Why the Author by Jo A. Wilkins

Published by a commercial imprint or self-published, marketing your book falls on your shoulders. You can depend on the publishing house to secure venues to publicize your book, but, in all cases, the readers want to hear from and/or rub elbows with the author of their favorite genre.

Why is this you ask. Well, you as an author have built a world or situation that takes the reader away from their humdrum lives. You take them into a place where they can live out a situation or fantasy that they don’t have the ability or (in some cases) the courage to experience.

Take me for example. I am an introvert with many phobias. I’m claustrophobic, I have a fear of heights, and I am afraid of flying, etc. So, what do I write, I write science fiction that takes place in the future, on other planets and more than scary for me, out in space. And how do we get from one place to another? We FLY in metal ships that, in most cases, have cramped quarters and are speeding through the nothingness of space.

The scene I get the most comments on is one where a passenger on the protagonist’s ship lets his fear of flying influence a dream he has while flying to a newly colonized world. It accentuates his fear of being caught in the depths of space with nothing to support him -- no air, no rescue, and a tight, one-person escape pod to climb into.

Or, take the author of Seraphim Sword, Jeff Ketner, whose book we released on November 15th. He has lived confined to a wheelchair with MS all his life. He created a world in his book where he runs free to chase demons and witches. He writes his fantasy of freedom – to move about unfettered and fight the evils of the world he created.

These are the reasons why readers want to hear from the author, not the publisher. To see why and question how they came up with the story that sucked them into the author’s world. This is why James Patterson’s publisher never holds his books up on the commercials. The readers want to see Mr. Patterson and hear why he thinks his new book is right for them to read.

Authors who attend book signings or shows and sit back in a chair at the back of the booth (or as I watched on one occasion an author who knitted and ignored her prospective customers) are the ones who sell nothing. If you stand outside the booth or at the table and talk to prospective buyers as they pass, you have a chance to sell that book you slaved over. I know one author who does magic tricks to entice customers to his table. Myself, I tell my authors to keep a bowl of candy on the edge of their table and a poster of reviews behind them.

Just like publishers who receive thousands/millions of submissions each year are overwhelmed by who to choose, readers are inundated by the number of books produced each year. Why should they choose your book? What does it offer them? They will never know if you, the author, don’t let them in on the secret.

So, to sum it up, advertising a novel is more productive when done by the author. If authors care about their books and are proud to show them off, then the reader might be intrigued enough to take a chance purchasing a copy.

Making Time for Writing By Mary Einfeldt

Fun Fact: In order to be a writer, you actually have to sit down and write. While this sounds pretty straightforward, things can get complicated, fast.

An average day for me goes something like this: I wake up with every intention of getting a solid 1000 words down. I plop down at the table, open up my laptop, and am promptly reminded by my two-year old that she needs a chocolate milk. RIGHT NOW. By the time I finally make it back to my computer, I have assembled a meal (or two) for a bevy of young humans, assisted in the cleaning of a spilled chocolate milk, started a load of laundry, folded a single load of laundry while watching a half a season of Parks & Rec, ferried the youngsters to and from the library, loaded and unloaded the dishwasher a couple times, scrolled through a small novel’s worth on Facebook, and a few other not-so-minor tasks. And now it’s 11:00 p.m. So much for my solid 1000 words.

While my experience is certainly not universal, it’s not terribly unique either. Most of us have the desire to write, but struggle finding the time amidst the whirlwind of daily life.
I can’t, unfortunately, loan you a time-turner, as I believe the Ministry of Magic keeps those under pretty tight security, but I can offer up a few suggestions that may help you manage your writing time more efficiently.

Make Writing a Priority

In his book Zen in the Art of Creative Writing, Ray Bradbury talks about how he spends an hour writing first thing each morning. Before breakfast, before shower, before everything else. This time of day may or may not work for everyone, but one thing is clear. You need to make your writing a priority. It’s like going to the gym. If you don’t schedule it and make it a priority, you’ll keep putting it off. If first thing in the morning isn’t your jam? Find a time during the day where you know you can get at least an hour of uninterrupted work in, and stick to it. Schedule it in your calendar, set a reminder on your phone, whatever you need to do.

