Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Important Safety Tip
If you happen to live someplace with snow, Do Not let your hand get smashed between a hidden stump and your sled. Even if you don't break it or do serious injury, it will hurt a lot and it might bleed. Also, for the next several days, typing will be painful. If you are a writer, this is bad, especially if you're the kind of writer who will type anyway. It slows you down. Sigh.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Locus of Control and Gender in Writing
There's something I've been speculating on after talking about the phenomena with my wife--she's a physics professor who does educational research on women's achievement in physics classes. One piece of the literature on research on gender interactions with the classroom has to do with what's called locus of control, or where the student believes control over things like grades is located.
For example, a female student who does badly on a test will typically internalize the blame I'm a bad student, I didn't study enough, whereas a male student will typically blame the instructor or the material they wrote a bad test, this is a bad class.
Over the last few years the advent of writers' blogs has given an unprecedented window into writerly processes and emotional interaction with their art. I've seen an awful lot of I'm a bad writer, I'm not good enough, my work is crap, from professional and semi-professional writers talking about how they felt before they sold their first story or novel, but not as much the system sucks, this editor just didn't get it, etc. and I've been wondering about it.
Is it a function of gender and locus of control? My sample set is heavily weighted toward women.
Is it just not wanting to offend the folks who might be buying your next novel?
Is it that these writers are an unusual sample set and have a more female communication style?
Is it that these writers are an unusual sample set in that writer self-esteem is lower than normal?
Something entirely different?
I've written a bad post?
I don't know, and I don't have a good idea for coming up with a measurable answer, but I thought it was an interesting question and that I'd throw the floor open to debate.
For example, a female student who does badly on a test will typically internalize the blame I'm a bad student, I didn't study enough, whereas a male student will typically blame the instructor or the material they wrote a bad test, this is a bad class.
Over the last few years the advent of writers' blogs has given an unprecedented window into writerly processes and emotional interaction with their art. I've seen an awful lot of I'm a bad writer, I'm not good enough, my work is crap, from professional and semi-professional writers talking about how they felt before they sold their first story or novel, but not as much the system sucks, this editor just didn't get it, etc. and I've been wondering about it.
Is it a function of gender and locus of control? My sample set is heavily weighted toward women.
Is it just not wanting to offend the folks who might be buying your next novel?
Is it that these writers are an unusual sample set and have a more female communication style?
Is it that these writers are an unusual sample set in that writer self-esteem is lower than normal?
Something entirely different?
I've written a bad post?
I don't know, and I don't have a good idea for coming up with a measurable answer, but I thought it was an interesting question and that I'd throw the floor open to debate.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Smart Things
Nominate Your Favorite Female/Feminist Author!
Cross-posted from FEM-SF
Anyone can nominate people to be a WisCon Guest of Honor. The nominations then make up the ballot, which will go out to concom members in mid-March. This is for selecting the GoHs for next year, in 2008.
From the latest eCube (which you may have already seen), the complete explanation:
=================================
WISCON 32 GUEST OF HONOR NOMINATIONS INVITED
Nominations for WisCon 32 Guest of Honor open on Sunday, February 25 and will be collected through midnight Central Time on Sunday, March 11. Please email your suggestions to newsletter31@wiscon.info. Include the name of your nominee and a short paragraph explaining why they would be a great choice for Guest of Honor in 2008. ANYONE may nominate guests of honor.
On Monday, March 12, an electronic ballot listing all nominees, with supporting paragraphs, will be sent to the ConCom and the Programming lists. In cases where the same candidate is nominated by more than one person, that fact will be noted on the ballot, and the supporting paragraphs will be condensed to a single one that covers all the highlights.
Only those individuals currently involved in the planning and execution of WisCon 31 are eligible to vote. Voting will run from Monday the 12th through midnight Central Time on Sunday, March 25, 2007. Ballots may be emailed, snail-mailed, or brought in person to the March 25 ConCom meeting at the Concourse. Calls will be made inviting the top two candidates to WisCon 32, and the guests' names will be announced at WisCon 31.
Anyone can nominate people to be a WisCon Guest of Honor. The nominations then make up the ballot, which will go out to concom members in mid-March. This is for selecting the GoHs for next year, in 2008.
From the latest eCube (which you may have already seen), the complete explanation:
=================================
WISCON 32 GUEST OF HONOR NOMINATIONS INVITED
Nominations for WisCon 32 Guest of Honor open on Sunday, February 25 and will be collected through midnight Central Time on Sunday, March 11. Please email your suggestions to newsletter31@wiscon.info. Include the name of your nominee and a short paragraph explaining why they would be a great choice for Guest of Honor in 2008. ANYONE may nominate guests of honor.
On Monday, March 12, an electronic ballot listing all nominees, with supporting paragraphs, will be sent to the ConCom and the Programming lists. In cases where the same candidate is nominated by more than one person, that fact will be noted on the ballot, and the supporting paragraphs will be condensed to a single one that covers all the highlights.
Only those individuals currently involved in the planning and execution of WisCon 31 are eligible to vote. Voting will run from Monday the 12th through midnight Central Time on Sunday, March 25, 2007. Ballots may be emailed, snail-mailed, or brought in person to the March 25 ConCom meeting at the Concourse. Calls will be made inviting the top two candidates to WisCon 32, and the guests' names will be announced at WisCon 31.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
MarsCon March 2-4
MarsCon is this weekend. Or own Eleanor Arnason is Author Guest of Honor. And Lyda and I will be there as well. You can check out the programming schedule here.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Quick Hit
Penguin Group has a new science fiction and fantasy website up for their books and auhors, here.
It has a meet the editors section with pics and comments including one for Tate and my editor, the wonderful Anne Sowards.
It has a meet the editors section with pics and comments including one for Tate and my editor, the wonderful Anne Sowards.
And Now for Something Completely Different...
Chimps Found Using Spears.
Personally, I'm not terribly surprised by animals using tools. There's plenty of evidence that many of them, not just primates, do it. Ravens and crows have fashion hooks to catch food (I saw THAT on TV.) But, this article goes on to talk about which gender does it... the big surprise? Adolescent females. Not exculsively, mind you, but given how much energy the scientific community likes to waste on assigning gender roles to our primate cousins in order to say something about what is "natural" for our own species, I love it when they have to report that grrls do more than gather.
Personally, I'm not terribly surprised by animals using tools. There's plenty of evidence that many of them, not just primates, do it. Ravens and crows have fashion hooks to catch food (I saw THAT on TV.) But, this article goes on to talk about which gender does it... the big surprise? Adolescent females. Not exculsively, mind you, but given how much energy the scientific community likes to waste on assigning gender roles to our primate cousins in order to say something about what is "natural" for our own species, I love it when they have to report that grrls do more than gather.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Deciding Not To Quit
We had an interesting discussion at Wyrdsmiths the other night about not quitting writing. It was stimulated in part by a note in the acknowledgments of Carrie Vaughn's Kitty and the Midnight Hour "to Dan Hooker for calling the day after I almost decided to quit." It was something that resonated for me when I read it—I always read acknowledgments—so I brought it up at the meeting.
It was a moment we had all experienced at least once, and I suspect that almost any writer you talk to, no matter how well published, will be able to tell you about that moment. Maybe five times I've felt frustrated and depressed enough about the whole writing gig to seriously contemplate finding something else to do, but I've had only one true deciding not to quit moment.
It came in January 2005 right after a Wyrdsmiths meeting. At that point I had a good agent who believed in my work, more than 20 short stories either in print or forthcoming, 2 novels in the trunk and 5 out with various editors none of which had sold. I was also having major family stress and had seen a three book hard/soft deal that was over three years in the making fall apart at the last possible moment. That had happened a couple of months earlier and several editors had passed on the books involved since.
I was depressed, not clinically, but damn close, and I felt like 15 years of hard work had officially gone to hell. But worse, far far worse, I wasn't enjoying writing. I was doing it—I can't not—but I wasn't taking the joy from it that I always had. For perspective, I've worked at art or entertainment my entire conscious life. I pursued theater in serious way from ages 11-22. When I was 23 I switched to writing and found the second great love of my life (my wife Laura is the first) and I never looked back. Not until January 2005.
So came, the meeting that sent me over the edge. The trigger doesn't matter. It wasn't about that, it was about me and writing. I drove home (an hour) getting more and more down the whole way. When I got there I went off to stare at the ceiling. For probably three hours I did nothing but think about how something I had loved and pursued for years had come to naught and how I just wasn't feeling the joy of it anymore. And I tried to figure out what else I could possibly do with my time—I was writing full time. And the answer was nothing. Nothing. There wasn't anything else that appealed to me half so much.
I don't know what I'd have done if something else had occurred to me. And the fact that nothing did was totally bleak at the time, because I felt like the only thing I wanted to do was going nowhere and would continue to go nowhere. But in retrospect it was a powerful moment. I had come to place where I realized that writing wasn't just something I did that I could walk away from. It was who I was down in the bedrock, and I would keep at it no matter what.
The next day I got up and wrote, though I didn't much enjoy it. And the next day. And the day after that. And somewhere in there I started to love the work again, and then WebMage sold and Cybermancy. In the last year and a half I've written three novels that I am damn proud of, one of which is hands down the best work I've ever done. And now, two years on, I'm finally loving writing with same joy and deep passion that I found when I first started.
Deciding not to quit was one of the best decisions I've ever made and one of the hardest. If you've been there, you know what I mean and I'd love to hear about it.
