Technology Scares Me

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I remember a few years ago being amused and amazed by the fact that I never had to print and mail a manuscript in order to submit a book to my publisher.  For the first ten years or so of my writing career, a $30 Fed Ex bill was a rite of passage that marked the giant milestone of having finished a book.  It seemed sort of anticlimactic to just attach the manuscript to an email and hit send.
This year marked yet another excursion into the frightening world of ones and zeroes: The entire editing process was handled by email.  My editor’s comments came in “Review” mode in MS Word, accompanied by an editorial letter.  In that case, I printed out the marked up manuscript, acknowledging my Luddite nature, and I confess to being frustrated by the tiny, tiny typeface.  I soldiered on.  I made my initial changes to the edited manuscript in pencil, and then I transferred them to the version I got from my editor.  Weeks passed.
A few weeks later, I got the copy edited manuscript, and-lo and behold–gone were the scribblings in red pencil and the marginal notes.  It was another “Review Mode”  manuscript.  I’m happy to report that the manuscript was refreshingly clean, but I found the instructions to be a bit confusing.  My orders were to not accept or reject the copy editor’s marks, but to comment “stet” where I thought they were wrong, and to rewrite the areas where I agreed.
Damage Control has been put to bed now.  My last opportunity to reengineer anything is in the rearview mirror.  The book is heading toward a June release, and here’s nothing anyone can do about it.  I hope y’all like it when you read it.
Here’s my concern: I love seeing the manuscripts of the authors I admire.  Reading the hand-edited typescripts of Hemingway or the handwritten manuscripts of Dickens is a master class in choices made by the writer.  Such documents have gone the way of the do-do bird now.  The brilliant authors of today (and believe me when I say that I do not put myself among their number) will have no record of the sentences that nearly worked but were changed to make them better.
The brilliant thriller writer, Stephen Hunter, told me once over dinner that back when he was first getting published in the late seventies, the typewritten manuscript was a form of natural selection.  Having never suffered a rejection himself, he believed that the willingness to re-type a 400-page manuscript four or five times separated the truly committed from the pretenders.  I think there’s a lot of truth in that.  Plus, there’s a great paper trail.
I don’t even keep previous drafts anymore.  As I make changes, I simply overwrite the master file.
When people talk about the romance of writing, I harken back to the days I never knew, when typesetters had to insert handwritten additions that were noted by carrots and chicken scratchings.  In my mind’s eye, that’s a far more organic process than merely typing in changes as you go.
So, Killzoners, what do you think?    Do you keep your original versions of stuff you write?  Do you secretly harbor dreams of future generations uncovering the way your mind works when you write?  Has the world of ones and zeroes made writing less . . . romantic?

Technology Scares Me

Posted on by

I remember a few years ago being amused and amazed by the fact that I never had to print and mail a manuscript in order to submit a book to my publisher.  For the first ten years or so of my writing career, a $30 Fed Ex bill was a rite of passage that marked the giant milestone of having finished a book.  It seemed sort of anticlimactic to just attach the manuscript to an email and hit send.
This year marked yet another excursion into the frightening world of ones and zeroes: The entire editing process was handled by email.  My editor’s comments came in “Review” mode in MS Word, accompanied by an editorial letter.  In that case, I printed out the marked up manuscript, acknowledging my Luddite nature, and I confess to being frustrated by the tiny, tiny typeface.  I soldiered on.  I made my initial changes to the edited manuscript in pencil, and then I transferred them to the version I got from my editor.  Weeks passed.
A few weeks later, I got the copy edited manuscript, and-lo and behold–gone were the scribblings in red pencil and the marginal notes.  It was another “Review Mode”  manuscript.  I’m happy to report that the manuscript was refreshingly clean, but I found the instructions to be a bit confusing.  My orders were to not accept or reject the copy editor’s marks, but to comment “stet” where I thought they were wrong, and to rewrite the areas where I agreed.
Damage Control has been put to bed now.  My last opportunity to reengineer anything is in the rearview mirror.  The book is heading toward a June release, and here’s nothing anyone can do about it.  I hope y’all like it when you read it.
Here’s my concern: I love seeing the manuscripts of the authors I admire.  Reading the hand-edited typescripts of Hemingway or the handwritten manuscripts of Dickens is a master class in choices made by the writer.  Such documents have gone the way of the do-do bird now.  The brilliant authors of today (and believe me when I say that I do not put myself among their number) will have no record of the sentences that nearly worked but were changed to make them better.
The brilliant thriller writer, Stephen Hunter, told me once over dinner that back when he was first getting published in the late seventies, the typewritten manuscript was a form of natural selection.  Having never suffered a rejection himself, he believed that the willingness to re-type a 400-page manuscript four or five times separated the truly committed from the pretenders.  I think there’s a lot of truth in that.  Plus, there’s a great paper trail.
I don’t even keep previous drafts anymore.  As I make changes, I simply overwrite the master file.
When people talk about the romance of writing, I harken back to the days I never knew, when typesetters had to insert handwritten additions that were noted by carrots and chicken scratchings.  In my mind’s eye, that’s a far more organic process than merely typing in changes as you go.
So, Killzoners, what do you think?    Do you keep your original versions of stuff you write?  Do you secretly harbor dreams of future generations uncovering the way your mind works when you write?  Has the world of ones and zeroes made writing less . . . romantic?

