There have been thousands upon thousands of memorable lines in novels, movies, TV shows, even well-known comedy routines. To wit, sincerity is everything. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made. (George Burns)
Your assignment for today is to share with us, IYHO, the most memorable line(s) in your memory banks. (See how I did that?) 🙂
Here’s a few to get you started.
I’ll be back…
You’re gonna need a bigger boat…
Book ’em Danno!
***
“Death doesn’t end life-never has.” ~Mike
I was going to write a different post for the Kill Zone today, but a message had just popped into my inbox. It was from the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLI), and it was an important announcement concerning publishing on Amazon KDP. Strangely, I didn’t hear anything directly from Amazon about this significant access change, but coming from ALLI I knew it was trustworthy. I felt this was important enough to share with fellow writers and self publishers as you may find yourself locked out of KDP and have no idea why. Here’s a copy of Amazon’s announcement.
Identity Verification for KDP
July 30, 2024
KDP is committed to providing legitimate authors and publishers with a trustworthy, enjoyable publishing experience. In order to further protect that experience, we’re introducing Identity Verification for KDP. Beginning today, KDP authors and publishers may be prompted to submit a photo of their government-issued identification which we’ll match against their current account information. We take privacy seriously, and we handle personal information in accordance with Amazon’s Privacy Notice and delete all identity documents after the ID verification process is complete. Once the match is confirmed, authors and publishers will be able to proceed with using their KDP account.
We will continue to develop technology and tools that maintain a high bar for the publishing and bookstore experience and that allow us to maintain the wide selection of titles that we offer to customers.
Thank you for being a part of the KDP community.
FAQ
Q: What is Identity Verification?
Identity Verification is one of many tools for providing authors and publishers with a trustworthy, enjoyable KDP experience, and for protecting KDP readers from fraud and abuse. With Identity Verification, some KDP authors and publishers may be prompted to submit their government-issued identification, which we’ll match against their account information. When that match is confirmed, those publishers will be able to proceed with using their KDP account as normal. All identity documents are deleted after the ID verification process is complete.
Q: Will all KDP publishers need to submit some form of ID?
At this time, only some publishers will be prompted to complete Identity Verification. Identify Verification will expand to more authors over time.
Q: What are you doing to protect publishers’ privacy?
We understand the importance of protecting publisher and author privacy and security, and personal information is treated in accordance with Amazon’s privacy and security policies. For further information, Amazon’s Privacy Notice is available here. All identity documents are deleted after the ID verification process is complete.
Q. What will you do with the ID information you collect?
All identity documents are deleted after the ID verification process is complete.
Q. How will I be prompted and how much time is there to respond?
You will be prompted to verify your identity via an “Identity Verification Required” account banner and an email notification. Once prompted, you will be asked to respond by the date that is in the email and account banner.
Q. What will happen to the account and content of a publisher who does not verify their identity?
If a Publisher is unable to verify their identity, they may pursue our appeals process. If we are not able to verify a publisher’s identity, we may close their KDP account and remove their titles from sale.
Q. Why are you launching this now?
Identity Verification will reduce abuse by bad actors, which will have a positive impact on customers’ book-buying experience.
Kill Zoners – Has anyone else experienced this change on Amazon KDP?
Where Does My Book Belong?
Terry Odell
Back in the days before I even gave writing a passing thought, my reading tastes ran to mystery and science fiction. Later, when I was toying with writing an original piece, I headed for the mystery genre. My daughters, who were reading sections as I wrote them, told me it was a romance. What? I’d never read a romance. Later, I learned there were sub-genres of romance, and one, dubbed romantic suspense, was included under the romance umbrella. I’m still irked that they didn’t call it romantic mystery because suspense is a different sub-genre under the mystery umbrella. I asked, and was told that the powers that be had decided to lump all mystery sub-genres together in the romantic suspense category.
For the record, writing a Romantic Suspense, be it mystery, suspense, thriller, police procedural or any other mystery genre, means you’re effectively writing two stories, with two protagonists who are almost equals, each with their own character arc. They can be working together or in competition, but they have their own GMCs. Not easy!
Readers of any romance genre bring their own expectations, and if there’s “romance” anywhere in the book description, they want—at the very least—a promise of a Happily Ever After. Of course, you have to solve the mystery, too. Or, in the case of my Blackthorne, Inc. novels, which are “action adventure romance”, you have to catch the bad guys.