Get a Support System

Once you have your writing time scheduled, you need to get your people on board. This may be the most important part of this whole list. Regardless of your situation in life, you need to have a team who can support you in your writing endeavors. First and foremost, you need to communicate with them. If you have family, get them on board with you. Ask for help when you need it. In my case, enlisting the support of my spouse and my older kids is crucial. Whether it’s keeping an eye on the little ones or taking a chore off my to-do list, they make this all possible. However, even if you’re not in the midst of family life, keep your support system in mind If you’re constantly ditching out on basketball games or D&D night with your buddies to work on your book, relationships could suffer. Make sure you let your pals know how important both your writing, and they themselves, are to you. These will be the ones who will be your first book buyers down the road.

“A Clean, Well-Lighted Place”

Settle on the best place to let your creative juices flow. Hemingway and J. K. Rowling found success writing in cafes, Chuck Palahniuk wrote in busy public spots, and Stephen King believes the most important attribute of your writing space needs to be a door. Regardless of which environment fits you best, make sure that you designate a spot that best suits your writing needs. For me, it’s the library. I can separate myself from the distractions and responsibilities of home, plug in some noise cancelling ear buds, and focus solely on the task at hand.

Defeating Distractions

Last of all, your writing time needs to be as free from distraction as humanly possible. Keep that Facebook tab closed! Leave your phone in another room! Lock your kids in the closet! Ok, no, maybe that’s a bit too far. This is where the first three items on our list all work together to make sure you can use your writing time effectively. Schedule yourself a time when you can put aside other responsibilities, make sure your support system has your back (aka, leaving you alone), settle into your writing space, and let your imagination go crazy.

In addition to these tips, remember to keep your goals realistic. Set schedules that will reasonably work with your own unique situation. Don’t get down on yourself if everything doesn’t run smoothly from the get go. Allow yourself time to get into good habits, and tweak things as necessary. Jobs change, kids grow up, and situations can take your life down some unexpected paths, but as long as your commitment to writing is there, you can make it work. So keep going, and good luck!

Illusive Ellipses by Rachelle Abbott

Why so much trouble over such little dots . . .? The ellipses points are used to show missing words. In a way, it is like an apostrophe being used to show a missing letter in a contraction.The trouble usually arises over when to use three dots and when to use four. (Darn those English professors who taught all the ways to use the ellipses, and now, only pieces and parts of those rules remain swirling around in your brain.) My suggestion is when in doubt, and you can’t look up the rule, use three points.

Having said that, I think the best idea is to know the exact rules and use them appropriately. Because Mystic Publishers uses the Chicago Manual of Style as the final word on editing, I will be using that text to support the rules for using ellipses.

There are essentially three methods of using ellipsis dots:

1. The three-dot method (used general works and some scholarly ones).
2. The three-or-four-dot method (used for most scholarly works).
3. The rigorous method (used for legal works and textual commentary).

I am only going to discuss the three-dot method because for our purposes of writing stories, whether fiction or non-fiction, this is the method that should be used. Only three points are used no matter where the omission occurs, whether the omission is at the beginning, the middle, or the end. It is also only three points if entire sentences or paragraphs are removed. The most common use of the ellipses points in fiction is in dialogue. It is used to show that the speaker is fading into or out of his/her own thoughts leaving things unsaid to the reader. If the speaker is being cut off either by another speaker, an event, or action, then the EM dash is used to show this. The Ellipses can also be used to show a long pause, hesitation, or fragmented speech.

Let me give a few examples:

1. “I wish I had never met you! I wish we had never kissed! I wish. . .” Slamming her fists against his chest, Brynn’s body begged for him to hold her once more. (Notice that even though the ellipses signal the end of a sentence, and the capital “s” signals the start of a new sentence, you only use three ellipses.)
2. He tiptoed to the door and leaned his ear against the cold mahogany wood and heard crumbs and shards of hushed words, “. . .please. . .my family. . .never. . .please.” (Notice that there are still only three points whether there is one word missing or many.)
3. Fidgeting with the threads hanging from the hem of her shirt, Lucy couldn’t manage to meet his questioning eyes. “I didn’t mean to . . . ,” she said through clenched teeth and searched for the right words to continue. (Notice that the comma is still used as it should be at the end of a quote and before a dialogue tag.

