CRUTCHES AND FALLBACKS
The other day I got an e-mail from my publisher to give her a call. I did, and she said she’d gone through Spanish Gold to format it for a September release. In the process, despite already having done the major edits and just now waiting a final proof read, she noticed something that she thinks needs to be fixed.
We discussed the issue and I agreed. It’s a crutch I fall back on, something I unconsciously do, that despite all, and the editing we all did, it took a fifth or so set of eyes to see it in the “clean” edit. It’s something that jumped out to her after everyone else was so close to it, they couldn’t see the forest through the trees.
I’m not going to say what it is because I don’t want every potential reader looking for something that won’t be there when it finally gets to print.
I’ve corrected countless bad habits over the years. Despite all, I still fit into a comfortable writing pattern, and after the hundreds of odd quirks I’ve corrected over the years, I haven’t ironed out all of them. I probably never will.
WE ALL DO IT
No matter your experience, you’re going to fall into patterns and have certain crutches and fall backs you use to get out of situations you find yourself in when you’re writing. It’s only natural. It’s, of course, far worse when you’re first starting out. Then again, you haven’t developed your chops yet, so some of these quirks you haven’t had enough experience to learn yet. On the other side, you may have learned some of these things to correct other errors and got to use them a bit too much.
CORRECTING THEM
Many of these repetitious quibbles, such as the same dialogue tags, using the same phrases over and over again, using the same noun-verb combinations, misspelling the same words or using them in the wrong context are all developed as you come up with your bursts of writing inspiration. The better you get, the more honed your chops become, the more natural you are at self-correcting as you write.
However…
There’s nothing that squelches creativity than bogging down to think of every nuance of writing just to make each individual sentence and paragraph perfect right out of the gate.
Call it verbal diarrhea – just blurt it out and fix it later.
The trick is to get better enough so that when you self-edit and then let others edit, there’s less work to do.
NOBODY LIKES EXTREMES
I’ve mentioned this a few times here at Fred Central, but I’ve known of a few writers who are extremely slow at writing because they ponder over every word, every sentence and every paragraph before they ever commit it to paper (or electronics). To me, that would squelch all the creativity right out of me.
Like I’m sitting here at my desk blurting out this piece right now. It’s just flowing and I’m trying to self-edit as I write it. I’m only going to go through it once, probably Tuesday right before I post it. Maybe I’ll re-look at it Sunday just for kicks. That’s it. The reason is that I’ve been doing this a long time. Also, I’m not going to go to extremes and pick over every word and run it through the Chicago Manual of Style, or the AP Manual. I’d never get anything done.
The same for your stories. You need to learn your chops, so you have fewer crutches and fall backs. Face it, you’re going to have some.
Don’t go to extremes to avoid crutches and fallbacks. Just learn from them and if you can, avoid them in the future as you work at it.
Don’t squelch your creativity just to squelch a habit. If you can minimize it, do so, but not at the expense of losing your spark. That’s what editing is for.
BEING AWARE
Most of us are not even aware of our crutches and fallbacks initially, until an editor or beta reader or critiquer points them out to us. It’s then that we can act on them by slowly incorporating the fix into our prose. Learn from it, but don’t make it a psychological phobia.
The more you write, the better you’ll be at avoiding crutches and fallbacks.
SUMMARY
As you’ll notice, I didn’t list a lot of examples. The reason is that this isn’t an instruction guide. Why? There are way too many crutches and fallbacks in writing to list. It would go way beyond the scope of this article. Let critiquers, editors, and beta readers tell you what you’re doing over and over again. THAT will let you INDIVIDUALLY know what your crutches and fallbacks are.
Happy writing!
DO DREAMS AFFECT YOUR WRITING?
On the Facebook forums I participate in, with regards to inspiration, once in a while the question comes up on whether dreams affect one’s writing. That thought inspired me because this morning, I had to make one of my inevitable trips to the bathroom. When I lay back down, with my mind racing, I thought of the upcoming final confrontation in my latest fantasy novel, Across The Endless Sea.
Personally, my dreams have nothing to do with my stories, because I rarely, if ever recall my dreams anymore, not like I did when I was twenty. Most of them are a mishmash of things. They aren’t nightmares, or unpleasant, but busy from what I recall, and I usually forget them as soon as I wake. To me, that means they aren’t worth remembering. Sure, I can recall a few here and there, but they’re silly and have nothing to do with anything I’m writing. On the other hand…
SLEEPING TWILIGHT
When your brain is either shutting down for the night, or ramping up for the day, how often do you think about things?
