A Writer's Resolutions That Don't Include Writing

by Amy Sue Nathan

I'm an anti-resolutionist.  Mostly.  Last year I resolved not to continue teaching my teenagers a lesson by waiting for them to replace a roll of toilet paper, because the only one in the house it bothered, was me.  So I resolved to just do it.  Yes, like Nike, but without swish or athletic inclination.  And that's what I did.  And still do.  


The lesson I learned from my toilet paper resolution is that little things can make a big difference, and that my resolutions need to benefit me and me alone.  I do a lot of things for a lot of other people.  I tend to be last on my list, no matter how many Oprah episodes I watch. 


2010 was good to me, or more accurately, I was good to myself and good things happened in 2010.  And it's a trend I'd like to continue in 2011.  But setting mountainous goals backfires for me.  I'm a one-step-at-a-time, stop-to-smell-the-roses, inch-by-inch, cliche´ loving kinda gal.  So instead of resolving to finish that second novel and start the third, instead of resolving anything that is out of my control in regards to my novel that is out on submission, I'm thinking small.  And I'm thinking that small can lead to big things.  Or at least I'm hoping.


My writing resolutions for 2011 do not include writing.  But they will all affect my writing.  I hope.


First, I'm going to clean off my desk.  Second, I'm going to sit at it.  I often put the laptop atop my lap and I'm much more production in my ergonomic chair at my wooden desk with my little chachkes and photos and appropriate lighting.  Third, I'm going to start reading more blogs.  Maybe not every blog every day or even every week, but I'm going to expand my list of writing blogs because new words from new voices are inspiring.  Next, I'm going eat more fish.  I hear it's brain food and a little boost would not be a bad thing.  I also like it and know it's good for me.  I'm also going to continue my trend of doing my own nails.  No manicures (or only the occasional one) saves money, but having manicured nails means that when I am doing all the typing I do -- I'm not looking at scraggly hands.  I can write in pajamas or sweats, with my hair in a clip but if my nails are done -- because I can see them -- it's a good thing for my psyche.  Lastly, at least for now, I resolve to give myself a break.  A break to do something because blogging and tweeting and Facebooking and writing and editing.  It might be a General Hospital break or a coffee break or a book break or a dog break.  It might be a shopping break that doesn't include a grocery cart.  Stepping away can be the best way to get back in, or so I've heard.


With that in mind, STET! will see you Monday with a new year of new content, new contributors and good writing and publishing thoughts and words.


So, because it never gets old, SEE YOU NEXT YEAR! 


~~~~~


Amy Sue Nathan is a published writer, freelance editor and the editor of STET.  For more information see her website, now with 14 point type, because the 11 point type was getting old. 

Ready – Set – Action! by author Karen Dionne

I love action. Not in real life. In real life, I’m a writer, which means I spend 90% of my day sitting in front of my computer. Oh, once in a while I get up, stretch a little, put on my shoes, and walk out to the mailbox to see if the mailman happened to drop off a royalty check. Or I head into the kitchen for a drink of water or a cup of coffee and a cookie. But that’s about as exciting as my life gets.

Still, I love action. I love watching it on TV or on the big screen, and I love reading it. Give me a heart-thumping chase scene over an introspective walk in the woods any day. Too much exposition in a novel, too much description, too many paragraphs and pages going on and on about chaos theory, and I start flipping pages. (Sorry, Michael. Much as I loved Jurassic Park, I’m pretty sure I actually read only 3/4s of the book.)

I also love writing action. As a thriller writer, I get to blow things up. Burn things down. Maim, terrorize, and destroy. Get all the meanness out of my system and onto the page.

Action scenes are fun to write. There’s no lengthy introspection, no character development, no scene-setting or descriptions – just short, declarative sentences that propel the reader through the scene:

Her foot caught. She pulled. Pulled again. Looked up. Phillipe and Ross were still at the edge of the waterfall, still hanging on. She pulled again, reached beneath the water with one hand and jerked at the boot lace. The knot held, the lace wet and swollen. She pulled again, ripped at the knot. Tore her fingernails. Didn’t care.

Action verbs are exciting all on their own. Nobody runs – they dash, sprint, dart, spurt, race and tear through the scenes.

Action scenes are also the only time an author can indulge in what would normally be an appalling overuse of em-dashes and exclamation points:

Phillipe – Ross – struggling in the water – the hot, hot water – boiling up her ankles, her legs, her thighs – the helicopter ladder dangling the rescue sling – but Ross – Phillipe – they were in trouble – they needed her –

“Go!” Ross screamed as he struggled to hold on to her stepfather. “Grab the cable! We’re right behind you! Go – go – go!!”

“Sheila!” Rebecca screamed. “Hurry!”

But action is so much more than superficial wham-bam. If that’s all there was to it, then watching the roadrunner chase the coyote off a cliff would be as gripping as watching “Inception” or James Bond.

The reason action scenes get the heart thumping is not because they’re exciting. It’s because the reader cares about the characters.

Back when I was working on my first novel, that understanding hadn’t yet become clear. Three-quarters of the way through the book, I got stuck on a scene where my characters were drifting in a small, engineless boat toward a huge waterfall (no, not the same waterfall in the excerpts above – apparently, those Reader’s Digest “Drama in Real Life” stories about people going over Niagara Falls in a barrel made a deep impression on me when I was a child). No matter how I tried writing the scene, it felt artificial and cheesy. I knew the characters weren’t going to die, and since this scene took place three-quarters of the way through the book and these were the principal characters, I knew the reader would know the characters weren’t going to die, either. It all felt contrived and silly.

The one day, I suddenly realized that the characters didn’t know they weren’t going to die. It seems obvious now, but at the time, it was a revelation. I put myself in the characters’ heads, imagined the events as they were experiencing and feeling them, and the scene practically popped of the page.

Inadvertently, I’d discovered the key to writing a compelling action sequence. It’s not the short sentences or the strong action verbs or the exclamation points that carry the scene. It’s the emotion. Fear. Anxiety. Terror. Apprehension. Desperation. It’s us sitting in our comfortable armchairs feeling what the characters feel as they drift inexorably toward that waterfall that raises our adrenalin level. We’re not reading. We’re sitting beside them in the boat.

And that’s why I love action.

