No Snap Decisions

We often question the sanity of publishers, bookstores and agents. We see a new decision, new school of thought, a diversion from the norm, and we shake our heads. Blog comments pepper the blogosphere. List groups rev up and inundate email boxes as writers fuss over the logic (or apparent lack of).Examples:

1. When Harlequin decided to open a self-publishing imprint, the world went nuts. Professional organizations banned their products and authors from being acceptable for membership (i.e., MWA, RWA, SFWA).

2. When Dorchester Publishing decided to stop mass paperback in lieu of electronic publishing (at least for now), people Twittered and Facebooked and wrung their hands, wondering what other publisher would follow suit.

3. When Amazon and a string of publishers fought over fixing prices for ebooks, leading some to gravitate to Apple, everyone felt they had to pick a side and lamblast the other.

4. When traditionally published authors took their backlists and self-pubbed them in ebook form, less-seasonsed authors everywhere got excited about a new venue for them outside of the traditional market (i.e., avoiding rejection yet again).

We are so quick to watch the major players and make quick assumptions. Listen, people. Those entities are making decisions that suit THEM. They are not thinking about you. Your situation is not theirs. Let the dust settle before passing opinion.

AND . . . do not make a decision based upon someone else's conclusions.

With the industry bouncing around like a pinball game, you have many more options. That also means you have more chance for mistake. And whatever the change, this does not give you a short cut to publication!

Slow down. Breathe into a paper bag. Then go back and write - with blinders on to the fray around you. Good gracious, you'd think this was a soap opera or something. Frankly, someone ought to write a book about such a writer - the one who can't publish for changing her mind on how she ought to be doing it - to the point she never publishes. Or the opposite - where she publishes each book for a different reason, via a different method, resulting in different ends. To the point she has no clue what she's doing. In the midst of all the hoopla, she forgets the fact she is a storyteller, and alienates the public she initially meant to please.

You Don't Have to Know it All

With information so readily available, we often fret about not keeping up. Current events, technological advances, publishing shifts, marketing expectations. The mountain of change is enough to make a writer quit. Many have.

Don't think you have to know it all.

First, learn how to write. The Internet has convinced a lot of people that they can be instant writers before they've written long enough to know better. Anyone can keep a journal, a blog. Not everyone needs to publish. I would love to find my grandmother's diary, but who's to say it should have been a book?

Write and write. Fall in love with the process. Awaken each day wanting to write . . . without thinking about publishing. Be best friends with your keyboard (or pen), letting your creative side fly free. Write dozens of stories, long and short, entertaining the various genres. One day, or one year, you'll find a particular story that will rise above the others, giving you a reason to think about publishing.

Or write nonfiction, submitting to local periodicals. Practice locally, then expand your territory. As you enhance your ability with practice, endeavor to capture larger markets. But become grand and comfortable in one arena before graduating to another.

Online, in writing magazines and all over the blogosphere, we are told to market, Twitter, blog, prepare newsletters, create press releases, speak. New writers see those lessons and think they have to jump in the middle of them, and do it now. Older writers think they have to drop what they are doing and become PR experts.

I've pushed writers to market themselves as well, and yes, it's a necessary evil at some point in the career. However, writers have to reach a crossroad before taking all that guidance seriously.

First and foremost, write until you have a distinct voice. If you market yourself too hard, too prematurely in your career, you confuse your public and lose the impact of making a name for yourself. It's like showing your art before you know how to blend colors or define your subject matter. It's like teaching Calculus before you've mastered Algebra.

What does your writing say about you?
Can people pick out your writing without your name on it?
Can people describe your writing style?

When you've refined yourself and your commodity, you better understand what you are selling. Nobody sells a prototype. Imagine selling Coca Cola or Kentucky Fried Chicken without the secret recipe.

Is the Paperback Losing its Grip to Ebooks? Does it Matter?

Dorchester Publishing has canned the mass market paperback and gone digital. You could feel the tremors across the publishing world as publishers, editor, agents and authors jockeyed for their one-line retorts or endorsements. Oh the horror . . . or it's a sign of things to come . . .

I shake my head every afternoon when I glance over the current events of the publishing world. It's change . . . it's growth . . . it's adaptation to both. And grown men and women are turning gray and wringing their hands at the sudden upheaval.

Dorchester did what was good for Dorchester. They are looking at the bottom line . . . in their pocketbook. They aren't contemplating what this means for other publishers, for Amazon, for Apple, for anyone else. With the majority of their works in the romance genre, they've recognized that the romance reader has embraced the e-reader. Why not go the ebook route?

