What Does the Editor Mean When She Says That?

 

This is one of the things I post so I'll know where to go back and find it later when I get my manuscript finished and start submitting it to editors (OK. I will try that route, I'm sure.)


This great article over at Writer's Relief is extremely informative.  What does it mean when an editor tells you, "Your MS is voicey and organic but switches POV indiscriminately"?


Find out here


Now I know that I want my manuscript to have legs, be organic, and to be tight. I don't want it to contain dead metaphors or to be quiet or stale. 


Besides these literary vocabulary gems, here's a link to more basic vocabulary and terms for the publishing industry, also on Writer's Relief:


http://www.writersrelief.com/blog/2010/03/basic-vocabulary-and-terms-for-the-publishing-industry/


Now I can find these articles when I need them.  Whew!  Wouldn't want to misplace them.

Thinking like an editor

(Trying to get my mind off my son wrecking my car last night, and think about my writing career instead) 

I'm not even positive that I want to work with an agent.  The idea of producing my own book and marketing it doesn't scare me. It excites me.  All those tasks that many writers dread are my cup of tea.  Complex formatting in Word?  I've taught that stuff for years.  HTML5?  I've played around with it, and learning it's on my to do list.  Creating a webpage?  Blogging? Twitter? Facebook?  Creating a YouTube trailer?  Bring 'em on!  

But...for this exercise, I am going to examine why an editor would be interested in me.  I would like to see my book(s) in print, on paper, the way I like to read them, and, of course, I think the one I'm working on right now would make an awesome movie.... 

Chapter Three of  Christina Katz'   book, Get Known Before The Book Deal is 'Swap Shoes.'  It asks you to look at yourself like an editor or an agent.  Are you causing enough of a stir to make them want to take a chance on you? Partially, that's where previous expertise comes in.  Can you use what you already know to get better known in any community? 

Well, hummm.  I did recently get asked to present at a conference of Tech Teachers here in Oklahoma. I spoke about using Internet resources in the classroom.  I actually think that when I've finished writing my book, I'll have so much fun promoting it that editors and agents will see that I'm a keeper, but what can I do before I finish my book?  I should probably go ahead and create my author website.  I haven't done that yet.  Maybe I should blog more about wooden boats, one of the subjects in my book.  Maybe I'll blog about each of the boats in the book. They are characters, in a very real sense. That's a start, at least. 


Christina says, " It order for agents to recognize your talent, you have to make some waves."  I'm not making many waves right now.  I'm kind of letting down my guard in the technical writing/training world to concentrate on my writing.  Maybe I'm doing the wrong thing. Maybe I should create some online classes for the techniques I'm learning.  And post them on my website.  Now that's worth giving some thought to.  Hmmm.


Christina also says that agents think of us writers as 'talent.'  They want to work with someone who will produce a string of books.


So, according to this book, here's what I need to do:

• Get followers for this blog. (Please follow me.)

• I follow quite a few blogs, but I usually don't comment in them.  I think I need to, and use that excuse to point to my own blog.  I'll try to do more of that, for a start.  But really, Please follow me!

• Get something, anything published somewhere. Then get something else published.

• I think I need to look around at local publications.  Maybe I should try to write something about Oklahoma history and culture (backstory of my book) for the local publication, "My Land."  I Love that paper and would be honored to be published there.  It's a start.

• Get to know the media.  Figure out how to get them to know you
• .

• This one's going to be tough.  I need to work on local media first.  Actually, I've been on the front page of local papers before. I've been interviewed (because I used Angie's list?!?) If I accidentally landed in the news all those times, how can I do it deliberately?  Need to think on this one some more, and come up with a plan.

• Get interviewed for something (something good)

• I believe this one goes with the one above.

• Become a quoted expert in some field. 

• Maybe this one harks back to my idea of putting tutorials online.

OK.  That's the list.  Every one of these steps will take time and effort, and none will get done before the party I'm giving on the 14th.  That's a biggy.  But I will ponder the list and try to flesh it out more, then be ready to blast off after the 14th.

Is Being a Geek Goddess a Platform?

Tis the day before Christmas Eve, and I'm reading chapter Two of Christine Katz' book, 'Get Known Before the Book Deal, which asks you to examine what skills you already have that you can use to market yourself and cultivate a readership.  She asks if you have a following, network, or fan base for, essentially anything.


So, I am going to try to answer than question about myself.  Who am I?

I have a combination of technical and creative skills that set me apart from the crowd. When I was working toward my Ph.D. in technical writing, the department sent me out on many intern jobs because so many of them required more technical skills than any other student had.  I am an early adopter of technology and push the limits of what software can do.  I have strong skills in web design, Microsoft Office products, online documentation and the software used to create online courses for education and business.  I do these things very well.


