Another week gone, and here’s 10 sites worth your time.

Steve Feasey takes a stab at answering the eternal “what do you do when you’re not writing” question.

Constance Hale talks about Make-or-Break Verbs (and, yes, I do feel like I should have used a stronger verb there!)

Over at Wistfully Linda, there’s a discussion about Reading and Writing Negative Reviews.

And on a similar note, Sierra Godfrey talks about the damage 1-star reviews can cause.

A few upcoming events worth checking out:

Superstars Writing Seminar, Las Vegas, April 30 – 2 May

Agent Reads the Slush Pile, a webinar by Kristin Nelson, May 2

DFW Writers’ Conference, Dallas, May 19-20

Book Expo America, June 4-7, New York City

World Fantasy Convention, Toronto, November 1-4

And, finally, check out the Pens for Paws Auction which kicks off on May 7.

It’s almost like being in love. . .

April 20, 2012

Nancy

Nancy Greene Reading The Writing Life 1 Comment

Why do we write?

Well, I can’t answer that question for the world at large. I can, however, answer that for myself and the other writers I’ve asked that question. We write because we have to, and because we love it.

Lately, I’ve been noticing a lot of overlap between my day job as a lawyer, and my night and weekend job as a writer. As a lawyer I write nonfiction (although some detractors of the profession might claim what lawyer’s write can only loosely be labled nonfiction). The lawyers I know who are in the profession for the money, because someone thought they should be, or because they want the prestige of those three magic letters (“Esq.”) after their names are miserable people. They are burnt out; they fight for the sake of fighting.

The writers I know of who write because they thought it was easy, or easy money, or because they wanted the prestige of being an “author” are miserable. They are burnt out; they are depressed, and they give up. They are overly critical of others’ stories.

Now let’s look at the lawyers who aren’t burnt out, depressed or on the verge of quitting. While they may hate a particular part of the process, they love the overall system. I love being in court. I love researching and finding new ways to combine existing law to my client’s benefit. I love helping people. My practice reflects this. I don’t sleep or eat much the week before trial. I do my best work when I’m passionate about my client’s position. I’ve jumped up and down behind counsel’s table when arguing a point (my husband, who was observing that argument, had to fight laughing out loud as I bounced around).

The last statistic I heard was the average advance from a traditional publisher is about $8,000. E-publishers pay better (up to 50% of net sales), but they don’t generally pay advances. It takes the sale of many thousands of 99 Cent e-books to lift you above the poverty level, much less replace most people’s regular income. Self-publishing means you spend a lot of upfront money hoping you can recoup it and make a profit. Except for the precious few, writing will never be a “get rich quick” career.

So, why do we do it?

Love.

In the movie Shadowlands, Sir Anthony Hopkins, who plays C.S. Lewis, tells a fellow Oxford Don that he (Lewis) can’t stop praying because the words pour out of him. He could have been speaking for any writer. The words pour out of us. Stories beat on our minds and distract us from other concerns.
I love filling the screen with words; creating new worlds; and that moment when a character is real enough to talk to (and fight with) me. When a story first takes hold of me, my hands shake, my heart races, I have trouble sleeping and I’m constantly thinking about my new world and characters. Sounds a lot like a first crush, huh?

That someone else likes reading what I write is amazing. That someone is willing to pay to read my stories is humbling.

This business is hard. We hear a lot of “no” before we hear “yes.” If you aren’t passionate about writing, you won’t write. It’s just that simple.
Find the story that makes your heart race, and get writing.

First Experience at the Tucson Book Fair

April 19, 2012

Colette Black

Colette Black The Writing Life 2 Comments

The Tucson Book Fair took place the second weekend in March at University of Arizona. I’ve heard about the fair, and I know quite a few authors who regularly attend, so I took a couple of hours out of my busy Saturday to check it out. I only had a few hours to give, so I’m sure I didn’t get the whole experience, but I thought my views might be of use to somebody out there. First thing about the fair, and probably the aspect I like best, is that it’s free. Not that I’m all that chintzy, but struggling writers don’t make much money, and all these conferences, conventions, seminars, workshops…need I go on? They take a dent out of the budget.

I arrived with my teenage daughters to a sea of white tents and a mass of people. It made me think of an epic fantasy market in modern-day clothing. You might think a book fair would have all the publishers, book sellers, and authors crying their wares. It did, but equally interspersed were banks, random businesses, and community organizations. Crazy. We locked hands so as not to get separated among the milling throngs.

We didn’t have much time, and Aprilynne Pike had a panel starting a few minutes after we arrived. She’s a mutual favorite among my girls and I, a great speaker, and we’re waiting for her next book to come out. We consulted the program-a multi-page newspaper that outlined events encompassing multiple buildings and a large portion of the university campus-and found the seminar would be at the opposite side of the tents, in a building behind the children’s area. We booked it fast (pun intended) and walked in late. It wasn’t our fault. It was one thing to navigate the tents, but the children’s area was just as crowded, had walking storybook characters-the Red Cat’s face frightened us all-and kids running from one activity to another. It looked fun, but I don’t have kids that age anymore.

