First Draft

Happy New Year!

2012-01-02T23:57:00.002-07:00

Oddly enough, last week, several people asked if I had dropped them from my newsletter email list. They hadn't received my last newsletter. Actually, they had -- months ago. I haven't sent a newsletter for months because there are only so many hours in the day and there didn't seem to be all that much interest in the newsletter. I thought the blog was covering the bases. Maybe I was wrong about that. Maybe I should do both.

I'm surprised by the number of people who continued to visit my blog, though I've been very lax in posting. Do you remember the days I posted daily? And that month long Blog Party (a play on Block Party), 'memba that?

I've been off with my boys (and girlfriend) on a road trip to middle son's wedding and other celebrations.The other thing that has kept me busy are two mss. The Lacemaker's Daughter is getting closer to the final run for the tape (or checkered flag, if you like). I'm getting very excited and author Diane Keziah Robertson has been busy with pre-marketing activities. The other ms isn't under contract yet, so I'll hold on mentioning it.

So, how does it work to do emails for marketing, or to send out a newsletter? Actually, there are laws about that, and Irene Watson of Reader's Views has the rules, tips, and straight talk on mass emailings. Check out the link: http://www.readerviews.com/Newsletters/2012.01/2.html

Book Titles

2011-11-12T00:20:00.004-07:00

A title can grab a reader and get them to take a book off the shelf for a closer look.

I asked one of the Cactus Rain Publishing editors what makes a good title for her. The answer is obvious: it must represent the book -- be connected to the story; be intriguing; and sound good when spoken.

Usually titles come easy for me, except in the case of Storm Surge. By the time that third book was written, it had rules for the title: Two words (not necessarily the alliteration it turned out being), and it had to have something to do with a beach that fit the storyline. Whether that end was achieved will be decided by the readers. You tell me.

The title of a manuscript is the "working title." When writers talk about their manuscript they usually shorten the title to initials or one word. As time passes, the title becomes the embodiment of the story, our passion for writing it, and the paternal/maternal instinct we have developed for the work and the process. We have bonded.

The surprise for most writers is the publisher often wants to change the title. That change is driven by a marketing mentality. However, we writers have bonded with the working title and want it to be the real title.

Luckily, we adapt and accept the title change. The Practice became The Doctor, The Plutocrat, and The Mendacious Minister. We struggled with several interim choices, until author Glyn Pope came up with the title. Now, I can't imagine the book having any other title.

If you struggle with titles, here is an excellent piece that quite clearly spells out the process. This would also be a fun exercise for writing groups. Follow the link: http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2011/11/09/142173673/how-to-name-your-first-novel

Which is the most important to you?

2011-10-30T21:57:00.001-07:00

Assuming the absurd that it isn't the whole package, what is the one ingredient of a book that is the most important piece? Which would you chose: the story, the editing, the layout, the quality of the final product, the cover art, or something else?

Sensory Dos and Don'ts

2011-10-25T03:03:00.001-07:00

One thing that easily gets overlooked in writing is the sensory component. After the storyline is solid, the characters have unique personalities, and all the settings are imaginable for the reader, it is time to go though and make sure that there is sensory input.

We need to feed, not overfeed, the five senses of the reader. Consider it surround sound, but for all the senses. For example, when I write about the beach in Kathryn's Beach, occasionally there is mention of the hard packed wet sand. The dry sand sifts through her fingers, but it isn't just sand, there are shell bits (and assumed other stuff).

This is not the place to wax literary and go over the top with adjectives and adverbs in every sentence. Remember that less is more. Remember that the reader is an intelligent person with stores of experiences to tap. Avoid switching into the telling mode. Hint at things with simple additions, rather than lengthy descriptions. Allow the reader to tap their knowledge from a key descriptive word.

Keep the momentum of the story moving forward, rather than diverting to sidelines to describe things in detail. Not always, of course, but once in a while note a significant change in smell when changing venue. If something is different from what one would expect, for example a quiet bar, then briefly mention it. Or a fishing boat mysteriously floating unattended for days - wouldn't there be the smell of rotting fish from the morning catch on some fateful day? Basically, you don't want to have something obvious missing from the scene.

Visualize your story and once in a while add a small prop to the set. Read your ms aloud to a friend and both of you look for places where sensor items are missing. Avoid overloading the senses and it getting in the way of the storytelling.

Let me know if you try this and how it worked for you.

Getting Noticed

2011-10-09T11:32:00.002-07:00

There are so many people writing these days and so few major publishers. Most large publishers use literary agents as a means of screening manuscripts; getting rid of the awful ones up front. Publishers who don't charge a fee to publish works, screen heavily to find the best bets before backing the project with company funds.

Writers use blogs, twitter, and facebook to get noticed. Writing samples are posted their websites and writing forums. Here is a new one: http://thenextweb.com/media/2011/10/03/pubslush-launches-a-kickstarter-platform-for-book-publishing. If you read the article, you know as much as I know about it. I'm not endorsing it one way or the other; just tossing out this bit of information for you to check out.

I've seen bulk queries come through that obviously are a shotgun attempt born out of desperation to get past the first hurtle and have their full ms requested. To date, every query letter I've received that began, "Dear Sir" hasn't made it past me to the vetting committee.

One committee person asked to read my rejects before I wrote the rejection email, then sent a note that they agreed that the work was so substandard that it wasn't worth taking it to the full committee.

It is extremely important to put your best effort forward every time. You only get one shot at a first impressions and the competition is stiff.

Try not to query when you're tired, feeling low from a rejection letter, or hurried. It will make a difference if you're rested and feeling confident about your work.

If you've self published, you know that your book gets turned away from some sites and some reviewers. It isn't a level playing field. Take a look at this place: http://filedby.com/author/nadine_laman/2238025.

No matter what, write your best work and believe in yourself and your ms.

What is a fair price for eBooks?

2011-10-02T11:33:00.009-07:00

Nearly weekly, but likely more often, the trade news (publishing industry) has an article on the price of ebooks.

Usually the blog or article is stating that ebooks cost nothing after they are posted and should, therefore, be priced extremely low. (Keep in mind the distributor needs to make money to keep their company running so the ebook is available in the first place.)

Obviously those people haven't written a book and don't think an author should make any money on it for the life of the work. That is about like saying a museum should only charge a person once in their life to view an exhibit. How many people donate to their favorite museum to pay to keep the lights on and the doors open?

The reality is that any book, ebook or paper, has to support the author and the business that published it and it won't do it in one sale. It is a bit-by-bit process and a huge gamble that X number of copies will sell to pay for the expense to publish it.

Even with ebooks, a company has to continually keep the lights on and pay people to manage the records...at the bare minimum. (And if you are a writer, you want the company to be able to afford the resources to publish your book with its funds.)

If that company needs to upgrade or replace broken equipment and pay ever increasing taxes, how would that work out with only charging the actual expense of an ebook(remember that ebooks have to pay the distributor too).

I love what I do, but I do want to point out that products, including books, have to support the "manufacturer." Each book is like creating a new car - it requires company resources.

That is my take on why books cost money. And remember the publisher and the author get nothing from books lent to friends and family, or sold at garage sales. The business model, especially in this world economy, has to not be a charity (business is in business to make money).

History judges a society more by its arts than its wars. As people, we tend to expect arts to be gifts, yet understand that war costs money. Consider this, between Sparta and Athens, which still exists?

Until now, I've kept my opinion to myself. I think it is not likely that anyone would go to their job every day and get no paycheck. Something for nothing doesn't sustain the economy. What's your opinion on this?

Blog Party

2011-08-26T23:33:00.008-07:00

Two years ago at this time, we were in the middle of the most incredible blog party. It started out to be a one day deal to celebrate my 100th post. The joke was that I'd been a member of blogger for a couple of years before I created a blog and really had no interest in blogging (a lot like I feel about Facebook and Twitter now).

If you were part of the blog party, take a trip down memory lane with the link at the end of this post.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, check it out. It was worldwide and unbelievable.

I have two copies of the limited edition of the total blog party in bound form. If you want one, order through the link in the left sidebar. Click on the book cover in this post to see a larger image.

http://nadinelaman.blogspot.com/2009/08/99.html

Read any good books lately?

2011-08-23T06:32:00.003-07:00

It's five AM and the mowers are rolling across the golf course (I hate that noise!). I'm sorting through emails before work.

Work? Yes, by day I'm a social worker who works with people who have developmental disabilities. Pretty cool job.

Anyway, the point I'm aiming for is that amidst the email from the lawyer and the advertisement with coupon for business supplies, is the daily feed of publishing news.

There is an article or two about price fixing and how eBooks are too expensive (really? it isn't my fault you bought an expensive eReader).

Forgotten is the time and expertise that goes into creating a book out of an ms. Not to mention that there are several prevailing digital formats to address. Am I the only one who remembers BETA and VHS?

The discussion should be a bit less about price (and price fixing) and a bit more about content. What is a well crafted story worth?

Desert Storms and Rewrites

2011-08-14T20:58:00.005-07:00

I sat on the patio this afternoon, well used to the heat, and read mss. This is a photo of the monsoons rolling across the desert.

I've given a lot of thought to how specific I should be about rewrite requests to the CRP authors. The other day I asked my friend Jen Garsee what kind of direction she gets for her rewrites.

I know she disappears when she is doing rewrites and it isn't until they are done, by the deadline, that anyone hears from her. Jen writes for one of the major publishers and has her third YA novel coming out soon. (Links below.)

Here is what she said, which makes me think I do far too much handholding:
The rewrites depend on the book. I had a TON of rewrites with Before.After...almost none with Say The Word...and a lot of editing in the third-- not really rewrites, just needed to cut and tighten. Luckily my agent gives me a lot of advice before it even goes out to my editor [at Bloonsbury USA Children's Books].

ps The rewrite suggestions are never detailed. They just say "I need a scene with blah blah" or "Can you make this character a bit more likeable?" or "We need a transition here..." I have to figure it out myself lol.

Jeannine Garsee
THE UNQUIET (2012)
SAY THE WORD
BEFORE, AFTER, AND SOMEBODY IN BETWEEN
Bloomsbury USA Children's Books

Check out Jen...she writes hysterical blogs.

http://www.jeanninegarsee.com/
http://onegrapeshy.livejournal.com/profile
http://jeanninegarsee.blogspot.com/

For more Arizona weather info: We've had several haboobs - it is a strong wind in the desert; a sand storm. http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_southeast_valley/queen_creek/photos%3A-haboob-moves-across-south-valley

Editing

2011-08-02T21:20:00.004-07:00

As if there isn't plenty to learn about writing, then dread strikes when the thought of editing tramps across the bliss of completing the first draft of 'the manuscript.'

There are several different types of editing, named, of course, closely to their actual function.

This is what usually occurs:
Spell check. Done. Off to the best friend or significant other to show off the manuscript, your pride and joy.

The friend likes it, but...

Finally they hesitantly and apologetically mention there are some errors.

Now the serious self-editing begins. The diligent writer reads through the ms on the monitor. He anguishes over the stupid errors he didn't notice before. Then off to another 'sure to rave' friend.

The best use of the writer's time is to print the ms and read it aloud - red pen in hand.

There are some things harder to catch than peek, peak, pique [homonym] goofs and over used words. Because the writer has intimate knowledge of the story and characters, it is easy to miss odd jumps in time, unneeded secondary characters, assumptions the reader knows things that aren't in the story or overly annoying explanations of things anyone would know, a sloppy misuse of literary devices, and a dozen more things that make the ms destined to forever hit the rejection list of the publisher's slush pile.

The solution is simple. It's not your favorite English teacher from school or your super smart friend who knows nothing about writing. The solution is to hire a content editor.

Finally after all the rewrites, and there will be many of them, comes the time for the line editor or proof reader; the final clean up crew.

After spending untold hours writing the ms, don't skip the final polish before sending it and the query letter on its way into the vast world of publishing.

The harsh reality is, regardless of how awesome the story idea is, if it will take too much time to find that gem and polish it into a marketable commodity, most publishers will pass.

There are thousands of mss shopped for publication a year. Yours needs to be competitively written to get the first three chapters read. No one expects perfection from a manuscript, but it really should look like some effort was put into presenting a worthy product.

I thought this was interesting. "Rewriting work under such circumstances more often than not works out to an editing rate of 2 to 3 pages an hour." It really does go at a snail's pace when I "read" a manuscript for content editing. http://www.teleread.com/epublishing/the-changing-face-of-editing

Enough blog reading, get back to writing the next Great American Novel.

Writing Quote

2011-07-27T23:51:00.001-07:00

Short and sweet, here is the quote of the day:
I amazed at how people think they if read a few novels,they could write one. That is like getting a tattoo and thinking they could then open a tattoo salon.

Plot/Storyline

2011-07-23T12:03:00.004-07:00

Often I use the term, 'storyline,' when referring to mss. The recognized industry term is 'plot.' Plot is more than a beginning, middle and end. It is more than the outline from which the story is built.

Plot is the most important element of fiction writing. The plot has to deliver for the reader to feel satisfied with the story. There are style expectations for each type of plot. The reader expects those elements and it's the writer's job to deliver.

First time writers who haven't studied writing often forget about the reader's expectations and the industry demands while in the midst of the feel-good high of writing. I would submit that there is a bio-chemical/emotional high to writing that is as addicting as the one people who exercise feel.

The point of writing, the craft of it, is the reader and the integrity of the art. Much like photography where anyone can take a snapshot with their phone, that doesn't make it a professional photograph (and don't get me started on photoshopped images).

Just so you know how this all fits together, the second important, nearly equally important, element is character. Characters have to have dimension. In one of the first writing classes I took, one assignment was to categorize a list of characters in a story [we read] as flat or round. The character's action and words (dialogue) fill in the life breath to make them real for the reader. By the way, there needs to be a balance of both types of characters in the story.

If there is no plot, the story is simply a collection of words that recount an event in part or in whole. That is largely why I'm not a huge fan of memoirs. Unless well done, they are [to me] much like reading a history book and it isn't a shared history, so why should I [as the reader] care?

There are lots of books on the subject of plot development, here is one I recently read: 20 Master Plots and how to build them by Ronald B Tobias, published by Writer's Digest Books. If you're looking for writing resources, check out Writer's Digest Books. Most of their books are pretty good. A few, I found to be dry reads. Also, shop around and price compare. I found substancial discounts by doing that. Be warned, though, their book list is like sending a kid to a candy store with $10 in their pocket.

Just to cover the legal requirements, I have not been compensated monetarily or in kind to mention the book, author, or publisher in this post.

Storytelling

2011-07-15T07:06:00.004-07:00

Quite simply, anyone can tell a story if they start at the beginning and go to the end. However, some people have trouble knowing where the beginning is and start before the beginning. Some people try to put in every detail of the backstory. Other people drop in things they forgot to mention and later need to tell to make something make sense or work.

The other important part is to know when to stop. When there is a group of listeners who become restless, then it is likely that it took too long to get to the point, or the storyteller kept going after it was finished.

But more than that, a writer has to engage the reader to care about the characters and what is coming next. Just because a person can tell a story, doesn't mean they can write a novel.

Make sure you write about people who other people can care about and put them in a setting that the reader can experience too.

Write well. Tell your best story.

"What's all the haboob about?"

2011-07-09T21:25:00.002-07:00

It must have been a slow news day or we are mesmerized about weather with all that is going on around the world.

Most people heard there was a haboob in Phoenix last Tuesday. (Google it, there are plenty of YouTube videos of it.)

A haboob is a wall of sand, much like a desert Tsunami. It's approach is visible on the horizon. It churns as if waves coming inland.

When it hits, it is like a tan blizzard, obscuring the houses across the way from view.