It was a moment we had all experienced at least once, and I suspect that almost any writer you talk to, no matter how well published, will be able to tell you about that moment. Maybe five times I've felt frustrated and depressed enough about the whole writing gig to seriously contemplate finding something else to do, but I've had only one true deciding not to quit moment.
It came in January 2005 right after a Wyrdsmiths meeting. At that point I had a good agent who believed in my work, more than 20 short stories either in print or forthcoming, 2 novels in the trunk and 5 out with various editors none of which had sold. I was also having major family stress and had seen a three book hard/soft deal that was over three years in the making fall apart at the last possible moment. That had happened a couple of months earlier and several editors had passed on the books involved since.
I was depressed, not clinically, but damn close, and I felt like 15 years of hard work had officially gone to hell. But worse, far far worse, I wasn't enjoying writing. I was doing it—I can't not—but I wasn't taking the joy from it that I always had. For perspective, I've worked at art or entertainment my entire conscious life. I pursued theater in serious way from ages 11-22. When I was 23 I switched to writing and found the second great love of my life (my wife Laura is the first) and I never looked back. Not until January 2005.
So came, the meeting that sent me over the edge. The trigger doesn't matter. It wasn't about that, it was about me and writing. I drove home (an hour) getting more and more down the whole way. When I got there I went off to stare at the ceiling. For probably three hours I did nothing but think about how something I had loved and pursued for years had come to naught and how I just wasn't feeling the joy of it anymore. And I tried to figure out what else I could possibly do with my time—I was writing full time. And the answer was nothing. Nothing. There wasn't anything else that appealed to me half so much.
I don't know what I'd have done if something else had occurred to me. And the fact that nothing did was totally bleak at the time, because I felt like the only thing I wanted to do was going nowhere and would continue to go nowhere. But in retrospect it was a powerful moment. I had come to place where I realized that writing wasn't just something I did that I could walk away from. It was who I was down in the bedrock, and I would keep at it no matter what.
The next day I got up and wrote, though I didn't much enjoy it. And the next day. And the day after that. And somewhere in there I started to love the work again, and then WebMage sold and Cybermancy. In the last year and a half I've written three novels that I am damn proud of, one of which is hands down the best work I've ever done. And now, two years on, I'm finally loving writing with same joy and deep passion that I found when I first started.
Deciding not to quit was one of the best decisions I've ever made and one of the hardest. If you've been there, you know what I mean and I'd love to hear about it.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
My (Messy) Writing Space
Actually, this is a picture of my office. I do some writing here, though not the majority of my fiction writing. This where I am when checking my e-mail, writing blog/articles, and surfing the internet for po... etry.
I actually do most of my fiction writing on my laptop either in bed or on the couch in the TV room.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
"Lie" vs. "Myth"
Elizabeth Bear started me thinking about this with a post that is both fabulous and true for a given value of truth and a given value of broken. It's about reading and writing and cultural expectations and the idea of epiphantic healing and I wanted to like it much more than I did, since it clearly touched a lot of people. But something about it didn't work for me at a very deep level, and my subconscious has been picking at what that something is until this came out.
In the dungeon nothing is wild and free
Sometimes a myth is all that keeps you alive, a myth in the shape of a story or book. You can't leave the dungeon. If you could, it wouldn't be a dungeon. But stories are day passes that let you out for a time, myths that let you believe for a little while that there's another kind of place, one where happily ever after really happens and that a moment of magic or insight can make the pain stop. When you're in the dungeon you don't need someone to tell you that those moments aren't true, that pain doesn't just go away, or that the magic moment is never going to happen. You know that.
What you need is very different from what you know. What you need is that day pass, that myth that allows you to believe that somewhere the reality of the dungeon is the myth, and the idea that it can all be made better is the truth. It's the myth that keeps you sane, the myth that allows you to keep breathing every day, to hang on a little bit longer.
How you got into the dungeon isn't as important as the dungeon itself, but I'm a storyteller, so I'll tell you a little bit about one kind of dungeon.
It's the dungeon of being a child who doesn't have the power physically or legally to walk away from the situation that causes the pain. The pain doesn't even have to be something that everyone would agree is awful, though often it is. All it has to be is unbearable and inescapable by normal means. When you're in the dungeon, instant healing is not a "lie" it's a "myth" and a reason to keep on keeping on. And in this particular dungeon sometimes you do get out, sometimes you grow up and you get the keys to the dungeon and you walk out into the light. And while the healing won't actually be instantaneous or magical, that moment that you realize you're out is, that epiphantic moment.
Sometimes a lie is a myth. Sometime a lie keeps you alive long enough for myth to become truth. Again, for a given value of truth and a given value of broken. So, if people want to keep writing myths where breakage can get better in a moment, there's an audience out there who really needs them.
------------------------------------
Clearly Bear's answer is right for her and for a lot of her readers. I just had to write this because some people need a different truth.
In the dungeon nothing is wild and free
Sometimes a myth is all that keeps you alive, a myth in the shape of a story or book. You can't leave the dungeon. If you could, it wouldn't be a dungeon. But stories are day passes that let you out for a time, myths that let you believe for a little while that there's another kind of place, one where happily ever after really happens and that a moment of magic or insight can make the pain stop. When you're in the dungeon you don't need someone to tell you that those moments aren't true, that pain doesn't just go away, or that the magic moment is never going to happen. You know that.
What you need is very different from what you know. What you need is that day pass, that myth that allows you to believe that somewhere the reality of the dungeon is the myth, and the idea that it can all be made better is the truth. It's the myth that keeps you sane, the myth that allows you to keep breathing every day, to hang on a little bit longer.
How you got into the dungeon isn't as important as the dungeon itself, but I'm a storyteller, so I'll tell you a little bit about one kind of dungeon.
It's the dungeon of being a child who doesn't have the power physically or legally to walk away from the situation that causes the pain. The pain doesn't even have to be something that everyone would agree is awful, though often it is. All it has to be is unbearable and inescapable by normal means. When you're in the dungeon, instant healing is not a "lie" it's a "myth" and a reason to keep on keeping on. And in this particular dungeon sometimes you do get out, sometimes you grow up and you get the keys to the dungeon and you walk out into the light. And while the healing won't actually be instantaneous or magical, that moment that you realize you're out is, that epiphantic moment.
Sometimes a lie is a myth. Sometime a lie keeps you alive long enough for myth to become truth. Again, for a given value of truth and a given value of broken. So, if people want to keep writing myths where breakage can get better in a moment, there's an audience out there who really needs them.
------------------------------------
Clearly Bear's answer is right for her and for a lot of her readers. I just had to write this because some people need a different truth.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
New Editor at Weird Tales
Below is the press release that I recieved from Broad Universe:
FEB. 14 -- Weird Tales publisher John Gregory Betancourt announced today the selection of Ann VanderMeer as the magazine's new fiction editor. VanderMeer, formerly the founding editor of the surrealist fiction magazine The Silver Web (1988-2002), will take over the Weird Tales position as of issue #347 in October 2007.
"We're thrilled to have Ann working on Weird Tales," said Betancourt. "Her work on Prime Books' new Best American Fantasy anthology is exciting and provocative, and we can't wait to see what she'll surprise us with in the magazine."
Ann VanderMeer has been a publisher and editor for over twenty years, running her award-winning Buzzcity Press. Work from her press and related periodicals has won the British Fantasy Award, the International Rhysling Award, and appeared in several year's best anthologies. In addition, she has been a partner with her husband, Jeff VanderMeer, on such editing projects as the World Fantasy Award- winning Leviathan series and the Hugo finalist The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases. A Best of the Silver Web is forthcoming from Prime Books. Currently, she is serving as one of the guest editors for the new Best American Fantasy, and is co-editing anthologies including The New Weird (Tachyon Publications), Fast Ships, Black Sails (Nightshade Books), Last Drink Bird Head, and Love-Drunk Book Heads.
“I am very honored and excited to be the newest member of the Weird Tales team," says VanderMeer. "I'm inspired by all the extraordinary work I see being created today and can’t wait to bring a diversity of experience to the Weird Tales audience.”
As was previously announced on Jan. 16, the current Weird Tales editorial trio -- George H. Scithers, Darrell Schweitzer, and Wildside Press publisher Betancourt -- will assume modified roles at the magazine. Betancourt continues to oversee the entire Wildside magazine group as publisher; Scithers has been promoted to editor emeritus in charge of special projects, and is editing Wildside Press' forthcoming Cat Tales series; and Schweitzer will be regularly bylining as a senior contributing editor for nonfiction.
VanderMeer will be accepting fiction submissions via email beginning March 6 at weirdtales@gmail.com. Writers lacking email capabilites are welcome to send hardcopy submissions to her, attn: Weird Tales, P.O. Box 38190, Tallahassee, FL 32315. Updated submission guidelines will be available online as of March 1 at www.weirdtalesmagazine.com.
Creative director Stephen H. Segal will serve as interim editorial director for issues #344-#346, which are now closed to fiction submissions. He will continue thereafter to serve as Weird Tales' nonfiction editor. Nonfiction submission guidelines will be available online as of March 1 at www.weirdtalesmagazine.com.
Weird Tales, the world's first fantasy fiction magazine, introduced the world to such legendary authors as H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, and Ray Bradbury. The magazine will celebrate the 85th anniversary of its founding in early 2008 (as well as the 20th anniversary of its modern-day incarnation).
Contacts:
Stephen H. Segal, creative director/general manager, segal@wildsidepress.com.
John Gregory Betancourt, publisher, jgb@wildsidepress.com.
Ann VanderMeer, weirdtales@gmail.com.
