Archive for Publishing

THE HIEROPHANT – Cover reveal!

May 10, 2013 Publishing No comments

A couple of weeks ago I announced the upcoming release of my second novel, The Hierophant, coming June 18, 2013. I can’t begin to explain how happy it makes me JUST to be able to make that announcement. About as happy as Aro with a red panda.

This is how happy I am that I got to make that announcement.

This is how happy I am that I got to make that announcement.

This book has been a very long time coming. I wrote the original (and thankfully LONG LOST) draft of The Hierophant in 2007, while I was still an Anthropology major, before I had realized that Young Adult Literature was even a thing. The book has transformed into something almost unrecognizable since then, but the soul of the story remains, and it’s stronger than ever. The Hierophant has always been about a girl–Ana–coming to terms with the unknown and uncertain: unknown heritage, uncertain future, unknown worlds and all the paranormal creatures that inhabit them. But mostly, as it turned out in this final incarnation, Ana’s story is about learning to accept the things she can’t control.

Funny, that it took getting unexpectedly fired for me to commit to sharing her story with the world.

This is an independently published book, and I make no attempt to hide it. I do the best I can by the words and the product, and to create a book worthy of any legacy publisher’s standards. But self-publishing is not a sure-fire career. It’s risky business, and an investment in time, energy, and money. I can’t control how sales will turn out. People might hate this book. It might never even reach enough readers for it to matter.

But you have to take risks to follow your dreams, and my dream has always, always been to tell stories. So thank you–yes You!–for being, for reading, for wanting the stories that authors dream to tell. You make it possible for us to do what we do. By reading, sharing, and supporting our work, you help make dreams come true.

When I first wrote The Hierophant six years ago, I could not imagine in (2007, or 2010, or even earlier in 2013) what the cover–the face–of this book would look like. And then a split second of inspired crowd sourcing put me in touch with an amazing design team, and everything fell into place.

So, ladies and gents, without further ado, I give you the cover of The Hierophant.

Print

And the description, in case you haven’t seen it:

Demons are watching you. They move invisible through our world, hunting for rare prey–most humans don’t see the monsters that lurk in the dark, and as long as you can’t see them, they can’t hurt you.

But Ana sees the demons. Creatures once found only in the bedtime stories told by her late mother have crept from the shadows, whispering her name, and stirring ancient magic in her veins.

On the day her tarot deck foretells a disturbing change, Ana encounters an uncanny young man who literally stops her heart. Trebor has strange powers, and an even stranger quest, and for some reason wants to help her. But the closer Trebor gets to unlocking Ana’s power, the more important–and dangerous–his own quest becomes. And in a world haunted by demons determined to find the key to their empire, there is much more at stake than one girl’s soul.

This glorious cover was designed by the brilliant minds of Nathaniel and Lana Winter-Hebert at www.winterhebert.com, who were absolutely wonderful to work with. They took my vague idea of “uh, Tarot” and came up with something more beautiful and intriguing than I could have ever imagined. I’d love to hear what you think about it!

And of course, with the cover reveal comes an official Goodreads listing! If you are so inclined, I would be absolutely as delighted as Aro on the Millennium Falcon if you would consider adding it to your bookshelves!:)

This is how happy I would be if you added THE HIEROPHANT on Goodreads!

This is how happy I would be if you added THE HIEROPHANT on Goodreads!

 

~*~

Stay tuned for more exciting reveals like the book trailer, giveaways, and information on pre-ordering signed paperback copies (plus a free bonus eReader copy)!

If you’d like to be notified when The Hierophant is released, please sign up for my mailing list! No spam, I promise. ;)

A New Note on Writer’s Block

July 11, 2012 musings, Publishing, Uncategorized, writing Comments Off

Rusty, aka: Lord Rusticus

Well, it’s been a while since I posted here, but I have Explanations. The biggest one being that it’s summer, and I feel like every free moment is booked from June to October. The other big reason is that we got a dog just after my birthday! So I’ve been busy calming our resident cats, training our new pup, and trying to deal with his previously undiscovered allergies that are making him scratch all the hair off his head. Oof. He’s like a fluffy little old man, except he’s hyperactive and chews on everything (like the six pairs of  shoes we’ve had to throw out). But we love him!

