Rebecca Kennedy's Blog

Amazon's Stores, John Locke's Simon and Schuster Deal: Hints of the Future of Publishing?

2012-02-06T17:42:00.000-06:00

Seems there are rumors that Amazon.com will be opening brick and mortar stores. Exactly what the inventory would be sold there is the big question; eBookNewswer wonders about a place you would enter just to see what was available, but you wouldn't take the book home with you -- you'd order it.

Interesting, isn't it? There's all those empty Border's stores ready to go, after all....

Meanwhile, John Locke has entered into a deal with Simon & Schuster where he has his indie book Wish List being sold as a mass market paperback by the publishing house - but Locke is shown as the publisher.

Which apparently means that the publishing house has made a deal for its distribution channels and marketing abilities with traditional publication deal thrown in for the mass market paperbacks. Telemachus Press will still be responsible for the actual printing of the ebooks, as they have been doing for John Locke for years now. (For more info, check out the comment from Claudia at Telemachus Press, below.)

So, we have Amazon moving into physical stores and one of the biggest indie authors making deals with a traditional publishing house - for distribution.

Looks to me that these are hints that the publishing industry is growing and changing, but that ways are being found to keep our beloved print books and the sanctuary that is the local book store alive and kicking while the boom of indie publishing is allowed to bloom.

At least I hope so.

Reading Great Writers – James Lee Burke for Setting

2012-01-06T09:56:00.000-06:00

I’ve just finished James Lee Burke’s Feast Day of Fools. It’s not a short read and it’s a violence one (no surprise, right?) but here’s the thing: you can learn so much from this guy.

I’m re-reading it now, marking things up, because he’s just so darn good at describing things. Like the bleak horizons down on the Texas border with Mexico. The colors, the sounds, you get the idea.

There’s one scene, where a sociopath has taken his victim (I’m trying to avoid a spoiler here) out to his personal killing field and as the evildoer parks his “gas guzzler” and exits the car to walk back and open the truck where his victim has been tossed … well. Not much word count, and I can still hear those boots moving, the sound of the truck opening, the barren surroundings, the breathing of the bound man. Creeps me out.

I’m not using his vocabulary.

You need to read it for yourself. Feast Day of Fools.

Amazingly good stuff.

Dictionary.com: Great Site Offering Oodles of Info

2011-11-14T11:25:00.001-06:00

Dictionary.com is one of my favorite sites, and not just for the ease of an online dictionary. The site itself is fun and informative - and it's a great place to get that writer brain in gear after you've checked the email and made the coffee (along with crossword puzzles).

For example, today's Dictionary.com has a quiz asking me to name the protagonists of several famous novels. Cool.

Tabs at the top take me to a nice Thesaurus and a really fun feature for word lovers, WordDynamo. Admittedly, I may love WordDynamo because ... well ... I'm really good at it. Considering I can't dance well at all and the only time I sing in tune is in the car or the shower, where of course I am GREAT, being a wizard at WordDynamo feels pretty darn good.

Okay. Enough. Back to work for me. You? You might want to check out Dictionary.com.

Kindle EBooks Available for Checkout at Public Library: How I Checked Out Kindle Ebooks from San Antonio Public Library: Easy and Fun

2011-11-10T13:27:00.001-06:00

Kindle ebooks can be checked out from your local library via Overdrive, if your library is connected with Overdrive - and if you have an active membership with your local library, of course.

Benefits?

Well, I checked out a book to read late at night last week, long after the library was closed and because I wanted to read something other than what was on my Reading Stack of print books.

Here's what I did:

1. I went to my local library's home page.

2. I surfed through the databases to electronic resources.

3. I got to this page, which is my library's page within the Overdrive site: http://sanantonio.lib.overdrive.com/2A285962-18C3-49B1-BCE0-76938835FEBD/10/417/en/Error.htm?ErrorType=130

4. I signed into Overdrive using my local library user name and password.

5. I surfed through the e-stacks, looking for available books (they'll give you all the books in your topic (mine was mysteries) even though some are already checked out and all you can do is place a hold on them).

6. I chose the book I wanted to read. (I was surprised at the selection, and it appears to be growing each month - if I'm reading my monthly library newsletter right.)

7. I went to Amazon.com, chose Manage My Kindle, and went through the steps there to make sure the book was downloaded onto my Kindle (I had a WiFi issue that was quickly resolved).

There. Easy Peasy.

I'm Honored to Be Accepted as a Book Reviewer for Library Journal

2011-11-07T16:34:00.001-06:00

As of October 2011, I am a book reviewer for Library Journal. I've been vetted and approved by Library Journal and I've signed the official contract, too. Which means, yes, I believe that I will receive a free print book as part of the reviewing process. And, no, that doesn't mean that I will automatically give a favorable, thumbs up review in exchange for the freebie. Who does that?

As for Library Journal itself, below is brief description of the publication from the publisher's web site. I'm quite proud to be contributing here, and thought I would share this with you, Dear Reader.

From Media Source, Inc.:

Founded in 1876, Library Journal is one of the oldest and most respected publications covering the library field. Over 100,000 library directors, administrators, and staff in public, academic, and special libraries read LJ. In its twenty annual issues, Library Journal reviews nearly 7,000 books, and provides coverage of technology, management, policy, and other professional concerns.

Kindle Format 8 Announced by Amazon - the Debut of KF8 and What it Means To You

2011-11-02T10:53:00.001-05:00

Ebook publishing just got some big news: Amazon is changing the way it does things to allow for more graphic and image friendly e-books with its new Kindle Format 8. If you are publishing for Kindle, does that mean a major re-do headache? Apparently not.

Right now, Format 8 will be introduced on Amazon Fire and as time passes, it will also be placed upon other Kindle products ... "the latest generation" of Kindle devices, according to the Amazon FAQ page.

What happens to my Kindle - the one I bought a year ago? I'm not sure right now.

What about my Mobi files? According to Amazon, all "currently supported content" will be okay, no need to panic about changing your stuff over to the new KF8. However, Amazon is going to be giving instructions on how to do just that in its Kindle Publishing Guidelines (tho that's not online just yet).

For more scoop, check out the Kindle Forums as well as TechCrunch (who points out that with KF8, Amazon products can be read on an iPad); and Webmonkey (who discusses the possibility that KF8 will allow ebooks to be placed on the web itself, since KF8's incorporattion of HTML5 essentially allows for ebooks to be built in the same way as a web page).

Kindle Daily Deal - I Check It Everyday but Do I Buy? Not So Much.

2011-11-01T17:01:00.001-05:00

The Kindle Daily Deal is cool ... every day, Amazon offers a book at a rock-bottom price, if you're willing to read it on a Kindle. Amazon tries to juggle the offerings, give everyone something they like.

Maybe that's what is happening. I'm checking the Kindle Daily Deal every morning. But I'm not tempted to buy very often.

I think I have purchased two Daily Deals so far - one was a biography of Bonhoeffer, the other I can't remember right now. So I'm wondering what this means.

Is it because I'm not interested in buy most of what they are offering at the Daily Deal? Or, is it because I'm only interested in buying certain things as an ebook because, after all, I'm really only buying a license and not the book itself? Maybe a little of both.

Still, Kindle Daily Deal remains a fun thing to check every morning, before I do my daily crossword. Maybe you'll like it too, if you haven't checked it out already, Dear Reader.

books, ebooks, amazon, kindle

Librarians Fighting Back Against Big Budget Cuts

2011-10-31T17:37:00.001-05:00

When I was very young, shortly after my father died, I remember my mother instituting a Friday night ritual. She would pick me up after school, and we would go to the local branch of the public library. I could check out as many books as I wanted! She would, too. We would each roam the stacks, selecting carefully. We might sit in the big chairs, too, and read awhile. Afterwards, we would go Out To Eat. Usually, to a small Mom and Pop Chinese Food Place that I still remember as being so exotic with its red and gold dragons and silk kimono wall hangings. I could drink hot tea out of a little ceramic bowl, and I could bring one book into the restaurant with me. Such a decision.

That little branch library was such a special place for me. I was 7 years old, in a new city and a new school and with a mother who wasn't dealing all that well at all with the loss of her husband. Books. Books are one thing. They are friends, sometimes lifelong companions. Teachers, too. But libraries. Libraries are sanctuaries, treasure caves, shrines. Libraries are important. Important at all times, but especially these days.

I follow the news about budget cuts to public libraries with dread and fear and that small girl in me is afraid for her library. For the libraries beloved by other folk, in other parts of the country. What will happen? Consider this: in Texas this summer, funding to state libraries was cut by 88% (yes, eighty-eight percent; that's no typo).

So, it's very nice to learn about Librarians Fighting Back -- like those this week up in Chicago, where they not only signed a petition against budget cuts, but they also had a "Story Time" down at City Hall, where the librarians read books to the kids, right there on the threshold of the Mayor's Office. Cool stuff.

books libraries economy

Revenge on ABC TV: Tracking How It Rehashes Dumas' Count of Monte Cristo

2011-10-03T11:48:00.000-05:00

After reading the script from the TV pilot, offered as a promo by ABC TV on Amazon long before the TV series Revenge began, I already caught that the writers were rehashing one of my favorites: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas.

I'm not the only one who thinks so: HitFlix agrees (and isn't impressed), and a blurb at E!Online calls Revenge "a modern reimagining" of the Dumas novel.

Over at Shnugi.com, they are monitoring Revenge as it plays out every Wednesday, tracking how the show follows along with the Count. It's fun; check it out at their post, Characters from ABC’s Revenge compared to the Count of Monte Cristo. In fact, knowing the Dumas' novel may help make Revenge a better show for those of us that know the book than for those who haven't read it. (Or I suppose, seen one of the gazillion movie versions of it.)

I agree with Shnugi: Emily Thorne is the revenge-seeking Count of Monte Cristo; however, now she's a girl, Amanda Clarke aka Emily. That's not hard. After that, it's still early -- and very fun to try and figure out how they're going to cram all that good stuff from the book into this miniseries. Like how Edmond Dantes sought his own revenge, but here you have the victim of betrayal dead and his daughter planning vengeance. (Sure, the book is better.)

For instance, is Shnugi right: is Emily Thorne going to be Benedetto? Hmmmm.......

Meanwhile, if you want to read the book upon which Revenge is based, you can read the Count of Monte Cristo right now, for free. It's available at Amazon, for example, as a freebie (there's lots more freebies and great deals there, by the way: check out my post over on my simplicity blog on that score, "Amazon's Top 100 Free EBooks - There are Some Great Bargains Here.")

National Novel Writing Month Begins on November 1, 2011: Will You Participate?

2011-10-02T12:09:00.001-05:00

In less than 30 days, it will once again be National Novel Writing Month ("NaNoWriMo"). For all the official information, check out the homepage where things are provided like FAQs, Forums, Breaking News, etc.

What's it all about? Writing 50,000 words in 30 days time. As a fiction novel. Or, I suppose a non-fiction novel works just as well: the key is to get a novel done, first draft, start to finish within the time frame of November 1st to November 30th.

You're not alone. People all over the place take up the NaNoWriMo gauntlet each year. There are local groups that get together to write at coffee shops, for example, supporting each other in getting that word count.

In addition to the help provided at the official web site, there's also a Facebook page for National Novel Writing Month as well as a Twitter feed that's begun already as "sprints" during October, to prepare participants for the November word marathon. Interested? Check it out at @NaNoWordSprints.

I haven't decided if I will participate this year. Mulling it over.

books, writing, nanowritmo

More Classics Being Made Revamped Into Scripts For Movies

2011-09-12T14:18:00.001-05:00

After learning about The Count of Monte Cristo getting new life as a nighttime TV soap, and yet another version of Anna Karenina for the big screen (right after Jane Eyre), I surfed around today to see what other books are being turned into scripts for movies or television.

Here's what I found out: BuzzSugar has a nice slideshow of 15 movies that are being made from books right now.

These include two more remakes of films already made from novels:

Dashiel Hammett's The Thin Man (Johnny Depp in the shoes of William Powell)
F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio in the shoes of Robert Redford.

I'm praying now that no one has any big ideas about remaking Gone With the Wind. Or Rebecca. Or Double Indemnity.

I couldn't find a list of books being made into TV shows. We already know about Bones and Castle, for example. Surely there are more....

The Literary Character Test: I'm Scarlett O'Hara, Who Are You?

2011-09-09T19:39:00.000-05:00

This was fun. I took the Literary Character Test (you can too, go here) and here's the result:

Your result for The Literary Character Test ...

Scarlett O'Hara

Good, Epic, Straight Forward Thinker

You are basically good. Overcoming selfish desires or cruel ways, you focus on doing the right thing, when possible, and acting in a way to benefit everyone. You think like a champion. Regardless of your skills, you strongly feel you can use them to their greatest ability. Your persona is indomitable, you are a true believer. You think straightforwardly. You don’t feel you need to weigh too many options, neither do you feel the need to plan to far ahead, but instead take the simplest and straightest path toward your goals.
Proud to the point of haughty and determined to the point of recklessness, Scarlett O'Hara will not let anything stand in her way of taking care of those around her. Her determination is a key to her character, and when it is set, no bonds of war, man, or even emotion can stop her. As if to exemplify her resolve, her resolute mantra simply is "After all, tomorrow another day."

New Remake of "Anna Karenina" with Keira Knightley in the Lead. Yikes.

2011-09-08T19:21:00.000-05:00


Greta Garbo as Anna (1948).

Yesterday, I was writing here about the Count of Monte Cristo being turned into the ABC drama series "Revenge," which starts airing this month -- and today, I read that there's going to be another remake of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, this time starring Keira Knightley.

You remember her, she's the actress that played Elizabeth Bennet in a 2005 remake of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

Jude Law is going to play Alexei Alexandrovich Karenin (Anna's husband) and Aaron Johnson is in the role of Count Vronsky (Anna's lover). I checked IMDb, but so far there's no word on who is going to play Konstantin Dmitrievitch Levin.

My first thoughts:

I recently read Anna Karinina (see post here) and it's still pretty fresh in my mind. Having read this movie news on Nikke Finke's blog, I'm not sure what to think. I'm not overjoyed.

I have no idea who Aaron Johnson is ... but he better be really something if Jude Law, of all people, is the guy that Anna dumps for him.
As I recall, you didn't get thru the first three chapters before you learned that Anna was much younger than her husband, and that he wasn't all that handsome. I don't see how they are going to ugly-up Jude Law for this one. So, I'm puzzled by Law's casting.
Which brings me to the female lead: I don't see Keira Knightley as Anna. It's not working for me. Maybe it's that Anna seemed older to me than Keira Knightley when the story began ... maybe in her early 30s? I see Catherine Zeta-Jones here more than the star of the Pirates movie franchise.
One key character for me is Levin. Who's getting to play Levin? I'm scared to think about it.

I suppose I should be happy that Hollywood is going back to the classics for new material given the lack of movies I thought were worth my moola over the past few years. Thing is, tho, with a classic there comes the reader's love of the story ... and it feels sorta personal.

We'll see, I guess.

ABC Promotes New TV Show Revenge Thru Kindle, What Does This Do to EBooks? And Where's the Hat Tip to Dumas?

2011-09-07T16:10:00.000-05:00

Right now, for free, you can download the script for the pilot episode of ABC TV's new series, "Revenge." Get the script, and you get a link to watch the pilot episode online, also at no cost to you.

Two things that I'm taking from this:

1. New ways of using Kindle ebooks are popping up, and here's one: promotion of TV shows (and I assume movies in the future) through Kindle and its Top 100 Free list. Because that's where you'll get the exposure, right? What this does to Kindle, I'm not sure. What this does to ebook publishing, ditto. However, I must admit that I did download the script and I did read it. Afterwards, I thought it seemed familiar ... so I went surfing around, and sure enough, it was.

2. This story seems to be culled from one of my childhood favorites, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. Change the protagonist to a young blonde female, move the story from France and Italy to the Hamptons, streamline some of the complicated plotting in the original and voila: a new, heavily promoted piece of entertainment that just might sell its products well considering that Dumas' original has proven itself so popular with so many for such a long time.

Go to the ABC site and you don't see anything referencing The Count of Monte Cristo. Read the reviews of the script over at Amazon.Com, and most of the reviewers perceive the new show as another nighttime soap, comparing it to the revamped Dallas that will be airing this fall.

However, if this new series is successful, then I think we will be seeing the e-book selections peppered with all sorts of things that are promotional in nature. Lord help us all.

Must Read: Joe Konrath's Take on The Impact of E-Books Upon the Quality of What You Can Find to Read

2011-07-07T17:17:00.003-05:00

Once again, Joe Konrath has written something everyone (writers and readers, which I assume is almost everyone on the planet) should read, and here's how his latest greatest begins:

Some people believe the ease of self-publishing means that millions of wannabe writers will flood the market with their crummy ebooks, and the good authors will get lost in the morass, and then family values will go unprotected and the economy will collapse and the world will crash into the sun and puppies and kittens by the truckload will die horrible, screaming deaths.

Continue reading "The Tsunami of Crap," his July 5, 2011 post on his great blog, A Newbie's Guide to Publishing....

How to Write a Book in 90 Days: The Book, The Plan

2011-06-27T16:36:00.000-05:00

I've ordered the Kindle version of Sarah Domet's book 90 Days to Your Novel: a Day by Day Plan for Outlining and Writing Your Book. I've read it.