As long as one isn't driving in it, it is interesting to watch the sand blow sideways since the desert sand is not fine like beach sand.

Oddly, when there wasn't even a breeze, a tree fell over in my yard this afternoon. It was good timing since tonight there is another haboob from the opposite direction. I suppose all the sand will return to where it was a week ago.

This has nothing to do with writing or publishing, but since I had so many emails about it, I thought I'd mention it.

Tempus Fugit

2011-06-15T19:31:00.003-07:00

Lately there has been more than the usual emails asking if Banyan Tree Brothers is finished and if I now have time to read xyz ms.

I don't think anyone realizes how many times I go through a ms pending publication. I can almost quote it by the last reading (marking all over it). It is a wonder the author (any author, not only Nidhi) still emails me after all the times the ms has been sent back for rewrites.

Most of the time it has been a gracious exchange with many patiently withheld frustrations - I'm sure. The ones who won't do rewrites get sent packing.

Here's why: http://publishingperspectives.com/2011/06/learn-the-fking-rules-grammar

Wimpy Words

2011-06-14T20:51:00.001-07:00

Sometimes beginning writers are apologetic without realizing it. It shows in word choices. At some point in the process of transforming an ms to a publishable book, I go through metnodically and evaluate the strength of each sentences, word by word.

I'm looking at the following:
Clarity - does it say what the writer meant?
Continuity - the connected whole (without jumping around in time or big gaps that are distracting).
and
Wimpy words - words that drain the energy or strength from the sentence.

Most people know (or have heard of) the eight parts of speech. I often mention that there are 48 prepositions because my youngest child counted then and it stuck in my mind. As a side bar, I don't think it is necessary to memorize them as was my son's school assignment, but it is worth having a sense of what they are so you know them when you see them.

What I think we do too little of is diagram sentences. That's where clarity gets sorted. A missing punctuation (as exampled by the book title, Eats, Shoots & Leaves) or a misplaced modifier can have humerous and possibly disasterous results. That is where diagraming a troubling sentence can help sort the problem.

Wimpy words are the easiest to fix. Simply delete them. But what is a wimpy word (a term I coined, I think)?

But what is a wimpy word? We use them in everyday conversations and in our head as we write. They are words that weaken the dynamics of the story.

It was almost 5:00. Since this is fiction, it doesn't have to be exact. Remove almost and read it again. Stronger? The added bonus in removing almost is it picks up the pace. Pacing is important in keeping the reader from disengaging with the story. (More on that some other time.)

As everything else in First Draft, this is strictly my opinion, and I'll have to add to the list as time goes on because I only think of them as I'm reading an ms (hopefully they aren't in professionally published books).

Always, almost, any, often, sometimes, about, and (to connect thoughts when it should be two sentences rather than one), even, nearly, also, each, both, and others I haven't thought of at the moment. A few of these words goes a long ways.

As you read through line by line, with a magnafying glass in your mind, notice these, then run a search for them. Keep only the essential ones and delete the rest. Less is more. By keeping the ones that really matter in the sentence, they are more powerful. The nonessential ones weaken the sentence.

My personal trigger is and then. It slows down the pace horibally to use both, pick one. I know I'm crossing the line on grammar rules, but it bugs me to have both words together.

And if you get bored with that, run a search for places you have two blank spaces after a period/full stop. Replace them with one blank space.

Wondering...

2011-06-12T22:28:00.003-07:00

I'm a year older now...no, today isn't my birthday, but it was a few days ago. I'm huge on reflecting and planning, especially when landmarks come and go.

One thing I'm wondering is whether I have any more awesome bits of wisdom to pass on to budding writers. Not that I'd want you to wade through all the posts to find the information, but haven't I said it all by now?

What questions do you have about writing? Let's see if anyone leaves questions in the comment section. Or even comments in the comments. Also, if you think it is time to retire this blog, say so...you can use the anonymous setting, if you'd like.

Stop!

2011-05-29T14:58:00.023-07:00

Frankly, most first time writers think they are finished when the first draft is written. Trust me, it is just the beginning. That is why it is called a 'draft.'

I don't care if your mother, lover, or best friend says it is wonderful. It is not. What they probably mean is they think YOU are wonderful. And that is probably true.

As a side note, I just read an article about how many people in America think they should (and could) write a novel. If I find it again, I'll post the link at the bottom.

The reality is that most people who write are hobbyists. Being a professional writer is a different mind-set. For one thing, those people study the craft. It is pure BS that you can learn to write well by reading tons of novels. It shows when I read a submitted ms and no study into the craft has been done by the writer, though their library card is well worn.

There are very few natural writers who write at the professional level from day 1. I only know of one writer like that.

So what about everyone else, the non-naturals, who has a passion for writing? I'd say, harness that passion and drive. Take your writing to the next level. Study the craft. Study the industry (which is far less interesting than studying writing). Get serious and disciplined with your writing time. Talk is cheap. Get some ink on the paper.

Write the first draft straight through. Some people like to make an outline first, but I think that is best suited for non-fiction and it drains some of the energy out of the story if too much time is invested in writing an outline for a novel.

Plus, I contend that with an outline, the writer knows things that never get in the book, and that leaves the reader in the dark. They are expected to make leaps when the writer could have easily provided the stepping stones - those tidbits that were in the outline.

Basically, a writer needs to know where their characters are at the beginning and where they want them to be, developmentally, at the end. Find your starting point and write to the end point. If you've learned about the craft, you know how the journey from beginning to end should look on paper. A professional knows how to write a good middle story.

Some people think they need to edit-on-the-fly as they write the first draft. I can tell those who have edited one chapter before writing the next one. It has a disjointed feel to it when I read it. I don't know how else to explain it. Even if I like them, I 'pass' on the ms because it is too much work to fix the flow of energy that should be there.

The correct way to write a draft for a novel is to write from the beginning to end, straight through. Keep your eye on the prize. If you get preachy, it shows. If you go on a side excursion, it shows.

Besides stopping too soon, such as when the first draft is done, some writers do one or two edits and think it is done. Even if a line editor is hired, most do not provide content editing. The only suggestion I'll make on that is to print the whole ms on paper, get a friend who has not read your draft, sit for a whole weekend, and read it aloud to them. Even if you have to go it alone, read it aloud and listen to what is on the page.

Watch for stiff dialogue. How many of us speak grammatically correct in our conversations? Watch for time warps. Watch for telling the reader what is happening rather than showing them. Watch for side excursions where a secondary character tries to upstage the main character. (You can write a novel featuring them some other time.) Of course, you'll see lots of typos. Watch for homonyms and synonyms gone awry. Watch for sentences that are too long (how many breaths did it take to get through that one?). Watch for recycling unusual words too many times. Watch for places that are simply boring as hell and don't move the story forward.

The sooner you read your ms aloud from paper, the shorter the polishing process is...that means the fewer rewrites you will need to do.

There is one odd thing that always seems to happen. As soon as you submit your ms to someone with the hope of a publishing contract, you will see previously hidden mistakes that begin to glare at you and probably would glow in the dark if you were brave enough to turn out the lights.

I get follow-up emails with a horrified panicky tone. If the query letter is well done, and the synopsis is correctly done (and interesting to me), I can over look errors in the ms - providing there aren't a million of them and the writing is still solid.

However, that said, there are so many people writing these days due to laptops vs the manual typewriter, that it is worth it not to submit without letting the ink dry and reading the whole ms again before submitting it to anyone.

And the final word on the topic of "stop" is to not over write. Stop when the story is done. Some people like to keep writing and writing, and writing, because writing is fun. But you have to think about when the reader will feel the story is finished and stop there.

Go! Write your best work!

www.publishingperspectives.com/2011/05/200-million-americans-want-to-publish-books

O'dark thirty

2011-05-26T06:21:00.009-07:00

Translation: It is entirely too early for "them" to be out there on the golf course mowing before 5 AM. Who can possibly love golf enough to welcome the intrusion into their sleep hours? (Not me!) Yesterday morning they were out with gas powered saws trimming the trees at the crack of dawn. Really, guys?

It isn't all that different to get caught up with writing the next Great American Novel and not think about anything else.

Here are some things to think about. If you're going to write a historical novel, study the time period. That means do more research than read other historical novels.

There is something to be said about the maxim, write what you know. Several years ago, someone was writing a novel set in Southern California - my neck of the woods, so to speak. They had never been to America. The story premise was interesting, but it should have been set somewhere the author knew.

One thing about the beach scenes in Kathryn's Beach that strikes universal is the inclusion of the spray and the gritiness of being on the beach. (Go to the video page of http://www.nadinelamanbooks.com/ and watch both videos.)

When we lived in the Midwest, we would watch movies set in the western desert. I always perked up when I saw areas in the Mojave Desert in California, because I spent equal amounts of my childhood in that high desert region. It is much different from the Sonoran Desert of Arizona.

Besides setting, switching to dialects or nationalities requires attention to detail. Consult a local person to read your ms for authenicity. The homeless woman in Kathryn's trilogy speaks with an Appalachian drawl. Did I get it right? It isn't critical because that was her street persona, not the real person she was. But it is believable enough to pass inspection until her real identity is revealed.

Basically, don't get caught up in the rush of writing and forget that someday someone will read it. And if that someone is not your mother, lover, or best friend, they are going to notice things like the moon rising at 2 AM or the slight misspeaks your characters do.

There are thousands of people with laptops ticking out a novel. If you want published, you have to get it right because someone else out there is determined enough to pay attention to the details. The Cactus Rain team notices this stuff.

If you want to get ahead of everyone else, print your ms (yes, on paper) and read it aloud. Yes, ALOUD. You can be sure I will do that to your ms before offering a contract to publish.

My Mother Hen Moment

2011-05-12T03:55:00.000-07:00

There is so much great information on the Internet for beginning writers. It is easy to get overwhelmed with the process of distilling the information. Certainly, I believe, there are better blogs than mine, though I don't know which they are, nor do I really care who is better than me, as long as I'm my best.

Writing is a craft. It is also an art. It is also a profession. Here are a few tips, and as always, they are IMO. (IMO is In My Opinion. Most often it is IMHO, but there is nothing humble about my opinion. I very rarely apoligize for it or for calling it like I see it, therefore, forget thinking I'm humble when it comes to this craft and this industry.)

Okay...here we go!

It takes most people hours, months, and sometimes years to write a novel. I'm among the fortunate few who can write a complet draft in 40 hours, eg, a couple hours a day for three weeks.

That said, it totally amazes me that such lack of care is given to soliciting publication. Seriously, folks, this isn't an entitlement. Anyone wanting to be part of this wonderful and sometimes bizzare thing of writing must put at least equal effort into the submission process as into the writing process.

Here are a few obvious things that result in me not reading the first three chapters of a submitted ms: When a query letter begins, "Dear Sir," it is nearly sudden death then and there. Besides the fact, that as a woman, it annoys the hell out of me to be addressed as "Sir," it also indicates that the person sending the query hasn't bothered to find out if I am a sir.

A quick look at Cactus Rain Publishing's website reveals my name. A google will find First Draft, and I'm pretty sure the photo of me doesn't look like a "Sir."

The next arogant thing that catches my attention is the brush off query letter. It goes like this: I wrote this novel (please don't say "fiction novel" - novels ARE fiction) and have attached the synopsis and first three chapters for you to read.

It tells me nothing about the submission, assuming I'll jump over the correctly written query letters and rush to read the synopsis attached. Um...let me think on that...um, no.

This isn't a complete list of what should go into a query letter, but it is a business letter that is your first and best attempt to get the reader to consider the ms. It should include the genre, the length (word count), and a two or three sentence paragraph that pitches the the manuscript (ms).

The pitch to readers (blurbs and such) is different from the pitch to an agent or publisher. There should be no fluff to it. For example, Kathryn's Beach is an 80,000 word contemporary woman's lit story of a social worker who returns to face the case that ended her career. It is set in Southern California near Los Angeles. That is very bare bones and wouldn't get a reader excited, but in this case, that isn't the point of the pitch.

The next problem area that results in a decline email is the synopsis. There is a search feature for this blog in the sidebar to the left. Search 'synopsis' for tips about the form and substance of synopsis, especially if you intend to query Cactus Rain.

It is heartbreaking to tell hopeful authors that their work is not a good fit for Cactus Rain. But at least it shouldn't be because the query process was slopped together and doesn't represent the work submitted or the writer's intent to become a professional, not a hobbiest.

Good writing, good luck, and God-speed.

Flap copy...

2011-05-09T23:52:00.010-07:00

What a weird term that is (this post title, in case I've lost anyone). Well, this wordsmithing industry is like that. What can I say?

At the time it made sense to me to follow the article about book cover art and back of the book (though some show up on the front) blurbs with something about jacket flap copy.

Or I could write about the divorce that takes one step forward and two backwards and is simply annoying. You know, the one with the adulterous "husband" who writes in the petition that the "wife" cannot cohabitate? Seriously?

Who would want to cohabitate? Do you know anyone who would pay their half of the rent and utilities on time without reminders, keep their room clean, leave the toilet in the closed position, never-ever park close enough to roommate's car to dent it, agree not to have sleep-overs (even in the daytime), and never be home when "wife" is. I don't think that person exists and besides, what does any of this have to do with a blog about writing?

Actually, the point is not to tease readers. Not with the cover art, the blurbs, the jacket flap copy, or stupid stories that are not part of the plot. Be honest with your readers, deliver a well crafted story with good writing. That will sell.

Point taken?

http://publishingperspectives.com/2011/05/bogus-flap-copy-erodes-readers-trust

Finally...

2011-05-08T21:50:00.006-07:00

I keep reading this article because it is so true, and because I like the way it is written. (See below for link.) At the same time, I think I should put it out there for my readers to read. Partly, I'm inclined because it should be an eye-opener to new writers and because old writers, like me, will nod in the truth of it and laugh at the truth of it, too.

So why am I finally posting this? There was an ms nearly ready for publishing. It had been an uphill project and many frustrating hours to get to that point. When we got to the cover art, nothing was acceptable. It was becoming a money pit that I couldn't afford. And frankly, some days I'm just too tired to put up with arguments and whining. So out the window it went.

The reality is that when a publisher takes on an ms, the writer has to let go and let it get published. The whining and and fit pitching that worked on mom, teacher, lover...simply wears my patience thin. In that case, my advice is to find a company that does POD books and put your own money on the line.

Homework: Read this!
http://www.theawl.com/2011/04/six-writers-tell-all-about-covers-and-blurbs

Internet Radio

2011-04-24T05:29:00.001-07:00

I think this is very cool. Listen to the beginning of this ...

http://www.euradionantes.eu/index.php?page=podcast&id_programme=115 (New perspectives du Jeudi 30 Mars)

What NOT to write

2011-04-20T05:49:00.006-07:00

Lately, there have been quite a few queries for young adult novels. My friend Jen Garsee writes YA, and I love her books. However, she writes for a huge publisher who specializes in YA.

While I can't possibly list all the genre that Cactus Rain isn't interested in, YA is certainly not a market we can romance.

What we are interested in is mainstream fiction that appeals to a wide general audience. I tend to like good solid stories that are well written. Books with staying power, timeless, fit our business model.

While I fully understand the crazy drive to write a specific story - we are nearly possessed at times - writers also have to understand the industry and the buying habits of readers.

Think about the last 10 books you bought full price. I have several friends who haven't bought a book in years. They borrow them from a circle of friends who trade among themselves.

There are no royalties to authors on books loaned, borrowed, bought at garage sales, or used book stores. Books bought from discount retailers don't bring full royalties either.

