Write Good Or Die

Lazy headline writing

2011-12-15T05:47:00.000-08:00

It's no secret that the quality of journalism has declined dramatically in the Internet era--largely because of the constant pressure to add fresh content and get "clicks and eyeballs."

However, taking a moment to clarify the most important part of your article--the headline--is always worthwhile. Here is an example of a lazy headline from an Associated Press story as it appears on Yahoo (incidentally, Yahoo probably has the worst content aggregators and story presentations in the business, although I am not sure Yahoo News counts as journalism).

Penn State figures accused of lying head to court

Maybe I am the dummy, because it took me three reads to make sense of what the story was about, although I have been loosely following the PSU case. "Penn State" is the good opening hook, but "figures" is a double-meaning word, made even worse by the fact that one meaning is a verb and another is a noun. "Penn State figures" could mean "Penn State expects." So you have to go to "figures accused" and that throws a hiccup into the reader's understanding.

Then you get the "lying head." Is the head lying on a pillow? "Figures accused of lying head." Huh?

This isn't an egregious offense to written communication and meaning, but it is an example of how unclear word use and inattentive word order serve as roadblocks. No doubt some people breeze right through and translate it instantly into coherency, but in a world of many content choices, wouldn't you want an inviting doorway?

When I was a carpenter, we had a saying, "Measure twice, cut once." Sounds like good advice for writing, too.

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The Prime lending library apocalypse

2011-12-08T20:00:00.000-08:00

You can't be someone in the indie writing world without stating an opinion on Amazon's Prime lending library, which allows writers millions of readers for very little money. Amazon is asking for exclusivity for those books that indie authors opt into the program, with a $500,000 monthly earmarked for payment, based on number of checkouts.

I don't know why everyone automatically assumes this is a monstrous exploitation of authors. Every single maneuver Amazon does is always met with rampant paranoia in the indie community, the giant lifting its boot-heel. But the reality is that every one of those moves have ended up with more money for more authors than at any time in history.

What if, instead of Amazon pouring champagne on the heads of starving writers, they actually say "This has worked out better than planned and we're upping the outlay to $12 million for 2012"? They didn't go into this without some risk. Why does everyone assume the worst when Amazon single-handedly created the indie market and gave us a huge audience and untold millions of dollars?

And this is inevitable. Publishers should have done it five years ago and then they wouldn't be whining about Amazon. Sure, I am an Amazon homer, but after 15 years of writing, Amazon is the first entity that I felt any sort of true partnership with. Yes, the warm fuzzy of the megacorporation. I'm in.
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Publishing manners: Only responds if interested

2011-12-03T15:50:00.000-08:00

Dean Wesley Smith, one of the contributors to the freebie manual Write Good or Die, has a post on "But why would you... insult writers like this?"

The post is well worth reading, covering the growing habit of professionals in the publishing industry to not bother responding to queries. Dean rather eloquently points out that they do it because they can.

Previously, writers had no choice, but now the balance of power is shifting away from the middle management and to both ends of the real business--connecting writers and readers. Over the course of my own career, I watched the lack of response happen. In the late 1990s, you could pretty much count on getting a form rejection within three months of your submission. That was when publishers still looked at manuscripts.

After that, publishers started requiring agents, and agents responded to their newfound power by raising their commission from 10 percent to 15 percent. The corporate publishers merged, smaller presses folded, and soon we had the Big Six that we know today, although there are still some established small and specialty presses. All this moved the selection of marketable books into the hands of a very few people, which also caused them to be busier than ever.

The net result was that there were few of them and many, many, many writers. It was actually easier to ignore almost all writers, because they really only needed a few. Even if the 100 best books ever written all showed up at the same time, they'd still only buy five of them. Same with the worst 100 books--they'd still need five.

But that's not an excuse to ignore writers. If a writer spends a year working on a manuscript, even if the story is dog slobber, it deserves a "No, thank you." Of all the ways traditional publishing contributes to its own demise, I can't help but feel the "Only responds if interested" policy is a subtle but revealing detail about where modern publishing has arrived.

Perhaps the decline was inevitable, but it could have been embraced with a little grace, and then perhaps more writers would be saddened at the loss. As it is, we're not even sure it's any loss at all.
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Book bloggers and self-publishing: Room for mutual respect?

2011-11-23T09:12:00.000-08:00

(These are my comments on a great discussion among book bloggers at Bookalicious about whether they should accept self-published books for review).

I’d like to weigh in because I dearly love book bloggers and feel you guys are taking on a huge and important role that has been largely abandoned by the mainstream press, and even dedicated publications like PW Weekly have their own masters to obey (it’s now essentially a mouthpiece for the major publishing industry, not for books themselves).

I have been a “published author”–six books, in fact. Some did okay but they all went out of print. I’ve been self-publishing for the last two years. The quality is just as good, and in fact three of the books were previously published and I got my rights back. I feel the books I’ve written since then are even better than the ones that got published. And they are finding more readers. It’s truly a better option for most authors, and means lower ebook prices and more choices for readers.

