Reveal, Advance, or Get Out of My Story

I recently wrote a short story and decided to submit it to a publication. I hired our own novelspaces co-ordinator, Liane, who did a brilliant line edit on it and I was about to submit it when I re-read the submission requirements.

Maximum word count: 3,500 words.

Yikes! My story was pushing 5,000 words. I had to drop a third of it and quick.

I'm sure that publications have their reasons for limiting the number of words, but these limits keep authors honest. Kurt Vonnegut is said to have said "Every sentence must do one of two things--reveal character or advance the action. So I trimmed everything that didn't do either of these things and found myself with 3,450 words that expressed everything that needed to be said about my characters and the situation in which they found themselves.

What had been in those 1,500 words anyway?

It was a difficult process. I get attached to scenes and sentences I feel are catchy. Or one can get hung up on teaching the audience a particular lesson which may not emerge naturally from the plot. In the latter case, we manipulate the characters' actions and words so that my viewpoints come through. That's a recipe for disaster because the readers will spot the lack of authenticity in the character's voice.

What has your experience been in trimming fat from your work?

Cover Art

On behalf of BookYear Mysteries (a wholly-owned subsidiary of me), I am pleased to announce the publication of the fourth Henry Grave Mystery: Aleutian Grave.  

For tax reasons, specifically my intention to write off cruises as work-related activities, I had intended to finish this project in December.  But it didn't work out that way.  The first draft was deeply flawed.  Also, it was lacking in plot, tempo, character development, verbs, and font consideration.  So I spent four more months pounding it into shape.  And I'm pleased with the results.  

When it came time to thinking about the cover, I knew it had to have a cruise ship on it, but I'd already done that a few times, and I wanted to try something different.  Finally, I went with an old Russian stamp that I found online.  I bought the rights from a European image service, and then I went to work on it.  Below is the whole cover - wrapping around the spine.

Aleutian Grave explores crime in the Bering Sea. Henry Grave returns as an investigator for the Association of Cruising Vessel Operators. A World War II P.O.W., Henry is as cunning as he is charming, and at 85 years of age, he fits right in with his fellow passengers. The arctic exploration ship Nikolai Gorodish is cruising the Aleutian islands when a cabaret dancer named Rose DeSilva is found stabbed to death. More deaths will follow. But that’s only the beginning. Is there an an arctic demon on board the ship? Or is someone else cannibalizing the bodies of the dead? With the help of a horror film star, a Russian heiress, and an apprentice shaman, Henry draws on skills honed in a Nazi prison camp to track down a killer who might have his own reasons for taking this particular cruise, reasons unrelated to the sumptuous meals, delightful shipboard activities, and arctic ports of call. 

12 million people take a cruise each year.
Most have fun.
Some die.
Henry Grave investigates.

I had intended to have the Kindle version out today, but it didn't happen.  One of the chapters got buggy, as Kindle chapters do, but if you'd like to have a look at the relatively inexpensive print version, here's the link.  

I'll be doing a Kindle freebie promo shortly on the last book in the series - Grave Indulgence - in an effort to attract readers, that being the most effective way I know.  Any thoughts and advice on how to appeal to a wider audience would be welcome.

Guest author Melodie Campbell: In the Writing Trenches: Rules for Moms

Melodie got her start writing comedy. In 1999, she opened the Canadian Humour Conference. She has over 200 publications including 100 comedy credits, 40 short stories, and has won 9 awards for short fiction. Her fifth novel, a mob caper, is entitled The Goddaughter's Revenge (Orca Books). Melodie was a finalist for the 2012 Derringer, and both the 2012 and 2013 Arthur Ellis Awards. She is the Executive Director of Crime Writers of Canada. Catch Melodie's humour column for The Sage, Canada's magazine of satire and opinion.