In my case, most of the time I just shut down and next thing I know, I’m waking up for a bathroom break. Given my age, that’s inevitable most nights. I’m lucky if I can sleep through the night. At the same time, I’ve always had evenings, when despite being tired, or having napped too late, I can lay there for a while before I doze off.
Since I work and have a regular schedule, I go to bed at a certain time. If my body decides not to cooperate, I may lay there a while. My mind drifts and quite often, it may include some writing “thinking time.” This does not constitute dreaming. It rarely happens in the morning, but once in a while, that can happen too, like it did this morning (as I write this).
DREAMS
As the forums have shown, some people have come up with everything from details to complete plots based on dreams. This is something I’ve not been able to do because when I do recall a dream, it rarely has a lasting impact, and the details quickly fade. There are only a couple that have stuck with me over the decades, and I have no interest in writing about them. Not my genres, at least so far.
Some of you may write down your dreams when you wake. While your memory is still fresh, you can record them for later use. There are very thick books full of the meaning of dreams, which one can take with a grain of salt. We used to have a couple of those books and maybe they have some psychological value, but they may also be hocus pocus, depending on your philosophical outlook. My problem is that even at the time, I was never able to recall enough details of most of my dreams for the books to do any good…or bad. They certainly wouldn’t have been any good to use for plot details if I’d been a writer at that time!
For some, dreams are gold. From writers to musicians, dreams can be the golden goose when it comes to inspiration. I guess it all depends on your recall and what you interpret from them. While I can recall details of many obscure events in my waking life, I guess I’ve been spared those same details from my dreaming life. For others, it’s just the opposite. They recall exquisite details of their dreams, but can’t remember what they had for dinner the night before.
IS THAT DREAM REALLY SUCH A HOT IDEA?
You may be all hot and bothered by a truly inspiring idea, however, when it comes to execution, is it something you have the capability to carry out? Is this idea something that can be turned into a logical story that others will buy?
To me, people have lots of crazy dreams. Over my many decades, I’ve recalled dreams I’ve been able to talk about (yeah, I have had a few) and while they were great to talk about, they were also weird and didn’t make a whole lot of sense in execution. Same for friends who also recalled dreams. We’d once in a while talk about some weird dream we had, and it was something contradictory…something that was impossible in real life. How do you turn that into a believable story?
Then again, fiction is fiction. That impossible dream, with a little nuanced adjustment, can be turned into a perfect story. It can be turned into one with a minimal amount of suspended disbelief. Sometimes that’s how some of the great stories are created.
Yup, once in a while, dreams actually work for inspiration, in that regard.
While it’s never happened to me yet, it could very well happen to you. You just have to make sure the original “not such a hot idea” is adjusted so it becomes the next “hot idea.”
As it turned out, I was able to write the final confrontation scene in Across The Endless Sea later in the day. Part of that twilight thinking helped me work out what I needed. The rest came while daydreaming while eating breakfast.
SUMMARY
Whether the before sleep or waking twilight time gets you going, or dreams themselves help you, it’s something to consider when coming up with ideas for your writing. Then there’s always daydreaming…
Happy writing!
HOW DO YOU PREFER TO READ?
This is a multi-faceted question because I’m not only talking about the format, but the mood and setting.
As a writer, I’m assuming you’re a reader as well. After all, most, if not all of you had to start as readers. Like me, I started with a love of reading long before I ever thought of writing. My first, disastrous stumbles at this passion were a far cry from what I do now and could’ve brought this all to a screeching halt. Through it all, I had a few flashes of brilliance, more or less, and they slowly nurtured my interest into a passion for writing.
None of that would’ve happened if I wasn’t already a voracious reader.
OLD SCHOOL HOCKEY
Back when I grew up, we had no choice but to read paper books, whether hard cover Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew or Bobsey Twins, or later on, soft cover trad paperback Edgar Rice Burroughs tomes. Then there were the “wyberry” endless supply of hardbacks, of which everything under the sun was available. Admittedly, I found little use in those because I had no interest in the classics, and frankly, knew close to nothing of genre fiction, being such a young spud.
My parents had the odd paperback lying around the house, but they were often thick (lots of pages) and had tiny (at least for me at the time) print. Plus, the books were usually older and smelled funny. Paperbacks did not age well back then and to tell the truth, still don’t, but nowadays, I’m more inclined to appreciate the smell of an old book.
ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGY
To avoid a further history lesson and just jump to modern times, we have available nowadays paper books, e-books, audio books, video books, you name it. For the modern reader, there are a host of media available to enjoy your stories.
The question is, if you enjoy reading, how do you choose to partake?
TIME
Time is a factor for a lot of people. I know that’s affected book sales, no matter the format. While it takes time to sit down and read a book, some people just don’t have the time, with busy schedules (admittedly not as much a factor during the pandemic, but let’s push that aside for the moment). Then there’s the competition of TV and those with more active lifestyles.
How do you fit in reading time?
AUDIOBOOKS
Some do it with audiobooks.
I, for one, cannot multitask and listen to an audiobook as well as read. While I can listen to music CDs on my commute to and from work, I also tend to drift off into other worlds. Not only am I paying attention to the road, but the music is taking me places. Listening to Howard Stern interviewing someone, for instance, I miss details of the chat because I’m only catching some of it while something they say makes me think of something else. I don’t stay focused on all of what they’re saying. While I could, I suppose, I just don’t, because I don’t have to. The same with an audio book. I miss half the details because I drift.
If I’m sitting down and reading, I absorb a lot more details over a longer period. It just works better for me. Less distracting.
On the other hand, maybe a more active reader can utilize audiobooks better than I can. Is that what works for you?
VIDEOBOOKS
How about videobooks? Sitting at a computer or a TV, watching someone read a book to you? Not a very common format, but around. Like sitting on grandma or grandpa’s knee and having them tell you a story. Maybe that works for you.
E-BOOKS
Some people swear by e-books. They’re cheap once you buy the reader. They’re easy to work with, some say. It’s really easy to save your place. You can usually adjust the font size to make them easier to read. You can store thousands of books on a slab the size of a piece of bread.
They’re the cat’s meow for many people.
On the other hand, they’re not something with any significant tactile feel. They have no new or even old book smell. You can’t peek ahead to the end and “cheat” to see if the hero lives in the end. You can’t get signed copies…well not real ones anyway.
Oh, and let’s not forget those sometimes fantastic vivid color covers that may or may not live up to what’s inside.
PAPER BOOKS
There’s nothing like the tactile feel and smell of a good paper book. Holding something of significant weight and texture in your hand is the best. Sure, they cost more, and you have to mark your place, but I much prefer that. I can’t adjust the font size, but I’ve been used to that little annoyance for many decades.
ENVIRONMENT
Time and place are critical for reading, no matter what the format. On the go may mean audio. E-books or paper can be anyplace. Video requires the technology and is usually in a fixed place.
For some of you, things have to be quiet like a library. For others, like me, bombs can be going off and I don’t care. I’m usually reading in a mix of situations between early morning when everyone is asleep to the evening when everyone is watching TV, to me reading during commercials, or half reading when I’m only moderately interested in something showing on TV. It’s funny how that doesn’t work with audio books, but that’s just the way it works for me.
How about you? What do you need to read?
Other important factors are stress level, smells, physical condition, and where you’re sitting. If you aren’t comfortable, it’s pretty hard to concentrate on prose. Maybe it can be a welcome distraction from your uncomfortable situation, IF you can concentrate on it. Maybe not.
MOST IMPORTANT
We mustn’t forget the most important thing of all. The story and writing! If the writing and story sucks, it makes things so much more difficult! The story may be wonderful, but if the writing sucks, how can you suffer through it, regardless of the format or environment?
The writing may be top-notch, but the story may suck. This is a much rarer instance. Usually if the writing is great, the story is also great. Not always, but if the writer has their stuff together with technique, they more than likely know how to put the rest together as well.
SUMMARY
How you read, how you prefer to read, all can make a difference in how much you enjoy what you’re reading.
Something to think about when you write for others and they put your book in their hands (or whatever).
Happy writing!
SHORT STORY IDEAS IN TIME OF ISOLATION
I originally posted this story in 2018 under the title Short Story Ideas. What prompted this redux was that many of us are sitting at home in isolation during this current pandemic, with either a lot on our minds, like unemployment, or well…trying to come up with something to keep us occupied. To keep from going crazy, maybe all these crazy ideas might be popping up that need some kind of an outlet.