FEB. 14 -- Weird Tales publisher John Gregory Betancourt announced today the selection of Ann VanderMeer as the magazine's new fiction editor. VanderMeer, formerly the founding editor of the surrealist fiction magazine The Silver Web (1988-2002), will take over the Weird Tales position as of issue #347 in October 2007.
"We're thrilled to have Ann working on Weird Tales," said Betancourt. "Her work on Prime Books' new Best American Fantasy anthology is exciting and provocative, and we can't wait to see what she'll surprise us with in the magazine."
Ann VanderMeer has been a publisher and editor for over twenty years, running her award-winning Buzzcity Press. Work from her press and related periodicals has won the British Fantasy Award, the International Rhysling Award, and appeared in several year's best anthologies. In addition, she has been a partner with her husband, Jeff VanderMeer, on such editing projects as the World Fantasy Award- winning Leviathan series and the Hugo finalist The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases. A Best of the Silver Web is forthcoming from Prime Books. Currently, she is serving as one of the guest editors for the new Best American Fantasy, and is co-editing anthologies including The New Weird (Tachyon Publications), Fast Ships, Black Sails (Nightshade Books), Last Drink Bird Head, and Love-Drunk Book Heads.
“I am very honored and excited to be the newest member of the Weird Tales team," says VanderMeer. "I'm inspired by all the extraordinary work I see being created today and can’t wait to bring a diversity of experience to the Weird Tales audience.”
As was previously announced on Jan. 16, the current Weird Tales editorial trio -- George H. Scithers, Darrell Schweitzer, and Wildside Press publisher Betancourt -- will assume modified roles at the magazine. Betancourt continues to oversee the entire Wildside magazine group as publisher; Scithers has been promoted to editor emeritus in charge of special projects, and is editing Wildside Press' forthcoming Cat Tales series; and Schweitzer will be regularly bylining as a senior contributing editor for nonfiction.
VanderMeer will be accepting fiction submissions via email beginning March 6 at weirdtales@gmail.com. Writers lacking email capabilites are welcome to send hardcopy submissions to her, attn: Weird Tales, P.O. Box 38190, Tallahassee, FL 32315. Updated submission guidelines will be available online as of March 1 at www.weirdtalesmagazine.com.
Creative director Stephen H. Segal will serve as interim editorial director for issues #344-#346, which are now closed to fiction submissions. He will continue thereafter to serve as Weird Tales' nonfiction editor. Nonfiction submission guidelines will be available online as of March 1 at www.weirdtalesmagazine.com.
Weird Tales, the world's first fantasy fiction magazine, introduced the world to such legendary authors as H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, and Ray Bradbury. The magazine will celebrate the 85th anniversary of its founding in early 2008 (as well as the 20th anniversary of its modern-day incarnation).
Contacts:
Stephen H. Segal, creative director/general manager, segal@wildsidepress.com.
John Gregory Betancourt, publisher, jgb@wildsidepress.com.
Ann VanderMeer, weirdtales@gmail.com.
Fantasy Noir, take 2
I was originally going to post this as a comment on Sean's post about Fantasy Noir, but it grew into something larger.
I think some of the discussion taking place on Holly's site stems from a flawed/altered view of what "noir" is, at least as I am reading it. Yes, noir is dark and gritty and explores the hidden underbelly of society, but it is also, I would argue, vindicating as well.
Noir is not just about the elements stated above, but also - and even arguably more so - about a moral commentary on one or more aspects of society. The classic noir protagonist is a loner for that reason - he or she stands outside of society, on a (arguably) higher moral plain, precisely so he can examine and reveal the less savory aspects of the world he walks through. He is no ideal paladin or uber-hero, but he is a hero in the sense that he had values and sensibilities above those around him. He may be flawed and hard and know far too much about the darker aspects of himself and the world, but he is not dark himself. He is the reader's strongest touch-stone to what is right and just and, yes, "normal" in the story.
In this sense, there is a sense of vindication and hope in the classic noir story. The main difference, on this level, is that in "regular noir" (if there is such a thing), resolution is found through the solving of a puzzle and the delivery of justice. Justice can come in either the institutional or private varieties, but more often than not it is the latter. That justice may arrive too late is secondary - the important thing is that the dysfunctional/unjust has been exposed, even if only to the protagonist and the audience.
By contrast, Fantasy Noir cannot rely on institutional justice to remedy the story's problem, since the nature or source of the conflict (magic, elves, etc.) is beyond the scope of mortal enforcement/justice. You can't lock up a wizard in the state pen, and odds are good that a well applied sap isn't going to solve your problem for you. The solution requires extra-normal means.
And this, I think, is where we get into the wonderful irony of Urban Fantasy. Even though it has taken on many of the trappings and tropes of classic noir, it has departed from the core aspect - the protagonist as commentator on society - the most. A Fantasy Noir hero *must*, by definition, be extra-normal in some way, even if it is only through the knowledge they have about the "true" world that lies underneath the mundane one. Where a classic noir hero is solidly grounded in the reality of his day, the fantasy noir hero is dancing on the edge of the normal, ever threatening to tip off (if they haven't already). That isn't to say a fantasy noir hero can't comment on society, but more often than not, it is through the lens of the fantastic, not the mundane.
Noir shines the light of "normal" society on the dysfunctional, while Fantasy Noir uses the light of the exceptional to contrast itself with the normal. The method is similar, but the end result is different in terms of focus and values. Noir, at it's core, reinforces the normal, while Fantasy Noir glorifies the "not normal." The tone may be the same in both, but (many of) the underlying themes are quite different.
I think some of the discussion taking place on Holly's site stems from a flawed/altered view of what "noir" is, at least as I am reading it. Yes, noir is dark and gritty and explores the hidden underbelly of society, but it is also, I would argue, vindicating as well.
Noir is not just about the elements stated above, but also - and even arguably more so - about a moral commentary on one or more aspects of society. The classic noir protagonist is a loner for that reason - he or she stands outside of society, on a (arguably) higher moral plain, precisely so he can examine and reveal the less savory aspects of the world he walks through. He is no ideal paladin or uber-hero, but he is a hero in the sense that he had values and sensibilities above those around him. He may be flawed and hard and know far too much about the darker aspects of himself and the world, but he is not dark himself. He is the reader's strongest touch-stone to what is right and just and, yes, "normal" in the story.
In this sense, there is a sense of vindication and hope in the classic noir story. The main difference, on this level, is that in "regular noir" (if there is such a thing), resolution is found through the solving of a puzzle and the delivery of justice. Justice can come in either the institutional or private varieties, but more often than not it is the latter. That justice may arrive too late is secondary - the important thing is that the dysfunctional/unjust has been exposed, even if only to the protagonist and the audience.
By contrast, Fantasy Noir cannot rely on institutional justice to remedy the story's problem, since the nature or source of the conflict (magic, elves, etc.) is beyond the scope of mortal enforcement/justice. You can't lock up a wizard in the state pen, and odds are good that a well applied sap isn't going to solve your problem for you. The solution requires extra-normal means.
And this, I think, is where we get into the wonderful irony of Urban Fantasy. Even though it has taken on many of the trappings and tropes of classic noir, it has departed from the core aspect - the protagonist as commentator on society - the most. A Fantasy Noir hero *must*, by definition, be extra-normal in some way, even if it is only through the knowledge they have about the "true" world that lies underneath the mundane one. Where a classic noir hero is solidly grounded in the reality of his day, the fantasy noir hero is dancing on the edge of the normal, ever threatening to tip off (if they haven't already). That isn't to say a fantasy noir hero can't comment on society, but more often than not, it is through the lens of the fantastic, not the mundane.
Noir shines the light of "normal" society on the dysfunctional, while Fantasy Noir uses the light of the exceptional to contrast itself with the normal. The method is similar, but the end result is different in terms of focus and values. Noir, at it's core, reinforces the normal, while Fantasy Noir glorifies the "not normal." The tone may be the same in both, but (many of) the underlying themes are quite different.
Self-Promotion and Sanity
Here are two self-promotion items that Lyda missed that I consider to be very useful.
Business Cards The same printer that Lyda mentioned for postcards does really nice full color double sided business cards for a under a hundred bucks per 1,000. I do both sides as book covers with added info. Since a book cover is not quite the same shape as a business card this involves a good graphics program, an hour or two of work, and some swearing. But the end result is a very nice, very professional, card with my website, and release or buying information for the book.
I do a fair amount of travel, and I'm an extrovert. This means I meet new people on a pretty regular basis. Over the past nine months I've probably given four hundred cards away to people who've expressed an interest in my work. Another four hundred have gone out via friends or con goodie tables. Some of them got stuck to magnets, and I've got maybe a hundred left. When they run out, I'll order more. I'm currently hoping they last until I get the Cybermancy cover so I can do WebMage on one side and Cybermancy on the other for the next batch.
Book Store Visits I'm not talking about signings here, just making contact with the people who sell the books. As I said, I travel. Whenever I'm in a new city or town, I look up bookstores and stop in to say hello to the clerks and managers and to sign stock. Bookstores are your life's blood as an author. And generally, if you're good to them, they'll be good to you.
An aside on pacing and hair-tearing: I've said this before, but it probably bears repeating. I am thoroughly unconvinced of the efficacy of most self-promotion. Unlike Lyda, I'm relatively comfortable with the idea that once my books have gone to press there's not much more I can do about sales. I'm not thrilled by the idea, but believing I really could do something about it would result in the pacing and hair-tearing she talks about in her post below. This doesn't make me right and her wrong, or vice-versa. It also doesn't confer any moral or other kind of superiority on either position. What it says is that different writers maintain sanity in different ways, and that you need to find what works for you.