Okay, these are not the definitive rules for Author-Moms. I would never claim to be an expert.  But I did raise two kids while writing stand-up on the side and penning a syndicated humour column every two weeks. So I learned a few things about survival along the way

Bad Girl’s Tricks for Writing with Kids:

1. Probably you shouldn’t lock yourself in the bathroom, so the kids can’t get at you. Equally, you shouldn’t sit in the playpen with your kid on the outside, screaming and shaking the thing.  Okay, at least not more than once a day.
2. Never put a package of Twinkies in front of a toddler so that you can continue to write. (Remove them all from the plastic wrappers first so the kid doesn’t choke.)
3. A kid won’t die if they drink half a mug of cold coffee.  But watch the wine. In fact, you might want to finish the bottle right now so there is no risk.
4. Other kid’s birthday parties are a great thing for a writer. But you really should pick up your own kid when they’re over. (Eventually. Before winter.)
5. It’s okay to get someone to babysit your kids while you move into a new house. But it’s not okay to forget to tell anyone where that house is.
6. When your kid leaves home for university, it is not recommended to immediately change their room into a study or writing room. Wait until after Christmas. The sales are better.

Re “Leaving the nest”: Every mother gets emotional about this. But probably you shouldn’t do it until your kids are grown up.

Melodie Campbell achieved a personal best this year when Library Journal compared her to Janet Evanovich.  Her first book, Rowena Through the Wall, was an Amazon Top 100 bestseller. Her fifth novel, The Goddaughter's Revenge, has just been released by Orca Books.

Opening to The Goddaughter's Revenge

     Okay, I admit it. I would rather be the proud possessor of a rare gemstone than a lakefront condo with parking. Yes, I know this makes me weird. Young women today are supposed to crave the security of owning their own home
     But I say this. Real estate, shmeel estate. You can’t hold an address in your hand. It doesn’t flash and sparkle with the intensity of a thousand night stars, or lure you away from the straight and narrow like a siren from some Greek odyssey.
     Let’s face it. Nobody has ever gone to jail for smuggling a one bedroom plus den out of the country.
However, make that a 10-carat cyan blue topaz with a past as long as your arm, and I’d do almost anything to possess it.
    But don’t tell the police.

Library Journal says this about Melodie`s third novel, The Goddaughter (Orca Books): 
"Campbell`s crime caper is just right for Janet Evanovich fans.  Wacky family connections and snappy dialogue make it impossible not to laugh."

The Goddaughter's Revenge on Amazon 
The Goddaughter on Amazon 
Follow Melodie’s comic blog at  www.melodiecampbell.com 

Contributing to an Anthology

Wikipedia defines an anthology as: A collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. 

My question is, is it worth it to contribute to an anthology if the compiler receives royalties as part of their deal (or is the publisher), and their offer to you is a few copies of the book, and/or less than say, $100? Each writer who accepts such deals has his/his own reasons for agreeing to do so. Some say it equates to writing for free, others say in the long run, the contributor benefits. I've done it a couple of times because it felt right at the time, but I'm just curious as to whether or not my Novel Spaces authors and Novel Spaces blog followers have ever done this, or would agree to do it, and why, or why not.

I posted this question on my Facebook page recently for authors to answer, and the replies were very interesting. While I don't think money should always be the focus, the compiler eventually ends up getting paid for the project based on sales, and the contributors do not. Are you fine with this? And I'm directing this to authors, not compilers.

Thanks for your feedback. Write on!

Guest author Nuala Ní Chonchúir: Editing - The Relief Stage of Novel Writing

Nuala Ní Chonchúir

Nuala Ní Chonchúir was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1970; she lives in East Galway. Her fourth short Mother America was published by New Island in 2012. A chapbook of flash Of Dublin and Other Fictions was published in the US in late 2013 by Tower Press and Nuala’s second novel The Closet of Savage Mementos appeared April 2014 from New Island. Nuala's third novel, Miss Emily, appears 2015 from Penguin USA and Penguin Canada. 
story collection




I love to edit my novels; I think of it as the Relief Stage of writing. The first draft is there – a real and tangible story has been concocted – and now it is time to make it as elegant and shapely as possible. I love it despite the fact I have developed RSI from all the editing I have been doing in the last few months. It’s a task that requires such close attention that I have been hunched over my laptop for hours, not taking regular breaks, madly tapping at the keyboard. There is an urgency about the editing stage that makes for a frenetic life and, for me now, a sore neck and arms.

I have been in the weird position for the past few months of putting two novels to bed at the same time. I was still making adjustments to my just-published second novel The Closet of Savage Mementos days before it went to print in March. I made fifty changes (small ones) to the final proofs. I am sure that did not endear me to the publishing house, but I was shocked to still find repeated words and bockety sentences in the MS so late in the editorial process and they had to go. A writing friend is convinced that the repeated words we banish from our novels creep back into the manuscript at night, while we sleep.