I don’t undervalue professional input–all writers should use a qualified editor and proofreader, whether they pay for it or trade with peers. Having an agent does not make one a better writer. Having a corporate publisher does not make one a better writer (though a good editor can help any writer). The only difference between a major-press book and your average competent self-published book is luck.

I have worked with many great book bloggers. I did a 90-day blog tour that launched my first Kindle bestseller, and blogs helped immensely. I always read the review policy of bloggers before I query. If you don’t want self-published books or ebooks, I respect your choice. We all have too many books as it is.

But I do believe locking out self-published books, especially in 2011 when publishing is undergoing seismic change, means you miss the opportunity to discover the next wave of great writers, those chosen by readers instead of predetermined by the amount of the advance paid to the author (and let’s not kid ourselves, corporate bestsellers are made and not born, and get all the marketing, and get stacked up high in front of the bookstore, no matter what level of quality they are. That’s not criticism, it’s operating procedure).

There are couple of ways to deal with the floodgates that you can borrow from the industry. My first agent told me he rejected almost everything based on the query letter. “If it sounds like something I would have written, I reject it,” he said.

If a writer doesn’t read your policy, strike three. If a writer can’t write a decent sentence in a query without a grammatical error, strike three. If the writer can’t clearly communicate and inspire in a brief email, there’s probably little hope for an entire book, so strike three. These simple steps should clear out 95 percent of the pile!

One other suggestion for bloggers, one the industry gave up long ago:responding with a polite “No, thanks.” Once agents and publishers started their “Only responds if interested” policy, it immediately moved them down the scale of considerate people who respect the time and work of others and removed them even further from the people who could help them thrive. “No, thanks” takes about as long as hitting the delete button, and makes everyone sleep better.

I admire book bloggers because you put so much time and passion into what you do, with little return besides free books (and getting a box of new books from a publisher really feels like “getting something,” as opposed to having an ebook mailed to you). But as bookstores close, major publishers weaken in influence, and everyone has a device at their fingertips to consume books, they desperately need guides to help them navigate the ever-growing flood of books.

I don’t think there’s an easy choice, and it remains a personal choice. But there’s an entire, unexplored world out there, and you might be surprised what is waiting for your discovery.

Thanks for all you do bringing readers and writers together.

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Hello Indie Libraries, Good-bye James Patterson

2011-11-22T09:17:00.000-08:00

Penguin pulling ebooks from libraries the week after announcing an exploitative "self-publishing assistance" program. Author's Guild grumbling about ebooks in Amazon Prime library. Publishers continuing to price ebooks at $10 and up.

The funny thing about paradigm shifts, like any trend, is they are more than halfway over before you notice them. In fact, it seems the noticing marks the beginning of the end. Which, incidentally, is why "writing to trend" is a terrible idea.

In this case, we have tradition reeling in the velvet ropes and hoisting the gate to the ivory tower, making its content elitist, overpriced, and inaccessible. Bully for them. A bit of a rah and that. One can't be troubled by the masses when literachuhhh must be preserved at all costs.

And as one door slams closed, a hundred others open. With Amazon rumored to open its Prime lending library to indie authors, the lines are really drawn in the sand. Overdrive allows authors and small publishers to apply for digital library distribution.

And guess who will jump the line? The writers with nothing to lose.

I don't think anyone can make the slightest guess about how all this will turn out. But I make one prediction: readers are soon going to become even more aware of the shell game they've been forced to play, given a small pool of authors. I think readers are going to discover that the indie authors and small-press authors will be the new populist literature, and they will like those books just as much as they ever did "the old guys." Frankly, I think we're in need of fresh blood. The paper bestseller list looks old and weary, the same names and the same sentimentality.

I've always said, "Put me and James Patterson both in brown paper bags, and I like my chances." Not that I am "better" than Patterson, but there's nothing especially special about Patterson besides a monopolistic distribution system that ensures bestsellers. Patterson was the perfect, penultimate achievement of that broken system. And, in a way, that achievement is part of what is helping break it as the tower collapses under its own weight. Ghostwritten corporate product masquerading as art. Nothing personal against Patterson, the man, but publishing a book a week doesn't mean you are a "writer."

I think we deserve better. And now we have better.

All that's left is hiring someone to ghostwrite Patterson's epitaph.
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(Need more writer babble? Janice Gable Bashman let me talk about Act 2 of a writing career at her blog today)

The Myth of Book Marketing: Be Unconventional

2011-11-21T07:27:00.000-08:00

By Scott Nicholson

I've decided to use this blog for my "writing babble" stuff to keep it separate from my regular blog , since very few humans on the planet care about write babble except for writers.

I've been known for my uncoventional views on writing and publishing, which I hold and follow for one reason only: convention is failure. Convention in writing is frustration, rejection, and invisibility. So who needs that?

My own small success is directly attributable to abandoning all the conventional wisdom I'd absorbed over the years. The most veteran writers usually gave the most awful advice (get an agent, write to market, never self-publish). Heck, I even dished out some of that crap myself.

So, with the premise that I am insane and you won't hear this kind of advice anywhere else, proceed at your own risk here. Today's lesson is: book marketing is not book marketing.