~~~~~

Karen Dionne is the internationally published author of Freezing Point, a science thriller nominated by RT Book Reviews as Best First Mystery of 2008. Her second environmental thriller, Boiling Point, about an erupting volcano, a missing researcher, and a radical scheme to end global warming, finishes with a 40-page action sequence that takes place in the caldera of an erupting volcano.  

It's Never Too Late For The Write Gift!

Did you miss our unique gifts for writers?  Take another look here.  And don't forget the gift that keeps on giving for 365 days...a membership to Backspace: The Writer's Place.  Click here for more information!


Here are a few reasons why it's the perfect gift for yourself or any writer you know:

"Backspace [is] an incredible online writers community THAT YOU SHOULD JOIN IMMEDIATELY!GO! NOW!" - Colleen Lindsay, formerly of FinePrint Literary Management

"I love being associated with you guys. Such a class act. Backspace is the pre-eminent writers organization because you guys have made it so." – Kristin Nelson, Nelson Literary Agency

"Backspace is the real deal - which is amply proved both by the quality of discourse within and the truly amazing hit-rate its members have already achieved." – Lee Child , New York Times best-selling author and Backspace conference faculty member

I just had a quick trawl. Gosh, I feel more like a writer just for having been in there for 5 minutes! I'll enjoy being a part of it, I'm sure. - Mike Coombes, author, editor NFG Magazine

I've had a look around, and am incredibly impressed with the level of discourse--there are a lot of smart people hanging around here. – Sarah Weinman, author, reviewer, crime fiction blogger (Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind)

There's No Such Thing As Too Many Books

Where do you keep your books? On shelves, in boxes, under the desk, by your favorite chair, in a special room, in every room? All of the above? 


You're not alone! So, if you haven't seen Bookshelf Porn, give yourself a treat and check it out. (And don't worry, it's office and family friendly.) 

The Art of Patience

by Rebbie Macintyre

In the November issue of Writer's Digest, Ken Follett, a master craftsman of a writer, passes along a tidbit for revision: go backwards.

After you finish the second or third or thirtieth draft, whenever you think you have your masterpiece finished, start from the last chapter and write a one sentence summary of what happens in that chapter. After you complete the process, finishing with Chapter One, look back at your summaries and read them for building reader expectations. Because by going backwards, you're seeing what you've built up for reader expectations and you'll also see if you fulfilled them. In other words: Did you set your reader up for one thing and then get diverted on a rabbit trail? Or did you set your reader up for something and then deliver?

I tried it with my current work and he's right. I had to go back and do some revision. I got lost on numerous rabbit trails for several chapters in a row.

Joyce Moore, a fellow Five Star author, has written a beautiful book about a beautiful art form: tapestry.

