Will Not Accept Electronic Submissions

Thomas White has had an interesting literary career.  A veteran theatrical director and producer, he has written several screenplays and gets extra coolness points for having directed the world tour of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles-Coming Out Of Their Shells.  His first novel, "Justice Rules," takes a fresh approach to the crime procedural and was a 2010 finalist in the Pacific Northwest Writers Association Literary Contest .  But in the search for an agent he has met a surprising stumbling block that I found interesting, and I think you will too.

As I was searching for a literary agent last year I found that an inordinate amount of agents will still not accept an electronic submission. A decade into the 21st Century, I found that to be odd. Frustrated with printing and shipping costs I quickly decided that if an agent will not accept modern technology then I was not interested in them representing me. ( I did find an agent and we do have an electronic relationship so I know that it can be done.) The unwillingness on the part of so many agents to accept technology is what astounds me.

I certainly understand the volumes of material that is submitted each year and that the ease of electronic submission only encourages those who are not ready for submission, but to totally ignore the medium is silly. To me, it is the same mentality that originally rejected cell phones, then rejected e-mail and now will not text or read a book on a Kindle. Eventually, they all come around. Why not recognize the reality of our world and join us? Why fight it? It's just a book submission and it is a lot easier to hit delete than to recycle. If an author is convinced that they have written the next great American novel making them print it out and mail it will not be a deterrent, it will only use paper resources that should, by all right, be conserved.

I have run into a similar mentality with e-books. Many people I have spoken with will not use a Kindle or electronic reader. They enjoy the comfort of holding a book in their hands and turning the page. Okay, I get that. But to turn your nose up at the alternative with stubborn indignation is also silly. I had a potential reviewer of my novel tell me that he will never own a Kindle or anything like it. He went on to say that his greatest pleasure is to travel with" a few good books in his suitcase". The image of him lugging a 49.5 lb suitcase through an airport made me smile. I responded and hoped that one day he would be able to travel with hundreds of good books in his 1 lb Kindle.

Technology has changed us and the way we lived from 10 years ago to today, heck, from 6 months ago to today. Eventually, we all adjust and respond to the changes. The adage , "If it was good enough for my father, it's good enough for me." is as antiquated as the mentality behind it. Our fathers never conceived of the technology that we take for granted.

The truly odd part of this thinking is that, more than likely, the book they are holding in their hands was originally written in electronic form. By printing it onto a piece of paper it does not magically transform it into a work of art. They are the same words that are now filling a page of parchment rather than a screen. The ideas and emotions behind those words are unaltered. If a book is in electronic form it does not become less intriguing, less exciting or less moving.

So open up your minds and accept the inevitable. It's not evil, it's just a novel in a format that allows you to adjust the size of the font. How wonderful is that?

Get a closer look at Thomas White's writing at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003K16TCY

Small Press Success!

Stephen Brayton is an editor at Echelon press. He is also their Short Story Marketing Director and has two novels pending publication. I considered questioning that he really was involved with all aspects of publishing (writing, publishing, marketing) but he’s also a Fifth Degree Black Belt Taekwondo instructor so instead I respectfully asked how he got in that position and what it’s like to wear all those hats. Here’s what Stephen had to say, and I suggest you pay attention.

So, last year, around this time, I was thinking of where next to because three out of the four agents I had spoken with at the Killer Nashville writers' conference had sent me rejections. When I brought up the latest emails, there was a message from Echelon Press. I had pitched to Mary Welk and, with a little help from my friends and family, put together the required submission. After I read the email from the senior editor, I stopped myself from hitting the print button to add to the pile of rejections because my brain had registered something different. This was NOT a rejection. So, I read it again, and then a third time because the brain caught something else. Not only did Echelon want Night Shadows, but they also accepted Beta for e-book publication.

A year later, I'm still riding high because the release date for the first book is fast approaching and I'm in marketing mode. Since last October, I've acquired two new hats for Echelon. Author, of course, but also Short Story Marketing Director (December) and editor (April).