The other big thing keeping me away from this blog? I’ll admit it: writer’s block. That thing I don’t really believe in. But let’s call this Advanced Writer’s Block, Code Orange. I wasn’t quite at the quitting stage (Code Red), but I was definitely in the “will I ever write again?” stage. It wasn’t that I was uninspired, or out of ideas, or believed my writing was bad. It was beyond all the normal things that once kept me from writing, long ago before I called them out as frauds. It wasn’t any kind of belief in lack that was a problem–it was a belief that there was too much. I had too many choices, too many questions–but there was lack, too, I guess, because I didn’t know myself well enough, or my story well enough, to know how to resolve my concerns.

Ultimately, it wasn’t about any of those things though. It was about fear, of making the wrong choice, of wasting time and effort. And even beyond that, it was something more: I was putting too much pressure on myself to write the “best book EVAR.” And even beyond that, the pressure was there because, essentially, I hate my day job, and it was also there because I hate false hopes, hate getting so far as to have lots of agents (I’ve lost count now) request the full manuscript only to pass a few weeks later. I’d reached my limit of stagnation and disappointment, and I was depressed. (Actually, I had “severe anxiety” for three months, but that was basically just me, doggedly determined to Solve All The Problems)

Anyway, I could go on and on psychoanalyzing myself here, but who cares? The point is actually something much easier to digest: I have got a lot of experience under my belt when it comes to creative recovery, overcoming blocks, and understanding how the artist’s mind works and surprises us. I know a lot of tricks, and I know a lot about my own creative habits, and I know a lot about how to avoid the common pitfalls of Doubt. But even with all that I know and all that I’ve experienced? Writer’s block still got me. Like a virus that’s mutated to become immune to antibiodies, my ego ramped up its bullshit to weasel through my wall of well-grounded ambition, and then proceeded to kick me in the teeth.

It’s more than that, though. It’s not just that the insidious part of my ego that likes to kick me into place has adapted–it’s that I, myself, have grown and changed, by leaps and bounds, as a person. Emotionally, mentally, creatively, I’ve grown in depth and width and height, but consciously I have not yet stretched my awareness to cover my new borders. I don’t really understand myself as well as I thought I did, because I’ve changed shape. That’s why, when looking at an old manuscript and a partially finished rewrite, I had no idea how to proceed. Of course, I love the old version. But the new version is amazing too. And both are very different. How can I choose what to keep, what to change?

The thing is, the story I loved several years ago when I wrote that novel is still a story I love, but no longer a story I can tell. My shape has changed–my stories have changed with it–and in order to tell the story I want to tell, I have to explore this new creature I’ve become, get used to my skin, my height, my voice. So,  I guess this whole period of anxiousness and sadness and crippling indecision was/is actually just growing pains.

I’m not quite there yet. I’m not entirely certain who I have, or will, become, but I’m finding my footing more and more each day. The smoke and debris are clearing from my head, and I’m beginning to make out the shapes and sounds of the new stories I’m carrying in my heart, incubating, until I’m ready to put them onto paper.

I’m also trying to learn patience, because god DAMN it I want those stories ready to be written.

Abusing the Use of Sexual Assult in YA

June 14, 2012 musings, Publishing, writing Comments Off

If you haven’t seen this article on The Victimization of Lara Croft, read it. It brings to mind an issue I have, specifically about YA novels, that has been bugging the hell out of me lately: there is too much god damn sexual assault.

Before you get upset and say “it’s a real thing and YA needs to address real things!” hear me out: Yes, YA is doing a bang-up job at addressing real things, and yes, sexual assault is real. For all the women I know, the majority of us have either been sexually assaulted, harassed, or straight up raped. I know how real this thing is, and that’s why the common and complete mishandling of this highly sensitive subject pisses me off. 

I’m not saying all, but if you read a handful of YA from the past few years with female protagonists and romance, just like in real life, 1 in 4 females will be a victim of sexual assault. The abundance isn’t what pisses me off, but how it’s most commonly used in the context of the story: aside from stories where rape and the emotional fall-out is the prime conflict throughout the book, almost every single time a female protagonist is sexually assaulted, she is then rescued by her romantic interest. Not only is that probably never going to happen, because most girls aren’t semi-stalked by their teenage dreamboats, but that course of events makes the female protagonist into a victim, and her romantic interest a hero. It artificially deepens the bond between them by taking a serious trauma, something with long-lasting psychological and emotional effects, and romanticizing it.