Now, I'm going getting serious about following the path established in this book, because it's smart and it's hard and it makes good sense. What Sarah Domet has written speaks to me -- I think I've found the approach that jives with how I work. Not all do, I'm sure you know what I mean.

This is all about my writing fiction, and this means I am going to have to add this time commitment to my current working day, which involves writing and editing nonfiction work as well as providing consulting services for lawyers writing blogs and using social media.

The book opines that you will need to find two hours a day to meet its 90 day deadline. Okay. Two hours; I can find them.

The book demands an outline, although it gives you optional approaches to outlining. I like outlining, I like planning in advance. I love lists. I love lists of lists, it's that bad. So, this is good for me. It might not be as welcome to someone like Robin Lee Hatcher, who likes to write and find out how the story develops as she goes.

We'll see.

One last thing. You can keep reading about writing, studying trends, learning markets and publishers and agents ... but then there comes the day when you have to put your foot down. No more. No more preparation, whether or not you feel like you're ready to go, there comes a time to move forward.

At some point, you've got to write instead of learning about writing, thinking about writing, dreaming up plots and making friends with characters.

Here goes.

Of course, you know what happens. Just as I find the link for this post on Amazon, what pops up? How to Write a Book in 90 Days, God's Way by Henry Abraham. Now, do I read it or stick to my guns? Arrrgggghhhh.

I'm Reading Anna Karenina and Remembering the Timeliness of Great Books

2011-06-17T10:25:00.000-05:00

I started reading Anna Karenina (see previous post) on Kindle and learned something right off: there are certain things I want to read on Kindle (or any screen) and things that I most certainly don't. Call me Old School, call me picky.

This week, I stopped by the Half Price books and got a great copy of Anna Karenina that is the right size and weight. It's a big book and I don't want one that is cumbersome; I want one that is easy to flip back and forth when I want to go back and re-read something, and I need quality paper that can withstanding my highlights and note taking (yes, I'm one of those). Usually, college-targeted versions serve me well, and that's what I got this time. It's an oversized, quality paperback meant for students and I love it.

The eerie thing about reading Anna Karenina right now - and there are some eerie things - include it's opening sentence:

"All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."

Wow. Love it, and it's so topical what with the daily news blast of Casey Anthony's trial, especially since the defense has just begun putting on their case.

The first few chapters delve into a man who has had an affair with the children's governess and now the wife has found out and is packing to leave (though we know she's really not going anywhere). Suddenly there's a news break about Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver - and the news that he's the father of their former maid's son.

No, I'm not far enough into the book yet for Anna to appear on the scene. She should be here any minute; Vronsky's just been revealed as Levin's rival for the hand of Kitty.

It's true, I know it already: this is a great read. Is it the best book ever written? I don't know that I can agree with that accolade yet ... but I know one thing: one of the keys of great books, in my opinion, is how they span the ages with truths that are as applicable today as the day they were written. A great writer's wisdom is timeless and rare, I think.

Anna Karenina in the first few chapters is already resonating with the world I'm living in today. That's a good sign.

Here's Why I'm Reading Anna Karenina

2011-06-08T20:10:00.000-05:00

Roaming around the web this week, I stumbled upon a list of books that famous authors considered to their favorite books, which corresponds with an actual book on these lists-- The Top Ten: Writers Pick Their Favorite Books.

It's only $9.76 for a Kindle edition. There's a blog, too.

Anyway, I had discovered the Top Ten list from all their collective selections -- and there was Tolstoy's Anna Karenina at the top. Number One. Anna Karenina, really?

All these different, successful writers had chosen this book as the best of the best, the creme of the creme. Ever read it?

No, me neither, I'm not ashamed to admit. (I did see Vivien Leigh in the 1948 movie version, but I hated the ending and after all, Anna was no Scarlett. I like survivors, I am one.)

Still, here I was - wanting a good book, one of those that keep you up at night, and here this was: this list. So, I went over to Amazon and guess what? Right now, Anna Karenina, Kindle version, is FREE.

It was a sign. So, right now I'm reading Anna Karenina. I hope they're all right.

Book Review: Zoe Winters' Smart Self-Publishing: Becoming an Indie Author

2011-05-26T10:08:00.000-05:00

I wish I had stumbled upon Smart Self-Publishing: Becoming an Indie Author by Zoe Winters long before now. If you are researching publishing your own e-books, then this is a must-buy. (It's less than five bucks if you own a Kindle.)

Zoe Winters writes an easy-to-read, exceptional overview of indie publishing that not only gives a great broad-based education of the whole process but also entertains you with personal tips and asides.

She's funny and informative - a great teacher, a good read.

My only negative: I wish she would write more on the subject, but I understand her announced need to focus on writing fiction. It's just too darn bad that we cannot anticipate a Smart Self-Publishing II.

Soon We Will Check Out Kindle Books From the Library. Good.

2011-05-03T13:41:00.000-05:00

This is good news. Amazon is recognizing the local public library, and "Kindle Library Lending" was debuted a couple of weeks ago by the Seattle-based company which makes the Kindle e-reader. Before now, Kindles only read books that you purchased from Amazon (or downloaded, it's true that you can get loads of stuff for free from Amazon's Kindle selection).

Kindle Library Lending is going to launch later in 2011 -- I'm guessing late in the Fall. Once it's up and running, those who own a Kindle e-reader will be able to borrow Kindle books from their local library (assuming that your local library is participating). What's really happening is that Amazon is working with OverDrive to make its publications OverDrive-friendly.

Cool thing: you'll be able to highlight and note as you read, and even after the book goes back, your Kindle notes and highlights will remain for you to use. That's nice.

Amazon's press release mentions "over 11,000 libraries in the United States" are on board. Is that a lot?

Will it include the San Antonio Public Library? Yes -- because the SAPL offers OverDrive publications - the SAPL branches are considered "digital branches" by OverDrive (go to the OverDrive site and input your zip code to learn if your library will be offering Kindle ebooks to you).

Six Days And Counting Till My Standing Desk Arrives

2011-04-12T17:39:00.000-05:00

From Amazon.com:
Techni Mobili Mobile Laptop MDF Cart
(shown in for setting and standing)

Writing means sitting on your keister for long periods of time, obvious to anything but what is in your mind and on the screen. Which is great for getting things done, but very bad for your back, your neck, your legs - and fine. Your butt.

So, I've ordered a standing desk. I'm so excited about it that I'm not even bothered that the customer reviews discussed around an one hour assembly time. Eww. But I'm not thinking about that. After all, it comes with its own screwdriver. Isn't that sweet of them?

In fact, it is becoming insane over here on the Planet Reba because I'm actually counting the days till this thing arrives. I've already rearranged furniture for it. I'm pondering whether or not it should have a name. My car does. My computers do.

And, look! There's room for my tea mug on that little shelf, as well as my wireless mouse. (I hate laptop mice.) Adorable. And it has wheels! It's so smart, too....

What is the word for giving personalities to inanimate objects? Because I'm doing this. It's like my new sidekick is coming. My executive assistant.

My own Jeeves. Watson. Friday. Ethel.

I'm only hoping that I don't go all Wintour and end up throwing my coat and purse on this thing.

Being Accountable for your Word Count: The 250, 500, 1000 Words a Day Challenge

2011-03-21T14:34:00.000-05:00

From reading Zoe Winters' blog, I've discovered InkyGirl's challenge to us all: to write a minimum number of words, six days a week.

Not planning on it. Not procrastinating, running totals to the next day, so that Friday afternoon you're facing a gazillion words to meet your self-imposed word count tally.

Nope. Doing it.

I write for a living. However, I have the dream of writing fiction (hence, this blog) and I'm thinking it's a good idea to take up InkyGirl's challenge and Zoe Winter's example and start doing it.

It will be fun.
It will make me happy (happier).

It's important to move forward in life, and I believe that I have stories to tell. Things to share that are worth the reader's time.

So, I'm going to commit to 250 words a day. Fiction. Six days a week.

You can see it in the sidebar over there. And if I can figure out the wordcount measure that Zoe Winters has on her blog, I'm going to include it in the sidebar over there, too.

No pressure.
No worries.

Kindle, Nook Color, Sony Pocket: My EReader Conversion

2011-03-16T16:19:00.000-05:00

Kindle 3G Wifi
sold at Amazon
for $180 new, refurbished
for much less

Six months ago, I had no ebook reader and no interest in buying one. What with technology advancing so rapidly, my plan was to wait for the next wave - which I assumed would be the next generation of IPad.

Maybe. Part of me just didn't like the idea of an electronic book. I'd stick with print, thank you very much. If tablets advanced that they served other purposes for me and they were great e-readers as a bonus, then great. I could wait.

Then I got a Nook Color for Christmas and everything changed.

I enjoyed the Nook Color for the two weeks last December that I went through three different Nooks before getting a cash refund. I liked the color screen, the size, and the ability to immediately download books ... but each time, the Nooks I had went nutzo. They started automatically scrolling ahead in the book, as well as highlighting random words. It was almost as if the Nook Color was possessed, or controlled remotely. Crazy stuff.

But I had the fever after that two weeks with Nook Color. So did I get a Kindle then? Nope. Got a Sony Pocket Reader.

It's cute, and I like the screen on the Sony Reader. It's great that I can download books from the public library. It's terribly bad that there's very little to choose from at the Sony Store. Not much inventory there.

So, I bought a Kindle 3G with WiFi one afternoon at Best Buy.

And, I adore my Kindle. I love the selection available to me. I love that at three in the morning, I can shop Amazon for books. I love that there are great books for free or very, very low cost. Connecting to the internet is fast, downloading is fast. The battery lasts a good, long time -- I'm thinking that I recharge once every 2-3 weeks (lasts longer if you keep the wireless connection turned off until you need it).

Do I still use the Sony Reader?
Yes. I like it, too. I prefer using the wand to highlight sections of the text that Sony lets me do over the Kindle's text blocking. Easier, faster. Plus, I want to support the local library's expanding ebook collection and I can download the borrowed ebooks via Sony's ereader (no can do with Kindle).

Do I buy more books because of Kindle?
Yes. Full price, 99 cents, free. I'm reading more because of Kindle (and I read a lot before).

Do I buy less print books?
Nope. In fact, I'll buy a book in print after reading the ebook because I want the print version. Never before did I routinely buy the same book twice, just for me.

Book to Read: Newbie's Guide to Publishing

2011-02-21T18:36:00.000-06:00

Don't stop reading the blog, but don't miss this book!
For only $2.99 at Amazon.com.
Newbie's Guide to Publishing by J.A. Konrath

Earlier this month, I recommended reading Joe Konrath's blog daily if you are interested in ebooks, publishing, self-publishing, yadda, yadda, yadda ....Don't stop doing that, but do go and check out this book (see it on his blog sidebar, or just go to the Amazon site). Chock full of great, helpful information.

Don't know about you, but I really respect pros who share the wealth - like Mr. Konrath, and Lynn Viehl/Sheila Kelly over at Paperback Writer.

The Big 6 in Publishing: Who They Are, and Why Their Days May Be Numbered

2011-02-16T11:57:00.000-06:00

This month, Write it Forward's Bob Meyer interviewed Randy Ingermanson to discuss the impact of electronic publishing upon the Big 6 - and it's a good read, since they ponder things that seem suspicious, like the reported statistics about the number of ebook sales versus printed versions (hardback, paperback). Am I the only one who thinks some of those numbers are fishy? Nope.

Another good read: last fall's panel discussion on the profitability of ebooks and how this impacts the Big 6, over at Publisher's Weekly. Very nice info here on the ratio of profit to author versus profit to publisher in hardcover sales, wholesale ebook sales, agency ebook sales, etc. provided by Paul Aiken, executive director for the Authors Guild. Especially interesting when you've been reading Joe Konrath's blog for awhile (see previous post).

So, who are the Big 6?

The Big 6 in publishing are the six North American publishing houses that make the most money, year in and year out. Some of them are owned by even bigger powerhouses; for example, HarperCollins is owned by NewsCorp. (whose chairman of the board is Rupert Murdoch) (fyi, NewsCorp. owns Zondervan, the Christian publishing house, too).

As of February 2011, here are the Big 6 Publishing Houses (with links to their web sites):

Hachette

Harper Collins

Macmillan

Penguin Group

Random House

Simon & Schuster.

Within each of these big conglomerates are a variety of imprints, whose names may be more familiar to you. For example, Harper Collins imprints include (full list here) Avon, William Morrow, and Walden Pond Press. To learn the complete listings of all the other imprints for the remaining Big 6, visit their sites (linked above).

Blog Recommendation: A Newbie's Guide to Publishing

2011-02-07T17:58:00.000-06:00

If you are curious about self-publishing, or if you're wondering how successful anyone might be rebelling against the traditional publishing model, then you must read Joe Konrath's blog, A Newbie's Guide to Publishing.

Must. Read.

Not only does Mr. Konrath share his personal experiences - including his financial details - but he also welcomes guest posts by other authors who have their own tales to tell. People like Lee Goldberg.

Great stuff, if you're any kind of maverick. Absolute manna from Heaven if you're writing something that you want to have published, and you'd like to make more than a nickel per copy (and maybe avoid all that book signing mess, too).

Go read it here.

NaNoWriMo Starts Today - Without Me

2010-11-01T14:07:00.000-05:00

National Novel Writing Month starts today, thousands of folk all over the world, banding together in the common goal of writing a complete novel in one month's time.

Professionals (Lynn Viehl, for example) and hobbyists alike, joining together in NaNoWriMo's joys and sorrows. To meet the 50,000 word count goal, you need to write 1700 words a day, every day, on your project. Some will fail at the starting gate, others will falter somewhere along the way, and the furious few will skate across the finish line on November 30th with some kind of finished product.

My hat is off to all of them. Good luck! My prayers go with you.

Me? I'm not doing it. And today, as I've got tons of writing projects on the runway and it's the official first day of NaNoWriMo, boy am I glad. Glad, glad, happy, happy. Yea.

Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich - I Read It, and Boy I'm Disappointed

2010-10-25T14:36:00.000-05:00

Janet Evanovich is one of my favorite authors, has been for years. I read about Stephanie Plum with delight, listen to the audiobooks and chuckle, and always await the publication of the next in the Plum series with great anticipation.

Well, maybe that excitement has wained somewhat since nothing seems to evolve with Stephanie and the gang. Stephanie never chooses between Joe and Ranger. Lula can be counted on for tight spandex and a new diet or two every book, and there's always the car that's gonna explode. Then, the Plum Spooky series started appearing in between the number books, and I had hope.

I thought that maybe Janet E. was getting tired of writing the same old storyline, and maybe this paranormal humor test run would do her well. Kinda like a rock and roll star who gets sick and tired of singing the same old hit song time and again, despite how much the fans demand to hear it. Surely Rod Stewart has had enough of Maggie Mae?

Diesel would solve everything. His new series -- debuting as Wicked Appetite this Fall -- would show how Janet Evonovich had jumped into a new pool of characters, new exciting plotlines, fresh jokes. Oh, I was so ready for this and I thought ... assumed ... she was too.

I was wrong.

Wicked Appetite was a major disappointment for me. It's a poor imitation of the 123 series, and even then not the best of those books (which were the first few, by the way). Lizzie is too much like Stephanie Plum, the bakery and surrounding neighborhood too much akin to the Trenton neighborhood, and the only thing that I was truly happily surprised to see: Cluck in a Bucket never appeared. Thank Goodness.

Same old fart jokes, Carl the Monkey shooting the bird, and the significant amount of white space on the pages had me checking to see if I had a Large Print book by mistake. (I didn't.) I didn't estimate a word count, but it's obviously pushing the edge of the envelope here to get the required number of pages of sellable product here.

Janet, Janet, Janet. You've got such talent and you've got people out here who love you. Stop this. You're disrespecting yourself to the point of being self-destructive here, in an obvious sellout to the Publishing Dollar. Which, cruelly, will be disappearing soon enough -- I'm not buying anymore of your formula books and I'm reading all over the web where lots of other disappointed readers won't be either.

Maybe falling sales will send the message that all the Amazon one star comments haven't.

Writing Dialogue - More Authors to Study Who Are Masters of Dialogue: Sue Grafton

2010-10-19T18:47:00.003-05:00

Couple of years ago (wow, I've been blogging here for awhile now!), I wrote about my search for authors who have mastered the art of writing great conversation. Dialogue.

I admit it -- setting, plot, characters: they're all with their hurdles. Dialogue downright intimidates me.

So, imagine my surprise when I'm reading Sue Grafton's latest, U is for Undertow, and realize just how much of the story is (you guessed it) dialogue. Great stuff, too. I surf around on Grafton as a writer, seeking to learn more about her writing - besides the ABC series, I've read all of them just like you.

Voila. Grafton worked in Hollywood, writing screenplays before she decided to write mysteries as a way to escape the Hollywood system. Good for her, great for us.

So, in addition to those authors that I listed in September 2008 as authors who have mastered the art of writing dialogue, I must add Sue Grafton. Wow, she's great at it.

(And Sue Grafton's got a really cool web site to explore, too, if you're interested.)

UPDATE: I've finished U is for Undertow, and I think it's the best yet in Grafton's series. If you're interested in my take on why U is worth the read (very), check out my review at Amazon.

Journaling by Hand: I Like Writing Pen on Paper - Though I Do It Less and Less

2010-10-14T18:31:00.001-05:00

When I was growing up, I had a callus on my left ring finger that lasted all the way through law school: it was ugly, but somewhat of a badge of honor. I was left-handed, and held my pen a funny way because I'd taught myself to read and write long before I started school. (There's an old news story on this in the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, but that's a different post for a different day.)