Hindsight is 20/20, so if I could have pursued serious editing years ago... Well, since April, I have learned so much.

I recently interviewed Echelon's senior editor for a future blog. She affirmed my thoughts on editing. Writers write. When they think they have a decent story, they do re-writes. Edit and edit again. They pick apart the story, polish action scenes, and fix clunkers. Still, that's not enough.

Writers get so familiar with their own stories, they miss words, punctuation, grammar, and content even when reading aloud. It takes another set of eyes to pick up on these mistakes.

Some writers use professional editors. Some find friends to read the story and comment/critique/edit. Writers' critique groups are great for this. By learning the rules of editing and reading and recognizing other people’s mistakes, I can go back to my stories and realize, a little better, how many errors need correcting. My own writing can only be improved.

One example: Echelon Press is avoiding tag lines after interrogatories and exclamations. “Where are you going?” she asked. “To the market!” he shouted. The question is obvious with the existence of the question mark so there is no need to tell the reader somebody just asked. Similarly, the mood of the scene should relate the friction or the tension to elicit an exclamation point without adding the fact he raised his voice. When I was working with my editor on Night Shadows, I had to step up a level with my creativity to avoid these. Just recently, I grabbed Beta, the second book, from the 'ready to edit' file and went through it again, hopefully saving some future editor some headaches.

An amusing part of editing is now when I read my favorite authors, I pick up mistakes in THEIR books. When Mary sent back first edits on Night Shadows, she pointed out the number of instances of semicolon and hyphens (which should have been EN dashes) and told me to fix these. There were too many.

Ironically, at the same time I was starting to read a new mystery and in the first twenty pages, the author used more semicolons and EN dashes than I did in half my book. You wouldn't believe how much I howled.

That's the nature of the beast, though. Writing is difficult. Editing is difficult. Anything worth doing well and appreciating is difficult. I am so glad, however, to have the opportunity to be published and to edit and thereby assist others. I know I learn from them and I hope the benefits are mutual.

You can follow Stephen Brayton’s career more closely at http://www.stephenbrayton.com 

How to become a Speed Writer

LM Preston is a writer with a mission.  Yes, her young adult stories are thrilling and exciting, but beyond that they subtly teach kids that they have the power to overcome anything.  Writing stories for and about kids that overcome the impossible is a noble goal, but of course first you have to WRITE.  Here she reminds us of an annual event that can help you get moving at the keyboard.

Nano (National Novel Writing Month) from November 1st-30th. It’s the writing frenzy where you kick out a large number of words to hopefully finish a novel in record time. Many people start the challenge and end up with a sizeable number of pages by the end. Some are inspired to start writing for the first time. Others are inspired to finish something for the first time. Some, like me, find that writing at breakneck speed produces a lower quality of work that doesn’t reflect what is normally produced when writing within your own timing. Truth is, my natural timing is four months from start to finish. I tried to increase my speed and did it without much trouble. It increased by 3 weeks, and for me, that cooking time for a novel fits just right.

There are ways to make speed writing more effective. The overall goal, is to produce more in a shorter period of time. If you keep this up, who knows, speed writing may become a habit.

Prepare for it

When you set out to write a novel in a short period of time, outlining is your friend. Take a week to write a detailed outline of the story. It will help to work out most of the kinks before you even sit down to write. Create character profiles of the main characters and review outline before the start of your writing marathon.

Plan it

If you are going to focus on spitting out as many words as possible a day, then plan it. Block out your writing time for the month. Figure out when you are most productive. Is it in the morning, at night or midday? Make a rule – no sleep unless you have kicked out a minimum of a certain amount of words. Make sure you schedule extra time for working out of corners or temporary writer’s blocks. Make your schedule somewhat flexible so that you don’t get burned out and give up.