Pardon me, but what the fuck, people? 

Forgetting the fact that this is a widely overused trope, it’s also insensitive as hell, completely dismissing the fact that it’s not healthy or expected that a girl would fall in love with her rescuer, and for many people who have experienced emotional trauma of any kind, that is a potential problem: it’s called erotic or romantic transference, and it’s like an inverse Florence Nightengale effect–patient falling in love with therapist, or rescued falling in love with rescuer. Girls who experience sexual trauma are much more likely to form unhealthy dependencies and attachments to romantic or sexual partners, and even develop romantic feelings for people they don’t actually love or probably shouldn’t fall in love with. Likewise, some women have a hard time developing romantic feelings for anyone, ever, because their ability to trust the human race (and in particular, men) has been shot to hell.

The scary thing is, as both readers and writers we’ve created this trope unconsciously–making the female protagonist incapable of defending herself by making her a victim of sexual assault does two easy things: makes her vulnerable and desirable. Weird, huh? That’s our reaction, for the most part: this person had such a strong reaction to this character that they tried to violate her, and now she’s a little more interesting to us, too.

I’m not a proponent for invulnerable characters by any means–Superman is boring and his superness causes many a plot hole. Sure, I love a strong female protagonist, but what makes them real and what makes their strengths even cooler is that they are not perfect. They do have weaknesses, weaknesses that they often overcome or come to terms with–that’s called the character arc. But I’ve never read a non-rape-issue YA novel where the protagonist was sexually assaulted and actively overcame the traumatic effects of it, because for the most part those are glossed over or not even mentioned. Yes, it’s a big deal at the time, or maybe there is some obvious residual fear if the actual character who assaults the protagonist doesn’t go away, but for the most part it goes like this: set up, assault, rescue, love, no psychological or emotional repercussions whatsoever.

I admit it’s possible that a character is strong enough, mentally and emotionally, to pick themselves up and dust themselves off and go on about their lives as if nothing ever happened, but we’re talking YA, which means teenage girls without well-defined senses of themselves as sexual beings, and…well, good luck selling that line.

As writers, we need to try harder, not just for the audience but for the dignity of our stories, to avoid abusing sexual assault as a vehicle for character appeal. As readers, we should be wary of our own reactions to this trope–it’s natural to want to protect a girl who has been victimized, but don’t be complacent about this form of emotional manipulation. If the author wants you to care about their main character, demand female protagonists who are made appealing to the reader because they are intelligent, insightful, hilarious, brave, brutally honest–anything besides so hot and vulnerable you either want to rape or protect her.

This is a touchy subject, I know–hell, discussing YA is a touchy subject in general these days. Feel free to yell at me and tell me I’m wrong, because truly, I would love to hear what anyone else thinks about this subject.

Happy Birthday TPaL!

May 16, 2012 musings, Publishing, The Poppet and the Lune, Uncategorized, writing Comments Off

Happy Birthday Week TPaL!

Tomorrow, I turn 27 (years young!?) and my baby, The Poppet and the Lune, turns 1 year old. To celebrate, TPaL is available for FREE in the Kindle store until the end of May 17th, our official birthday! (Go on! Get ye to the kindle store! Download an app! It’s FREE!)

an original illustration from my little blue journal which holds the earliest chapters of TPaL

In another bit of happy news, somehow this whole “free” business has gotten TPaL some visibility! As I write this, The Poppet and the Lune is ranking #129 for free books in the entire Kindle store, #6 in free Fantasy Kindle books, and a mind-blowing #6 in free Children’s Sci-fi-Fantasy Kindle books. I am shocked, and amazed, and so, so grateful.

It’s been almost a year exactly since I published TPaL and released her to the world at large, and I want to say something about what I’ve learned. I’m not sure exactly, how to say it (a more common problem for writers than you think), but I’m going to give it a try.