The first thing a new indie writer hears is "You have to be on Facebook, you have to Tweet 20 times a day, you need an established platform." Sure, it's helpful if you already have an audience of some sort. But dumping one book out there and pushing and pushing does nothing, because as the brilliant Robin Sullivan points out, "Once you roll the stone up the hill, it's just going to roll back over you."

As an example, let's examine the three biggest indie success stories, the ones conventional wisdom says you should imitate: J.A. Konrath, Amanda Hocking, John Locke. What do they have in common, besides luck? (Luck should never be discounted, because it is the biggest factor in any type of success--yes, that's unconventional, but it's true, and a topic for another post). They all came out swinging with multiple titles. Once they got hot, and the Amazon algorithms flooded your shopping window with their titles, it looked like they were successful and the books were selling well, so you better buy one or you're missing out.

Yes, it's that simple. Lots of books and some luck.

(Yes, I know John Locke talks about how he blogged his way to stardom and is happy to sell you a book on how to sell a million copies--even though Amazon algorithms did 99 percent of the selling for him. Yes, I know everyone EXCEPT Joe credits his prior New York paper career for his ebook success, even though he outsold New York this year on his own. Yes, I know people credit book blogs with Amanda Hocking's success, even though 10 blogs with 300 followers does not instantly convert into a million dollars.)

Okay, so we're not those guys. What do we have that we can use, since we're now smart enough and unconventional enough to not try to imitate them?

Go ahead and use Facebook, Twitter, and other social media outlets, but not to sell your book. And don't take the other bit of conventional wisdom that "You don't sell your book, you sell yourself and your brand." I take that one step further. Don't sell yourself. Give yourself away.

That means occasional book giveaways, of course, and freebies and bonus features and advice and cool links to things you find interesting. It means engaging in topical issues. (I know some writers who are deathly afraid of politics, religion, and romance--you know, the real stuff running all up and down the core of their books, the stuff people care about the most deeply, but those writers are afraid of offending that one potential customer). Sure, you don't want to be a jerk, but if you have a strong belief, better to lose the one and gain the 100 that agree or at least sympathize. And you'll be giving yourself away. Those who like the taste will eat more and the rest will just drive on down the virtual street.

Be yourself, the person who wrote your books. Write lots of books. Write blog posts and give them away. Answer every email. Respect your critics--even someone who doesn't like your work should be treasured if they take the time to share an opinion. Don't stalk them on the Internet and try to change their minds, or seek some sort of weird Internet revenge (Yes, I've seen this done).

Aside from being yourself, do what the million other indie writers AREN'T doing...buy ads! Yes, just like a real business. While your constant self-promotion gets annoying, we all know what ads are, and we never blame the advertiser for ads the way we blame people for constant self-promotion. Yes, it doesn't make any sense, but we're unconventional, see? I hate to give specific sites for ads because the best places are overbooked, and prices are increasing, but keep smart and keep your target audience in mind. You're on Facebook, but you don't really want to buy an ad on Facebook. Sure, there are 200 million people there, but they aren't there looking for your book to buy. But Goodreads? Readers. Book blogs? Readers. Newspapers? Don't even think about it. Radio? Stop it.

Here are some crazy things I tried, all of which worked to some degree, although not always in direct proportion to effort or cost: Goodreads giveaways, Librarything giveaways, freebie downloads, Facebook "sharing" contests, "follow me" contests, a 90-day book blog tour, a 10-blog tour on the same day, gift card giveaways, Be My Agent in which I paid book bloggers a percentage of that month's sales, purchased ads, book excerpt swaps, Twitter blitzes, and probably a dozen things that have already slipped my mind, because I use them and move on to the next. I am terribly disorganized. I keep track of things in a little pocket notebook with a pencil.

All of that sounds like more fun to me than tweeting "Buy My Book" 12 times a day to the same tired audience. If it feels like work, it's wrong. And there's another twist--the people that blast nothing but "Buy my book" are people I either unfollow or try to avoid. I don't trust their message. I am not even sure they have a message. Because they're not giving anything away. If that's all they have to say, why in the world would I want to spend an entire book with them?

Of course, the best advertising is already inside your book. Not just the story, but telling the reader about your other books. Trade around. Links will get more and more valuable as the tablet era evolves (we all agree the dedicated ereader only has a few more years of shelf life, right?) And here's the biggest unconventional marketing tip of the day: Instead of reading or following my marketing tips, invent one. Do something that has never been done before.

What do you have that you so desperately need to keep to yourself? Give it away today. Each gift is a building block to your own success and happiness.
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(You can buy The Indie Journey--although a lot of it you can read on the Internet for free if you look--and you can download Write Good or Die for free in every market and format. If you'd like to contribute an unconventional writing advice, please email it to graveconditions AT yahoo.com with links embedded and an image or two).