Write it

With a printout of your outline next to you and a bullet list of your character profile – start the race. Follow your outline. If you want to go rogue, go ahead, write until the roadblock. If you reach a road block – write anything, take some time off to think on it, then re-work your outline and get back to it. Whatever you do – don’t stop writing. Remember, you will always have to edit it.

Don’t look back

Whatever you do, don’t read over what you’ve written until you are finished. That is an easy way to get distracted. Remember, you’ll have to edit the thing many times before your piece of art is perfected. Just write forward, don’t make corrections, don’t read over it, just push forward and write.

Learn more about LM Preston and her work at http://www.lmpreston.com

Strengh -- and Promotion -- in Numbers

You would be hard put to find a more talented OR more charming collection of mystery authors than the ladies who contribute to the Cozy Chicks blog.  The blog is always a fun and interesting read but I was curious as to why these women of mystery decided to band together in this way.  I received a wonderful answer from Maggie Sefton - New York Times Bestselling author of the Berkley Prime Crime Knitting Mysteries - and am happy to share it with you.


Austin asked if I’d comment on why I chose to join a joint mystery blog like the Cozy Chicks and what benefits I’d noticed.  Having been a novelist since the mid-90s (first pubbed in historical western romance in the mid-90s), I’ve learned that there is definitely strength in numbers.  We all know about the advantages of joining large genre-specific groups like Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Novelists, Inc.  But today’s market is different in that we’ve splintered the mystery genre in all directions.  We’ve still got the long-popular cozy amateur sleuth mysteries, detectives, true crime, and thrillers, but now we’ve also got “crossovers” like paranormal in all its fascinating forms---urban fantasy to legions of vampires, werewolves, and other menacing creatures from the Dark Side.  Romantic Suspense, a genre all its own, has spawned newer mysteries with a lot more going on between hero and heroine than solving the crime. 

           

I find all of this variety healthy and stimulating to me as a novelist.  But it does lead to a traffic jam of new mysteries coming out every month and competing for the reader’s attention.

           

How to make your mystery stand out so readers will find it?  That’s the problem not only for newbie authors but for us who’ve been in this writing game a looooong time.

           

That’s why the joint author blogs suddenly popped onto the scene.  I first paid serious attention to the joint blogs in 2005 when my first Berkley Prime Crime Kelly Flynn Mystery, KNIT ONE, KILL TWO, was released.  Hitting four national bestseller lists the first week definitely helped the series get noticed, but every author knows that CONTINUED sales are the key to success.  Especially long term success, and that’s what I was working for. 

           

So. . .in the spring of 2006, at a Malice Domestic mystery conference in the Washington, DC area, two other pubbed mystery authors and I first started Cozy Chicks and decided to use the webname:  www.cozychicksblog.com.  Michelle Scott (Berkley Prime Crime Wine Lovers Mysteries), Karen MacInerney (Midnight Ink Grey Whale Inn Mysteries), and I agreed we needed to ask four other published mystery authors to join us so we’d each be contributing one day a week.  We figured we’d keep the blog fresh that way and hopefully attract readers---not only to the blog but to our books as well.

           

And, boy. . .has it worked.  The Cozy Chicks Blog has grown steadily in daily readership since then despite the inevitable changes in members that happen in group efforts.  The blog has enabled us to have another great promotional outlet for our individual releases in addition to our own websites.  AND. . .we help each other out with promotion by passing out each other’s bookmarks & promo items at our own individual book signings and appearances.  That increases our individual promotional reach seven-fold.  Each of us lives in separate areas of the country, and we each attend a lot of regional conferences the rest of us cannot.  Those travel dollars only stretch so far, so these “Multiplier Effect” activities are invaluable.

           

This past January, we decided to broaden our scope even more and joined another mystery author joint group that had recently formed---Cozy Promo.  There are 25 mystery authors in this email loop and again---we all help each other with promotion by handing out bookmarks, etc at our own events.  That Multiplier Effect got a heckuva lot more powerful with 25 authors working it.  