Readers in bookstores—or libraries—gravitate to the shelves that hold the genres they’re looking for. When I was shopping my first true mystery, Deadly Secrets, it was turned down because the publisher wouldn’t know how to categorize it. Yes, it was a police procedural, but it had a “cozy” feel, and I was told to pick one, rewrite, and resubmit, or submit something else that fit their cubbyholes.
I was fortunate with the timing for this one—indie publishing had just become a thing, and I could publish it myself. Which I did.
Of course, all publishers, be they indie or traditional, have to fill out categories and keywords for their books. Something to let readers know what to expect. But ebook publishers can choose more than one category, because the shelves in online bookstores are almost infinite. You no longer have to be a huge best seller to warrant shelf space in two departments (think JD Robb, whose books can be found on both the romance and mystery shelves in brick and mortar stores).
When I returned from my trip through the British Isles, I thought I’d write a simple romance. (Motivation—write off the cost of the trip.) It didn’t take me more than a few chapters to realize I had to include mystery elements. The category romance genre (think Harlequin) wasn’t working for me.
Now, I’m writing a novel, Double Intrigue, set on a Danube River cruise. (Same motivation as above). As with Heather’s Chase, the book set in the British Isles, my intention is to subtitle it “An International Mystery Romance,” thus connecting these two books.
Here’s my dilemma. My main characters are not law enforcement by any stretch of the imagination. Not even amateur sleuths. Their relationship begins simply as two people who meet on a cruise. Their goals are completely different. One, Shalah, is a travel agent who’s got her big chance to prove herself and move up in the company she works for by documenting her trip so the agency can sell the itinerary.
The other main character, Aleksy, is from Prague, and he’s involved in some shady doings in the art world.
Because I’ll be including “romance” in the metadata, their attraction must end up fulfilling a romance reader’s expectation, which, in this case, is a promise of that HEA. I don’t wrap up my books with 2 kids, a dog, and a white picket fence.
Aleksy appears to be in line to succeed the current head of the “institute,” but does he want to continue doing what he’s spent his life doing? Is the institute on the verge of being discovered for what it really is? Would he be arrested? Is his best option to get off the cruise ship and disappear?
Oh, and then there’s the “twins separated at birth” trope that shows up, too. Contrary to expectations, Shalah and her newly found sister aren’t getting along well.
What about the “mystery” angle? Can I even call it a mystery? There’s no crime being solved on the page. No cops or detectives as major players. What other shelves could it fit on?
How would you classify this book, TKZers?
One more thing. Speaking of travel, I’m leaving Sunday for a trip to the Faroe Islands. It’s a photography workshop. Maybe I can come up with an idea for another book. And another tax write off. And some more “Wanderings” posts for my new Substack. This week, it’s about my trip to Croatia.
How can he solve crimes if he’s not allowed to investigate?
Gordon Hepler, Mapleton’s Chief of Police, has his hands full. A murder, followed by several assaults. Are they related to the expansion of the community center? Or could it be the upcoming election? Gordon and mayor wannabe Nelson Manning have never seen eye to eye. Gordon’s frustrations build as the crimes cover numerous jurisdictions, effectively tying his hands. Available now in ebook, paperback, and audio.
Like bang for your buck? I have a new Mapleton Bundle. Books 4, 5, and 6 for one low price.
New! Find me at Substack with Writings and Wanderings
Terry Odell is an award-winning author of Mystery and Romantic Suspense, although she prefers to think of them all as “Mysteries with Relationships.”
by Debbie Burke
Vilde Odmundson, designer., CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Deadline. The very word strikes fear. It promises dire consequences if it’s missed. If your work isn’t finished by the boss’s deadline, you’re fired. If your past due payments aren’t received by the deadline, the bank repossesses your car. If you ignore the IRS tax deadline, your life becomes a living hell.
What are the origins of the dreaded word deadline?
According to WarHistoryOnline.com:
The earliest known uses date back to the 1800s, where the Oxford English Dictionary discovered the usage of “dead-line” in reference to a fishing line with a weight on it to prevent it from moving. In the early 1900s, the word was used in the printing industry as the name of a boundary line on a printing press, beyond which text will not print.
The most gruesome use of the term apparently originated at the notorious Andersonville POW camp during the Civil War.
[Camp commandant Captain Henry] Wirz added the so-called “deadline.” This was a literal line of wooden planks or fences placed about 20 feet inside from the outer walls. Orders were given to the guards that any man who crossed the deadline, even by a hair, would be shot on sight without warning.
