People who are not writers (the kind who get paid for what they write), think writing is easy. After all, we all learned to write in grade school if not before, and, even if we never wrote a novel, we’ve written lots of other things. Letters to friends and relatives, and countless stories, or essays, for school projects.
But “real” writing is hard. Take a novel, for instance. First, you have to know what it will be about, such as the great white whale in MOBY DICK. Then you must put characters in it, and you must know those characters, and what they think about the subject of your novel. They must also know the other characters in the novel, and, preferably, have a different opinion than that of the others.
Your novel must be set somewhere, and you’ll have to describe it, so that your reader has a mental picture of the place, such as the Southern town in TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. Plus, if a character goes somewhere, you’ll have to describe the “somewhere” she goes, and, perhaps, how she gets there, such as Atlanta, and, perhaps a train.
Which brings us to time-setting. Is your book set in today’s world, the 21st century, or the past, or the future? Books, as you know can be “contemporary,” like GONE GIRL, or “historical,” like GONE WITH THE WIND, or set it some future time, as most science fiction novels are. And, as the author of this book, it’s your job to decide the answer to all those questions.
That’s just the beginning. In order to have a reader read your book, you have to provide a plot for your story. If you want a reader to finish reading your book, and say, “That was a fantastic story. I couldn’t stop reading.” you’ll have to write it in such a way that that’s what your typical reader will say.
In addition, you need to write characters who take part in your plot, and some of them might not agree with your main character about the plot’s worthiness. In fact, the most important thing you have to write is how and why your characters disagree. It’s called “conflict,” and every book worth reading has conflict in it. Even a romance novel, where the characters fall in love and end up together, must have a time in which the reader doubts that will ever happen.
“Okay,” you say, “I won’t write a romance novel. I’ll write a mystery where a sleuth will figure out who the guilty person is and bring him to justice.” Remember “conflict”? The stronger the conflict in your mystery, the more exciting your book will be. Can you write a book like that? Try writing out a plot where your sleuth stumbles upon a dead person and must figure out who killed him, and why. It’s hard.
But don’t let me stop you from trying. All of us writers were faced with those problems, and we managed to answer those questions so well that our books were published and we earned money as well as congratulations from friends and relatives. I’ve written, and had published, nineteen romance novels and now four mysteries. My greatest thrill is reading an Amazon review where the author says, “What a great story.” I hope you have moments like that, too. Just remember, it’s hard to do but you’ll be rewarded when you accomplish i
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
CO-AUTHORING A BOOK
Okay, you’re right. It’s been two weeks since I put up a post on my blog. But I’m still recovering from the stroke I had in January. And where are the physical therapy sessions they promised me? Huh?
But this week my favorite blogger, Anne R. Allen, has posted an article about-authoring books by Melodie Campbell, and, since I wrote one like that myself not so long ago, I’m inspired to respond to it.
The first bit of advice Melodie gives is to find someone whose style is simiar to yours. Right? No, wrong.
I met my co-author in a writing class and quickly realized we had different writing styles. I write fast–I called it “down and dirty”–and Carole writes slowly, using lots of adjectives, similes and metaphors. It occurred to me we should combine our styles, and when I telephoned Carole, it turned out she felt the same way about me.
So, since we lived in the same town, we got together and brain-stormed our first book. That gave us an outline for a romance novel, and we were off. Since our styles were so different, we took advantage of that. I wrote the first chapter, “down and dirty,” and gave it to Carole. She added all those great words, plus similes and metaphors, all the stuff I coudn’t do. We not only finished that book, we wrote two more together, one a straight mystery and the other a romantic-suspense.
Then tragedy came calling. Carole bought a new computer (different from mine) and my husband retired, so we moved 500 miles away. We decided that, since Carole still worked and I didn’t, that I would send our books to agents and editors, and Carole would send me postage-money from time to time. And I sold our first book, SOUTHERN STAR, to Avalon Books, a well-known romance publisher. That came nineteen years after we first wrote it. Lesson: never give up.
But the publisher, who had already paid us a nice advance, went out of business, and guess who bought them? Amazon! So, SOUTHERN STAR is now a Montlake Romance and they sell copies for us reglarly.
Carole and I kept in touch, slightly, but eventually, we found ourselves able to write together again, so we did. We polished our remaining books and sold another one, the straight mystery, EYEWITNESS, which came out this past October from Coffeetown Press. Our third one is keeping some editor’s desk warm right now, but they can’t win. They’re destined to buy it (says I).