So, if doing little-to-no self-promotion is what makes it easiest for you to sleep at night and to get the next book done, do that.
If you want to do some promotion, figure out what sounds like it would work with your budget, both in terms of time and money, and do that.
If you feel the need to do a lot of promotion, and that'll keep you working and sane, do it.
So, the stuff I do: Cons. Cards. Visits. A few signings/readings. Media contact, interviews, articles, etc. If I didn't genuinely enjoy them, I'd probably drop the cons, the signings, and the media stuff. But I have a blast doing those things, so it's a twofer, maybe helping my career, and definitely helping my mood. So far it's working, my sales are good, and so are my reviews. Unfortunately, there's no way of telling whether they'd be worse or better if I didn't do any of this stuff.
Business Cards The same printer that Lyda mentioned for postcards does really nice full color double sided business cards for a under a hundred bucks per 1,000. I do both sides as book covers with added info. Since a book cover is not quite the same shape as a business card this involves a good graphics program, an hour or two of work, and some swearing. But the end result is a very nice, very professional, card with my website, and release or buying information for the book.
I do a fair amount of travel, and I'm an extrovert. This means I meet new people on a pretty regular basis. Over the past nine months I've probably given four hundred cards away to people who've expressed an interest in my work. Another four hundred have gone out via friends or con goodie tables. Some of them got stuck to magnets, and I've got maybe a hundred left. When they run out, I'll order more. I'm currently hoping they last until I get the Cybermancy cover so I can do WebMage on one side and Cybermancy on the other for the next batch.
Book Store Visits I'm not talking about signings here, just making contact with the people who sell the books. As I said, I travel. Whenever I'm in a new city or town, I look up bookstores and stop in to say hello to the clerks and managers and to sign stock. Bookstores are your life's blood as an author. And generally, if you're good to them, they'll be good to you.
An aside on pacing and hair-tearing: I've said this before, but it probably bears repeating. I am thoroughly unconvinced of the efficacy of most self-promotion. Unlike Lyda, I'm relatively comfortable with the idea that once my books have gone to press there's not much more I can do about sales. I'm not thrilled by the idea, but believing I really could do something about it would result in the pacing and hair-tearing she talks about in her post below. This doesn't make me right and her wrong, or vice-versa. It also doesn't confer any moral or other kind of superiority on either position. What it says is that different writers maintain sanity in different ways, and that you need to find what works for you.
So, if doing little-to-no self-promotion is what makes it easiest for you to sleep at night and to get the next book done, do that.
If you want to do some promotion, figure out what sounds like it would work with your budget, both in terms of time and money, and do that.
If you feel the need to do a lot of promotion, and that'll keep you working and sane, do it.
So, the stuff I do: Cons. Cards. Visits. A few signings/readings. Media contact, interviews, articles, etc. If I didn't genuinely enjoy them, I'd probably drop the cons, the signings, and the media stuff. But I have a blast doing those things, so it's a twofer, maybe helping my career, and definitely helping my mood. So far it's working, my sales are good, and so are my reviews. Unfortunately, there's no way of telling whether they'd be worse or better if I didn't do any of this stuff.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
DreamHaven Update
Related to Kelly's post a little ways down the page.
I just stopped at DreamHaven on the way home, and Elizabeth said people have been just wonderful. She waved an inch-thick sheaf of web-orders at me to show me just how. She just ordered more books, but has to order again tomorrow because of all the new orders. Her eyeballs were about to fall out of her head. She said she might have to tell people to go spend their money at other independent businesses just so she would be hogging their support. I placed an order for books anyway.
You can too. Sign up for their email catalog while you're there.
The thieves apparently, according to Elizabeth, (paraphrased here, as I lack a phonographic memory) "broke into the office of the store looking for cash--you know, the big piles of cash that all independent bookstores have on hand during February? When the post-Christmas doldrums are sitting heavily on people's bank accounts? That cash." They did not, however, stop to take the three dollars fifty in the Feline Rescue donation box on the front counter, which says that either three-fifty wasn't sufficient to their needs, or that they are cat people--not sure how I feel about that last.
I just stopped at DreamHaven on the way home, and Elizabeth said people have been just wonderful. She waved an inch-thick sheaf of web-orders at me to show me just how. She just ordered more books, but has to order again tomorrow because of all the new orders. Her eyeballs were about to fall out of her head. She said she might have to tell people to go spend their money at other independent businesses just so she would be hogging their support. I placed an order for books anyway.
You can too. Sign up for their email catalog while you're there.
The thieves apparently, according to Elizabeth, (paraphrased here, as I lack a phonographic memory) "broke into the office of the store looking for cash--you know, the big piles of cash that all independent bookstores have on hand during February? When the post-Christmas doldrums are sitting heavily on people's bank accounts? That cash." They did not, however, stop to take the three dollars fifty in the Feline Rescue donation box on the front counter, which says that either three-fifty wasn't sufficient to their needs, or that they are cat people--not sure how I feel about that last.
Cold Kisses
She doesn't kiss him on the mouth, of course.The fabulous Lori Selke's story "Dead Nude Girls" is live at Strange Horizons.
She merely brushes those cold lips along his neck,
behind his ear. She raises goosebumps there,
with her chill touch.
It's a touching story about zombie strippers. No, really. Go read!
Fantasy Noir
Thanks to Elizabeth Bear for the link on to this discussion of urban fantasy which makes several excellent and very telling points about the nature of how we write about fantasy in the modern world. I'd like to hear what our folks think about it, in general, since at least half of the Wyrdsmiths have written/are writing pieces--and several of us, books--set in an urban fantasy/modern fantasy setting. And Tate, anything that you may have posted over on Fur, Fangs, and Fey could probably be repeated here, too.
I know I agree with quite a bit of what Holly has to say, but I'm open to hear how you all see the collision and juxtaposition of modern ideas and perceptions with fantastical elements, and your reasoning about what we are implying about "normalcy" when we effectively glorify the fringe--or if you completely disagree with that take, why?
I know I agree with quite a bit of what Holly has to say, but I'm open to hear how you all see the collision and juxtaposition of modern ideas and perceptions with fantastical elements, and your reasoning about what we are implying about "normalcy" when we effectively glorify the fringe--or if you completely disagree with that take, why?
DreamHaven Books-Go Buy Something
DreamHaven is a fantastic independent bookstore in Minneapolis. Along with Uncle Hugo's they're a very important part of why the Twin Cities is such a wonderful place to be an F&SF writer or fan.
Turns out that Dreamhaven had a break-in on Saturday night that did considerable damage to the store. Its been a rough time for independent bookstores of late, and the break-in doesn't help. So, please, if you've been thinking about buying an F&SF book, or a comic book lately, go see if they've got it at DreamHaven, either in person, or online. Actually, they've got loads more than books and comics and they've got gaming stuff as well. Go have a look, really.
DreamHaven has been very good to the Wyrdsmiths. It's where I had my first ever reading back in 1999 along with Naomi Kritzer, and I've had a number of readings and signings there in the years since as have several of our other members, and quite a few good friends who are also in the writing business.
The world of books and publishing has lost too many treasures in the last few years. We don't want DreamHaven to be another one of them.
Thanks to our own Douglas Hulick for picking this up from Neil Gaiman.
Turns out that Dreamhaven had a break-in on Saturday night that did considerable damage to the store. Its been a rough time for independent bookstores of late, and the break-in doesn't help. So, please, if you've been thinking about buying an F&SF book, or a comic book lately, go see if they've got it at DreamHaven, either in person, or online. Actually, they've got loads more than books and comics and they've got gaming stuff as well. Go have a look, really.
DreamHaven has been very good to the Wyrdsmiths. It's where I had my first ever reading back in 1999 along with Naomi Kritzer, and I've had a number of readings and signings there in the years since as have several of our other members, and quite a few good friends who are also in the writing business.
The world of books and publishing has lost too many treasures in the last few years. We don't want DreamHaven to be another one of them.
Thanks to our own Douglas Hulick for picking this up from Neil Gaiman.
Writing Basics: Discipline (ii)
What have we learned?It is not enough merely to be ambitious, well rested, and ably assisted.
The writer must have discipline.
In a previous post, we considered the efficacy of the pressure-mounted metal gate. In cases where such an arrangement may prove less than fully effective, discipline must be instilled by alternate means.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
The Madman's Laboratory
My wife brought this link about what writer's work spaces look like to my attention, and I thought it was a fascinating set of examples. It got me to wondering, though, where do we write? Are we willing to snap a pic of it and post it up here? Does anyone out there care to see the general squalor of the writer's external expression of mind?
DISCUSS!
DISCUSS!
Self-Promotion: Things To Waste Your Money On… Without Even Trying
Despite the title of this article, I actually do many of these things I’m about to list. I’m not at all convinced of their efficacy, however. Also, by listing these ideas, I am not suggesting that any of these are right for you or work particularly well (in fact, I have no idea what REALLY nets sales; if I did, I’d be having a much more lucrative career in advertising.)
The reason I do a lot of these things is because I can’t stand the idea of not doing anything. I would much rather throw money away to keep myself busy, rather than pace a hole in the rug wondering how my sales figures are doing. This is a personal choice, however. And I do them with the full knowledge that they probably aren’t getting me anything in terms of a return on investment. I’m okay with that. Like I said, for me it’s about wasting my time and money versus tearing my hair out by the roots.