At some point in a writer's transition from crazed hobbiest to professional, thinking changes and an understanding emerges regarding the mind set of the reading public. That is how publishers think.

http://ereads.com/2011/04/read-this-then-jump-out-the-window.html

Author interview...

2011-04-09T21:14:00.000-07:00

http://www.howtotellagreatstory.com/byot/byot157.html

Have you seen this?

2011-04-08T20:06:00.000-07:00

View this in full screen and turn up the volume. http://www.youtube.com/user/NadineLaman#p/a/u/0/RsPHmAxRYJA

2011-04-08T07:29:00.001-07:00

http://realbusiness.co.uk/news/how-i-got-a-blank-book-to-the-top-of-the-amazon-charts

Posts

2011-04-08T07:10:00.003-07:00

Every day this week, I've written a post. No matter what I try, it comes out in one huge paragraph. I don't have time to figure out the problem until this weekend, just wanted you to know that it isn't for lack of trying that I haven't posted. Read this for now. Maybe we can discuss it in the comments??? http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2011/apr/07/amazon-profits-small-publisher-losses

Mother's Day

2011-04-03T23:34:00.001-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to those in the UK - and elsewhere - who celebrated it this past weekend.

More stuff about querying ...

2011-03-22T23:36:00.004-07:00

It might just be me, but when I see quotes at the beginning of the manuscript or each chapter, my head starts talking, "No! No-no-nooooo. Don't even consider that ms!"

I suppose that any sensible writer would remove the quotes if the prospective publisher indicated that the headache of getting license for each of those gems was a barrier to getting a publishing contract.

There are provisions for short quotes in the US Copyright laws, however my legal advisor says that those do not include uses for profit. News flash: books are published with the hope of making a profit. Besides, I have a personal moral about lifting other people's works without permission. I wouldn't want it done to my stuff, so why do it.

This includes cover art and fonts. We pay for the licence for our cover art and fonts that aren't free use. Check out the font on Nidhi's Banyan Tree Brothers at the Cactus Rain website. I drew the tree, but the font will cost us if we use it, and we plan to at this point.

Another thing about making a profit. Just because your mother, best friend, lover, teacher, or writers group loves your ms doesn't mean there is a market for it. And just because your mother, best friend, lover, teacher, or writers group edited the ms, it really isn't "book edited" IMO. So if either of those statements are true, don't put them in a query letter to Cactus Rain - or probably anyone else.

I'm not interested in writing awards unless it is the Nobel Prize in Literature, the Pulitzer, or maybe the Man Booker. Actually, there are two others that might get my attention, but definitely not awards from writing groups. Those can be as much a popularity contest as a writing contest. How am I to know?

Don't pull a James Frey in reverse. Cactus Rain only publishes fiction. Changing the names of the people involved in a real event is not fiction. While I get lots of comments that I'm Kathryn in Kathryn's Beach, it isn't true. That isn't my story. A couple of people wanted in KB, so I let them write themselves into the story, mostly by naming a character -- but it is fiction.

Don't send memoirs, though I will consider a faux memoir. But honestly, memoirs usually don't sell unless they are celebrity memoirs, and if that is the case they won't be coming to Cactus Rain anyway.

I'm being pesky this week, but on the other hand, the query letter is asking me to love the ms enough to put money behind it, so I'm laying some of my cards on the table. It is important to know who you're querying and what they like.

Please don't send letters to Cactus Rain that begin, "Dear Sir." I'm many things, but Sir is not one of them.

Totally off topic

2011-03-20T22:14:00.002-07:00

I was visiting istockphoto.com and found this lovely photo. Someone needs to write a novel worthy of this on the cover.

The Next Step

2011-03-19T13:29:00.009-07:00

Out of six recent submissions, two have made the next cut. I know you've heard this before, but let's look at some of the things that can be done to get through the next hurtle to get your york of fiction published.

The query, by some stroke of luck, got the reader to want to read the three chapter submission. Good job!

Here are some things that can get the chapter sample a favorable read. First off, submit exactly what is asked for in the guidelines. In the case of Cactus Rain, I like to see the first three chapters. Never send chapters that aren't the first and in sequential order - no skipping to the good part. The beginning has to be the good part.

Manuscript format counts more than you'd think. Double spacing the lines in an ms is not optional - ever. The people who did not set up their software before embarking on the adventure of writing, have work to do to fix that omission. Single spaced paragraphs with spaces between them is not correct. Manuscripts must be double spaced lines. Always.

One space between sentences is the mark of someone who's done their research. It is never okay to have two spaces between sentences in an ms.

At this point, if these two basic formatting errors are present, it is likely that the writer knows even less about writing. Before I became so busy, I would give a "pity read," but even I don't have the time for that now.

For writers who believe in the value of their story, but are not good with grammar - in the slightest, then it is worth paying for a professional line edit. Line edits are about grammar and punctuation, they are not the same as content editing. They are not ready for submission just because they were edited by your English teacher or grammar-geek friend.

It is not necessary to be able to recite the 48 prepositions, but the writer should have a basic knowledge of parts of speech (there are 8 in US English -- how hard is that to review?) and review the basic punctuation rules.

There are differences between UK English and American English punctuation rules. However, there are some things that I will never tolerate again. The number one offender is ellipsis marks. It is rare that ellipsis would fit correctly in a work of fiction; if you use them, don't send your ms to Cactus Rain Publishing.

In school we're taught there is a formula to paragraph writing where a certain number of sentences and types of sentences are required. That is not wholly true in fiction. The trick on fiction paragraphs [and dialogue] is easy.

This next bit isn't the technical way to explain this and if Nick Daws reads it, he is likely to comment - consider yourself warned.

Think of dialogue and scenes as a tennis game. Each time someone speaks, the ball is in their court and you look their direction - that equals a new paragraph. Every change in speaker in dialogue is the start of a new paragraph. Even if the speaker gets only one word said, they get their own line.

Basically the same is true for scenes. When you take the reader from one location or one "camera shot" to another in the same location, then make a new paragraph. For example, if the reader is facing the fountain as the setting behind the scene action, then the action comes from another direction, say from behind the reader, that is a new paragraph. Think of it as watching the ball in tennis and it has changed courts.

This post is getting furiously lengthy, so I'll take a break here. This would be a good time to save a master copy of your ms, then run searches for things like double spaces between sentences, and fix them in a new file doc.

How to Romance me...

2011-03-13T22:33:00.005-07:00

(Keep in mind that I have not done a call for manuscript submissions -yet.)

There are two books in the cooker, so to speak, nearly done and ready to be published. And a third project very near and dear to my heart (yes, you Uncle John).

Recently, three extraordinary queries landed in the Cactus Rain submission box. I have no idea how these new three found Cactus Rain. We have not shelled out big bucks for SEO for the website and I've been unusually absent from my usual treks across the internet in my usual haunts. All I can figure is that Joyce, my wonderful-can't-live-without-her web designer, did her usual stellar job on creating http://www.cactusrainpublishing.com/ so that it would be found.

At any rate, of the three new queries, one is the best query letter I've ever seen. One had no query letter and launched head-long into an extended elevator pitch that had me smiling by the third paragraph. The third has an intriguing story, but said something that really got my attention in a recent email.

So this year for Cactus Rain, not yet two years old, is looking quite good. Trust me, ask anyone who knows me, I ain't that easy to impress...but these three certainly got my attention. They will each hear from me shortly.

Something I like

2011-03-05T10:10:00.005-07:00

As strong as the desire is to fit in and be accepted, we usually try to give our children enough self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-worth that they are not owned by the latest fad, and yet have some sense of fashion and style.

The latest fad I'm hearing is, "It is what it is!" It is already annoying me and I can't believe the number of people who say it. First off, I think it sounds stupid. Might as well say something jibberish. I have a strong desire to reply, "And just what is it, exactly?" (So far, I haven't given in and asked.)

The point I'm leading up to here is that sometimes a writer will get in a rut with a cliche and over do it. Being cute or clever isn't the same as good writing and the reader will tire of it.

I'm probably one of the toughest audiences for writers, because I don't like to read fiction. I love reading mss because I accept that they aren't the finished product. But once a book is published, especially by a big publisher, I expect the story to represent fine writing. So when I can't put down a book and read it in one weekend, that is meaningful.

Ray Derby writes government conspiracy books that fling me into their world and hold me there until the end. If you're serious about reading a good book or two, grab Ray's books while they are still in print. www.rayderby.com

Something I like

2011-03-05T10:10:00.000-07:00

Thou shalt not...

2011-03-02T23:03:00.003-07:00

There is a lot written about how to write, and perhaps a bit less written about how not to write. Somewhere in the middle is perfection. The closer a manuscript hits that mark, the more likely it is to become published.

In my mind there are two types of writers: Those who plan every detail so that by the time they have written, rewritten, and edited each chapter before moving forward it is totally rigid and has no energy left; and those who write stream of consciously thinking every word is golden, which results in a whole lot of superfluous dribble and clever remarks to the reader.

Either style has to have an end point in mind. The story line has to stay on track and get from A to B with little distraction and wandering off to too many antidotes that do not advance the story. The writer has to keep asking, "What does this have to do with the story?" and stay true to the story line.

The elements of good writing that I look for when I consider a queried piece are these:
1) Does the story move along to a logical endpoint in an interesting way to keep the reader reading?
2) Are the characters developed with a heartbeat so the reader cares about them?
3) Is the dialogue realistic or forced? (Someone once told me they write the first draft, then go back and add the dialogue. I can't imagine how that would work.)
4) Has the ms been polished enough to show me the author cares about the craft?
5) The ms has to be marketable. Marketability has many facets. It has to appeal to a definable audience, and for me, it has to contribute to the Cactus Rain catalogue.

Before a book can reach the reader, the author has to first reach a literary agent or publisher and sell the story. It would be insane not to do multiple submissions, but each should be tailored to the recipient. Do the research. It makes no sense to spend years writing the perfect ms then sending it to the wrong person.

di·a·lect [dahy-uh-lekt]

2011-02-22T20:05:00.013-07:00

The question of writing in dialect, particularly when it involves phonetic spellings, is usually answered emphatically, "NO! Don't do it."

Strictly following EVERY rule of writing [of course], I gave the parade lady (in my trilogy) the voice of a street version of a southern black Appalachian woman. As with most things in literary fiction that was an enigma. Later the reader understands who that woman really is and her message (role) in the story.

I've seen dialect done extremely well by Jewell Parker Rhodes in her Douglass' Women. She did a reading (by memory) that totally silenced the room. I would dare anyone to tell Jewell not to write in dialect. She did it masterfully.

Historically, the grand master of dialect is Mark Twain. Recently there was the [misguided] notion to sanitize Mark Twain's writing and remove the offensive N-word [and a bit more].

Having heard several stage productions (by Hal Holbrook) of Mr Clemens' essays, I'd doubt he would go along with such a project. He didn't treat any subject delicately, and his writing would not be immune from his brisk no-nonsense opinions either.

Substitute "damn" every time you're inclined to write "very"; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be. Mark Twain

"Fixing" Mark Twain's writing would make as much sense as "fixing" Shakespear. (Who comes up with these ideas?)

Like anything in fiction writing, dialect has to be a justifiable part of the story. And, it has to be done extremely well.

Catch this link, it is what started me thinking on this topic: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2011/02/20/fans-love-scots-writer-s-e-book-but-can-t-understand-slang-86908-22937251

Bragging Rights...

2011-02-17T21:19:00.003-07:00

Glyn Pope certainly has bragging rights about his novel, The Doctor, The Plutocrat, and The Mendacious Minister.

A quote from BBC radio has been added to the back cover of his book.

RICH IN ATMOSPHERE and the colour of the time, all the characters in Glyn Pope's novel are alive. This is a true reflection of life in a certain suburb of Leicester in the English East Midlands, but the themes are universal. This could well be your neighbourhood facing the challenges of a changing world at the end of the 2nd World War. Enjoyable and challenging.
Stephen Butt, BBC Radio

Today, there is an article about "Doc" in the local newspaper, the Leicester Mercury. Follow the link. http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news/New-novel-recalls-post-war-blues/article-3233498-detail/article.html

More on editing...

2011-02-08T22:21:00.002-07:00

I love that Glynis, in Cypress, is only person who dared to comment on the last post. Cheers to you, Glynis!

Being a huge fan of Jacqueline Kennedy, I love that she spent 20 years as an editor. I can imagine her sense of style as she midwife'd a manuscript into a masterpiece of literature.

Read the article below and let me know what you think? Would you let (or have you let) someone take a serious hand in the development of your manuscript-to-book? Please post a comment on what it is like to let go enough to let someone mess with your baby. I know it is difficult.

That midwifery is a given for Cactus Rain Publishing, LLC's books. I'm very fast to send packing any author not willing to take direction, since I do (as it turns out) know a thing or two about this industry. I'll content edit a chapter or two before we mention the word contract. I am way past the hand-holding part of life, and all about business when it comes to producing a book that I will put my [Italian made] logo on the cover.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/where-have-all-the-book-editors-gone/article1894501/page1/

Anything is possible

2011-02-02T21:15:00.003-07:00

There is a freeze advisory for the central Arizona deserts tonight and the next few days. The palm trees took a hit earlier this winter, but this is the deep freeze. Many of the houses in my neighborhood have adorned their most precious plants with blankets and towels. My yard is the same. The expected low tonight is 24F, freezing is 32F.

When the boys were younger we would look at things in nature, particularly sunsets and cloud formations, and discuss how if they were in a painting just as they were - they would not look real.

That is a question writers need to ask constantly as they edit and rewrite their manuscripts. "Does this seem real?"

Some people think their life story is memoir worthy. Frankly, memoirs by unknown people rarely sell more than a handful of copies. There are tragic moments most of us have endured and risen to overcome in heroic fashion, but that doesn't mean our story is book material.

I've had writers argue with me about dialogue changes stating that the line was what was really said. Perhaps so, but it isn't believable in fiction. As they say in the courtroom, it doesn't have the ring of truth to it.

Even in fiction, the writer must ask the hard questions: "Is this believable?" "Will the reader dispense with reality and sink into the story?"

Fantasy and science fiction writers master this or at least struggle with it. Same with romance writers, though rarely do I think the story is believable.

Writing errors can be corrected, but bad writing is just that -- bad. Prepare to step up to the big time and make sure your writing measures up. I boast that Cactus Rain books can stand toe-to-toe with any other book on the shelf, beginning with The Doctor, The Plutocrat, and The Mendacious Minister.

Check it out and tell me what you think. http://www.cactusrainpublishing.com/

WOW! Look at Karen Dionne

2011-01-28T00:01:00.000-07:00

I like to follow the stock market news. Big surprise? Clicking through the AOL stock section, as usual, I targeted an article about Border's bookstores. A quick scroll through the article to preview the length and whether I really wanted to read it, and guess what I saw?

I should say, guess WHO I saw. Karen Dionne! Karen and I met long ago on the writer's forum, Backspace. There is a small fee to be a member since it is a private forum. However, it is a place where some agents hang out and some very well known writers...one million dollar writer I can think of right off.

Karen is the driving force in an annual mystery writing conference in New York City. She is also the author of Freezing Point and Boiling Point, both ecological disaster thrillers. As anyone who knows me can guess, I have autographed copies in my library. That's one thing you can't do with ebooks, BTW.

So, go check out Karen's article:

http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/media/if-borders-closes-authors-will-lose/19808389/

Matt Laman is engaged

2011-01-23T23:02:00.003-07:00

Meagan is escorted to...wow, look at that!

Maitiu is on his knee.

That's my boy! And Meagan said, "Yes!"

Remember when...?

