as well. Wilbur grew from an timid, hysterical, lonely piglet who lacked self-confidence to a radient, resourceful, loyal pig. Elements from every sub-plot in the book contributed to his transformation.

Sub-plots don’t necessarily end with a firm resolution as your action storyline will. Sub-plots give your character skills and experiences that he’ll take with him beyond the last page of the book, so they can be more open-ended. For upper middle grade and young adult audiences, some sub-plots might end with the death of a loved one, or a friendship ending. But reserve a few hopeful threads for the final pages that show the protagonist is moving in the right direction. The most satisfying stories give a balance, as in real life.
 

If you’re an author of children’s books, or aspire to be, take a look at the Children’s Book Insider Clubhouse site. There, you can register to receive the monthly CBI newsletter, which is filled with more useful articles like this one, as well as notices of publishers and agents seeking children’s book manuscripts.

Preparing For A Book Sale

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reposted from 9/2009

This my entry for Publetariat’s one-year anniversary contest.

 

Friday, Civil War Days begins in Belle Plaine, Iowa. I’m going to sell my books in the park on the fringes of North versus south battles. So am I ready?

I’ve watched the weather forecasts. Looks like perfect days for having a table full of books outside. To help the customers visually see what kind of books I write, I made place cards that states the genre to place by each pile of books. It would be a good thing if the wind wasn’t too strong, or I will spend time chasing those place cards down. Also, the bookmarkers I printed that list my inventory and address for future reference.

I’ve been doing a mental list in my head this morning. It has taken a lot of preparation for this three day event. I’ve got an aluminum folding table left over from my craft sale days. (Those craft sales are where I learned some salesmanship.) An Indian blanket for a table cover, doesn’t go along with the Civil War but in that century. Dressing in a pioneer dress and wearing a bonnet should give me some attention. (How did I come by a pioneer dress and bonnet? I revamped a dress and sewed the bonnet years ago when I volunteered at Usher Ferry in Cedar Rapids. I was spinning in a one room log cabin as the woman who lived there. When visitors came in, I had to tell them about my life. It was fun to act the part.) I still have my money box from craft show days (a small fishing tackle box). It’s perfect with a top divided shelf for change and the bottom for bills. I bought a mesh folding chair with a canopy top so I wouldn’t have to sit in direct sunlight. Haven’t had it out of the bag to see if I can set it up. Every time I buy something in a bag or box that needs put together, I’ve found it a struggle to put the object back in the bag. So guess I’ll wing putting the chair together in the park after I have the table set up.

After some fall house cleaning, I found a four by four poster board upstairs to use for a sign to lean against the table. This advertisement shows that I am a local person. That might help get me some interest if not sales. So I printed large banners and tacked them to the poster board. The sign reads Keystone Author Fay Risner – Book Sale – Featuring – Ella Mayfield’s Pawpaw Militia . On each side of the Book Sale line was a blank space so I put a picture of my book cover on one side and a Confederate Flag on the other. That definitely states which side of the war I’m on. Figured I might as well join. You can’t hear it in my writing, but I have a southern accent. That would be a dead give away if I tried to join the Union forces. They might shoot me for a spy.

I have no idea where I am to set up. The man I talked to said I could be by a building where reenactors sell their wares. Guess someone will point me in the right direction.

Friday is the day the schools bring students to learn about the Civil War. I wanted to be a part of that education. Besides, a presentation will go along with my book. So I made up another poster board. While the reenactors will be talking military feats, I will be discussing Bushwhackers and Jayhawkers. A time line of the border war between Kansas territory and Missouri is on the poster. A large Missouri map dominates the board with stars for important places and Vernon County drawn in so the children can see where my history comes from.

I won’t have anyone to watch my table and I don’t know how far it will be to the concession stand. I baked an apple cake. That will be meals and snacks plus I’m taking a large container of ice tea.

My husband isn’t so sure all this stuff will fit in my small car. Best be prepared. Today I pack the car just to see how is the best way to fit everything in. It will be good to have that much done. I’ll have to get an early start to be set up before 9 a.m.

No matter what, this will be a fun experience going back in time amid the smell and explosions of gunpowder, war cries and crowd appreciation of the battles. Lincoln will give his Gettysburg Address, a church service will be held under the open sky and much more. I can’t wait to get there.