$.99 E-Book Specials & Online Writing Class

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By Jordan Dane

HarperCollins has been testing the waters of discounting their e-book pricing and it’s my turn. My “NO ONE” series (3 suspense books, including my debut book NO ONE HEARD HER SCREAM) are now available at $.99 for a limited time. Book #1 is a standalone novel, but books # 2 & 3 are a connected story line. They are best read in order.

My debut novel NO ONE HEARD HER SCREAM was named Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2008, NO ONE LEFT TO TELL and NO ONE LIVES FOREVER were selected TOP PICKS by Romantic Times Magazine with NO ONE LIVES FOREVER nominated as RT’s 2008 Best Intrigue Novel.


These books have such a special place in my heart. They bring back so many memories of my first sale and the extraordinary people who helped me. Click HERE for a link to my first sale story. I had to sacrifice a body part to sell and a very generous, well-established author jumpstarted my career.
Over the years, I’ve found the publishing industry has been filled with generous people who I’ve had the pleasure of crossing their paths, either online or in person. I feel very blessed to be a part of such a community so I wanted to bring these discounted books to the attention of my TKZ family.

I’m on deadline with a new YA series for Harlequin Teen (THE HUNTED) so I haven’t surfaced much online. I’m also in the midst of promoting my latest YA – ON A DARK WING (Harlequin Teen, Jan 2012). (Everything happens at once, even if you think you’re planning your schedule. And no one gets a break from the TAX MAN. *shiver*)

I have an online writing class coming up Feb 20 – Mar 3, 2012 also. The Young Adult online chapter for the Romance Writers of America (YARWA) is hosting the workshop. The link for that class is HERE.


I’d like to hear from TKZers. Please share:
1.) Your first sale story
2.) Or what it meant to see your first self-pubbed book on sale
3.) Or what keeps you writing.


The HarperCollins sale links to retailers of my $.99 e-books are below (B&N, Amazon, BAMM, Google EBooks, Kobo, iBookStore & other retailers):

NO ONE HEARD HER SCREAM
NO ONE LEFT TO TELL
NO ONE LIVES FOREVER

$.99 E-Book Specials & Online Writing Class

Posted on by

By Jordan Dane

HarperCollins has been testing the waters of discounting their e-book pricing and it’s my turn. My “NO ONE” series (3 suspense books, including my debut book NO ONE HEARD HER SCREAM) are now available at $.99 for a limited time. Book #1 is a standalone novel, but books # 2 & 3 are a connected story line. They are best read in order.

My debut novel NO ONE HEARD HER SCREAM was named Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2008, NO ONE LEFT TO TELL and NO ONE LIVES FOREVER were selected TOP PICKS by Romantic Times Magazine with NO ONE LIVES FOREVER nominated as RT’s 2008 Best Intrigue Novel.


These books have such a special place in my heart. They bring back so many memories of my first sale and the extraordinary people who helped me. Click HERE for a link to my first sale story. I had to sacrifice a body part to sell and a very generous, well-established author jumpstarted my career.
Over the years, I’ve found the publishing industry has been filled with generous people who I’ve had the pleasure of crossing their paths, either online or in person. I feel very blessed to be a part of such a community so I wanted to bring these discounted books to the attention of my TKZ family.

I’m on deadline with a new YA series for Harlequin Teen (THE HUNTED) so I haven’t surfaced much online. I’m also in the midst of promoting my latest YA – ON A DARK WING (Harlequin Teen, Jan 2012). (Everything happens at once, even if you think you’re planning your schedule. And no one gets a break from the TAX MAN. *shiver*)

I have an online writing class coming up Feb 20 – Mar 3, 2012 also. The Young Adult online chapter for the Romance Writers of America (YARWA) is hosting the workshop. The link for that class is HERE.