That callus meant I wrote - and wrote a lot. I was proud of that ugly old thing.

Today, it's gone. I type all the time now. Sometimes, I dictate into a Dragon microphone (voice to text software is handy now and then). I handwrite grocery lists, task lists, little notes to friends, an occasional letter. Sign a card, leave a stickie on the door. Not much handwriting going on over here.

So, I've decided to change. I like writing by hand. I like the pen, the paper, the time it takes to do it. A friend who analyzes handwriting for forgeries recalled to me her long-ago study of handwriting analysis. Personality appearing through handwriting.

She told me that there are those who believe that people can change their attitudes and behaviors simply by changing how they write. Amazing to think that a child could increase self-esteem by writing their signature bigger or that a depressed teen could brighten up by simply changing the slant of their words.

Who knows if it's true or not - even my friend wasn't a true believer - but I suspect that our personalities do show themselves somewhat in how we write with pens, it's such a personal thing. It has its own creative character, handwriting.

Tess Gerritsen and Elmore Leonard are two authors I know who handwrite their work. Type it later, but first draft is brain to hand to pen to paper. I like that. Or I like the idea of that.

Mr. Leonard actually writes on special paper pads made just for him. That's so wonderful. Unlined, yellow pads each with 63 sheets - you can see an image of them here, on his desk, and read his story of why he likes them in this NPR Interview.

Dr. Gerritsen may not have special pads, but she has a separate desk for handwriting and another for her computer. The handwriting desk is an old oak partner's desk -- you know the kind, with all that fabulous surface area inviting you to stack stuff to the rafters (look at the image for Gerritsen's map of Boston there, atop her books and things).

Here's the thing. I am going to incorporate handwriting back into my daily life. I'm going to journal by hand, maybe write a poem or two by hand, and who knows: start writing a story by hand. Is there power in it? Dunno - will I write more? will I become more prolific? will my personality change? will I lose weight? I'll let you know.

To make things even more fun, I've sent off for some disposable extra fine point Varsity Fountain pens (see the image above, they're less than three bucks apiece at Office Depot). Very cool, can't wait till they arrive.

Update: Got my Varsity Fountain pens, and I love them - if you're interested, read my review over at Amazon for the details on why they're great (IMHO).

Scrivener for Windows is Coming! Scrivener Writing Software in Beta Available in Fall 2010

2010-10-06T12:10:00.000-05:00

For several years now, Mac users had the ability to use Scrivener and Windows users were left to fret and be jealous, and organize their stuff as best they could. Until now!!!

Literature & Latte has officially announced on its web site that the Windows version of Scrivener will be available in November 2010 in its beta version (in time for NaNoWriMo) and the full-fledged, official version will be available in Winter 2011.

What is Scrivener?

It's an award-winning program for writers - providing online tools to help writers write. It's not an alternative to Word (which editors prefer - editing with their authors via Track Changes), but a way to organize and structure your work in process. For many, it is a beloved part of their routine (check out the New York Times review here).

How? Scrivener is a software package that (1) breaks down big documents into bits, so they are easier to manage, while also (2) giving you an outlining tool and (3) a corkboard, both for purposes of outlining your work -- and (4) enabling you to tag it with your research (images, PDFs) for crossreferencing. Once you've got the book written, or the thesis complete, Scrivener lets you pull it all together into a single file or document, which you can export into Word.

According to the Scrivener website, look for the beta to be available around October 25, 2010. The site promises free copies for those willing to work in beta, helping flush out the last few bugs in the system. Once it's finalized, Scrivener for Windows will cost $40 and it will work on Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7.

Also, if you have the guts and energy to have a validated 50,000 word count at NaNoWriMo this year, Scirvener will offered to you at half-price: Literature & Latte is promising a 50% discount coupon for its new Windows version as a NaNoWriMo incentive. Cool, right?

Check It Out For Yourself

The web site has a video (5 minutes of your time) that goes over the basics. For an example of how an award-winning, multipublished author uses Scrvener, check out Robin Lee Hatcher's description of her process here.

How I'm Going to Use Scriviner

I'm ghostwriting a book (again - I've got to stop doing this, and get my name out there!) that requires lots of intensive research, much of it dealing with the law -- statutes and cases from both federal and state sources. This, in addtion to news stories, various opinion pieces, etc. In other words, a nonfiction work that needs lots of supporting documentation.

I'm hoping that Scrivener is going to enable me to write the draft with the crossreferencing that's necessary for both footnoting as well as the index much more smoothly than Microsoft Word was going to provide. We'll see soon enough, right?

David Foster Wallace's Archive On View at UT's Harry Ransom Center (for Researchers)

2010-09-24T04:12:00.001-05:00

David Foster Wallace's books and papers and notes and doodles and all that other stuff -- it's all there for everyone to eyeball at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin (my alma mater).

However, the DFW archive is open only to researchers. The rest of us have to make do with checking out the images that have been provided online -- and they've got lots of things to ponder.

Like his reading list for his lower-level college class: he had them read Carrie by Stephen King; the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis; and Rock Star by Jackie Collins. among other works. You know this makes Jackie Collins proud on so many levels, right?

His handwritten notes are available in these books, as well as lots of papers - things like the first handwritten draft of Infinite Jest, etc. Hard to read the felt-tip pen remains, but you're welcome to give it a go.

Janet Evanovich's Wicked Appetite Is Out: is Diesel the new Stephanie Plum?

2010-09-21T16:09:00.001-05:00

Published by St.MartinsPress
read an excerpt here.

I saw the new Janet Evanovich book prominently displayed in my local Barnes and Noble this week: Wicked Appetite appears to be selling well and lotsa folk seem to like it, too (at least one did in Roanoke, Virginia -- Amazon right now is showing as many giving it five stars as are giving it one star).

The star of the book? Diesel, whom we have met in the Plum series already. Apparently, Diesel is getting his own series with this debut and we can look forward to another 6 or 7 books here. The twist? It's got a paranormal vein -- Diesel is one of the "Unmentionables," a group of humans with special (magic!) abilities.

My take? I love Janet Evanovich as a writer, she entertains me. She makes me laugh, guaranteed. And that's important -- laughter at the ready. I'll read Wicked Appetite. However, Mrs. E is also astute in following the marketplace.

She's tipped her hat to Nascar fever with another series (Alex Barnaby). She's also taken a stab at graphic novels. And, we all know she began in romance and has seen her romance work reissued over the past few years.

So, while I look forward to the Diesel series as a reader, I'm also pondering Diesel as a writer. Humor and paranormal, meshing? Where else is this happening, or is it? Is this Janet E's taking note of the success of the Twilight series? of Harry Potter?

(Which brings to mind the mash-ups, particularly the Austen ones, but that's a different post for a different day.)

UPDATE: I read Wicked Appetite, and I was disappointed. Read my review over at Amazon if you want to know why.

Texas Book Festival 2010 - List of Authors

2010-09-21T16:01:00.000-05:00

The Texas Book Festival is set for October 16 - 18, 2010, and the list of authors has been finalized and published online at the Festival website.

Click on the name of an author in this list, and you'll be taken to an individual bio page, like this one for Meg Cabot.

National Talk Like a Pirate Day - September 19, 2010

2010-09-18T14:16:00.001-05:00

How time flies! It doesn't seem like a full year has passed since last year's Talk Like a Pirate Day, does it? (For details, check out the holiday's International Official Web Site.)

For help in learning nuances - as well as some grammar rules and nifty vocabulary - in Talking Pirate (this is pretty funny), check this short video out on YouTube (thanks to Mental Floss for sharing it):

YARRRR!!!!!

Author Joe Konrath Sells 200 Books a Day on Amazon

2010-08-27T11:21:00.000-05:00

Joe Konrath is getting lots of media coverage since MediaBistro.com picked up his blog post, where he reports that the sells 200 books/day at Amazon, compared to 100/month on iPad.

However, that is just one tidbit of all the juicy info that this experienced thriller writer has to share -- so don't stop with the MediaBistro blurb, go read his entire blog post.

J.B. Stanley Reveals Her Profits From Cozy Mysteries Series

2010-08-13T13:52:00.000-05:00

Way of the Guilty will be
released August 31, 2010.

Jennifer (J.B.) Stanley writes more than one cozy mystery series -- the Flab Five Supper Club mystery series; the Molly Appleby Antiques & Collectibles Mysteries; and The Hope Street Church mystery series.

I have read more than one of both the Hope Street Church series and the Flab Five Supper Club, and I recommend them both -- if you're a cozy mystery lover, you'll enjoy these books.

Recently, at the group blog Cozy Chicks, J.B. Stanley did a lot of us a favor by actually discussing the money that she's making from her efforts. For the details, check out her post. The numbers aren't that high, folks. It's definitely a labor of love.

For example, Stanley reports her average advance is $3000, $5000, or $7500 per book, she gets an average of an additional $500 or $1000 for large print or foreign rights, and then she turns around and spends 50-75% of her advance on promoting the book.

For more information:
Janet Evanovich Splitting From St. Martin's Press
Mystery Writer Joe Konrath Talks Money
Highly Successful Authors Put Their Two Cents Worth on The Money Question

How They Do It: Ridley Pearson

2010-08-01T18:05:00.000-05:00

Great interview with Ridley Pearson over at The Bill Thrill, the webzine maintained by ITW (International Thriller Writers).

While the author is being interviewed as he promotes his latest Walt Fleming novel, In Harm's Way, there's some good stuff in here for writers to glean and use. Particularly, his discussion of building character arcs (as opposed to plots) and his ease with using real life folk as the basis for his characters -- particularly his protagonists.

Janet Evanovich Splitting from St Martin's Press After 15 Years? Is this Smart? The Movie Sounds Like a Nightmare.

2010-07-20T19:15:00.001-05:00

You know that Janet Evanovich is BIG with capital letters when Deadline Hollywood's Nikke Finke interrupts her coverage of the film industry to report on Evanovich's negotiations for publishing her next 4 books (presumably in the Stephanie Plum series, numbers 17 - 20).

According to Deadline, Evanovich's son is acting as her agent, and St. Martin's Press (whom she has been with for the past 15 years) isn't going along with his offer of $50,000,000 for the next four books.

Yes, folks, that is $12.5 million per book.  Deadline is reporting that St. Martin's Press isn't interested, and Janet's son/agent is approaching other publishing houses. The comments to the Deadline coverage are interesting, and not too nice.

What they don't mention is the fact that Janet E. may think those books are more than worthy of that sum, given that the series is about to hit the big screen in a big way. And fans have been waiting years and years for this -- they've been debating who should play what character at Janet E's website for a long, long time.

Stephanie Plum Movie Being Cast Now

Of course, the fact that they've finally decided to bring Stephanie Plum to the big screen after all these years should impact the book deal.  Assuming the movie is a hit, readership should expand to those who've never heard of the series before, right? Check for details at IMDB.

Katherine Heigl got the plum part (pun intended) of Stephanie, and today it was announced that Sherri Shephard will play Lula. The announcement also reports that Shephard will play a dual role, two prostitutes with hearts of gold. I'm assuming one is Lula. Huh?

Julie Ann Robertson is directing. Check out her background -- she's cutting her film teeth on Stephanie Plum's movie debut. Her background is in TV episodes. Five of Grey's Anatomy. Three of Weeds.

Great.

They've already cast most everyone else -- except Grandma Mazur. Moretti will be played by Jason O'Mara; Ranger, by Daniel Sunjata.   Right, big names.... And the way that Janet E. reports on the casting, looks like she has zip to do with this production. She appears to be learning things from the news media, just like you and me.

According to her website, Janet Evanovich sold the movie rights to One for the Money back in 1993. She's got no say-so or legal right to any decision here. However, you'd think the movie folk would be smart enough to ask .....

What, she's not involved in the screenplay? Nope.

Liz Brixius is credited right now for writing it. Not Janet E. Who is Lix Brixius? Ye Gads. She wrote for Nurse Jackie, which she also executive produced. That's it, Dear Reader. Nurse Jackie, the TV show. Her only other writing cred? One episode of Insatiable.

The location? They're filming the movie in Pittsburgh, folks. Not Trenton (setting for the books). Not even in New Jersey, period.

I'm adding all this to my prayer list. I am not kidding.

Betting on this Movie as a reason to leave St. Martin's Press?

I'm not sure about this film, and read that as I'm shocked and saddened by all this, and I'm wondering how many others share my concern. I'm a big Evanovich fan and I'm beyond nervous. I'm pretty angry right now.

I'm wondering about Heigl playing an Italian from Jersey. I'm wondering about a TV director and a TV writer being let loose on a storyline that I treasure.

They better not screw this up. Maybe I'll just never, ever, ever watch this thing. Heigl? With black hair? Reallllly?????

I'd Stay with St. Martin's ....

And a bad movie could be a detriment to this franchise, maybe St. Martin's Press isn't optimistic about this film effort. Lord knows it's look like they've got good reason to be.

Hope Janet doesn't get hurt in all this. As well as Stephanie and the gang.

Mulholland Books - New Crime Imprint

2010-06-15T16:32:00.001-05:00

Little, Brown has officially announced it's launching a new "suspense fiction" imprint with books hitting the stores in Spring 2011.

According to its new site, MulhollandBooks wants "to publish books you can't stop reading."

While Galley Cat is spreading the news that this is a "crime imprint," Mulholland defines it scope as " crime novels, thrillers, police procedurals, spy stories, even supernatural suspense." It's interesting to boot that they're already talking about an internet marketing focus, with "online community building" and "authentic connections between authors, readers, and publisher."

Hmmmm. Perhaps just as interesting as this imprint's debut is their plan to hit the ground running with a heavy web focus. Let's see what they do with that.....

Going by a very cool name, Mulholland is touting new works from Marcia Clark (of OJ Simpson trial fame - she was the prosecutor); Lawrence Block; and Charlie Huston. Within a year from its debut, Mulholland promises 24 books a year - that's 2 books a month, one hardback and one, paperback.

They've even got a cool little video on the new website: http://www.mulhollandbooks.com/. Very film noir. So far, so good, right?

"The Value of a Book" - CEO Panel Discussion from BookExpo America on Book TV Available Online

2010-06-05T14:12:00.001-05:00

Today, there was a great panel discussion on CSPAN2's BookTV that's available in its entirety online at the BookTV site. Brought together to discuss "the Value of a Book," some of the biggest in the publishing industry gathered together to talk about the future of books and book publishing. Including author compensation.

There were talks about the Cloud. There were talks about making books more enticing, and mention was made of the vellum used in the new Steve Martin novel that's coming out in the fall entitled An Object of Beauty. We're to expect a very physically beautiful book here, according to the panel. But will that help sell the contents?

Scott Turow made a point that I've been thinking for years now: why did the ebook get introduced as a simultaneous product with the newly released hardback? Readers expect paperbacks to follow months after the hardback, why not follow a similar path for the ebook? Good question, I think.

Panel Members - Cream of the Crop

Brick and mortar bookstores were represented here, as well as agents, authors, publishers, etc.:

Jonathan Galassi - President, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Bob Miller - Group publisher, Workman Publishing and founder of Hyperion
Esther Newberg - Executive Vice President, International Creative Management (literary agency)
Skip Prichard - President and CEO, Ingram Content Group Inc. ( book wholesaler)
David Shanks - CEO, Penguin Group (USA), Inc.
Oren Teicher - CEO, American Booksellers Association
Scott Turow - author, attorney, president of Author's Guild

Was a Consensus Reached? No.

No definitive answers were found. It was nice to hear what appeared to be genuine concern for paying writers what they're worth for the work that they do.

Go listen. It's fascinating and important, whether you're a reader or writer.

Magazines Sales Up in a Bad Economy - the "Notable Achievers" of 2010

2010-05-27T11:24:00.000-05:00

Good Housekeeping, August 1928
Wikimedia Commons, public domain

Wooden Horse Magazine gives us all the heads up this morning with news that several magazines boosted their retail sales in a significant way during this bad economic period. That's right: they've grown in retail sales and they're magazines.

Brings to mind Mark Twain's famous quote, "rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated." I love magazines, and I take this as great news.

For their efforts, they've been honored by the Harringtons in their New Single Copy industry newsletter as "Notable Achievers" by the company that monitors national magazine sales.

I wasn't surprised at Mother Earth News. I was a bit surprised at Rider. (For the full list, with links to the award winner's web sites, check out Wooden Horse.)

The New Single Copy, published by John Harrington (Harrington Associates, LLC) has a lot more detail on the subject of magazine sales if you're interested in learning more. Harrington Associates manages the BIPAD system of tracking magazine sales -- that barcode on each issue you buy has a series of identification numbers within it which form the basis for the periodic tallies of magazine sales.

Which means that the NSC awards are a big deal -- these are the people in the know about such things.

Elmore Leonard Interview - How He Writes, and "Freaky Deaky" Comes to the Screen

2010-05-19T10:33:00.001-05:00

Deadline Hollywood has a great interview with Elmore Leonard that's a must read. Most of the talk is about screenwriting, his books that went to film (and his thoughts on them), but at the end there's a great tidbit on how he writes.

10 to 6, every day.
Output is 3-4 handwritten pages. No word processor.
He takes his handwritten pages and types them up on his typewriter to get his draft.
Wow.

