Author Archives: Nancy

About Nancy

I'm a mommy, writer and lawyer. I've been a lawyer for over 20 years and live on a horse farm in Virginia with my Hubby and two boys. A "normal day" starts at 5 am and doesn't end until 11 pm during which I take care of farm animals, run a law practice, get a bit of writing in and spend time with the boys. When I say I have a normal life, people look at me funny. I'm not sure why.

Falling behind the pack – how to keep pushing on when you’re lagging behind.

Nancy Greene The Writing Life 4 Comments

 

In case you missed it, this month is National Write a Novel Month or NaNoWrMo (NaNo) for short.  Yea, I know. If you’re reading thos post, you know all about NaNo since we’ve been talking about it all month.

By this point, you should have written 31,654 words. I’ve written about 20,000. I’m almost 12,000 words “behind”. In the picture, can you see the black dog who’s looking up over the pack in front of him? Yea, that’s me. With only eleven days left in the month, I’d need to write almost 2,800 words a day to make it to the magic 50,000 word count. My chances of doing this are slim given my trial schedule for the rest of the month. Now, I’ve done it. I usually lag behind and spent most of Thanksgiving weekend writing. But that’s not likely to happen this year for lots of reason.

So, why push on? Why keep trying to hit that goal. Shouldn’t I just take my squeaky toy and head home?

NO. And neither should you.

“But why not?” you ask.

You can’t be a professional writer if you give up. The number one mandate of any writer is to FINISH the story. Keep slogging through it. Taking your toys and hiding out in your doghouse is not an option.

If you are struggling to meet your goal, whether its this month as part of NaNo or at any other phase of writing, redefine it. My husband, a criminal defense attorney, does this all the time. Most criminal cases that go to trial will end in a conviction. If your definition of “win” as a criminal defense attorney is an acquittal, you are going to have a short and frustrating career. Similarly, if your goal is a writer is to have all your stories make a billion dollars, get ready for disappointment. The husband defines “win” as any time he can get hisb client less than a full sentence.  As a writer, I define the writing portion of winning as getting to “the end.”  Every word I put on the page for NaNo is a win.  As long as you keep writing, you are winning.

I did a post a while back on my blog about writing when the world conspires against you or   inching toward success.  I find that when life conspires against me, I need to write to escape into another world and regain my balance. Use NaNo as a tool to help you inch toward success. There’s nothing wrong with that. There’s nothing wrong with aiming for 50,000 words and writing 30,000 or 20,000. The point is to write.

As Jonathan Coulter said in A Talk With George:

Enjoy yourself, do the things that matter

Cause there isn’t time and space to do it all

Love the things you try, drink a cocktail wear a tie

Show a little grace if you should fall

Don’t live another day unless you make it count

There’s someone else that you’re supposed to be

There’s something deep inside of you that still wants out

And shame on you if you don’t set it free.

To buy this fabulous song you can go to JoCo’s website or Itunes. It’s one that’s helped me over some real tough roads.

If you’re discouraged about your word count, there’s only one cure. Sit down in front of your keyboard and make the words appear. You can do it. And sometimes, there’s a cocktail waiting. Whether you write 500,  10,000 or 50,000 words, you can only succeed if you show up.  If you’re at the point that you need to redefine “winning” do it. There’s no shame in that. In fact, it’s a tried and true technique. You can find the time to write, even if it’s only 15 minutes a day. You can do this.

Inch by inch and word by word, you’ll cross that finish line. I’ll see you there.

World Fantasy Convention 2012 Round-Up

Ace Jordyn Conventions Frank Morin Marketing Nancy Greene Superstars Writing Seminars The Writing Life 7 Comments

Last week, the World Fantasy Convention (“WFC”) was held in Toronto, Canada.  For all of you who may not know, WFC is a convention for fantasy and science fiction writers, artists, agents, editors and other professionals. The four day conference has seminars/panels on craft issues.  There’s a dealer’s room for hard-to-find, and rare books, and an art show. The price of admission includes a swag bag full of free books, and use of the convention suite. There’s also lots of time for networking, including nightly parties often hosted by publishers, and a closing banquet.