Some of you may recall that TPaL was originally a free web serial hosted on my wordpress blog, with a very small, but very kind and loyal following. The story was told for the sake of telling stories–it was meant to be fun, and adventurous, and to explore the heart of my own love of story. I hope that it’s been all of that to those of you who have read it.

If manuscripts are like people, and many authors say that their manuscripts are like children, or lovers, or enemies, then I would have to say that The Poppet and the Lune has been a dear and constant friend. She has never been demanding. She has never been difficult. She has always been exactly what she is and was meant to be, never straying, never giving up. Even when people cock an eyebrow at her premise, or shrug their shoulders when trying to think of publishers to sell her to, she is steadfast, and certain.

I have a lot to learn from that.

original illustration from the blue journal

It’s so easy in life, especially in the publishing world, to lose sight of who and what we really are. For the sake of marketing, we don genres and audiences as if we’re trying on winter coats, seeing if our stories appeal more to one crowd or another, wondering if our story is appropriate for one age group or another. The line between telling your stories and finding an audience versus fitting your stories to a specific audience is not very fine, but it does get blurred. We get blurred–when we lose sight of who we are, and the heart of our stories.

Being true to your story means being true to yourself. Sometimes that doesn’t get you an agent, or a book contract, or very much in royalties. But it gives you peace of mind, and that is invaluable. That is what primes you for your next book, and your next. There is clarity there–precious, priceless clarity–that is sometimes called insight, or inspiration, which is at the heart of all creation, of all storytelling. We cannot afford to lose sight of that–we cannot afford to lose sight of who we are, even as we grow and change.

Birthdays and anniversaries are about more than celebrating that first breath, kiss, or step into the world. They are about taking stock, reflecting on change and what you’ve learned, the ways you’ve grown–they’re about setting goals, and planting hopes and dreams–and celebrating every victory and failure that has shaped you into what you are today.

So with another year under my belt, and many lessons learned, I think I’m going to take the time to do that for the rest of my birthday week.

Happy Birthday, TPaL. You’ve come a long way.

And Happy Birthday, Self. Remember, you never stop learning.

5 Reasons Why Aspiring Authors Should Not Trust The Internet

March 21, 2012 Advice, musings, Publishing, writing Comments Off

Wary woman is wary. Hmm...

Call me a hippy, or an optimist, or whatever you like, but I have a personal rule about any kind of advice: if it makes you feel good, take it; if it makes you feel like shit, it’s probably wrong. At least, it’s probably wrong for you.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been surfing around the internet looking for advice on a particular aspect of the writing process or the publishing process, only to have a brick dropped on me that makes me sick to my stomach, makes me question all 20+ years of my experience, and honestly believe that this king or queen of the blogosphere knows what he or she is talking about better than I know what’s right for me. Countless times. And it still happens, even though I make a concerted effort these days NOT to look for advice from anyone but trusted friends. I know it happens to a lot of us out there, innocent creative types searching for wisdom an guidance, and instead we have our dreams and ideas crushed beneath the jackboots of the All Knowing Bloggers.

This is not to say that the internet is useless, or that you can’t trust anyone out there/here. But I strongly, strongly encourage you to take all of what you read and experience in your pursuit of writerly knowledge with a large grain of salt, including this blog and this post.

Which brings me to this:

5 Reasons why aspiring authors should not trust the internet

1.) Opinions are formed from personal experience. I once read a blog post about how dream sequences ruin books and should never be written by aspiring authors, and it crushed me. What does it say about me as a writer that I love a good dream sequence, both writing them and reading them? Ultimately I got over it (I know you were worried), but it seemed irresponsible to make a statement like that when you have hundreds of readers out there who trust you to give them at least thought-provoking, if not good, advice. But almost all blog posts that give us “rules” or ”10 Reasons why” are based on personal experience and opinion, and therefore are never actual hard and fast laws. Maybe the author admits to that, and maybe they don’t, but it’s usually easy to overlook the admission because…

2.) These posts are written by writers, the best liars of the creative world. A good writer knows, consciously or not, how to get their audience on board with them–make them believe in magic, and true love, and that good can occasionally triumph over evil. A good writer also knows how to write a blog post and make it sound like they are an authority on the matter. I’m doing it right now. Don’t I sound official? It’s because I’m just telling you things, and I’m stating these things so matter-of-factly that you’re beginning to see the truth of them, whether it’s there or not. The other reason is because you want to believe people are doling out free professional advice. You saw a list of ten things to avoid or ten reasons to do or not do something, and that made it sound simple and easy to follow. These are all tricks, which brings me to the fact that…