Audio Book Production & Choices

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As promised, here is a post on audio books. Have you ever priced audio books in comparison to printed versions? Mass market=$8-10, Trade Paperback=$15-20, Hardback=$22-30, Abridged audio=$26-40, and Unabridged audio=$35-60. Why are audio books on CDs so much more expensive? Production costs.

First, there is the different cover and packaging. Then comes the cost of the pressed CDs (analogous to printing). Finally, there are the costs of recording, which consist of: using a professional recording studio with all its expensive equipment, its talented engineers and producers, talented reader(s) capable of smooth readings and producing different character voices consistently.

All this is very expensive! Having been a studio musician and been involved in recorded book-like projects as far back as 1966, I’ve had the opportunity to personally experience both the music and the reader sides of the process. For these reasons, I decided to go with Hudson Audio, an internationally based company out of Australia. They charge a very reasonable setup fee of $285, which is taken out of earned royalties. Their site is http://www.hudsonaudiopublishing.com/ and they take the pain out of much of the process. Technology has gotten to the point where CDs are not absolutely necessary. Newer model cars have plugins in their dashes to accommodate ipods. Ipods and similar devices are to the audio world as e-book readers are to the e-book world. Both can download electronic files to play at their leisure. Doing away with CDs is like doing away with printing books. That makes the production process much cheaper.

Not for Everybody

I’ll be up front with you, although they allow folks to produce their own electronic files, you have to either be able to pay for their production or do it yourself. If you choose the latter, they will listen to a sample first to determine if it’s up to their standards. Despite my experience, when I recorded on my iMac’s internal mike, unwanted background noises were introduced, which made for a poor quality recording. Back to the drawing board I went and solved the problem by buying a $60 studio quality mike and using my PC instead of my iMac. Although I initially tried freeware digital recording software such as Audacity, I eventually decided to spend $30-$40 on AVS Audio Editor. This gave me better control over the audio editing. If I muff a line or hiccup, I can see and find the offending area, erase it, and seamlessly record the proper material over it. A reader must do character voices, so that gave me a leg up to reading my books myself. Hudson Audio has a list of professional readers and studios that are reasonably priced if you can’t do it yourself. They also have certain technical parameter requirements you’ll need to use when recording. You’ll need to record each chapter as a separate MP3 file. What I just described sounds easy and it is; however, if you don’t know your way around a sound studio, you might find all this rather daunting—it’s not for everybody.

Reading

A good reading is not easy. There is a reason why seasoned actors are often the ones picked to read audios. They must be able to create excitement or interest with their voices. Different characters often require unique voices and accents. Fortunately, I have been a professional storyteller since 1997 and had musical and community theater experience prior to that. Storytellers do characters all the time, so I felt comfortable doing all this. Again, it’s not for everybody.

Distribution

Now comes the important part—getting your creative efforts out there for people to buy and download. Hudson Audio sells through Amazon, iTunes, and Audible.com with a 5-year commitment to them, which also means they need a con commitment from you. They are doing the hard part of distributing to the most likely markets. You keep your CD version rights; they are only interested in the download rights. So, what sacrifices will you have to make and what will you get for them?

You will get 70% and they will keep 30% of any royalties due to them through their sales to the above mentioned companies. The normal royalty they receive on a sale through these major companies is 20%. Let’s consider an example: Let’s say you place a retail price on your work of $10. For every time it is sold by iTunes, Amazon, or Audible.com, Hudson will receive 20% or $2. Your share of that $2 will be $1.40. Their share will be $.60. They pay out royalties every 90 days. At this time, they’re not going to make you wealthy; however, I think that’s going to change once more people become comfortable with downloading audio books like they do e-books.

Your Responsibility

Like everything else in this business, you must do the marketing. That involves time and funds, but will have to wait for another post on how to go about getting the word out.

This is a cross-posting from Bob Spear‘s Book Trends blog.

Excerpt from "Specious Nephew" book 2 of Risner's Mystery Series

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Excerpt from "Specious Nephew" as promised in last week’s blog. ISBN 1438248202

Sold on this site Book two of the Amazing Gracie Mystery Series

I promise you if you read "Neighbor Watchers" book one of the series, you’ll want to read all five books.

"Ladies, please excuse me. I want to go to the water

closet before we leave," Jeffrey said, standing up.

"We all should think about that, shouldn’t we, Gracie?"

asked Melinda.

Gracie didn’t hear her. Jeffrey turned the wrong way

down the hall toward the outside door. Perhaps he didn’t know

his way about, but if he didn’t know the way to the water

closet, why hadn’t he asked? Jeffery Armstrong didn’t appear

to be the bashful type to her. She stared at the doorway, waiting

for him to realize his mistake and come back by.