So, even with two completely different styles, we forged a writing bond. We haven’t written any more books together, but Carole left her job and writes books, both romance and romantic-suspense, and I’ve learned to use words, even similes and metaphors, much better. Carole has sold three more of her books, and I’ve sold fourteen of mine.
But, one thing Melodie said in her article is definitely true. Trust between partners is very important, and Carole and I definitely have that down pat. When we do get together, even our husbands get along.
But this week my favorite blogger, Anne R. Allen, has posted an article about-authoring books by Melodie Campbell, and, since I wrote one like that myself not so long ago, I’m inspired to respond to it.
The first bit of advice Melodie gives is to find someone whose style is simiar to yours. Right? No, wrong.
I met my co-author in a writing class and quickly realized we had different writing styles. I write fast–I called it “down and dirty”–and Carole writes slowly, using lots of adjectives, similes and metaphors. It occurred to me we should combine our styles, and when I telephoned Carole, it turned out she felt the same way about me.
So, since we lived in the same town, we got together and brain-stormed our first book. That gave us an outline for a romance novel, and we were off. Since our styles were so different, we took advantage of that. I wrote the first chapter, “down and dirty,” and gave it to Carole. She added all those great words, plus similes and metaphors, all the stuff I coudn’t do. We not only finished that book, we wrote two more together, one a straight mystery and the other a romantic-suspense.
Then tragedy came calling. Carole bought a new computer (different from mine) and my husband retired, so we moved 500 miles away. We decided that, since Carole still worked and I didn’t, that I would send our books to agents and editors, and Carole would send me postage-money from time to time. And I sold our first book, SOUTHERN STAR, to Avalon Books, a well-known romance publisher. That came nineteen years after we first wrote it. Lesson: never give up.
But the publisher, who had already paid us a nice advance, went out of business, and guess who bought them? Amazon! So, SOUTHERN STAR is now a Montlake Romance and they sell copies for us reglarly.
Carole and I kept in touch, slightly, but eventually, we found ourselves able to write together again, so we did. We polished our remaining books and sold another one, the straight mystery, EYEWITNESS, which came out this past October from Coffeetown Press. Our third one is keeping some editor’s desk warm right now, but they can’t win. They’re destined to buy it (says I).
So, even with two completely different styles, we forged a writing bond. We haven’t written any more books together, but Carole left her job and writes books, both romance and romantic-suspense, and I’ve learned to use words, even similes and metaphors, much better. Carole has sold three more of her books, and I’ve sold fourteen of mine.
But, one thing Melodie said in her article is definitely true. Trust between partners is very important, and Carole and I definitely have that down pat. When we do get together, even our husbands get along.
Thursday, February 4, 2016
LEARNING TO WRITE
Recently, I’ve read a few articles about how to write a wonderful first sentence for a novel. My choice, which is from my favorite book, REBECCA, by Daphne du Maurier, is, “Last night I dreamed I went to Manderly again.”
None of my opening sentences are like that, but here are some:
COLD APRIL, a romance novel set on board the Titanic. “Throngs of people crowded the docks at Southampton. Passengers just disembarking from the ship, and visitors who came to welcome them, shared the space with automobiles and even a few horse-drawn vehicles. Elizabeth Shallcross hurried through the crush.”
BEATING THE ODDS, A romance about a horse that wins the Kentucky Derby. “The hairs along the back of her neck rose; a cold wave swept up her skin. Someone was watching her. Kerry Frayne told herself there was nothing to be afraid of, but the feeling returned, stronger than before.”
DANGEROUS CHOICES, a mainstream novel about painters flying to an art show in Honolulu. “Exactly an hour and fifteen minutes after taking off from Los Angeles International Airport, First Officer Reg Humboldt felt the strange vibration. For a split second, a tremor of fear clutched at him, tightened his gut. The DC-6 was heading to Honolulu at 22,000 feet, and the last thing he wanted to think about was trouble.”
DEAD IN THE WATER, A mystery with humor, set in the U.K. “No one murdered Edward Mason. At least I didn’t think so. Since he was eighty-two years old, he apparently died of the usual ‘natural causes.’ However, the case of his forty-years-younger wife, Noreen, was a different matter.”
EYEWITNESS, a romantic-suspense novel, which takes place in Kentucky. ”He was going to have her killed, and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.
‘Come on, Babe, smile. This isn’t a funeral.’”