Four of the Fictorians (Evan Braun, Ace Jordyn, Nancy DiMauro, and Frank Morin, from left to right in the photo) attended this year. Evan asked us to share our thoughts about the conference with you. So, here they are:

Nancy: I attended my first WFC last year, and through the introduction by fellow Fictorian Colette Vernon met Celina Summers the head editor at the newly formed Musa Publishing. WFC opened doors for me that I never knew were there. I knew I wanted to attend this year’s WFC to connect with friends, further my writing career, and help others do the same. Why did you attend?

Ace: I wanted to see writer friends from all over the world, and WFC makes connecting with friends easy. It’s also a great place to meet new people from writers, editors, agents and publishers.

Frank: I attended for two main reasons. First, to meet with my agent, John Richard Parker from ZENO, in person. He’s based in London, so this was a rare opportunity. Second, I feel it’s vitally important to interact, socialize, and network with other industry professionals. WFC is a great venue to do that.

Nancy:  What was the best thing about this year’s WFC?

Ace: Shanghai Steam, an anthology I co-edited, was launched at the con. The anthology authors had a blast at the autograph signing session and readings at the launch. It’s wonderful to see the excitement, and feel the energy of so much creative pride.

Frank: At my first WFC two years ago, I didn’t know what to expect. Luckily, I connected with several other new authors. We spent the conference looking for and talking with agents and editors we wanted to talk with. This year, I still focused on networking and meeting new people. For me, it was deeply rewarding to mentor newer authors at this WFC  and continue to learn from more experienced professionals.

Nancy:  The best thing about WFC is the conversations I had with people. I spent hours talking with editors and writers, both well established and new. Brandon Sanderson met with the attending Superstars Writing Seminars alumni, which most of the Fictorians are. Brandon spent about two and a half hours with us. We talked about his outlining technique, working on the Wheel of Time, talking to and working with agents and editors, dealing with deadlines, book tours, writing, Writing Excuses, and so much more.

There were so many great things that I’d be hard pressed to single out anything “bad” about the experience. If I had to though, I’d say that there never is enough time, and the hotel NEVER staffs the bar right. Even though the Con officially lasts 4 days, those days fly.  There’s so much to do. The Con runs from 8am when the Con Suite opens until 4-ish am, when the last party goer has returned to his room.  A lot happens unofficially at the bar, and you can find people there at all hours. Despite being warned that there will be anywhere from 50 to 100 people at the bar at any given time, the hotel never has enough staff. When they can finally get you your drink (whether spirited or not), tip well as those few staff members are working hard.

Ace:  All the activity means that my least favorite thing is the lack of sleep. There’s so much to do. So many people to see and meet. It’s electric and the conversations go long into the night.

Frank: For me, it’s the travel distance.

Nancy:  One of the reasons I love WFC is you can accomplish more there than you can in two years outside WFC.  What was the most useful thing about it for you?

Frank: This is tied closely back to question about the best WFC-related thing – the connections we make. WFC is a wonderful place to network and interact with professionals representing all aspects of writing, including other authors, agents, editors, and publishers. The first several years of writing, I didn’t attend conventions. I wish I had. There are so many benefits to rubbing shoulders with others in the same business. People at WFC have consistently proven their willingness to share their knowledge, mentor newcomers, and provide opportunities.

Ace: Getting my finger on the pulse of what direction the industry is moving not only with writing trends but on the publishing environment.

Nancy:  Next year’s WFC will be in Brighton, England. Other than buy your membership now since it will likely sell out, any tips for those attending future WFCs?

Ann: Relax and enjoy yourself. Have fun. Talk. Attend panels, readings and parties; not only do you learn lots; you never know who you’ll meet.