Book Trailer Award Finalists - The 2010 Moby Awards

2010-05-18T18:09:00.005-05:00

Book trailers are here, and according to GalleyCat, literally hundreds were submitted for consideration in this year's Moby Awards. Melville House has organized the first annual awards ceremony for book trailers - the Mobys - and on May 20, 2010, the winners will be announced in a very nice ceremony in New York City.

Here are the finalists, and yes - that last award really is for the WORST book trailer of the year.

They're all available for viewing online at the Moby site:

Best Low Budget/Indie Book Trailer:

A Common Pornography by Kevin Sampsell
The Electric Church in One Minute by Jeff Somers
Extraordinary Renditions by Andrew Ervin
I am in the Air Right Now by Kathryn Regina
I Lego New York by Chistoph Niemann

Best Big Budget/Big House Book Trailer:

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith
Blameless by Gail Carriger
Going West by Maurice Gee
High Before Homeroom by Maya Sloan
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith

Best Performance by in Author:

Gordon Lish in Collected Fictions
Dennis Cass in Head Case
Thomas Pynchon (voice of) in Inherent Vice
Daniel Handler in The Book vs. The Kindle, Round 10: A Seriously Unfortunate Event
Jeffrey Rotter in The Unknown Knowns

Best Cameo in a Book Trailer:

Jon Stewart in I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil…
Jonathan Safran Foer’s Grandmother in Eating Animals
He is Legend’s Schyler Croom in High Before Homeroom
Deepak Chopra in The Karma Club
Zach Galifinakis in Lowboy

Least Likely Trailer to Sell the Book:

Pocket Guide to Mischief by Bart King
Shark Hunting in Paradise Garden by Cameron Pierce
Shoplifting from American Apparel by Tao Lin
Sounds of Murder by Patricia Rockwell
True Confections by Katharine Weber

Update of the Google Book Search Settlement

2010-05-12T11:56:00.000-05:00

While the Google Book Search litigation remains active, the pending settlement (see my November 2009 post on this topic, "Google Book Search Lives On as Google Revised Settlement with Authors, Publishers") still awaits judicial approval. The first judge passed away; the second judge got promoted to an appellate bench; the new judge hasn't been named.

The importance of this event to electronic publishing rights cannot be underestimated. For a great source of background information here, check out the work of the New York Law School and its Public Index project, particularly their free downloadable synopsis.

Monk Finale Breaks Records - But What Sloppy Writing for a Series about an OCD Detective

2009-12-07T16:10:00.002-06:00

Even before all the numbers are tallied, the farewell episode of USA's Monk last Friday night has set new records for cable television audiences -- it grabbed the largest numbers for any drama series ever appearing on basic cable with a total already reaching 9.4 million viewers. So, I guess it's safe to assume that you may have watched the show.

Now, here's the big question -- did you like it?

This is a blog dealing with fiction writing, and I'm pondering the conclusion of Monk with that in mind. And while I had warm and fuzzy feelings as the show's final segment ended, as a viewer and Monk-fan, as a writer I thought - wow, there's gonna be some unhappy folk out there. Maybe I am one of them.

I think that the finale may be disappointing to all those who were following the thread of Trudy murder hints all these many years. You know, the ones with Dale the Whale in them. Or the shady union dealings she was investigating. As well as the idea that maybe she was investigating something else in her job as a reporter. All these things that lent themselves to scenarios explaining who killed Trudy and why.

Heck, the USA website even had Trudy's "file" on the site, with forum boards discussing items left on her desk and in her files.

And here's the thing -- you could have watched the series finale and never had seen anything about any of these early red herrings and been just fine. Because the finale all of a sudden has a video of Trudy (never mind the techno questions that pop to mind regarding video recordings made 12 years ago and the comparison to what was used in the scene) giving us an entirely NEW backstory.

I think the writers were sloppy and many loyal viewers will have a growing disappointment with the finale

Suddenly, there's the new Trudy story. Where her law professor (law? did she go to law school? did she take a law class as part of her undergrad courses at Berkeley where she and Monk met?) knocked her up and where -- surprise -- her baby has surprisingly survived to become a 25 year old pseudo-daughter for Adrian Monk. In the words of Natalie Teager, now Monk "has someone to love." Awww.

Then - wow! Bam! Pop! The revelation we've waited 8 seasons, side by side with Monk, to learn: the adulterous law professor killed Trudy and the midwife who delivered the baby. Wait for it: he then handily kills himself when Monk finally confronts him as being Trudy's killer. Neat and tidy, right? Wrong.

A disservice to a loyal following

Neat and tidy would be taking all those earlier years and tying them together into a cohesive ending. The writers did a disservice to their following when they took this alternative path. Personally, I would rather have had Trudy reappear after being in a witness protection program to protect Monk from Dale the Whale than this last-minute resolution.

I mean, how OLD was Trudy when this affair was supposed to have happened? I mean really.

Then there's a math problem. Monk and Trudy graduated in 1981 (remember the college reunion episode shown within hours of the finale), so in 2009 you already have 28 years that have passed. Yet the new character, daughter Molly, says she is 25. And in the video Trudy says she had the child before she met Monk.

Sloppy stuff.

The lesson for writers here -- writing a good series means keeping track of the details.

On Friday night, as the finale ended and we saw the camera pan back from the Captain, Monk, and Natalie all entering a building where another murder awaited its solution, I was bittersweet. I was happy Monk was sleeping in the middle of the bed, I was happy to see the "Trudy and Leland" pillow.

But now it's Monday afternoon. And I'm experiencing a growing disappointment. Because part of the fun of Monk was going through all those clues in my head, to see if I could figure things out. I feel gipped. Over the years, the writers made me care about all those little details and now all those ponderings have been for naught. There's no point in thinking back to the clues about Dale the Whale, etc. because they don't matter ... and wouldn't it be more fun if they did?

So, lesson learned. Writing a series is creating a growing world of facts that must be organized and controlled by the writer. Because a successful series will need a writer who can be trusted.

I think the bottom line is a failure of plot continuity -- more than the usual that Monk fans came to expect -- and we Monk fans deserved better. This makes me sad.

My only hope -- Goldberg can fix it with one of his upcoming Monk books.

Good vs Evil - Are You Born This Way?

2009-12-04T14:05:00.001-06:00

With thanks to ICanHazCheezburger - how many great novels posit the same thing? East of Eden comes to mind ....

Google Book Search Lives On as Google Revised Settlement with Authors, Publishers

2009-11-14T10:32:00.002-06:00

Google has announced a revised book settlement. Google, Inc., the Authors Guild, and the Association of American Publishers collectively filed the revised settlement with the Clerk for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York yesterday. Apparently, the filing occurred just minutes before the court-imposed Midnight deadline. Drama, drama, drama ....

What does it do?

It's cut back on the books that Google will distribute electronically over the web via Google Book Search. Now, Google's only going to deal with books that were are (1) registered with the U.S. Copyright Office or (2) published in either Australia, Canada, or Great Britian. As for the "orphans," (where the copyright ownership of a book is unknown), the revenue from these works is protected in the agreement, going so far as to set up a guardian to act as fiduciary for the owners.

Check out Google Book Search for yourself, see what the fuss is all about -- and while you're at it, check out Google's notice this morning about the "groundbreaking agreement." Google gives you its own blow by blow about the new deal that was struck yesterday.

More NaNoWriMo Prep - The Pros Come Out

2009-10-26T18:36:00.001-05:00

Well, here you go. S.L. Viehl (one of her many nom de plumes) has announced on her Paperback Writer blog that she is unofficially entering National Novel Writing Month this year -- and she's setting a personal goal of 2000 words/day.

That's right, dear reader. Two thousand words. A day. That's about 400 over the minimum to win NaNoWriMo.

And what's more, she'll do it. Oh yes she will.

If you follow PW, which I do, this woman is a fiend. She's more than able to hit 4500 words a day, and she does a lot of this via Dragon Naturally Speaking because she's got some hand/wrist issues.

You do so want to hate her, right? But you CAN'T. And that's even before you see all the helpful hints she's already giving out about preparing for November, plus her blog archives of free advice, examples, forms.

So here's to SL Viehl. NaNoWriMo just got a lot more fun ... did I tell you she's writing a couple of books for publication, too, while she's at it? Fiend. Fiend!

Five Things to Do to Get Ready for NaNoWriMo 2009

2009-10-04T16:49:00.001-05:00

NaNoWriMo starts in 26 days. When the clock strikes 12:00 am on November 1st, participants will have 30 days to write 50,000 words. That's 1667 words/day if you write every single day.

What can you do to get ready? Here are 5 things to do as you're getting ready for the Big Day:

1. Get your research materials together and organized. You may not want to trust the web, and some books may be vital to your work. Things like a dictionary, thesauraus, atlas, near at hand may be valuable time-savers as well as those reference works particular to your genre or plot, e.g., Grey's Anatomy if you're going to be the next Kathy Reichs, or Daily Life in Elizabethan England if you're writing a historical romance. Buy what you need, gather what you already have, and put everything near to your workspace.

2. Warn family and friends that you're not being rude when you totally ignore them the entire month of November. Maybe a free autoresponder for your emails will help. And don't feel guilty when they call or text anyway and you don't reply. You're writing, and it's important.

3. Set up a schedule. Remember to plan on snacks and water and exercise. Walking is great, and periodic distractions really do let your brain work better. Maybe use Google Calendar or Yahoo Calendar to plan every day -- your word count, your breaks, and remember to include catch-up days. Maybe Saturday is the best day for you to catch up on your word count, if you had to work late on Tuesday and fell behind on your daily quota. Buy your coffee and eggs and bread, your popcorn or Doritos -- whatever you're gonna need regularly. Sure, you'll be going to the grocery store but you don't want to be worrying about menus or staples during NaNoWriMo.

4. Expect discouragement to hit and be ready for it. Be your own best friend by having little inspirations already set up for yourself. Maybe quotations from favorite writers written on stickies and placed around the house, or print out a list of the New York Times Bestseller list and insert your name and future novel there, right at the top. You can do it, they did.

5. Remember that you're gonna let some stuff go during NaNoWriMo, and that's okay. Like washing the car, or keeping the house spic and span. Let it be messy, you're writing your novel. Remember the words of Erma Bombeck: "No one ever died from sleeping in an unmade bed."

For more tips, check out NaNoWriMo founder Chris Baty's list.

Rank a Blog Post Within Top 3 of Google when Google Search Results are in the Millions -- I'm Ranking Here Consistently

2009-08-26T09:26:00.007-05:00

Yesterday, I went roaming thru my blog post stats and found some very nice ranking results. Like I'm ranking posts in the top 3 out of millions in Google search results, and with posts that have staying power (they're old and still rank high.)

So, please forgive my intrusion into the usual theme of this blog, but I'm republishing my post from yesterday on my Writer-Lawyer blog here on Rebecca Kennedy (and on Backseat Lawyer and Everyday Simplicity, too) as an experiment - to see what happens, stat-wise ....

_________________________

This afternoon, I stopped to check the stats for my personal blogs and found some nice ranking results. I do this a lot, but today I actually stopped to make a little tally.

I've listed some of them here, and these searches are accurate as of today's date - using only Google. I have results in Yahoo, Bing, Ask, AOL, etc. but I chose only to check Google Search Results and only through the past couple of days ranking results as recorded by StatCounter. For some, I saved the ranking search results in OneNote, but this got to be time-consuming so I didn't do this for everything on the list.

And while I write professionally for several blogs/blawgs, these ranking results are only for my personal blogs - as well as a little tidbit at the end where I blogged for a couple of friends and kept track on StatCounter for them, too. No waiver of client confidentiality here.

The biggest search result?
ranking 2 out of 1.75 billion for a two month old post

1,750,000,000 and my post ranks number two, after being published in June 2009 (see no. 1 under Backseat Lawyer).

The second largest search result?
ranking 3 out of 77 million for a 3 year old post

77,300,000 and my post ranks number three, after being published in August 2006 (it's three years old) (see no. 5 under Rebecca Kennedy's Blog).

Oldest post still getting strong results?

The 2005 post that still ranks no. 7 out of 23,400,000 -- see no. 4 listed under Rebecca Kennedy's Blog.

Google Search Results - Backseat Lawyer Blog Post Ranking Examples

1. my post is ranking no. 2 out of 1,750,000,000 (yes, that's billion) for the search "how will michael jackson death affect his life insurance pay out"- I published it on 06/28/09;

2. my post is ranking no. 1 out of 5,120,000 for the search "casey anthony employment universal"- I pubished it on 08/09/08;

3. my post is ranking no. 8 out of 2,620,000 for the search "billings murder fla" - I published it on 07/23/09;

4. My post is ranking no. 5 out of 1,320,000 for the search "jose baez", published on 01/15/09; and

5. the same post regarding "jose baez" is ranking no. 3 out of 894,000 for the search "jose baez bio" - I published it on 01/15/09.

Google Search Results for Rebecca Kennedy's Blog Post Ranking Examples

1. my post is ranking no. 3 out of 49,700,000 for the search "thriller vs. mystery"- I published it on 11/24/06;

2. my post is ranking no. 1 out of 33,200,000 for the search "how to write a book in six weeks"- I published it on 09/16/06;

3. the same post as above is ranking no. 2 out of 28,300,000 for the search "how to write a book in two weeks"- I published it on 09/16/06;

4. my post is ranking no. 7 out of 23,400,000 for the search "book length in words" - I published it on 12/14/05; and

5. my post is ranking no. 3 out of 77,300,000 for the search "what is isbn?" - I published it on 08/12/06.

Google Search Results for Everyday Simplicity Post Ranking Examples

1. my post is ranking no. 3 out of 30,400,000 for the search "cleaning burnt pans" - I published it on 01/11/06;

2. my post is ranking no. 2 out of 19,200,000 for the search "tips for surviving a depression" - I published it on 11/28/08;

3. my post is no. 1 out of 1,200,000 for the search "coca cola made with sugar" - I published it ranking n 04/10/09;

4. my post is ranking no. 2 out of 1,480,000 for the search " becoming an ex-patriate" - I published it on 01/16/06, and if you take out the hyphen to create the word "expatriate" in the search, then the post becomes no. 2 out of 640,000;

5. my post is ranking no. 4 out of 4,300,000 for the search "products made from petroleum" - I published it on 06/15/07.

And I did a quick check for other blogs ....

Google Search Results for Jean Jennings' Blog
(Jean's blog is dormant but it's still getting some great results for her.)

1. my post is ranking no. 2 out of 5380 for the search "Bexar County Jury Duty," and ranking no. 4 out of 59,200 for "San Antonio Jury Duty" ... the post was published 07/07/08 and while these aren't high volume searches, Jean gets steady traffic from a targeted group -- she's a practicing criminal defense/CPS attorney in San Antonio, Bexar County;

2. my post is ranking no. 2 out of 3,220,000 for the search "san antonio jail visiting hours" - published 08/02/08, another targeted group for Jean's local criminal defense practice; and

3. my post is ranking no. 6 out of 2,510,000 for the search "search warrant examples" - published 08/09/08.

Google Search Results for Judge Tom Rickhoff's Blog
(Judge Rickhoff's blog was recently reactivated after being dormant for an extended period of time)

1. my post is ranking no. 1 out of 458,000 for the search "Not Forgotten Coalition" - published 04/25/06.

What I'm Reading: The Hot Zone by Richard Preston

2009-07-06T11:36:00.001-05:00

I love the first line of this book, "Charles Monet was a loner."

I love it for many reasons, not the least of which is its incongruence with the subject matter of this work: the spread of the Ebola virus in Africa. Which is horrifying and real.

I usually don't read nonfiction books dealing with things like ... well... germs and stuff. Heck, I don't read fiction books that deal with germs, either. Eww.

However, it just goes to show that a great writer is a great writer is a great writer.

I'm amazed and thrilled with how this nonfiction book pulls you in and addicts you to its tale. This reads like a great thriller, and it's scary. Horrific. Haunting.

Love this book. Recommend it.

Google Book Search Gets Swankier

2009-06-28T15:37:00.004-05:00

Over at the Google Books Blog, there is a long post (with pictures! golly) that describes how they've improved Google Book Search in several different ways.

What's Google Book Search? Well, it's where Google is scanning book after book and then putting the contents on the web. You know, the service that's got lots of folk in a tizzy because of copyright infringement, pirating, things like that.

Time past, it was called Google Print - but after a couple of big lawsuits, things have changed.

Pictured: Han Christen Andersen's The Little Mermaid. His collection of fairy tales has been scanned and is available for free at Google Book Search.

Writer's Digest 2009 List of 101 Best Sites for Writers is Out

2009-06-18T12:51:00.003-05:00

Writer's Digest has released its annual list of the 101 best websites for writers.

For 2009, the list is broken down into 8 categories:

Agent Blogs
Writing Communities
Publishing Resources
Jobs and Markets
Creativity and Challenges
Genres/Niches
General Resources
Fun for Writers.

And, yes, Twitter made the cut. Don't know that I agree with that one.

Validation. Worth Your 16 Minutes. Really.

2009-03-29T21:39:00.001-05:00

Word Choice Dilemma - This Should Make U Laugh. Avoid tinny.

2009-03-25T22:55:00.002-05:00

Reading Robert B. Parker Now ...

2009-03-24T23:05:00.006-05:00

I don't know why I've never read any Robert B. Parker before now.

Stupid.