FINDING AMY, a romantic suspense novel which takes place in London and Paris. “As if it weren’t depressing enough that Sabrina sat alone in her Chicago condo on a Saturday night, her father telephoned with bad news. ‘Your British grandfather has died.‘”
That’s only six, and I’ve had nineteen books published, so I’ll do this again soon. By the way, all the books I listed above were published, so the first lines I used didn’t hurt, and maybe helped.
______________________________________________________________________
None of my opening sentences are like that, but here are some:
COLD APRIL, a romance novel set on board the Titanic. “Throngs of people crowded the docks at Southampton. Passengers just disembarking from the ship, and visitors who came to welcome them, shared the space with automobiles and even a few horse-drawn vehicles. Elizabeth Shallcross hurried through the crush.”
BEATING THE ODDS, A romance about a horse that wins the Kentucky Derby. “The hairs along the back of her neck rose; a cold wave swept up her skin. Someone was watching her. Kerry Frayne told herself there was nothing to be afraid of, but the feeling returned, stronger than before.”
DANGEROUS CHOICES, a mainstream novel about painters flying to an art show in Honolulu. “Exactly an hour and fifteen minutes after taking off from Los Angeles International Airport, First Officer Reg Humboldt felt the strange vibration. For a split second, a tremor of fear clutched at him, tightened his gut. The DC-6 was heading to Honolulu at 22,000 feet, and the last thing he wanted to think about was trouble.”
DEAD IN THE WATER, A mystery with humor, set in the U.K. “No one murdered Edward Mason. At least I didn’t think so. Since he was eighty-two years old, he apparently died of the usual ‘natural causes.’ However, the case of his forty-years-younger wife, Noreen, was a different matter.”
EYEWITNESS, a romantic-suspense novel, which takes place in Kentucky. ”He was going to have her killed, and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.
‘Come on, Babe, smile. This isn’t a funeral.’”
FINDING AMY, a romantic suspense novel which takes place in London and Paris. “As if it weren’t depressing enough that Sabrina sat alone in her Chicago condo on a Saturday night, her father telephoned with bad news. ‘Your British grandfather has died.‘”
That’s only six, and I’ve had nineteen books published, so I’ll do this again soon. By the way, all the books I listed above were published, so the first lines I used didn’t hurt, and maybe helped.
______________________________________________________________________
Saturday, January 23, 2016
THE 2016 EDGAR ALLEN POE AWARDS
My G.P. says I am recovering well from the stroke I had earlier this month, so I’m back at work again, and posting my Blog. This year, the Nominations of the Mystery Writers of America are:
Mystery Writers of America is proud to announce, as we celebrate the 207th anniversary of the birth of Edgar Allen Poe, the 2016 nominees for the Edgar Allen Poe Awards in mystery fiction, non-fiction and television published or produced in 2015. The Edgar Awards will be presented to the winners at our Banquet on April 28, 2016, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, NYC.
BEST NOVEL
THE STRANGLER VINE, M. J. Carter. Penguin Random House
THE LADY FROM ZAGREB, Philip Kerr. Penguin Random House
LIFE OR DEATH, Michael Robotham, Hachette Book Group
LET ME DIE IN HIS FOOTSTEPS, Lori Roy. Penguin Random House
CANARY, Duane Swierczyski. Hachette Book Group
NIGHT LIFE, David C. Taylor. Forge Books
BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR
PAST CRIMES, Glen Erik Hamilton. Harper Collins Publishers
WHERE ALL LIGHT TENDS TO GO, David Joy. Pengin Random House
LUCKIEST GIRL ALIVE, Jessica Knoll. Simon & Schuster
THE SYMPATHIZER, Viet Thanh Nguyen. Grove Atlantic
UNBECOMING, Rebecca Scherm. Penguin Random House.
BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
THE LONG AND FARAWAY GONE, Lou Berney. Harper Collins
THE NECESSARY DEATH OF LEWIS WINTER, Malcom Mackay. Hachette
WHAT SHE KNEW, Gilly MacMillan. Harper Collins.
WOMAN WITH A BLUE PENCIL, Gordon McAlpine. Prometheus Books
GUN STREET GIRL, Adrian McKinty. Prometheus Books
THE DAUGHTER, Jane Shemilt. Harper Collins
BEST FACT CRIME
OPERATION NEMESIS: The Assassination Plot that Avenged the
American Genocide. Eric Bogosian. Hachette Book Group
WHERE THE BODIES WERE BURIED. Whitey Bulger and the World that Made Him. T. J. English. Harper-Collins.
WHIPPING BOY. The Forty-Year Search for My Twelve-Year-Old Bully.