The Indie Journey: Writing and Self-Publishing Guide

2011-11-08T07:51:00.000-08:00

A collection of essays designed to help you write, produce, and sell more digitial books, with an emphasis on establishing realistic goals and appreciating your opportunities for success. Sections on the digital era, marketing, ebook formatting and cover design, general writing advice, and a philosophical approach to building your indie career. You can pick up The Indie Journey: Secrets To Writing Success for the bargain price of $2.99 at Amazon US, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

$100 donation

2011-04-19T07:20:00.000-07:00

Thanks to contributors and those of you who have purchased Write Good or Die at Amazon, we were able to donate $100 to Literacy Inc. Thank you and a big thanks to Deborah Leblanc for starting the organization to inspire teens to read.

Sorry I haven't had time to fulfill the goal of making this an ongoing writer gathering spot. If anyone wants to take it on (and keep the charitable, benevolent goals) then please contact me at hauntedcomputer AT yahoo. Thanks!

Debbi Mack-- Stumbling into Indie Publishing

2010-09-08T11:50:00.000-07:00

Debbi Mack-- Stumbling into Indie Publishing

Moving to Blood Red Pencil

2010-07-04T08:21:00.001-07:00

Since I am now a member of Blood Red Pencil and contribute there, I encourage you to visit it regularly. It's maintained by a group of freelance editors and writers and offers much more information than I can here (and since it has nearly 900 followers, the debate is more lively and we'll all learn more.)

While this blog won't be updated anymore, the Write Good or Die download will remain free for download at Smashwords and Haunted Computer and for 99 cents at Amazon for Kindle. Any proceeds will still go to Literacy, Inc. Please enjoy and freely share the collection. Thanks for visiting and good luck with your writing.

"He said sincerely"

2010-06-03T11:33:00.000-07:00

I hate adverbs. I especially hate -ly adverbs, as you may have noticed in my "suddenly" post. They do have their moments, but in general they slow down the verb they are seeking to modify or enhance, a giant, blood-sucking leech on the butt of your brilliant sentence.

"His frown grotesquely shifted into a grin." Yuck. How about, "His frown shifted into a grotesque grin." Or, if the sentences leading up to that sentence are doing their jobs, then "His frown shifted into a grin" may well be enough. When measuring the drag factor of your adverbs, there's a simple test--cut it out. See if you notice the loss. In most cases, I'll bet you won't.

"Slowly" is about the only one I can tolerate, but even then, your prose is likely strong enough to live without the crutch. "He slowly inched his way through the drain pipe." Well, how ELSE would he inch? Quickly? Measuredly?

"The door loudly banged open." "Bang" did the job. We get it.

"To boldly go where no man has gone before." No, let's go with great timidity to giant flaming holes in space.

Used in dialogue tags, all you are doing is admitting you don't have confidence as a writer, and don't trust your reader. The only time I'll support it is in parody or humor, when the line actually jars with the character's intent--"You'll obey my every command," he said meekly.

Adverbs. Do us all a favor. Let them die. Quickly, quietly, eternally. Sincerely.

Which adverbs would YOU like to kill?

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"Suddenly" never happens

2010-05-21T05:20:00.000-07:00

One of my major pet peeves is the use of "suddenly" in fiction. I consider it the immediate hallmark of lazy writing. The word is its own oxymoron, and its mere use actually delays the suddenness of whatever action was supposed to suddenly happen.

To wit:
"Suddenly the kettle whistled."
Oh, really? It actually whistled about half a second later than it would have if you had merely written "The kettle whistled." By inserting that unnecessary word, you've caused some poor chap to go without tea.

What's even more horrid is adding it after the event in question. "She fired the gun suddenly."

Now, I have let "suddenly" go once in a while, but I can't think of any use where it adds suspense, builds plot, furthers character, supports theme, or do anything but add to a lazy writer's word count.
"The sky was clear. SUDDENLY it rained!"
"The vampire lurked in the shadows. SUDDENLY it jumped out and bit her neck!"
"The writer had a block. SUDDENLY she typed a word."

I hate -ly adverbs, too, but don't get me started. What's your literary pet peeve? What's your defense of "suddenly"?

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A writing experience is posted at Straight From Hel

He said, she said

2010-04-24T09:53:00.000-07:00

In the guide, I contributed an article "The Seven Bad Habits of Highly Unsuccessful Writers," based on my freelance editing experiences. One of those categories is "Saidisms," the overexplanation of dialogue and the way characters speak. I am paraphrasing the novel I am currently editing, to show the intent while protecting identity and content:

Mother pulled the present from behind her back.
"Mu-mu-mother," Rick stuttered.
Mother smiled and chuckled, "It's a surprise."
Rick hesitated and then meekly asked, "Is it for me?"
"Yes," she answered excitedly.

You can see how exhausted the reader can get after a page or two of this. In general, it shows a lack of confidence on the writer's part, not trusting the dialogue to carry the action. Often such a passage spends more time talking about how the characters are talking than on what the characters are saying. The writer may be striving for realism, but fiction can't be too realistic, or we'd have major characters taking potty breaks and eating all the time.