3) The thing the internet wants to do most of all is trick you. It wants to trick you into clicking one more link, or into believing you need one more social networking site, that if you don’t re-post that status about fighting cancer then you’re not as good of a person as that person’s 10% of friends who actually care. Worst of all, it wants to trick you into wasting time, and believing you are working. “Oh, but I was reading an article on world-building,” you think. “It’s okay, I want to be a writer, so spending X more minutes learning about my craft is excusable.” No, actually, it’s not, because unless that blog post was written by Frank Herbert (greatest world-builder of all time, thank you very much!) himself, you’re not even getting professional advice. Have you ever noticed that, for the most part, the busiest writers aren’t writing blog posts about craft? That’s because they’re writing.

That’s probably the worst way the internet deceives us: it tricks us into giving up time for writing, in exchange for well-crafted amateur advice.

4) Haters gonna hate. Really, I don’t want to hear about how the gate-keepers are keeping us down, and so any self-respecting author should self-publish. And I don’t want to hear about how self-publishing authors need to keep their filthy DIY hands off of the term “independent publishing,” unless you’re that excited about being a hipster that you have to shout it from the rooftops. I’m not interested in any blog that paints a negative picture of any group of people, because that kind of advice can only reinforce narrow-mindedness or make you feel bad about the path you’re already considering. Really, when was the last time you Googled “advantages to self publishing” when you weren’t interested in what it had to offer?

The same thing goes for the old, salty veterans, weather-worn and wearing their badge of “experience” like a shroud. They’ve been through the system, they’ll tell you again and again, and the system is cruel. Well, we covered that in my last post, and you can’t take one author’s experience as gospel.

5) Bitter people are always more than happy to give you their opinion. That is certainly not to say everyone giving their opinion is bitter (ahem). But if you’ve ever given up your writing for a critique and gotten back the kind of feedback I’m talking about, you know it: hyper-critical, personally biased, and ultimately nothing but destructive (unless they’re clever at hiding their bitterness, in which case they do a compliment sandwich: “I liked this… hate hate hate hate hate… and this part was pretty interesting too.”). Offering up your writing to strangers can be, on the one hand, an amazing experience worth putting your faith in humanity to the test. But you have to be wary–the internet is full of trouble-makers. I’m probably one of them.

~*~

Now for the actual, constructive advice part of this post:

If you’re anything like me, or if you hated this post and will probably just ignore everything above, you’re still going to read advice about writing on blogs. So here are some tips I think we can call benefit from.

When reading a blog about writing, ask yourself:

  • How does this post make me feel?
  • Is this narrowing or broadening my perspective?
  • Am I inspired by this post, or do I want to smash my monitor/swallow my smart phone and all the shame it holds on its shiny little screen?

I’m sure you can see where I’m going with that, so I’ll just leave that alone for now.

There are a few blogs that I almost always enjoy:

Nova Ren Suma‘s blog has a guest post series on Turning Points for writers that offers a rainbow of different experiences from all kinds of different authors.

Intern Spills, by… the former intern of a publisher, or agency, I can’t remember. I read all of her blog in two days at work one week, and loved it to death. You will see, however, that this is the site of the entry regarding the dream sequence hate. I got over it, but I do read everything after with an eyebrow ready to be raised.

Terrible Minds, a blog by Chuck Wendig, the King of the “[NUMBER] Things About [SUBJECT]” posts. The reason I love his lists is because he is full of wit and snark, and actually gives solid advice about the craft of writing. How do I know it’s solid? He is constantly admitting that the rules are bullshit if you know what you’re doing.

So what about you? What do you love or hate about finding writing advice on the internet? Do you have any writing blogs or sites you’ve found valuable? Writer by Night wants to know!

On the Road Again

March 19, 2012 musings, Publishing Comments Off

I’d like to take a moment here to wax philosophical on the idea of The Road to Publication.