If a writer misses a deadline, the editor/publisher can’t shoot you, but your career may be dead. They will remember your name, and not in a good way.
Deadlines are important. My professional writing career launched because a friend couldn’t make her deadline and recommended me as a substitute to the editor. That began a long, fruitful relationship with a respected magazine.
Waking up in the middle of the night, realizing my TKZ post is due that morning, is a horrible feeling I don’t want to repeat. I’m compulsive about deadlines (some say anal) and usually turn in stories ahead of time.
That early-bird mentality means editors sometimes call and say: “Hey, I need 750 words by Thursday. Can you do it?”
Yup. Those rush jobs are paychecks that I otherwise wouldn’t have received.
External deadlines are powerful motivators, especially for newer writers. They build discipline and accountability. I need to write 10 pages for critique group on Tuesday. I have to finish that short story/poem/play to meet the contest deadline next week.
Writers who self-publish often struggle because they don’t have that external deadline. When we impose a deadline on ourselves, we can come up with a gazillion reasons to put it off. But are those reasons or excuses?
Side note: A recent hot topic on the Authors Guild discussion thread has been about launching a book around election time. Some authors are asking their publishers to delay their release dates until after November, fearing their books will get lost in political furor. Books already have a tough enough time attracting reader and media attention. This reason may be worth considering if you plan a book launch in the next few months.
Since going indie, my goal has been to publish at least one book per year, and I’ve met that with eight books since 2017.
But…more than a year has passed since April 2023 when the last book, Deep Fake Double Down, was released.
Cover by Brian Hoffman
The ninth book, Fruit of the Poisonous Tree, has not met my self-imposed deadline.
Readers keep asking when the new book is coming out. That’s a wonderful problem to have! But I don’t like my vague answers.
In the spring I said, “Summer.”
Then I updated to “Labor Day” because that marks an annual event with other Montana authors, described in posts here and here.
In early July, I looked at the calendar and realized how quickly September 1 was coming up.
I still had to finish the book, edit, get feedback from beta readers, make corrections, format, upload, receive and review a proof. Printing books takes four to six weeks, if there aren’t delays. All that had to be done by Labor Day. Aargh!
I raced through the climax and did a fast edit. I explained the urgency to beta readers and gave them a chance to say no. They are all wonderful friends, but a week turnaround is a damn big ask. Several understandably declined because of their own deadlines. The rest agreed. They came through and offered great suggestions.
But…one long-time critique partner sat me down and said, “Deb, this isn’t as good as your other books. You rushed it and it shows. You’re too good a writer to put this out for your readers. They’ll be disappointed.”
Whap!
Other betas had alluded to some problems, but I deceived myself into thinking they were easy fixes to be whipped out in a day or two.
Nope.
My friend and I spent the next three hours at her dining room table going through the marked-up manuscript. She was 100% right–the problems went deep.
Actually, I’d sensed that all along but pushed my concerns aside because I was fixated on meeting the Labor Day deadline.
Her critique made me think. How important, really, is that deadline?
If the new book isn’t available to sell at the annual event, what are the consequences?
No one dies.
I still have eight other books on the table. If I lose a handful of sales, so what? I’ll have postcards printed of the new book cover and people can sign up for my newsletter to be notified of the pub date.
In other words, missing this deadline doesn’t matter, except to my pride.
If I make the deadline but put out a substandard book, in the long run, I’ll lose more readers than I gain.
I never want people to think, “Gee, she used to be pretty good, but she’s sure gone downhill.”
An old saying goes: “There’s never time to do it right but there’s always time to do it over.”
Not for books. For them, a different saying applies: “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”
Deadlines teach good work habits and keep writers from procrastinating. But they can also be blinders that prevent an author from recognizing and fixing problems with their work.
Thankfully my friend yanked those blinders off and made me see what was really important.
As I work on the rewrites, I give thanks she was honest with me.
When will Fruit of the Poisonous Tree be ready?
I dunno. A week, a month, three months? Whatever time it takes to be the best I can make it.
The day after I resigned myself to giving up the Labor Day deadline, the other two authors emailed me about our upcoming book appearance. Construction has closed a bridge which cuts off one of only two roads into the little village of Bigfork. The other road will be occupied that weekend by a major car show. Parking is a mile-plus hike and access for those with disabilities will be next to impossible.