An example of when to use an EM dash instead of ellipses:

Wyatt took a deep breath and tried once again to help her understand, “Mom, it wasn’t my fault—".

Mom grabbed him by the shoulders, and said, “I’m not interested in whose fault it is! I just need this fixed.”

            *                      *                      *                      *                      *                      *                     

Wyatt took a deep breath and tried once again to help her understand, “Mom, it wasn’t my fault. . .”

Mom grabbed him by the shoulders, and said, “I’m not interested in whose fault it is! I just need this fixed.”

(Notice that written the first way, Wyatt is trying to explain but is interrupted by his mom. In the second example, Wyatt fades off in thought without finishing his sentence.)

I hope this helps demonstrate how to use the ellipses in writing narratives. The other rules of using the ellipsis . . . well, that is a post for another day!

Common Writing Mistakes by Richard Draude

When you're writing, are you tempted to use adverbs to punch up your pros. Don't!

EMPTY ADVERBS

Actually, totally, absolutely, completely, continually, constantly, continuously, literally, really, unfortunately, ironically, incredibly, hopefully, finally – these and others are words that promise emphasis, but too often they do the reverse. They suck the meaning out of every sentence.I defer to People Magazine for larding its articles with empty adverbs.

A recent issue refers to an “incredibly popular, groundbreakingly racy sitcom.” That’s tough to say even when your lips aren’t moving. In Still Life with Crows, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child describe a mysterious row of corn in the middle of a field: “It was, in fact, the only row that actually opened onto the creek.” Here are two attempts at emphasis (“in fact,” “actually”), but they just junk up the sentence. Remove them both and the word “only” carries the burden of the sentence with efficiency and precision.(When in doubt, try this mantra: Precise and spare; precise and spare; precise and spare.) In dialogue, empty adverbs may sound appropriate, even authentic, but that’s because they’ve crept into American conversation in a trendy way.

If you’re not watchful, they’ll make your characters sound wordy, infantile and dated. In Julia Glass’s Three Junes, a character named Stavros is a forthright and matter-of-fact guy who talks to his lover without pretense or affectation. But when he mentions an offbeat tourist souvenir, he says, “It’s absolutely wild. I love it.” Now he sounds fey, spoiled, superficial.. (Granted, “wild” nearly does him in; but “absolutely” is the killer.) The word “actually” seems to emerge most frequently, I find. Ann Packer’s narrator recalls running in the rain with her boyfriend, “his hand clasping mine as if he could actually make me go fast.” Delete “actually” and the sentence is more powerful without it.

The same holds true when the protagonist named Miles hears some information in Empire Falls by Richard Russo. “Actually, Miles had no doubt of it,” we’re told. Well, if he had no doubt, remove “actually” – it’s cleaner, clearer that way. “Actually” mushes up sentence after sentence; it gets in the way every time. I now think it should *never* be used.

Another problem with empty adverbs: You can’t just stick them at the beginning of a sentence to introduce a general idea or wishful thinking, as in “Hopefully, the clock will run out.” Adverbs have to modify a verb or other adverb, and in this sentence, “run out” ain’t it.

Look at this hilarious clunker from The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown: “Almost inconceivably, the gun into which she was now staring was clutched in the pale hand of an enormous albino.”

Ack, “almost inconceivably” – that’s like being a little bit infertile! Hopefully, that “enormous albino” will ironically go back to actually flogging himself while incredibly saying his prayers continually.

Self Editing: The Bane of Self-Publishing by Richard Draude

Think how many times you've received a reply to an email you sent out, only to noticed that your original text contained errors. It turns out that editing one’s own writing is remarkably difficult. Once they are initially missed, errors tend to become "invisible" to a writer when they review their work. Our eyes skim past them. A lot of new writers make the critical error of self-editing and think they are done.

If the publishers of writers like James Patterson, Issac Asimov, Sue Grafton, Robert B Parker, Raymond E. Fiest all require an editor to review and check their work. What makes any of us first time writes believe we are better and don't need an editor.

My co-author and I had our self-published Tyranny series picked up by a publisher in Las Vegas. What was the first thing the owner did? He tore out the first chapter (literally). We had to create a whole new chapter starting in a different place. Next he took a scene from book one and had us move into to book two. Next he underlined all the places where we did tell and not show. We sat together in a marathon session over a weekend and removed all the places he raised objection. Now the company editor is taking her turn and bringing up very good points about character development, scene description, and repetition in the story. The process is frustration at times but necessary.