Okay, after all that disclaimer-ing, let’s get to the list:
1. Advertise. When I go to conventions (which I listed as something I feel is a good bet for your bucks), I often run an advertisement in their souvenir booklet. This typically costs me $200 a pop (and I do all the art design myself with Publisher, which came as part of my computer package). I have no idea if this works or not, but I kind of like the karmic aspect of supporting a convention, as the money they get from advertising goes to publishing the booklet. These days I also like to run group advertisements to help mitigate the costs. $200 can become more manageable when split four or even five ways.
I have looked into advertising in glossy magazines such as Romantic Times, Locus, SF Bulletin and the like. I've found, however, that those magazines are often beyond the stretch of my pocketbook. I _do_ think that people are affected by ads they see -- I know I've bought books because I noticed a cool cover (or author's name on a new book) that I've seen in ads, but I might be weird that way. Anyway, I haven't done it, so I can't speak of whether or not I really think it's worthwhile.
2. Purchase Professionally Produced Postcards. There’s a really great e-printer called 48hourpress which has, IMHO, very cheap rates and extremely professional products. This costs in the range of $200 - $400, depending on how many you decide to have printed. I tend to order 1,000 at a time, because I have a ton of uses for these things.
Because I’m a member of RWA and MFW (previously covered), I get notices regarding romance conventions that are on the look out for “goodie bag” stuffers. Romance readers, unlike SF folks expect gifts when they go to a conference or a workshop. They typically get a shopping bad FULL of postcards, magnets, pens, post-it notes, bookmarks, and doo-dads of all variety as well as copies of out-of-print/backlist books. Postcards and bookmarks go there on a regular basis. Does this work? Yes, I’ve gotten responses from people who said they bought my book because they saw a postcard for it in their goodie bag. Given how many I’ve sent out do I think that the money is well spent? Probably not.
A side note: I actually spend a LOT of postage (although book rate is surprisingly cheap, given the pounds these boxes weigh) sending out boxes of my science fiction backlist to romance conventions/conferences/workshops. But, if I didn’t, I’d have a million boxes of my own books collecting dust in my office. It’s very depressing to be writing a novel staring at six cartons of remaindered books. For a while, I called my office the “room of doom.”
I also “re-use” my postcards to send out book signing/event notices to my friends. I simply use my laser printer to print out labels containing the pertinent info and then stick them over the part of my postcard which normally has the book blurb on it.
I bring them to SF/F conventions to leave on the freebee tables.
I also send them out to book buyers. Now here’s a big expense we can all argue about…. I have bought (the list cost another couple hundred dollars) a list of book sellers from one the many places you can buy such things. I print out labels and send out thousands or postcards to independent and chain box bookstores. Does this do me any good? I highly doubt it, as this is really one of those things – talking up your book to book buyers – that your publisher should be doing for you. Why do I do it? Because I like thinking that maybe my cover is just eye catching enough that I made a tiny bit of an extra impression on a book buyer who then decides to purchase a copy of my book.
3. Group postcards/calanders/give-aways As a member of MFW and Vampire Vixens, I regularly throw my money away towards group postcards which are sent to book buyers listing all the romance titles from our organization and their pub date. MFW writers is putting together their annual postcard right now. Plus, the Vampire Vixens usually has a strong presence at the big romance conference put on by Romantic Times/Book Club and this year they’re producing a calendar with all the pertinent book release dates on the various months which I’m paying to be part of. Worth it? I have no idea, but again, I like to do this stuff because in a lot of ways it seems stupid for me not to join in, particularly when someone else is going to do all the hard work. I should say, this is the cheapest of my ventures costing ($60 a pop, but as I do two of them at least a year, it costs me over a $100 annually.)
I'll write more as I think of it, but this is all for today.
The reason I do a lot of these things is because I can’t stand the idea of not doing anything. I would much rather throw money away to keep myself busy, rather than pace a hole in the rug wondering how my sales figures are doing. This is a personal choice, however. And I do them with the full knowledge that they probably aren’t getting me anything in terms of a return on investment. I’m okay with that. Like I said, for me it’s about wasting my time and money versus tearing my hair out by the roots.
Okay, after all that disclaimer-ing, let’s get to the list:
1. Advertise. When I go to conventions (which I listed as something I feel is a good bet for your bucks), I often run an advertisement in their souvenir booklet. This typically costs me $200 a pop (and I do all the art design myself with Publisher, which came as part of my computer package). I have no idea if this works or not, but I kind of like the karmic aspect of supporting a convention, as the money they get from advertising goes to publishing the booklet. These days I also like to run group advertisements to help mitigate the costs. $200 can become more manageable when split four or even five ways.
I have looked into advertising in glossy magazines such as Romantic Times, Locus, SF Bulletin and the like. I've found, however, that those magazines are often beyond the stretch of my pocketbook. I _do_ think that people are affected by ads they see -- I know I've bought books because I noticed a cool cover (or author's name on a new book) that I've seen in ads, but I might be weird that way. Anyway, I haven't done it, so I can't speak of whether or not I really think it's worthwhile.
2. Purchase Professionally Produced Postcards. There’s a really great e-printer called 48hourpress which has, IMHO, very cheap rates and extremely professional products. This costs in the range of $200 - $400, depending on how many you decide to have printed. I tend to order 1,000 at a time, because I have a ton of uses for these things.
Because I’m a member of RWA and MFW (previously covered), I get notices regarding romance conventions that are on the look out for “goodie bag” stuffers. Romance readers, unlike SF folks expect gifts when they go to a conference or a workshop. They typically get a shopping bad FULL of postcards, magnets, pens, post-it notes, bookmarks, and doo-dads of all variety as well as copies of out-of-print/backlist books. Postcards and bookmarks go there on a regular basis. Does this work? Yes, I’ve gotten responses from people who said they bought my book because they saw a postcard for it in their goodie bag. Given how many I’ve sent out do I think that the money is well spent? Probably not.
A side note: I actually spend a LOT of postage (although book rate is surprisingly cheap, given the pounds these boxes weigh) sending out boxes of my science fiction backlist to romance conventions/conferences/workshops. But, if I didn’t, I’d have a million boxes of my own books collecting dust in my office. It’s very depressing to be writing a novel staring at six cartons of remaindered books. For a while, I called my office the “room of doom.”
I also “re-use” my postcards to send out book signing/event notices to my friends. I simply use my laser printer to print out labels containing the pertinent info and then stick them over the part of my postcard which normally has the book blurb on it.
I bring them to SF/F conventions to leave on the freebee tables.
I also send them out to book buyers. Now here’s a big expense we can all argue about…. I have bought (the list cost another couple hundred dollars) a list of book sellers from one the many places you can buy such things. I print out labels and send out thousands or postcards to independent and chain box bookstores. Does this do me any good? I highly doubt it, as this is really one of those things – talking up your book to book buyers – that your publisher should be doing for you. Why do I do it? Because I like thinking that maybe my cover is just eye catching enough that I made a tiny bit of an extra impression on a book buyer who then decides to purchase a copy of my book.
3. Group postcards/calanders/give-aways As a member of MFW and Vampire Vixens, I regularly throw my money away towards group postcards which are sent to book buyers listing all the romance titles from our organization and their pub date. MFW writers is putting together their annual postcard right now. Plus, the Vampire Vixens usually has a strong presence at the big romance conference put on by Romantic Times/Book Club and this year they’re producing a calendar with all the pertinent book release dates on the various months which I’m paying to be part of. Worth it? I have no idea, but again, I like to do this stuff because in a lot of ways it seems stupid for me not to join in, particularly when someone else is going to do all the hard work. I should say, this is the cheapest of my ventures costing ($60 a pop, but as I do two of them at least a year, it costs me over a $100 annually.)
I'll write more as I think of it, but this is all for today.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Self-Promotion: Spending a Bit of Bling
I think for the purposes of this second installment I’ll talk about things you can spend promotional money on that are under a hundred dollars, though I’m not going to be rigorous about this division. However, I will try to note when I think there may be hidden costs (like postage, etc.) that may put it over.
First, let’s pretend that you’ve done the (IMHO) scary part and called up your local, independent bookstore and begged them for a signing. Maybe you’ve gone in with another new author friend (or established one) and booked a signing together or in conjunction with a book club meeting, etc. You’ve written a spiffy press release and emailed, faxed, or snail mailed it to all your local newspapers. Sometimes, if you do this right, it will net you some honest-to-goodness FREE publicity in the form of an interview or article or notice in the paper. I’m not terribly convinced that people READ the newspaper, but this is the sort of thing you can save for your media kit in the future.
1. Tell Everyone You Know. There are a few cheap ways to advertise your up-coming event. You can send out an email to everyone (or select everyones) in your address book. I recommend this, regardless, because even if those people can’t make your event they’re at least aware that your book is coming out and may take that moment to pre/order it on Amazon.com or wherever.
I also like to send out some kind of paper reminder to everyone whose snail mail addresses I have. I’ve been collecting addresses for years – from classes, signings, and holiday cards. You can make pretty cheap postcards with some index cards and a printer. If you have a printer that will feed envelops, most times they will also take index cards. This is a ridiculously time consuming process especially given the “advertising percent rate” that you have to keep in mind: 10% return, which is to say that if you send out a hundred postcards, expect ten people. I usually try to send out two hundred postcards a month in advance.
Remember: this will cost you postcard stamps and (very likely) a toner cartridge.
Make sure you have all the important info on the card: day of the week, date and time of the signing, the book you’re going to sign, the name and address and phone number of the place you’ll be at and, well, your name (and, in my case, both my real name and my pseudonym).