Due to these logistic issues, we decided to skip doing the event this year. What a relief from the frantic push I’d been making since the beginning of July!
Deadlines are great unless they force you to make a choice between speed and quality. They often give a much-needed nudge to finish. But this experience taught me to follow my instincts rather than the calendar.
~~~
TKZers: Do deadlines help your writing?
Has a deadline ever caused you to publish a story that was below your expectations? Please share your experience.
~~~
Until Fruit of the Poisonous Tree is published, the other eight books in the Tawny Lindholm Thriller series are for sale at all online booksellers.
The first book, Instrument of the Devil, will be FREE on August 2.
In anything, there has to be that moment of fasting, really, in order to enjoy the feast. —Stephen Hough
* * *
Here on TKZ, we occasionally make reference to life style choices that affect our writing. We talk about the kinds of food we eat, the hours of sleep we get, and the types of exercise we do. However, there’s one behavior I don’t think we’ve covered here: fasting.
Although I don’t fast frequently, I do a 24-hour fast once a year, and I’ve occasionally tried shorter term fasts. (Translation: not very often.) Although I’m certainly not an expert on fasting, I’ve noticed a couple of things.
Besides being uncomfortably hungry, there’s another facet to denying oneself food: the effect it has on the brain. I have noticed a clarity and focus that comes with fasting that may be a benefit to authors, and that can be accomplished even with shorter, intermittent fasting.
What is intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting (IF) isn’t about what you eat. It’s about when you eat it. There are different approaches. Some people don’t eat between say 8 p.m. and noon the next day. That’s a sixteen-hour fast. Others may eat regularly five days a week and eat only one meal on two non-consecutive days.
A Little Background
According to Johns Hopkins neuroscientist Mark Mattson
“…our bodies have evolved to be able to go without food for many hours, or even several days or longer. In prehistoric times, before humans learned to farm, they were hunters and gatherers who evolved to survive — and thrive — for long periods without eating. They had to: It took a lot of time and energy to hunt game and gather nuts and berries.”
So, it seems our bodies are programmed for intermittent fasting.
The Benefits of IF
But why would we want to deny ourselves the pleasure of food? First, there are some pretty compelling health benefits associated with fasting, including weight loss, protection against type 2 diabetes, and reducing inflammation.
A 2019 article in The New England Journal of Medicine adds to those benefits.
“Until recently, studies of caloric restriction and intermittent fasting focused on aging and the life span. After nearly a century of research on caloric restriction in animals, the overall conclusion was that reduced food intake robustly increases the life span.”
Living longer means having more time to write! But there’s even more good news from that same NEJM article.
“Studies in animals show that intermittent fasting enhances cognition in multiple domains, including spatial memory, associative memory, and working memory [emphasis added]; alternate-day fasting and daily caloric restriction reverse the adverse effects of obesity, diabetes, and neuroinflammation on spatial learning and memory.”
Enhancing cognitive ability is an added bonus to the long life.
How Does IF Work?
According to the New England Journal of Medicine article cited above
“Glucose and fatty acids are the main sources of energy for cells. After meals, glucose is used for energy, and fat is stored in adipose tissue as triglycerides. During periods of fasting, triglycerides are broken down to fatty acids and glycerol, which are used for energy. The liver converts fatty acids to ketone bodies, which provide a major source of energy for many tissues, especially the brain [emphasis added], during fasting.”
Pushups for the gray cells!
The Effect of Fasting on Writing
A recent LinkedIn.com post features the experiences of author Gin Stephens and makes the case that IF is good for writers for several reasons, including
Sharper Brain Function
Noteworthy is the biological impact of IF on brain function. Fasting promotes neurogenesis—the growth of new neurons—which is linked to improved cognitive function and creativity. Moreover, the state of ketosis achieved during fasting periods can elevate mood and brain function, providing a fertile ground for creative thought. This biological edge can be particularly beneficial for writers seeking to push the boundaries of their imagination and innovate within their work.
Discipline and Structure
The discipline required for IF can spill over into writing practices. For creatives, structuring their day around a fasting schedule can bring a sense of order and discipline that benefits their work. The routine of an eating window encourages better planning and prioritization, skills essential for both successful fasting and successful writing.
* * *
Note: I’m not advocating any type of fasting for anyone. You should do your own research and talk to your doctor before making any change to your routine. But the research is interesting, and there is a veritable smorgasbord of information online to feast on.