           

Plus, having all those eyes and ears out there on the Web means there’re more people finding interesting articles or book news that would be of interest to the entire group. 

           

And this June, the Cozy Promo group started a new blog all its own, with a twist---www.killercharacters.com.  Killer Characters is where our characters do the posting---as themselves---not us.  In fact, our characters are known to chase their authors off some of the postings.  If you’ve ever wondered if we authors suffer from split personality disorders---well, you get to see it front and center on Killer Characters.  Kelly Flynn first posted on June 8th, so if you’re curious about Kelly, who she is and why she’s poking into murders in the beautiful Rocky Mountains of Colorado, check out Killer Characters.

           

Those promotional efforts not only help us bring existing characters to the readers’ attention, but they’re also invaluable when we’re introducing a new series with new characters, as I am.

           

I’ve sold a second mystery series which will be published in August or September 2012.  The Molly Malone Mysteries take place in my old hometown, Washington, DC.  There are good guys, bad guys, and politicians all mixed in with mystery and some intrigue.  It’s not cozy, but I’m hoping readers will give Molly Malone a try anyway.  And I’m definitely planning to use Cozy Chicks and Cozy Promo to help me get the word out in 2012 that “there’s a new girl in town.”   

The eighth novel in Maggie's Knitting Mystery series, SKEIN OF THE CRIME, was Barnes & Noble #5 Bestselling Hardcover Mystery after its release in June and is still on their Bestseller list.  Learn more about Maggie Sefton's work and the rest of the Cozy Chicks at http://www.maggiesefton.com    

http://www.cozychicksblog.com  

http://www.killercharacters.com

Insanity has Never Been so Sexy

TL James is the author of the speculative family saga, The MPire Trilogy.  James’ storyline showcases her love of research, biblical studies and literary classics from Chaucer to ancient mythology.  But since this is a character-driven saga I asked James to tell us about one of her main characters and how she writes him so well.  Her response gives us some insight into her books... and HER, as a writer.

An insane person is usually scary but Malcolm Haulm gives insanity a hint of sexual appeal. When I created this character for The MPire Saga, I removed all boundaries, reasoning, restrictions and social consciousness. Malcolm possesses a reserved animalistic demeanor - on a constant prowl. He attacks everything and everyone in sight, but his fondness of you is based on you surviving his attacks.

Malcolm Xavier is a twin and second sibling to three brothers and two sisters. As a child, he advanced in all his studies with a strong aptitude for math and music. He surpassed his oldest twin, Mallory-Paul. He was slated to take his twin’s position and lead his generation until his terrible accident at the age of seventeen.

Before joining the Family Business, he worked on Wall Street and he was noted being one of the creators of the NASDAQ. He owned a million dollar hotel where he lived on the top two floors. He was well traveled, played in a jazz band and spoke 17 languages. He had his choice of wine, women, clothes and toys. Nothing stood in the way of Malcolm getting want he wanted. If he desired it, it was his… no questions asked. And that often included lives.

Malcolm married his guardian angel, Felecia. He never wanted kids; however the board pressured him to do so. He attempted to stray from the paper bull request by staying in New York, but his efforts proved pointless. From unwanted and adversarial help from his twin brother, Felicia bore three boys.

Although he fathered only one child, Mallory Towneson, during the marriage with Felicia, he raised all four of the boys as his own. During three boys’ childhood and with the constant help from Felicia, he kept his insanity intact and closely controlled. It wasn’t until Mallory’s birth, and consequentially Felicia’s death during childbirth, did Malcolm’s bizarre behavior reared its ugly head.

Fourteen years later when Mallory returned home, Malcolm behavior erupted again. With the mood-swing pendulum swinging from super sweet loving father to violence aggressor, his erratic behavior proved to be detrimental to his existence.

How did I create him?