Frank: Get to know the hospitality suite. It’s a great place to mingle, and to eat. This year’s hospitality suite (or con suite as it’s often known) was well stocked with surprisingly good food. I made some good contacts there and met a lot of people.

Put yourself out there. Most people were very outgoing and eager to talk with others. I saw a few who seemed to be lingering on the fringes, and managed to draw a couple of them into conversations. They were new authors with few connections, who felt a little lost. Many of us authors are introverted people, but we have to set that aside at conferences and take the initiative to meet people. The connections are invaluable. Once you have a base group of friends and acquaintances, it makes it that much easier to reach out even further.

One way to start getting to know people is to attend other writing seminars or workshops. For example, there were 8-10 of us who were alumni of the Superstars Writing Seminars. Those events were excellent in and of themselves, but now provided a secondary benefit. We all came to WFC already having a large group of friends to socialize with, share advice with, and to help us maximize our WFC experience.

Nancy:  To build on what Frank was saying, the benefits of WFC or any seminar or convention might not be immediately obvious, but there are long-term benefits. Every relationship you maintain is one where you can help someone else’s writing career, and that person, in turn, can assist you. Just remember to pay it forward.

Speaking of which, any tips on how to approach editors/agents at WFC?

Frank: Remember, relationships come first. We all want to meet editors, agents, other authors, etc. They want to meet people too. Relationships open doors both ways. But before we can make that pitch, before an editor will do more than look for a way to excuse themselves at the first opportunity, we need to establish a connection. Be friendly, but not desperate. Ask them about their projects, what they’re interested in, what books they’ve been reading. Look for things you have in common that can help build that connection. If you’re successful, they’ll ask for a pitch or give you a card. If you’re not, they’ll slip away no matter how hard you try to chase them. DON”T CHASE THEM. This is a business, and we are successful when we act like professionals.

One thing I had not understood prior to my first WFC is that many agents don’t really want a full pitch, although some do, so be prepared! I butchered my first live pitch, but thankfully the agent took the time to explain why I was so awful. She wouldn’t have if I hadn’t made a solid connection first. For those agents who do not want a full pitch, they’ll give you their card. This is a good thing. It opens the door to then send them a query per whatever guidelines they have posted on their website, and reference that meeting at WFC in the query. My agent was one of several I queried after WFC in 2010.

Ace: My nervousness at meeting editors and agents disappeared when I realized I wanted to buy their services. Yes, getting my novels published is the ultimate goal but it’s important to me that I find an agent who will work hard for me, and a publisher who has access to the appropriate markets who will work with me to make us both successful. An attitude of selling means I know my product; I have questions I want to ask and so all that makes me less nervous. And yes, my pitches are all prepared.

Nancy:  I saw your pitch sheet. It was really impressive. If you have a story that’s looking for a home, it helps to be prepared because you never know when someone will ask what you are working on. Having a prepared pitch helps reduce the nervousness. And I can’t emphasis what Frank said enough. Make a connection first and be a professional and polished version of yourself. Be courteous. Manners matter.

Frank:  Also, if you are too nervous to approach an agent or editor, rely on your friends, or people you’ve made a connection with at the Con. Have another author you know introduce you to an agent or editor. Chances are someone helped that person out when she was getting started, so she’s happy to help you, just like you’ll be happy to do it for someone else down the road.

Nancy:  What do you know now that you wished you knew before attending WFC?

Ace: I think I’d make plans with writer friends to stay an extra day or two to either hang out or have some writing time together. The con generates great energy that’s worth hanging on to for as long as possible.

Frank:  I wish I had taken more time to research people I wanted to talk with. Work was very busy prior to WFC so I didn’t have enough time to do the research I needed. For example, I wanted to talk with a couple of editors, but I didn’t manage to learn the names of the other editors at the publisher. I had a productive time, but there were definitely opportunities missed due to lack of preparation.