So TKZers: What do you think about intermittent fasting? Have you ever tried it? If so, does it help your writing? Do you think you might give it a try?
* * *
Hungering for a good read this summer? Satisfy your literary taste buds with Lacey’s Star: A Lady Pilot-in-Command Novel.
On sale now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play, or Apple Books.
by James Scott Bell
@jamesscottbell
A story is told of a writer reading some bad poetry to a friend in a cold apartment. The only heat was a dying fire. Finally, shivering, the friend cried out, “My dear sir, either put fire into your verses or your verses into the fire!”
Readers respond to heat. That’s why you need fire in your fiction (a nod here to TKZ emeritus Jodie Renner and agent Donald Maass). Let me offer a few “hot” suggestions.
Fire Up Your Openings
It all starts with your first page, which we here at TKZ write about a lot (click on “First-page Critiques” in the menu and you’ll get a graduate-level course on the subject).
A wise writer (I’m not sure who) said, “A story begins when you light the match, not when you lay out the wood.” Give us some heat from the get-go.
It doesn’t have to be high heat. Just something that disturbs the Lead’s ordinary world. A portent of things to come.
I’ve critiqued many a manuscript at writers conferences, and when I find a “lay out the wood” opening it’s usually because there’s too much backstory. The author thinks the reader has to know a certain amount of information to understand what’s going on.
Nix. Readers will wait a long time for background information if they’re seeing conflict happening on the page.
I’ve suggested two things for wooden openings that work 99% of the time.
Tip #1 is to go to the first instance of dialogue in the manuscript. Dialogue automatically means action, something happening between two or more characters. Then see how you can pump up the conflict in the conversation.
Tip #2 is the “Chapter Two Switcheroo.” Toss Chapter One and begin with Chapter Two. Works wonders! You can then “marble in” only the Chapter One exposition that is absolutely essential.
Fan the Flames of Emotion
When you come to a particularly emotional scene, overwrite it. You can always tone it down later if you want.
I like to do the page-long sentence technique. I open a fresh document and then write in the character’s voice for at least 250 words. No periods, just stream-of-consciousness thoughts, telling me how they’re feeling, not in a simple terms like “angry” or “sad,” but in vivid metaphors and physical reactions. Write write write…then set that aside and come back to it later.
Usually, I’m looking for that one line or image that is striking, that arose out of my subconscious as my fingers flew across the keyboard.
It’s worth the effort. We’re elevating our fiction out of the “pretty good” (tepid) pile and into the “fantastic!” (high heat) pile.
Combust the Conflict
Be sure to give every character in every scene an agenda. They should all want something. There are no seat warmers in fiction.
Put those agendas in opposition.
Even minor characters can add conflict if their goals get in the way of the viewpoint character’s objective.
Push your characters to disagree with each other. In dialogue, use the em-dash interruption every now and then (as I describe here and John there).
Enflame the Philosophy
In my opinion a great Lead character has, well, opinions. Some things should make them hot under the collar.
I like to do a Voice Journal for my main characters, and prod them with questions, one of which is, “What is your philosophy of life?” Then I sit back (as I type) and listen to what they have to say.
An important caveat is not to let the character get too preachy (John Galt to the contrary notwithstanding). The best way to present the material is through dialogue. Here’s a bit from the great film On the Waterfront starring Marlon Brando and Eva Marie Saint. It’s about an ex-boxer, Terry Malloy, who now works as a strong arm for a waterfront boss.
When the mob murders a potential witness against them, Terry comes into contact with the victim’s sister, Edie. Not knowing Terry’s complicity in her brother’s death, Edie is drawn to Terry, as he is to her. Terry takes her to a dive for a drink. After some conversation, he says—
TERRY: You wanna hear my philosophy of life? Do it to him before he does it to you.
EDIE: I never met anyone like you. There’s not a spark of sentiment, or romance, or human kindness in your whole body.
TERRY: What good does it do you besides get you in trouble?
EDIE: And when things and people get in your way, you just knock them aside, get rid of them. Is that your idea?
TERRY: Don’t look at me when you say that. It wasn’t my fault what happened to Joey. Fixing him wasn’t my idea.
EDIE: Who said it was?
TERRY: Everybody’s putting the needle on me. You and them mugs in the church and Father Barry. I didn’t like the way he was looking at me.