Allen Kurzwell. Harper-Collins.
FORENSICS. What Bugs, Burns, Prints, DNA, and More Tell us About Crime.
Val McDermid. Grove Atlantic.
AMERICAN PAIN. How a Young Felon and His Ring of Doctors Unleashed America’s Deadliest Drug Epidermic. John Temple. Bowman & Littlefield. (Lyons Press)
BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL
THE GOLDEN AGE OF MURDER. Martin Edwards. Harper-Collins.
THE OUTSIDER: My Life in Intrigue. Frederick Forsyth. Penguin Random House.
MEANWHILE THERE ARE LETTERS. The Correspondence of Eudora Welty and Ross MacDonald. Susanne Marrs & Tom Nolan. Arcade Publishing.
GOLDENEYE, WHERE BOND WAS BORN. Ian Fleming’s Jamaica. Matthew Parker.
Pegasus Books.
THE LOST DETECTIVE. Becoming Dashiell Hammett. Nathan Ward. Bloomsbury.
BEST SHORT STORY
THE LITTLE MEN. Martin Edwards. Mysterious Bookshop.
ON BORROWED TIME. Mat Coward. Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine.
THE SATURDAY NIGHT BEFORE EASTER SUNDAY. Peter Farrelly. Providence Noir.
FAMILY TREASURES. Shirley Jackson. Random House.
OBITS. Stephen King. Bazaar of Bad Dreams.
EVERY SEVEN YEARS. Dennis Mina. Mysterious Bookshop.
BEST JUVENILE
CATCH YOU LATER. Avi. Algonquin Young Readers
IF YOU FIND THIS. Matthew Baker. Hachette Book Group
CURIOSITY HOUSE. Lauren Oliver & H.C. Chester. Harper Collins.
BLACKTHORN KEY. Kevin Sands. Simon & Schuster
FOOTER DAVIS PROBABLY IS CRAZY. Susan Vaught. Simon & Schuster.
BEST YOUNG ADULT
ENDANGERED. Lamar Giles. Harper Collins
A MADNESS SO DISCREET. Mindy McGinnis. Harper Collins.
THE SIN EATER’S DAUGHTER. Melinda Salsbury. Scholastic
THE WALLS AROUND US. Nova Ren Suma. Algonquin Young Readers
ASK THE DARK. Henry Turner. Houghton-Mifflin Harcourt
BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY
EPISODE 7. BROADCHURCH. Chris Chibnall. BBC America.
GENTLY WITH THE WOMEN. GEORGE GENTLY. Peter Flannery. Acorn TV
ELISE - THE FINAL MYSTERY. FOYLE’S WAR. Anthony Horowitz. Acorn TV
TERRA INCOGNITA. Erik Mountain & Melissa Scrivner. Love, CBS.
THE BEATING OF HER WINGS. RIPPER STREET. Richard Warlow. BBC America
THE SIMON & SCHUSTER - MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD
A WOMAN UNKNOWN. Frances Brody. Minotaur Books
THE MASQUE OF A MURDERER. Suanne Calkins. Minotaur Books
NIGHT NIGHT, SLEEP TIGHT. Hallie Ephron. Harper Collins
THE CHILD GARDEN. Catriona McPherson. Midnight Ink.
LITTLE PRETTY THINGS. Lori Rader-Day. Prometheus Books
As you, my readers, can plainly see, almost all the publishers of these books are large (Big 5) publishers. Not an Indie book in the bunch. Or even Coffeetown Press who published EYEWITNESS, the mystery Carole and I wrote and entered. That might be because of the rules by the host company. Oh well, maybe next year. Meanwhile, for those who care, the most books were Harper-Collins (11 books) Next were published by Penguin Random House, who had seven books. Next was Hachette with 4, then Simon & Schuster and Prometheus, with 3, Grove Atlantic (and others) with 2.
Finding women authors was easier. There were 21 out of the total of 53 authors, but that’s still only 40%. I’d have preferred to see 50%. Again, maybe next year. I can dream, can’t I?
Mystery Writers of America is proud to announce, as we celebrate the 207th anniversary of the birth of Edgar Allen Poe, the 2016 nominees for the Edgar Allen Poe Awards in mystery fiction, non-fiction and television published or produced in 2015. The Edgar Awards will be presented to the winners at our Banquet on April 28, 2016, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, NYC.