Final thoughts from all of us:

For those who have not attended WFC, we can’t recommend it highly enough. The publishing industry is small, and, in some ways, getting smaller as it changes. It’s important to become known and make connections.  Unlike, say some of the conventions where people walk about in costumes, WFC is a primarily professional convention. People attending WFC are, generally, those in the industry who we, as writers, will do business with. Making connection with people at WFC may mean the difference between publishing or not since people want to do business with someone they know.

See you in Brighton next year!

Finding the Strength. . . .

Nancy Greene The Writing Life 8 Comments

Back over the summer I wrote a post on my blog about how I’d never run out of inspiration because I had children. You can find the post >here<.  The summer had my children (and I include my husband in this designation) building a boat in our pool (see, the photo). It also had the children playing putt-putt golf in a thunderstorm. Needless to say, at the first sign of lightning, my boys abandoned my husband, holding all the golf clubs, and bolted for our room. For more details, please check out my post on my blog.  Anyway, I have a somewhat colorful life. But sometimes even that’s not enough to get the words on the page.

Hopefully, you’ve read James A Owen’s fabulous post on this site. He might call it inspiration, but what he’s done in his life takes a whole heck of a lot of courage. He awes me.

A deep dark secret is I tend to lean toward the depressive side. It’s often hard to find the reason to get out of bed, or not crawl back into it, pull up the covers and hide in the dark once I’ve gotten out the first time. How strong the urge to hide is depends on what’s going on. My last three months have been chaotic. The law firm I was part of split up months before it was projected to and left me scrambling in the busiest month I had to make agreement for a new practice, whether it was solo, with most of the original partners but as an employee rather than a partner myself, or a new firm where I would likely be a partner by the end of the year. The woman I consider my second mother is dying of cancer. It was caught late, and  she opted not to undergo chemo. She’s getting hospice care now. My father has Lewey Body Dementia. It’s a nasty disease where, essentially your brain forgets how to talk to your body. He’s having more bad days than good.  My folks are trying to take a Disney cruise for their 51st anniversary this week, but now there’s a hurricane threatening. Thanks Sandy.  I have a crazy neighbor, and that’s a whole ‘nother story.  And that’s just a list of the big issues. There were, of course, other challenges. As a result, earlier this month, I learned what it took to break me. Not an experience I recommend to anyone or wish to repeat. So, lately,  my reason to get out of bed was solely that I had no choice.

Well, not solely. There were those pesky kids again. And the peskier husband. And James and his Superman ring.

Those pesky kids that spent all summer sailing that boat from one side of our very small pool to another. If we’d actually had a breeze, the boat probably would have broken the pool. But they loved it. My husband and I kept promising we’d get the boat out of the pool and into the nearby lake. Didn’t happen.  And the kids didn’t care.

We have fabulous kids even if they have no common sense. Even as I write this they are fighting over who has to change the “input’ for the TV so they get cable rather than snow. This fight become more ridiculous when you consider that the TV has to be turned on manually – we’ve lost the original remote and no universal one works with this TV- so my oldest was next to the button he needed to push to fix the problem had he waited 5 second instead of walking back to the sofa. Instead. I had to get up, go down stairs, yell/laugh at them for the lack of common sense and hit the input button. Sadly, this wasn’t their most asinine fight.

Here’s the thing, for me at least.  I’ve lived through some terrible things, and I’ll live through more as long as I keep seeing the sun rise. Although this last thought is a good argument for becoming a creature of the night. There are always going to be terrible things happening in life. Sometimes all those terrible things will happen at once.

And then there’s the Superman ring. For a very sick child, Superman became a symbol of hope. We still have James A. Owen because of it. Because of hope, James has found the strength to say “no” and the strength to go on through some really terrible things.

What’s my Superman?

My family.

My husband does fairly outrageous things to make me laugh. I can’t tell you what he just did without losing our “clean” rating, but I laughed so much I had tears streaming down my cheeks.  Where was I again?

Oh, yes, finding the strength to chase the life you want. Not the dream. Staying something is a dream means it’s not, and can’t be, real. You fight toward The Goal, the straight line James talks about. Life’s about finding the will to keep walking that thin line, even when you stumble, even whn you have to resist the urge to lie down and give up, it’s about moving forward when you have to crawl and your knees and hands are bloody from the effort.