"Gracie, don’t you think we should think about leaving

soon? Gracie, are you listening to me?" persisted Melinda.

"What?" Gracie asked absently, not taking her eyes

from the door. It had been too long now. Jeffrey had to realize

his mistake. "Oh, I’m ready whenever the rest of you are." She

rubbed her arms. "I feel a bit chilly. I think I left my shawl out

on the hall table. I’ll go get it."

"All right, dear," said Melinda. "Miss Moxie and I’ll

wait here for you and Jeffrey."

Jeffrey wasn’t in the hall. Perhaps he decided to leave

without saying anything. That would disappoint poor Melinda

if he decided to change his mind about taking them to the barn

dance. Gracie picked up her shawl. She draped it around her

shoulders and started back past the library. Puzzled that the

door was shut, she stopped. No one ever shut that door. She

placed her hand on the knob, giving it a gentle twist. She

pushed the door open a crack and peeked in.

Standing on a chair in front of the book shelves, Jeffrey

pulled a book out of the top shelf. He opened it and flipped

through a few pages. Closing it, he slipped the book inside his

suit jacket and stepped down from the chair. Gracie eased the

door shut as fast as she could and hurried to take her seat in the

parlor. What on earth was that man doing? If he wanted to read

a book why didn’t he just say so? He lied about where he was

going. He shut the library door so no one would see what he

did. He stole one of Miss Molly’s books, but he didn’t know

much about priceless books. That brown covered book wasn’t

one of the first additions so why would he want it?

Deep in thought, Gracie flinched at the sound of

Jeffrey’s voice when he burst back into the parlor, announcing

he was ready to leave.

"Are you still cold now since you got your shawl from

the hall table, Gracie? If so you best bundle up good for the

ride out to Mr. Orie’s farm. We need to get our coats. It’ll be

cold tonight when we start home," instructed Melinda.

Gracie glanced at Jeffrey. He stared at her with a

smoldering expression on his face and one eyebrow raised.

"Maybe Miss Gracie hasn’t had time to warm up, Aunt

Melinda. When did she get her shawl?" He asked, not taking

his eyes off Gracie.

"Just a few minutes ago," cheeped the little lady.

"Is that right? I do hope youve’ warmed up by now,"

Jeffrey said. His voice was icy sounding through tightened lips.

"I’m fine," returned Gracie calmly, thinking some

things never change. Melinda always talked when she should

keep her mouth shut.

Jeffrey seemed to relax again. Maybe he decided she

hadn’t seen anything with the door shut. She hoped that was the

case.

Initial Impressions of Smashwords

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I decided to jump back into publishing via the e-book route first. Having done my due diligence, I chose Smashwords as the best outfit out there. They have automated software they call their meat grinder that turns a Word MS into all the different e-book formats. They do this for FREE! All they ask is [that] they manage your e-book sales. They do this for a 15% cut or, if you want to give others the privilege of selling your e-book as affiliates, they get an additional 15% for them. DEAL! This does not relieve you from the obligation of marketing; however, it is a huge support system.

The first thing I did was to go here to learn how they do what they do. This entailed downloading two well-written e-manuals—one a style guide and the other focusing on e-book marketing. Both were easy to understand. In reading the style manual, which focuses on what you need to submit to them, I discovered I had to drop back ten and punt. All my interior design work was for naught, as far as e-books go. The reason is the various e-book readers have their own way of laying out the books they read. The using person can change fonts and sizes to suit his needs. That means all the pretty designs go out the window. Forget drop caps and cute little illustrations, they just get in the way.

This means I had to go into my InDesign file, select all the text, and paste it into Word. Then I had to save it as a text file, stripping out all the hidden InDesign code. Table of Contents and Indexes are stripped out since they won’t make any sense in the e-book readers. Chapter Numbers and titles are changed to a common sans serif font, in my case Helvetica at 14 point, and the text should be common, in my case I’m using Times New Roman at 12 point. I’ve had to eliminate my pretty ornamentals I use to show text breaks and go back to 3 asterisks. Because I stripped out all styling, I’m having to go through to replace the italicized text that was lost in the process. I also have to insure there are no tabs or excessive paragraph symbols or spaces.