Also, if I have more than one signing in a month, I try to put information about both of them on one postcard so that if people can’t make one, maybe they can make the next one. There is some question about how many signings in a local area you should try to do for any given book. I have never figured this out, but my sense is that two bookstores in the same month is more than enough. I’ve had some success having several signings spread out over the course of a year, but the further away from your publishing date you are, the less enthused both your readers and the bookstore manager often are.
Okay, other things to do to make sure you have a good book signing is to show up early (at least fifteen minutes, but best a half an hour, IMHO) to help the store manager set up and dress professionally.
Also, and this is probably going to sound like strange advice, but always keep a dozen copies of your book in the car (this might include “backlist” if you’re promoting a second book). Most book store managers don’t expect to sell that many copies of your book. Even though you probably will only have a dozen or so people show up, it’s an unmitigated disaster if fifty show and you sell out of books before you run out of people who want them. This rarely happens, but, just in case, I always have copies in my trunk. Having extra copies on hand can save face for all involved. Happily, I can say I did this once and it made the book store manager very, very happy.
Okay, before your book signing (and after) you can also:
2. Attend Conventions. The nice thing about being an SF/F/H/Speculative fiction writer is that there are a million conventions happening almost every weekend. Check out the listings on Locus and you’re sure to find a convention near you. We’re extremely fortunate in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area that there are no less than a half-dozen local conventions every year.
This is not free. It will cost you the price of admission (depending on how early you register, $30 - $100+) and, if you don’t live nearby, the cost of hotel (and transportation costs – possibly plane ride). However, this is an investment that I have always found worthwhile.
Most convention planners are desperate for programming volunteers. Ideally, you can get in early on the planning and suggest panel ideas that are especially germane to your work. (For instance I was always on the “Religion in SF” panel when the AngeLINK books were still in print). Kelly always has a list of “offerings” to send to conventions, which I think is very clever. I’m not usually this organized. If not, look for panel topics that interest you. I’ve made friends and influenced people (buyers!) by being on media panels about “Firefly,” etc. Media fans are often grateful to be taken seriously by the “literati” so there’s no reason to hide your inner fan grrl/boy. IMHO. However, I always plan to be on one writing related panel since people who attend those are very likely your target audience.
But, Lyda/Tate, what if I’m shy??
Here’s my advice about that. Volunteer anyway. Find a topic that you’re interested in and do some research. Come prepared with questions. If you don’t like being put on the spot, be the one who asks the questions. (If you’re signed up as the moderator, you should do this anyway,) but most decent moderators on panels are open to a panel member who is genuinely prepared with interesting questions. Also, if your nervous about what to say during the introduction period, write something up ahead of time and practice. And, the best advice, is to just tell people you’re nervous and it’s your first (or one of your first) ever panels. Most of us SF/F/H-type geeks GET that and will warm to you.
Some conventions also have readings. See if you can get one. My advice for that is to pick something length appropriate and practice, practice, practice. Find a scene in your novel or short story that you don’t have to explain, in which something happens, and which ends on a cliff hanger. Remember: you want people to leave the room wanting more! I also print up a reading copy and edit it for reading – that is to say, if I discover a huge chunk of world building that was important to the story, but which is kind of long and boring when I read it out loud I cut it (or edit it down to something much shorter.) I also make sure to add any dialogue tags that might be necessary for a hearer (but which aren’t in the text the line break is clear to the reader). I also make sure to have someone time me. No one likes a reader who goes overtime.
What if I’m just not famous enough to score a reading?
Well, here’s where being a joiner can help you. If you’re a member of BroadUniverse (which costs about $30 to join), you can take part in their rapid-fire readings. Unfortunately, to be a reader with them you have to be a woman.
Speaking of that:
3. Memberships that cost money, but which have been worth the dough for me:
RWA and my local chapter Midwest Fiction Writers. If you write anything at all romantic, Romance Writers of America is the organization for you. They’re open to writers who aren’t published, who publish small press, and, of course, the big press/big name folks. My local chapter organizes signings, gets me into book seller trade shows, and does group advertising. RWA costs big money, however ($90?) and my local adds another ($30).
BroadUniverse. See above.
When I first started out and simply needed to connect to other writers, I also found the National Writers Union to be helpful.
I could go on, but this is getting long, so I’ll stop for now.
First, let’s pretend that you’ve done the (IMHO) scary part and called up your local, independent bookstore and begged them for a signing. Maybe you’ve gone in with another new author friend (or established one) and booked a signing together or in conjunction with a book club meeting, etc. You’ve written a spiffy press release and emailed, faxed, or snail mailed it to all your local newspapers. Sometimes, if you do this right, it will net you some honest-to-goodness FREE publicity in the form of an interview or article or notice in the paper. I’m not terribly convinced that people READ the newspaper, but this is the sort of thing you can save for your media kit in the future.
1. Tell Everyone You Know. There are a few cheap ways to advertise your up-coming event. You can send out an email to everyone (or select everyones) in your address book. I recommend this, regardless, because even if those people can’t make your event they’re at least aware that your book is coming out and may take that moment to pre/order it on Amazon.com or wherever.
I also like to send out some kind of paper reminder to everyone whose snail mail addresses I have. I’ve been collecting addresses for years – from classes, signings, and holiday cards. You can make pretty cheap postcards with some index cards and a printer. If you have a printer that will feed envelops, most times they will also take index cards. This is a ridiculously time consuming process especially given the “advertising percent rate” that you have to keep in mind: 10% return, which is to say that if you send out a hundred postcards, expect ten people. I usually try to send out two hundred postcards a month in advance.
Remember: this will cost you postcard stamps and (very likely) a toner cartridge.
Make sure you have all the important info on the card: day of the week, date and time of the signing, the book you’re going to sign, the name and address and phone number of the place you’ll be at and, well, your name (and, in my case, both my real name and my pseudonym).
Also, if I have more than one signing in a month, I try to put information about both of them on one postcard so that if people can’t make one, maybe they can make the next one. There is some question about how many signings in a local area you should try to do for any given book. I have never figured this out, but my sense is that two bookstores in the same month is more than enough. I’ve had some success having several signings spread out over the course of a year, but the further away from your publishing date you are, the less enthused both your readers and the bookstore manager often are.
Okay, other things to do to make sure you have a good book signing is to show up early (at least fifteen minutes, but best a half an hour, IMHO) to help the store manager set up and dress professionally.
Also, and this is probably going to sound like strange advice, but always keep a dozen copies of your book in the car (this might include “backlist” if you’re promoting a second book). Most book store managers don’t expect to sell that many copies of your book. Even though you probably will only have a dozen or so people show up, it’s an unmitigated disaster if fifty show and you sell out of books before you run out of people who want them. This rarely happens, but, just in case, I always have copies in my trunk. Having extra copies on hand can save face for all involved. Happily, I can say I did this once and it made the book store manager very, very happy.
Okay, before your book signing (and after) you can also:
2. Attend Conventions. The nice thing about being an SF/F/H/Speculative fiction writer is that there are a million conventions happening almost every weekend. Check out the listings on Locus and you’re sure to find a convention near you. We’re extremely fortunate in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area that there are no less than a half-dozen local conventions every year.
This is not free. It will cost you the price of admission (depending on how early you register, $30 - $100+) and, if you don’t live nearby, the cost of hotel (and transportation costs – possibly plane ride). However, this is an investment that I have always found worthwhile.
Most convention planners are desperate for programming volunteers. Ideally, you can get in early on the planning and suggest panel ideas that are especially germane to your work. (For instance I was always on the “Religion in SF” panel when the AngeLINK books were still in print). Kelly always has a list of “offerings” to send to conventions, which I think is very clever. I’m not usually this organized. If not, look for panel topics that interest you. I’ve made friends and influenced people (buyers!) by being on media panels about “Firefly,” etc. Media fans are often grateful to be taken seriously by the “literati” so there’s no reason to hide your inner fan grrl/boy. IMHO. However, I always plan to be on one writing related panel since people who attend those are very likely your target audience.
But, Lyda/Tate, what if I’m shy??
Here’s my advice about that. Volunteer anyway. Find a topic that you’re interested in and do some research. Come prepared with questions. If you don’t like being put on the spot, be the one who asks the questions. (If you’re signed up as the moderator, you should do this anyway,) but most decent moderators on panels are open to a panel member who is genuinely prepared with interesting questions. Also, if your nervous about what to say during the introduction period, write something up ahead of time and practice. And, the best advice, is to just tell people you’re nervous and it’s your first (or one of your first) ever panels. Most of us SF/F/H-type geeks GET that and will warm to you.
Some conventions also have readings. See if you can get one. My advice for that is to pick something length appropriate and practice, practice, practice. Find a scene in your novel or short story that you don’t have to explain, in which something happens, and which ends on a cliff hanger. Remember: you want people to leave the room wanting more! I also print up a reading copy and edit it for reading – that is to say, if I discover a huge chunk of world building that was important to the story, but which is kind of long and boring when I read it out loud I cut it (or edit it down to something much shorter.) I also make sure to add any dialogue tags that might be necessary for a hearer (but which aren’t in the text the line break is clear to the reader). I also make sure to have someone time me. No one likes a reader who goes overtime.
What if I’m just not famous enough to score a reading?
Well, here’s where being a joiner can help you. If you’re a member of BroadUniverse (which costs about $30 to join), you can take part in their rapid-fire readings. Unfortunately, to be a reader with them you have to be a woman.