And, truth be told, I owe it all to Tom Selleck, because those Jesse Stone movies he's been producing and starring in -- they're specials on CBS -- made me wonder about the novels. Then, I was in line at the store and someone had stuffed one of the Jesse Stone paperbacks (Stranger in Paradise) in between the beef jerky and the King Size Snickers bars and of course, I took it as a sign.

And, sure enough it was. I love and adore Robert B. Parker.

Fast read, clean read. A true master here -- especially enjoying his dialogue. Wow. So well done, and he appears to be a member of the "use 'said' or don't use anything at all school."

Dialogue. Wow.

You know -- he said, she said. Not he cried, she exclaimed, he snarled. Dean Koontz, another one with this as a writing rule ....

I'm going through the Sunny Randall series now. From the debut forward, in publication order. And, I'm also doing this with the Jesse Stone series.

Spencer? I'm waiting on him -- that's a big buncha books, plus I dunno. I feel less connected somehow to Spencer, although I do remember the TV series from years ago, and I do remember liking the characters there. Hawk. Cool.

And, fine. I have to be honest. One of the reasons that I'm really enjoying Parker's work has nothing to do with plots or settings or character development or series construction or mysteries or thrillers or anything like that.

I love Rosie the bull terrier.

I just really like Rosie, the miniature bull terrier that splits her time between Sunny Randall and her ex-husband. Rosie is just endearing and fabulous, and well ... dog lovers are a special kind of folk, and it's nice to know that Robert B. Parker is one of us. (And, sure, I'm waiting for Jesse Stone to get his dog ... he better get one, the TV Jesse has that great golden in every story that I've seen.)

Wish Rosie had a blog, though. I mean, Martha Stewart's pugs (Francesca and Sharky) just got one, and heck. Dean Koontz's dog Trixie Koontz, has a blog AND is still writing books from the other side of Rainbow Bridge.

YouTube Interview - Lisa Scottoline

2009-03-10T19:12:00.001-05:00

Blagojevich Gets Million Dollar Book Deal - Will YOU buy that book?

2009-03-09T18:01:00.000-05:00

In today's news former Illinois governor Blagojevich failed to get federal prosecutors thrown off his corruption case -- the prosecutor has described Balgojevich's activities as a "white collar crime spree" that would make Abe Lincoln "roll over in his grave."

And yet, he's just made over a million bucks (all we know is "six figures") with his agreement to write a purported expose of the dark side of politics (there's another side?) for Phoenix Books. The tome is scheduled to hit the shelves in October.

I just gotta wonder two things:

1. what juice can he possibly put in this story, when you know his lawyers aren't going to let him write anything that pertains to the pending charges?

2. who cares? I'm not planning on even borrowing this one from the library, much less spend cash on the darn thing. Six-figures? Right. Sure. Stinks like a three-day old fish.

PBW Made Me Laugh - Maybe You Will Too

2009-03-05T09:43:00.002-06:00

Great post today by Lynn Viehl over at Paperback Writer. Maybe her best post ever. Go read it, you'll laugh.

And, for backstory before you do ... read this post, which explains the whole shiny pink cover horror.

Esquire's 7 Greatest Stories - Full Text and Free

2009-03-04T17:29:00.003-06:00

Over at Esquire magazine's website, you can read the seven works which the editors of Esquire have collected as the "7 Greatest Stories in the History of Esquire Magazine," with Gay Talese's essay on Frank Sinatra ("Frank Sinatra Has a Cold") considered to be the best of the best.

Mario Puzo Godfather Lessons: Comparing the Book to the Screenplay

2009-02-07T23:39:00.005-06:00

I love the Godfather movies, even III, even The Saga (you know, the one where they cut and pasted I and II together, chronologically), and sure, of course, the Director's Cut.

But I'd never read Mario Puzo's original work, The Godfather, thinking it would make me like the movies less or that I wouldn't like the book, having seen the movie. Hey, I already knew that Sonny had dark hair in the book -- and James Caan is Sonny to me. I didn't want my head messed with, if you know what I mean.

Then, last weekend, I was at the library roaming thru the AudioBooks, and there was a brand new green box, filled with the unabridged version of Puzo's The Godfather. I'm not sure why I picked it up.

But, boy howdy, am I glad I did. Before I had finished the first CD, I was at the bookstore buying a copy. I could only find paperback, and I'm still not satisfied: I gotta have the hardback. I need it! The highlighting soaks thru the paperback version.

And, for a writer, there is so much to learn here. Plot, character, voice, setting. Amazing stuff.

Like what, you ask?

Well, first ... the book gets you hooked right off the bat, but it doesn't start off like the film. On paper, you're down at the NYC Criminal Courts, with Bonasera the undertaker. Remember him? Next, you're over in Hollywood with Johnny Fontane and his second wife, a beautiful movie star with violet eyes. (I'm still thinking she's an homage to Ava Gardner even if she does have Liz Taylor eyes.) Enzo the baker shows up, another locale, another thread drawing you in. Bang, bang, bang.

So different from the movie. But Mario Puzo wrote both the book and the screenplay and there is master storytelling here. Puzo Lessons begin on the first page: he's got Bonasera's story down in less than 1000 words and then he flips coasts to take us into drunk Johnny Fontane's Beverly Hills mansion. Puzo Lesson on get-er-done: edit down that word count.

I understand the characters more - and I'm barely into the book. I get Tom Hagen more than I ever did, same thing for Kay. Heck, same for Enzo. Puzo Lesson on people: have them all fully dimensional, no matter how secondary they may ultimately be to the plot. Don't skimp on your prep.

Puzo also takes the time to insert wisdom in these pages. Nice little zingers are scattered here, things that are in the Quotation books now. Puzo Lesson: good writing involves a level of wisdom, as well as that old adage "write what you know." Puzo knew NYC because he was from NYC. And, Puzo had learned a number of life lessons during his career as a reporter before this book ever came to fruition. This all shows.

Puzo built a world that so many loved to enter - and still do. How that was built, how those characters were developed, what he thought was important and why, reveal themselves in a fascinating way through this process.

The Puzo Lessons

Maybe part of all this is listening to his words, and then reading them. That does give nuance.

But another part of it is comparing what Puzo built in the book and how he revisited it for the movie. Especially for the first film.

Another nugget: Puzo's interview by Larry King. (He saw The Godfather as a family story, not a crime story. Interesting, right?)

Lisa Scottoline Has A Column - And You Should Read It

2009-01-16T10:40:00.003-06:00

Lisa Scottoline has a weekly column in the Philidelphia Inquirer, which appears every Sunday under the title "Chick Wit."

You should read it. It's hilarious. And, of course, it's well written.

Janet Evanovich is Working Right Now

2009-01-14T23:01:00.004-06:00

I discovered a short post over at Janet Evanovich's website, where she describes her average workday. It made me feel better, and I thought I'd post it here (it's the next to last FAQ), for all of us to remember as we're procrastinating or distracting ourselves or eating more chips, making more coffee:

Janet Evanovich is working right now. And she has been since 6 this morning.

Cowboy up, my friends.

This gets to me so much, that I've changed my screensaver: "Janet Evanovich is WORKING right now!" Really helps keep me on track and away from standing, staring into an open fridge.

I may lose weight this way, too, right?

Image: Fearless Fourteen was the Most Borrowed Book of 2008 in Dayton, Ohio, among other places. Check out my post today over at Writer-Lawyer for more on such things....

RIP Donald E. Westlake

2009-01-01T17:11:00.000-06:00

Four books a year. Books worth reading. Plus screenplays, like The Grifters. Wow.

Donald E. Westlake died of a heart attack on his way to dinner with his wife, on a nice, warm night while vacationing in Mexico. He was 75.

Read his obit by the New York Times for details: Donald E. Westlake, Mystery Writer, Is Dead at 75

Over 40 Romances: Last Chance Harvey Gets Okay Ratings

2008-12-28T12:48:00.005-06:00

Rotten Tomatoes gives it an okay rating (75%) so maybe it's worth your while to go and check out this year's over-50 romantic comedy, Last Chance Harvey.

To sum it up from the reviews I've read, it's Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson doing their part to keep up with Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton in Something's Gotta Give ... and that's going to be very hard to do.

Add to that, Hoffman is 71 and Thompson is 49. Poor Emma. Somethings in Hollywood never change -- note to self: romance better served where hero is not so old that he can be the dad of the over-40 or over-50 heroine. Geez.

By the way, Diane Keaton was born in 1945, Jack Nicholson in 1937 ... Keaton at 57 not only made more sense coupling with Nicholson at 66, web bios report the two stars actually dated back in the 70s.

For another viewpoint, check out SmackDown! Last Chance Harvey (2008) vs. Something's Gotta Give (2003)

Bottom line: hopefully, someone out there is recognizing a market for over-40 romance stories on the shelves and on the screen ... BabyBoomers do fall in love ... and aassuming this to be true, the best one hasn't hit yet.

Not Everybody's Sales Are Going Down - mediabistro.com: GalleyCat

2008-12-22T18:38:00.000-06:00

Over at GalleyCat, there's some good news for writers:

"Overall, fantasy sales are down 18 percent compared to the first 49 weeks of 2007, but mass market paperback sales are up 14 percent—and overall romance sales are up 83 percent, with mass market paperbacks alone experiencing a 50 percent boost. And that's not even considering how many romance books might, in a different climate, have been categorized as fantasies..."

That's right: Mass market paperbacks are skyrocketing in sales ... and romance sales were up 83%.

Anything that's up 83% in this economy is big, big news.

New Penguin "eSpecials" from Penguin tying Hardback with E-Book updates

2008-12-05T10:58:00.002-06:00

Starting with the debut of Alan Greenspan's The Age of Turbulence in paperback, Penguin is offering an e-book in tandem with the paperback release.

Penguin is marketing them as "eSpecials."

As an example, the Greenspan e-book is based upon the original work's epilouge, and it's my understanding that this e-book will be periodically updated, to address future changes in our fluctuating economy.

Check out all the details over at Penguin's blog -- New "eSpecials" from Penguin Marks a First in eBook Publishing.

With our economy being what it is, looks like there may be a lot of "e-book specials" for Mr. Greenspan ....

Over 40 Romances: An Untapped Market for Romance Novels?

2008-11-29T11:24:00.002-06:00

Is it just me, or does it look like there's an untapped market for romance novels featuring protagonists that are 40+ or even 50+?

Consider the aging Baby Boomers and then go read the list over at All About Romance (Novels, Reviews, Books, Reading) - Special Title Listings: Older Couples.

After all, Something's Gotta Give found a nice audience ....

It's National Novel Writing Month - Again

2008-11-02T19:54:00.000-06:00

Sure, for most people November 2008 is a big deal because we're electing our president, but for many writers out there, November means one gut-wrenching thing: it's NaNoWriMo time again.

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is an annual challenge to put 50,000 words of a story down on paper in 30 days. Hopefully, in some sort of organizational format so you end up with the first draft of a publishable work when the bell rings.

Here's the website if you dare.

At 1667 words per day to meet quota, you're only 3334 words behind as of the date of this post ....

Writing Synopses

2008-10-22T09:11:00.000-05:00

Lynn Viehl, over at Paperback Writer, has a great post on writing synopses - and it includes links to other sources of information, as well. One of those links, for example, is to Charlotte Dillon's collection of over 50 links dealing with writing synopses (includes examples, runs the gamut really).

What's a synopsis?

It's a chapter-by-chapter summary of your novel, written so your editor doesn't have to read your book in its entirety. Should end up between 2 - 15 pages, depending upon the size of your manuscript.

Lynn Viehl recommends you write your synopsis BEFORE you write the novel itself, one of her hints for NANOWRIMO ....

Lydia the Tattooed Lady

2008-10-03T16:52:00.000-05:00

I caught part of Dick Cavett's famous interview of Groucho Marx the other day, and was thrilled to hear Groucho singing Lydia, The Tattooed Lady ... which you'll remember, was also sung by Tracey Lord's little sister in The Philidephia Story ....

I'm putting the lyrics here because it's my blog and I want to ... and for your listening pleasure, here are the links to listen to both Groucho Marx sing this little ditty as well as Virginia Weidler from the movie:

At the Circus
The Philidelphia Story

Oh Lydia, oh Lydia, say, have you met Lydia?
Lydia The Tattooed Lady.
She has eyes that folks adore so,and a torso even more so.
Lydia, oh Lydia, that encyclo-pidia.
Oh Lydia The Queen of Tattoo.
On her back is The Battle of Waterloo.
Beside it, The Wreck of the Hesperus too.
And proudly above waves the red, white, and blue.
You can learn a lot from Lydia!

La-la-la...la-la-la.La-la-la...la-la-la.

When her robe is unfurled she will show you the world,i
f you step up and tell her where.
For a dime you can see Kankakee or Paree,or Washington crossing
The Delaware.

La-la-la...la-la-la.La-la-la...la-la-la.

Oh Lydia, oh Lydia, say, have you met Lydia?
Lydia The Tattooed Lady.
When her muscles start relaxin',up the hill comes Andrew Jackson.
Lydia, oh Lydia, that encyclo-pidia.
Oh Lydia The Queen of them all.
For two bits she will do a mazurka in jazz,
with a view of Niagara that nobody has.And on a clear day you can see Alcatraz.
You can learn a lot from Lydia!

La-la-la...la-la-la.La-la-la...la-la-la.

Come along and see Buffalo Bill with his lasso.
Just a little classic by Mendel Picasso.
Here is Captain Spaulding exploring the Amazon.
Here's Godiva, but with her pajamas on.

La-la-la...la-la-la.La-la-la...la-la-la.

Here is Grover Whelan unveilin' The Trilon.
Over on the west coast we have Treasure Isle-on.
Here's Nijinsky a-doin' the rhumba.
Here's her social security numba.

La-la-la...la-la-la.La-la-la...la-la-la.

Lydia, oh Lydia, that encyclo-pidia.
Oh Lydia The Champ of them all.

She once swept an Admiral clear off his feet.
The ships on her hips made his heart skip a beat.
And now the old boy's in command of the fleet,
for he went and married Lydia!
I said Lydia...
(He said Lydia...)
They said Lydia...
We said Lydia, la, la!

Who Writes the Best Dialogue?

2008-09-29T10:48:00.000-05:00

I wanted to know which fiction writers were known for writing the best dialogue, and here's what I found - from all sorts of sources (literary agents, critics, readers, etc.) - these names were mentioned much more than once:

Elmore Leonard
Ed McBain
Robert B. Parker
Nora Roberts

Getting Stories From Real Life - 2: More From Casey Anthony

2008-09-16T11:24:00.002-05:00

Recordings of the police interviews (interrogations?) of Casey Anthony have been released by the authorities, and audio versions are available for downloading online. (Get the audio here.)

Take these, compare them with the transcriptions contained in the 400 pages of police files previously released for download and you've got some interesting source material for consideration. (Get the 400 pages here.)

For example, listening to Casey Anthony's smooth delivery about her work at Universal, dropping off the baby with Zanny the Nanny, etc., is very educational when you've read the corresponding transcripts in the 400 pages. Consider both the questions and the answers surrounding her admission that she's been lying to the policemen....

Personally, I think this is a great help in learning how to write dialogue. I'm particularly fascinated with how she pauses, her choice of words, the ramblings and the sparceness ... absolutely.

As a lawyer, deposition transcripts have held some of this information for me. Video depos were always preferred, if they were cost-effective, because the jury would get so much more information from them. Having a lawyer take the stand to read from a transcript isn't the same at all: a tremendous amount of information is lost, even if you do get to read the question, "were you lying then or are you lying now?" and the inevitably doomed response (those are the moments that a litigator lives for) ...

Juicy depositions notwithstanding, these Anthony police interviews are much more enlightening than any deposition I've seen or heard or read. And, it's not often that the real world provides such an opportunity.

One last thing -- remember how Dean Koontz is adamant that the only word to be used when writing dialogue is the word "said"? No 'he explained', no 'she exclaimed', no 'he gasped' ... you get the idea.

Well, that Koontz rule makes so much more sense to me after this Casey Anthony lesson. Not only do I believe that anything aside from the word "said" serves only to distract, if the dialogue is authentic, it's the only thing that's needed - or that even makes sense.

IMHO.

Getting Stories From Real Life: the Casey Anthony Saga

2008-08-08T11:36:00.001-05:00

Along with most of the country, I'm watching the Caylee Anthony saga unfold daily - almost hourly at this point - praying that the little girl miraculously will be found alive.

As an attorney appointed to represent abused and neglected children in our local Children's Court, I think I come to the case with a bit of a different perspective than others might ... and as a writer, I can't help but note a few things in my fiction-writing journal, as well. Such as:

1. The Anthony family has become so overwhelmed that they're seeking personal assistants to help them with the media, etc. - at no cost to them.
Source: the Orlando Sentinel, August 5, 2008.

From my notes: personal assistants? They're seeking free personal assistants? What happened to asking for volunteers to help search for a missing child? Even Scott Peterson wasn't this stupid.

2. Casey and the rest of her family all refer to the mysterious Zenaida Gonzalez as the "nanny."
Source: WFTV - Orlando.

From my notes: nanny? Even my wealthiest friend, in her mansion on Town Lake with a real live nanny, doesn't refer to the nanny as a nanny. Please. An unemployed 23-year-old? How about the word "babysitter"??? Talk about high falutin' ....

