Why Do I Write Novels?
"Author" is an abysmal career choice if you only want to make money.
According to recent statistics, less than 10 percent of published novelists sell 50,000 or more copies of their books. The typical novel sells 5,000 to 10,000 copies.
Not exactly earth-shattering performance.
Yet there are hundreds … tens of hundreds … thousands of hundreds of us who daily pull out pen and paper – or turn on a computer – and either resume a WIP or start our next manuscript.
Some hope to beat the odds. There are, after all, the Stephen Kings and J.K. Rowlings of the world, who not only make money at the craft but do it spectacularly well.
I hope, eventually, to join the ranks of those who can earn a living just with my books. I would love to be among those who receive checks in six figures – or, better yet, seven or more – for my work.
And in the meantime, I'll keep writing my books not for the money they're making – although I am having some modest success in sales – but because …
I can't not write!
I suspect I'm not alone in this. I suspect that most book writers are like me: We have stories to tell, characters lurking in the corners of our minds whispering – or sometimes shouting – “Write about me! Write about meeee ...”
We want to tell those stories. Then –
We want to share those stories.
But … A lot of us would still write even if we had an ironclad guarantee that our stories would never be read. Not by anyone. If someone kidnapped us and abandoned us, alone, on a desert island with nothing but food, water and writing material …
We would still write. We would tell our stories. We do it to satisfy the shadow-people in our minds. We do it because …
We have to. Nothing is as satisfying as the sensation of words forming sentences that become paragraphs and dialogs, giving form to the shadow-people, creating scenes in our heads that grow into stories …
We do it.
Because.
You can win a free ecopy of Shadow Path, book 1 in my Portals fantasy/detective series. Just leave a comment, and your name will be entered in a drawing at the end of this month. The winner will receive a digital copy of Shadow Path, for either Kindle or Nook.
How to Develop a Writing Style
“How do I develop a style?” they ask. Or they will pounce on a gimmick: Write in first person. Or second. Write the book in present tense.
These aren't gimmicks in themselves. Many well-established authors use these methods to tell their stories.
A method becomes a gimmick when the author mistakes “style” for “substance.”
The real secret about getting your book to a reader's attention is …
There is no secret.
Writers, especially fiction writers, should be story-tellers first and foremost. It's the story that readers want. A reader may like an author's style – the way the story is told.
But if there is no story, if you don't have believable, sympathetic characters that the reader cares about, if your plot is ho-hum, doesn't make sense, or is not well structured, how you tell that story – your voice, your … style – won't really matter.
How do you develop your writing style? You don't think about it. You think about how to best tell the story you want to tell.
Your story will dictate how you want to tell it. Epic fantasy – the kind of fantasy epitomized by Lord of the Rings – requires a different voice (style) than the hard-bitten mysteries of, for example, Raymond Chandler. Like this sample from Chandler's Farewell, My Lovely:
“It was a blonde. A blonde to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained glass window.”
Definitely like nothing you'd find in Tolkien's works.
Probably not a line you'd find in a romance novel, either.
Genre fiction has various conventions according to type. Epic fantasy can – maybe even should – have an archaic flavor to heighten the feeling of otherworldliness. Introduce modern-day terms, especially slang, and you take the genre into satire or parody.
Which the Harvard Lampoon did very well back in 1969 with publication of Bored of the Rings, a parody of Tolkien's epic.
Romance novels generally make more use of adjectives than other novels, and horror relies on a building sense of tension.
Conventions can be broken – or blended. My own Portals books combine urban fantasy with police procedural and a little bit of horror for effect. (Probably the Lovecraft influence.)
But be aware that readers expect certain conventions to be followed, and may be disappointed if they aren't. That doesn't mean don't break with convention if your story calls for it. It just means, be aware of what convention you're breaking – and why.
The saying goes, Rules are made to be broken. If you can make your story more effective, more powerful by breaking a rule or two … Do it!
Don't do it if you only want to show how clever you are. You'll just leave your reader wondering, Why did she do that?
My personal opinion: Readers don't want clever authors. They want good stories.
Tell a good story – and Style will take care of itself.