Once I have rendered this simplified file that will play on all the different formats, I’ll be ready to send it to the meat grinder. Smash Words has routines that check for my compliance with its style requirements, which is a good thing. Obviously, this will take some time, but now I know what I have to do for my four other mysteries. Everything they require is for good technical reasons. Their style manual made understanding them easy. Their marketing manual is practical and in keeping with common sense guerrilla marketing principles. So far this has been a positive experience except for the redoing of the file, which will take time. I hope to have that finished by tonight. Then, I will be ready to complete their application and send my file to their meat grinder. I’ll keep you posted on how that goes.

This is a cross-posting from Bob Spear‘s Book Trends blog.

Family Mystery Sparks Book Idea

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Have you ever had a family mystery tale passed down through the generations. The story is usually elaborated on along the way. My southern Missouri family had one such mystery in the 1930’s.

The mystery was the disappearance of my mother’s aunt. Aunt Leona was the sister of my mother’s father. She was five years older than my mother. The two of them saw a lot of each other when they were growing up.

It was agreed by the family that Leona was very spoiled. She was born a few years after the other four children were about grown. Her mother gave her baby girl anything she asked for including nice clothes which were the envy of my mother who didn’t have nice things.

The mystery took place in the Great Depression. Leona and her mother spent a lot of time making quilts. By the time she was in her mid twenties, Leona had a closet full of quilts stored for her hope chest. When she fell in love with a trucker, her parents disapproved. What they had against him was not clear. Who knows if Leona really loved him or just didn’t want to wind up an old maid. Nothing they said could change Leona’s mind so they gave her a fancy wedding in their front yard. According to a niece, one of Mom’s younger sisters, she wore a lovely white dress and large straw hat which in Depression times was considered expensive.

A few days later, Leona’s husband brought her back to collect her closet full of quilts. They left and were never seen again. Did she leave of her own free will? Did he murder her? Was he the bad person Leona’s parents feared, and she just didn’t want to hear, "I told you so."?

About fifteen years ago, I wrote to the reader to reader column in Capper’s, asking if anyone could help me find descendants of Aunt Leona. While I waited for a reply, I began to worry. In today’s world, the type of person who might answer my ad or show up to visit as a relative might not be to my liking. What had I let myself in for? As it turned out, I didn’t have anyone answer my request.

A few years later, I wrote Specious Nephew, Book two in the Amazing Gracie Mystery Series. ISBN 1438248202 sold on my bookstore website http://www.booksbyfaybookstore.weebly.com

and Amazon

Let’s start with the word Specious in the title. This is the way my mother pronounced suspicious, but I was surprised to find that the word specious is in the dictionary. The pronunciation fits right in with my historical mystery. However, the word tends to give libraries the impression that I misspelled the word. I’ve seen my book acknowledged in a library notice where in the title the word had been changed to suspicious to help me out.

The premise of the story is that Moser Mansion For Women resident Melinda Applegate hasn’t any family close by to invite to a special wedding for the Moser Mansion owner’s back yard wedding. So she sends a plea to the reader to reader column. If she has relatives she would like to hear from them.

Unlike me, Melinda gets an answer. A young man, Jeffrey Armstrong, shows up just in time for the wedding. He claims to be Melinda’s nephew. She’s more than willing to believe him, but Gracie Evans is not. He appears to be a con artist after what little money Melinda has. Gracie tries to warn the Moser residents but not one of them listens to her so she is determined to prove the man is up to no good.

Next week, I’ll give you an excerpt to show you why Gracie thinks the man is dishonest.

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

Query contest from Literary Agent Kathleen Ortiz this week

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This is as good a "quick hit" as any for my first (but not last) blog post on Publetariat.  not sure if this is better off in the forum, but I’ll do it here and stand corrected if I shouldn’t have.  anyway. .

 

Literary Agent Kathleen Ortiz of Lowenstein Associates is having a query contest this week on her blog. Three winners will get a full critique of their query from Ms. Ortiz. It’s a great opportunity for your writers out there to get some professional feedback on the hook for your magnum opus.

More and more agents are doing things like this, and to my way of thinking it is valuable for just about any author.  I am actually submitting to agents at the moment, but even if you’re going to self-publish, professional feedback about your hook is always helpful in figuring out how best to use it to promote your book.

So what do you have to do? Well, you can check out the exact rules on her blog at http://kortizzle.blogspot.com/2010/02/query-contest.html. She’s got an easy way and a hard way, so choose. . .wisely.