I’d like to hear from TKZers. Please share:
1.) Your first sale story
2.) Or what it meant to see your first self-pubbed book on sale
3.) Or what keeps you writing.


The HarperCollins sale links to retailers of my $.99 e-books are below (B&N, Amazon, BAMM, Google EBooks, Kobo, iBookStore & other retailers):

NO ONE HEARD HER SCREAM
NO ONE LEFT TO TELL
NO ONE LIVES FOREVER

Not For Us!

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By Joe Moore

We’ve all gotten them. Some are personalized and contain constructive criticism. Others are form letters addressed to “author”. Some have been photocopied so many times that the cryptologists at the NSA couldn’t even decipher rejecttheir original message. Or they might arrive as a brief thanks-but-no-thanks email. They all say the same thing: your manuscript is not for us.

Rejected.

There are numerous ways to deal with literary rejection. We can all imagine the negative methods. But today, I want to discuss the positive ways to deal with the not-for-us letter.

After you’ve amassed an impressive stack of rejection letters, start by asking yourself if your query letter or synopsis might be the issue. You might have written the next Great American Novel, but if your sales pitch—your query letter—doesn’t do the job, the editor won’t want to move to the next step of requesting a sample. One method of improving your query and synopsis is to get help from an impartial third party such as a published author, writer’s forum or critique group. If you know someone who’s already published, ask if they can read your letter and give you advice on where you might be going wrong. Many online forums such as AbsoluteWrite, Writing Forums, and others have specific sections on query evaluation and feedback. Use them.

Next, you want to determine if you’re really targeting the appropriate publishers or agents. This is where you need to study the market. Go to the local bookstore and find novels that are similar to your manuscript. Make a note of the publishers. Many novelists include the name of their editor or agent on the acknowledgements page. Note those names. Then go online and visit the publisher’s websites. Read the descriptions of the plot on Amazon and B&N, and compare to yours. Google the agents names. Look at their list of clients. Are those writers some of your favorites? Do they write books similar to yours? Do your homework and focus on specific publishers and agents that deal with your kind of book.

Another question you need to ask yourself is if your book is as good as it can be. Of course, you’ll probably answer yes. Then take a moment to really consider the question. Are you being rejected repeatedly because the manuscript is just not ready for publication? Chances are, it probably isn’t.

So what should you do? Again, get outside help. One of the best ways to improve a manuscript is to join a local critique group. Most towns and communities have a library. Ask the local librarian if there are any groups that meet in the area. Check with the local bookstore. They usually know of critique groups or have bulletin boards that might list them. Critique groups that are made up of serious writers can be a huge benefit to helping you improve your work. Just remember that critiquing is a two-ways street. You want honest and sincere feedback, and you need to be prepared to give it back to your fellow members. There’s a very good chance that a group of fellow writers can help you get your story in shape so you can start submitting again.

Finally, don’t shoot the messenger. Agents and editors are in business to make money. If they don’t sell books, they go broke. If they don’t discover new books from new authors, they eventually go out of business. Their rejection of your work is nothing personal. Chances are, they don’t even know you. All they know is what they read in your query or sample. And the reasons for rejecting a manuscript can be as numerous as the number of submissions they received that day. Don’t blame them.

Forget about the lame excuses like: publishers only publish big established names and famous people. Or your book was rejected because it’s “different”, experimental, too unique for mainstream. Or you can’t believe they rejected your book when there’s so many bad books published. Go to The New York Times bestseller list. Look at all the writer’s names. Each and every author on that list was once an amateur struggling to get someone to read their manuscript and dreaming of making money as a published author. Every one of them fantasized about seeing their name on that list. What did they do? They realized that rejection really doesn’t mean “not for us”. It means “not ready for us yet”. Now go fix your book.

Any rejection stories to share? How many rejection letters did you get before that first book was published? If you’re published, do you still use a critique group or beta readers?

Not For Us!

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By Joe Moore

We’ve all gotten them. Some are personalized and contain constructive criticism. Others are form letters addressed to “author”. Some have been photocopied so many times that the cryptologists at the NSA couldn’t even decipher rejecttheir original message. Or they might arrive as a brief thanks-but-no-thanks email. They all say the same thing: your manuscript is not for us.