How to Not Promote Your Book
Once - never again.
Because this individual started the event by loudly proclaiming to everyone who approached my table what a great writer I am and how much better my books were than Tolkien's and Rowlings'. Nor did he stop there. He delivered his opinion that neither Tolkien nor Rowling deserve their reputations.
I finally managed to get him aside, so I could tell him to knock it off! And keep his opinions to himself.
Tolkien and Rowling are giants in their field - and two of my many favorite authors. Tolkien's epic Lord of the Rings is a major reason I now write fantasy. To diss them on my "behalf" is wrong on so many levels ...
The problem is, I hear that same kind of trashing from too many independently published authors these days. "You'll love my book. I'm so much better than Tolkien." (Or Amanda Hocking or Grisham or take-your-pick.)
You may as well pull a gun and shoot yourself in the foot.
First, you're going to royally tick off any readers - and they are your potential readers - who happen to like the author you've just dissed. You have just insulted that person's favorite author.
I don't know how other readers react, but I know how I do. I might just buy one of your books ... to see if you really are as good as you think you are. And God help you if you aren't, because I will never buy another of your books again.
Second, by putting down an author that a reader likes, you're questioning the reader's tastes in authors. Think about it. Who are your favorite authors? Say you like Tolstoy - a lot - and you consider (as many rightly do) War and Peace to be one of the great epics of all time.
Then I tell you that Tolstoy was a hack, and War and Peace overblown and boring - which isn't my opinion, by the way - and that anyone who likes Tolstoy is stupid ...
I'm not going to change your opinion about Tolstoy. But if I ever had a chance, as a writer, to make a favorable impression, I've just blown it big time!
Maybe it's because so many people are self-publishing these days that some authors feel they have to compete with the fervor of the worst kind of used-car salesman. The point is, every writer is judged on his or her own merits - not your opinion of what a great writer you are, but what your book reveals about your skills (or lack thereof).
You don't hype your own book - you let other people do that for you, especially your readers. And you have a better chance of finding those readers if you don't turn them away by insulting the other writers whose books may be on their shelves.
You could win an ecopy of Shadow Path, book 1 in my Portals fantasy/detective series. Just comment on this blog, and your name will be entered in a drawing at the end of this month. The winner will receive a Shadow Path ebook - your choice of Kindle or Nook.
How to Find a Book Reviewer
Two days ago, I told you to not, ever, pay for a book review. And I promised I would share in a later post how to find someone to review your book.
Here's the rest of the story ... as Paul Harvey used to say.
Book reviewers who do the job for free are out there, I promise you. You just have to look for them.
Start by looking at the books on your own shelves - those by other authors. Do they have snippets from reviews? Who wrote those reviews? Do an online search for the reviewer's contact information and submission guidelines.
If the reviewer accepts books in your genre - contact him (or her).
That's how I got my very first review of Shadow Path. An excerpt from an Armchair Interviews review of a book by a couple of my favorite authors was posted inside their book. So I contacted Armchair Interviews - and the process was much easier than I expected!
Here's a major key: Follow the submission guidelines. Don't send a PDF file if the reviewer wants a hard copy. Or vice versa. Don't send an action/adventure book to a reviewer who only accepts nonfiction.
Do what the reviewer asks you to do. Always. No exceptions.
There are a lot of book reviewers out there. Finding them requires some effort on your part. You could start with an online search, type in ... say ... "book reviewers." Then wade through the dozens of pages of links that will come up in response. It's time-consuming, and there are ways to narrow the search - such as "free book reviewers" - but a certain amount of legwork (or should that be "fingerwork") is necessary.
I can save you some time by referencing a few sites that I've already found:
Great Indie Reads. Author Exposure. Indie Book Review. Sandy's Spotlight - presented by a wonderful lady named Sandy Wolters, who not only is generous to other authors but is an author herself.
Paranormal Romance Guild. Don't be put off by the name if you don't write paranormal romance. Their reviewers take all genres of books, including YA.
Check out "Musings of Mistress of the Dark Path." Also a site called "Read 2 Review." They're closed to book reviews at present because of a backlog, but they've promised to reopen in future. In the meantime, they do conduct author interviews.