3. The relationship between Casey and her mother Cindy is a fountain of character information, not only in the way that Cindy first called 911 to report her granddaughter missing - and to ask that her daughter be arrested for stealing from her; but also in their discussions about Cindy being in the media, and Casey's irritation that the family seemed to be more concerned about Caylee than about Casey.
Source: Investigation Discovery.Com

From my notes: There's lots of talk about Casey Anthony's surreal demeanor - to the point that personality disorders and other forms of mental illness are being bandied about ... but Cindy Anthony seems rather bizarre in her own right, from my perspective. The tour of the home on Greta's show was fascinating - Cindy doesn't seem depressed or anxious or grieving either.

One has to wonder about the dynamics in that home prior to Caylee going missing. Looks like Caylee was the apple of everyone's eye - her room was a toy store, out back she had her playhouse, her sandbox, and more toys. Lots of photos of the tot.

I found it curious that Cindy pointed out a framed collage of photos surrounding a copy of Caylee's birth certificate to Greta during the tour. Said she had made it for the shower - which happened after Caylee was born. The certificate was surrounded by photos of the newborn. I think it's telling that it was hanging not in the mother's room, but in the tot's room. Fascinating, really.

Boundary issues? Cindy not respecting Casey as Mom? Cindy wanting to replace Casey as mom?

Was this child seen as property? They both seem to have the emotions more appropriate to a stolen or missing car than for a stolen or missing two year old girl.

What has to happen for a mother to have her daughter arrested for taking property? Some might say tough love, but I'm wondering.

I'm wondering if Caylee became the princess of the household, and Casey became an embarrassing bother (high school dropout, no job, etc.) ... did Casey fight back by taking away Caylee? I think it's in the 911 calls that Cindy threatens to take Caylee away from Casey ....

Why do I think of the mother played by Sissy Spacek in the movie "In the Bedroom"?

There's evil in this story.

Appearances seem so important - a story where the mother wants to get rid of the daughter but has to do it through socially acceptable methods (like arrest), a story where a daughter becomes so needy that she's skipping from man to man, preening for the cameras, deceiving herself as well as others, presenting herself to others as someone glamorous (telling folk she works for Universal, she has a nanny, etc. - even the "hot bodies" contest plays in here), unable to face cruel truths in her life.

There's shame in this story, too.

Dean Koontz, Dreyer's Almond Crunch Bar, and You

2008-07-11T13:29:00.000-05:00

Over at Amazon.com, Dean Koontz has given writers a little juicy tidbit on writing angst ... not only did he spend hours in deliberation non-writers would dismiss as silly or (ahem) mad, but he did the obviously wise thing to do when faced with a dilemma.

Yes, he did eat ice cream. And, yes, he recommends it.

Personally, I've just found these cute little Ben and Jerry individual cups for a buck, they even come with a little spoon in the lid. Thanks to Dean Koontz, I now find them to be a writing necessity not merely a mindless temptation and I'll be stocking up those little jewels this weekend.

This is not the first time that I have thought: Thank God for Dean Koontz.

PS On a serious note, Dean Koontz's tidbit on the Amazon site is important to read from a writing standpoint - don't miss it - and don't let my fixation on Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream this afternoon distract you from some very good writing information from one of the masters.

Finding An Agent - 3: Read Agent Blogs

2008-06-20T10:33:00.000-05:00

Lots of agents are blogging these days, and it's informative to surf through some of these blogs to learn more about the agents, as well as the industry. Among them:

Guide to Literary Agents' Editors Blog - Writer's Digest Books offers its annual Guide with an accompanying website. This is the blog that tag-teams with that site. Great info and it's been updated regularly for the past year. Looks like it's here to stay. Definitely bookmark this one.

BookEnds - Agency blog that's been around since 2006, providing steady, lengthy posting. Wish they'd add a Labels listing in their sidebar (it's a Blogger blog).

The Rejecter - Proven blog, written by an anonymous assistant to a literary agent. Gold mine. (Another anonymous blog with lots of good scoop was Miss Snark; alas, she quit blogging but the archives are worth a surf.)

Et in Arcaedia, ego - Jennifer Jackson's blog (she also has a website) which not only is informative in its own right, but her posts are chocked full of links to other blogs (including agent blogs) that pertain to the subject at hand. Very helpful. (I've also noticed lots of agent blogs link to this blog - it's well liked among her peer group.)

Query Shark - a service to the profession, the fabulous Shark guts query letter after query letter in post after post. Not for the faint of heart.

Folio Literary Management Blog - This is a newbie (it's less than 90 days old as of the date of this post). Posts thus far are very good, and they're coming from more than one agent. Hope it sticks around.

For the Christian market, here are two agent blogs to read: Rachelle Gardner and Chip MacGregor. Chip MacGregor's at MacGregor Literary; Rachelle Gardner is at WordServe Literary.

Great Interview with Janet Evonovich

2008-06-17T17:26:00.000-05:00

Click on the title to jump over to a nice, and not too long, interview with Janet Evonovich -- where she discusses writing with humor and promises that "good people do not die in this series!" Whew.

Inspiration: JK Rowling's Harvard 2008 Commencement Address

2008-06-06T11:21:00.000-05:00

JK Rowling's commencement address can be watched, or read, in its entirety at the online site for Harvard Magazine (a good read, by the way). It's worth your time to do so.

Here are some excerpts that I want to make sure I remember, so I'm quoting them here but this is far from her entire speech, and the speech is important -- it's important to read, word by word:

Personal Responsiblity

"There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you....

"... choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice...."

Personal Happiness

"...personal happiness lies in knowing that life is not a check-list of acquisition or achievement. Your qualifications, your CV, are not your life, though you will meet many people of my age and older who confuse the two.

Poverty

"... [Poverty] is not an ennobling experience. Poverty entails fear, and stress, and sometimes depression; it means a thousand petty humiliations and hardships. Climbing out of poverty by your own efforts, that is indeed something on which to pride yourself, but poverty itself is romanticised only by fools.

Failure Can Help You If You Let It

"...Ultimately, we all have to decide for ourselves what constitutes failure, but the world is quite eager to give you a set of criteria if you let it.

"...the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me.

"Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had already been realised, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.

"It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all - in which case, you fail by default.

"The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive.

Imagination Is a Responsiblity

"Unlike any other creature on this planet, humans can learn and understand, without having experienced. They can think themselves into other people’s minds, imagine themselves into other people’s places. Of course, this is a power, like my brand of fictional magic, that is morally neutral. One might use such an ability to manipulate, or control, just as much as to understand or sympathise.

"And many prefer not to exercise their imaginations at all. ...I think the wilfully unimaginative see more monsters. They are often more afraid.

"...What is more, those who choose not to empathise may enable real monsters. For without ever committing an act of outright evil ourselves, we collude with it, through our own apathy.

"...Greek author Plutarch: What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.

Amazon Publishing Great 4 Writers?

2008-05-19T09:10:00.000-05:00

Forbe's Sramana Mitra has some very interesting perspectives on Amazon.com's potential to help authors in the long run.

Mitra points out such things as:

Currently, book at $24.95, author receives around $1 -1.50 per book. If Amazon is acting as retailer, marketer, publisher and agent, taking 65% of the book, then author would get 35%.

Same book at $24.95: author gets $8.73 per book.

Lots of discussion of Amazon looking at vertical integration, pointing to BookSurge (see post over at Writer/Lawyer for more on that deal) ...

...best news from her article (emphasis added):

"Over the next few years, Amazon likely will use its power to build direct relationships with authors and gradually phase out publishers and agents. It will first go after the independent print-on-demand self-publishers and get the best authors from that world. Amazon will then take on the large publishers."

Makes that Amazon self-publishing company even more interesting to ponder ....

Edgar Allen Poe Awards - 2008

2008-05-16T19:45:00.000-05:00

The Mystery Writers of America announced the 2008 winners of their Edgar awards -- here's the list of nominees with the winner appearing first, in boldface type.

Best Mystery Novel

* Down River by John Hart
• Christine Falls by Benjamin Black
• Priest by Ken Bruen
• The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon
• Soul Patch by Reed Farrel Coleman

Best First Novel by an American Author

* In the Woods by Tana French
• Missing Witness by Gordon Campbell
• Snitch Jacket by Christopher Goffard
• Head Games by Craig McDonald
• Pyres by Derek Nikitas

Best Paperback Original

* Queenpin by Megan Abbott
• Blood of Paradise by David Corbett
• Cruel Poetry by Vicki Hendricks
• Robbie’s Wife by Russell Hill
• Who Is Conrad Hirst? by Kevin Wignall

Best Fact Crime

* Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy by Vincent Bugliosi
• The Birthday Party by Stanley Alpert
• Chasing Justice: My Story of Freeing Myself After Two Decades on Death Row for a Crime I Didn't Commit by Kerry Max Cook
• Relentless Pursuit: A True Story of Family, Murder and the Prosecutor Who Wouldn't Quit by Kevin Flynn
• Sacco & Vanzetti: The Men, The Murders, and the Judgment of Mankind by Bruce Watson

Moleskines

2007-01-15T15:12:00.001-06:00

Moleskines - if you're a writer, you gotta have one. According to moleskines.com, a moleskine "is the legendary notebook, used by European artists and thinkers for the past two centuries, from Van Gogh to Picasso, from Ernest Hemingway to Bruce Chatwin." (Yes, I agree - I never thought of Hemingway as a European artist....)

Wikipedia has a nice history of the notebook, which is currently manufactered in Italy by Modo & Modo since the original manufacturer, Tours, went out of business in 1986.

From the Modo & Modo site, "...in Ernest Hemingway's memoir, Moveable Feast, he chronicles Paris in the 1920s just after World War I while spending time writing in various Paris cafés. Hemingway reflects on the quintessential moments ordering a cafe au lait and pulling out his notebook and pencil from his pocket to start writing. It is this simple ritual that he describes so well. That comfortable feeling, when even in the mist of a bustling café that one can immerse oneself into thoughtful prose or a delicate sketch. During this time in Paris, Hemingway apparently had also been working on The Sun Also Rises using his trusted Moleskine. Not a surprising notion to those that have come to know and love Moleskine."

For how people are using their moleskines, check out Moleskinerie.com.

How to Write A Book Proposal - 2 (the Platform)

2007-01-15T13:14:00.001-06:00

A relatively new publishing concept is the writer's platform. Publishers are looking for writers who have established outlets to promote the book they've written: this can be a website, a newsletter, or a known reputation in their community outside of being a writer. Other examples include writing a syndicated column, giving speeches, being a well-known blogger, and hosting or regularly appearing as an expert on a local radio show. Synergy is the industry word used to describe how this platform works together with other marketing avenues to promote the book.

Writers are responsible for their platform: it's one more thing to build alongside that book proposal. According to Scott Mendel, your book proposal is premature if your platform isn't ready to go. Mendel advises:

"If your description of your platform strikes even you as slight, this is probably a sign that you have put the cart before the horse. In this case you should spend more time and resources building your platform before circulating your book proposal for the simple reason that, even if an editor falls in love with your book and convinces her colleagues to publish it, the most likely scenario for your book would be a small advance, and a quiet launch with very modest resources for promotion and publicity, resulting in part in unimpressive sales. Such mediocre or poor sales will be an albatross around your neck the next time you want to circulate a book proposal for another book. They will deflate the perceived value of your future projects, and could trap you as a so-called mid-list author when what you may want to be is a front-list bestseller. Unfair? Maybe. But today’s market-driven nonfiction publishing is driven by sales and inventory numbers available to almost everyone in the book business."

One example of a platform? Read Jenna Glatzer's story of building AbsoluteWrite.com and how it helped her reach #4 on the Amazon.com charts. Another platform? Attorney/blogger Glenn Greenwald hit #1 on Amazon.com after he posted about his new book on his blog, Unclaimed Territory.

Sources: www.wordsmitten.com (interview with Katherine Sands); www.forewordmagazine.com (article by Patti Dickenson); www.backspace.org (article by Scott Mendel); ChurchoftheCustomer (post, 10 Things About Writing Your First Business Book by Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba); Seth Godin's 19 Tips for Authors.

BestSeller Lists-1: Accuracy

2006-12-25T19:13:00.002-06:00

The New York Times Best Seller List is perhaps the most famous and coveted bestseller list, and some claim that most buyers check this list before making a purchase. [I doubt this, as do others - see below.]

How this list is compiled is a trade secret, but it's known that the NYT "News Surveys" department creates it and the NYT Book Review publishes it.

It's a weekly list, said to be based upon weekly sales reports from a selected set of independent and chain bookstores - and wholesalers - across the country. The sales tallies are not wholesale figures: they represent actual books sold to the individual buyer.

There are other bestseller lists, of course. USA Today has a well-known list: providing the top 150 in book sales without categorization, it gives other information, including the week of peak sales and number of weeks on the list.

Publisher's Weekly has its list. So do various booksellers: for independents, check out BookSense; for chains, look to Barnes&Noble.com, and Borders, which is "teamed" online with Amazon.com. The Christian Booksellers Association also has its own list.

Once you've found the lists, the question becomes: what do they tell you? On his blog From Where I Sit (12-22-06 entry), ThomasNelson CEO Michael Hyatt tells you: not much. The lists don't include things like Wal-Mart sales, and the bulk of the Christian market, for example.

Hyatt explains: "Most of the bestsellers lists are inaccurate. In fact, I can't think of a single exception. They claim to be comprehensive. Supposedly, they represent the best selling books in the country. But the fact is, they don’t. At best, they represent sales through a specific sales channel. But guess what’s missing? That’s right. All the mass market outlets like Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, Costco, and Sam’s and Christian bookstores (some 2,300 stores or so). This is a big piece of the market.

"For example, at Thomas Nelson, about 34% of our total sales come from Christian bookstores and another 16% come from mass outlets. Only 21% of our sales go through general market bookstores like Barnes & Noble, Borders, and Books-a-Million—the stores the New York Times polls. The other large Christian publishers probably have a similar mix. As a result, the Times completely misses the number of units that are moving through some very significant sales channels. At best, they can claim that their bestsellers list represents sales through only one specific sales channel.

"...The best solution of all would be for Nielsen’s BookScan to collect data from Christian bookstores. It already collects data from 6,500 general market bookstores and other retail outlets, including Target, K-Mart, and Costco. (It apparently does not collect data from Wal-Mart or Sam’s.) It is also based on point-of-sale data, so the data is thus more reliable. It reflects what customers are actually buying."

PoynterOnline's BookBabes blog (11-19-04 entry) has a nice discussion of an article written in Fall 2004 by Marina Krakovsky which appeared in The Washington Post Book World.

Krakovsky's interest was piqued by a study by Stanford business professor Alan Sorensen, who had compared the NYT List with Nielsen BookScan. (Nielsen more accurate, NYT didn't impact booksales in any significant way.) Krakovsky investigated how various bestseller lists are compiled, comparing them to the Nielsen BookScan, which purportedly logs approximately 70 percent of all book sales.

Margo Hammond, book editor for the St. Petersburg Times writes, "So which bestseller list really tells us which books America is buying? It would seem none of them. Even [Nielsen] BookScan can't convince Wal-Mart to disclose its sales, for example. BookScan may provide the most accurate list for the whole country. But for now the public buys into the more "whimsical" lists because they carry some sort of branding allure, without thinking about how these lists reflect the tastes and philosophies of each publication as much as they do actual sales. Instead of bestseller lists, perhaps we should call them Lists of Books We Think Our Particular Readers Are Buying."

Ellen Heltzel, co-author of the BookBabes column for Poytner, replies: "Beware the big clomping feet of BookScan. Sure, the data-meister doesn't clock Wal-Mart, nor, for that matter, does it measure sales to libraries or assigned reading on college campuses. But, in the four years since it was started, BookScan has turned itself into a force to reckon with. Where newspapers and magazines used to offer the best that was available in customer advisories on what was selling, now BookScan can do it better. Cultural lag and tradition accounts for why the reading public is still addicted to The New York Times bestseller list. But BookScan's Jim King makes it clear that his outfit would like to become the standard inside the industry -- and outside, as well.

BookScan's advantage is that all it does is collect the numbers that reveal winners and losers (as far as sales go, anyway). It surveys national chains, regional chains, discounters like Costco, and independents. The information is helpful to publishers, who now can make decisions based not only on how their own books are doing, but with fair measure of the competition."

In 2003, Publisher's Weekly wasn't so sure about this new kid on the block. "So how representative are the service's numbers? An informal survey of the top-selling books of 2003 showed some surprising things.

"BookScan generally claims to represent between 70% and 75% of sales in the industry (Wal-Mart and some of the supermarket chains are among those who decline to report.) But a comparison with in-print figures supplied by publishers reveals that the numbers are more likely to represent about 65%, even after deducting for unsold books and returns.

"For BookScan's top ten nonfiction titles published last year--a list that include mass-market favorites like Phil McGraw's diet books as well as indie hits like Benjamin Franklin: An American Life--no title had BookScan sales comprise more than 75% of total sales. For some of the books that had strong special-sales, they ran as low as 25%."

[Note: if you want to check the sales of a particular book (e.g., if you want to confirm the accuracy of your royalty check), you can buy a sales report based upon Nielsen BookScan information from the BookStandard. An example of what you get for $85 is shown on the site in .pdf format.]

How to Write A Book Proposal - 1 (the CEO)

2006-12-22T12:38:00.001-06:00

Written by the Pres/CEO of ThomasNelson (6th largest trade publisher in the US, 2006), this is a nice article both in size (10 pages) and in example (lots of illustrations of what he likes to see).

What does Michael Hyatt want to see? Five things:

1. captivating cover letter;
2. title page;
3. proposal overview (the content, the market, and the author);
4. chapter-by-chapter synopsis; and
5. two sample chapters.