2011-01-22T22:57:00.004-07:00

Do you remember when I posted daily? I seemed to have less trouble posting every day than I have aiming for a weekly post. Last year was horrendous, personally, for me. The good bit was, of course, getting Cactus Rain Publishing off the ground after working toward that end for five years.

I've been in California for a funeral and it was wonderful to be with my family again and at home. It was a chance to revalidate me and the Cactus Rain project with family.

Let me recap where Cactus Rain is: The debut novel, The Doctor, The Plutocrat, and The Mendacious Minister (by Glyn Pope) is doing awesome. The reviews are great and we're waiting for one promised from the BBC. It is still being considered for adaptation for the stage. It has been published in ebook form for Kindle, Nook, iPad, and Sony reader by Coyote Moon Books.

The second book, Banyan Tree Brothers (by Nidhi Dhawan), out of India has been sent back to Nidhi for rewrites. You can see the cover art on the Cactus Rain website (link on the sidebar to the left).

Book three is a second edition of The Desert Has No King, a mobster story about Las Vegas by Fred Aguliar. It is currently in content editing. The cover art is being developed in the UK.

Under consideration is a work out of Ireland. It weaves a tale asking what constitutes family.

There are two more that I simply haven't had time to preview. I know that waiting for an answer is difficult, but then again that is part of the industry process. Nothing happens fast in this industry.

Keep writing, rewrite and edit after you get the first draft completed. It definitely shows when you do it the other way around. The story simply is not as dynamic when edits are done during the first draft. (A word to the wise.)

Something most of us knew.

2011-01-04T02:27:00.002-07:00

Social media doesn't deliver sales as well as direct marketing (emailing a list or word of mouth) and a website.

There are only 24 hours in a day and Facebook (et al) isn't where I'm spending even one of them.

The fact is that books are discounted on Cactus Rain Publishing website all day - every day. I can't make it any simpler than that.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/12/survey-social-media-brings-few-customers-to-online-retailers.html

My view

2011-01-02T22:50:00.002-07:00

From my back patio the view is the golf course. If you are imagining lush lawns, think desert. The only green I see is the tee (look by the cactus outside the fence). However, it has provided insightful entertainment. I'll put a writer's spin on it, if I can.

Some people love golf so much that they play in the rain, yes, they swing metal rods around while it is lightening. Real writers have passion and will do whatever it takes to get time to write.

Some people wear brightly colored knickers and matching golf shirt. Real writers know it isn't the laptop that is going to make a story good.

Some people have a horrendous swing, but the ball gets to the green. Some people have a knack for writing.

Some people swing like they practice a lot and have had lessons from the pro shop. Some people work at their craft to produce the best written work possible, including taking lessons.

There isn't any way to tell before the ball is hit who is going to drive it into a nearby house, sometimes a window. (Always be ready to take cover.) Most writers know that there is always someone looking to make money on writers, rather than on writing and you can't always tell how good their info is until it flies into a wall. Don't be a dope.

Some people drive quickly past the tee and eventually circle back through the desert. Beginning writers often think they are done when the first draft is finished. There is no excaping rewrites. Everyone does them, and lots of them.

Once in a while someone walks the course. (You write this one.)

Almost everyone looks like Fred Flinstone in their golf cart. Don't be full of yourself. So, you're a writer? Prove it!

Query this...

2010-12-18T09:24:00.009-07:00

Oh my gosh, queries are rolling in and I've yet to make a call for submissions -- which is a good thing.

It is time to once again talk about the query process. There is information all over the internet about how to query an ms. I have several books on the topic on my book shelf. I've also thrown away several highly recommended books on the subject. The information is not a guarded secret. It is readily available.

This week there was a long blog post, on what literary agents want in a query letter, sent out on one of the industry wire services. I almost posted the link, but the piece was horribly boring to read, and quite honestly, there was nothing new included about what not to do when querying. Tip: Read the submission guidelines and follow them.

Here is what is important to me as a publisher: Make sure your ms is well written. A little bit of telling goes a long way. To write well, you need showing and lots of it. Showing puts the reader into the story and hooks into their emotions. It makes the setting and secondary characters become 3D (three dimensional), so they can support the storyline and the actions of the main characters.

Goodness, there are tons of books, classes, and seminars on how to write well. No one has the time or interest to read an ms that is not well written. Tip: do not send a draft.

I no longer read submissions that are not in ms format. If it isn't important enough to do it right, then don't expect it to be important to read it. There is an industry standard for the format - use it. Tip: Manuscripts are double spaced and synopsis are single spaced.

I know that I'm being blunt, but that is basic stuff. I'm not looking for people who write as a hobby or even those who are storytellers. Tip: I'm looking for writers who can write well.

At the very least learn the basic elements of writing. I can overlook some grammar problems, but not writing elements. After all, how many people actually know there are 48 prepositions, much less what a preposition is? If you really want to impress me, then get direct addresses correct in the dialogue.

Anita is the line editor for Cactus Rain. She can fix the grammar issues, if the ms is worth fixing.

It is simple common sense not to send a query that is addressed to another publisher. I'm all for recycling, but it is basic good manners to address the query to me when you write to me. If you can't bother to do that, then it is likely I can't bother to read the submission -- after all, you aren't serious about this time honored industry procedure.

I remember what it was like to send query letters. I do ache for writers who pin their hopes on being done with the process and on their way to fame. The best thing to do is to make sure your ms is polished, the writing is professional level, and the query follows the submission guidelines.

Big tip: If you seriously want to be published by Cactus Rain more than any other publisher, then buy Kathryn’s Beach and The Doctor, The Plutocrat, and The Mendacious Minister and use those to see what we like to publish.

Doc meets the BBC

2010-12-06T06:24:00.001-07:00

The saying goes, write a great book and the world beats a path to your door. I'd say J.K. Rowling would agree with that.

The Doctor, The Plutocrat, and The Mendacious Minister is flying off the shelf.

Seems now, that the BBC has discovered "Doc" and an interview is forthcoming.

Still time to order and have it for Christmas in the States. http://www.cactusrainpublishing.com/the_doctor.html

Amazon Kindle Books Now Available As Gifts

2010-11-27T01:46:00.001-07:00

Customers can now email a Kindle book gift to anyone, even people without a Kindle eReader.
The emailed gift can be read on a Kindle eReader or Kindle apps on iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, Mac, PC, BlackBerry and Android devices. Visit the Kindle Store, click "Give as a Gift," and you can email the gift.

Galley Cat

The book to buy: http://www.amazon.com/Doctor-Plutocrat-Mendacious-Minister-ebook/dp/B004D9FWIE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1290847632&sr=1-1

Big News!

2010-11-21T21:11:00.005-07:00

There is so much news about The Doctor, The Plutocrat, and The Mendacious Minister, that I don't know what to tell first.

One little bit is that for the second print run, there will be changes to the back cover. No big deal to make the change, however...that makes the first books printed into a limited edition.

"Hello eBay!" some time in the future for the lucky ones who got on it and bought the book hot off the press. There are less than 50 of those left divided between what Glyn has in France and I have here in the states. Best be getting after it, if you've been putting off buying.

So what is the change? Well, it is now posted on the Cactus Rain Website, link at the bottom and the purple bit on the sidebar. Go read it there!

Now the bigger part of what brought about the change is very exciting news. We needed a new back cover because (ta-da!) I've been working with a friend, Joy Collins, who also has a couple of publishing companies -- remember the one who has a book that was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize?

We have struck a deal for her imprint, Coyote Moon Books, to digitalize Cactus Rain's books.

That means that the Cactus Rain Publishing books will be published as eBooks by Coyote Moon. The Doctor, The Plutocrat, and The Mendacious Minister will be available on Amazon's Kindle, Apple's iStore for the iPad and related apps, Barnes and Noble's Nook (they have a color version of the Nook due out shortly - great for reading children's books) and the Sony eReader. I'll post the links when I get them. They will also be on the Cactus Rain website.

Just a note for those not in America, Barnes and Nobles reminds me of the UK Waterstones.

So those of you wishing for an eReader for Christmas or daring enough to have the apps to read books on your phone, in about a week...you can buy Glyn's ebook.

Now there is still more news...can you take any more of this???

I just got off the phone with a friend who was on the Theatre board the same time I was. Seems like she is interested in looking at Doc for a stage production. It will take some time to adapt Doc to a script, but I am thrilled at the prospect and do plan to save my pennies to attend opening night some time next year.

All of this certainly points out that small presses are not to be discounted. Goodness, a Pulitzer Prize nomination for Chalet Publishers, and now this for my debut book as a publisher. Look out baby, we are stepping out strutting our stuff!

http://www.cactusrainpublishing.com/

The Doctor, The Plutocrat, and The Mendacious Minister by Glyn Pope

2010-11-13T23:43:00.004-07:00

a bit more of the story...

Latymer turned to the gathered spectators. ‘There’s nothing to see.’

Nobody moved.

A policeman was leaning against the counter in the refreshments room. Gaunt and thin, Sergeant Simmons spent most of his duty time at the railway station. During the war the duty was particularly important, as it could have been one way for spies to enter the country. Sergeant Simmons never apprehended anyone, mainly for two reasons: one was that he didn’t know what he was looking for, and secondly, he spent most of his duty time standing where he was now, chatting to Cyril and Cyril’s wife, Dot. Simmons drank tea and ate bun after bun without putting on an ounce in weight. He left his post only when he needed to relieve himself.

‘Hey, Sarge?’ said Cyril.

Simmons stopped mid-bite. It wasn’t often he was interrupted whilst eating.

‘There seems to be quite a crowd gathering.’

‘Ooh, I wonder what’s going on there?’ Dot was a nosey woman and didn’t miss a trick.

Sergeant Simmons looked in the wrong direction.

‘Over there.’ Dot pointed with a cup she was drying.

‘Ah yes.’ Simmons spoke as if he had known all along. ‘Best take a look.’ Simmons put his shoulders back, so he looked more like a figure of authority, and strode purposefully towards the crowd.

‘Now then. Now then. What have we here?’

‘This man has injured his arm. He trapped it in a carriage door. I’m trying to take a look at it.’ Latymer told the policeman.

‘I see,’ said the policeman, full of self-importance. ‘You trapped this man’s arm in a carriage door? I shall need your name, sir. There may be further proceedings.’

The crowd murmured their disbelief at the crime committed by a doctor.

‘I’m Dr Latymer. I didn’t trap his arm. I’m trying to help him.’

Carefully scrutinising Reginald, Sergeant Simmons said to him, ‘Now I need you to answer truthfully. Did this man,’ turning to look in the direction of Latymer, ‘who looks too young to be a doctor in my opinion, shut the railway carriage door onto your arm?’

Sergeant Simmons paused for a moment to let the gravity of the situation sink in, whilst the crowd collectively held their breath. ‘I warn you that anything you may say could be used in evidence.’

‘This is ridiculous,’ exclaimed Latymer, wishing he were in a taxi on his way to his first medical practice.

‘As far as I know,’ replied Reginald, as if he were at the Old Bailey surrounded by aging varnished brown oak, and men and women in grey wigs representing centuries of law, ‘it wasn’t him.’

There was a sharp intake of breath at the doubt expressed.

‘I was in a different carriage. I came here to help him.’ Latymer corrected Reg’s information.

‘He sounds very guilty,’ said one of the expanding group of people.

‘A terrible thing for a doctor to do,’ replied another.

‘I saw him, the man who says he’s a doctor, get out of the carriage up there. Three carriages away from where the man screamed like a woman,’ said one man moving to the front of the pack.

‘I did not scream like a woman,’ Reginald protested.

‘Yes you did,’ said the ten-year-old boy as he stepped forward from the other observers.

‘Are you prepared to swear to that?’ asked the policeman.

‘This boy has been taught to tell the truth,’ said the boy’s keeper.

‘Look, Constable,’ said Latymer.

‘Sergeant,’ Simmons corrected.

‘Sergeant. I need to see what this man’s injuries are. I have somewhere else to get to.’

‘Meeting a woman, are we?’ Simmons said.

‘My practice,’ said Latymer growing annoyed.

‘What you do in your private life is of no concern to me, as long as long as His Majesty’s Law is kept intact.’ Simmons glanced at the station clock and saw it was time he was off duty, ‘Right, sir, I’ll take your word for it. I’ll disperse the crowd.’

‘Thank you, Sergeant.’

‘You could trust a doctor in the war,’ said one of the onlookers as she moved away.

‘You can never tell,’ said another.

‘Can you slip off your coat?’ Latymer turned to Reg.

‘You’ve asked me that once.’

‘So will you do it?’

‘It’s still a bit cold.’

‘Come on, Reg. Do what the doctor wants. He can’t look at you.’

Reginald stood up, and with his wife’s help, took off his coat, ‘Ayah,’ he complained as he did so.

‘Let’s see. Can you bend your arm?’

Reg managed to do that.

‘Good. I don’t think there’s a lot wrong.’ Latymer paused as if thinking deeply. ‘Hm, you need a doctor to look at this.’

‘You said you were a doctor. Were you telling fibs?’

Latymer ignored the question. ‘You need your own doctor. Do you have far to go?’

‘Stocking Farm. Dr McFadden’s our doctor.’ He looked at his wife as if it were something to be proud of.

‘That’s where I’m going,’ said Latymer. ‘We’ll share a taxi.’

You be the judge

2010-11-11T01:44:00.000-07:00

Most people who know anything about me, know that for years I was a child abuse investigator. More specifically, I was the lead investigative social worker for suspected sexual abuse.

Unless anyone is totally clueless, let me mention that sexual abuse of children leave lifetime scars that do not go away - ever. With the right treatment, they are manageable, but let me repeat, they do not go away -- EVER!

Now read this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11731928

The Doctor, The Plutocrat, and The Mendacious Minister

2010-11-05T04:51:00.005-07:00

Latymer heard a piercing scream rise from amongst the general sound of the station. He took it to be the whistle of an engine. As he looked around his eyes set upon a man clutching his arm. Could this be his first patient, so soon after his arrival?

‘The stupid sod.’ The voice sounded shrill.

‘Now sir, watch your language, there are ladies and children present.’ His uniform gave the porter the prerogative to sanction.

‘Yes, Reg.’ The lady with the injured man spoke, attempting an air of authority.

Reg replied, ‘Are you standing here with a broken arm?’

‘No, it’s just that–’

‘Shut your gob then,’ Reg told her.

‘Reg,’ the lady pleaded, ‘stop the palaver. Don’t speak to me like that.’

The porter moved to intervene.

‘Fight a man with one arm, would you?’

‘Reginald. Calm down.’ The woman was firm with her husband.

‘What was the idiot doing,’ Reg whined, ‘slamming the door on a train full of people?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘I bet he’s in the station bar,’ said Reg, ‘cosy with a whisky. That’s what I need, a whisky for the pain.’

‘I’ll get you one.’ The lady looked around and shouted, ‘Porter!’

‘Don’t give him anything.’ Latymer purposefully strode to the small gathering. Full of self-importance he said, ‘I’m a doctor.’ Every young doctor has the desire to utter the statement, I’m a doctor, and answer the emergency.

‘Thank God for that.’ Reg spoke, with a miserable groan, as if his life needed saving. ‘A doctor.’

‘He may be in shock. No alcohol.’ Latymer repeated the instruction while he looked into the man’s eyes.

‘What the doc means is he may need an operation.’ The porter made a sawing motion across his own arm. ‘His arm amputated.’

‘Oh no! Oh no! Milly, I’m going to have my arm cut off. You’d better get me that drink.’

The porter walked away and left them to it.

‘You’re all right. Pull yourself together. Let’s take you to a seat and have a proper look.’ Latymer pointed to a bench.