You have to believe.

I believe in my sons’ laughs. I believe in fighting through one more day that brings me closer to The Goal. I believe that standing for what I want most makes me a better person for my family, makes me a better writer, makes me a better lawyer. Time in the crucible stinks, but it reforges us stronger.

What do I want most?

I want to spend more time with my family,  continue as a professional writer (to put the right words for the story on the page), and have the freedom to take the law cases I want, not that I have to to pay the bills.  I want to see my epic fantasy in print, to hold that book in my hands regardless of how long that takes. If I keep The Goal in mind, the choices I need to make are obvious, even though they are often not easy.  So, I get out of bed, throw the curtains open wide and get down to the job of life.

What do you want? What inspires you to keep pressing forward to that goal?

Branding

Craft & Skills Marketing Nancy Greene Publishing 9 Comments

And no, I don’t mean with an iron despite the picture.

Whether your traditionally published, e-published by a publisher, or indie/ self-published, marketing is where it’s at. With the rise of Kindle Direct and other media that allow self-published writers to get into the larger marketplace, writers, especially new ones, struggle to get noticed. One of the ways to do that is to establish strong “brand” recognition. Your brand is what and how you market. So, let’s start with the concept of brand recognition. You, dear writer, are a product just like a Hershey Bar. And just like a Hershey Bar, you want an immediate connection to the consumer (reader) on the mention of your name (brand). I know for me, when hear or even type “Hershey Bar” a vision of the dark brown wrapper full of chocolaty goodness pops into my head. That’s good brand recognition Some products so dominate the market that the brand name is synonymous with the product – as examples look at Kleenex and Xerox. Excellent branding and marketing.

The interesting thing about Hershey Bars is that at one point the product so dominated the market it had become synonymous with chocolate bars. Then it made a mistake. Hershey decided it could stop advertising, that’s right just stop. But it lost that dominance when it did because Nestle, among others, increased advertising. Hershey tumbled from the top of its chocolate mountain.

My publisher’s first anniversary is in a few weeks. As part of prepping for the event, I typed “Musa Publishing” into Amazon to see what there was to see. Here’s what I noticed. While the search brought up non-Musa books, at least 90% of the time  I could tell if it was really a Musa book by looking at the thumbnail picture of the cover. I was able to reject books that didn’t fit my profile by looking at them. That’s good branding (and a great art and marketing division).

What does this tell writers about branding? Several things.

(1) You MUST create a brand.

Writers like Neil Gaiman have a brand. Again, if you’ve seen a picture of Neil or met him in person, he is always wearing black on black. Kevin J. Anderson has a brand. Take a look at his press releases and photos, he’s always in a sport coat, usually camel colored, or  a dark brown leather jacket, a softly colored oxford shirt (usually with the sleeves rolled to the elbow (if no jacket), and jeans. That’s his brand. I could recall it without looking at any of his press photos making it a successful brand. Dean Wesley Smith has his hat. And so on. If you look at the superstars in the writing field, you’ll note each one of them has a consistent look or brand. That’s not a coincidence. It’s done very intentionally and by design.

The picture on tthe right is part of my brand. I’m a mommy, writer, lawyer who writes fantasy, often with romantic story lines.  What was I aiming for in a look then? Something polished and professional, but that was soft around the edges to suggest that romancey feel. Did I do it? Feel free to tell me in the comments. I’m a lawyer, which means thick-skinned and I can take it.

Anyway, I go to professional writing events – seminars and conferences dressed in at least business casual. If weather permits, I wear a blazer. Why? I’m trying to create a look  or a brand.

(2) Get professional help.

I don’t mean a therapist. I didn’t take the photo on the right. I hired a professional do to it. I also hired a fashion consultant, who went through my wardrobe and engaged in the Ceasar-like task of indicating thumbs up or down.  We went shopping. I now have a new wardrobe that “fits” all of my jobs – mommy, writer, lawyer.