I'm doing a last read-through of The Adam Eradication. I printed the entire manuscript, got away from my computer and started reading. While the manuscript is complete, and was edited twice, this read is pointing out a boat load of typos made while removing my telly pros and replacing them with pros that help the reader to see the story.

This brings to mind an elderly woman I met. She wrote a book and was very anxious to get it published. So anxious in fact she didn't want to bother having an editor read it at all. This was a huge mistake, made by those who decided to self publish.

Concerned about her book I request she allow me to send the first five chapters to the woman who did the first edit on my book. She went through the pages as a courtesy. What this editor returned shocked the woman into taking a second look and she paid the editor to run through her manuscript.

She received her red-lined manuscript back entered the edits and corrections. This writer figured she was done. I tried to convince her to have someone outside her family read through it one more time. Her reply, I made all the changes, it's ready to go.

She had 500 copies printed. After receiving cases and cases of books, her son took one home to read. He returned it to her three day later, red lined, pointing out errors on almost every page. Her concept is a good one, but instead of a book worth reading she had boxes of books that are good for little more than starting a fire.

My first editor did the work and I made the corrections. But The Adam Eradication, being my first book, I found what I considered holes in the story and proceeded to plug them. Enter a good friend (enough of a friend to tell me the truth) she did the second edit. The first thing she did was cut the last 10 chapters (48K+ words). Her analysis. Your book ends at this point. A good piece of advise. I used those 10 chapters to start the second book. (Never trash anything you've written, archive it. A good idea can be reworked to fit somewhere else)

Throughout the edit she deleted whole paragraphs as redundant. Some writer suffer from this problem some do not. I was anxious to get the story to press and rushed though the last edit. After publishing the book I gave several copies away. My friend's wife read the book and sometime later handed me her copy. She said "I love you story but --"  The book was marked with over forty sticky tabs each on a typo. Though minor typos, I learned my lesson. Fifty fire starters.

Editors cost money. Not as much as publishing an unreadable book. This mistake marks you as an amature, not serious about your craft. This kind of attitude will stop readers from ever considering reading any future work you publish, no matter how much you improve. And without someone finding your story compelling enough to look past your mistakes, no publisher will take you seriously in the future.

What can an editor do that I can't?  What can an editor do that you can't? An editor will read what you wrote, not what you think you wrote. A good editor will find your inconsistencies, help you with the language appropriate for your genre. For instance a steam punk novel's use of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, etc will be different from those used in a science fiction novel as will a fantasy fiction novel will differ from SF or romance. Next, an editor will point out your flaws in the construction of paragraphs, scene breaks and poor character development. Some writer's characters all talk the same. A good editor will point this out and help you see how to vary your character's personalities. A good editor will tell you when you've shifted you POV (Point Of View) If character A is you POV character you cannot have character B's thought in a scene or describe a scene through character B's eyes. You can if your novel is written from an omniscient POV, but few good writers use this POV anymore.

An editor will spot problems with spelling, punctuation, and grammar that can escape your notice.

Does the phrase familiarity breeds contempt. Well, familiarity with your subject can result in explanations and descriptions that are incomplete or confusing to readers. What you see in your minds eye is always what you've put on paper. An editor will ensure that your copy is intelligibly and concisely written.

You may also ask yourself why an editor is necessary when your word processing program already has spell checking capabilities. Spell check, it turns out, is only partially effective at catching problems. For example, homonyms (e.g., council/counsel) you won't find these flagged. Words used nonsensically are regularly accepted by a spell checker. These programs have nothing to say about confusing, ones needlessly wordy, jargony or telly prose.

One of the biggest helps is to join a writer's group. You read your work aloud and they critique your writing. Be advised, while most groups offer good nonthreatening environment, you need a thick skin, because it is still hard to hear your writing evaluated by others.

You took the time and effort to create a good story. Give it the polish and attention it deserves.

What’s the Character’s Motivation? by Janelle Evans

As an author and editor I feel one of the biggest struggles we face as writers is how to make our characters connect with the audience. This must happen in every story, or the reader won’t keep turning the page. How I deal with that struggle is to draw upon my years as an actor.