As a writer, not all of them can end up novels. Why not save some of them for short stories? After all, tis the season of the short story contests, isn’t it? Well, maybe not. I’m not exactly a big fan of contests, but I AM a big fan of short stories. Therefor, when the muse strikes, I go for it. Using that same impetus, why can’t you save some of your muse for those little ideas?
Maybe, just maybe one day, if you don’t submit these little snippets to a contest or anthology, you can expand one or two into a full-length novel.
INTRO
To go along with my last article (at the time I originally wrote this), Remembering Those Ideas (2018), how about when you’re brewing several short story ideas?
Dorlon, one of my buds that used to attend our weekly writer’s group meetings (when we physically attended them) and I used to get there early most Mondays and often discussed writing and stories. He wrote a lot of short stories, a lot more than I do. We talked about inspiration and writing them all down, saving up the ideas, so on and so forth.
Maybe he still doesn’t write near enough stories for what he wants, given his inspiration and the time he spends on it. I haven’t seen him in a long time now, so I don’t know, but maybe he’s caught up?
As for me, I generally don’t think about it in such terms. My process is a bit slower.
MY PROCESS
Sometimes I can go months without a specific idea. I may be too busy with my current novel, astronomy project (which is now discontinued), editing something for a friend, a proof read for my editor, or one of the other various projects I take on. Then, the muse will hit out of the blue.
What to do?
I quite often stop everything else, then write the draft on the spot.
Other times, I form the idea, ponder it for a few days, maybe a week or two, then, I write the draft in one session.
A short story, to me is 4K words or thereabouts. If I ramble a bit, it may creep into 5K, in need of trimming. Now you have the basic parameters. They can be a bit shorter, if the story warrants.
With the quarantine, that hasn’t really changed much for me because I still work. I have a mission essential job. The difference is that we don’t go anywhere on the weekends, travel, etc. So I have more free time. Same for the weekdays. So far, it’s all been spent working on book three of the Meleena fantasy series and doing edits on the second Gold series story, Spanish Gold. I have not written a new short story yet.
The funny thing is that I have not seen a lot of discussion on short stories on the Facebook forums. Not as much as I’d have expected given our current situation.
EXCEPTIONS
There are occasions when I get a nugget of inspiration and I’m not ready to write. I don’t have the muse. I have an idea, but no motivation, or no set plan. The idea isn’t fully formed, the desire isn’t ready to bloom. The story will sit in the back of my mind and linger until I’m ready.
I have one such story that’s been coalescing since April 2015. It’s personal and will not see the light of day until I’m ready. The problem is forgetting details and not getting some of them right. On the other hand, I have to do the story justice. This is a case where I’ve taken some notes but some is memory as well. Since I originally wrote this article in 2018, this same story is STILL brewing and is STILL not written yet, all of five years later.
There’s another story where I’ve been playing around with the idea for a while, but that one’s been dodging in an out of my mind for some time. I wasn’t sure how I wanted to approach it. Since it wasn’t fully formed, I wasn’t ready to commit. Still, I did have an A and a B and a few months ago…well, maybe a year now, I wrote almost 1000 words. I had the title right off. In fact, that was the first thing I came up with. Then A and B. I just don’t feel the rest of it yet. Other things have priority. Until I feel the rest between word 1001 and the end, it’s going to sit. I’m also going to pare it down some because I have a feeling it’s going to go over my standard 4K mark.
This story as in the first one I haven’t started yet do NOT fit my normal pattern.
Hey, nothing is black and white in this world.
WHAT ABOUT THOSE ALREADY DONE OR NOT COMPLETED?
I have a few shorts that are done and either rejected submissions to my writer’s group anthology or read to my writer’s group, critiqued but not entirely revised.
Each of them could be tweaked, fixed, re-written, resubmitted, whatever.
Do I even want to?
Do I agree with the critiques? Do I want to change them or do I think the critics missed the point?
These are things to ponder if I ever want to move those stories along as well.
There are even a few drafts I’ve blurted out in a nugget of inspiration when the muse hit. Then I set them aside only to languish, forgotten for the moment. Not many, granted, but one or two.
One day, I’ll pull these nuggets out and see what I can do with them.
As of this writing, they still languish on my computer. I ran across one a while back looking for something else. I was pleasantly surprised!
WHAT IS YOUR PROCESS?
I’ve written so many short stories, had enough published, that I don’t live and breathe every word and dangle my life’s breath on their publication.
How do you handle that?
Do you write for the pure pleasure, like I do, or is it something else?