EDIE: He was looking at everybody the same way.
TERRY: Oh, yeah? What’s with this Father Barry? What’s his racket?
EDIE: His racket?
TERRY: Yeah, his racket. Everybody’s got a racket.
EDIE: But he’s a priest.
TERRY: Are you kiddin’? So what? That don’t make no difference.
EDIE: You don’t believe anybody, do you?
TERRY: Listen, down here it’s every man for himself. It’s keeping alive. It’s standing in with the right people so you get a little bit of change jingling in your pocket.
EDIE: And if you don’t?
TERRY: If you don’t? Right down.
EDIE: It’s living like an animal.
TERRY: All right. I’d rather live like an animal than end up like …
EDIE: Like Joey? Are you afraid to mention his name?
Write like that and readers will get fired up, too…for your next book!
So how do you turn up the heat when you write?
Once upon a time mass-market paperbacks dominated popular fiction publishing. You could walk into book stores, drug stores, grocery stores, even cigar stores and lunch counters, and find spinner racks stuffed with paperbacks. Romance, mystery, thriller, sci-fi, westerns, historical epics, you name it.
It all began in 1935 when English Allen Lane had a brainstorm, allegedly after spending the weekend visiting Agatha Christie and her husband. He launched Penguin books with ten books in paperback, including Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Links. In 1939 Robert de Graff started the first American mass-market line when he began Pocket Books. As this 2014 New Yorker article by Louis Menand pointed out, “[t]he key to Lane’s and de Graff’s innovation was not the format. It was the method of distribution.”
From the 1940s into the early 2000s they were a big part of publishing, and where indeed everywhere.
When I began buying fiction as a teen in the 1970s, all my purchases were mass-market paperbacks. I had built a small library by the time I met my future wife (at an after school job we both had while in high school, no less) and loaned her some novels to read once we started dating, after having discovered we had a mutual passion for books.
A section of our custom book shelves, sized for mass-market paperbacks.
Mass-market paperbacks were usually 4 inches or so wide, and 6 to 7 inches tall. Paper quality even in the 1960s and 1970s wasn’t great, but by the 1980s it had improved quite a lot, being more durable and often better printed than previously. They were still quite popular. Many of us waited to buy the mass-market paperback version of a new release by a favorite author, which was usually a year after the hard cover was published. Non-fiction was also published in mass-market. That was the format I read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance in while I was in college.
The thriving “paperback original” market persisted into the 1980s and early 90s. For a new genre author, it wasn’t uncommon to be initially published “only” in paperback.
So it surprised me when I began working at the library in 1987 that my branch had no paperbacks in its collection. None of the branches did. Apparently a decision had been made some time before I had been hired to stop buying them. This lasted for several years, so if a book was a paperback original we didn’t have it on our shelves. Patrons were disappointed, but the library had decided not to buy books in paperback because they wore out quickly. It cost money to put a new book in the computer system, as well as affix barcodes and spine labels. It wasn’t until sometime in the 1990s my library system began purchasing library books again.
It was hard because neighboring library systems did purchase them during that time, and we’d hear about it. Librarians want to provide “materials” (books, music, and later, video) which their patrons ask for and typically hate disappointing people.
We did have a collection of donated paperbacks, which we dubbed “Bring-Backs,” which filled a rollout cart with side shelving, and was a hit with our patrons, often being emptied out and needing to be restocked. Fortunately, we always seemed to have enough donations to keep it going.
When the library finally did resume purchasing paper backs in the 1990s, it was just a few at first. It took years for us to build up a collection. And yes, they did wear out faster than a hardcover. But if that was the only way a particular book in demand was available, we bought it. Patrons were pleased, save for the few holdouts who disapproved of the “pulp novels” and “lurid” romances we bought. Eventually, mass market paperbacks had a sizable presence on our library fiction shelves alongside hardcover and trade paper backs.
Mass-market paperbacks are still around, especially in romance and mystery, though sales continue to decline.
I’m self-published and all my print editions are 5.25 inches by 8 inches, so are close to the old mass market-size. We still have a large collection on custom built shelving at our house as well. Below is a photo of a part of those shelves:
Mystery and thriller readers still love to read in print, and that includes paperbacks, though more often the larger trade format is what is available.
I attended Left Coast Crime in Seattle this spring, and there were newly released paperbacks among the hardcovers. My haul of book giveaways included these paperbacks, one of which was the current “tall boy” mass-market paperback.