But I read comments in chats and forums from published authors reminiscing about their typewriters, their days before the Internet made everyone a writer, and now they cry about ebooks.

It does not matter what the medium is. Seriously, people. Sell the dang book in whatever format sells.

Once upon a time, people adjusted to paperbacks, to noir then mystery, to graphic novels. One format doesn't make you more or less an author.

Avoiding the assembly line novel

Inside Higher Ed recently spoke about how college students today study an average of 14 hours per week compared to the 24 of their parents. According to an Associated Press poll in 2007, one in four people read absolutely no books. The average person read four books in an entire year. As a writer, you should be striving to tilt that average and raise the statistic. My guess, however, is that the average writer is like the average reader, only using the busy-ness of writing as the excuse to having no time to read.

In other words, people spend less time looking at books. Yet here we are, churning out books like they are soft drinks on an assembly line. Take an empty bottle, fill it, cap it, and send it on its way. Repeat process. Some get drunk, some age out and get tossed in a dumpster or poured down the drain, some are opened and half-consumed, ultimately going flat.

If we are studying less, we are less knowledgeable about writing. And if we are reading less, we are less qualified to write books. Our writing means less, sucks more.

Writing isn't just about slinging words on paper. Reading isn't just about reading news and Facebook on your iPad.

Shut off the world and read. Then shut it off to write. Then shut it off so you can study how to be a better writer. If you say you are too busy, then write for yourself . . . and be happy with that. Just don't try to sling yet another book on the market before you and the story are worthy.

The statistics already show that fewer people are reading and even those are reading fewer books. So instead of inundating the world with another book that won't be read, hold back. Breathe, slow down, read. Study and analyze. Make your book one that the 25 percent who read want to buy . . . and actually finish.

Hallmark - It's a Teen Thing Contest (not just for teens!)

Hallmark is accepting entries for their teen line of cards, particularly birthday.

Create a card for a teen's birthday. It can be to a girl or a guy or one that works for both. Use photography, drawings or graphic design. Just make sure its a funny birthday card for someone 14-18 years old; applicable to many people; and cohesive (writing and images work well together).

You could win $250 and publication in the Hallmark line online. You could earn $250 more if they decide to distribute your card in stores nationwide.

Deadline August 22, 2010. Winners selected by August 31, 2010. Nationwide announcement made in October. Cards would be available in stores June 2011.

NOTE: If you are a YA author, this is a fantastic way to get your name known. Gives you a good chance to practice your YA speaking skills, too. AND . . . if opens doors to Hallmark for future card assignments.

DOUBLE NOTE: Hallelujah . . . my son graduated from Clemson University this weekend . . . no more children in college . . . time is my own for writing. Oh my gosh, I'm stunned. Don't know where to start first.

You don't want them to cut you any slack

With a little luck, you say. You pray for that famous stroke of fate that propels you into publication. If only you knew somebody. If only . . .

If you want a solid footing in this business, you want to work your way up - with all the blood and sweat that comes with falling on your face and failing, over and over. You want to become one of those successful writers who weathered scars. You don't want the shortcut.

Why the heck not? Because those who've earned their stripes know how to endure the hard times, overcome obstacles, and regroup to zip past others competing for that bookshelf spot/headline/magazine byline. Experience tells you how to adapt and overcome. Fast track to bestseller might sound marvelous, but if you don't understand how to scratch and clamor your way up, you won't know what to do when they knock you down.

Trust me . . . people won't take care of you when the spotlight falls on someone else - when you struggle with subsequent success -  when that second story just doesn't gel as well as the first.

Work hard to establish your foundation. Know the basics. Understand how the business works. Make friends and weave that fantastic network you're supposed to. Know what's supposed to happen when and for how long. See what's coming before it hits you.

Those who rise to fame via bullet shortcuts usually fall hard just as fast. Most of the time they never understand what hit them, and as a result, don't know how to regain their footing.

Take your time and create yourself into something long-lasting.

Past Loves Day Contest

http://ourpastloves.com/contest.html
To foster awareness of PAST LOVES DAY, SEPTEMBER 17, Spruce Mountain Press sponsors an annual Story Contest. The Contest, and the Day, offer an opportunity to acknowledge a truth that lingers in your heart. Nearly everyone has memories of a former sweetheart. Write your true story of an earlier love, in no more than 700 words. First Prize: $100. Second Prize: $75. Third Prize: $50. Winning stories will be posted (anonymously, if requested by author) on this website. Some stories may also be selected for inclusion in an upcoming anthology, to be published by Spruce Mountain Press. Deadline August 17, 2010.