What’s your process? Is it your entire thing or a side aspect of your novel writing, poetry, or whatever else you do?
What I’ve described may or may not be similar to what you do or have done. I hope it gives you some insight and helps you see from another perspective.
During this time of isolation, whether mandatory or self-imposed, you’re bound to have time to contemplate your navel. Will you have time for inspiration? Will it (hopefully) be stories other than pandemic-related? I have a feeling the market will soon to be flooded with that! Are you so overwhelmed with worry about employment, sickness, isolation, everything that you cannot get inspired? I sincerely hope things are not that bad for you. I hope you can use some of this time to veer off into the world of your imagination and gift us all with some wonderful stories.
Happy writing!
WHAT’S IN A COVER?
I originally posted this article in 2014, right after our Las Vegas Writer’s Conference that year. After receiving the draft cover for my latest book, Spanish Gold, plus seeing a few posts on my Facebook forums about covers and blurbs, I thought it would be a good time to resurrect this post and update it. Plus, it fits right in with my recent article on blurbs.
INTRO
One of the things we talked about at the 2014 writer’s conference was book covers. My section on The Cover -Eye Of The Beholder discussed that a bit in my last post (Conference Aftermath – What I Learned), but I thought this would be a good time to talk a bit more in detail
YOU CAN’T HAVE A BOOK WITHOUT A COVER
Whether your book is a tangible item or electronic, it’s going to have more than a plain brown wrapper (reminds me of how they supposedly used to ship porn). I’ve seen books in a plain brown wrapper as a marketing gimmick for real. Have no idea what these books were, or if they sold. Since I used the plural with that, you can see that it wasn’t a unique idea.
A hard fact that seems to be borne out by many market researchers is that great covers help sell books, while sucky ones can kill book sales. I must say I have a big issue with that for one simple reason:
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Let’s take the analogy to another favorite of mine, music. I’ve always been and still am convinced that any old schmuck can go into a recording studio, fart in a paper bag, and it could be a big hit.
Beauty is in the eye (or ear) of the beholder. That’s just as true with art as it is with music.
HOW I USED TO BUY ALBUMS
Back in the day, I used to buy albums by unknown bands based on the album cover. It was usually photos of the band with some kind of background. Once in a while, there’d be some kind of artwork. What I looked for were either the ugliest, or the freakiest looking musicians, with the longest hair, and bought the album based on that. Looking back on some of those album covers today, the “artwork” would be considered pedestrian, but I still love those albums. I rarely caught a dud. On the other hand, they were still a form of art, just not paintings, per-se. Your book cover doesn’t have to be a painting either, but I digress.
Over the years, very few albums impressed me with their artwork in the artistic sense. Certain albums had great visual appeal, but I didn’t really care for the music. Some of the best artwork was from an African band called Osibisa. Their first and second albums, with these flying elephants were fantastic. Their music was meh, okay “world music,” but not my usual style. The band Yes had some great artwork, but I couldn’t stand singer Jon Anderson’s voice, and he ruined some otherwise great music. At least the artwork looked great. Eye and ear of the beholder.
On the other hand, one of my top ten albums of all time was Hard Attack, by a New Yawk hard rock band called Dust. Their artwork was done by none other than Frank Franzetta. That album cover is wow! This was about a decade before that became the standard artwork for Molly Hatchet.
We used to see a band in Madrid, Spain at a local club. This band was called Greenslade. David Greenslade used to be the keyboard player in a jazz rock band I loved called Collosseum. His albums had great artwork. In fact, my wife painted their first album cover and it’s still hanging on the wall in our living room. In this case, the music matched the album covers, at least for me.
Whenever I look through my album collection, I can get just as much of a thrill with the album covers as the music because I can tie the two together. I’ve never been able to do that quite the same way with books. I cannot always visualize story details with book covers.
BOOKS DIDN’T QUITE WORK THAT WAY
Very few books have impressed me with their artwork except certain series. The Doc Savage series had a look to them. The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series were the same. Then there was the Andre Norton series writing as Andrew North. They had a great pulpy atmosphere to them. Otherwise, the look of a book had and has very little lasting impression except in a more utilitarian way. It’s an initial attraction on the shelf for a few seconds, but once I get past that, it’s just art with writing all over it. In fact, some of my favorite covers are more technical books like several of my favorite books on telescope making, or analog synthesizers. The “artwork” is letters and a few modest graphics. However, I’m able to correlate very fond memories to those familiar words and graphics.