As an indie mystery author myself, I’ve been surprised to see my print sales being a greater percentage of my overall book sales, in contrast to when I published urban fantasy novels.
As far as I know, print sales are still a very substantial part of a traditionally published author’s sales. Publishers Weekly summed up print sales for 2023 in this article.
Now we turn to two excerpts from the Kill Zone archives dealing with paperbacks, by Michelle Gagnon and Mark Alpert.
Recently, Dorchester Publishing, one of the country’s oldest mass market publishers, announced that it is abandoning traditional print books in favor of digital format and print on demand.
That announcement reminded me of a conversation I had with an editor at a conference a few months ago. She predicted that in the coming digital shakeup, hardcover print runs would be smaller, trade paperbacks would boom, and mass market books would vanish entirely.
I was skeptical. After all, the great thing about mass market books is that they remain almost as cheap (or cheaper) than digital downloads, and they’re ideal reading material for all of those places you wouldn’t take your Kindle/iPad: the beach, the tub, the pool. So why would this be the first format to fall to the digital ax?
The fact that Dorchester is the first to make this shift is particularly bad news for Hard Case Crime, the imprint that has revitalized the pulp fiction industry with semi-ironic works by major novelists such as Ken Bruen and Stephen King. Going digital stands in stark contrast to what publisher Charles Ardai was attempting to achieve–a return to the era of dime store novels you could tuck in your pocket. (On a side note, how ironic is it that Ardai, who made his money via the dotcom boom, is deadset on producing books in print?) In response to the Dorchester move, he’s apparently considering moving the entire imprint to a different publisher.
I was encouraged to see that in the article, a representative from Random House expressed faith in mass paperbacks. These days, most midlist and debut authors are only offered a mass market release. If that shifts entirely to digital content, it would be a shame. For me, the best part of the publishing process was the day that I opened a box to find a stack of novels with my name on the cover. I’m not sure that opening a pdf file would convey the same thrill.
Michelle Gagnon—September 2, 2010
My third novel, Extinction, will come out in paperback on Tuesday. I’m a big fan of paperbacks in general; of all the books I buy, only about twenty percent are hardcovers. The main reason is the price difference. Whereas the list price for the hardcover of Extinction is $25.99, the price on the cover of the mass-market paperback is only $9.99. The difference isn’t quite so extreme after discounting — Amazon, for example, sells the hardcover for $18.80 and the paperback for $8.99 — but it’s still pretty significant for all but the wealthiest book-buyers.
Paperbacks are also lighter and more portable. They fit inside the pockets of my winter jacket. They’re easier to hide (in case you’re embarrassed about what you’re reading). And they take up less space on your bookshelves, which is an important concern if you live in a smallish apartment with a spouse, two kids and all their paraphernalia. (Electronic books would be even better in that respect, but I just don’t feel comfortable reading them. I can’t really relax when I’m holding a screen. I can’t ignore the screen’s presence, which makes it hard for me to get lost in the story.)
Don’t get me wrong — hardcovers have their place. When I buy a book as a gift, I never get a paperback if the hardcover is available. And I love certain authors so much that I just can’t wait for their paperbacks. (I’m talking about you, Lee Child. And you too, Dennis Lehane.) But I’m a pretty patient guy. I’m dying to read Gone Girl, but I’m willing to wait a few more weeks until the paperback comes out. I’ll bide my time by reading a classic or two. (I’m reading Blood Meridian now. What a freaking amazing book!)
Speaking as a writer now, I love being published in hardcover. I’ve been lucky to have gorgeous book jackets for all my novels. And it feels good just to hold the hardcover — it feels substantial, weighty, lasting. But I’m a relatively unknown writer trying to reach new readers, so publishing paperbacks is crucial to broadening my audience.
Over the past year I’ve noticed that a few very famous authors are eschewing the hardcover route for some of their books and putting out paperback originals. Stephen King did this last summer with Joyland, which was a fun read (definitely not weighty!) and had a great pulpy cover. Taipei, a serious literary novel by Tao Lin, also went straight to paper.
And there’s one more advantage to paperbacks that I haven’t mentioned yet: the teaser. After I finish reading a fantastic paperback, I love turning to the last pages of the book and getting a sneak preview of the author’s next novel. I’m pleased to say there’s a teaser at the end of the Extinction paperback, previewing the prologue and first chapter of my fourth book, The Furies. That novel will be published — in hardcover — next month.