I review books for a site called myshelf.com.
Publishers Weekly posts book reviews. So do major newspapers such as the New York Times and Washington Post. If you've dreamed of seeing your book reviewed in the Post or Times ... What the heck? Check out their guidelines and, if you qualify, submit your book.
Here's another key: Keep your eyes open for possibilities.
If you find a book review posted on someone's blog - contact the blogger and ask what they'd require to review your book.
If someone posting on one of the social networking sites mentions that he/she reviews books ... Contact him or her.
I'm still new to a lot of this myself, so I doubt that I've done more than scratch the surface of this topic. I'd love to get your thoughts, comments, questions - and additional suggestions.
What do you think? Let me know.
Win a free Shadow Path ebook! If you leave a comment, your name will be entered into a drawing at the end of this month. The winner will receive an ecopy for Nook or Kindle - your choice - of Shadow Path, book 1 in my Portals fantasy/detective series.
Don't Buy a Book Review
Hopefully, those reviews will be glowing, filled with lavish praise of our literary efforts. Or at least not filled with criticisms that call into question whether we should ever have attempted writing this dog of a book.
Opinions are all over the place regarding whether a good review will help sell a book – or a bad one kill it on the vine.
But what any review will do – good or bad – is get our book in front of the public. It's publicity, and publicity is seldom (I won't say “never”) a bad thing.
If the reviewer does give your book a fantastic 5-out-of-5-stars review, that's the gravy on the meat.
So – as an author – you want reviews.
What you don't want to do is pay for them.
It has nothing to do with money or affordability. There are some folks out there who are offering to review books for as little as $5.
It has to do with your legitimacy as a writer. A book review that you – the author – pay for calls that legitimacy into question. Say you do plunk down your five bucks to a reviewer. And the reviewer gives you the kind of review you've dreamed of, full of comparisons to well-known writers whose works you've long admired.
Can you trust it? Deep down inside yourself, are you absolutely certain that your book deserves the praise heaped upon it?
Or is there a little, nagging fear that the reviewer was influenced by the money involved?
More important, how do you think your future readers would react if they found out you bought this review?
Yes, in all likelihood, the reader will never know. Unless the reviewer posts something along the lines of “This review was paid for by the author,” that will probably be your – and the reviewer's – own little secret.
At least until readers begin associating certain reviewers' names with paid-by-the-author book reviews.
My feeling is, over time, they will. Readers are smart (sometimes smarter than some writers give them credit for). I'm a reader myself. Believe me: If I learn that a reviewer accepts payment from an author to write book reviews, I will no longer trust anything that reviewer writes.
So how do you get reviews for your books? I promise I will address that question in another post later this week.
Win a free e-copy of Shadow Path, Book 1 in my Portals fantasy/detective series. Magic. Mystery. Murder. And a book giveaway at the end of this month. Just leave a comment on my blog, and you will be entered in an end-of-the-month drawing for a free Shadow Path ebook.
JRR Tolkien - Father of the Trilogy?
JRR Tolkien originally wrote The Lord of the Rings – successor to The Hobbit – as a single book. It was meant to be part of a two-volume set, with Part 2 being the Silmarillion.
That didn't happen. It was Tolkien's publisher in Great Britain – Allen & Unwin – who made the decision to publish LOTR as a trilogy, partly because of a postwar paper shortage (the books were published from 1954-55) and partly to hold down the cost of each book.
In fact, Tolkien came close to publishing the Silmarillion first – though it too might well have been broken down into multiple books. (The book, which Tolkien never completed, was published posthumously in 1977 through the efforts of Tolkien's son, Christopher, who compiled it from Tolkien's drafts and notes.)
A&U reportedly asked Tolkien for a sequel to The Hobbit, due to the first book's success. Tolkien sent them an early draft of The Silmarillion - a five-part epic spanning the time from the creation of the world to the events of the Third Age that lead up to the events recounted in LOTR.
A&U rejected the draft, and Tolkien began work on “A Long Expected Party,” the first chapter of what became The Lord of the Rings.