Depending on how long and deep you dig into the over-flowing informational pool on “What to expect when you try to publish a book,” you’ve probably come across all kinds of stories, and have been told to expect radically different things. Early on in my search for information (as a young and eager student who still believed there was an exact process for achieving anything), I kept hearing horror stories about authors who were asked to make radical changes to their manuscripts, or who were given hideous book covers, or had neglectful literary agents.

That’s not a story that ever goes away in the field of “how I got published.” It’s a huge and driving force behind the self-publishing movement, and something I fully support not wanting to deal with (if you’re also ready to deal with the other aspects of self-publishing like cover design, formatting, marketing, getting the attention of book bloggers and readers, etc.).

But, then again, with the blogging boom making the stalking of debut authors so much easier, I also hear beautiful stories about authors, agents, and editors working together in harmony, like mice and birds and fairy godmothers creating the perfect night at the ball for the author, Cinderella. I hear about publishers actually letting authors help to design their book covers (when did this start?), and editors becoming fast friends with their authors, and everyone dancing together at some massive magical dance party in an enchanted publishing palace in New York City (or something along those lines).  

The truth is, we can never know how it will happen to us, and it doesn’t do us any good to try to predict it. These stories we hear about how it’s done and how to get there? They’re all as good as gossip. And what do we know about gossip? The only thing it’s good for is trouble (and maybe entertainment), and certainly not basing our career goals, personal standards, or expectations on.

Our experiences will not be theirs. The only thing we can do, as writers, is write the best story that we can, even if it doesn’t follow many of the various formulas and checklists that we’ve been told are necessary. We must follow our instincts, and take every bit of advice, every ounce of feedback, and every push or sway with a grain salt. 

One writer’s path will never be the same as any other writer’s path. That’s not meant to be daunting–you’re not striking out alone. It’s meant to be liberating. The only thing you can take away from all of the contradictory gossip about how to “make it” as a novel writer is that your journey will be unique.

So have hope. Take chances. Do it the way you feel best suits you and your career goals. Only never be dissuaded by one person’s rejection, one persons experience, or one person’s opinion.

Best of luck to you all.

Happy Half Birthday TPaL!

November 17, 2011 Publishing, The Poppet and the Lune Comments Off
The Patchwork Girl

A sketch from the original TPaL manuscript

 

Six months ago, today, was the official release of my first (and only, so far) independently published novel, The Poppet and the Lune. Far from its roots as a free weekly web serial, the story has been polished and primped, the words carefully wrapped and transformed, into A Real Book.

When I began to write and post the story of the patchwork girl and Faolin, I had only one thing in mind: I wanted to tell a good story, simply for the fact that that is what I love to do. At the time, and even not until recently, I did not realize how much this act would mean to me. When the web serial was “launched,” quietly, in the middle of the night, halfway around the world where I was studying abroad in Oxford, I was embarking on my own journey. More than just the incredible challenge of providing reliable quality content two or three times a week–I was putting myself out there, to a world that had yet to vet my skills. I was something of a big fish in a small pond called Buffalo, leaping into the ocean called The Internet.

I was in new territory, literally and figuratively. Writing TPaL was unlike anything I have ever experienced, and all the while I was in a country that was not my own, meeting new people, seeing new and far off places. I was discovering how self-reliant I could be, how unexpectedly brave.

Like the patchwork girl, I was, and I am, learning. I am made from the pieces of those who have come before, as we all are to some extent.  I have my mother’s tenacity, and my father’s serenity; my generation’s academic/economic frustration, but my peers’ unflappable hope. We have all the history and advances of the world behind us, rising up like an ocean’s wave to propel us forward on our travels–if we don’t let it overcome us. The key is, we must make all of those pieces come together as one, and claim them for ourselves.

On this half-birthday, I want to take the opporunity to thank those of you out there who have helped me get to where I am. These past six months, I have recgognized how tremendously fortunate I am, and not just because my friends and loved ones support me. I am fortunate because I am surrounded by people who are constantly rising victorious from the tumult of life. Like Faolin, I am in awe of these people who seem so brave, so fearless. They inspire me to bravery, to face a world and a career that is uncertain. Even in their moments of weakness they are an inspiration, because they remind me that we are actually very much alike.