BEST NOVEL
THE STRANGLER VINE, M. J. Carter. Penguin Random House
THE LADY FROM ZAGREB, Philip Kerr. Penguin Random House
LIFE OR DEATH, Michael Robotham, Hachette Book Group
LET ME DIE IN HIS FOOTSTEPS, Lori Roy. Penguin Random House
CANARY, Duane Swierczyski. Hachette Book Group
NIGHT LIFE, David C. Taylor. Forge Books
BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR
PAST CRIMES, Glen Erik Hamilton. Harper Collins Publishers
WHERE ALL LIGHT TENDS TO GO, David Joy. Pengin Random House
LUCKIEST GIRL ALIVE, Jessica Knoll. Simon & Schuster
THE SYMPATHIZER, Viet Thanh Nguyen. Grove Atlantic
UNBECOMING, Rebecca Scherm. Penguin Random House.
BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
THE LONG AND FARAWAY GONE, Lou Berney. Harper Collins
THE NECESSARY DEATH OF LEWIS WINTER, Malcom Mackay. Hachette
WHAT SHE KNEW, Gilly MacMillan. Harper Collins.
WOMAN WITH A BLUE PENCIL, Gordon McAlpine. Prometheus Books
GUN STREET GIRL, Adrian McKinty. Prometheus Books
THE DAUGHTER, Jane Shemilt. Harper Collins
BEST FACT CRIME
OPERATION NEMESIS: The Assassination Plot that Avenged the
American Genocide. Eric Bogosian. Hachette Book Group
WHERE THE BODIES WERE BURIED. Whitey Bulger and the World that Made Him. T. J. English. Harper-Collins.
WHIPPING BOY. The Forty-Year Search for My Twelve-Year-Old Bully.
Allen Kurzwell. Harper-Collins.
FORENSICS. What Bugs, Burns, Prints, DNA, and More Tell us About Crime.
Val McDermid. Grove Atlantic.
AMERICAN PAIN. How a Young Felon and His Ring of Doctors Unleashed America’s Deadliest Drug Epidermic. John Temple. Bowman & Littlefield. (Lyons Press)
BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL
THE GOLDEN AGE OF MURDER. Martin Edwards. Harper-Collins.
THE OUTSIDER: My Life in Intrigue. Frederick Forsyth. Penguin Random House.
MEANWHILE THERE ARE LETTERS. The Correspondence of Eudora Welty and Ross MacDonald. Susanne Marrs & Tom Nolan. Arcade Publishing.
GOLDENEYE, WHERE BOND WAS BORN. Ian Fleming’s Jamaica. Matthew Parker.
Pegasus Books.
THE LOST DETECTIVE. Becoming Dashiell Hammett. Nathan Ward. Bloomsbury.
BEST SHORT STORY
THE LITTLE MEN. Martin Edwards. Mysterious Bookshop.
ON BORROWED TIME. Mat Coward. Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine.
THE SATURDAY NIGHT BEFORE EASTER SUNDAY. Peter Farrelly. Providence Noir.
FAMILY TREASURES. Shirley Jackson. Random House.
OBITS. Stephen King. Bazaar of Bad Dreams.
EVERY SEVEN YEARS. Dennis Mina. Mysterious Bookshop.
BEST JUVENILE
CATCH YOU LATER. Avi. Algonquin Young Readers
IF YOU FIND THIS. Matthew Baker. Hachette Book Group
CURIOSITY HOUSE. Lauren Oliver & H.C. Chester. Harper Collins.
BLACKTHORN KEY. Kevin Sands. Simon & Schuster
FOOTER DAVIS PROBABLY IS CRAZY. Susan Vaught. Simon & Schuster.
BEST YOUNG ADULT
ENDANGERED. Lamar Giles. Harper Collins
A MADNESS SO DISCREET. Mindy McGinnis. Harper Collins.
THE SIN EATER’S DAUGHTER. Melinda Salsbury. Scholastic
THE WALLS AROUND US. Nova Ren Suma. Algonquin Young Readers
ASK THE DARK. Henry Turner. Houghton-Mifflin Harcourt
BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY
EPISODE 7. BROADCHURCH. Chris Chibnall. BBC America.
GENTLY WITH THE WOMEN. GEORGE GENTLY. Peter Flannery. Acorn TV
ELISE - THE FINAL MYSTERY. FOYLE’S WAR. Anthony Horowitz. Acorn TV
TERRA INCOGNITA. Erik Mountain & Melissa Scrivner. Love, CBS.