When I look at a tapestry, and remind myself of the incredible art work inherent in those ancient creations, I remind myself of the thousands of hours, and the miniscule steps it took to create that masterpiece.

I have to remind myself that patience is a segment of the creating process.

Just as the great tapestries were created one painstaking stitch at a time, our work as writers is created one word, sometimes one punctuation mark at a time. Sometimes going from back to front.

*****

Rebbie's two published novels are available through Amazon (and on Kindle) and Barnes and Noble. 

A CORNER OF UNIVERSE is Macintyre’s modern gothic tale will keep readers hooked until the surprising conclusion.-- Booklist reviews  

Her first book, CAST THE FIRST STONE was noted as cozy, but refreshing, with a distinctive, homey sense of place.-- Kirkus Reviews

Where Does Your Creativity Flow Besides The Page?

Does your writer creativity overflow into every part of your life?  Does it make a splash or does it trickle? 

If writing is not your only vocation, how does it impact the other things you do?   Are you a painter or an accountant or a teacher or a chef and does that writer-you filter through or have you built dams that keep it all separate? Do you have to keep it sectioned off? We could say it’s compartmentalizing but that makes it sound very psychological, and I think it’s not. I think it’s just how it is, no analysis or psychobabble or reasoning necessary.

All this goes along with there being many of each of us -- even if you are one of the lucky ones who writes full time.  You're not always writing, but you're always a writer.  Can you turn it off? Do you want to?     

Aside from the myriad of family labels, how many of you are there and, how do they affect each other? Or do they? 

I’m a Mom/Writer/Editor/Social Media Junkie…and trying to decide what else I am or want to be takes up a fair amount of my mental real estate. For a long time I was a (shh) scrapbooker. I've been an administrator and a preschool teacher. I am so not an accountant, though, just for the record.

For me I think that being a writer spills over into everything and means I can’t just jot off a blog post or a Twitter Tweet or a Facebook update without re-reading it and sometimes rewriting it, but always proofing it. It means that I sit waiting for my daughter to come out of school and I see someone I know who is wearing just the right outfit that would categorize a character just the way I want. It means that I play with words and language to a fault, just to get a reaction from someone sometimes. I compose my Facebook statuses to inform and entertain.  I collect quotes and consider creative license a God-given right, which doesn’t mean that I lie (I don’t) but I do make stuff up for fun and I only reveal the parts of any story I tell that move it along, and that are relevant, and that I want someone to know. I look for stories and essays under rocks and behind doors and within glances. People ask me to read what they've written and "fix" it even if they're writing to their cable company.  And I painstakingly compose notes to my daughter's teachers.

I guess I use my writerness to create the mash-up that is my life.  It also means I make up words. And I’m good with all of that.

You?

*****

Amy Sue Nathan is the lucky editor of and contributor to this blog, the editor of the Backspace newsletter and the fingers on the keyboard behind @bksp_org on Twitter and Backspace: The Writers Place on Facebook.  She is a freelance editor, a published freelance writer and a reader for Holly Root of the Waxman Agency. Her fiction is represented by Jason Yarn of the Paradigm Agency with her first novel currently on submission. She is also the mom of a college freshman, a high school sophomore and two very spoiled dogs. 

Handling Rejection at Arm's Length

by Mary Lindsey

Rejection is a part of life. Sad but true. Regardless of your profession or abilities, you will come face to face with rejection and it's rarely a pleasant experience.  

Writers have it pretty bad when it comes to rejection for two reasons: 1) They are trying to sell a product that is a part of themselves--something they care about that's personal, and 2) The rejection comes in writing.  

The best advice I can give is to not take it personally. Truly, that rejection is not aimed at the writer in a spiteful or even personal way. Often, it is a form letter sent to hundreds and sometimes thousands of other writers who have queried that agent or editor.  

On several occasions, I've received a personal message from a fellow writer ranting about how mean an agent was about his/her work in a rejection letter.  When I asked the author if I could see the letter (because I've never seen a mean rejection yet and was intrigued) I discovered it was nothing more than a typical form rejection--well crafted to appear personal, but not personalized at all.  The writer was creating a slight in his/her mind that didn't exist. In one case, I was able to produce the exact same letter with identical wording that I had received in response to my own submission to that agent months earlier. 

Because I'm only one person with one person's limited experience, I want to share some other writers' views on handling rejections.  

Jeremiah Tolbert is a science fiction writer and editor for Escape Pod. I love his article, An Editor's Perspective on Rejection (Click on title to read). Mr. Tolbert addresses his approach to rejection as both a writer and an editor.  His take?  It's not personal and don't expect a rejection to be writing advice. 