Speaking of that:
3. Memberships that cost money, but which have been worth the dough for me:
RWA and my local chapter Midwest Fiction Writers. If you write anything at all romantic, Romance Writers of America is the organization for you. They’re open to writers who aren’t published, who publish small press, and, of course, the big press/big name folks. My local chapter organizes signings, gets me into book seller trade shows, and does group advertising. RWA costs big money, however ($90?) and my local adds another ($30).
BroadUniverse. See above.
When I first started out and simply needed to connect to other writers, I also found the National Writers Union to be helpful.
I could go on, but this is getting long, so I’ll stop for now.
Self-Promotion Updated
A couple of things Lyda didn't mention in the (essentially) free section:
Update:I posted this simultaneously with Lyda's post above, and she responds to my convention note in comments on this one.
Conventions. If you've got a small press credit or a professional short story credit (or something bigger) the chances are pretty good that your nearest available convention will let you come for free if you agree to be on some minimum number of panels, usually three. If you're moderately articulate and have opinions on writing and a few fannish passions (Star Trek, LOTR, Buffy, Heinlein, whatever) you can do your career a lot of good this way. You can also have a ball and make new friends. This one is variable cost-since it depends on how far from the con you happen to live and whether you can do the thing from home, but can be quite cheap, or even free.
Writing reviews. There are a lot of F&SF fanzines, semi-pro, and even pro venues that are looking for reviewers of F&SF books and other media. This one's often a twofer, free press and free stuff, because many of the higher profile venues will actually send you books to review.
Of course, these things do cost time, and even if you're a devout believer in the power of self-promotion, you should have some calculation for what your time is worth vs. expected return.
Update:I posted this simultaneously with Lyda's post above, and she responds to my convention note in comments on this one.
Conventions. If you've got a small press credit or a professional short story credit (or something bigger) the chances are pretty good that your nearest available convention will let you come for free if you agree to be on some minimum number of panels, usually three. If you're moderately articulate and have opinions on writing and a few fannish passions (Star Trek, LOTR, Buffy, Heinlein, whatever) you can do your career a lot of good this way. You can also have a ball and make new friends. This one is variable cost-since it depends on how far from the con you happen to live and whether you can do the thing from home, but can be quite cheap, or even free.
Writing reviews. There are a lot of F&SF fanzines, semi-pro, and even pro venues that are looking for reviewers of F&SF books and other media. This one's often a twofer, free press and free stuff, because many of the higher profile venues will actually send you books to review.
Of course, these things do cost time, and even if you're a devout believer in the power of self-promotion, you should have some calculation for what your time is worth vs. expected return.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
The Other Side of the Coin
The new year, the season of best of lists; SF Site, [link]; and February issue of Locus has the editors' and reviewers' 2006 recommended reading list.
Of the novels on the Locus list, I've read only two.
The first: Paul Park's The Tourmaline, the second volume in his excellent luminous Roumania Quartet, which began with A Princess of Roumania, and the third book, The White Tyger, is out and I'm tearing through it eagerly. But how long to wait for the concluder, The Hidden World?
And the second: I've been with great slowness, one section each night, to savor the richness and virtuosity but also insulate myself against the oppressive grimness, I've been reading McCarthy's The Road. Not ideal bedtime reading, folks. I recommend Goodnight, Gorilla.
Other than that, Wolfe’s Soldier of Sidon languishes unpurchased on my Amazon wish list; and other novels on the list I've flirted with on the shelves but haven't come home with me from Dreamhaven yet are M. John Harrison's Nova Swing, Ellen Kushner' sThe Privilege of the Sword, and Holly Phillips's The Burning Girl.
Some of those books from the SF Site list: the Tiptree biography, what else?
So. What books on this list have you read? Failing that, what was the best book, or your favorite book, you read all year last year? What book are you just dying to read next?
Of the novels on the Locus list, I've read only two.
The first: Paul Park's The Tourmaline, the second volume in his excellent luminous Roumania Quartet, which began with A Princess of Roumania, and the third book, The White Tyger, is out and I'm tearing through it eagerly. But how long to wait for the concluder, The Hidden World?
And the second: I've been with great slowness, one section each night, to savor the richness and virtuosity but also insulate myself against the oppressive grimness, I've been reading McCarthy's The Road. Not ideal bedtime reading, folks. I recommend Goodnight, Gorilla.
Other than that, Wolfe’s Soldier of Sidon languishes unpurchased on my Amazon wish list; and other novels on the list I've flirted with on the shelves but haven't come home with me from Dreamhaven yet are M. John Harrison's Nova Swing, Ellen Kushner' sThe Privilege of the Sword, and Holly Phillips's The Burning Girl.
Some of those books from the SF Site list: the Tiptree biography, what else?
So. What books on this list have you read? Failing that, what was the best book, or your favorite book, you read all year last year? What book are you just dying to read next?
Friday, February 09, 2007
Self-Promotion: The Stuff that Only (Mostly) Costs Valuable Time
The title of this is a tiny lie because most of what I’m going to suggest in this article costs a bit of jingle, but it’s very likely money you’ve already spent. Since you’re reading this on-line, my presumption is going to be that you’ve already budgeted into your life the cost of that privilege. Most likely whatever package you’ve signed on to also gives you a small amount of space for a web page, though I will suggest alternatives if it does not.
I should mention that most of this stuff needs to be done well in advance of the book’s publication. I’m currently (in early February) calling about book signings and setting up guest blog spots, etc. for a book that will be coming out in May. I learned a lot about the timing of self-promotion from a book called BOOK BLITZ: Getting Your Book In the News. This might be a good resource for you as well.
To begin (and in no particular order):
Okay, that's it for now... next I'll tackle some things that cost a moderate amount and then on to the expensive stuff. I should say, too, that I'm only going to cover things I've actually tried. When we get to the more expensive things I plan to editorialize regarding whether or not I think the result was worth the money spent. I hope this is helpful.
For those of you who've tried any or all of this, please chime in!
I should mention that most of this stuff needs to be done well in advance of the book’s publication. I’m currently (in early February) calling about book signings and setting up guest blog spots, etc. for a book that will be coming out in May. I learned a lot about the timing of self-promotion from a book called BOOK BLITZ: Getting Your Book In the News. This might be a good resource for you as well.
To begin (and in no particular order):
1. Be a joiner. This is a piece of advice I learned years ago from a newsletter about self-promotion for authors called “Spilled Candy,” and it’s served me fairly well. The idea is that you can join any number of on-line communities (or real-time, though usually those involve a membership fee so I’ll cover them in my next post) that are germane to the subject of your novel and get some free publicity milage. For us SF folks, that would include places like Speculations and even LJ Communities like Whileaway or similar. Then, the idea is that you establish a presence – with any luck, a good one – and then, as appropriate, reveal that you are an author and that you have a book coming out. People like to support people they know personally. The trouble, of course, is that you need to do this somewhat naturally otherwise you come off as kind of a Troll. You don’t want to bust on to the scene of a well established community, talk up how swell your book is, and leave. Ideally, these organizations would be ones you would join, anyway.
2. Have a website and keep it up-to-date, Probably obvious advice to anyone internet savvy enough to be reading this blog, but I’m surprised by how many professionals don’t do the last bit. As a fan, this makes me insane. When I go to a web site there’s two pieces of information I’m usually looking for: does this author have other work I haven’t read yet, and what conventions can I meet them at to get my stuff signed? I designed my own website with this in mind. I also always make sure there’s reasons for people to come back, like a corner I call mouse’s house in which I have what I call my “DVD-extras.” I have there a collection of fiction that didn’t make it into the novel, writing exercises I’ve done with the characters from my worlds, and art – doodles I’ve made of my characters. The point is, be interesting as up-to-date as possible. I update once a month, usually at the beginning.
3. Have a blog... or several. There are several free blog systems out there including this one blogspot as well as live journal. I think most readers expect their authors to have a blog these days. I also advocate having more than one. Amazon Connects allows you to blog on their site (with direct links to your books) and there are often groups of like-minded writers who are looking for another brave soul to help with a group blog. Obviously, we’ve done Wyrdsmiths, but I also belong (as Tate) to Fangs, Fey & Fur, and I’ll be guest blogging on a number of romance-related blogs when my next novel comes out. Ideally a blog will be helpful, entertaining, and keep readers coming back.
4. Book signings. I’ll talk in the next installment about how to have a good book signing, but since outside of needing a phone line/cell phone calling bookstores is free, I’ll list this step here. Please remember timing with this one also. Most bookstores are planning May events in February (or even earlier), so try to be thinking five to six months in advance of whenever your book is officially available. My only advice about cold calling bookstores is that if you can tie in your event with something they’re already doing (SF book club, for instance) you’ll have a better chance of getting the gig. It also helps to be the local boy/girl made good. This is also where being a joiner has helped me. I do a number of group signings with the Midwest Fiction Writers (though I have to pay to be a member of that), which often means all I have to do is show up because other people have made all the arrangements for me.
5. Get Good at Writing Press Releases. Once you have something to tell people (like a book signing or an award nomination/win), write up a press release and send it out. It actually will cost you the price of a postage stamp (or a fax), but many more newspapers accept press releases electronically, so you may be able to find a way to do this on the cheap. Be sure to check the various newspapers for when they want this information. My personal rule of thumb is that most newspapers want news items only a couple of weeks in advance of the event. If you shoot out your release too early, it’s likely to get forgotten about. Time this as precisely as you can.
Okay, that's it for now... next I'll tackle some things that cost a moderate amount and then on to the expensive stuff. I should say, too, that I'm only going to cover things I've actually tried. When we get to the more expensive things I plan to editorialize regarding whether or not I think the result was worth the money spent. I hope this is helpful.