And to everyone who has taken the time to read The Poppet and the Lune, and who has helped spread the word, or left a review, or pointed out a typo on page 2, or helped me choose the best cover, or long ago commented on the web serial asking what happens next?! Every single one of you has helped make these past six months (and the year before that) an incredible journey.

Thank you, all of you.

What I Learned at the Backspace Writers Conference, Part 2: Voice and Subjectivity

November 11, 2011 Publishing Comments Off

Whoa, okay, so a whole work week has passed and I haven’t given you much to take home. So let’s talk about a some big ones!

Voice

Repeatedly throughout the conference, agents talked about the importance of voice. Many people are starting to say that having a unique voice is what defines this generation of literature and authors, so consider yourself a part of history! Decades from now, the voice you write with today might stand out as an example of “classic traits of early 21st century literature.”

So what is voice? Well, you just kind of know it when you see it. Loosely defined, “voice” in creative writing is two things:

  • the author’s own style or quality that makes his/her writing unique, and somewhat conveys his/her attitude and personality
  • the characteristics of the narrator’s speech and thought patterns

 

My most recent favorite example of a unique and powerful voice is in the YA Chaos Walking trilogy (The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Ask and the Answer, Monsters of Men) by Patrick Ness. The main character and primary narrator, Todd Hewitt, has such an incredibly distinct and engaging voice as a 14-year-old living in a new world, introducing us to Noise and Spackle and talking animals… but none of it is cheap. None of it is caricature–it’s real, and immediate, and distinct. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend that you do.

What I learned at the conference was that fresh, original, distinct voices are what will ultimately hook an agent (and your readers) on your book. Many times people have said “start your book with a gripping first line and never let go!” meaning, start with action. That’s something I’ve struggled with, maybe because I studied media and film in college where storytelling happens a bit differently. But I like the film approach: first you show the city, then you show the street, then you see the kids playing on the lawn, then you see the faces of your characters. That’s what draws me into a story, more than any flashing knife or shocking dialogue. And that kind of approach, in literature, requires a solid, captivating voice. A voice lasts throughout the entire story–a shocking first sentence will never be more than the first sentence. And in all likelihood, the first sentence will change before your book is published anyway.

That’s just my opinion of course, which leads me to…

Subjectivity

This is huge. How you write, and how you read, are very personal processes. 

It’s important to keep in mind that the tastes of editors and agents are as varied as the tastes of all the readers out there. Just because they’re in The Business doesn’t mean they love all/only bestsellers, and in fact some of their favorite books may not be very well known. Some of them love fantasy, other’s can’t stand to read another query with the words “demons” or “magic” in the body (as I was told specifically). Many of them say “NO MORE VAMPIRES,” but then the one person I spoke with at the conference who was writing a vampire story got a full manuscript request from a top ranking agency.

I hope I don’t have to tell you all that you’ve got to research the agents before you query, at least find out what kind of books they like to read, or books they have recently sold. But even within the same genre, the tastes of the agents will vary.

For example: like I said above, a lot of people will tell you to begin a book with action, or some kind of shocking first sentence that yanks the reader into your book. As far as agents are concerned? Yes, a lot of them are looking for the strong pull of the first sentence that makes you go “wait, what? Tell me more!”

But the thing about that first sentence is that you have to deliver. If you begin a chapter with “The squirrels attack the second I step off the school bus,” you have to make the next few paragraphs equally as interesting, but also not totally confusing. So a lot of agents prefer to read manuscripts that draw you in and keep you there, rather than manuscripts that toss you in and shove you forward.

It’s up to you how you choose to begin, but keep in mind that ultimately it’s the quality of every single paragraph in your story that matters, not just that first hook that reels them in. If you reel them in just to toss them out, the hook is pointless. So don’t fret too long and hard over the first sentence. (ProTip: If you are struggling with it, try using your second sentence, or second paragraph, as your beginning. Sometimes you just take a minute to warm up!) 

So, you never know. Definitely do your research before querying but don’t get down on yourself if you get a lot of “not a good fit” rejections, because it’s probably true. And you want an agent that is a good fit.

More to come next week!

 

Falling into Place – or, What I Learned at the Backspace Writers Conference, Part 1

November 7, 2011 Publishing, Uncategorized Comments Off

I’m back from NYC! And better than ever! Seriously!