I am a big opponent of "-ly" adverbs (another one of the seven bad habits), and I find them especially intrusive in dialogue tags. In this example, Rick's "mu-mu" already shows the stutter. Mother can't chuckle a full sentence, or even a word (try it sometime!). Rick doesn't have to meekly reply; if the character is firmly established, we may already see he's meek, or it may be unimportant. He also doesn't need to hesitate. It adds no realism besides making the reader have to plow through a couple of extra words. If it's critical to create a pregnant pause, use a brief bit of action or business instead, such as: Rick touched the red ribbon. "Is it for me?"
Finally, we should hope Mother is excited. Let the scene show it. If it's a make-or-break moment of the story, I MIGHT forgive an exclamation point, but if the scene is well written, all the appropriate emotions will be clear.

What's wrong with:
Mother pulled the present from behind her back.
"Mu-mu-mother," Rick said.
"It's a surprise."
Rick touched the red ribbon. "Is it for me?"
"Yes."

Not award-winning prose, but it is brisk and fluid and allows the scene to move along. If Rick is already established and they are the only two people in the scene, we can even forgo the "Rick said."

Interestingly, Write Good or Die is rated #1 in the "erotica writing" category at Amazon. While there's no specific erotica guidelines included, good writing is good writing, and some people thing the thesaurus is sexy. Our intent was to help writers of every interest, so we're pleased. Happy writing, we say supportively.
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Free download now available

2010-04-14T07:21:00.000-07:00

The manual Write Good or Die is now available for free download in numerous electronic platforms at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/13037. It is also available through Amazon (at 99 cents) and Scribd, coming soon to Mobipocket, Nook, and iPad, and as a PDF through numerous sites, with a print-on-demand version through Amazon and other retail outlets on the way.

And as it rapidly got downloaded this morning, it took all of an hour for someone to post a review and observe that the correct grammatical usage is "write well." I knew that was coming! But sometimes you have to break the rules, or go around the crowd, or follow unconventional advice. All I know is our contributors have sold millions of books, been on best-seller lists all over the world, and are having a lot of fun being successful. Hopefully you'll get something out of it. Please feel free to spread the book around.

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Social networking for writers

2010-04-09T13:30:00.000-07:00

1. Get a blog if you don’t have one. Blogspot.com and Wordpress both have free ones that are very easy to use. Try to get your name if you can (i.e. JoeyWriterguy.blogspot.com). A Web site is essential but a blog is a lot easier to update if you are technologically challenged. Be easy to find.

2. Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace are useful—they aren’t great places to find readers but it helps keep you plugged in. YouTube videos and podcasts can expand your audience if you have the skills.

3. Look for book bloggers, magazines, Webzines, and places that will feature or review your book, or let you guest blog or do an interview. Don’t forget your local press. Write a great two-paragraph description of your book, both for use as your “product description” and to give outside observers the “hook.”

4. Participate in the customer/public forums at Amazon.com, kindleboards.com, and mobileread.com, as well as genre message boards—stay positive, don’t get caught up in personality conflicts. Don’t just dump your plug in there—be a member of the community and engage in conversation.

5. Cross-promote with your fellow writers. Pick an “official release date” for your book and have others mention or plug it on their blogs, Facebook, etc, and in their online communities. It really helps the other writer, and it helps you, too. Work together to offset the lack of a big advertising budget.

6. Be a student of the game—continue learning, be inventive, look for good opportunities, don’t make enemies. Use your new works to promote the older works. Think of yourself as a “Brand,” don’t think of your book as one product—it’s just a part of your overall brand. Build on what you have, and make sure your foundation is solid.

7. Offer freebies or other incentives to get your fan base to help promote you. Make it fun. Give away signed art, sketch cards, silly little things that are unique, even extra books by other authors in your own collection (I firmly believe you shouldn’t hold contests to give away your own books—never give away what you are trying to sell.)

8. That said, consider giving away some short stories, reprints, articles, etc. on Scribd or Smashwords or through your newsletter, ezines, or magazines that may take your short work and need content. Those freebies increase your exposure but don’t diminish your worth.

9. In the digital era, there is really no extra cost to add some advertising or extra content to a product—think about trading space in each other’s newsletters, banner ads, story collections, etc., or swapping guest blog entries with each other. Stick to people whose audience realistically will be interested in your work—romance readers probably won’t dig serial-killer horror, and high fantasy fans probably don’t want mystery novels.

10. Think long term—in the digital era, there’s no reason why your content shouldn’t be out there for an audience for the rest of your life. Slow and steady wins the race.

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Pen names?

2010-04-08T06:14:00.000-07:00

The traditional considerations for using pen names? A) You were a respected professional in your "day job" and didn't want your fantasy dabbling to detract from your standing; B) publishers, for their own reasons, wanted you to only write one book a year and let you slowly starve; C) your sales had tanked and you needed to ditch yourself; D) you were writing in vastly differently fields and styles and needed a clear distinction so as to not upset fans; E) there was the real possibility that someone would shoot you if they knew who wrote that book.

The mainstream publishing industry wants you to stick to one type of book and easy-to-shelf brand. The advice you get from editors is solely for their convenience--and it makes good business sense, because a single book is hardly worth building a campaign around, because its useful life is too fleeting. But if it's only a mild stretch, you should stick to your own name whenever possible, because ultimately you are your brand, and you should always care more about yourself than you care about the industry, or the industry cares about you. If Stephen King can do It and Misery, The Shining and Dolores Claiborne, and Koontz can do all his stuff, it's perfectly acceptable for you to just write You Books.