– Ed

Corel Print Photo Shop Installation

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An update on my Corel Print/Photo Shop computer software. In mid December, advertising came in an email about the software being on sale. I’ve wanted new software for a long time. The freebie I got in the 90’s with my first computer was lacking many of the latest additions this software has. I ordered right away, and the software came soon. To my consternation, the disk wouldn’t download automatically. I didn’t get the computer book for dummies I asked Santa to bring me so I was on my own.

After some dialogue with a help support person at Corel, she finally thought to ask me if I had a DVD player. The disk is dvd. I found the disk stated that on it, but who looks at the fine print on a software disk. No, my computer doesn’t have a dvd player, and I’m betting that a lot of other computers for home use are not set up with one, either. I debated sending the software back rather than have a player installed in my computer. Then I decided to buy an external dvd player online. I might only use it once, but my reasoning was the software was on sale and within my price range at the moment. By the time I added the price of the DVD player that brought the total up, but still only about half what the software usually costs. I really, really wanted that software, but now I own a DVD player I may never have a need for again.

I did ask the Corel support helper if I could return the software in exchange for the download version. Would it install? However, I pointed out that I have dial up and it takes hours and hours to download anything from online. The Helper didn’t reply which leads me to believe she expected me to have a problem.

The dvd player is plug and play. I plugged its Y posts into two holes in the portable USB station. The player wouldn’t work. After several days of struggling with why, I finally got the brain storm to plug the player in the back USB ports. Not a handy place on the back side of my computer under the desk. Now the DVD player is way to the back of the computer. However, I got down on my hands and knees with a flashlight and plugged the software in. Right away it installed. Why? I emailed my brother that knows about computers. Turns out the portable unit doesn’t have the power the USB ports on the back do. Seems I never stop learning about my computer.

To Corel’s credit, the company support help does try to talk you through a problem. Once I got the DVD player, my mind was on how to make it work. A week or so later, I got an email from Corel asking me if I was doing all right with the software. They had not heard back from me. I explained the situation, and that I was all set now.

As a tip for other consumers, I said I went back and looked at all the write up on the software and not once was the fact that the disk would be DVD mentioned. If I had known that I would have trouble installing the software I wouldn’t have bought it. I am not the only one with a computer that didn’t come with a dvd player. I suggested to save other consumers the headaches I had, Corel should put that information in the advertising.

 

 

　

　

　

　

When Procrastination Wins: What Do You Do To Return To Productivity?

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This post, from Shaun Kilgore, originally appeared on his website on 1/25/10 and is reprinted here in its entirety with his permission.

What happens when procrastination wins and you find yourself staring at all the unfinished tasks or projects that you have to perform?  What do you do?  It can be frustrating.  You may even be suffering from anxiety due to putting things off.

Nowhere is this truer than when you are working at home and you alone are responsible for your work schedule.  You are the one who has to manage your time in constructive ways.  There is no one to tell you what to do.  It can be liberating at first.  Then you may realize that the loss of structure created by having a boss or supervisor and the set time frame of your work hours actually sends you spinning out of control.

I’ve always struggled with procrastination.  It is a struggle to keep things focused and on target.  My freelance writing business is no exception.  I’ve been a writer for the past four years.  I’m self-employed.  While the venue has changed some, I’m still the one who is ultimately responsible for how successful or unsuccessful my business is.

Procrastination does put me in some tight binds from time to time.  Depending on your view of the causes of procrastination, you may think I need to think more positively about my abilities, get busy working and stop dwelling on the past, or get an appointment with a psychological professional.  (It could be a little bit of all three.)

Why Am I Writing About Procrastination?

It’s been a recurring issue with me lately.  That’s the short answer.  Why am I procrastinating and putting off my work or at least not spending all the time I could on it?  Well, I have other ambitions or creative endeavors that are distracting me from the bare bones work I have to do.  For instance, I’m starting a publishing company.  This has taken a great deal of mental energy and time and diverted it to something not related to freelance writing.  I’m thinking about the upcoming release of the first book.  I’m speculating about future books and future authors we could have in our business.

Another reason I’m procrastinating is that I’m more interested in building this blog up and exploring my brand as a writer and creator rather than being the pen behind somebody else.  Ghostwriting does have financial incentives, but I’m at the point where my name on a blog post has more power to arrest my attention.

Perhaps, some of you are dealing with similar circumstances.  Heck, maybe some of you are dealing with the same issues in a more constructive way.  I applaud you for that.  If you have some tips, I would appreciate them.  I do have a few things to say that might help you (and maybe me as well.)