Rejected.

There are numerous ways to deal with literary rejection. We can all imagine the negative methods. But today, I want to discuss the positive ways to deal with the not-for-us letter.

After you’ve amassed an impressive stack of rejection letters, start by asking yourself if your query letter or synopsis might be the issue. You might have written the next Great American Novel, but if your sales pitch—your query letter—doesn’t do the job, the editor won’t want to move to the next step of requesting a sample. One method of improving your query and synopsis is to get help from an impartial third party such as a published author, writer’s forum or critique group. If you know someone who’s already published, ask if they can read your letter and give you advice on where you might be going wrong. Many online forums such as AbsoluteWrite, Writing Forums, and others have specific sections on query evaluation and feedback. Use them.

Next, you want to determine if you’re really targeting the appropriate publishers or agents. This is where you need to study the market. Go to the local bookstore and find novels that are similar to your manuscript. Make a note of the publishers. Many novelists include the name of their editor or agent on the acknowledgements page. Note those names. Then go online and visit the publisher’s websites. Read the descriptions of the plot on Amazon and B&N, and compare to yours. Google the agents names. Look at their list of clients. Are those writers some of your favorites? Do they write books similar to yours? Do your homework and focus on specific publishers and agents that deal with your kind of book.

Another question you need to ask yourself is if your book is as good as it can be. Of course, you’ll probably answer yes. Then take a moment to really consider the question. Are you being rejected repeatedly because the manuscript is just not ready for publication? Chances are, it probably isn’t.

So what should you do? Again, get outside help. One of the best ways to improve a manuscript is to join a local critique group. Most towns and communities have a library. Ask the local librarian if there are any groups that meet in the area. Check with the local bookstore. They usually know of critique groups or have bulletin boards that might list them. Critique groups that are made up of serious writers can be a huge benefit to helping you improve your work. Just remember that critiquing is a two-ways street. You want honest and sincere feedback, and you need to be prepared to give it back to your fellow members. There’s a very good chance that a group of fellow writers can help you get your story in shape so you can start submitting again.

Finally, don’t shoot the messenger. Agents and editors are in business to make money. If they don’t sell books, they go broke. If they don’t discover new books from new authors, they eventually go out of business. Their rejection of your work is nothing personal. Chances are, they don’t even know you. All they know is what they read in your query or sample. And the reasons for rejecting a manuscript can be as numerous as the number of submissions they received that day. Don’t blame them.

Forget about the lame excuses like: publishers only publish big established names and famous people. Or your book was rejected because it’s “different”, experimental, too unique for mainstream. Or you can’t believe they rejected your book when there’s so many bad books published. Go to The New York Times bestseller list. Look at all the writer’s names. Each and every author on that list was once an amateur struggling to get someone to read their manuscript and dreaming of making money as a published author. Every one of them fantasized about seeing their name on that list. What did they do? They realized that rejection really doesn’t mean “not for us”. It means “not ready for us yet”. Now go fix your book.

Any rejection stories to share? How many rejection letters did you get before that first book was published? If you’re published, do you still use a critique group or beta readers?

Reader, interrupted: the downside of digital

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The dog ate my e-books. All of them.

Actually it wasn’t my dog that ate them, but a pair of Rhodesian Ridgebacks at our local  park. MacGregor and I were playing fetch when I made the mistake of leaving my Kindle–encased in a new, apple-green leather case–on the bench. When I turned around, the Kindle was Ridgeback road kill. 
Ridgebacks were traditionally used to hunt lions in Africa. Turns out, they also have a taste for leather and digital literature. My Kindle looked okay when I extracted it from their dripping fangs, but they must have snapped its little e-spine. It was a goner.

Back when I bought the Kindle and started downloading books, I gave passing consideration to the idea of losing an entire library in one fell swoop. Now that it’s happened, I’m going to find out whether I can restore the whole library on another device. I’m sure there’s some e-magical way to do that, but this entire experience has left me shaken. For one thing, I don’t want to shell out money for another reader. Plus you never know when solar flares or another pack of wolf hounds will start messin’ with your pixels.
Or maybe this time I’ll go for broke. Get an iPad, maybe–but only if it comes with an insurance policy. Preferably one with compound interest.
Did you ever have disaster befall your e-reader? Did you lose any books?

Reader, interrupted: the downside of digital

Posted on by
The dog ate my e-books. All of them.