There are many great fictional stories I have loved over the decades since I started reading. Lots of favorites used to weigh down my bookshelves. Yet when I finally had to let them go, I received a nasty surprise when I eventually found some of them reissued. Yeah… have you ever noticed that most reissues always have a different cover? It’s like either the publisher or the author never liked the original cover and “wanted to do it right” the next time, or they wanted to try and reissue, rebrand and make it seem like a different book. I don’t know for sure.
I’M NOT EVERYBODY
You, or everybody else may go totally Bozo over cover art and more power to you. I’ll say this. Something ugly or just functional isn’t going to do you any favors!
On the other hand, who is to say what’s ugly? Eye of the beholder…
You don’t have to use an intricate or artsy fartsy high-dollar cover that’s going to break your bank, if you’re in charge of that. If it’s the publisher, they’ll be footing the bill. However, if you have a say, let’s hope you can steer them a bit from something ugly. Of course, a big publisher has marketing wizzes that should know better than to defeat the whole purpose of putting the book on the shelf. If you’re a self-publisher, the onus is on you.
The key is, it’s up to you to determine what’s good or bad, if you have a choice!
UNIVERSAL CAVEAT
The one thing I’ve seen proven over and over again, since I wrote this in 2014, is that an amateurish cover screams self-published. This is the universal caveat.
Nothing will kill book sales more than screaming self-published with a crappy cover. Using cartoonish or amateurish graphics on your cover and expecting people to see the same quality writing inside are just not going to happen. While the story and writing may be fantastic, if you scream amateur with the outside, when people get that initial glance as the first judgment, it places an immediate roadblock in front of your book before you even get out the gate.
While I have a big issue with eye of the beholder, as I said at the beginning of this article, what’s almost universal is that the majority of people can spot amateurish artwork right off. They may have differing opinions on different graphics, different artwork and colors, subjects or whatever, but when it comes to amateurish, it’s way too easy to spot. Cheap is cheap. That’s different from art. I shouldn’t have to explain that.
BALANCE IS BEST
A few tips.
- Make sure your cover art fits your genre.
- Make sure it stands out but isn’t too gaudy.
- Make sure it doesn’t look like it was drawn or painted by a third grader.
- If you have it in a galley proof, put it on a shelf and walk by. See if you notice it, and what it looks like next to others.
- Make sure the artwork fits with what’s between the pages (see #1).
- Finally, balance is best (goes with #2). Just the right amount of flare and simplicity so you stand out but not slap everyone in the face. You want to stand out, not annoy them!
Until next time, happy writing!
WRITING IN MULTIPLE GENRES
WRITING IN MULTIPLE GENRES
Writers can sometimes be focused. That means we tend to stick to one genre, or one subject. Western writers tend to stick with westerns, while fantasy writers stick with fantasy. Non-fiction writers don’t even consider fiction, so on and so forth.
However, nothing is an absolute.
It’s natural for a writer to find a niche and stick with what they’re good at. On the other hand, there’s nothing wrong with branching out and trying something different. Most writers I know, at least the prolific ones, write in multiple genres.
MOTIVATION
Some will call this the more artistic name for it, and that’ll be “the muse.”
For other’s, there’s the mercenary approach. Instead of muse, it’s about money and that’s what they write for regardless of how they feel. Sometimes they’re given assignments to write this or that. It doesn’t matter to them. They write whatever the client wants. In a way, it’s like technical writing, but what I’m talking about here specifically is fiction writing. I mention this because I know a few of these writers that have a specialty genre, but they go where the money is. If someone asks them to write something in a particular genre, they do it because they’re trying to make a living. That’s their motivation. There is, of course, some artistic motivation mixed in because they obviously love what they do, but their prime motivation is to make a living at writing, so anything artistic takes second billing to making money.
The majority of writers I know get their motivation from their feelings and inspiration (muse for lack of a better term). If they get an urge to write something specific, they go for it.
That’s me. I have specific interests in multiple genres, so I take turns writing in each one, depending on which one rocks my boat at the moment.
PUBLISHING/MARKETING
For some, a big stumbling block is how to switch gears from one genre to the next. Hurdles such as using different pen names, web sites, marketing strategies, appealing to different audiences can make your job a lot more complex once you’ve completed your manuscripts.