After I created the main character, Mallory T. Haulm, I went back over his characteristic and crafted a dark mirror image of him thus creating his father, Malcolm. They both have a love for finance and music. Their taste in designer clothes, exotic toys and beautiful women were identical. Some of their life experiences were similar, such as forced marriage and conception of child outside of the marriage bond. However, the few differences that they had, defined their character. Mallory had never deliberately intends to harm people. In fact, Mallory has to be backed in a corner before he retaliates. Malcolm, on the other hand, has no conscience or compassion. He would often inflict pain on others as easily as taking a breath.

Learn more about the MPire novels at http://www.authortljames.com/.

Un-American Publisher

Laura Ann Ford not only completed her novel but managed to get it published!  Then, due to unresolved problems with her publisher, the contract was terminated -at her request.  Her book is no longer available for purchase, but she has agreed to share her story with you.  This is an unusually long post, but I wanted you to hear about her experience in her own words, uncut, as a clear warning to those of us who want so badly to see ourselves in print. 

It took me almost a year to finish my novel, and another year to watch it go up in smoke. I was prepared for rejection; that’s just part of the game. What I wasn’t prepared for was the devastation of realizing that I had been suckered into a scam. I’m not ashamed to admit that I was more than a little naïve about how the publishing industry works. I hadn't planned on publishing McCullen at all. It needed work and a real editor. Having heard the story, my grandmother suggested I get it published. Though I had my doubts, I did a search for book publishers. Going down the list of results, I read the guidelines and submitted inquiries to a few. Most of them never responded and others sent rejections. Since I couldn’t afford to self publish, I assumed I was out of options. Then, the call came, “Congratulations! Your work has been accepted for publication.” I nearly dropped the phone on the floor.


I figured out something was off very soon after I submitted my final manuscript. Some unnerving comments had been posted on my website. One of them has remained etched on my brain since the day I read it. “You have just signed on with the Satan of publishers.”

The second shock came the day I received my page proofs. I was given forty-eight hours to review the entire manuscript and notify them of publisher errors. Right away I noticed the title was misspelled. The title page its self was correct, but at the top of every other page it read, “McMullen” instead of “McCullen”. The rest of the manuscript was riddled with typos and grammar errors, which I later discovered were not considered to be publisher errors. I emailed the company with my list of changes, only to be informed that they would not fix those mistakes, unless I paid them to do so. It was my responsibility to ensure that all such errors had been corrected before submitting my final manuscript. Basically, they did no editing whatsoever before creating my page proofs. In fact, the proofs had mistakes that were not in the final manuscript I sent them! Nonetheless, I paid them to correct the mistakes and never received corrected proofs. I waited until my printed copy arrived to see if corrections had been made.

I didn’t even get any author copies. I had to buy my own book just to see what it looked like. I found out later that other authors were given copies of their book. The expression, “You can’t judge a book by its cover” was meant for McCullen. I was happy with the cover but on the inside it was mistakes, mistakes, mistakes. No revisions were aloud unless I bought more copies, of course. I sold a few copies to family and friends, but I was becoming more and more ashamed of the book. I defended the company at first out of pride and embarrassment, but eventually I kept quiet and removed all proof of publisher identity from my websites. However, I continued to promote McCullen and finally landed a book signing. I was so excited; I even posted a thank you on the company message board. A message they continue to use as a testimonial on their site. A month before the signing, the store manager notified me that he had been unable to order any copies of McCullen, but he would keep trying. We eventually decided to reschedule. The second date neared and McCullen was still not available. The publisher would not respond to his messages. The official release date for McCullen was August 22, 2009. It was not available for purchase, except publisher direct, until December. Even then, no bookstore would stock it because it was considered POD (Print-On-Demand).

I received email after email attempting to bribe me into buying my own book. "We’ll send copies to Oprah, Walmart, the New York Times, and even Random House Publishing." All I was required to do was buy a bunch of books I couldn’t afford.