His wife led Reginald to the nearby seat.

At the end of the bench was a narrow space, perhaps large enough for Reg to sit. The rest of the bench was taken by a lady of large proportions with a scarf tied tightly to her head. Next to her was seated a schoolboy.

‘Move along and let the gentleman sit down. He looks a bit pale.’ The woman gave the boy a nudge.

‘Where am I going to sit?’ asked the boy.

‘You’ll have to stand. The train will be here soon,’ the lady said kindly, seeking to appease him.

‘I’ll have to stand on that, as well,’ the boy shot back.

‘Stop being cheeky. Here you are, sit down, duck.’ She gestured for Reg to take the empty place that the boy, flouncing and sighing, had gone to great pains to make.

Reginald made a show of sitting down as if he were a hero.

‘Well it can’t be because of the war,’ the boy gave a sideways nod towards Reg, ‘it’s been over three years now. Why can’t we get proper food? I was reading in The Times that they’re better fed in Germany and they lost!’ He stood petulant in his schoolboy’s uniform, speaking as if he were talking about a game of football.

‘We don’t want that kind of talk,’ said the lady minding the boy.

Latymer looked at the boy and said, ‘You’ve got a politician there. How old is he?’

‘Ten. He sees, hears, and reads everything.’

‘Is that so? Very bright,’ answered Latymer.

‘So his parents say. I’m seeing him back to school.’

What a precocious child, Latymer thought, but doctors are taught to never give away their true feelings. ‘Anyway, thank you for letting this gentleman sit down. He’s been in an accident.’

Reg nodded his head, affirming the situation.

‘Yes, I see that,’ the boy went on. ‘His arm isn’t broken though. At the worst it’s a slight sprain. If he moves it carefully, it’ll free itself. He’ll be right as rain in no time.’

Years of hard work training to be a doctor, Latymer despaired looking heavenwards towards the vaults of the railway station, and a ten-year-old diagnoses my first patient.

‘His mother and father say he wants to be a doctor.’

The boy confirmed the statement, pronouncing his words as if he had a plum in his mouth. ‘I do want to be a doctor.’

‘Well, there’s a lot more to it than guesswork.’ And to show that he was very serious, Latymer spoke in a voice that was a few decibels below his normal one.

‘How long have you been a doctor then?’ the boy asked.

Latymer ignored the question, but carried on with his explanation. ‘There’s seven years hard training, difficult examinations.’

‘There’s nothing wrong with most patients you see as a GP that wouldn’t cure itself,’ said the boy pompously.

Latymer knew the boy to be correct. ‘How do you know that?’

‘I read it in The Lancet – last June’s issue. I can send it to you if you give me your address.’

‘You read The Lancet ?’ Latymer gave the boy another look.

‘Like other boys read the Beano,’ the lady told them rather proudly, as if she were his mother.

‘Yes, so do I,’ said Latymer, foolishly with pride in his voice.

‘You read the Beano, Doc?’ asked Reg. ‘I can let you have my back issues.’

‘No, The Lancet.’

‘That’s why he knows more than you,’ said Reg.

‘He doesn’t know more than me. This arm could be broken.’

Day Three

2010-11-03T22:48:00.002-07:00

Day three of being a publisher. Someone please, pinch me! After years of thinking about this and working on it, it seemed a bit unbelievable when my retail licence arrived last Saturday.

How about a sample of The Doctor, The Plutocrat, and The Mendacious Minister by Glyn Pope?

Chapter One

Peter Latymer stepped from the Great Northern carriage at Belgrave Road station. The concourse was unusually busy for late afternoon on a chilly October day. The secure glow of warmth from the fires of the train engines and the heavy smell of oil and coal, bound up with the crowd moving as if all were on a new journey. Peter stood, reflecting for a moment on his new start.

The daylight failing, there were lights shining as hadn’t been enjoyed in three years. There had been a brief glimmer of hope earlier that year when the Olympic Games were held in London. But that had been London. In the rest of the country the celebrations hadn’t made any difference. The aftermath of the war existed. It was still dark. A new age had yet to dawn.

Latymer heard a piercing scream rise from amongst the general sound of the station. He took it to be the whistle of an engine. As he looked around his eyes set upon a man clutching his arm. Could this be his first patient, so soon after his arrival?

http://www.cactusrainpublishing.com/
Oh yes, I'm milking this...I'll share more in the next post.

Cactus Rain Publishing publishes debut novel

2010-10-30T02:29:00.017-07:00

Cactus Rain Publishing is a boutique publishing company in central Arizona, USA. Its mission is to bring the world to readers -- one book at a time -- by publishing the finest English language novels by authors from around the world. The writers write in their native language; British English, Colonial English, and American English.

Nadine Laman, owner of Cactus Rain, says, "We heavily vet our books and work closely with our authors to cultivate their voice and story into a uniquely enjoyable reading experience."

The Doctor, The Plutocrat, and The Mendacious Minister, by Glyn Pope (France) is the debut novel for Cactus Rain.

Doctor Latymer arrives on a council estate in Leicester, England, full of hope and the innocence of youth. He quickly becomes the local miracle worker. But without a grasp of the realities of life, he sets out to right injustices that he doesn't fully understand. In the process, he unravels the delicate balance between rich and poor, and the struggling post-WWII British economy still reliant on rationing and the black market.

Following closely on the heels of The Doctor is the Banyan Tree Brothers by Nidhi Dhawan (India), coming early in 2011.

The third novel scheduled to be published by Cactus Rain Publishing is The Desert has no King, by Frederiko Aguilar (Las Vegas, USA).

Cactus Rain's books are perfect for readers who want novels that bring new reading experiences.

The Doctor, The Plutocrat, and The Mendacious Minister goes on sale November 1, 2010. Order your copy direct from the publisher, http://www.cactusrainpublishing.com/.

http://www.cactusrainpublishing.com/pdf/PressReleaseNov2010.pdf
.

24-hour day

2010-10-17T14:40:00.004-07:00

In my recent newsletter, which posted today on my website, http://www.nadinelamanbooks.com/, I wrote about the 24-hour day quote I often use.

It is quite simple to me that we have the same length of day as do the people we admire, our heroes in history and those around us in our daily lives.

My kids grew up hearing this. (Yes, they still talk to me!)

It isn't meant to do anything other than to inspire people, myself included, to think. Nothing is impossible if we truly want to achieve it.

It is unlikely and certainly unusual that someone as dyslexic as me would write a novel. Much less that I would write three, and they are fairly well received books. Even more unlikely is that a dyslexic person, the class dummy who was sometimes put in the re-tard class, would start a publishing company.

But I did that too. The debut book is at the printer. It will carry a publishing date of November 1, 2010. For those who know these things, that is a holy day in my religion. (It just worked out that way, but I think it is a good thing.)

The debut novel is The Doctor, The Plutocrat, and The Mendacious Minister, by Glyn Pope.

I hear a lot of people say they want to write a novel, and some even start, but it is never done. I don't know what they're waiting for. My blog and hundreds of others tell how to write. There are probably thousands of books and courses on writing well. (Yes, it is more than taking a grammar class ~ sorry.)

So the point is, quit talking and start doing (didn't Yoda say that in StarWars?).

Nadine Laman http://www.cactusrainpublishing.com/

Drama Anyone?

2010-10-06T06:55:00.002-07:00

The other day I watched several interviews. Actors were discussing the movies that most impacted their careers. They each mentioned older movies, many are today's classics. Hands down, they all said it was the drama that appealed to them.

When they listed actors who were most influential in their careers, they said the quality of the acting set them apart; that they could carry the scene single handedly. They discussed dramatic acting, not good looks or athletic bodies.

They discussed modern movies with computer generated special effects and exotic settings, too. But they kept retuning to one theme - drama. It was made up of two elements: story and acting ability.

To translate that into print, it brought me back to story line and character development. Both have to be well rooted in technique, but not so rigidly that they lack substance. Just like acting has to be well presented and believable, so does writing. Books can't rely on big explosions that fill the theatre with sound and lights.

The single biggest mistake I see beginning writers make is tiring of the edits and rewrites before the drama of the story line comes through in polished form. Both the story and the characters have to be something the reader can relate to on some level. People want to see a little of "me" in the story and the character so they can slip into the unreal, but real-like world of fiction.

Rivals and Friends

2010-09-29T19:30:00.007-07:00

This is a story about two women in competing businesses in the same town (just happens to be Phoenix, Arizona). There is no denying they are in direct competition with each other.

However, beyond the surface is the fact of friendship. The two women tip each other with information that is useful to both. Despite the fact they should be fierce competitors, they are more likely to assist each other.

As time has a way of doing, personal hardships came and went, and the two women helped each other through those too. They went to lunch and talked shop. They participated in industry activities together - these competitors.

One day one woman emailed the following to the other:

One of our books, Sweet Music on Moonlight Ridge, has just been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The other is very happy for her friend and rival. If you haven't visited here, then you should right now. http://www.chaletpublishers.com/index.html

Please celebrate with me for my friend and Phoenix Publisher, Joy Collins, her business partner and authors. Best wishes to all.

Author Photos

2010-09-24T01:07:00.005-07:00

How do these measure up?

Kathryn's Beach:

High Tide:

Storm Surge:

Now compare them to these:

http://flavorwire.com/117566/against-promotional-author-photographs

The Brown Wrapper Is Gone!

2010-09-19T20:53:00.004-07:00

Look! http://www.cactusrainpublishing.com/

I Dare Ya!

2010-09-11T23:49:00.001-07:00

Most people admire those who dare to do things that we'd like to do, but for whatever reason, don't.

We love to read adventure books where the main character does exciting things and risks everything, including self, to resolve the conflict of their journey (storyline).

So why is it we aren't daring with our writing? I thought about the people I know who would read my books and left out elements I knew they would not appreciate me writing. In retrospect, that wasn't daring of me.

We tend to write in third person, a recognized safe place, because that is what most people do. We write more or less the same stories over and over. (Oh yes, we do. There are several well respected books that recommend comparing our ms to books already published.)

While we will grumble about an injustice or the woes of the industry over a cup of coffee, we rarely dare to do much more than grumble.

This is one exception on two counts. One to dare to write about contemporary topics in YA books, and the other is the support of fellow writers.

Please read: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/07/authors-boycott-cancels-teen-lit-fest

Andrew Revels Remembered

2010-09-06T10:51:00.005-07:00

My kids came to visit for the holiday weekend and we talked about Andrew. They had met him, so his passing was more to them than reading my blog - which they don't do.

As it turned out, Andrew's uncle posted a comment on my blog today. See below:

Hi Nadine.....I am Andy's uncle and just wanted to share that on August 28th Live Long, Live Strong, a celebration of Andy Revels took place and was a great success. 10 bands played until the wee hours, the local news was on hand, we were able to videotape the final episode of Andy's PRTV, and 100's of people shared Andy's memory. It will take a month to edit the final PRTV but I will let you know when it gets posted. I am sending a youtube link to a slideshow from the event and from PRTV....it will be in the final PRTV, but I decided to share a sneak peek. Enjoy and I will keep you informed on the release of the full episode in about a month.

You might want to go back to the original post and refresh your memory, listen to Andrew read his poem on YouTube I posted. Here is the link:

http://nadinelaman.blogspot.com/2010/08/andrew-revels.html

This is the YouTube Andrew's uncle mentioned. I will post the final version.

More about cover art

2010-08-29T20:29:00.002-07:00

Some time back I posted concept sheets for Cactus Rain's debut book. Most who commented were quite pleasant. However, I assure you there were unpleasant comments in email. Ouch!

The thing about hiring a profession book cover artist is they will ask for a concept. That might not be what we stay with, but that is the beginning point.

Recently there was an article on cover art. I thought I'd pass it on to my readers.

Frankly, I'm not sure I'd pay for any of these covers. They aren't the type that would reach out to me in a bookstore.

Here is the link. Which one do you like best?

http://www.theinspirationblog.net/showcases/empty-space-40-stunning-minimalistic-book-covers/

Give Credit

2010-08-25T01:23:00.008-07:00

Sometimes we strive so hard to find clarity that we overwrite. We write, "He got the smell of ___________ in his nostrils." Not to be a smart mouth, but where else would one get a smell?

Watch for things like "flattend it down," simply write that it was flattened. (Honestly, how would one flatten it up?)

We have to give our readers credit for being smart. It is a delicate balance not to overwrite, yet not to leave out something that results in confusing copy.

While I honestly think that one produces the best story by NOT editing while writing the first draft, I believe as strongly that editing needs to be more than proper punctuation.

A perfect way to deflate an excellent scene of showing is to tack on the end an obvious statement of telling. At times we almost can't help ourselves. We've written an emotionally charged scene, then to make sure it is understood, we explain it.

Suddenly the forward momentum we had created falls flat and the reader thinks, "Oh duh!" While that does elicit a reaction from the reader, if they are saying, "Oh duh" about us [and not something the character did] then we haven't quite edited properly.

I think a good deal of that happens when we self-edit our draft as we write. The only thing to do is to read aloud the finished first draft [for content], before worrying where the comma goes in a direct address.

Things can get muddled as we work through rewrites and focus on a paragraph, a scene, or even a sentence and we can have bits no longer fit in the big picture. I've already talked [some weeks back] about the UK book where the mother-in-law clutched her pocket book through thick and thin, only to have it drop out of the story during the arc moment and never mentioned again.

I remember one book I read in a sci-fi series. The captain was walking down a hallway toward a certain cabin on the spaceship, then was coming up the hallway. It read like a camera angle change, but really seemed that somehow she had changed direction and doubled back from the narrator.

I get a chuckle when someone has left a scene and mysteriously spoke in the conversation while they weren't present.

The point is edit carefully. Give the reader credit for knowing that people smell with their nose. Keep track of when people leave and don't let them continue talking after they have left.

Content editing can be a lot of fun, so don't get too serious with it even though it is work. Keep focused that it is about making the best story out of the first draft.

What things do you see in books that you remember long after you've forgotten the title and author?

Mid-list

2010-08-16T19:22:00.003-07:00

What is a mid-list book? In fiction, according to me, the list works like this: Best selling authors on one end of the list (top) and classics (old and new) on the other end. The stuff in the middle is mid-list.

Everyone starts mid-list. Everyone.

The book and the author [each] have to prove themselves from there. No one knows for certain if a book will take off. Adapting a screenplay from a book doesn't guarantee that either the movie or book will be a success. A celebrity or political figure can be photographed reading a particular. Still it is the regular people who read a mid-list book and love it, tell their friends and they love it. Suddenly sales rise and the book gets noticed - and other good things happen.

Sometimes a well known author will have a really bad book. (Well they can't all be best sellers!). What do they do? They grin or laugh about it and write another book.

There comes a time in the writing process when the story gets old (it has been through a dozen rewrites and read-throughs) and confidence lags. I've spent one weekend cutting 5,000 words from Kathryn's Beach because it all looked bad to me.

The giddiness and self-indulgence of the early draft writing days turns to a seasoned writer, an author. Like any artist, then they can see the true beauty of their work.

Next new best thing...or is it?

2010-08-14T15:20:00.006-07:00

Just so you know what is going on out there, look at this after you read my post: http://accrispin.blogspot.com/

Because I purchase ISBNs from them, I was on their email list, with lots of other publishers and self published authors, to get the notice (press release?) about this new service.

I won't be looking there for new authors/mss. I can't imagine anyone having the time to scroll through sites or blogs looking for the next best selling title.

Like Ann said in her blog (link above) there isn't a short cut to querying. I know we all hate the process as writers, but as a publisher it works for me. I can tell a lot about the writer by their query and synopsis.