My third novel Miss Emily (due 2015), about Emily Dickinson and her Irish maid, was bought by Penguin USA and Canada in late January and my editors there sent me 17 pages of editorial notes to consider while writing my second draft. I had six weeks to ready that draft. It turned into an intense time of re-reading research and trying to get everything right; of thinking about my characters lives before the action in the novel takes place in 1866/1867. What formed them? How did the people they used to be bring them to where they are? The work was close and time-consuming (all consuming!) but deeply satisfying.

For The Closet of Savage Mementos, which concerns a love affair between 21 year old Irish girl Lillis and 51 year old Scottish man Struan, the managing editor at New Island met with me over breakfast in Dublin to discuss changes that I might like to make. He recommended fleshing out conversations, having deeper reactions to shocking news, and the tying up of a loose end concerning one character who seemed to just disappear from the story. These suggestions from someone who is ‘cold’ – and by that I mean someone who is outside the story – are enormously helpful to a writer. It is amazing the basic mistakes that linger in a manuscript even after we have edited it several times to our own satisfaction before submitting it to the publisher. I implemented his suggestions and was so much more pleased with the novel then.

I consider myself a bit of a perfectionist (or nit-picking control freak, whichever) so I am always surprised at the vast amount of copy-editing issues and annoying inconsistencies that I and my editors find in my manuscripts. But I love the buzz of working really closely on the MS towards the end, trying very hard to get everything right. I read the text aloud from start to finish to attempt to catch any unwieldy sentences and those nasty repeated words, especially. I always find that over the course of a novel I have obsession words – ones that appear again and again for no good reason other than that they are lodged in my brain. The Closet of Savage Mementos is set in the Highlands of Scotland mostly, so naturally some words will be there often (loch, mountain, sea) but my editor pointed out that the words ‘hover’, ‘grunt’ and ‘manic’ appeared frequently. I’m still not sure what those words say about my state of mind while writing that novel!

I urge those starting out on the novel writing life to embrace editing fully. Learn to become your own best editor firstly and, after that, listen to the professionals who genuinely want to help you make your book the best it can be. The great editor is like an invisible mentor – she is not all over the pages of your book, rather she steers you along, helping you to see how you can improve things. The hope is that you both have the same vision for your novel and, when that is the case, things can go very well indeed for both you and for your book.

Special Guest Skylar Hamilton Burris: The Challenge of Genre Labels

Skylar Hamilton Burris is the author of two novel-length sequels to Pride and Prejudice, a collection of poetry, and a collection of literary criticism. Her latest novel, When the Heart Is Laid Bare, is a contemporary story of healing and friendship. She earned a dual degree in English literature and economics from the University of Virginia and holds a Master's in English from the University of Texas. Skylar is the editor of Ancient Paths Literary Magazine, which has published quality short fiction and poetry for over fourteen years. Her short stories, poetry, and essays have appeared in numerous literary journals, including Big Pulp, The First Line, Spring Hill Review, The Lyric, Voicings from the High Country, The Penwood Review, Schuylkill Valley Journal of the Arts, Small Press Review, and Montgommery's Journey.

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           Publishers like to fit novels into the tidy boxes of genre. This makes them easier to market and sell to readers who know the general type of books they seek.  From romance and young adult to science-fiction and horror, genre labels give readers an idea of what to expect. Publishers are reluctant to bring to market books that break the conventions of the given genre to which they are assigned. Your Christian fiction can’t feature characters who swear or have sex outside of marriage. In contrast, your new adult romance ought not to have characters who are too chaste.  Your genre thriller probably shouldn’t be written with a great deal of literary flourish. These sorts of rules are unwritten, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. An author’s genre label will determine where his or her books are shelved and how they are ranked within categories, and it will help to direct readers. Labels are necessary, but they can also be limiting.