Satire author Simon Haynes wrote an article on this subject called, Rejection of the Literary Kind, which should be required reading for unpublished writers seeking representation.  

Mr Haynes proposes that the road to publication can be pictured something like this:   

Mr. Haynes also addresses a recurring theme in my conversations with writer. Often, I am asked why an agent doesn't tell a writer what is wrong with the work. I know of several agents who used to do that, but had such negative responses from a few writers, they've stopped giving feedback on anything but fulls and even then, they are careful because some writers fire angry responses back. I find it hard to believe, but there are agents who have received death threats because of rejections. Sickening.  

On this subject, Mr. Haynes writes:

Of course, agents who gave honest feedback would be swamped by a tsunami of vitriol from aggrieved and hurting writers, which is why they don't do this. 

Literary agent Nathan Bransford is one of my favorite bloggers when it comes to helping a writer handle the hardships of the road to publication.  He addresses how to respond to rejections in his blog post, About Those Follow-Up Questions After a Rejection...

Mr. Bransford explains why he gives form rejections and doesn't respond to questions regarding his rejections:

I know. My standard query rejection letters are just as ambiguous and unhelpful as every other agent's (except that if you personalize your letter to me I'll personalize mine back). I know you're left hanging, that you'd like some leads, some more info... anything more than what I'm able to give you.

But I'm sorry -- my response is my response. That's it. I get 6,000-7,000 queries a year. I can't provide tips or referrals or answer further questions to even a small portion of these, or else I'd do nothing but answer queries and query questions. I have to delete follow-up questions so I can move on with my day. I mean, I can't even respond to say I'm not responding, simply because that alone would be such a huge time suck. So I just delete them.

I guess my point is this: Yes, it's difficult for a writer to be told that the novel/book/story she has delved into her heart to produce is not right for an agent's list. Even so, a writer must learn how to deal with this rejection and use it in a positive way, not take it as a personal affront. Publishing is a business. A hard one. As the old saying goes: "The only thing all published authors have in common is that the didn't give up."  

One of my books is in submission with publishers. Realistically, I will receive rejections (my agent will be receiving them as well. See? Agents get rejection letters too). How will I handle it?  The same way I handled agent rejection letters. I understand that it is not me the editor will be rejecting, but my book. Not all my books--just this one. And I've got a lot more books in me.  

I believe that in order to make it, all writers, new or established, must believe in themselves and their talent. 

Hold those rejections at arm's length and don't let them close to your heart.  

Do you have a technique/trick/tip for handling rejection? I'd love to hear about it in the comments.  

*****

Mary Lindsey writes paranormal fiction and lives on the Texas Gulf Coast with her husband, three kids, two dogs, her daughter's pet rats, an Australian Bearded Dragon and dozens of Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches. (The roaches are long story—don't ask.)

Mary is represented by the Erin Murphy Literary Agency. Her young adult paranormal romance, SHATTERED SOULS (Philomel/Penguin), is scheduled for release Fall 2011.

Prior to attending University of Houston Law School, Mary received a B.A. in English Literature with a minor in Drama from the University of Houston. She's taught drama and playwriting in a large public high school and English in a private school. Currently, she teaches acting to children and teens at a private studio. She's a member of The Writer's League of Texas, SCBWI, RWA and WH-RWA.

Mary can also be found on her website or blog.

An Interview with MJ Rose - Part II

An Interview with MJ Rose - continued. Don't forget, MJ's "Buzz Your Book!" 6-week online class will only be held once in 2011, starting January, 11th. The class is filling up fast, but there is still room. Register today!

With so many authors promoting their books on the Internet, how can an author get readers' attention?

By not going after your reader in all the obvious places and by really targeting your reader with a very specific message.

If you have a mystery about a woman who dies when a Mercedes runs her over – don’t just go after mystery reviewers and bloggers etc – go find people who drive Mercedes cars!

What’s the biggest change (positive or negative) that you’ve witnessed with regard to authors and/or publishers promoting their books?

I was the creative director of a big NYC ad agency before I got into publishing. It was eleven years ago. I remember asking my agent to tell the my publisher I didn’t want the advance check – but instead wanted them to put it into more advertising for the book.

She asked. They said they had never heard of anyone doing that and wouldn’t know how to do it.

The way things are now is both positive – in that we have some ability to shape our own careers – and negative because its expensive and hard to do and complicated and it takes away from why we do this – to write.