Publishers have legitimate logistic reasons for carefully controlling the flow of product, due to inventory issues, bookstore needs, production considerations, and marketing concerns. But in this new digital/POD era, it's actually smarter to have everything out at the same time--there is very little reason to dole out content in measured paces, unless you have a specific gimmick or campaign that requires timing. That's true for authors as well as publishers, though authors have the ability to react more quickly and with less to lose. And your books cross-promote each other, building your brand, which more and more is something that can last a lifetime rather than popping up in three-month bursts in the middle shelves of a bookstore. Be yourself whenever possible, and when you're not, make sure you have a good reason.

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Kevin J. Anderson

2010-04-06T08:40:00.000-07:00

Kevin J. Anderson is the author of more than one hundred novels, 47 of which have appeared on national or international bestseller lists. He has over 20 million books in print in thirty languages. He has won or been nominated for numerous prestigious awards, including the Nebula Award, Bram Stoker Award, the SFX Reader's Choice Award, the American Physics Society's Forum Award, and New York Times Notable Book. By any measure, he is one of the most popular writers currently working in the science fiction genre.

I first met Kevin in the 1998 Writers of the Future workshop, where he was serving as instructor. He provided me one of my first cover blurbs and our paths frequently cross at conventions, various projects, and WotF business. From the "writer with no future" with 800 rejection slips to one of the most successful and hardest-working writers in genre fiction, Kevin to me is the definition of "professional." He contributed an article, "If I Only Had the Time." You can imagine what it's about.

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Brandon Massey

2010-03-21T06:36:00.000-07:00

Brandon Massey has come on board with a few articles. Massey self-published his first novel, built his own audience, and parlayed it into a career writing thrillers for Kensington Books. Since the aim of Write Good or Die is to offer different perspectives, here's one of a self-pubber made good (though he will be the first to tell you you probably shouldn't try it!)

Massey is the award-winning author of several thrillers and story collections, including Dark Corner, The Other Brother, Don’t Ever Tell, and Vicious. He lives with his family near Atlanta, GA, where he is at work on his next suspense thriller. Visit him online at www.brandonmassey.com and sign up for his free newsletter, The Talespinner, to receive book news updates and writing tips.

Harley Jane Kozak

2010-03-18T05:54:00.000-07:00

Okay, I now have all three of the Killerettes in Write Good or Die...which was the REAL mission of this project! (For those not aware of this obscure pop-cult reference, we were in the Killer Thriller Band that performed at the first Thrillerfest awards ceremony--I guess that was 2006).

With thirty-some plays to her credit, Harley Jane Kozak at age 19 headed for the Big Apple and into the professional acting program at NYU's School of the Arts Join the mailing list! (now Tisch School of the Arts). After completing the program, she was cast in the feature film The House on Sorority Row. This enabled her to retire her waitress shoes.

Then came a trio of principle roles in soaps—Texas, Guiding Light and Santa Barbara—that came to a smashing halt when Harley's final character (a nun) was crushed to death by the giant neon letter "C." But that "C" gig had gotten her to L.A., where she went on to star in feature films and prime time television programs. Ten years later she began to write novels, have babies and acquire dogs, cats, fish, and rabbits—and the rest, as they say, is history.

Harley currently lives with her family in Southern California, where she's working on an international thriller. Meanwhile, she's added teaching, blogging and public speaking to her resumé, exploiting her checkered past.

Heather Graham contributing

2010-03-16T10:38:00.000-07:00

Bestselling novelist Heather Graham, who also writes as Shannon Drake, is contributing a cool piece on what it takes to be a writer. As a mother of five, she downplays excuses and encourages dedication and persistence.

New York Times and USA Today best selling author Heather Graham majored in theater arts at the University of South Florida. After a stint of several years in dinner theater, back-up vocals, and bartending, she stayed home after the birth of her third child and began to write, working on short horror stories and romances. Her first book was with Dell, and since then, she has written over one hundred novels and novellas including category, romantic suspense, historical romance, vampire fiction, time travel, occult and Christmas family fare. She wrote the launch books for the Dell's Ecstasy Supreme line, Silhouette's Shadows, and for Harlequin's mainstream fiction imprint, Mira Books.

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Clarifying supporting clauses

2010-03-08T06:13:00.000-08:00

Clarity is one of the keys to effective writing. Confuse the reader once and she glances over at the television set, the XBox, the iPod, or the romantic interest. Confuse the reader two or three times and you might want to reconsider your future career as a the next Dan Brown or J.K. Rowling.

Stray clauses are one of the killers of awkward prose, and I've always preached that if you can function competently at the sentence level, all the rest can be learned through study and practice. We'll get to comma usage later, but for today, let's take a look at descriptive clauses.

I recently edited a manuscript sample that contained a sentence "He killed his wife and children as they were asleep in their beds with a shotgun." I can't be sure, but I assume the killer used a shotgun, not that the warm-and-fuzzy family cuddled up with shotguns and teddy bears at night. The sentence could be made clearer either by shifting the descriptive clause closer to the "acting agent" (the man who used the shotgun) or totally restructuring the sentence.