Example of my online class skills

I am also known as a very good photographer, and I am skilled in Photoshop.  Actually, my first love, before writing, was art, and I still love creating all kinds of art today, from drawing and painting to creating attractive and functional Visio diagrams and PowerPoint slides.  I also really enjoy working with video.  My stepsons call me the YouTube Queen.


Example of my photography
Example of my video expertise 


I am a proven teacher...of technical and business writing.  I was recently asked to give a presentation of using the Internet in the classroom to a group of Oklahoma technical teachers.  I have created online coursework for several companies.


Some other areas of knowledge for me are, Tulsa and Oklahoma history, wooden boats, and what it was like to grow up a farm and work on a ranch. As far as book knowledge, I often read three books at a time, and now I always have a book in my pocket, on my iphone, as well as one by my bed and often one in my purse. I love history and fantasy, and ancient Celtic culture, where these two areas merge.  


So, where do these strengths and areas of expertise lead me as a writer?


I really don't know.  Hopefully, Christina's book will help me discover that.


Gotta go shop now!!!

Platform Time!

When I attended my first writers' meeting, I first heard the term, "platform."  At the last writers' meeting I attended (a different group, but more published), I heard a rant about writing (important) vs. platform (not so much).  But...I think that, with my particular skill set, platform building will be one of my strengths, and that I'll really enjoy it!  To start out, I bought, and just received, 'Get Known before the Book Deal' by Christina Katz.  





I was hoping I'd really read the book, but actually, I'm having a hard time putting it down. That says something, as I'm in the middle of 'A Dance of Dragons.'  The first chapter (and maybe all of it) is kind of in the form of a workbook.  I'm taking it seriously.  It's a little outdated. Christina mentions that the Kindle is getting ready to come out and wonders how that will change the industry.  I think, however, that the basics of platform building will be the same, and that, in today's writing/publishing world, it's probably even more important that it was when the book was written.


Her basic thesis is that the writer must figure out who they are, and what they can offer their readers and their editors to make themselves a long-term success.  This book is about the business of writing, not the creative process.  I love the writing, but am also obsessed with the business side, so . . .  here goes!

A Week Until Christmas: Ramblings of a Writer

Rush. Rush Rush. So much to do. You know the feeling, don't you?  

Move the wrapping paper upstairs where people can shut the door and wrap in privacy.  My stepsons expect flocking and glitter, so wrapping makes quite a mess.  My hubby says, "I've never noticed that," but I did. The first time I made really fancy packages for them and they ohhed and ahhed. and now they expect it. 


Opps!  The new Persian Rug (my & hubby's mutual Christmas present) comes today.  What haven't we bought yet, and when, except Christmas Eve, will we buy anything that isn't bought by the end of today?  


And then there's the graduation party in January. Electricians coming Monday to restore lights in front that last winter's ice storm took out (finally getting that done) and we want to try to get a new runner on the stairs by the 14th of January. HELP! 


Son's home from college.  He says that he never even really saw any Christmas lights until he got back to Tulsa,  Out in Connecticut, he's only on campus and the surrounding urban area...not around any homes.  And the only kind-of-Christmas tree he saw on campus was nick-named "The Hanukkah Bush."  We got a good giggle out of that, but he's been raised around Christmas lights, and I think he's glad to be home during this season.


Just infused money into his account so he can buy a few Christmas presents, and gas for my car, etc.


And all the time, my book and my characters are living their own lives in some compartment of my brain.  Does Kain have enough personality?  I want to get back in and fix chapter two. I transplanted a scene from later in the book back into Cap. 2 so there'll be more conflict.  And just where is his mother from? I was thinking Viet Nam...She's somewhat exotic.  His dad met her in the war, on the rebound from Hadley's mom dumping him for the rich dude. And she comes from somewhere where people are very entrepreneurial, which they are around Asia, because she helps Kain's dad invest the money they get for their land and become quite wealthy.  Just haven't figured out quite where....  Gotta run!!

And the Party Goes On and On and On

We battled this week and won!  My stepson, Ben, knows EVERYONE, and wanted to invite them all to the graduation party we're giving him.  Finally we convinced him to give another party (that we're NOT paying for) for his Lake Rat friends and let ours be for people he knows from school and business.  His dad had to paint him a picture of some of the uncouth characters he calls friends drinking with potential employers.  For a very smart kid, it took picture drawing to really make him see sense, but now I think we have the invitation list down to a group that might fit into our house.

The invitations are printed and now is the time for stamping and addressing (do I still know how to do mail merge for the labels?) and envelope stuffing. 


And keeping on refining the Pandora playlist.  I'm wondering if I need to start a second one in case this one gets totally off track, which it sometimes does. 