NOTE: Hmmm, this could be a fun writing exercise. Only 700 words, and on a topic most people can relate to. I remember my first date . . . age 15. I remember my first husband . . . never mind.

DOUBLE NOTE: In spite of pending relatives for a big shin-dig this weekend at my house (my baby child is graduating college - thank goodness!), I'm striving to write, to keep up, to make sure I don't forget to feed my creative soul. Heaven knows I need the release.

It's not how you look at it - it's how you respond

We read self-help books about how to change our attitudes. If we think positive, we reap the benefits. While attitude can make your life easier and sweeter, I argue that it's more in how you respond to your environment. It's how you take action that matters most.

People respond to us like a mirror. It's hard to be sweet to an angry person. It's hard to be passionate to an ass. It's hard to be comical with a sour puss. So when we meet people at a conference, when we answer the phone, when we query, when we email or post on social media, we receive what we deliver.

Of course this isn't a 100 percent, fail-proof theorem. Some people are naturally chipper (i.e., morning people are like nails on a chalk board to me, so I keep to myself until noon), and others wouldn't know a smile if it smacked them in the chin. But I'd guess that 90 percent of the time, if you greet someone warmly, they reply in kind.

So, what does that mean to your writing career? It means if you are positive in your human connections, in personal, via voice or in writing, you raise your chances of receiving a posistive response. For instance:

• A well-written, positive, go-getter query letter is more likely to receive a reply, even if it's a rejection. At least you'll receive feedback. Plus someone is more likely to read your submission twice.
• A positive phone conversation with a potential client leaves a lasting impression that will increase your odds for a project down the road, if not immediately.
• A positive outlook on your blog or Facebook page will draw readers like flies to a Coke. The public enjoys associating with happy people. Happiness turns into sales.
• A positive presentation exudes confidence, whether you are self-assured or not. Again, more sales.

Best of all . . . even a temporary positive personna rubs off on you. Eventually you not only realize it opens more doors for you, but it actually makes your life feel great.

Writer's Market needs pitches

The 2011 Writer's Market is in bookstores. Now they need pitches for articles on the business of writing for the 2012 edition. If you have access to a truly great writer interview, then pitch , but mostly they're looking for articles on the nuts and bolts of freelancing (i.e., negotiating contracts, handling taxes, and making pitches that never (or almost never) fail). Deadline August 31, 2010. Submission deadline August 31, 2010. Submit pitches to Robert Brewer at robert.brewer@fwmedia.com  with the subject line: Pitch for 2012 Writer's Market. No attachments. Send your pitch and a little information about yourself (that explains why you're the person to write the article).

NOTE: These chapter assignments normally pay pretty well. (I received payment for a piece in the 2011 edition of their WM Guide to Literary Agents.)

DOUBLE NOTE: I dreamed I had more chickens hatch out in my coop - chickens everywhere! The chicken hurt by the neighbor's dog is about recuperated. I even bought a cloth back saddle for her, to cover up where she was injured so the other chickens don't hurt her. My other neighbor says he wants to come back in another life as one of my chickens.

Become a Lennon Poet

Liverpool Lennon Poet Contest

Performance Poet:

Can you not only write, but perform a poem at our Poetry Slam that celebrates the life of John Lennon? The Beatles Story is looking for a Performance Poet worthy to receive the prestigious title of Liverpool Lennon Performance Poet 2010. Deadline: September 10, 2010. Poetry slam: November 6, 2010. Entries to: poetry@beatlesstory.com . Prizes: 1st £1000, 2nd £250, 3rd £100. No entry fee

Paper Poet:
Whether you live in Liverpool, Australia or the North Pole everyone can enter the Paper Poet competition. Capture our judge's imaginations, by writing a poem of up to 40 lines about the life of John Lennon.  Deadline: September 10, 2010. Finalists announced by Friday, October 8, 2010. Winner announced: Saturday, November 6 (at the Performance Poet event). Entries to: poetry@beatlesstory.com
Prizes: 1st £100, 2nd £50, 3rd £25. No entry fee

NOTE:
No entry fee, y'all. Also, you don't have to be in the UK on November 6 for the Paper Poet category. Who hasn't been affected by John Lennon? Everyone has a favorite song of his, and some of us remember when he first became famous in the 60s. (Gasp, did I just say that?)

DOUBLE NOTE:
I'm beginning to feel that publishing has turned into politics. All squabble and no common sense. Self-pub or traditional? Ebooks or paper? Agent or no agent? Kindle or Nook or any of a dozen others? Ever feel like it's no longer about the writing?