Since I’ve written in multiple genres, I can only speak for myself. I’ve consulted with others who have also done so, with mixed results.
#1 I’ve decided to go with my real name for everything.
#2 I use a single web site with tabs for each genre.
#3 I use multiple Facebook pages for each book series.
#4 I’ve researched as best I can each audience for the genre and adjusted my publicity to that crowd.
IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE
You can make it as easy or as complex as you want. I decided to keep things simple and I can tell you, I’m a lot happier for it. Like I alluded to above, I’ve consulted with multiple authors that have written in multiple genres and seen what grief and successes they’ve had using different techniques. From their experience, I decided that for me, simple was the best.
It may very well be different for you.
SUMMARY
My best advice to you is:
#1 First off, don’t try to put too many pans in the fire. Finish one book before you start on the next one.
#2 Get to know each genre you write in, so you know at least a little on how to market it (and maybe how to write it as well – maybe you’re actually writing something else without realizing it).
#3 Decide how you want to market it. Once you do, stick with it.
#4 Have fun.
Happy writing!
THE BACK COVER BLURB
This has been a never-ending source of irritation to me as a reader.
I’ve alluded to it many times here a Fred Central, but have never dedicated an article specifically to back cover blurbs. It’s time I did so.
PURPOSE
To be blunt, the back cover blurb is a marketing tool.
The blurb is like the cover. The cover is the first thing to attract the potential reader to your book. If you have a crappy cover, the reader is more than likely to skip your book to something more aesthetically pleasing. It’s a known fact that there are a few rebellious souls out there that seek out crappy covers, “juss cuz,” but don’t bet the bank on that and expect to have enough sales to afford a Starbucks coffee at the end of the quarter.
After the cover comes some kind of verbiage about the story. What’s going on between the pages? What’s the subject of your masterpiece? Why should anyone read it? This is where you need to entice them to open the cover and explore further. This is where you have to grab them and make them want more.
MOST DIFFICULT TO WRITE?
For some authors, the back cover blurb is the most difficult part of the book to write. Others have said it’s the synopsis, while some have stated it’s the pitch letter. For me, while back in the day, I found the synopsis the most challenging, nowadays, I don’t find any of them all that bad. However, if I had to pick one, I’d still say the most labor intensive is the synopsis. What does that say about the back cover blurb?
To me, it’s not all that hard.
Why?
It has to be catchy, but simple. It’s a synopsis without giving away the big Kahuna. It’s a lure to entice the potential reader to buy your book. It’s a quick and dirty few lines that you should know off the top of your head already. You just have to put these words down into something intelligible and honest.
Therefore…
I don’t like to lie to my readers.
TRUTH IN ADVERTISING
There’s nothing that irritates me more than picking up a book that looks interesting. While the covers have some sway, I’m not one that pays all that much attention unless the cover is super amateurish. On the other hand, if I’m going to read this book, I usually just take a glance at the cover and go right to the back blurb. That gives me some idea of what’s inside. I have other criteria which I’ve gone into plenty of times before, but the back blurb is important. What it says is what I expect to see when I read the book.
I expect a certain amount of hyperbole. After all, it IS a marketing tool. However, I expect that blurb to actually be ABOUT the story.
Too often, the blurb is not even (or barely) related to the story between the covers.
WHO WRITES THE BLURB?
If you expect the marketing department at your publisher to take over these mundane tasks, think again! While they may very well do the cover and give you minimal input in the matter, one of the author tasks during the editing phase is to write the back cover blurb. Some marketing genius at the publishing house doesn’t do it. First off, they’re not going to read the book and dream this up. It’s up to you. Second. You’ll be lucky if the artist who does your cover even scans the story to get an idea of the book before they come up with the cover!
Now, if you’re self-published, all that’s out the window anyway. You do it all, so there you go.
ATTRACTING AN AUDIENCE
Often, the back cover blurb has elements of your pitch letter in it. Therefore, what you used to attract your agent you can use to attract your readers as well. Now, if it’s the second or more book of a series, or if you’re self-published, all bets are off. Then again, you’re still trying to attract people. Therefore, do yourself a favor and at least attract them with the truth.
Ease up on the hyperbole if your blurb strays too far from the reality of the actual story!
EXAMPLE
Jane always wanted to be an artist, but when she enrolled in the Chroma Institute, she had no idea what she was in for.
Soon, her life turned upside down when killing started. If she wasn’t careful, she wouldn’t make it to graduation.