And I am so upset because I can't find a Audrey Hepburn cardboard cutout (from Breakfast at Tiffany's) to order. I guess Sinatra will have to do.

Think I'll survive?

Great Advice: Ways to Build Your Platform

This is one of those articles I choose to put out here mainly because when I have time, I plan to go back and read every word and use it to promote my own career.  Unfortunately, here at Christmas time, with my son getting back from college in a few days, a graduation and a party looming and guests expected, I don't have time to do all the things that Christina Katz recommends in her article in Writers Digest: 

50 SIMPLE WAYS TO BUILD YOUR PLATFORM IN 5 MINUTES A DAY

Here are her main points, but you have to read the article to get into the specifics of how to do these things:

• Listen & Learn

• Create Context

• Contribute Content

• Cultivate Community

• Be Authentic

• Synergize Connections

• Produce Yourself

• Publicize Yourself

• Pay it Forward

• Strut your Stuff

Oh, and I just ordered her book for myself for Christmas:

A Blog That Changed My Writing! Thank You!

How to Hook a Reader and NEVER Let Go

https://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/2011/12/12/how-to-hook-a-reader-and-never-let-go/

I saw a link to this blog post on Twitter this morning.  When I had a few minutes, I started reading it, and what Kristen Lamb said there blew my socks off.  Although I've been trying to include conflict in my first romance novel, I'd never broken down the conflict chapter by chapter before. 

I had tried to write my story in one sentence before. Here's what I had:

Problems presented by an old boat inherited from her mother challenge the girl's views of both her mother’s and her choices in life and love.

But Kristin said that that one sentence must include an active goal, stakes and conflict so I re-wrote it:

As Hadley rushes to sell the boat inherited from her deceased mother so she can leave the bitter memories of her childhood behind, she hires the perfect man for the job, but begins to suspect that he knows dangerous secrets about her mother’s life and death

Then Kristin said to figure answer several questions about every scene.  OK. (I'm thinking chapters here)

Chapter One:

Scene Problem: Hadley must get her mind around the problem of selling her boat

Conflict Lock: She and Kain actually have the same goal, but he is there to help her under false pretense, and is obviously keeping secrets and is not who he seems.  (Is that good enough--need to think about that)

Stakes:  She doesn’t realize that she’s being played.

Antagonist: I think it's Kain here.  We don't know why he dislikes her and wants her to leave quickly. We know why she wants to--she's open about that.

Answering these questions makes me wonder if my conflict is strong enough in Chapter One. I'll have to think about it.

Chapter Two really threw me for a loop. It's a lot of setting the scene and backstory.  Opps!

Scene Problem: Hadley has time to reflect on why this place is a problem for her and why she has to get out of here asap.  (need more conflict here!)

Conflict Lock: ?

Stakes:  ?

Antagonist:  ?

 Thank you so much, Kristin.  I read about authors who, after several books, realize their book had no conflict.  You may have saved me that agony. 

I am shamlessly mentioning her best-selling books We Are Not Alone–The Writer’sGuide to Social Media and Are You There, Blog? It’s Me, Writer, because I SO want to win s free critique from me on the first 15 pages of my novel from Krisin...after a make a few change...

I've been a bad, bad girl

Yes, I haven't been writing here much.  Just like everyone else, my life is crazy this time of year.  My hubby just changed jobs (and now doesn't have to commute to another city), and moved all of his stuff home from a tiny apartment where he stayed during the week. I have had to make room in closets for his stuff, and for me, that task is momentous! I mean, I need a closet for nightware (although I don't sleep in any of it) and one for outdoor coats and jackets, one for blazers and sweaters and the like, one for pants, one for skirts, and one for boots. I live in an eighty-year old house, and closets are small and few, so you can imagine what I've been going through.

My word count is actually lower because I recently  cut some parts out of my manuscript pretty radically. I really like my old couple characters, whom I'm writing about now.  And their house(s).  I'm still worried, though, and trying to determine if my book really works as a romance.  It's different than the romance books I have been reading as research.  I don't think my characters 'think' at each other as much as in most of those books.

I like that, but will readers?  Can't wait for my February RWI meeting (Jan's meeting is the day of the I'm giving for my stepson's graduation from law school so I can't go), when I intend to submit some chapters for critique.  I love meeting all these women who are as passionate about books as I am.

I'm doing my best to decorate my house more beautifully than ever (Just had a long comparison of techniques with the girl who cuts my hair this morning). Right now, my house a bit of a mess, with Christmas decorations that haven't found their home yet laying around, but by the end of this week, it will look very good...I hope.  

And my son is coming home from college in five days.  Yay! I just realized that now I can count down in days, not weeks!!

Well, how's your Holiday going?