What does Michael Hyatt advise? Two things:

1. Decide what you want to say; and
2. Decide to whom you want to say it.

Lots more in this downloadable article (pdf format). A must read.

Mr. Hyatt has a very nice blog, too, entitled, "From Where I Sit: Musings on the World of Publishing."

Grammar-1:11 Common Mistakes

2006-11-25T11:56:00.001-06:00

According to JunketStudies, here are the 11 rules of grammar that are most often broken (or is it "broken most often"?):

1. To join two independent clauses, use a comma followed by a conjunction, a semicolon alone, or a semicolon followed by a sentence modifier.

2. Use commas to bracket nonrestrictive phrases, which are not essential to the sentence's meaning.

3. Do not use commas to bracket phrases that are essential to a sentence's meaning.

4. When beginning a sentence with an introductory phrase or an introductory (dependent) clause, include a comma.

5. To indicate possession, end a singular noun with an apostrophe followed by an "s". Otherwise, the noun's form seems plural.

6. Use proper punctuation to integrate a quotation into a sentence. If the introductory material is an independent clause, add the quotation after a colon. If the introductory material ends in "thinks," "saying," or some other verb indicating expression, use a comma.

7. Make the subject and verb agree with each other, not with a word that comes between them.

8. Be sure that a pronoun, a participial phrase, or an appositive refers clearly to the proper subject.

9. Use parallel construction to make a strong point and create a smooth flow.

10. Use the active voice unless you specifically need to use the passive.

11. Omit unnecessary words.

What does all this MEAN? Go here, and click for details: http://www.junketstudies.com/rulesofw/

How They Do It-2: Robin Lee Hatcher

2006-11-25T10:52:00.001-06:00

Robin Lee Hatcher describes herself as an "intuitive writer," explaining: "I write to discover what will happen next just as my readers read to discover what will happen next. I don't know what will occur in chapter ten until I have written chapter nine."

I've discovered this is how I write fiction, too. So, how to keep the plot organized when you're not working from an outline?

Robin's way:

"I keep what is called a "rolling plot" notebook. Basically, I journal before beginning to write for that day, determining, based on what I wrote yesterday, what needs to be accomplished next. Sometimes, of course, I write down what needs to happen in the future. I keep an 8.5" x 5.5" spiral notebook for each book, and some pages are flagged and highlighted as I go along, knowing I will have to backtrack to some of my comments."

For software help, Robin's recommendation - coming by way of author James Scott Bell: Inspiration8. "I've used it now on two projects, and I highly recommend it as a way to get the juices flowing." A free version is available at http://www.inspiration.com/productinfo/Inspiration/index.cfm.

Robin Lee Hatcher has written over 50 novels, and includes among her accolades:
winner of the Christy Award for Excellence in Christian Fiction (Whispers from Yesterday), the RITA Award for Best Inspirational Romance (Patterns of Love and The Shepherd's Voice), and the RWA Lifetime Achievement Award. Catching Katie (Tyndale) was named one of the Best Books of 2004 by the Library Journal.

For all of Robin's article, see: http://charisconnection.blogspot.com/2006/11/rlh-brainstorming-and-intuitive-writer.html
For Robin's writing blog, go to: http://robinlee.typepad.com/i_was_just_thinking_/

Elements of a Thriller-2: Thriller Sub-genres

2006-11-24T11:57:00.004-06:00

My research is revealing a lot of controversy concerning what is, and what is not, a thriller. Is Capote's In Cold Blood a thriller? There's a debate for you.

Reader's Digest would take the affirmative side of that argument, as the RD editorial board has attempted to categorize a wide variety of books as "thrillers" in their list of "the world's best thrillers," organized by RD's definition of the most popular thriller sub-genres, commentary below provided by RD Special Editions editor Laura Kelly:

1. The Spy Thriller
The Spy Who Came In from the Cold by John le Carré (1963) is the quintessential espionage thriller. Set during the Cold War, this rich tale still captivates with its spellbinding portrayal of the world of secret agents. And don't miss The Avenger by Frederick Forsyth (2003) the 21st century's top spy pulse-pounder, by the author of The Day of the Jackal.

2. The Techno Thriller
Gadgets, gadgets and more gadgets. Ian Fleming started it all with James Bond and his arsenal of clever, useful gadgets, some not so far-fetched anymore. The best Bond book? From Russia with Love (1957). Get to know the real Bond, not Sean, Roger, Timothy or Pierce, by imbibing him on the printed page. For a more recent techno thriller, The Blue Nowhere by Jeffery Deaver (2001) stimulates the imagination with its truly surprising twists and turns, and a fascinating computer-based plot.

3. The Classic Thriller
The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells (1898) was one of the world's pioneering thrillers, introducing this genre, unknown at the time, to worldwide acclaim. And the story is still alive and well today. We agree: Tom Cruise is cute, but treat yourself to the real deal and snatch up the book. For a more recent classic thriller, try Whiteout by Ken Follett (2004), the latest gem by the author of Eye of the Needle. It's the chilling story of what happens when biological weapons fall into the wrong hands, and the blizzard that builds over the course of the book will cool you right off at the beach.

4. The Psychological Suspense Thriller
If you get your adrenaline rush from mind games rather than chase scenes, psychological suspense is for you. For sheer creepiness and terror, nothing beats The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris (1988). More recently, Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane (2003), will not only scare you silly but fool you as well.

5. The Legal Thriller
Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow (1987) features terrific characters, a deftly executed plot, and fascinating legal insight, making it the definitive legal thriller. And for an exciting new author, don't miss In the Shadow of the Law by Kermit Roosevelt (2005), a firecracker of a debut by a former clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter.

6. The Medical Thriller
Medical paperwork these days is pretty terrifying, but you can get true terror in these two great medical thrillers. Read Coma by Robin Cook (1977), the unforgettable saga of patients who check into the hospital for "minor" surgery and never wake up. For the strong of stomach, The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen (2001) is gruesomely chilling and addictively page-turning.

7. The Sci-Fi Thriller
Sure he's done dinosaurs and television emergency rooms, but Michael Crichton's first novel, The Andromeda Strain (1969), still ranks as one of the top science fiction thrillers of all time. What could be scarier than microscopic killer germs run amok? Representing the larger end of the weird-creature spectrum, Mammoth by John Varley (2005) imaginatively spins a yarn starring a billionaire, a brilliant nerd, and a gifted animal wrangler whose newest charge happens to be a woolly mammoth.

8. The Military Thriller
You've seen the movie, but don't miss the book. The Great Escape by Paul Brickhill (1950) is even more captivating on paper, with perhaps the most hair-raising POW escape scene ever written. Remembering that this novel is based on a true story renders it doubly nerve-racking. For contemporary military thrillers, nothing beats the Jack Reacher series by Lee Child. Try the first Reacher novel, Killing Floor (1997) or Child's latest bestseller, One Shot (2005). Or, for that matter, pick up any riveting Reacher book in between.

9. The True-Crime Thriller
Yes, real life can be stranger than fiction, and true-crime thrillers prove this. The most famous book in this nonfiction genre is Truman Capote's In Cold Blood (1966). The author spent months in the Midwest painstakingly retracing the steps of two young rural killers -- and then wrote about it chillingly. Another excellent and more recent true-crime book is Green River, Running Red by Ann Rule (2004), the true story of the notorious Green River serial killer who terrorized the Seattle area for decades.

10. The Action/Adventure Thriller
Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors by Piers Paul Read (1974) set the gold standard for heroic survival stories, with this true tale of a Uruguayan rugby team whose plane crashes, resulting in an incredible 10-week physical and emotional ordeal. Changing altitudes from mountains to the ocean floor, Shadow Divers, the hit 2005 book by Robert Kurson, re-enacts the story of an extraordinary deep-sea discovery and adventure.

Elements of a Thriller-1: Thriller vs Mystery

2006-11-24T11:57:00.003-06:00

What is the difference between a mystery and a thriller?

From David Morrell, former president of the International Thriller Writers Organization:

"One crucial distinction is that traditional mysteries appeal primarily to the mind and emphasize the logical solution to a puzzle. In contrast, thrillers strive for heightened emotions and emphasize the sensations of what might be called an obstacle race and a scavenger hunt.... [T]he contrast is between emotion and logic, between an urgent pace and a calm one. True, the two genres can merge if the scavenger hunt of a thriller involves solving a puzzle. But in a thriller, the goal of solving the puzzle is to excite the reader as much as to satisfy curiosity.

"It’s interesting that, in recent years, some authors have blended elements of thrillers and mysteries into a hybrid (mostly involving serial killers) in which a detective’s solution to a heinous crime is presented in a harrowing fashion that is more typical of thrillers than mysteries. This sort of evolution is an indication of how creative these genres can be."

Carolyn Wheat, quoting from Trish MacDonald Skillman, provides Fifteen Differences Between Mysteries and Thrillers:

1. A mystery concerns itself with a puzzle. Suspense presents the reader with a nightmare.

2. A mystery is a power fantasy; we identify with the detective. Suspense is a victim fantasy; we identify with someone at the mercy of others.

3. A mystery can be likened to a myth. Suspense is more like a fairy tale.

4. In a mystery the hero or heroine already has the skills he or she needs to solve the puzzle. In suspense, he or she must learn new skills to survive.

5. In a mystery, thinking is paramount. In suspense, feeling is paramount.

6. The most important action in a mystery takes place offstage. In suspense, the important action happens onstage.

7. A mystery usually takes place within a small circle of friends. The hero or heroine of a suspense novel often finds him or herself thrust into a larger world.

8. Readers of mysteries are looking for clues. Readers of suspense are expecting surprises.

9. In a mystery, information is withheld. In suspense novels, information is provided.

10. The ideal reader of mysteries remains one step behind the hero or heroine. Those who read suspense should be one step ahead of the hero or heroine.

11. Mystery readers expect a series. Those who read suspense know a book can be a one shot.

12. The hero or heroine in a mystery is looking for suspects. The hero or heroine in suspense looks for betrayers.

13. A mystery hero or heroine must confront a series of red herrings. The suspense novel hero or heroine faces a cycle of distrust.

14. Mystery endings must be intellectually satisfying. Suspense endings must provide emotional satisfaction.

15. Mysteries are usually three hundred manuscript pages. Suspense novels can be longer.

Sources:
http://bksp.org/secondarypages/articles/authors/DMorrell2.htm
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=18575302

Finding an Agent-2: Writer Beware's Top 10 List

2006-11-24T11:15:00.001-06:00

Writer Beware keeps an updated online list of the worst agents out there. They have compiled a list of the twenty literary agents with the worst reputations at their site: these are the most notorious of the past two decades.

From that listing, here are Writer Beware's top ten:

The Abacus Group Literary Agency
Allred and Allred Literary Agents (refers clients to "book doctor" Victor West of Pacific Literary Services)
Barbara Bauer Literary Agency
Benedict Associates (also d/b/a B.A. Literary Agency)
Sherwood Broome, Inc. (also d/b/a Stillwater Literary Agency, LLC)
Capital Literary Agency (formerly American Literary Agents of Washington, Inc.; also d/b/a Washington Agency and Washington Literary Agency)
Desert Rose Literary Agency
Arthur Fleming Associates
Finesse Literary Agency (also d/b/a/ Elite Finesse Literary Agency)
Brock Gannon Literary Agency

The full list: http://www.sfwa.org/beware/twentyworst.html
Writer Beware's Writer Alert Page: http://www.sfwa.org/beware/
Writer Beware's FAQ: http://www.sfwa.org/beware/overview.html

Finding an Agent-1

2006-11-15T11:30:00.001-06:00

AgentQuery
www.agentquery.com
List of agents, the site appears to be choosey about who they include - reputable agents only.

Agent Research & Evaluation News
www.agentresearch.com/news.html
Articles on agents and deals.

Agent Research & Evaluation Verification Service
www.agentresearch.com/agent_ver.html
You can check out an agent's reputation here - as well as sales he/she has made, things like that.

Association of Authors' Representatives
www.aar-online.org
AAR is the professional trade group for agents in the US. The site has a membership list, and the AAR Code of Ethics is published on the site. Good to know.

Preditors & Editors
www.anotherealm.com/prededitors
Online site listing evildoing agents and their schemes.

Publisher's Lunch
www.publishersmarketplace.com/lunch/free
Free version - nice, but the subscription does provide so much more. For free, you get a daily email providing publishing news; once a week, the email gives you a listing of recent deals. Get the subscription from Publishers' Marketplace.

Publishers Marketplace
www.publishersmarketplace.com
Great site. Deals in an organized manner, going back several years. Agents can be researched here. It may not have all the scoop, but it does have a lot.

Publishers Weekly
www.publishersweekly.com
Online version of the magazine. You have to subscribe. Expensive.

Writer Beware
www.writerbeware.org
Science Fiction Writers' Association site that gives lots of info about agents, as well as publishers and the like. You don't have to be a science fiction writer to appreciate the great info here -- it's a great service that SFWA provides, akin to Preditors & Editors (see above).

Reading Great Writing-4 (Online Magazines)

2006-10-27T14:35:00.002-05:00

Vanity Fair provides some excellent examples of good writing at its website, including:

Dominick Dunne on Truman Capote

Alex Shoumatoff on Reinhold Messner

The New Yorker has a nice online archive.

Reading Great Writing-3 (First Sentences)

2006-10-21T14:08:00.001-05:00

From the Radcliffe list (below), some of the first sentences. After that, some greats that didn't make their list. Ford Madox Ford -- more people need to read his work.

In Cold Blood, Truman Capote:
The village of Holcomb stands on the high wheat plains of western Kansas, a lonesome area that other Kansans call "out there."

Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie:
I was born in the city of Bombay... once upon a time.

White Noise, by Don Delillo:
The station wagon's arrived at noon, a long shining line that coursed through the west campus.

Death Comes for the Archbishop, by Willa Cather:
One afternoon in the autumn of 1851 a solitary horseman, followed by a pack-mule, was pushing through an arid stretch of country somewhere in central New Mexico.

The Maltese Falcon, by Dashiell Hammett:
Samuel Spade's jaw was long and bony, his chin a jutting v under the more flexible v of his mouth.

Gone With the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell:
Scarlett O'Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charm as the Tarleton twins were.

The Color Purple, by Alice Walker:
I am fourteen years old.

Ulysses, by James Joyce:
Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.

Lord of the Flies, by William Golding:
The boy with fair hair lowered himself down the last few feet of rock and began to pick his way toward the lagoon.

All the King's Men, by Robert Penn Warren:
To get there you follow Highway 58, going northeast out of the city, and it is a good highway and new.

The World According to Garp, by John Irving:
Garp's mother, Jenny Fields, was arrested in Boston in 1942 for wounding a man in a movie theater.

Rebecca, by Daphne DuMaurier:
Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.

The Beautiful and the Damned, by F. Scott Fitzgerald:
In 1913, when Anthony Patch was twenty-five, two years were already gone since irony, the Holy Ghost of this later day, had, theoretically at least, descended upon him.

The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame:
The Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum:
Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairies, with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmer's wife.

Why aren't these on the Radcliffe List?

The Good Soldier, by Ford Madox Ford:
This is the saddest story I have ever heard.

Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry:
When Augustus came out on the porch the blue pigs were eating a rattlesnake -- not a very big one.

A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving:
I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice -- not because of his voice, or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother's death, but because he is the reason I believe in God; I am a Christian because of Owen Meany.

Cold Mountain, by Richard Frazier:
At the first gesture of morning, flies began stirring.

A Wrinkle in Time, by Mag L'Engle:
It was a dark and stormy night.

Double Indemnity, by James M. Cain:
I drove out to Glendale to put three new truck drivers on a brewery company bond, and then I remembered this renewal over in Hollywoodland.

The Screwtape Letters, by CS Lewis:
My dear Wormwood, I note what you say about guiding your patient's reading and taking care that he sees a good deal of his materialist friend.

Reading Great Writing-2 (Apple)

2006-10-21T13:50:00.001-05:00

Johnny Apple died recently. While most will recall his work as war correspondent for the New York Times, for me, it's his work as a travel writer that first comes to mind.

Apple's Europe and Apple's America are great reads -- beautiful and eloquent without being elitist. You can read excerpts of America at Amazon.com; Apple's Europe is rather hard to find -- if you stumble upon a copy, grab it.

First sentence, Apple's America:
Boston is one of the oldest American cities, a repository of our national past, yet it has shown an extraordinary capacity to look to the future and reinvent itself when needed.