‘What’s my motivation?’ is something I was often asked by directors. They wanted me to take the time to create an inner dialogue for the person I portrayed. Though these inner thoughts were never shared with the audience, they helped make my outward actions, the things the audience could see and hear, more realistic. Now, if that only confused you, don’t worry. Next, I’m going to illustrate what I mean.

Below are two short scenes. In each of the scenes the action and dialogue will remain the same. The only thing I’m going to change is the motivation for the main character.

Scene 1

Why had he come back to this stupid town? It had been so hard to leave in the first place. “I can’t do this anymore.” He glared at the lines of the sidewalk passing under his feet, wishing he had more courage than to just storm out of his parent’s home like a child. He was a grown man now, for heaven’s sake! He should have acted like one, and punched his brother in the face. His hurried march barreled him into the back of a woman not moving fast enough.

“Hey.” She stumbled forward but didn’t fall. The tear-streaked face she turned his direction couldn’t have been caused by him. Her red eyes looked like she’d been at it for a while. She crossed her arms. “What’s the deal? Are you lost or something?”

“Uh…no.” He looked her up and down. She seemed familiar, but he’d been gone so long he couldn’t be sure. “Are you from around here?”

“Seriously—now you’re trying to hit on me?”

            “Of course not—you seem upset. Is there something I can do?” Jeez, why had he asked that? He had enough problems of his own, but her expression seemed so forlorn. How could he ignore it?

            “I don’t know.” She squeezed her folded arms even tighter, her eyes pooling with tears again.

            “Come on, now.” He held out his hand as an offering of comfort she could take. “How will you know unless you try?” In his thirty years of life going out of his way to help others had slapped him in the face more than once, but here he was, doing it again.

Awe…right? He sounds like such a nice man, going out of his way to help another. Now watch me turn the scene on its head by doing nothing more than changing the motivation.

Scene 2

His whole body itched for another victim. It had been so long since his last, he struggle to hide the frustration behind his easy-going demeanor. “I can’t do this anymore.” He glared at the lines of the sidewalk passing under his feet, wishing Peggy’s body hadn’t been found. Though the police hadn’t come knocking on his door, the discovery had made everyone in town hyper-aware of their surroundings. Watchful eyes were never a good thing for someone like him. His hurried march barreled him into the back of a woman not moving fast enough.

“Hey.” She stumbled forward but didn’t fall. The tear-streaked face she turned his direction couldn’t have been caused by him. Her red eyes looked like she’d been at it for a while. She crossed her arms. “What’s the deal? Are you lost or something?”

“Uh…no.” He looked her up and down. The supple curves on this woman just begged to be scratched.“Are you from around here?”

“Seriously—now you’re trying to hit on me?”  

            “Of course not—you seem upset. Is there something I can do?” He needed to keep her talking—reel her into trusting him and his friendly smiles. Her emotional state only made it that much easier for him to manipulate the situation.

            “I don’t know.” She squeezed her folded arms even tighter, her eyes pooling with tears again.

            “Come on, now.” He held out his hand. His fingers burned with so much pent-up desire it took all of his control not to lash out and force her to the ground. “How will you know unless you try?”

What a creepier take on the same moment, right? I hope these two examples help you understand the importance of showing your point-of-view character’s motivation. In fact, I would say it’s more important than the dialogue your characters actually speak. It will elevate your novels to a whole new level, and you’ll find the need for redundant actions like smiling, frowning, or brows furrowing in confusion almost disappear.

Subsidy Publishing - 4th portion of the 4 Types of Publishing series by Jo A. Wilkins

A subsidy publisher is a publisher that acts like a commercial publisher. They do produce books and go through most of the steps of a commercial publisher. However, even though they put manuscripts under contract, they do not print them unless they get their authors to pay for the cost of publication. They usually hide this criteria under the guise of having the author purchase a certain number of books before production. This usually amounts to 1000 to 2500 books.

With the exception of certain types of publishers such as university or scholarly presses, any publisher that requests a fee from the author is a subsidy publisher. These types of publishers are, in most respects exactly like the commercial publisher. In most cases, the authors are the only ones who know they are paying to have their books produced. As with commercial publishers, the books are owned by the publisher and remain in the publisher's possession and authors receive royalties on the books sold.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3