For those of you who've tried any or all of this, please chime in!
Catch of the Day
The Transcriptions Project at UC Santa Barbara has created an incredible archive dedicated to William Gibson's Agrippa, here. Oh, to possess a copy of the deluxe edition! I covet it with the same covetousness with which I covet one of Eleanor's.
I hesitated
before untying the bow
that bound this book together.
Looks as if Spook Country is slated to hit the stands on August 7, by the way.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Writing Basics: Ambition
The writer first of all must have ambition.Ask yourself: How badly do you want this?
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Pontification for Hire (Okay, for free)
Is there anything you'd like to hear us babble on about? I can't guarantee we'll do it, or do it successfully, but here's an opportunity to ask those burning writing questions. If this goes well, we'll probably do it again.
Monday, February 05, 2007
And in this corner, Authorial Integrity...
I got an email back from an editor of a small run literary journal to whom I sent a story, stating that he wanted the story and asking for some rather extensive changes. I know that it is quite normal for an editor to request changes, even ones that seem intrinsic to the plot, and I could treat this as an opportunity to practice rewriting to work with an editor's requests, which I will invariably end up doing at some point anyway.
However, the nature of this request strikes me as odd, and I want to offer it up for discussion, because the ethic of authorial integrity comes into play, perhaps, as well.
The story (which you Wyrdsmiths have seen, at any rate) is "Eyes of God and Man", a short about an observant Musilm, gay, colony ship captain who is confronted with a couple of gay crewmembers who are applying to have a child, which, according to the charter of the colony they are going to establish, means that they must be married. He is bound by both Sharia law and the colony's founding rules not to permit any gay marriages, and is willing to ignore the colony's founding rules--once they are on their way, the politics of getting the money for the trip are out of the picture. He can't so easily reconcile sidestepping Sharia law, and finds that he is confronted by a situation where his devotion to his traditional faith and his belief in human rights are in direct conflict with each other.
The editor wants me to make him a traditionalist Christian or Jew. The stated reason being that "it seems a little insincere" for me to be writing from a Muslim point of view.
Now, I'm not opposed to writing this particular story from one of those POV's--I could quite easily make him Jewish, since there are so many behavioral and religious parallels between the observant forms of Judaism and Islam. That's not really the point, though. When I met the character (and this was one of those "Hi, who are you and why are you in my head today?" situations), he was Muslim. I think I was respectful of his faith and beliefs throughout, but the concern expressed was that I am not Muslim.
I am not a woman, either. Should I never write from a female perspective? Some would argue that. Without the ability to exptrapolate our experience, though, SF wouldn't exist. Jules Verne had never seen the moon, or been in a submersible, yet he wrote of experiencing those things in a convincing way.
(I should clarify that I was raised Christian, left, and after about ten years converted to Judaism, though I would identify myself as an agnostic, since I have no evidence of anything and find the need to ask unanswerable questions an amusing trait, if a very human one.)
I may pull the story, anyway. Some of the changes that the editor is asking for would minimize the SF nature of the story, and he doesn't want the character to commit suicide at the end (which was a key point for me, but remains one of the most contested points in the story, one which I may need to concede, anyway). I don't disagree with all of the changes that he is suggesting, but I want to ask: What is too much to change when a editor makes requests? Where does that line exist? What elements do you take into account when you're making that decision? (pay rate, potential audience, etc.)
However, the nature of this request strikes me as odd, and I want to offer it up for discussion, because the ethic of authorial integrity comes into play, perhaps, as well.
The story (which you Wyrdsmiths have seen, at any rate) is "Eyes of God and Man", a short about an observant Musilm, gay, colony ship captain who is confronted with a couple of gay crewmembers who are applying to have a child, which, according to the charter of the colony they are going to establish, means that they must be married. He is bound by both Sharia law and the colony's founding rules not to permit any gay marriages, and is willing to ignore the colony's founding rules--once they are on their way, the politics of getting the money for the trip are out of the picture. He can't so easily reconcile sidestepping Sharia law, and finds that he is confronted by a situation where his devotion to his traditional faith and his belief in human rights are in direct conflict with each other.
The editor wants me to make him a traditionalist Christian or Jew. The stated reason being that "it seems a little insincere" for me to be writing from a Muslim point of view.
Now, I'm not opposed to writing this particular story from one of those POV's--I could quite easily make him Jewish, since there are so many behavioral and religious parallels between the observant forms of Judaism and Islam. That's not really the point, though. When I met the character (and this was one of those "Hi, who are you and why are you in my head today?" situations), he was Muslim. I think I was respectful of his faith and beliefs throughout, but the concern expressed was that I am not Muslim.
I am not a woman, either. Should I never write from a female perspective? Some would argue that. Without the ability to exptrapolate our experience, though, SF wouldn't exist. Jules Verne had never seen the moon, or been in a submersible, yet he wrote of experiencing those things in a convincing way.
(I should clarify that I was raised Christian, left, and after about ten years converted to Judaism, though I would identify myself as an agnostic, since I have no evidence of anything and find the need to ask unanswerable questions an amusing trait, if a very human one.)
I may pull the story, anyway. Some of the changes that the editor is asking for would minimize the SF nature of the story, and he doesn't want the character to commit suicide at the end (which was a key point for me, but remains one of the most contested points in the story, one which I may need to concede, anyway). I don't disagree with all of the changes that he is suggesting, but I want to ask: What is too much to change when a editor makes requests? Where does that line exist? What elements do you take into account when you're making that decision? (pay rate, potential audience, etc.)
Friday, February 02, 2007
Synopses Still Suck (Pitching Part 3)
Practical advice on writing synopses.
1. Learn how to do it. If your career ever takes off, it's likely to be an important and painful part of your life.
2. This is easiest if you can A, write several of them in quick order, and B, get your hands on someone else's synopsis to read and really thoroughly critique. Knowing what worked or didn't work for you in someone else's synopsis is a great learning tool. Doing this with several is better, and synopses that have sold books are probably best, especially if you can read the book at the same time. You needen't ever give the critique to the author, that's not why you're doing it.
3. The normal structural stuff: one inch margins, double spacing, etc.
4. The abnormal structural stuff: Present tense. Five pages is standard for most synopsis requests. For pitch sheets one page, (single spaced!?!-what's up with that?) is what I've been told is standard and how I do mine. different editors and agents often have different rules for these, so YMMV.
5. Dig through your favorite books. Read the dust jacket or back of book blurbs. Really study the ones that successfully represent the book in question. Try to write several of those for your book. Do the the same with the ones that strike you as bad. Pick the best of your sample and expand from there. Don't try to trim it down from the book.
6. Again, what's cool to you should drive the synopsis. But don't forget plot, character, setting, and theme.
7. Try to write it in the same style as the book, not the same voice necessarily, but a funny book should have a funny synopsis.
8. Pace and swear. No really, this helps. So does a long walk away from the computer where you mutter to yourself about what your story is really about.
9. Call your writing buddies. If they've read the book, ask them what they thinks its about. This will be enlightening and possibly terrifying. If they haven't read it, tell them about it. Remember what you're telling them and use it.
10. Treat yourself when you're done. The job sucks and you deserve a pat on the back.
11. It goes to eleven!
12. Write the one sentence version. Expand from there.
13. If you outline, grab the outline and trim it to the right size. Then edit for tone and format.
14. The rules can sometimes be bent. My WebMage outline was ten pages double spaced. Both agent(s) and editors were cool with this. Don't try this at home, i.e. without the approval of your agent if you've got one.
Anybody got a 15?
1. Learn how to do it. If your career ever takes off, it's likely to be an important and painful part of your life.
2. This is easiest if you can A, write several of them in quick order, and B, get your hands on someone else's synopsis to read and really thoroughly critique. Knowing what worked or didn't work for you in someone else's synopsis is a great learning tool. Doing this with several is better, and synopses that have sold books are probably best, especially if you can read the book at the same time. You needen't ever give the critique to the author, that's not why you're doing it.
3. The normal structural stuff: one inch margins, double spacing, etc.
4. The abnormal structural stuff: Present tense. Five pages is standard for most synopsis requests. For pitch sheets one page, (single spaced!?!-what's up with that?) is what I've been told is standard and how I do mine. different editors and agents often have different rules for these, so YMMV.
5. Dig through your favorite books. Read the dust jacket or back of book blurbs. Really study the ones that successfully represent the book in question. Try to write several of those for your book. Do the the same with the ones that strike you as bad. Pick the best of your sample and expand from there. Don't try to trim it down from the book.
6. Again, what's cool to you should drive the synopsis. But don't forget plot, character, setting, and theme.
7. Try to write it in the same style as the book, not the same voice necessarily, but a funny book should have a funny synopsis.
8. Pace and swear. No really, this helps. So does a long walk away from the computer where you mutter to yourself about what your story is really about.
9. Call your writing buddies. If they've read the book, ask them what they thinks its about. This will be enlightening and possibly terrifying. If they haven't read it, tell them about it. Remember what you're telling them and use it.
10. Treat yourself when you're done. The job sucks and you deserve a pat on the back.
11. It goes to eleven!
12. Write the one sentence version. Expand from there.
13. If you outline, grab the outline and trim it to the right size. Then edit for tone and format.
14. The rules can sometimes be bent. My WebMage outline was ten pages double spaced. Both agent(s) and editors were cool with this. Don't try this at home, i.e. without the approval of your agent if you've got one.
Anybody got a 15?
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