The last straw came when the company decided to discontinue soft covers, only to turn around and create their own version of a paperback. At the same time, I noticed McCullen was no longer available on any of the online stores. That was it! I sent them an email requesting to have my contract terminated. The answer was no, unless I purchased 50 copies of McCullen! Now, I don’t have seven hundred plus dollars lying around for books I couldn’t use. I never received a dime in royalties, other than the measly one dollar they call an advance, and I had already paid for corrections, e-book format, and author copies! I emailed them again to no avail. I also reported them to the BBB, though I doubted it would do any good. I wanted out of their trap so badly. It had been fun to say I was a published author, but it was an illusion. I’d rather not be published at all than to be under their spell for six more years! And then, for some unknown reason, the certified letter came telling me my rights had been returned, and the contract terminated. My nightmare was over.

By now, some of you already know who my publisher was. I am tired of hiding behind a veil of embarrassment over my mistake. Let me make it perfectly clear, this is what happened to me. If you have had a good experience with them, I’m happy for you, and wish you the best of luck. All I know is that PublishAmerica treated ME unfairly, and I am not alone. I won’t speak for anyone else but there are many others that have had a similar or worse experience. Writers Beware! Do your homework before signing a contract with a publisher or agent. If I had only checked with the BBB or done a simple Google search, I could have saved myself a whole lot of headaches. No one goes from unknown to a bestselling author overnight.


You can learn more about Laura's journey toward publication at  http://www.lauraannford.net.

Learn more about publishers to avoid from Writer Beware - a publishing industry watchdog group that shines a bright light into the dark corners of the shadow-world of literary scams, schemes, and pitfalls.

A Fearful Journey

Diane McAndrew is a brave woman.  Not only is she embarking on the journey of writing her first mystery novel, but she had the courage to talk about that experience to a bunch of total strangers - YOU.  Maybe after you read her guest blog and comment on it, you won't be strangers any more.  Here is Diane's experience in her own words.

I was recently asked what it was like to be writing my first mystery/suspense novel. My response to the question was that it was scary, exciting, intense and exhausting all at the same time. If I had an endless amount of space I’d write today about all of them. However, since I have to keep this short I want to address the “scary” part of it.

I say scary because, for me, it is one of the most fearful things I have done. Fearful because, even though I wrote my first “book” at the age of eleven and have dabbled in a lot of other writing since, this is the first time that I have attempted to do any formal writing (not counting school papers which for the most part were generally impersonal) where I have the intention of letting other people read it, critique it, embrace it or reject it. What if I found out I wasn’t quite the writer that I thought I was? I would be crushed! Writing has been one of my loves for so long that it would devastate to find out I was terrible at it!

And, what if, by reading my book, people would actually be able to penetrate the brick wall that I’ve built around me over the years and see who I really am? That thought stopped me in my tracks! I’m a very private person (ask my mom – she hates that I’m that way) and I don’t easily let people in, and this book has a lot of me – my personality, my character traits, my thoughts, my view on the world – in it. Made me shiver just thinking about it!

And then there was the fear of not knowing what I was doing! I had never written a “real” book before and I didn’t know the first thing about it. What if I did it all wrong and got nothing but rejection letters? What if my dream died because of my own ignorance?

All of these fears paralyzed for me for a bit and almost made me quit before I had even gotten started! However, being a stubborn girl and one that refuses to quit anything (and having a very supportive husband who kept telling me I could do this), I decided to just jump in with both feet! I began reading every writing book I could get my hands on and attending as many writing conferences as I possibly could. Both were instrumental in helping to guide me down the right path. Scared or not, I was soon able to push my fear aside and just sit down and start building my book. I learned to approach it like a jigsaw puzzle – I found all the outside pieces (the bones of the story) and then I have begun filling in all the other pieces! And what a challenging but fun puzzle it has turned out to be!


Keep us posted on your progress, Diane.  We can't wait to read your novel!