Sounds like a great thriller about Jane and her horrible time at the Chroma Institute. The problem is that the story is about Alexa and Jane dies in the first scene. Also, it’s a romance and Jane is the only one that dies.
While I changed the names and plot to protect the guilty, what I described is from a real blurb of a different book, different genre but the same thing, false advertising.
The Amazon reviews reflected it as well. One and a half stars overall of something like fifty reviews.
This was an exaggerated example, but there are plenty that are much more subtle but might as well be just as bad.
WHAT SHOULD A BLURB BE?
The truth with just a hint of what’s to come.
Given that I made that one above up out to illustrate a real one, let’s use it as the example again.
Jane always wanted to be an artist, but when she enrolled in the Chroma Institute, she had no idea what she was in for.
Soon, her life turned upside down when killing started. If she wasn’t careful, she wouldn’t make it to graduation.
Say, the protagonist really is Jane and she wants to be an artist. She enrolls in the Chroma Institute, which is in an old Victorian mansion up on a hill in San Francisco.
This is a murder mystery, a women-in-jeopardy thriller. Jane is single, after coming off a messy relationship with someone. She’s attracted to a tall dark stranger who’s a teacher/student at the institute. Bla bla bla. Mayhem ensues.
Now that’s staying true to the blurb.
SUMMARY
The blurb is your marketing tool. It should ring of truth, not mislead your reader.
It needs to be catchy without going off the rails.
Don’t anger your readers or alienate them.
Your reviews will reflect that. I know I certainly let them know!
Happy writing!
ON LOCKDOWN, WHAT DO YOU DO?
On lockdown, what do you do? Here at Fred Central, of course…the easy answer is to tell you to heed all the advice I’ve been giving you since 2012!
Throwing any potential ego aside, and giving it to you straight, I almost went back to square one and decided on something else instead of jumping on the bandwagon with “another one of those damn virus blogs.” However, why not? As writers, for those of you unfortunately, unemployed at the moment, you may have a lot of idle time on your hands.
I’m one of the lucky ones and have a mission-essential job, so for me, it’s the same ole’ same ole,’ except my extracurricular activities here in Nevada have been curtailed. Does that give me more time to write? So far it hasn’t, at least not yet. I’ve had plenty of stuff to do around the house, given it’s spring, but soon, that’ll pass and the doldrums will set in. I’ll soon have more writing time again.
WHAT TO DO?
This is a perfect time to be productive with your writing. If not on a particular project, then some other way of honing your chops. Below, I’m going to list some things you can do.
COMPLETE THAT MANUSCRIPT
This may sound obvious, but you’ve been piddling around with it for months, maybe years. Now’s the time to put the nose to the grindstone. Enough procrastination. Finish it. Stop making excuses and dive into your story.
RESEARCH
Not all of us are best-selling authors or have lots of money at our disposal to travel the world, experience the places we want to include in our stories. Now’s the perfect time to virtually travel to these places. Not only that, now’s the perfect time to background these places, contact locals, dig deep to eke out these minor details you want to add to give extra life to locales, people, things, whatever the case may be. After all, you can only sit and watch TV so long every day!
FLASH FICTION
A great way to hone your chops is to do a few flash fiction pieces. If you don’t, or even if you do have an MS in the works, it might not hurt to sidetrack for just a bit if you get a hint of unrelated inspiration. Slap down a short short or two that you can set aside for further perusal at a later date.
REVIEWS
I review every book I read, every CD I listen to, and a lot of movies I watch. I have currently over fifteen hundred reviews on Amazon. Folks, authors and other artists thrive on reviews. It not only pays it forward, but it hones your short story chops by tightening up your prose.
ON-LINE CRITIQUING
If you’re in a writer’s group, there’s a good chance they may be working on virtual meetings as you read this. If so, there’s a good chance you may be able to get in on some more detailed critiquing of your work. Plus you can critique others. Just keep in mind no blood on the floor. Critique the work, not the author!
If you live in a remote locale, this may be the perfect time to seek out an on-line group. Once you find one you’re comfortable with, you’re good to go.
SUMMARY
There are many ways to hone your writing chops. You can, of course, dig deep and read all of my articles! Then again, maybe you can dust off all those books on writing you bought but never even opened. You might learn something from them.
On the other hand, you may have plenty of time now to complete all those writing projects you’ve been putting off for so long.
Happy writing!
The Worlds Of Fred Rayworth 