Reading Great Writing-1

2006-10-21T13:41:00.001-05:00

According to the Radcliffe Publishing Course, these are the top 100 English-language novels of the 20th Century (banned or challenged books having been bold-faced by the American Library Association):

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
The Grapes of Wrath, John Stein****
To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
The Color Purple, Alice Walker
Ulysses, James Joyce
Beloved, Toni Morrison
The Lord of the Flies, William Golding
1984, George Orwell
The Sound and the Fury, William Faulkner
Lolita, Vladmir Nabokov
Of Mice and Men, John Stein****
Charlotte's Web, EB White
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce
Catch-22, Joseph Heller
Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
Animal Farm, George Orwell
The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway
As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner
A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway
Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
Winnie-the-Pooh, AA Milne
Their Eyes were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston
Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison
Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison
Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
Native Son, Richard Wright
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Ken Kesey
Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut
For Whom the Bell Tolls, Ernest Hemingway
On the Road, Jack Kerouac
The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway
The Call of the Wild, Jack London
To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf
Portrait of a Lady, Henry James
Go Tell it on the Mountain, James Baldwin
The World According to Garp, John Irving
All the King's Men, Robert Penn Warren
A Room with a View , EM Forster
The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
Schindler's List, Thomas Keneally
The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton
The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand
Finnegans Wake, James Joyce
The Jungle, Upton Sinclair
Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Frank L. Baum
Lady Chatterley's Lover, DH Lawrence
A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess
The Awakening, Kate Chopin
My Antonia, Willa Cather
Howard's End, EM Forster
In Cold Blood, Truman Capote
Franny and Zooey, JD Salinger
Satanic Verses, Salman Rushdie
Jazz, Toni Morrison
Sophie's Choice, William Styron
Absalom, Absalom!, William Faulkner
Passage to India, EM Forster
Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton
A Good Man is Hard to Find, Flannery O'Connor
Tender is the Night, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Orlando, Virginia Woolf
Sons and Lovers, DH Lawrence
Bonfire of the Vanities, Thomas Wolfe
Cat's Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut
A Separate Peace, John Knowles
Light in August, William Faulkner
The Wings of the Dove, Henry James
Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe
Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
A Hithchiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
Naked Lunch, William S. Burroughs
Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
Women in Love, DH Lawrence
Look Homeward, Angel, Thomas Wolfe
In Our Time, Ernest Hemingway
The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, Gertrude Stein
The Maltese Falcon, Dashiell Hammett
The Naked and the Dead, Norman Mailer
The Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Rhys
White Noise, Don DeLillo
O Pioneers!, Willa Cather
Tropic of Cancer, Henry Miller
The War of the Worlds, HG Wells
Lord Jim, Joseph Conrad
The Bostonians, Henry James
An American Tragedy, Theodore Dreiser
Death Comes for the Archbishop, Willa Cather
The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
This Side of Paradise, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand
The French Lieutenant's Woman, John Fowles
Babbitt, Sinclair Lewis
Kim, Rudyard Kipling
The Beautiful and the Damned, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Rabbit, Run, John Updike
Where Angels Fear to Tread, EM Forster
Main Street, Sinclair Lewis
Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie

Watching the Deals-6

2006-09-30T16:44:00.001-05:00

Two major deals were reported within the past two weeks: first, A Travel Guide to Heaven author and priest Anthony DeStefano's next two spiritual/religion books were sold for "in the six figures," and second, St.Martin's will publish NYT bestselling author/former attorney Stephen Coonts' next two hardcover thrillers featuring Tommy Carmellini.

While Tommy Carmellini can claim his own series beginning with 2004's Liars and Thieves, he has appeared as a major character in several of Coonts' Jake Grafton novels: Cuba, Hong Kong, America, Liberty, as well as Coonts' latest on the shelf, Traitor. Obviously, the major deal involves an expansion of the Tommy Carmellini series.

Recent Romances Sold:

RITA award-winner Beth Pattillo's THE SWEETGUM KNIT LIT SOCIETY, in which five women find faith and healing through their knitting and their novels, to Dudley Delffs at WaterBrook Press, in a two-book deal, for publication in spring 2008, by Jenny Bent at Trident Media Group (NA).

Syrie James's THE LOST MEMOIRS OF JANE AUSTEN, written in a modernized Jane Austen style that weaves fact and fiction together seamlessly, and in which Jane Austen meets Mr. Ashford, falls in love, and has just the relationship her legions of fans and readers might wish for the beloved spinster, to Lucia Macro at Avon, in a good deal, at auction, by Tamar Ellman at the Laura Dail Literary Agency (NA). Good deal = $100,000 - $250,000.

Lucinda Betts's SHE BEAST, an anthology of erotic romances where each story features a woman shape shifter; HORSE PLAY, a single-author, paranormal erotic romance anthology; and MYTHOS, a multi-authored, paranormal erotic romance anthology, to Hilary Sares at Kensington Aphrodisia, in a nice deal, by Faith Hamlin at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates (world). Nice deal = $1 - $49,000.

NYT bestselling author Lynsay Sands's three untitled historical romances, to Erika Tsang at Avon, in a good deal, by Jenny Bent at Trident Media Group (World English). Good deal = $100,000 - $250,000.

Marjorie M. Liu's four untitled paranormal romance novels, to Chris Keeslar at Dorchester Leisure, in a good deal, by Lucienne Diver of Spectrum Literary Agency. Good deal = $100,000 - $250,000.

Doreen Rainey's FOOLISH PRIDE, about an unlikely couple who team up to stop their siblings from marrying, only to find themselves fighting their own attraction, to Evette Porter at Harlequin's Kimani, in a nice deal, in a two-book deal, by Pamela Harty of The Knight Agency. Nice deal = $1 - $49,000.

Maxine Billing's IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH, the sequel to The Breaking Point, in which a couple will see just how strong their marriage is when the husband is faced with a serious health condition, again to Glenda Howard at Kimani, in a nice deal, in a two-book deal, by Pamela Harty of The Knight Agency. Nice deal = $1 - $49,000.

AND ONLY TO DECEIVE author Tasha Alexander's next two novels of historical suspense featuring a Victorian aristocrat, to Jennifer Civiletto of William Morrow, by Anne Hawkins at John Hawkins & Associates.

Writing as Dawn MacTavish, Dawn Thompson's THE MARSH HAWK, for publication in July 2007, THE PRIVATEER, and PRISONER OF THE FLAMES, both for publication in 2008, to Chris Keeslar at Dorchester, in a nice deal. Nice deal = $1 - $49,000.

Recent Mysteries Sold:

Kathryn Lilley's DYING TO BE THIN: A Fat City Mystery, in which a spunky television reporter travels to Durham, NC, "Diet Capital of the World," to enter a clinic and achieve that "on-air look," but she soon finds the inside story on a murder investigation when one of the doctors ends up dead, to Kristen Weber at NAL, in a nice deal, in a three-book deal, by Kim Lionetti at BookEnds(World). Nice deal = $1 -$49,000.

Claudia Bishop's holiday-themed Hemlock Falls mystery, to Natalee Rosenstein at Berkley Prime Crime, in a nice deal, by Lucienne Diver of Spectrum Literary Agency. Nice deal = $1 - $49,000.

Emmy-nominated star of The Young and The Restless Eileen Davidson and author Robert J. Randisi's THE YEARNING TIDE, set in the world of soap operas, to Kristen Weber at NAL, in a two-book deal, by Dominick Abel at Dominick Abel Associates (World English).

Ashna Graves's DEATH PANS OUT, debut featuring a recovering breast cancer victim who instead of resting and recovering from a double mastectomy, finds herself drawn into deadly, decades-old secrets of an old mining outpost, as she tries to unravel the enigma of her long-missing uncle, to Robert Rosenwald at Poisoned Pen Press, by Sorche Fairbank of Fairbank Literary Representation.

Eppie winner Penny Rudolph's LIFEBLOOD, the sequel to Thicker Than Blood, in which a recovering alcoholic discovers two young Mexican boys locked in a van in her parking garage, and stumbles onto a deadly organ harvesting ring involving illegal immigrants, again to Robert Rosenwald at Poisoned Pen Press, by Sorche Fairbank of Fairbank Literary Representation.

Rapper C-Murder's DEATH AROUND THE CORNER, the first title in the Vibe Street Lit franchise, to Laurie Parkin at Kensington, for publication in December 2006, by Rob Kenner on behalf of Vibe and Richard Joseph, on behalf of the author (NA).

Franklin prize-winning author Mary Anna Evans's EFFIGIES, the third in an archaeological mystery series, to Robert Rosenwald of Poisoned Pen Press, by Anne Hawkins at John Hawkins & Associates.

Recent Thrillers Sold:

NYT bestselling author Robert K. Tanenbaum's ESCAPE, the 20th book in his Butch Karp legal thriller series, another provocative and topical story which blisters the use of the insanity defense pushing the limits of the law and letting murderers go unpunished, to Roger Cooper at CDS Books for hardcover North American rights, and to his longtime paperback publisher Louise Burke at Pocket for paperback reprint, in a good deal, by Bob Diforio at D4EO Literary Agency, in association with Michael Hamilburg at the Mitchell J. Hamilburg Agency. Good deal = $100,000 - $250,000.

NYT bestseller Stephen Coonts' two new hardcover thrillers featuring Tommy Carmellini, to Matthew Shear at St. Martin's, in a major deal, by Robert Gottlieb at Trident Media Group (NA). Major deal = $500,000 and up.

Laura Caldwell's RED HOT LIES, featuring a sassy, redheaded trial lawyer who turns to sleuthing when her fiance disappears on the same day her big client is killed, to Margaret Marbury at Mira, in a good deal, in a three-book deal, by Maureen Walters at Curtis Brown. Good deal = $100,000 - $250,000.

Tom Cain's THE ACCIDENT MAN, introducing series hero, Daniel Carver - a good guy, who makes bad things happen to bad people, to Joshua Kendall at Viking, for publication in winter 2008, in a two-book deal, by Julian Alexander at Lucas Alexander Whitley (US).

BLACK FOR REMEMBRANCE author Carlene Thompsons's WHEN THE CLOCK STRIKES THREE, to Jennifer Weis at St. Martin's, in a very nice deal, in a two-book deal, by Pam Ahearn of Ahearn Agency (World). Very nice deal = $50,000 - $99,000.

Mark Terry's ANGELS FALLING, in which a terrorist group infiltrates the G8 Summit and holds the world's top 20 leaders hostage threatening to kill one every hour, and THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOWS, to Barbara Moore at Llewellyn, in a nice deal, by Irene Kraas at Kraas Literary Agency. Nice deal = $1 - $49,000.

Recent Religion/Spirituality Sales:

A Travel Guide to Heaven author Anthony DeStefano's next two books, to Doubleday Religion, in a six-figure deal, by Peter Miller at PMA Literary & Film Management.

Baylor University professor Thomas Kidd's A CHRISTIAN SPARTA, a religious history of the American Revolution, to Lara Heimert at Basic, by Giles Anderson at the Anderson Literary Agency (world).

Source: PublishersMarketplace.com

Amazon Author Blogs

2006-09-22T11:16:00.001-05:00

Amazon Connect hosts author blogs, with RSS feeds. A long and growing list of participating authors is provided.

Two examples:
Sharyn McCrumb
Robin Lee Hatcher

Amazon Connects also offers customer "plogs" which it defines as "a personalized web log that appears on your customer home page. Every person's Plog is different (hence the name) and just like a blog, your Plog is sorted in reverse chronological order. Each post also gives you the opportunity to provide feedback to the sender as to whether you liked the post or not. This feedback loop means your Plog becomes even more relevant and interesting over time. Your Plog will appear if you are logged into our web site and is visible only to you."

Bottom line, your Amazon "plog" collects posts from various author blogs for you on your customer page. Same thing can be done directly to your email via an RSS feed option, if you prefer.

From my surfing through the author blogs, these aren't kept current -- and most authors with an interest in blogging have their own blogs at this point.

Watching the Deals-5

2006-09-19T13:17:00.001-05:00

Nancy Atherton's Aunt Dimity series continues with the sale of two more in the series. A cozy mystery series that is sometimes called romantic suspense as well as gothic, Aunt Dimity is a ghost providing supernatural assistance to the protagonist, Lori Sheppard. The first in the series broke all the rules, and got a rating of "5" (superb) from MysteryGuide.com.

Recent Romances Sold:

Stacey Kayne's BRIDE OF SHADOW CANYON, a second western historical romance, to Linda Fildew at Harlequin Historicals, in a nice deal, by Kim Lionetti at BookEnds. "Nice deal" means $1 - $49,000.00.

Larissa Ione's DEMON E.R: Dark Pleasure, the first in a paranormal series in which a demon doctor in an underworld hospital and the woman who hunts his kind must join forces to stop an enemy who would kill them both, to Melanie Murray for Warner Forever, by Roberta Brown of the Brown Literary Agency (world).

Tess Stimson's THE ADULTERY CLUB and THE INFIDELITY CHAIN, which have been sold to ten territories, to Caitlin Alexander at Bantam Dell, for six figures, at auction, by Carole Blake at Blake Friedmann (US).

Recent Mysteries Sold:

Nancy Atherton's AUNT DIMITY books, thirteen and fourteen in the series, to Rakia Clark at Viking Penguin, in a good deal, by Meg Ruley and Annelise Robey at the Jane Rotrosen Agency (NA). "Good deal" means $100,000 - $250,000.00.

Olen Steinhauer's VICTORY SQUARE, the fifth and concluding book in the Yalta Boulevard crime series, set in 1989 at the end of the Cold War, to Kelley Ragland at Minotaur, in a very nice deal, in a two-book deal, by Matt Williams of The Gernert Company (world English). "Very nice deal" means $50,000 - $99,000.00.

Edgar and Shamus Award nominee Parnell Hall's HITMAN: A Stanley Hastings Mystery, to Claiborne Hancock at Pegasus, in a nice deal (world).

Recent Thrillers Sold:

From Perri O'Shaughnessy (the pen-name of sisters Pamela and Mary), two more suspense thrillers, following Maggie Crawford to Pocket, for publication beginning in 2008, by Nancy Yost at Lowenstein-Yost.

John Olson's FOSSIL HUNTER, an Indiana-Jones-style thriller that explores the Intelligent Design controversy from the points of view of two field scientists working in the strife-torn countries of Iraq and Pakistan, to Karen Watson at Tyndale, in a nice deal, for publication in fall 2007, by Steve Laube at the Steve Laube Agency (world).

Write A Book Fast: In a Week, Two Weeks, a Month

2006-09-16T11:28:00.002-05:00

Lots of people do this: put the pressure on themselves to write a book fast. After all, Jack Kerouac wrote On the Road in three weeks. (Kerouac's famous first draft in its scroll format is pictured here.)

First, there are the groups, that provide help and support.

1. NaNoWriMo stands for "National Novel Writing Month," with a website, forums, and a national following. Lots of books actually get written during this time period (in 2005, there were 59,000 participants and 9769 winners). You "win" NaNoWriMo by writing 50,000 words by midnight on November 30th. Every year, there are many winners. No awards are given; however, each winner gets an official "Winner" web icon and certificate. During the month, there are open forums, where lots of good advice is shared on writing, grammar, and other helpful topics.

2. BIW is similar to NaNoWriMo, but it is for those interested in writing a book in a week. The site is coordinated with a Yahoo Group, and on the first full week of the month, participants go for it. They are scheduled a year in advance. For 2006, the remaining three BIWs are: Oct 2 - 8; Nov 6 - 12; and Dec 4 - 10. The site is run by published authors, includes a chat room, and has a great list of helpful sites.

Second, there are online articles by writers who share their tips on fast writing.

3. Romance writer Elizabeth Rose wrote her first published novel (Eden's Garden) in two weeks, and provides the steps to do write a book in one month in two great posts: How to Write a Book in a Month, part one and part two.

4. Writer John Coyne offers How to Write A Novel in 100 Days or Less, with excellent, practical advice for each step along the way.

2011 Update: I may have found the book for me where you learn to outline and write your novel in 90 days, read about it here.

2006 Check: The Big Deals So Far

2006-09-13T17:06:00.001-05:00

So far this year, Publishers' Marketplace reports 84 "major deals" and 63 "significant deals". Select details are shown below.

Major deals are those starting at $500,000.00; significant deals range from $251,000 - $499,000.00. Now, this is only what PM reports - and it's only what has been reported to PM. This is not a complete list, and from what I understand, this information may not be totally accurate, either.

Major Deals:

Fiction: Thriller (10)
Fiction: Women's/Romance (9)
Fiction: Mystery/Crime (4)
Fiction: Debut (2)

The only major deal in non-fiction (religion, spirituality) went to romance writer Debbie Macomber for her book Knit Together: Discover God's Pattern for Your Life, saying that when we come to recognize our deepest longing, we can discover our potential and reach for our dreams, with her own journey of discovery weaved throughout the book.

The nine romance writers with major deals are: Carly Phillips, Kat Martin, Madeline Hunter, Karen Robards, Stephanie Laurens, Teresa Medeiros, Eloisa James, Kris Radish. All these deals are multi-book deals - mostly two books, sometimes three.

The four mystery/crime writers with major deals are: Iris Johansen (8 books, "multi-million dollar" deal); Ariana Franklin (2 books, "seven figure" deal); Joseph Wambaugh (1 book); Jacqueline Winspear (2 books).

The ten thriller writers with major deals are: Chelsea Cain (3 books); co-authors Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (2 books); Mitch Silver (1 book, a debut); Harlan Coben (2 books); Stephen J. Cannell (2 books, Scully series); C.J. Box (3 books, all stand alones); James Rollins (3 books, Sigma Force series); Erica Spindler (3 books); Kathleen McGowan (3 books, first being her initially self-published The Expected One); Dale Brown (2 books).

Significant Deals:

Fiction: Debut (2)
Fiction: Mystery/Crime (4)
Fiction: Thriller (4)
Fiction: Women's/Romance (2)
Non-fiction: Religion/Spirituality (2)

The two romance writers with significant deals are: Allison Brennan (three romantic suspense) and Julia London (1 romance).

The four mystery/crime writers with significant deals are: Linwood Barclay (1 book); Margaret Coel (2 more in her Wind River series); Lisa Lutz (1 book), P.J. Parrish (3 books).