One possibility is "With a shotgun, he killed his wife and children as they slept." Simple and effective, though not very artful. Personally, I would build a little suspense and use a series of short sentences--"The shotgun was cold in his hands, but warmth radiated from his sleeping wife..."

My first draft of a newspaper story I wrote this morning contained the sentence "Watauga County Republican Party chairwoman Pam Blume encouraged her fellow party members to work hard during Saturday's meeting..." I immediately caught the error, because she wasn't asking conventioneers to work hard just for that hour on Saturday, she wanted them to work hard during the entire election year. I moved the clause to the beginning of the sentence and ended up with "During Saturday's convention, Watauga County Republican Party chairwoman Pam Blume encouraged her fellow party members to work hard in the election year."

The basic lesson is to place the supporting or related clause as close the the subject as possible. An ancillary lesson, learned through years of mistakes and revisions, is simply to not write anything you have to revise later. Leave out the bad parts. Write good.
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Your friend, the compound modifier

2010-03-07T05:44:00.001-08:00

In my freelance-editing work, one of the most common mistakes I see in all skill levels is confusion over compound modifiers. Believe me, it took me years before I understood them--luckily I had professional copy editors on my early novels. As with comma usage, it's still an imperfect art, no matter which style book you use.

I lean on Strunk and White's "Elements of Style" when in doubt, but even that sacred tome is fairly vague, calling them "compound adjectives" instead of "compound modifiers." The rule is pretty basic, though. When using two words working together to describe or modify a noun, they should be hyphenated.

A fine example is the title of the Hemingway story "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place." If he had used "well lighted," we might have wondered if the light had radiated from a well, perhaps by someone dropping a lantern down it. You may say it doesn't matter, because the meaning will always be clear, but why not help the reader as much as you can? After all, you have given her a very hard job in the first place, stringing a bunch of glyphs across a page or screen and expecting it to be translated just as you have imagined.

Try this one. You're in a science fiction story (or is it a "science-fiction story"?), and the orbital and rotational periods of the Earth have been altered. But you write "He walked under the late afternoon sun." You might very well mean the sun is arriving several hours behind schedule. But if you use "He walked under the late-afternoon sun," we know the two words are joined. Make sense?

Gayle Lynds, Queen of Espionage

2010-03-05T11:28:00.000-08:00

We are pleased to have two contributions from author Gayle Lynds, whose advice has some weight--she's a professional journalist who turned her sights to fiction. Gayle has contributed two articles.

New York Times bestseller Lynds is the award-winning author of nine spy novels and has been called the "Queen of Espionage." Her newest, THE BOOK OF SPIES, is due in stores March 30 and is the beginning of her first series. Lee Child writes she’s “today’s finest espionage writer,” while BookPage claims: “Lynds has joined the deified ranks of spy thriller authors like Robert Ludlum and John le Carre” and the London Observer says simply she’s “a kick-ass thriller writer.”

I met Gayle through the Killer Thriller Band at the inaugural 2006 Thrillerfest, when she was helping organize the awards ceremony and musical presentation of The Killer Thriller Band, in which I was participating as bass player. (Alex Sokoloff, one of our singers, is also in Write Good or Die). Thanks, Gayle!

Rusch, Smith, Rose in the house

2010-02-25T19:36:00.000-08:00

Two wonderful additions to the guide, as Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith have contributed use of two articles each. Smith is author of 90 books and Rusch is not far behind, and she's also written numerous award-winning stories. Both work in a variety of genres. Their blogs are highly recommended for the practical-minded writer, as they have been surviving and even thriving off of freelance fiction for 20 years. They also tend to shoot down conventional wisdom, or at least offer sound reasons why convention only works for certain people.

And international bestseller M.J. Rose has walked in as well...welcome, MJ! She's owner of AuthorBuzz and also created "The Reincarnationist" series, which you can find on your television as soon as you tear your eyes away from the computer...

Why writing advice is

2010-02-24T19:53:00.000-08:00

I was writing on my personal blog about Laura Miller's Salon article on "Reader advice," and ended up musing about how most of the writing advice I gave was either wrong, or I refused to follow it, or both. Luckily, there are wiser people than me giving advice, which is why I sought a collaborative project that can really help writers in this rapidly changing era. To fit the times, the book will be organic, so look for a cute little "V.2" for Version 2 and so on as it develops in the months and years ahead.

Because even good advice can get dated (see: Ribbons, typewriter--buy in bulk), the worst advice can be cut out and more timely advice introduced. For example, with ebook prices shooting all over the map, you will not get any sensible advice on royalties or contract clauses for them, because nobody knows. Like all free advice, it's worth what you pay for it. Take what you need and leave the rest. And pass it on.

Some outlets, such as Amazon, don't allow free downloads unless you're a major publisher swinging some sort of deal, so the download will be set at the lowest possible price in those outlets, with any revenues donated to First Book, a non-profit organization that buys books for disadvantaged children.