Productive Again

1. Be positive. I’ve got to stop dwelling on negative thoughts.  (So do you.)  Starting doing what you can to build your confidence about the tasks that you’ve been stuck on.  If you accomplish a series of daily goals, you will not only increase you confidence about the whole project but also increase your sense of satisfaction.

2. Break things up. This is accomplished by setting your mind on accomplishing a set number of daily goals and making them something you can accomplish easily.  Once a task is complete, you will feel better about the whole situation.  The funny question comes to mind: How do you eat an elephant?  Answer: One bite at a time. With this strategy comes the ability to start planning ahead more.  It may also give you a way to be more organized as well.  It’s important that you really take the time to separated those big tasks into smaller, manageable components.

3. Start immediately! Don’t let yourself procrastinate about dealing with your procrastination.  You must determine within yourself to start dealing with the problem now.  Right now, while you are reading this. (Even, while I’m writing this.)  You have to do something about it because no one else can.  When you start to tell yourself that you’ll start on this tomorrow, stop yourself.  That’s procrastination talking.  Every day is precious and once you’ve spent it, you cannot get it back.  Remember: If you want to break a bad habit, then break it already!

4. Make priorities.  You’ve got to do this one too.  When you have a whole host of things to do, there may be a tendency to start with the easy things.  In fact, the whole dynamic of your procrastination may run on this first assumption.  When you choose to start with easy things, you may end up putting it off since it’s so easy.  That’s a mistake. You must organize all of your daily tasks in order of legitimate importance or based on their overall practical value.  As a freelance writer, the priority should be the paying gigs that get money in your coffers.  Everything else should come after that.  Yes, develop those other businesses and potential projects, but don’t neglect what helps you stay afloat.

The Power Of Choice

I want to summarize all of this by way of an analysis of how you deal with the choices you make.  Everyone has the power of choice.  But not everyone knows how to use choice to their advantage.

The first thing you should do when given an assignment or taking on a project is to pay attention to how you first respond and your attitude.  You should be conscious of your choices – the ones that you make right away.  Your awareness of these choices will help you fight the urge to avoid the work. Pay attention to how you feel when you choose to tackle those tasks and get things done.  Make sure you keep a list of clear responsibilities.  This will help you set realistic and relevant goals.  Also, make sure you can be realistic about how long each of these tasks is going to take.  Being conscious and maintaining a focus on the power of your choices should give a way to be confident and help spur you on to more actions.

In Closing

I’m ready to defeat procrastination in my writing life so I can find the balance I need to expand my businesses and become successful at what I enjoy doing.  I’m lucky to be a writer, working from home.  Not everyone gets that option.  I cannot let procrastination rule the day.  Neither should you.  There is too much to do and you only have so much time in this life to do it.

If you have anything you want to add, please contact me or post your comments [at the original post].  I’d love to hear from you.  Until next time, keep fighting the good fight.  And keep writing.

Shaun Kilgore is a freelance writer and co-founder of Founders House Publishing, a new small press.  If you’d like to read more of what Shaun has written please check out his blog at www.shaunkilgore.com.

Writing Detail: Finding the Right Balance

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Last night I read the one-page intro to my 4th mystery to my sister-in-law, a retired nurse and a non-writer. It’s supposed to be funny, but her reaction was rather unexpected. “Did you write that?”

“Well, yes, why?”

“I couldn’t believe the clarity of detail in your descriptions. I could see everything you were writing about in my mind’s eye!”

I’m never one to aw shucks a nice complement. I thanked her and later on, I thought back on the incident. It was the detail of the story which had impressed her. Evidently I had written the right amount. That’s what I wanted to blog about today—the need for writers to strike a balance between enough details to make what they write interesting without being too parsimonious or too wordy. Perhaps you have read something that left you puzzled, not sure you understood what was being written. Or, perhaps you wondered when the writer was going to shut up about the golden red sunset that sent the lady, who was wearing the virginally white dress with the freshly tatted lace given to her by her latest beau into a dizzying paroxysm of awestruck marveling about…well, I think you get my drift.