Aprilynne Pike spoke with two writers while a mediator asked questions. I’d heard most of it before, but it always makes me feel validated as a writer when I hear people say things like, “it’s not a matter of thinking up a story, they’re always running around my brain. The challenge is organizing them and making them wait their turn.” (That’s not a direct quote). It did surprise me when my girls said they loved that Q&A. They’re both avid readers, but haven’t shown more than a passing interest in writing.

So, all in all, I would love to get a chance to stay for the entire weekend. It seems as valuable, or more so, than many of the conventions I’ve attended. Many of the authors present were well-known NYT bestsellers, doing panels and autograph signings. It was crazy, but with a festive atmosphere. I suggest you look at the schedule ahead of time, because there is a lot going on at once. They didn’t have a table for flyers, which disappointed me since I had Superstars Seminar flyers I wanted to put out for Kevin J. Anderson, but it seemed like a very worthwhile get together for writers and readers of all genres. I advise looking at the schedule ahead of time since there was so much going on at once, but I would highly recommend the event.

Oh, and I didn’t get to sample any, but the grilled corn looked divine. A fair’s not a fair without food vendors, and they had plenty (under matching white tents).

I also tried to attend Leprecon in Tempe, AZ but they didn’t get started until the afternoon and I had too much going on that weekend to stick around. I’m sure it was great, though. (If you’re reading this, Kevin, I did leave the flyers.)

What are some local book fairs or conventions that you’ve enjoyed?

The Truth Will Set You Free (Or Dishearten You)

April 18, 2012

Evan Braun

Evan Braun The Writing Life 4 Comments

The battle wages on in the dialogue between aspiring self-publishers and dyed-in-the-wool traditionally-published authors. Well, perhaps I’m overstating the situation to call it a “battle,” since all sides seem to coexist magnanimously at the moment. Though who can say what the future will bring? One need look no further than the U.S. Department of Justice’s recent decision to bring an antitrust lawsuit against Apple and the industry’s leading publishers to see that the pressure is steadily building.

Here on the Fictorians blog, we’ve periodically discussed the pros and cons of either approach, and indeed, in the following weeks and months we’ll be devoting even more column inches to the subject of self-publishing. And that’s only to be expected, since most aspiring authors are in that awkward in-between stage of deciding whether to go it alone and start uploading our manuscripts to the Kindle Store or hold back in the hopes of securing a lucrative (or limiting) deal with a New York giant.

Noted this past Sunday in our blog’s weekly Sunday Reads feature is a thoughtful article by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, in which she draws several compelling analogies to explain the current state of affairs in the publishing world. Her position is sound (at least, to my own sensibilities) and her composition lengthy (hard to be helped), and I recommend you set aside a few minutes to peruse it.

After painting an elaborate and persuasive picture of the virus threatening traditional publishers (which is scarcity thinking, and if you don’t know what I mean by that, clearly you didn’t follow my link in the previous paragraph), she comes to a familiar premise. Instead of working tirelessly and placing high expectations on one manuscript, one should produce and release as large a backlist as possible. Instead of one book selling millions, you may end up with dozens of books selling hundreds or thousands. Ultimately, it’s a numbers game and the more titles you have to your name, the better.

I’ve heard this counsel before, and theoretically it’s great advice. Especially if you’re already an established or midlist author. If you’re just starting out in your career and have no (or few) readers outside your immediate friends and family, it goes down about as palatably as a wheatgrass smoothie. “Well,” one might say, “sometimes the truth hurts.”

Why does it hurt? Isn’t this good news for new writers? Well, this is a case where Rusch isn’t really talking to me, the new writer. She’s in the desirable position of having an existing readership… and I think she’s more or less speaking to her peers this time around. That’s her perogative! After all, it’s unavoidable: sometimes advice from established writers doesn’t speak directly to newbies. The truth is the truth, and it caters to no one. If an established author like Rusch never manages to write another bestseller in the remainder of her writing career, a long backlist of titles will indeed keep her afloat, selling hundreds or thousands of copies in place of a million-dollar golden egg. Rusch argues that it’s not altogether important to hard-sell a manuscript upon initial release, or reach a big audience, because if the book is worthy the audience will, eventually, come to you. The speed of a book’s success isn’t paramount, even if that success is inevitable. It could take fifteen years. Or much longer. She calls it “understanding the long tail.”

I agree with her. I respect her opinion and can find no basis to quarrel with it. She’s almost certainly right on all counts.

Which is, unfortunately, a little disheartening, because for fresh-out-of-the-gaters like me, speedily finding an audience remains a priority. It must, or else becoming a successful full-time writer is even further away and out-of-reach than ever. Can I wait fifteen years or longer for my dream to realize? I just released a book this year that I’m certain is good enough to secure an audience-but I really need that audience to find it now. I’ll be thrilled whenever they find it, either this year or in the summer of 2030, but if it takes until 2030 I’ll still be mired in my day job. Alas.

Mind you, I’ll never give up on this dream, and I’m not threatening to. I’m just saying that my day job really gets me down sometimes…