LOTR seems to be one of those watershed creations. I haven't met anyone who's lukewarm about it. You either love it or hate it. For the record, I stand squarely in the first camp.
As for whether it's the first trilogy ever written … I'm not aware of any books, fantasy or otherwise, published in that format before LOTR. Thanks in large measure to Tolkien's own credentials as a scholar, it brought Epic Fantasy as a genre into mainstream awareness, and gave the genre a certain literary respectability.
However you may feel about LOTR, fantasy in general and epic fantasy in particular owe a debt to JRR.
I'm giving away another digital copy of Shadow Path, book 1 in my fantasy/detective Portals series, this month. To enter the giveaway, just visit and leave a comment to my weekly blogs. At the end of the month, I'll draw the name of a winner.
Make the Most of Your Book Tour
I'm sitting in my living room, dressed in sweat pants and raggedy tee shirt, chips and soda at hand –
In the middle of a book tour.
Shadow Path, book 1 in my fantasy/detective Portals series, is “on the road” (virtually speaking) with Philia Book Tours – and I'm lovin' it! For starters, the virtual tour is so much easier than actually being on the road trying to do the “eight bookstores in seven days” thing.
And Philia has been great to work with. I would – and do – recommend them to anyone.
If you're thinking of touring your book online, I'd say go for it! I'd also offer a few tips that I've picked up in my admittedly limited experience:
Approach the tour with enthusiasm. Book tours can – and should be – exciting events.
Participate in giveaways. Few things attract potential readers like the prospect of a free book – especially if you're a relatively unknown author like me. The goal is to get people reading your book and, hopefully, talking about it. With Philia, I'm giving away ebooks – not that big expense, so you aren't going to break the bank.
Don't commit unless you intend to follow through. Philia asked me for a brief biography, a photo of myself, cover image of Shadow Path, an interview – they submitted the questions for me to answer – and … blogs. Seven blogs in all. I love writing, and blogs are fun, so it was a no-brainer.
But I know not everyone likes to blog. Do not agree to something then change your mind at the last minute.
Honor your commitments. If you agree to something, even if you do have second thoughts about it later … Do what you've pledged to do.
Read the instructions. Some blog sites that you'll guest on have a specific request: Talk about your book, talk about the writing process. Give them what they ask for.
Interact with potential readers every chance you get. Check your guest blogs, check reviews, respond to comments. Be friendly, be real, be respectful. It's another chance to let people see the real you, the person, not the writer.
Have fun. A book tour is fun! You're meeting people, making friends hopefully for yourself and your book. Enjoy it!
Have you been on a virtual book tour? Considering it? Add your own comments, questions, observations. Thanks for stopping by.
You could win a free e-copy of Shadow Path this month. Just leave a comment here, and your name will be entered in an end-of-the-month drawing for a free ebook, Nook or Kindle – your choice.
Blog Award - Pass It On
I'm more than happy to accept, and here are my seven ...
1. I'm a huge fan of Sandy - because she does some wonderful things for authors, including opening her blog, Sandy's Spotlight, to promote us. I was a Spotlight guest a few weeks ago, and Sandy is a wonderfully gracious hostess. She's also a darned good author herself. Check it out here: http://sandywolters.weebly.com/2/post/2012/03/sandys-spotlight-irresistibly-sweet-blog-award.html
2. I've spent more than 30 years writing for newspapers, currently stringing for a weekly in South Texas, which is why I get so little "book work" done on Mondays and Tuesdays. Those are the days I'm covering meetings, taking photos and writing stories for the Herald.
3. I adore long-bodied, short-legged dogs. That's the only explanation I can offer for my infatuation with basset hounds and dachshunds. I currently enjoy the companionship of two bassets and a long-haired dachshund, all rescues.
4. One of my hobbies is researching Thoroughbred and American Quarter Horse pedigrees.
5. I'd love to land a gig where I could spend a few hours a day photographing horses. They're beautiful, amazing creatures.
6. For most of my life, since I was around 7 years old, I've never wanted to be anything except a writer. Actually ... more of a storyteller in print. I sometimes joke that I couldn't decide what I wanted to be when I grew up, so I became a writer ... Because writers get to sample a little bit of everything.