Self-publishing seems to have taken root the last few years, with some estimates as high as 750,000 self-published books hitting the market each year. What challenge do you think is the greatest for self-pub’d authors to overcome?

The sheer number of books – how does anyone break out, stand out? More than ever every authors self or traditionally published – authors have to write the very very very best book they can.

Follow-up to above: Do you feel there are certain circumstances when it might make sense to self-publish vs traditional publishing, and vice-versa?

When it makes the most sense: a non-fiction author with a small niche market book where the author has access to the audience all the time is a great time to self-pub. A breast feeding truck driver who has written a book about breast feeding while driving trucks who speaks at 10 conferences a year to a total audience of 70,000 other breast feeding truck drivers can do much better on her own selling books at those conferences.

When it makes the least:  a novelist who wants a long term career as a novelist. Despite the huge digital market and self-publishing options publishers still have so much more to offer a writer. From editing to cover design to the distribution and getting your book display space. There are very very very few fiction writers who chose to self publish given a chance to sign with a good publisher. I’ve only heard of three or four authors who turned down a good publishing offer to self publish a novel.

What is the single most important piece of advice you would give to an author whose debut novel is slated for release in one year?

Learn as much as you can about the business. Talk to other authors. Talk to your agent and your publisher. Fid out what they are doing. Ask them honestly to tell you what they hope you can do.  Start six months before publication to make plans.

Don’t hire a publicist unless you are sure you have a book that can get news.

Don’t hire anyone to help you until you get recommendations – make sure whoever you hire is really legit.

Don’t put all your marketing/publicity budget into a website. A website can be as simple as a free blog these days.

Don’t start a blog unless you want to really spend time working it. Guest blogging can be more effective.

Don’t confuse social networking with marketing – you can’t sell on social networks – you can get to know people and network and you can use them but you have to be careful and go slow.

Figure out your limits. You cannot do everything, be everywhere, and know it all.

Manage your expectations. Have realistic goals.

I think our jobs as writers is to keep writing the best books we can until we write the right book at the right time—the one the publisher can get behind and give that magic push to.

For some of us that will be our first novel; for others, our 10th; and some of us will never get it—not for lack of trying or talent, but rather, because our timing just doesn't sync up.

So I don't think we should compare ourselves to each other. That's just inviting madness. Who gets the push is all too often not about talent at all but rather the fit of the book and the market and what the stores say they want and the fads and foibles of the day.

Who are some of your favorite authors?

I have a whole list of them at Peroozal.com – it’s a great site – in beta now – where authors recommend authors they love.

*****

Articles and an interview that expound on a lot of these issues:

LitPark: Interview with MJ Rose - TheNervousBreakdown.com

Are We Being Printed or Published? by M.J. Rose

How Lucky Can You Get? by M.J. Rose 

*****

About M.J. Rose

 

M.J. Rose, is the international bestselling author of 10 novels; Lip Service, In Fidelity, Flesh Tones, Sheet Music, Lying in Bed, The Halo Effect, The Delilah Complex, The Venus Fix, The Reincarnationist, and The Memorist.

 

Rose is also the co-author with Angela Adair Hoy of How to Publish and Promote Online, and with Doug Clegg of Buzz Your Book.

She is a founding member and board member of International Thriller Writers and the founder of the first marketing company for authors: AuthorBuzz.com. She runs two popular blogs; Buzz, Balls & Hype and Backstory.

Getting published has been an adventure for Rose who self-published Lip Service late in 1998 after several traditional publishers turned it down. Editors had loved it, but didn't know how to position it or market it since it didn't fit into any one genre.

Frustrated, but curious and convinced that there was a readership for her work, she set up a web site where readers could download her book for $9.95 and began to seriously market the novel on the Internet.

After selling over 2500 copies (in both electronic and trade paper format) Lip Service became the first e-book and the first self-published novel chosen by the LiteraryGuild/Doubleday Book Club as well as being the first e-book to go on to be published by a mainstream New York publishing house.

Rose has been profiled in Time magazine, Forbes, The New York Times, Business 2.0, Working Woman, Newsweek and New York Magazine.

Rose has appeared on The Today Show, Fox News, The Jim Lehrer NewsHour, and features on her have appeared in dozens of magazines and newspapers in the U.S. and abroad, including USAToday, Stern, L'Official, Poets and Writers and Publishers Weekly.

Rose graduated from Syracuse University and spent the '80s in advertising. She was the Creative Director of Rosenfeld Sirowitz and Lawson and she has a commercial in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC.

 

She lives in Connecticut with Doug Scofield, a composer, and their very spoiled dog, Winka.