THE BEATING OF HER WINGS. RIPPER STREET. Richard Warlow. BBC America
THE SIMON & SCHUSTER - MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD
A WOMAN UNKNOWN. Frances Brody. Minotaur Books
THE MASQUE OF A MURDERER. Suanne Calkins. Minotaur Books
NIGHT NIGHT, SLEEP TIGHT. Hallie Ephron. Harper Collins
THE CHILD GARDEN. Catriona McPherson. Midnight Ink.
LITTLE PRETTY THINGS. Lori Rader-Day. Prometheus Books
As you, my readers, can plainly see, almost all the publishers of these books are large (Big 5) publishers. Not an Indie book in the bunch. Or even Coffeetown Press who published EYEWITNESS, the mystery Carole and I wrote and entered. That might be because of the rules by the host company. Oh well, maybe next year. Meanwhile, for those who care, the most books were Harper-Collins (11 books) Next were published by Penguin Random House, who had seven books. Next was Hachette with 4, then Simon & Schuster and Prometheus, with 3, Grove Atlantic (and others) with 2.
Finding women authors was easier. There were 21 out of the total of 53 authors, but that’s still only 40%. I’d have preferred to see 50%. Again, maybe next year. I can dream, can’t I?
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS
Every year between 2006 and 2015, J. A. Konrath has written a blog listing his New Year’s Resolutions. He tried to teach his readers to become good writers. In 2006 there was no Amazon, no Kindles, no easy self-publishing.
Here’s Joe’s list of Resolutions for 2006:
I will start and finish my book.
I will always have three stories submitted and be working on a fourth.
I will attend at least one writer’s conference and introduce myself to agents, editors and writers.
I will join a critique group or start one.
I will listen to criticism.
I will create and update my website.
I will master the Query process and search for an agent.
I will keep up my Blog and social connections.
I will schedule bookstore signings and greet customers while there.
I will contact local libraries and offer to do book signings.
I will make selling my books my responsibility, not my publisher’s.
I will spend a large part of my advance on self-promotion.
I will help out other writers.
I will not get jealous or envious.
I will be amiable, accessible and enthusiastic.
Do we all know Joe Konrath used those sentences to become a best-selling author? We should because he did.
However, times changed, and Jeff Bezos developed Amazon. He invented the Kindle and turned every newbie writer into a self-published one. By 2010, Joe Konrath no longer needed an agent, or even a publisher. He was making his living as a writer. His list of resolutions was:
I will self-publish. Last year I earned $1650 in December. This year it’ll be $22,000.
This majority is on Kindle, but I’m also doing print with CreateSpace.
The Gatekeepers - agents who submit books - are no longer necessary.
I’m not saying to give up traditional publishing, but there’s no down-side to self-publishing. At the worst, you’ll make a few bucks. At the best, you’ll make a fortune with agents and editors fighting over you.
Do not take any deal that’s less than you’d make in 6 years. If you sell 1000 books per month, then $144,000 is the advance you need.
I have seven novels, each earning $24K per year. In 6 years I’ll have made a million dollars on them.
I don’t expect them to remain the same. They’ll go up.
In 2016, Konrath’s list of Resolutions is one line:
This year, I’m boiling them down to one word: WRITE!
It’s easy to get caught up in different aspects of a writing career. I’ve helped other writers; I started my own company. I evangelized, blogged, collaborated, experimented, promoted. However, first and foremost, I’m a writer. And writers write! I’ve spent a lot of time on my career, and backstory needs that. But now it’s time for me to plant more seeds.
2016 is going to be my most productive year ever. Come and join me.
Here’s Joe’s list of Resolutions for 2006:
I will start and finish my book.
I will always have three stories submitted and be working on a fourth.
I will attend at least one writer’s conference and introduce myself to agents, editors and writers.
I will join a critique group or start one.
I will listen to criticism.
I will create and update my website.
I will master the Query process and search for an agent.
I will keep up my Blog and social connections.
I will schedule bookstore signings and greet customers while there.
I will contact local libraries and offer to do book signings.
I will make selling my books my responsibility, not my publisher’s.
I will spend a large part of my advance on self-promotion.
I will help out other writers.
I will not get jealous or envious.
I will be amiable, accessible and enthusiastic.
Do we all know Joe Konrath used those sentences to become a best-selling author? We should because he did.
However, times changed, and Jeff Bezos developed Amazon. He invented the Kindle and turned every newbie writer into a self-published one. By 2010, Joe Konrath no longer needed an agent, or even a publisher. He was making his living as a writer. His list of resolutions was:
I will self-publish. Last year I earned $1650 in December. This year it’ll be $22,000.
This majority is on Kindle, but I’m also doing print with CreateSpace.