Cactus Rain news

2010-08-11T22:29:00.003-07:00

Before the press release goes out about the launch of our boutique publishing company, I thought I'd mention it looks like we might be ahead of schedule on the publication of our debut book, The Doctor, The Plutocrat, and The Mendacious Minister.

Author Glyn Pope gets the credit for the title. I admit, I wasn't sure I'd ever get the spelling right, much less say it without getting my tongue twisted after months of calling it "Doc."

Glyn is quite brave to go with an unknown publisher. Even more daring is to try a new system where there are no royalties. Yes, that's right. No royalties.

With Cactus Rain the author gets all the income above expenses. By our calculations, that should equate to more than royalties would normally work out. Expenses are set and except for pre-agreed upon unusual expenses, there will be no surprises to any of us.

How's that for a novel idea?

Help Please

2010-08-08T10:39:00.004-07:00

Several years ago, I met Celise Downs at an author function in Phoenix. Celise writes YA (young adult) fiction. She has returned to school for more writing classes and needs help to complete one of her assignments.

During the month of August, Young Adult fiction author Celise Downs will be allowing readers to give their "two cents" on the first five chapters of her YA work-in-progress. For more details go here (www.celisedowns.com/blog).

I meant to put this in my newsletter for August and just now sent it out without this request. Please pass this info on to others.

BTW, my newsletter is now posted on my website, http://www.nadinelamanbooks.com/

TOP SECRET

2010-08-05T20:55:00.003-07:00

Some time back, I posted a screen shot of the draft for the Cactus Rain website. (Link at the bottom).

We are just about to launch the site - any day now, perhaps even tomorrow. I'm just about to burst with excitement. There have been so many details to get to this point. In addition to all the particulars of starting any small business, there has been many tasks specific to publishing.

I've had a lot of help along the way. From strangers on the phone explaining the Pinal County sales tax requirements (I was in Maricopa County), to Joyce my right hand in much more than website design, and friends who helped or encouraged me along the way. And Jean who mentored me and laughed a lot. Thank you everyone. You mean the world to me.

At the time I'm writing this, www.CactusRainPublishing.com points to my website. Sometime in the next 24 hours it will be launched and point to the new website. Once it launches, feel free to tweet, facebook, tell your office mate, and all your reading friends about Cactus Rain Publishing.

The galleys have arrived for Cactus Rain's debut book, The Doctor, The Plutocrat, and The Mendacious Minister by Glyn Pope (France).

http://nadinelaman.blogspot.com/2010/05/why-are-books-so-expensive.html

Andrew Revels

2010-08-01T09:36:00.013-07:00

Five years ago I met a young and talented writer, Andrew Revels. He is one of those people who can crank out a novel in a few weeks, and his first draft is nearly perfect without editing. He has such a knack for story telling that his characters jump off the page.

Andrew has a ready, slow smile with a twinkle in his eye. He is always up for a gag and usually one of the instigators. He has a very strong sense of family, and community. He gave aspiring artists a boost with his online interviews.

He loves Halloween and planned to marry this October with the guests in costume. I still haven't sorted my costume.

He is just a year or two older than my oldest kid, so one day I wrote to him that he would understand when he was older. Within minutes he sent me a poem, "I Know What It's Like." I realized that he was right, he was old beyond his years.

This morning I woke to an email from Andrew's mom.

I am so sorry to inform you that my son, Andrew Revels died unexpectedly today, Saturday July 31, 2010. He was out on a boat with some friends and was being pulled on a wakeboard and fell off. He tried swimming back to the boat and was pulled underneath a barge on the river here in Wisconsin. I wanted to thank you for all your input and help mentoring Andy and just know that he thought the world of you. Thank you again and I am so sorry to have to deliver such tragic news. Laura Revels Stedman (his mom)

Andrew died like he lived, swimming with all his might. Please take a moment to follow the links and meet this incredible young man, my friend, Andrew Revels.

Andrew at the blog party: http://nadinelaman.blogspot.com/2009/08/party-with-andrew-revels.html

From Andrew's website: http://www.planet-revels.com/id41.html

Andrew talking about his books: http://www.planet-revels.com/id38.html

Here is the link that was added to the comments: http://lacrossetribune.com/news/local/article_185b35aa-9d29-11df-9c15-001cc4c002e0.html

Andrew left a gentle footprint on my heart.

A note from Andrew's mom.
I just want to say again what an influence you had in my son's short life. He truly admired you. Without your help and support he wouldn't have gotten as far as he had in his career. He definitely would have made it on his own, but knowing you speeded things up.

He surely touched a lot of people. At his celebration of life on Thursday we had to end the receiving line because of time constraints. The funeral parlor was completely packed full with people crammed into every nook and cranny and the whole front lawn outside. Even though they couldn't hear anything out there they wouldn't leave. The funeral director told us he wouldn't be surprised if 700 people didn't attend. Amazing, huh?

I have just started to go through some of Andy's things and these two quotes of yours were in the first box.
There are 24 hours in a day. What we do with each hour ....defines us.
It isn't how long one lives, it is how wide that really matters. How true.

Have you checked out his facebook page or planet-revels lately? Or anything associated with him. I am getting so many e-mails and facebook messages that my computer can't keep up.

There are many benefits and concerts and fundraiser's in the works coming up, all either in his memory, in his name or for his benefit. It's mind boggling.

On Aug. 28th, there is a concert with a lot of the bands he interview and some he hadn't got to yet. So far there's 7 of them and more offers keep coming in. They are all donating their time. They will be selling t-shirts, live long, live strong wristbands, a silent auction and much more.

The proceeds for that will go to Juvenile Diabetes. Another benefit will be for the family to help out with costs. Another one will donate a scholarship to a young author. (He so would approve of that one)

We are going to keep Hoops for Hope alive and already have had so many volunteers. I really don't know how he kept up with all he was involved in. It's very comforting to know that he will never be forgotten.

Once again Nadine, I want to thank you for all you did for my son. He truly loved you.
His very proud mom,
Laura Stedman

The Doctor, The Plutocrat, and The Mendacious Minister

2010-07-28T23:00:00.001-07:00

Glyn Pope and I've hinted for months now that his book, The Doctor, The Plutocrat, and The Mendacious Minister, will be the debut novel for Cactus Rain Publishing. It is his third novel.

Their could be some sanity questions regarding going with an unknown publisher. I think, though, Glyn is fine with his choice.

This still isn't the official-official announcement of "the deal." I'll get to that when the CRP website gets launched. More on that at a later date.

Let's talk about what it was I liked about "Doc" that made me offer Glyn a contract. I like the title, but it was a long time in coming and we had a [different] working title for about 6 months (longer for Glyn).

I wasn't requesting submissions at the time Glyn queried his book. (Honestly, people need to work on their query letters. Even I'm getting more picky about that - just a tip for aspiring writers.)

What I liked about Doc: Glyn was certainly enthusiast about Doc. He pitched the project with all his heart. That got my interest right away.

Another thing in reading the ms was that he really put the reader back in time to post WWII, England. The story was 100% believable. It fit with what I knew of history, meaning it wasn't heavy laden with historical facts for history geeks; it was readable for a general audience.

The characters were well developed and there was a good balance of secondary characters for the main characters to stage with. He balanced age and youth, wealthy and regular (normal) people. There was greed, innocence, and the vicar was funny. Basically the characters mirrored real life quite naturally; nothing was forced. There was a good amount of dialogue, which is a commercial element too.

Certainly there was a need for rewrites and I'm sure I must have seemed demanding at times, but Glyn always got to work and did them without complaining or arguing. Let's face it, arguing with one's publisher is a fast way to get dropped.

There were formatting issues which I probably won't have time to deal with in future acquisitions.

Overall, Glyn's attitude and his writing carried the day and here we are 9 months later sending the galley to the printer.

I've turned down far more mss than I've accepted. Two broke my heart because I thought the themes had great commercial potential, however the writers thought they knew everything and that a first or second draft was ready for print. Um, NO!

There's a bit of a glimpse inside Cactus Rain acquisition mindset and a really quick peek at Doc. Congratulations, Glyn...we're almost there!

Galley

2010-07-26T00:04:00.001-07:00

Last Friday was our first furlough day. That means our next paycheck will be for nine days rather than ten. I put my three day weekend to good use prepping Glyn's galley.

In the industry there are galleys, ARC (pronounced 'ark'), and proofs. Some people use the terms [nearly] interchangeably. There are distinct differences in the three. You can google them for more information (which varies from source to source), but in a nut shell they mean:

Galley is a rough out of the coming book. It is gross (as in rough) formatted. There is no cover art. Only a handful of galleys are printed. One for the author, of course. A couple for advance reviews. It likely has not been fully edited and certainly not line edited (proof read).

Most people in the industry who do book reviews understand that this is about the storyline, not about the polishing yet to come. Amateur reviewers will comment on grammar or typos. Professionals don't. They know galleys aren't the finished book.

ARCs are advance reading copies. They are generally nearly the done deal and are often the final book. They have cover art. Some printers print 500 of these give away books for their better known authors. They are strategically given to key people with the understanding they are to promote this book. As you might guess, Cactus Rain Publishing does not print ARCs. They simply aren't in the budget.

Proofs or proof copy or proof books are just that - the final version of the book. It is the last chance to see the book before the print run. Very few corrections or changes are made at this point. Those should have been caught by now.

New video

2010-07-22T00:02:00.002-07:00

Switching gears to another media, here is the new YouTube video I made. This is from a PowerPoint presentation. I have to say, I don't plan to ever convert a PowerPoint to YouTube video again. Of course, that doesn't mean I won't; it means I don't plan to do it.

I am very surprise that Microsoft didn't consider that people would want to upload their PowerPoint projects. It must be a proprietary thing that there wasn't sharing between the two companies.

Well, anyway the thing that I didn't like about the project was that the slide transitions available on PowerPoint were not available on Windows Movie Maker. You'll notice that I didn't use them in the video and it does make for an abrupt transition in places.

The music file was much easier to add in Movie Maker. It wasn't difficult to embed music into PP, but it was tricky to figure out how to package it so the file would play the music on other computers.

Both programs were easy to learn and with patience can produce good results. The key to making any of these projects is the material must copyright free. If you want to use someone's music or photos, you must get permission in writing. Email is fine, but print a couple of copies and keep it in a file.

So here is the end result. Thank you Carolyn Sheppard for the use of your song, Broken Rock.

Please watch:

Comments, please.

2010-07-21T20:13:00.005-07:00

The story behind this post is my friend Joy commented on my hair cut post. My hair was cut two more times in the week and I was going to add to the post a current photo. I tried to upload it twice and Blogger said it had done the deed. However, I have no idea where or to whom it was done. Therefore, I posted this pic.

Soooo, this is me after working all day and a bit of rain this morning. Now the ceiling fan is messing my hair. A glamor shot, it ain't. Just messing around. It looks like a hand puppet? (I really need to buy photo shop if I'm not going to put in much effort staging shots.)

Intermission

2010-07-20T19:43:00.005-07:00

I'm not ignoring that I didn't post on Monday. I deleted it because the aspect ratio of the YouTube wasn't fitting on the blog page. I went back to the blog party, almost a year ago now, and have looked at the coding for the YouTube items posted then.

The changes have been made to the post for Thursday. I didn't save Monday's post.

Glyn, his graphic artist friend (I'm not sure if I'm supposed to say his name), and I have been discussing the next edition of his book cover art. It is a much more detailed task than most people realize. I really appreciate the efforts being made and can't wait to show everyone the new version.

In the mean time, I'm posting the PowerPoint project that I converted to Window's Movie Maker so I could upload it to YouTube.

The biggest disappointment to me in the project is that the slide transitions in the PowerPoint were awesome and nothing really compared as choices in the MM software. After several weeks of working on it, I simply removed all the transitions except the first one, which was not in the PowerPoint.

The project is a collection of unsolicited comments about my books from some of you. All were used with permission, of course, and most of them are on my website. There are some of my beach photos too, for you to enjoy.

The headliner for me is Carolyn Sheppard's song "Broken Rock" recorded by the UK band, Shave the Monkey.

Please watch and listen. To view a larger version, click on the video and view it on YouTube or go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsPHmAxRYJA

more covers...

2010-07-15T02:01:00.002-07:00

One thing about it, my first drafts of cover concepts sure inspired others. Here is one sent to me (below). I like the seeming simplicity of the background, it doesn't rival the people. Keep in mind that these artists have not read the book, so they are working off of my concepts.

In the book, the people are the story. There is little discription of the estate. I'm sure I'm not the only American with a somewhat lacking understanding of British estates or council estates as I'm learning to call them. That might even be where we borrowed the idea of HOAs - Home Owner's Associations that govern the basic conduct of the area (housing development).

So back to art... this is balanced. If I could, I'd remove the larger tree on the left because I'm thinking less about art and more about getting the copy on the back cover to pop out to the shopper. On this one, I'd probably transluse the spine and back cover background. Lots of nice space on the front for the title, but not sure about where the author name goes.

There is a bit of unwritten rule about author names. If you look at the big name writers, their name is almost always larger or as large as the tile. With lesser known writers, the pitch is to have a catchy title and use it to sell the book more than the author's branding.

I like the people placement on this one because the story is the doctor (the guy in the middle). Gotta have doc's feet in the scene though. That drives me nuts to have him standing on his lower legs.

This one takes Glyn's background photo and fixes many of the elements that drove everyone crazy with my concept drafts. The focus in the title and the photo needs to be on the doctor. He is very much the main character. Nice artistic touch to reverse the light/dark on the spine from the light/dark in the background. I don't think I would have thought of doing that. That makes the spine text tricky and it certainly needs to have the author name on the spine and a copule other fixes. Ignore the fence post, we aren't going to leave that, but drafts are concept pieces, the details get worked out later.

This one takes the background and moves it to a residential setting. Either works for the storyline. I rather not have a pink tint, but that is easily fixed. Mostly the same issues exist in this one as the others, but as I said, this is a concept stage of development.

No way is this book that fat, but nice pitch for the concept.

The main point of posting this exercise is to make writers aware that while it is easy to upload to one of many online DIY sites, just plopping a cover on a template isn't all that great of an idea.

Anyone who wants to play with concepts for this cover, be my guest. Send them to me in an email, preferably as a pdf file.

The Evolution continues

2010-07-13T00:03:00.005-07:00

Your comments from yesterday were helpful. I played around a bit (mostly with fonts - I have hundreds of them, most I've acquired slowly over the past 10 years).

We aren't finished yet. At any time could scrap the whole thing and start over.

The differences in this one from yesterday (scroll down to the previous post) is the front cover and spine font. Plus the gentleman on the left has been lightend to mirror the man on the right, thus leaving the Doc in the center, darkest.

On this one, I took the background and played with it. The original file was rather small, so there is only a certain amount of enlarging before it gets grainy (pixelated). I totally forgot to deal with the distracting fence post, but that is easily fixed. I lost contrast on the synopsis text and no, can't do the text in more than one color. I removed the boxes from behind the guys. Actually, I simply moved those layers below the background so they are out of sight. The background is full, no translusing. Yes, I think I did make up that word.

I could make each word in the title a single layer and change font sizes with the articles a smaller size. Might do later. No time tonight.

The font is Bernard MT Condensed in case you want to goggle it. Hmmm, let me see if I can make a screen shot of that enlarged for you. BRB

(The red line running through the middle is the spine area, so this isn't what it would look like at all.)

Okay - now that I've looked at it 'big,' I'm not loving it.
Right, well comment and let's see where we go from here.

Book Cover Evolution

2010-07-12T00:03:00.008-07:00

Glyn wanted to run this by everyone for comments. You saw the cover synopsis the other day. Here is the book cover that goes with it.