(3) Use your website and blog.

Okay, don’t look at my website yet. It’s under construction to fit with the current branding attempts. Or actually, look at the website as what not to do. It’s a mess. I hired (see item #2) a website designed who’d never worked with a writer before, didn’t understand what I wanted/needed, and didn’t know what a falcon was or at least couldn’t find an image of one for the site. This last one is tough since the website’s called Falcon’s Fables. Sigh.  Anyway, the original website is a lesson in better than no website than a bad one. I now have a webpage designer who has worked with a lot of writers, knew what a falcon was, and designed a kick-butt new logo, which is in the same color family as the rest of my items. I’ll let you know when we’re ready to reveal.

My blog is a different story. I designed that, and while it’s still not perfect it’s a closer fit to the brand I’m trying to create.

(4) Market

Don’t make Hershey’s mistake. You must market. Even the superstars of writing have tweet, FB, maintain a website and regularly attend conferences. A few of them still go on book tours. You have to get your name out there. Your publisher might give you some press, but it’s not enough. You need to be out in the world where people can find you. If you have friends with blog, be a guest blogger. While the site your a guest on may only have 50 followers, odds are there are 40 people that weren’t also your followers.

Join blog hops. What’s a blog hop, you say? A blog hop is a sponsored event where a number of blogs post together, usually on a common theme and contest. An example is probably the best way to show you. Right now, I’m participting in the Wicked Pleasures Scavenger Hunt Blog Hop with 21 other writer.  All the blogs are linked, and readers get a chance to win fabulous prizes at each site. Readers, most of whom would not normally visit my site, are encouraged to do so. They are “required” to look around the site if they want to enter the scavenger hunt since they need to find the answer to the hunt’s question. At the end of the hunt, Rafflecopter will choose the winners. Again, a blog hop is a great way to introduce yourself and work to readers. The cost of the giveaway is minor. I’m signed up for a blog hop a month until the end of the year and am looking for more hops to join in 2013.

If you are blogging, the cover of your book (or one of your books) should almost be your digital signature. Just like your words, you can and should market your covers. Your covers should have been designed with their marketing functions in mind. If you’re writing a steamy romance and your cover brings to mind a sword and sorcery fantasy you might have misbranded, and vice versa. Make sure the promises your covers (front and back) make match the pages in between them.

(5) Keep it professional.

We all have pet causes and beliefs. But unless they aid in attracting your target audience, keep them off your professional pages. If you are really keen on the idea that evil robots should rule the world, create EvilRobotsToRule.com and post your manifesto there, ideally under a different name. Bringing personal causes to the forefront of your professional page will reduce your potential reader pool.

(6) NEVER EVER get into a flame war.

This is a subset of #5 but it’s important enough to mention separtely. Just don’t do it. It takes a lot to build a career. It takes one rant to destroy it.

(7) Protect your brand.

Protecting your brand on the legal side may mean getting patents and copyrights, but I’m taking about a bit more than that.

Realize every time you go out with your “Author” hat on, you are marketing. You are always on stage. Be nice. If you are nasty to someone asking about your writing, you’ve lost a reader, and maybe several readers as that person tells his friends how mean you were. Good impressions can be lost, but bad impressions are almost always forever.

If you’ve created a “look” -whether for clothes, covers, or voice –  make sure you are using it.

As noted in #6, if someone attacks you or posts a “bad” review, don’t argue with them. Everyone’s entitled to an opinion regardless of how much you may disagree. You give that negative comment too much attention when you respond. If the response escalates into a war, you’ve lost so much more than you’ve gain.

Good luck and good branding to you all.

To restore Daphne to her nymph form, Apollo must bargain with treacherous Hades, but Death may demand too high a price.

After all I’d said about marketing, you didn’t really think I’d leave the cover of my newest release, Apollo Rising, off this post, did you?  Thanks for reading.