The Gatekeepers - agents who submit books - are no longer necessary.
I’m not saying to give up traditional publishing, but there’s no down-side to self-publishing. At the worst, you’ll make a few bucks. At the best, you’ll make a fortune with agents and editors fighting over you.
Do not take any deal that’s less than you’d make in 6 years. If you sell 1000 books per month, then $144,000 is the advance you need.
I have seven novels, each earning $24K per year. In 6 years I’ll have made a million dollars on them.
I don’t expect them to remain the same. They’ll go up.
In 2016, Konrath’s list of Resolutions is one line:
This year, I’m boiling them down to one word: WRITE!
It’s easy to get caught up in different aspects of a writing career. I’ve helped other writers; I started my own company. I evangelized, blogged, collaborated, experimented, promoted. However, first and foremost, I’m a writer. And writers write! I’ve spent a lot of time on my career, and backstory needs that. But now it’s time for me to plant more seeds.
2016 is going to be my most productive year ever. Come and join me.
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
ENGLISH IS NOT NORMAL
“It’s a wonder English ever caught on,” said John McWhorter, “because it’s weirder than just about every other tongue.” English speakers know their language is odd. So do nonspeakers saddled with learning it. In countries where English is not spoken, there are no spelling bees. For a normal language, spelling corresponds to the way people pronounce the words. But English is not normal.
Anglophones are not exactly rabid to learn other languages. We’re left like the proverbial fish not knowing it’s wet. Our language feels normal, until you learn what normal really is.
We think it’s a nuisance that other European languages assign gender to nouns for no reason. But it’s we who are odd. Almost all European languages belong to one family–Indo-European–and all of them, except English, assign genders. There is exactly one language whose present tense requires a special ending only in the third-person singular. Why is English so eccentric? What made it this way?
English started out, essentially, a form of German. Old English is so unlike the modern version that it’s a stretch to think of them as the same language. Icelanders can still read stories written in the Old Norse ancestor of their language 1000 years ago, and yet, to an English-speaker’s eye, Beowulf might as well be in Turkish.
When the Angles and Saxons brought Germanic speech to England, the island was already inhabited by people who spoke Celtic languages, today represented by Welsh and Irish. The Celts were subjugated but survived, and since there were only about 250,000 Germanic invaders, very quickly most of the people speaking Old English were Celts.
The next thing that happened was that more German-speakers came across the sea. England was a tiny country and probably looked easy to dominate. That was the 9th century, and they didn’t impose their language. Instead they married local women and switched to English. They were adults and adults don’t learn new languages easily. There was no such thing as school and no media. Learning a new language meant listening hard and doing your best.
Then the Scandinavians arrived and spoke bad Old English. Young people learned what they could, but soon bad Old English became real English, and here we are today. The Norse made English easier. Old English had the crazy genders of a good European language, but the Scandinavians didn’t bother with those, so now we have none. What’s more, the Vikings mastered only the shred of a once-lovely system. They smoothed out the hard stuff. We can display all these bizarre Norse influences in a single sentence, but it’s what they did to English in those days.
Finally, as if all that weren’t enough, English got hit by a fire-hose spray of words from more languages. After the Norse, came the French. They conquered the English and ruled for several centuries, and before long English had picked up 10,000 new words. Then, in about the 16th century, educated Anglophobes developed English as a vehicle for sophisticated writing. They even cherry-picked some Latin words to lend a more elevated tone. English-speaking workers slaughtered animals to serve to the moneyed French speakers at the table.
Thus, English is indeed an odd language and the spelling is only the beginning. Then it becomes peculiar due to the slings and arrows–and caprices–of outrageous history. Now, don’t you wish you hadn’t wondered why English isn’t normal?
Anglophones are not exactly rabid to learn other languages. We’re left like the proverbial fish not knowing it’s wet. Our language feels normal, until you learn what normal really is.
We think it’s a nuisance that other European languages assign gender to nouns for no reason. But it’s we who are odd. Almost all European languages belong to one family–Indo-European–and all of them, except English, assign genders. There is exactly one language whose present tense requires a special ending only in the third-person singular. Why is English so eccentric? What made it this way?
English started out, essentially, a form of German. Old English is so unlike the modern version that it’s a stretch to think of them as the same language. Icelanders can still read stories written in the Old Norse ancestor of their language 1000 years ago, and yet, to an English-speaker’s eye, Beowulf might as well be in Turkish.