Glyn sent a photo of the snow last winter, then the three men (and some others). So this is what we have at the beginning.

I thought the men needed an anchor, something so they weren't just pasted on top of the background, and also so they didn't get lost in it. So I put them on black boxes.

It was still too monochromic so I translused the background by 50% and changed the boxes to burgandy color. Looks more real with the spine text and the ISBN box, doesn't it?

Here is the synopsis as it stand now:

Doctor Peter Latymer, full of innocence and hope, arrives at his new position on a council estate in Leicester. He quickly becomes the local miracle worker. Without a grasp of the complexities of life, he sets out to right injustices that he doesn't fully understand and unravels the delicate balance between nobility and poor, and the struggling economy still reliant on rationing and the black market in post WWII England.

And Glyn's Bio:

GLYN POPE lived on a large council estate in Leicester, England. He studied theology at Nene University. Glyn and his wife and daughter moved to France where he pursues a full time writing career.

This isn't close to finished, but there is your sneek peek.

Or there is this...please watch.

Comments?

July newsletter

2010-07-11T11:22:00.003-07:00

The july newsletter is posted on my website. If you'd rather get the notice emailed to you, sign up on my website http://www.nadinelamanbooks.com/ I don't always remember to post the notice on my blog or I have something else to say and never get to it.

POP Quiz

2010-07-09T00:01:00.001-07:00

This is just a fun activity with two purposes: 1) To familiarize yourself with industry terms; 2) To give away handmade bookmarks I was given for my birthday.

As always, following instructions is important. Post a comment that you have entered the quiz, send your answers via email to NadineLaman@aol.com

Prizes (bookmarks) will be given to each person with 100% correct answers until I'm out of bookmarks. I'll need your mailing address and a real name in the email.

THE QUIZ

1) What is the difference between a galley and a proof book?

2) Define the following terms: Literary Agent; Acquisition Editor.

3) What is the difference between editing and rewrites?

4) Define a content editor and line editor's role?

5) My books have a theme. What is each theme? (Hint, look on my website if you don't have my books).

I'll post the answers when the entries cease.

Test, mic check...

2010-07-08T06:24:00.001-07:00

Well, this isn't really a mic check and no band is going to start playing shortly. However, this is a test. Would you read this book after reading the following?

Why or why not? What works and doesn't work in this blurb for the back of a book. Please comment.

Set in post WWII England on a country estate, a doctor arrives full of hope and the innocence of youth. He quickly becomes the local miracle worker. But without a full understanding of the realities of life, he sets out to right injustices that he doesn't fully understand and unravels the delicate balance between good and evil, rich and poor, and the struggling economy still reliant on rationing and the black market.

Worthless Moment

2010-07-06T23:59:00.009-07:00

I've done no work on writing or publishing - not even house work this evening.

I've had cut 13-14 inches of hair and donated it to a place that makes wigs for kids on chemo. I've done my nails, messed with my short hair, thought about many publishing tasks waiting for my attention, but tonight I've been on holiday being all girly. (The photo is right after the cut, before I did "stuff" to my hair.)

This is how I look on my work ID badge:

Remember that look?

Anyone remember when it was this short?

Media Marketing

2010-07-06T02:33:00.008-07:00

Several months ago, you might recall, the Scottsdale Microsoft Store hosted an event for Arizona authors. I created a PowerPoint presentation, per the list of requirements sent to us.

It was my first time to use PowerPoint, but it wasn't hard to figure out. I should say, I use 2007, the one with the ribbon toolbar. Carrie Sheppard gave me permission to use her song, Broken Rock. I imported a font that not everyone has, but I thought added to it. I've attached the first slide for you to see.

The problem was that I wanted to use it elsewhere and not everyone has PowerPoint on their computer. The other problem is that PowerPoint doesn't upload to YouTube.

I called my buddy who runs a media company. He said they could make the PowerPoint into a Flash file for $80 an hour and it would take about 6-8 hours. Now my PowerPoint is pretty good, but probably not that good for that amount of money, at least not with my current budget.

Being the geek that I am - kidding, I learned to use Windows Movie Maker when I needed a video for something else several years ago. Those files easily upload to YouTube.

Once again, PowerPoint doesn't just drop in to Movie Maker and convert. With some research, I learned how to make my PowerPoint slides into jpg files and began the process of rebuilding my presentation in Movie Maker. I'm almost finished with it. Hopefully, I'll have the YouTube to show you when I post next time.

So why am I saying this? Because writers need marketing skills. They aren't hard to learn if you're a patient and inquisitive person. The point is, people will watch a short YouTube, 3-5 minutes (the max that YouTube uploads is 10 min). Those can be linked on a blog, website and nearly everywhere else on the internet. Plus, it is a good idea to put the link in your email auto signature.

The only thing to remember is that all the content of your YouTube must be used with permission or under your own copyright. The other thing is that an enterprising American has trademarked the terms, "Book Trailer," so you can't use that because they do pursue people who do.

It is never too soon to think about the media promotions you can make for your book.

A Rose by Any Other Name...

2010-07-03T23:04:00.008-07:00

The rose bit might work for roses, but it doesn't work for genre definition.

It has been a busy week at Cactus Rain Publishing. My day job allowed me only a few minutes in the evenings to attend to Joyce's emails (http://www.designbyjoyce.com). We have been through seven test pages just to get to the point of having a fairly decent (awesome) opening page from which she can build the website template for Cactus Rain Publishing.

Now we have some working links and back pages to the site. I'm getting jazzed as this takes shape. In polling the Cactus Rain authors, the general opinion is thumbs up. Now how many authors get input or even sneak peeks at their publisher's website?

For those who are curious, I'm using the site at the link below to define the genre for the titles on the Cactus Rain Publishing site. If some of you are having trouble deciding what genre you write, look here. http://agentquery.com/genre_descriptions.aspx There are tons of these lists on the internet, but this is the one I've used from the beginning. If you are thinking of querying Cactus Rain, then use this genre list when specifying your genre in the query letter.

I've seen query letters where the writer has no sense of what genre they have written, for example, historical-horror-fantasy. Nope, don't go there. For one thing, historical and fantasy don't actually go together. Pick one.

I write, as I've said before, literary fiction. It is one of the hardest genre to pitch (and sell) to an agent and publisher. People want fast reads, like adventure or thriller, things that skim the cream on the top. The storylines cover short time periods and the voice is quick - page turners. Literary fiction is a meandering style. It is more sensual in the exploration of the characters and setting. It isn't a mindless diversion from real life.

If you're the type who plans, then start with the genre and write from there. For those who are even more of a business planner, research the market and try to anticipate where it will be three years from now - there you go, a nice little weekend project - or maybe not.

Just so you know, this is post number 299! Not bad for someone who didn't want a blog. I let the first anniversary of First Draft (April 2009) pass quietly.

Salt of the Earth

2010-06-28T00:02:00.003-07:00

When my grandfather said someone was the "Salt of the Earth" it was a sincere compliment. I'm pretty sure saying something is the "Meat and Potatoes" of it, is also from that era.

Glynis Smy is one of my favorite bloggers. There are tons of blogs by aspiring writers. Many of them I find boring. But Glynis' blog is unpretentious thoughts and questions of an aspiring writer. I love reading her blog.

While there are many people near and dear to me, I have to say that Glynis is one who is always supportive of my antics - and loves me anyway.

I think it is wonderful that Glynis has opened the door to the experience of writing in first person. I often speak of first person writing as an actor getting into character, for it is just that, experiential. It is on a level that I find hard to describe to someone who hasn't written in first person. It is sensual. I think it is a risk [worth taken] to examine the character from such a personal level.

While readers take a bit to adjust to the style, I think the writer/reader connection is greater. There is less emotional distance, less safety in being so exposed. But I think the experience for the writer and the reader is well worth the risk. Why the industry clings so tight fisted to third person, I cannot understand. Go for it, Glynis. I believe in you!

The meat and potatoes award is posted on the side bar. Please visit (and follow) Glynis' blog. http://www.glynissmy.com/2010/06/meat-and-potatoes.html

The Weekend Cometh...

2010-06-25T20:18:00.000-07:00

It's finally Friday. In Arizona, it is too hot to be outdoors for long, which makes it a good time to read. Lots of people have electronic readers or apps for their phones to read ebooks.

The general consensus in the publishing industry is that money can be made from ebooks. Of course, the details of how to make money from ebooks varies from source to source.

Cactus Rain Publishing does not offer ebooks. The current ebook climate is too disorganized, in my opinion. In some cases the ebook isn't stored permanently on the eReader, so there is a second fee to "download" it again. Some systems store the ebooks in "your" library on the retailer's server, which reminds me of paying to borrow a library book.

The readers are totally cool. There are tons of options of handheld devices to chose from for those loving gadgets. I think there is something else coming once we cycle through the "more of the same" phase and someone comes up with a new idea.

I'm working on something that I think makes ebooks actually work better for the [human] reader. This project has been in the works for four years. There are all kinds of technical issues, non-disclosure agreements, patent processes, and of course, the big one - funding.

In a nutshell, [whoops, nope, I can't write that on the internet and have someone with more money than me - nearly anyone you can think of who has a hand in ebook delivery - take my project and keep it for their device only].

The main point is, Cactus Rain may eventually offer ebooks in a new design, but for now, we are stuck with good 'ol printed books.

Inside Scoop

2010-06-23T02:51:00.001-07:00

We will be 'rolling out' the test pages of Cactus Rain Publishing's website soon. I need four or five people (don't have to be in the US) who check their email daily and want to give feedback on the test pages.

Email me if you're interested. Sorry, no pay, but you can have bragging rights!

Query Letters

2010-06-21T23:11:00.004-07:00

The weekend was spent working on Cactus Rain projects. I kept thinking that I must stop and blog, but I didn't.

One of the things that I rarely discuss is the query letter. I have written some of the world's worst query letters, so I'm not the person to ask for help. Although I can say it is much different reading them as a publisher.

One thing I've noticed is that since query letters can be sent as email, not as much attention seems to go into them. It is still a business proposal. I've found that many of the ones I've received are much too lax and casual. Draft them and sit on the a few days. Clean up the grammar and spelling. I know I'm dyslexic, but even I notice that stuff. What do you think the big New York agents think when they see a query - that it reflects how the writer writes, that's what.

Another thing, don't pad the query with hollow credentials. It is not impressive to win some little known award, especially from a writer's group. I know books and articles about writing queries say to list all your writing 'credits' and activities. Frankly, I'm just fine with someone who doesn't go to critique groups. It is worth listing if you've gone to a workshop or conference and met the agent there or at least heard them speak.

You must work on your 'elevator pitch' so that you can tell the whole store in 4 or 5 sentences in the query letter. Trust me, no one cares what the middle name of your character is, leave it out unless it is vital to the story. Besides, that is simply boring to read and you want some excitement happening, if you're going to compete with the other query letters.

During the blog party at First Draft last year, we did an exercise of writing log lines. This comes from when scripts were logged into a catalogue at the movie studio and there was only one line to write enough so that one script could be identified from another.

It is a good exercise to practice log lines and the paragraph size synopsis. You'll need to be able to do these not only for the query letter, but for when you're interviewed or someone asks, "What is your book about?"

If you dare, then practice them in the comments. I know Glyn and DJ have books coming out this year, and both of them will probably have something to say - yes, I'm putting you on the spot. How about some of the rest of you? Glynis, Peggy, Carol Anne? Or, I guess you could write something on one of my books, if you've read them and rather not expose your book blurb yet.

Quality vs Quantity

2010-06-16T00:02:00.004-07:00

"It would be nice if the quality of book mattered rather than just what you can afford, with respect to exposure on Amazon, one said."

I've taken the above quote out of context, because I want to discuss the topic of quality. This is why I'm so picky about what Cactus Rain will publish. This is a quote from an article I'll link at the bottom, for those interested in the whole article. The issue [to me] isn't about Amazon, it is about having the money to "buy your way" to success.

There is no doubt in my mind that everyone can think of a book they've read that they couldn't finish because it was simply bad writing, or at best needed a few more rewrites and edits.

It amazes me, and a know a few people who do this, that anyone would continue reading a book they didn't like - this is probably left over from childhood when we were told to clean our plate (finish what we've started).

Writers labor hours, months - or more likely - years to get their ms into marketable shape. I can think of only a few who crank out books like rabbits have babies.

There are some publishing companies that will publish anything for a fee. It is simple to understand how the established publishers feel about them when the pros spend time and money to make sure books with their logo are quality works. This is only what readers deserve, the best book possible.

I like the good old fashion way a book rises to popularity because it is good, not because of the money behind it. Maybe I simply don't think it is fair for a really good book to prematurely fall into obscurity because someone with a lesser book can afford more advertising bling.

Seems to me that buying-in is a hollow reward in the end. That's the way I see it. What do you think, would you rather your book is a bestseller, regardless how it got there?

Link: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/43488-new-amazon-program-spurs-complaints.html

Tempus Fugit

2010-06-14T00:02:00.002-07:00

Yes, time flies. Mostly it files in manuscripts when the rewrites are done and things get moved around, like scenes and such. Or worst, when the novice insists on editing while in the midst of writing the first draft.

The best way to write a novel is straight through, beginning to end. Never, ever go back and read more than the last paragraph before starting to write each time. Please don't jump around in the ms making changes. It is a habit worst than nail biting to break, but to move from novice to professional writer, it must be broken.

I have a friend who is one of the most stubborn women I've ever met. Honestly, when I read her ms I can tell that she has jumped back and forth while writing the first draft. Not only are there gaps and time flying involved, the tone of the characters zig-zag until I'm certain they must be schizophrenic with the number of mood changes occurring.

It is a bear to fix the time changes and gaps. One way that works (and is a lot of work) is to go through and read the ms in a printed copy - away from the computer and temptation to change other things. Write it in the margin every time change, (Friday, Tuesday, two weeks later, morning or afternoon ...something very clear). It usually means an extra read-through because it is hard to focus on too many things to check at once. But if beta readers are making notes that say, "What day is it?" then it must be done. You can bet that an agent or their reader will catch it and it might be the final blow to getting a contract offered.

That is the easy part compared to sorting out an unintentional moodiness in characters that comes from jumping around while editing or writing the first draft. I've know some who write scenes; keeping them in their own documents then stringing the scenes together with bridges. That equates to the biggest mess I've ever seen. I won't read those mss, it is just not a good way to create a storyline for fiction.

Seriously, only work on your ms from beginning to end. Regardless of whether you are writing the first draft or in the rewrite process, never jump around in the middle. Your readers might not be able to put their finger on what it is that isn't quite right, but people in the industry will see it right off.

The only way I know to fix a mixed up moody character, when that wasn't the plan and really doesn't work even if it was, is to get help. You're either going to have to hire a professional content editor or owe your best friend something very special.

Print two copies of your ms. Get your friend and some snacks and settle in for a long weekend of serious work. Don't think you can pawn it off on your friend, you have to be involved or shell out the big bucks for a pro. Read the ms aloud, but not so fast that it isn't being heard by either of you. The friend's job is to notice, if you don't, when characters are out of character. Then you have to decide if it adds to the story or is simply sloppy writing. Be honest. If a character is talking in a way that they should develop into later (you jumped around), then it has to be fixed. If a character knows something they shouldn't know yet (you jumped around), then it has to be fixed.

I know some people think it is okay to bank scenes for later and write to them. Fine, but know this: very few writers can pull that off and the tone (your voice as the writer) will show as it change from one scene to another with the "bridges" between, especially if the scenes were written out of sequence.