Know the Genre

A good storyteller, instinctively considers the target audience’s need for information about the story and how much to include. Oral storytellers commonly tailor their tales to the vibes they get from their audiences. So much so, that it may seem they never tell the same story in the same way twice. Writers of stories don’t have the luxury of immediate audience feedback, so they have to come to an understanding of what may be expected by typical readers of the genre in which they are writing. How do they do that? By reading an immense amount of material from that genre to learn how others do it; by talking to folks who enjoy reading the genre, about who they like and why. Armed with this kind of knowledge, the writer then has a better feel for what is expected from his stories and descriptions.

Realism and Accuracy

It’s important that the details be realistic without going overboard. One wonderful example of a writer who did this consistently well was the great writer of westerns, Louis LaMour. The amount of research he did was amazing. If he wrote about a cowboy’s life being saved in the desert because he stumbled upon a watering hole at such and such a place, you could go to that location today and find that watering hole. Readers in the know were constantly blown away by the accuracy of his detail. Of course, there can also be too much of a good thing. James Michener was infamous for his, “How this region was formed and grew to be,” first chapters of almost everything he wrote. Some of us found this information to be excellent background; however, there were many readers who would actually skip over this plentitude of background detail and charge ahead to where the characters first appear so the story could commence to unroll.

Nonfiction Too

This concept of detail balance is especially evident in nonfiction. Different readers have different needs. Compare, if you would, the level of detail present in a textbook about a certain subject to the level of detail found in a simple how-to book on the same subject. Again, it’s all about who your target audience is and what they need and expect from writers. It is the amount and complexity of detail that makes written material readable. Software that provides a grade level of readability for written passages uses just these points of evaluation—word and sentence length, choice, and amount of detail.

Ignore at Your Peril

It is essential that you write with the appropriate amount and level of detail expected by your readers. There is no hard and fast rule of this. The best writers are usually the best readers—familiar enough with what they write about to find that best balance between what might be considered way too much or far too little. Good luck on the seesaw of life.

This is a cross-posting from Bob Spear‘s Book Trends blog.

#fridayflash: Almonds

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I’m going on hiatus from #fridayflash for a while – too much else on my plate now, and in the coming months. Thanks to everyone who’s read and commented on my stories to date; I hope to rejoin you again, probably next year, after the launch of the revised/updated edition of The IndieAuthor Guide this winter.

“I miss the almond tree.”

Nancy looked up from her coffee. “What, honey?” she asked.

Ryan sighed. “I miss the almond tree,” he repeated, gazing out the window at the spot where the tree once stood in the backyard. Now there was a walkway leading to the remodeled back part of the house, where Nancy’s bedroom was.

Nancy wasn’t sure how to respond. She glanced up at the clock, and the daily routine came to her rescue. “Ryan, if you’re going to catch the school bus you need to leave right now.” She helped him gather his things and gave his shoulders a squeeze as he headed out the door. “Pick you up after basketball practice,” she said.

“’Kay. See ya.”

As the door closed behind him, her mind was already racing with worry. The almond tree? What did it mean? He used to climb that tree when he was, what? Nine, or ten? But that was so long ago. She scanned her memories of the months leading up to the remodel; it was a happy time. And Scott’s car accident happened months afterward, it had nothing to do with their home improvement project. Was Ryan associating the tree with his memories of a time before his dad died? The walkway had been her idea; was he blaming her for Scott’s death, somehow? She reached for the phone and dialed Dr. Crandall’s number.

“Dr. Crandall’s office. May I help you?” answered the lilting voice of the secretary.

“Yes, hello Alice. This is Mrs. Munroe. I need to speak to Dr. Crandall.”

“Um,” Alice’s voice trailed off, “let me see if he’s…yes, he’s just getting off the elevator. Hold, please.”

A moment later, Dr. Crandall came on the line. “Hello, Mrs. Munroe. What can I do for you?”

“I think I need to bring Ryan in. Right away. Today, if possible.”

“Has there been some sort of incident?”

“He seems very sad all of a sudden. He’s been talking about the almond tree he used to climb in our backyard when he was little. We had that tree taken out when we remodeled. I think he’s associating the tree with the way things used to be, you know, before Scott died.”

“Well of course, I’m happy to see him if you think he needs my help. Let me hand you back to Alice, and tell her I said I’d see you at five-thirty.”

“Thank you, Doctor. Thank you so much.”

Later, as Nancy drove Ryan north on the I-20, he looked up from texting his girlfriend long enough to notice they weren’t on the way home. “Where are we going?” he asked.

Nancy took a breath and steeled herself for his reaction. “I’m taking you to see Dr. Crandall.”

“Mom!” he whined. “Why?”