When the Angles and Saxons brought Germanic speech to England, the island was already inhabited by people who spoke Celtic languages, today represented by Welsh and Irish. The Celts were subjugated but survived, and since there were only about 250,000 Germanic invaders, very quickly most of the people speaking Old English were Celts.
The next thing that happened was that more German-speakers came across the sea. England was a tiny country and probably looked easy to dominate. That was the 9th century, and they didn’t impose their language. Instead they married local women and switched to English. They were adults and adults don’t learn new languages easily. There was no such thing as school and no media. Learning a new language meant listening hard and doing your best.
Then the Scandinavians arrived and spoke bad Old English. Young people learned what they could, but soon bad Old English became real English, and here we are today. The Norse made English easier. Old English had the crazy genders of a good European language, but the Scandinavians didn’t bother with those, so now we have none. What’s more, the Vikings mastered only the shred of a once-lovely system. They smoothed out the hard stuff. We can display all these bizarre Norse influences in a single sentence, but it’s what they did to English in those days.
Finally, as if all that weren’t enough, English got hit by a fire-hose spray of words from more languages. After the Norse, came the French. They conquered the English and ruled for several centuries, and before long English had picked up 10,000 new words. Then, in about the 16th century, educated Anglophobes developed English as a vehicle for sophisticated writing. They even cherry-picked some Latin words to lend a more elevated tone. English-speaking workers slaughtered animals to serve to the moneyed French speakers at the table.
Thus, English is indeed an odd language and the spelling is only the beginning. Then it becomes peculiar due to the slings and arrows–and caprices–of outrageous history. Now, don’t you wish you hadn’t wondered why English isn’t normal?
Thursday, December 17, 2015
SCAMS TO WATCH OUT FOR
SCAMS TO WATCH OUT FOR
Darn! I worte my blog post a week ago and then discovered Anne R. Allen wrote one on the same topic for her new blog. I’ve been a follower of hers for several years, so I recommend you-all read hers.
Meanwhile here’s mine. To identify scams related to newbies (beginning writers) check out the following tips.
1. LOTS OF PROMISES. Scam artists try to lure in beginning writers by promising that, if they sign up with their ideas and follow their rules, the writer will get lots of interest, which - according to them - will lead to requests for manuscripts and sales to the Big-5 publishers.
2. BELIEF THAT THEIR IDEAS will lead the new writer/author will find editors and publishers who are looking for just what original stories you write. But, if you check carefully, you’ll soon see that their writers/authors have very few actually-published books available for the newbie to read. Nor are they very good.
3. STUDIES THAT SHOW THEIR PRICES are much lower than what other such services charge for the same service they’re offering you. These claims can be checked out, which you should certainly do. The truth is that all services are vastly over-charging for what they promise to do for you. Don’t be fooled.
4. PRETENDING TO BE A VANITY PUBLISHER. I thought this one died a long time ago, but, no, it’s still showing up. Real publishers, and also agents, don’t need customers to tell them how good they are, or have been. Their real customers do that.
So, don’t get caught in the sticky palms of fake vanity or other kinds of publishers. It won’t be funny.
Have a very Happy Christmas season, and I will be back by then.
Phyllis
Darn! I worte my blog post a week ago and then discovered Anne R. Allen wrote one on the same topic for her new blog. I’ve been a follower of hers for several years, so I recommend you-all read hers.
Meanwhile here’s mine. To identify scams related to newbies (beginning writers) check out the following tips.
1. LOTS OF PROMISES. Scam artists try to lure in beginning writers by promising that, if they sign up with their ideas and follow their rules, the writer will get lots of interest, which - according to them - will lead to requests for manuscripts and sales to the Big-5 publishers.
2. BELIEF THAT THEIR IDEAS will lead the new writer/author will find editors and publishers who are looking for just what original stories you write. But, if you check carefully, you’ll soon see that their writers/authors have very few actually-published books available for the newbie to read. Nor are they very good.
3. STUDIES THAT SHOW THEIR PRICES are much lower than what other such services charge for the same service they’re offering you. These claims can be checked out, which you should certainly do. The truth is that all services are vastly over-charging for what they promise to do for you. Don’t be fooled.
4. PRETENDING TO BE A VANITY PUBLISHER. I thought this one died a long time ago, but, no, it’s still showing up. Real publishers, and also agents, don’t need customers to tell them how good they are, or have been. Their real customers do that.
So, don’t get caught in the sticky palms of fake vanity or other kinds of publishers. It won’t be funny.
Have a very Happy Christmas season, and I will be back by then.
Phyllis
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