I bet after this, no one will write out of sequence again. That is my hope anyway.

Something useful

2010-06-09T20:15:00.002-07:00

Whether it is researching the business end of things from trends to licenses and legal issues or being on the creative side of the mind, patience is the key. One of the things I find the least exciting is building a business plan. There is very little motivation behind it because with this [USA] economy and the state of the industry, no bank is going to loan me money for a start up publishing company.

Patience to plan and save the funding for each step of the process to build a business, any business, is a slow process. When I think of creating the web content or the more creative aspects of the company, it makes the mundane more manageable.

The same is true when writing fiction. The first draft is the worst draft. It takes nerves of steel not to jump the gun and push an ms through the process before it is ready for the light of day. Almost everyone I know dreads the third or fourth or twentith rewrite, never mind editing. But once into the process, it isn't so bad and usually takes on a momentum of its own as the ms becomes refined.

Same is true for the query process. The pre-query research is mind boggling. Where to start? How to know if the agent is a good one or a dud? Do they shop the type of ms you have? Do they already have one like it under contract?

It gets tempting to ship it to the quickest, easiest online printer that can be found. I have several books in my collection that look amateurish. I have one that is out right horrid and I ache for the author. But on the other hand, they 'knew it all' and it shows in the finished product.

My Godmother once told me patience was only a virtue if it was difficult to wait. Maybe. But in this industry it isn't about waiting, it is about methodically going through the process and not stopping when discouraged, because everyone gets discouraged at some point from first word to first royalty check.

Keep the faith - keep writing.

The Publishing Industry of the Future!

2010-06-07T00:01:00.003-07:00

I chuckle at the industry news that says the publishing industry is changing, needs to change, or the really funny ones about the look of publishing in the future - as if they know the future.

First off, the industry - as any other - is changing daily. Glyn Pope mentioned in the comments the other day about a book he was reading from the 1930's and how the writing style was different from now.

Besides writing styles, the technology is ever evolving. From a better ink for the monks to use to today's digital presence, we are always looking for a better way to publish books.

When I get an ms to read the first thing I notice is the formatting. I don't know how searchable it is on this blog, but learn about formatting - it is paramount. (There are posts that cover this on somewhere in First Draft.)

Over the years, I've received some real ms messes and spent months working with the writer to get their ms in shape to query a literary agent. With Cactus Rain, I won't do that - there isn't the time. The mss have to arrive in good shape -- in writing and formatting, and the correct file type.

It is extremely important to understand how to use your software (MS Word is practically the industry standard - because it used to come installed on new computers so everyone had it for free).

With a typewriter, which some of us began with, what you saw was what you got. While the results and some of the procedure are (or can be) the same with a computer, the difference is the dynamic language of the CPU.

Because computers 'think' in a binomially language from the DOS-prompt years, (I'm sure you know, but it is a two 'letter' language for the computer that is two numbers, one and zero, often grouped in multiples of eight digits), it does not 'think' like a typewriter. Right, a typewriter does not think. "BINGO!"

A computer computes in its one's-and-zero's-mind with a 'language' called codes - you've heard of coding for websites - yes? What you see may not be what you get. Remember the time something looked fine on the screen and printed out differently - e.g., badly?

Tabbing to center something isn't the same thing (to the computer) as using the center code command to position the text. One of the biggest mistakes people make is to use the 'enter' key like the typewriter's return to get to the start of a new page.

The problem with that during editing is, if enough words are added or deleted to change the number of lines in the chapter, it will move up or down the following lines (in the next chapter). That is why it is REQUIRED to use the 'page break' command at the end of each chapter. Note that I wrote REQUIRED. Please don't forget to number the pages.

After putting the ms in basic format, such as chapters starting on a new page and double spaced line, then I am ready to read. I add paragraph and scene breaks as I read as well as turning on track changes for the comments and suggestions I make - which is basic content editing.

In the years I've been doing this for people (for free), I've seen some of them grow as writers and a few who won't take any direction from anyone, who then self-publish a book they aren't happy with in the end.

A couple of months ago someone suggested that I download a free software that is almost like Word. (Are you kidding me?) Why would I want to put extra software on my computer? I bought MS Word and Corell WordPerfect - the wantabe writer needs to provide their ms in the correct software file. Don't go all diva before it is time. Buy the correct software to be a real writer - your competition will, every year thousands of writers do this stuff correctly and get published.

Please don't send mss to me to content edit. I don't have the time. Once I announce that I'm accepting unsolicited mss, feel free to send a query in the usual, industry standard manner.

While I don't do formula writing, there is a 'formula' or industry standard to getting a book from the first draft to the published book. Research my blog and other sources of information and learn how to do it right, so you succeed in your dream to be a published author.

June Newsletter

2010-06-05T21:17:00.001-07:00

The June newsletter is posted on my website now. Some of the notices with hotmail addresses bounced back, if you're wondering why you didn't get the notice, that might be why.

'Tis true!

2010-06-04T00:02:00.003-07:00

Today is my birthday. To celebrate, I'm putting my books on sale on my website for the whole month. Click the link in the side bar to get there from here.

(I took a road trip last weekend - bet you get that song stuck in your head)

Where's the purse?

2010-06-02T18:03:00.003-07:00

There is a saying in fiction: "Dropping alligators over the transom." I've been told it doesn't make sense except to American's. (I'm not sure young Americans have any idea what a transom is either.)

My explanation is this: Prior to air conditioning, buildings had a small window above the door that could be opened. With the exterior window open, perhaps a fan or two, and the transom open the room could be tolerable with the cross ventilation and the door could be locked.

Obviously, alligators are not going to get into the locked room unless someone heaves them through the transom. The point is, writers shouldn't drop solutions to problems in their ms out of the blue.

On that note, my friend from England was here and read to me several scenes from the book she was reading. It was an English book, so it was grand to hear it read in English, complete with the appropriate dialect for the characters. Through several scenes in a cursed camping trip, the grandmother clutched her purse - no mater what the disaster was. She even fell in the wet ground and slipped toward the cliff - clutching her purse. When the worst yet (in the story) disaster struck and everyone barely escaped with their life, there was no mention of the purse. Had it gone over the cliff in the caravan (camper) or did the old woman manage to take it with her as she jumped and fell to the ground?

That still bothers me. What happened to the purse? I know it is insignificant in the big picture of the storyline. But the author had made such a point of mentioning it with every mention of grandmother, that I can't believe the editors at the publishing house (traditionally published, so there were editors) didn't catch that.

It would be easy to fix. After safeguarding the purse with such determination, one of the family could have a peek and fine there was nothing in it, or her false teeth (not sure she had false teeth, I'm just making this up) or it could have been lost when the caravan went crashing into the sea and some mention of what was in it.

This is the type of thing that I'm very particular about with the Cactus Rain writers - just ask them. This is why having good beta readers is so important. Perhaps it wouldn't matter to an agent or an acquisition editor at some big publishing house - it seems not to have mattered in getting this book published. But why take the chance? I think it was sloppy writing. What do you think?

When writers cry

2010-05-27T23:32:00.001-07:00

My heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with my friend Joy Collins. While they were vacationing in New York this week, her husband John died suddenly.

If you've been to this blog a few times, you've heard me mention Joy or seen her comments. Please keep her in your thoughts.

Cactus Rain eBooks

2010-05-20T00:02:00.002-07:00

It isn't likely that Cactus Rain will publish eBooks. Once the book has been transformed into eBook format, the cost is relatively low from there on out. So why is there a price war on Amazon with several large publishers and Kindle books?

Like I wrote in the previous post, books are the product that pays the company expenses. So eBooks have to pay for the staff, furniture for the staff, electricity and everything else used to run a business so the eBook can be produced. The whole idea of being in business is to turn a profit. Publishers generally are not charity enterprises.

Remember way back when video formats came out with VHS and BetaMax? Every government office I worked in had a video machine and they were all Beta. The cassettes were not interchangeable. At least the new BluRay machines will play the old DVDs.

While we embrace technology in many ways there is still an awe associated to my 100+ year old books on my bookshelf. There is something about the aging leather cover, the vivid lithograph pictures, and the print - typeset, mind you - on the page that no StarTrek technology can emulate.

Social media, eBooks, phone apps, all of it is fun...but does it deliver a lasting product? Will anyone run the tips of their fingers over an eReader in a hundred years?

I have a resource for the authors who want their books eFormated and distributed. However, every time I've given in to peer pressure the results have disappointed me. Mostly I've been disappointed that I didn't stand on my convictions. I always come back to the thought that it was The Emperor's New Clothes. (If you don't know that children's story, go buy the book. Don't borrow it, you need a copy to keep.)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/7734166/The-majority-of-Britons-are-still-wedded-to-CDs-DVDs-and-books.html

If it wasn't late, I'd draw the Cactus Rain logo cactus with an eReader...just for this post.

Why are books so expensive?

2010-05-18T00:02:00.015-07:00

People see books at boot sales (garage sales) for a few pennies - certainly $1.00 would be the top price. In bookstores the retail price seems high in comparison to buying them used or borrowing from a friend makes us stop short.

Libraries buy 2 - 3 copies of the best sellers at a discounted price and hundreds of people read them, but there was only 2-3 purchased and that means only the revenue from 2-3 came to the publisher and eventually to the author, if the advance had been met.

All of that expected loss revenue is factored into the list price of the book - exactly what I did when I priced my books to go onto Amazon.com. (BTW, my books will be on sale on my website in June for my birthday gift to you.)

It is far too complicated to talk about wholesale pricing with co-ops in bookstores without making this a long post (and online retail is another set of formulas). Leave it to say for now that the math would make any reasonable person's head spin.

Even when large advances are not paid, there is still the staff to pay, electricity and plumbing, building rent or mortgage payments with property taxes, building insurance and all the employment taxes, the computers, the special equipment plus the standard copy, fax, printers, water coolers and furniture... to be bought or paid for in any business, even publishers.

Since there are few bestsellers in comparison to the number of books published in a year (estimated by one source as 20,000 a day), those are the ones who carry the weight of the budget. Without them, risks couldn't be taken on debut writers or new twists to old genres.

In today's publishing industry the digital explosion has meant that not only are print book formatted by experts in fonts and layout, but digital books (eBooks) require a unique layout. (Yes, I know there are some who think a pdf version of the print book is an eBook - it isn't exactly so.)

And there is a web presence element that is in the budget of any business, especially publishers. Joyce, my web designer, and I have been working for months on the website for Cactus Rain Publishing. We started last fall. After we drafted two designs then we had to have the logo designed professionally. Joyce helped and there is a blog on that somewhere. Laura did the graphic design work on the logo.

This past weekend Joyce and I worked on the fourth draft of the website template. We have spent hours of conversations and emails discussing what the site needed to achieve and how it should function.

Above is the tweaked version four. What do you think?

A matter of opinion

2010-05-16T08:53:00.004-07:00

My friend in California and I were talking [on the phone] the other day about how it seems that when [some] friends read our works, they feel they should critique them. We decided they meant well, but it is published now, so there is no "fixing" anything at this point. Besides, I'm not sure anything needs fixed. The funny thing too is these are non-writer people.

There are writing groups for that sort of thing - before it is published. I suppose book clubs might take it in a different direction, more about what the story meant to them. Classrooms of people might analyze the style and the mechanics of the work. Reviewers give an overview, some times telling key points that become spoilers.

I certainly think because I wrote a trilogy it is easy to see what is my style and what growth occurred as a writer in other areas over time. But then, one is a bit locked into a form when the books are a set, a trilogy.

Will my future books be different, of course. The characters are much different so they will have different voices. There will not be the extensive interior dialogue that Kathryn had. Also, I won't do diary entries again. Nothing wrong with doing them, just each book should be its own work.

We all have our own ideas of what makes a good book good. Publishers try to figure out that combination of factors for target audiences that makes a book into a commercial property. Plus they look at what the author is like and hope the agent can baby set the debut writers as well as the divas - male and female.

As a boutique publisher I probably look at the second factor even more than larger publishers do. I'm at about a 75% rejection rate for queried works. I doubt there has ever been an ms come through the door at any publisher that is totally ready to go. How the author reacts to rewrite requests has a lot to do with whether I'll offer a contract.

I let one ms go that I liked and thought had a strong audience base. The writing was weak and the author unwilling to work at improving it. "Mom" telling the writer that it is perfect isn't the same as someone in the publishing business reading the ms.

Another surprise to beginning writers is that most of the time the title is changed, so assume your title is a working title. Don't fall in love with it. The publisher will probably change it. However do title your works. I think writers need titles to set the tone of the book for them; it needs a name so it can be written. Not to mention it has to be called something in the query letter.

Do you get unexpected critiques of your works?

What's next?

2010-05-12T00:44:00.002-07:00

For those who emailed asking if I was "okay," thank you and yes. I'm fine. If I wasn't, I'd be the first to do something about it. Work is taking far more of my time and energy than I anticipated.

Quite frankly I'm not sure what else to do with this blog. I like teaching, but I don't feel I'm a total expert on the subject of writing (or anything else). I write a type of fiction that isn't all that popular with publishers; literary and in first person present tense. Yes, I'm a fairly good writer and I know a lot, but so do a lot of other people.

I'm not sure what is interesting or useful to my blog readers. I know time is precious and if you're going to read my blog, I owe you my best -- which is damn little at the moment. So I need to hear from you either in the comments or in an email what you like and want for First Draft.

One thing I thought of doing, but never would, is to start a blind blog and blog about work. But since I like my job, I don't think I should immortalize my coworkers' antics. I know they don't read this blog, but they might find the other one (that I'm NOT going to do) and not think my version of the truth is all that funny.

With all the pirating and unauthorized digitalization of print books, I have thought if that is the case, I might as well post my book like an old time newspaper or magazine serial. But honestly, would that really hold anyone's interest? I suppose it might if we dissected it chapter-by-chapter, but who would want to do that?

There has been some fan fiction about the trilogy. I find it interesting, but with each change in the storyline, it causes future changes and sometimes multiple changes as a result and in the end takes Kathryn's story where I had not planned it to go. If I do a fourth book, Beyond Beaches, that storyline has to stay in tack. However, if you're inclined to write fan fiction, be my guest. I don't mind as long as you don't publish it.

Changing the storyline would be an exercise to try if you get stuck in your current work in progress (WIP), but me, I just toss out everything and start over. I'm certainly not possessed by such a fondness of my writings that I can't dispose of them and begin again.

What I'd like to do is move First Draft into talking about the behind-the-scene story of Cactus Rain Publishing. Would that interest anyone? Please comment.

Storm Surge

2010-05-10T12:24:00.003-07:00

Some of my coworkers are reading my books. Once again, we go through the conversation of mistaking me for Kathryn.

Sometimes it is funny and I admit that it means my idea of a faux memoir worked - too well, perhaps.

Kathryn's Beach and High Tide were written in 2000. Do any of you remember the third book's working title was Atonement? (Everyone hated it.) Atonement, the movie, came out and I changed titles.

Some will remember that it took months to come up with the new title, Storm Surge. It had to be two words and have to do with "ocean" somehow. I hadn't wanted an alliteration for the title, but hey, that is how it turned out.

In 2009, I dumped the ms and started over; keeping only the bones of the first chapter and the characters from the first two books.

Most people think Storm Surge is the best of the three books. It is certainly more like people expect storylines to go. It is, perhaps, less literary in writing style than Kathryn's Beach. Storm Surge is less funny, and less dialogue too, than High Tide.

If you've read Storm Surge and want to comment on what you liked best or least, leave a message. You can comment anonymously, if you like. Please don't tell what happens to Kathryn, though. And if you haven't read it, comment anyway - what the heck!