Mark Alpert—March 22, 2014
***
by Debbie Burke
Public Domain
Kim Lien Vu, 46, owned two nail salons in Liberty Township, OH. She reportedly “developed animosity” with a competing business, Bora Bora Nails and Spa in nearby Monroe. In December 2022, Vu and employee Cierra Marie Bishop, 30, hatched a plan to burn down the rival store.
In text messages between Vu and Bishop, Bishop described experiments with various incendiary devices.
Vu directed a third woman, Makahla Ann Rennick, 19, to make an appointment at Bora Bora under a false name.
The final device was put into a small box.
On February 5, 2023, surveillance footage shows Bishop and Rennick entering the salon. While Rennick was having a pedicure, Bishop walked around the store with a package. Near the rear restroom, Bishop placed the package behind a desk.
Meanwhile, Vu established an alibi for herself by driving to Virginia, although she remained in contact via text with Bishop while Bishop was inside the store.
Later, a Bora Bora employee smelled gasoline, spotted the package, and put it outside in the dumpster. It soon caught fire.
Public Domain
Yeah, a genuine dumpster fire.
This video report shows the device before and after it ignited.
The trio was arrested and indicted by a federal grand jury in February 2023. In September 2023 Vu pled guilty, admitting she “conspired to commit malicious destruction via fire.” In April 2024, US District Court sentenced her to 46 months in prison. Bishop also pled guilty and is awaiting sentencing.
Business sometimes means fighting tooth and…nail. [Ba-da-boom!]
~~~
TKZers: Do you know business competitors that carried their rivalry to extremes?
~~~
Debbie Burke’s thriller Deep Fake Double Down is a finalist for the Silver Falchion Award..
For fiction to work–for it to feel right–countless tiny elements have to come together in a manner so seamless that readers are unaware that they are being manipulated. Clues have to be planted and red herrings launched so subtly that they don’t draw attention to themselves. And then there’s pacing–the key to providing all the information the reader needs to know in a way that doesn’t stop the story for a data dump. This can get particularly tricky in the middle of the story, when characters have to reveal details to each other that the reader already knows.
Over the years, I have developed a shortcut technique that I call the “em-dash interruption.” Here’s what it looks like:
Jake strolled into the kitchen, still buttoning his shirt. “Smells good in here. Are we–“
“You left the water on all last night,” Angie snapped. “Now the roses are overwatered, and they’re not going–“
“I’m sorry. I got the call from Aunt Lucy last night and I guess I–“
“You’re always sorry, Jake. I don’t ask you to do a lot around here but every time I do, there’s always something . . .”
He knew the speech by heart. How could he not? They’d had it twice a day since–
“And it has nothing to do with the baby! I know that’s what you think. I know that’s what everyone thinks!”
I just made this up on the fly so you know as much about what’s actually happening in the scene as I do, but the point I’m trying to make is that you don’t need complete sentences to tell a story–especially when the details of the dialogue are secondary to the mood of the scene. In the example, we don’t really care what Angie is cooking or what is going to happen to the overwatered roses or even what Aunt Lucy wanted to talk about. What’s important is the fact that this couple is in crisis and there’s a way to convey the crisis in a snappy way.
Note, too, that I used the em dash to interrupt narrative as well as dialogue. I do that all the time. Here’s an example from Zero Sum, the Grave book to be released next month:
They weren’t upset that his boy had been killed—no, they didn’t give a shit about that. If it had been the original team of agents, they would have—
Wait. Why weren’t they the original team of agents?
Here, we have a character working through a problem in his head, asking questions, testing theories, and the thought process leads the character to have a lightbulb moment (the em-dash interruption of his own thoughts) that leads him to ask a question that is critical to the plot.
I’ve used the same technique to introduce a startling moment for the character. Again, making it up on the fly:
Charlie needed to find himself another job, something better suited to his intellect. Security guard money wasn’t bad but goodness gracious, all he did was wander hallways and rattle doorknobs. Same doorknobs every hour, every night, and always locked. They could hire a trained monkey to do this gig. Hell, they could hire a trained–
What was that? Something made a noise from behind the
Here, we take a couple dozen words to anchor the reader with a character and then zing ’em with an em-dash interruption to jump the story along.
So, what do you think? Does this make sense? The blog entry is a bit short today, because I figured I covered the topic, and–
Wow!