Actually it wasn’t my dog that ate them, but a pair of Rhodesian Ridgebacks at our local  park. MacGregor and I were playing fetch when I made the mistake of leaving my Kindle–encased in a new, apple-green leather case–on the bench. When I turned around, the Kindle was Ridgeback road kill. 
Ridgebacks were traditionally used to hunt lions in Africa. Turns out, they also have a taste for leather and digital literature. My Kindle looked okay when I extracted it from their dripping fangs, but they must have snapped its little e-spine. It was a goner.

Back when I bought the Kindle and started downloading books, I gave passing consideration to the idea of losing an entire library in one fell swoop. Now that it’s happened, I’m going to find out whether I can restore the whole library on another device. I’m sure there’s some e-magical way to do that, but this entire experience has left me shaken. For one thing, I don’t want to shell out money for another reader. Plus you never know when solar flares or another pack of wolf hounds will start messin’ with your pixels.
Or maybe this time I’ll go for broke. Get an iPad, maybe–but only if it comes with an insurance policy. Preferably one with compound interest.
Did you ever have disaster befall your e-reader? Did you lose any books?

In Person Appearances

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by Clare Langley-Hawthorne

We’ve posted a lot about online publicity and marketing efforts and how you can utilize blog tours, twitter and Facebook updates to help promote your latest novel. It used to be that authors would be sent on book tours involving in-person book signings and talks but now most of that has been superceded (and sadly, there aren’t that many bricks-and-mortar bookstores left to tour!). 


I’ve been wondering, given all the recent changes in publishing, what kind of in-person events are really worth it nowadays. While I still think there is no substitute for meeting readers face-to-face to talk about your book, getting a decent return on these events (factoring in author time and investment) can be hard to achieve (especially in these lean times). 


Fan-based and author conferences are probably still a worthwhile investment as they provide both networking opportunities as well as reader exposure but apart from Bouchercon, choosing the right conference to attend can be tricky. When my first two books came out I went to Bouchercon, Malice Domestic, the San Francisco Writer’s Conference, Mayhem in the Midlands and the Historical Novel Society Conference. It was hard to assess the actual impact of these (though I do I credit the SF writer’s conference for propelling me to the SF Chronicle bestseller list). I’ve also given readings at other local events, attended book festivals and been on library panels. All in all I think these helped provide some exposure but I’m not sure any of them were all that beneficial in terms of sales. 


Now the online opportunities for marketing and promotion are significantly greater, I would have to carefully consider what in-person events to make for my next book. Following my return to Australia, this assessment is even more complicated given the travel times and costs involved.


So I’d like to know, how do you weigh up your options when it comes to in-person events? Given the online opportunities, are you even considering book signings at bookstores? Which conferences, festivals or other events do you think are worthwhile in the new, digital era of publishing?

In Person Appearances

Posted on by

by Clare Langley-Hawthorne

We’ve posted a lot about online publicity and marketing efforts and how you can utilize blog tours, twitter and Facebook updates to help promote your latest novel. It used to be that authors would be sent on book tours involving in-person book signings and talks but now most of that has been superceded (and sadly, there aren’t that many bricks-and-mortar bookstores left to tour!). 


I’ve been wondering, given all the recent changes in publishing, what kind of in-person events are really worth it nowadays. While I still think there is no substitute for meeting readers face-to-face to talk about your book, getting a decent return on these events (factoring in author time and investment) can be hard to achieve (especially in these lean times). 


Fan-based and author conferences are probably still a worthwhile investment as they provide both networking opportunities as well as reader exposure but apart from Bouchercon, choosing the right conference to attend can be tricky. When my first two books came out I went to Bouchercon, Malice Domestic, the San Francisco Writer’s Conference, Mayhem in the Midlands and the Historical Novel Society Conference. It was hard to assess the actual impact of these (though I do I credit the SF writer’s conference for propelling me to the SF Chronicle bestseller list). I’ve also given readings at other local events, attended book festivals and been on library panels. All in all I think these helped provide some exposure but I’m not sure any of them were all that beneficial in terms of sales. 


Now the online opportunities for marketing and promotion are significantly greater, I would have to carefully consider what in-person events to make for my next book. Following my return to Australia, this assessment is even more complicated given the travel times and costs involved.


So I’d like to know, how do you weigh up your options when it comes to in-person events? Given the online opportunities, are you even considering book signings at bookstores? Which conferences, festivals or other events do you think are worthwhile in the new, digital era of publishing?