These labels pose a special challenge to authors who blur genre lines or whose books don’t fit neatly within the conventions of a single category. Last year, I read Stephen King’s Joyland. The book is labeled Hard Case Crime on the back, but fans of the hardboiled detective genre may find it a little too whimsical and insufficiently focused on the mystery. It has some chilling moments and hints of the supernatural, but the book isn’t quite a horror novel either. Joyland might best be classified as a coming-of-age story, but that label probably wouldn’t appeal to King’s usual audience. So the publisher chose a genre and ran with it. Stephen King is a big enough name that a slightly inaccurate label won’t prevent millions of people from buying his latest book, but labeling poses a greater challenge to debut and midlist authors whose works don’t quite fit within the confines of one particular genre.

At places such as Amazon and Goodreads, I have found my novel Conviction stocked on a variety of virtual shelves, including Christian fiction, literary fiction, historical romance, Regency romance, inspirational romance, and Jane Austen sequels. While it has some Christian characters (a vicar is one of the major players) and a few Christian themes, it doesn’t closely follow all of the big publishing house rules of what is and is not allowed in Christian fiction, and the religion of the characters is not the focus of the story. Although the book clearly provides a romantic plot with the typical “happily ever after” ending, it is written in a literary style that is not commonly found in the romance genre. My third novel, which will be released May 1^st, is also difficult to classify. The book is a story of grief and healing and male friendship, which might qualify it as literary fiction, except that the two romantic subplots consume a fair portion of the focus. On the other hand, one of the expectations of the romance genre is that the hero and heroine will be in face to face scenes for fifty percent of the novel with romantic tension throughout, but When the Heart Is Laid Bare begins with the death of the hero’s wife, and he’s understandably in no mood for romance.   While the book has Christian themes, it involves a character who is shaky and growing in his faith and breaks some of the unspoken “thou shalt not’s” of the Christian fiction genre.

What’s a genre-blurring author to do? I found a small press Christian publisher who was willing to be a little more flexible in her boundaries than most of the big houses, and I accepted the “Christian fiction” label even though I don’t like the idea that it might limit my readership by turning off a non-Christian reader to a book he or she might actually enjoy. Other authors, after much reading and research, modify their books to fit more neatly within a specific genre. Some choose to self-publish their genre-bending books. For writers and readers alike, genre can be both a challenge and a tool. 

P.S. I’ll be happy to send a free copy of "An Unlikely Missionary" to one person randomly picked from those who comment below.

Books by Skylar Hamilton Burris: 

 

   

The Bucket List

A person very close to me was told that she didn’t have much longer here on earth.  After the emotional breakdown, she collected herself and calmly said, “I guess I have to make my bucket list, don’t I?”

Her bucket list included travel to far away exotic places.  I supported her.  There was no way I could crush her spirit by pointing out she was too weak to accomplish anything on her bucket list.  She eventually figured that out herself.

Like many of us, this person put off all the things she wanted to do, to accomplish the things she had to do.  There was college, a career, and bills.  When she was not working, she did not have the money.  When she was, she did not have the time.

That is the same with the majority of us.  We let money, time, family, and careers get in the way of the things we are most passionate about.  We want to wait till we retire to get take that cruise; wait until we have more time to write that book.  But the thing is we may never live to retirement.  Or we may be too old and feeble, or too poor to do the things we want to do when we retire.  The time to do them is now.

I recognized that 11 years ago when I had a brush with death due to complications in childbirth.  I had all these stories in my head but was waiting until I wrote my dissertation, got my career on the right path, got a good steady job, got more time, (you can insert your obstacles here) before I wrote those stories.  But after that near death experience, I realized that if I died, those stories in my head would die with me.  So when I recovered and went on maternity leave, I immediately set out to pen and publish the stories.  I went at it with a dedicated passion.  That was the number one item on my bucket list: to be a published author.  Six years later, I finally accomplished that. Oh yes, I do have more things on my bucket list, but they are things that if I don’t accomplish, I wouldn’t really care. 

As a kid, I always heard older people speak of what they could have been had they had the opportunity.  I made a promise to myself since I was a child, to never look back at my life when I’m older and regret that I didn’t do the things that I wanted.  And it’s driven me to accomplish a lot academically.   It was the impetus behind my desire to have a family at all cost.  But socially and recreationally, there is still a lot I want to do before I kick the bucket.

So for you guys procrastinating and putting obstacles to achieving the things you want to do in life, I say like the Nike commercial, “Just do it.” Don’t wait until you are told you have limited time to do the things on your bucket list.  Make your bucket list your “to do” list and do them now.