I had such an amazing time at the Backspace Writers Conference, even though half the time my heart was hammering around in my throat and at certain points I actually worried I was going to pass out (there was public speaking involved, and I feared it greatly). But I learned so much. Not necessarily anything terribly new, but just being there and in that atmosphere, saturated with professionalism and stubborn hope and cold reality… all the things I learned in the past that had been floating around in my head as general knowledge? They finally seemed to click.

I don’t know what it was, because in all honesty I didn’t hear anything new at the conference–I just heard it differently. The difference, I suppose, was that I wasn’t just reading it on a blog somewhere. I was seeing it in action, hearing it live from the mouths of agents, editors, authors. It was more real, more immediate.

On top of that, I had the priceless experience of having my intuition validated on a plethora of topics regarding my own writing and query letter, and the way I’ve felt and seen that the industry works. After this workshop (which I was actually led to by my intuition), I trust my own instincts now more than ever, and will never ignore that nagging little voice in my head, or the awkward feeling I get at points when I read over something “almost there.” Sure, it might technically work, but does it work? (Or werk, if you’re sassy)

But there were a lot of good, concrete points I came home with (furiously scribbled on hotel stationary and all over my writing samples). This week on the blog, I’ll be sharing the revelations I felt were most significant, and some tips on how to make the best of future Backspace conferences.

Stay tuned!

Re-start

October 18, 2011 Publishing Comments Off

 So you may have noticed a change in the name and layout of the blog. I decided to get back to the roots and original point of it: this blog is supposed to capture my journey as an author, the ups and downs, the lessons learned, the way my life changes and re-forms as I pursue a career in publishing.

I mentioned a while back that I might not be updating here very often any more, but I think that if I go back to these roots–and my own personal roots–it isn’t so. I want to capture this journey, the highs and the lows. I haven’t been faithful to that desire, because I have worried about the face I present to the public at large (if I admit I don’ t know what I’m doing, won’t people think I’m stupid? etc.). But I remembered, recently, “all the f**ks I do not give,” to quote a currently popular meme. So getting back to basics here, I kind of want to re-start–to reintroduce myself and where I’m at in all of this.

So: my name is Madeline. I’ve been a storyteller forever, and a writer since I was old enough to hold a crayon. I’ve been writing novels since I was 11, and trying to get novels published since I was 20. This past winter, I finally decided to take back the reigns of my writing career and stop waiting around for other people to approve of the marketability of my work. Using all that the internet and my experience and education had to offer me, I self published my novel The Poppet and the Lune, an original fairytale about a patchwork girl and a boy who cried wolf. It has magic and adventure and danger and love, and all the good things a fairytale should have.

I haven’t been “successful” as a self published author in the way you may look for evidence of success. I haven’t broken the top 10,000 on Amazon in any category, on any list. Most people have no idea my book exists, because marketing for me has been a great challenge (I work full time and have little to no access to the internet/social networking during that time, except on good days when the boss is gone and phone reception exists). But, of the few hundred people who I have reached, not a single one has given me a bad review.

In fact, all of my reviews have been quite glowing. Pretty flattering, actually.

I sell a small average of books every month, but that’s okay. I’m working on the marketing side, and hoping it picks up steam. But in the meantime, I’m also trying to put out more content. Still, I’m a slow writer–I’ve come to accept that I probably can’t write, edit, revise, and publish a whole novel in under a year, especially given the fact that my novels tend to be between 80,000-150,000 words.

I have not given up on traditional publishing. However, I have raised my standards about what I’ll accept when the opportunity comes around. When I’m done with my current WIP I’ll be submitting it to the agents that I like best after some thorough research. If they decline, then I’ll self publish it. Simple. I’m not in this for fame and glory and money, even though I would like to make a living from telling stories. I do not write to make my stories sell the most, or appeal to the largest audience. I write because I love it, and because I’m driven to write, and because if I don’t I fall apart inside and out.

Personal things I know I need to work on:

  • consistent content (here, tumblr, etc.)
  • marketing without shame
  • creativity in marketing

Current published work:

 

So that is me, and where I’m at as an author and in my publishing career. Nice to meet you!

I’m looking forward to this new blog beginning ;)

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