Set-up is simple right now, with three sections: Craft, Business, and Art. I'm not sure there's much else a writer needs to know, except to ignore everything and write.
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Douglas Clegg and Alexandra Sokoloff on board

2010-02-08T09:47:00.000-08:00

I am very pleased to have two brilliant and generous folks joining the project. Douglas Clegg practically co-invented (with MJ Rose) the Buzz Your Book concept and will offer tips on querying and promoting. Alexandra Sokoloff is a screenwriter and novelist with a great insight on storytelling.

Clegg is the author of more than 20 books, including Isis and the Vampyricon series, and was an e-book pioneer with the release of several e-serial novels in the late 1990s, and is a personal inspiration to me.

Sokoloff's books include The Price, The Harrowing, and The Unseen, and she's also the author of Screenwriting Tricks for Authors (And Screenwriters!). I taught with Alex at Deborah Leblanc's Pen to Press (a great workshop, by the way) and I learned more from her in a week than in the previous 10 years on my own.

We're assembling the initial version now to release through Haunted Computer Books, and since it's organic, we'll update and revise as the 21st Century unfolds.

More contributors on board

2010-01-31T11:38:00.000-08:00

Two new additions to the line-up...Mur Lafferty of podcast fame and Robert Kroese, an independent author who knocked the socks of the ebook market with Mercury Falls. There will be a David Morrell interview from David J. Montgomery and Jonathan Maberry has contributed four articles, including actual query letters that led to major sales. Authors are amazing!

No decent writing blog would be complete without musing on the effects of the Macmillan vs. Amazon tiff currently brewing, and while those impacts will directly affect writers of the future, I have my personal opinion on my regular blog and also recommend JA Konrath's blog for coverage. of course, also check out Macmillan's statement. Amazon is mum so far.

I will point out the only way Write Good or Die could exist is through the ease of digital distribution and the generosity of successful authors. If this had to be printed, it wouldn't get funded, because I'd have to make the money back, and it would be too much work, and you'd have to pay for free advice. That speaks to the power of ebooks and the digital age, and I fully embrace it.

Konrath/Kilborn rockin' the Casbah

2010-01-21T12:40:00.001-08:00

JA Konrath just announced a slew of big news/breakthroughs on his newbie blog. He talks a lot about luck--but he's the kind of hard-working guy that always has time to help people. That's part of his charm, and part of his success--the heart.

I was putting together a comic anthology, a small project by any stretch, and asked Joe to contribute because his name would help sell the project. It ended up in the "Little Shivers" comic for 8-to-12-year-olds. Joe donated his cut of proceeds to promote the book.

When I approached him about contributing to "Write Good or die," he said, "Sure, grab my newbie guide and use anything you want." He talks about luck, but he makes luck. I am thrilled to have him as part of this experiment. When you look for writing role models, this is where to look.

Beyond inspiration

2010-01-20T08:51:00.000-08:00

There are plenty of writing books out there intended to make you feel good while you're sitting in a coffee shop thinking about writing. I know, I have a few. Inspirational books are pretty much useless. If you need to work to be inspired, I suggest you stick with your beret and your analysis of Joyce and Faulkner.

All the writers I know, the real ones, ooze sweat and blood and ink, and when they're not working, they're thinking about the fact that they're not working. It's another reality of my experience that these hard-working writers are typically among the most generous. They are so busy that they can't NOT help writers. It's part of their world, an ingredient in their winning formula, and a symbol of their gratitude for all who have gone before. Yeah, I know, it doesn't make sense--never give away what you get paid to do.

Yet the contributors to "Write Good or Die" are doing exactly that. Even more incredible, they are basically creating competition for themselves. No matter how many times you tell yourself that more and better books means more and hungrier readers, you are still encouraging the creation of new successful writers. Given the realities of the publishing business, there is not room for everyone on those bookstore shelves or publisher rosters. The last thing established writers should want is for new writers to learn from them, their mistakes, their triumphs, their career paths, their techniques. But here they are, with more arriving as we go. I think all these people are crazy, and I love them for it.

final cover art

2010-01-17T14:37:00.000-08:00

Something to do while finishing the novel...

cover art

2010-01-17T10:39:00.000-08:00

Here's the cover art for "Write Good Or Die," a composite of pieces by Kewber from the Dirt comic book series. Lettering and color to follow.

Write Good Or Die

2010-01-16T16:19:00.000-08:00

This is a blog to support the ever-changing, evolving downloadable writing guide "Write Good Or Die: Survival Tips For 21st Century Writers." The free ebook will offer insight from a number of established writers, including Kevin J. Anderson, Jonathan Maberry, J.A. Konrath, David Montgomery, Elizabeth Massie, and more, with a focus on succeeding in the modern publishing environment and the electronic age.

Since the book can easily be updated, the plan is to release in the spring of 2010 and continue adding material to it as more authors join the ranks. The blog offers a chance to discuss some of the issues that arise, including hot topics such as "When Is A Book Finished?," "Getting An Agent" (yeah, that's still #1 of the most-asked writing questions),"Should I Self-Publish?" and another biggie, "Should I Write Or Should I Just Be Happy?"

Stay tuned for more information as the book evolves.

Scott Nicholson
Editor, Write Good Or Die