7. Actually ... I still haven't grown up.
And ... If you visit and leave a comment, you'll be entered in a drawing at the end of the month for a free e-copy of Shadow Path, first book in my Portals fantasy/detective series.
How HPL Influenced My Life
I was 9 years old when I came across a short story – “The Rats in the Wall” – by Howard Philip Lovecraft. I was fascinated. Its ambiguous ending, and its gothic atmosphere, are in some ways evocative of Henry James' classic “The Turn of the Screw.” HPL hooked me, completely, and I went in search of other stories he'd written.
The next one I found, a few days later, introduced me to his Cthulu mythos. HPL only wrote about a dozen “mythos” stories, but they more than any others established him as a consummate writer of horror. The story I came across first – “The Dunwich Horror,” with its decadent Whateley family, haunting, almost poignant, ending, its hint of powerful beings that walked our Earth long before there were humans – captivated me.
A movie was made of the story, starring Dean Stockwell and Sandra Dee. But don't watch the movie – at least not until you've read the story. The movie doesn't do Lovecraft justice.
I proceeded to devour every Lovecraft story I could find – and from there went in search of other writers of horror: Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Robert Bloch, August Derleth. The latter two being among Lovecraft's “disciples,” whom he groomed into careers as writers.
I don't write horror – I tend to scare myself. But, thanks to Lovecraft and others he introduced me to, I tend to incorporate some horror elements into my writing, including my Portals fantasy/detective books. I'm kind of hooked on things that go bump in the night.
I certainly love to read tales of horror. Not vampires, not werewolves, not zombies … But the things you don't really see, the half-glimpsed … things … lurking in shadows or on the other side of a wall …
That's the truest kind of horror. It awakes in us the terror of the unknown, the fear our most distant ancestors must have felt at night as they huddled around campfires listening to the unexplained noises, seeing movement among the surrounding trees and grasses but not seeing the source of that movement …
Lovecraft evokes that fear. Evokes as well the fear that comes with confronting something older than ourselves, something … entirely … malignant. Something against which we have no defenses.
If you've never met Lovecraft, consider making his acquaintance. You might just find one of the greatest horror writers of the past hundred years …
Win an ebook! Starting this month, everyone who visits and comments on my blogs will have a chance to win an ebook of Shadow Path, book 1 in my Portals series. At the end of the month, all your names will go into a drawing, and one winner will be selected. So … please … come visit, leave a comment …
And good luck to everyone.
It's Read an Ebook Week!
The market for ebooks is still small ... But it's growing. An estimated 2 percent of book purchases in the U.S. in 2010 were ebooks - and the number is expected to reach 14.2 percent in 2015.
But the U.S. lags behind other countries. Worldwide, ebook purchases grew from 3 percent in 2009 to 7 percent in 2010, and are expected to account for 22.5 percent of book buys in 2015.
I confess ... I'm among those who have resisted buying ebooks. But now I have a Nook, and I can see the appeal, especially for someone like me who's a bookaholic. If you're going to invest in hundreds of books, as I have over the years, ebooks are 1) cheaper, so I can buy more for the same dollars; and 2) easier to store. No more taking up miles of shelf space throughout the house.
So ... Let's hear it for ebooks! And in honor of the week, I'm launching a giveaway program for Shadow Path, the first book in my Portals fantasy/detective series - and the first of my books to be released as an ebook.
Here's how it works. Every week, I will post a new blog here on my website. Every time you visit one (or more) of my blogs - and leave a comment - your name will be entered for a monthly drawing for an ebook.
At the end of the month, I will draw someone's name from the pot - and that person will win an e-copy of Shadow Path, to be delivered for Nook or Kindle - your choice.
Shadow Path is the only ebook available right now, but Stormcaller - book 2 in my series - will be released as an ebook this summer.
Later this year, Deathtalker and Sister Hoods, the other books in my series, will also be released in e-format, and will be offered in the monthly giveaway. Books 5 and 6 in the series are in the works, so additional books will be offered as the series grows.
So ... Come visit, share your thoughts on ebooks - and leave your name for the ebook drawing! Thanks!