“I noticed you seem a little sad lately, and I thought it might help you to talk to someone.”

“I’m not sad. I’m fine.”

“Ryan, denial isn’t going to help.”

“Again with the psycho-babble,” Ryan huffed, throwing his hands up in frustration. “Jeez, Mom! Give it a rest. Dad’s been gone for like, four years now. Aren’t you ever going to stop with this stuff?! Aren’t you ever going to go back to work and get a life of your own so you can stop messing with mine?!”

“Look, the appointment has already been made. If you need to talk to Dr. Crandall you can. And if not, well…better safe than sorry.”

He angrily turned his back to her and stared out the window in silence the rest of the way.

“Ryan!” Dr. Crandall said as he opened his waiting room door to them, clapping a hand on Ryan’s shoulder. “Come on in.” He turned to Nancy. “You don’t mind if Ryan and I speak in private?”

“Of course not, Doctor.” She took a seat in the empty waiting room and picked up a magazine. “I really appreciate you seeing us after hours.”

Dr. Crandall nodded and he and Ryan disappeared behind his office door. Less than five minutes later, the door opened and Ryan stepped out into the waiting room, already texting his girlfriend again. “Ryan,” Dr. Crandall said, “You can wait here.” Ryan barely acknowledged the instruction with a slight nod as he lowered himself into a chair. “Nancy?”

“Yes, Doctor?” Nancy asked, standing up.

“Ryan likes almonds. That’s all.”

“Oh, what a relief!” Nancy said.

“Is it?” Dr. Crandall asked, ushering Nancy into his office and closing the door behind him. “Let’s talk about that.”

 

Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest Entry

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Monday was the first day for a week to enter the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest. I had been preparing for a month to enter my next book. After I finished writing the story, I went over and over it. Even taped the book for a friend in the nursing home. Reading the story out loud helps me catch mistakes that I missed when I read the sentences to myself. So by Sunday, I had the book ready to enter. A 300 word pitch and a copy the first 5000 words to the story had to entered in a separate part on the form.

I’d be the first to admit that blurbs for book covers and pitches are not my strong point. For me, trying to condense the whole story into a few words is hard. I entered the Amazon contest last year. My pitch was not good. Once I found out about the contest, I didn’t have a whole lot of time to work on it. This year I was better prepared. That 300 hundred words is what the judges look at to pick the 1000 contestants to go on, or how ever many have a good pitch up to a 1000. Next the judges look at the first 5000 words in the story and narrow the entries down again. Finally, three are picked and from that three one gets a book deal with Penguin.

This contest takes place until late June. In late February, the writers of the 1000 pitches are announced. Do I expect to be in the running? Yes, I think this year I’ve a good chance of getting into the first round. I’ll update you on that when I find out. If I’m not in the running, I should have a new self published book on the market in a few months. My pitch entry will work well as a jacket blurb so I have that out of the way. Look for the next book in my Amish Series Nurse Hal Among The Amish – Nurse’s Hal’s Rainbow.

As usual, anything that has to do with the computer does not come easy for me, but I didn’t expect the entry to take me all day. Once, I started I had to stay with it. The first entry was contact information. I filled it in and saved it. Time after time, red words warned me I need to enter the complete address or that my zipcode was wrong. Finally, the last time the form came up the space for state popped up. I filled that in, and I was ready for the next form. Copy and paste for the pitch and 5000 word entry went well, but no way could I get the form to accept my manuscript. My word processors weren’t compatible. I have Open Office and an outdated Lotus that no one has heard of lately. I could buy Microsoft, but once I figured out what I was doing with what I had, I didn’t want to take the time to learn anything new. I’d entered in this contest before so I knew I could if I figured out what I needed to do. After hours of trying, finally the manuscript was accepted, but the form didn’t think my pitch was right. I cut and copied the same pitch again and clicked save. That did it.

Last year, I received two reviews from the judges based on the first 5000 words. One judge was very complimentary about my original idea. The other pointed out my piece was poorly written with grammatical errors which didn’t surprise me since the story was no way near ready to turn in. That was the review that was the most helpful. I took the review to heart and went over my story to clean it up before I published it. I’m hoping this year’s entry is in better shape, but no matter what, I’m looking forward to the expert reviews if they do that again.

Now I’m working on short stories for the writing contest that is due the last of April. That gives me plenty of time to tighten the stories up to fit the word criteria and theme. I have some luck in those contests, but even if I didn’t it’s fun to compete with other writers.