tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post2705875541064039375..comments2024-03-28T02:00:11.260-05:00Comments on A Newbie's Guide to Publishing: HitJA Konrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778324558755151986noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-41643174782575296252013-05-25T00:23:02.022-05:002013-05-25T00:23:02.022-05:00"Jude Hardin said...
Of course there will a..."Jude Hardin said... <br /><br />Of course there will always be exceptions, books that become immensely popular even though they would be considered bloated messes by any decent editor's standards."<br /><br /><br /><br />Yes, of course.<br /><br />Because the "masses" can't be trusted to like "good writing".<br /><br />How dare those commoners pretend that they have "good taste".<br /><br />Mark Twain would approve. He of course never gave unecessary descriptions.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-59891963929472610252013-05-24T23:02:54.239-05:002013-05-24T23:02:54.239-05:00I would say the The Elements of Style had way more...I would say the <i>The Elements of Style</i> had way more to do with the way we've approach writing and editing in the past half century than any sort of "saving costs through saving paper."<br /><br />Of course there will always be exceptions, books that become immensely popular even though they would be considered bloated messes by any decent editor's standards. Stephen King's <i>The Tommyknockers</i> comes to mind, and I say this as a huge fan of his. It would have been a much better book if a third of it had been chopped and tossed.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16298343190864662091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-24037183446259504892013-05-24T18:08:07.978-05:002013-05-24T18:08:07.978-05:00"Jude Hardin said...
I can't even tell ..."Jude Hardin said... <br /><br />I can't even tell you how much I disagree with your entire comment. <br />...economy of language is more important than ever. Long descriptive passages invite skimming."<br /><br /><br /><br />Tell that to Isaac Asimov or J.R.R. Tolkien.<br /><br />They were trad published authors. but they were good enough that they could break the "rules" that applied to newbie writers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-11950484663402089362013-05-24T17:32:40.706-05:002013-05-24T17:32:40.706-05:00While you certainly can go overboard, some mundane...<i>While you certainly can go overboard, some mundane descriptions are useful in that it makes the prose flow more naturally by emulating the way the average person thinks or speaks.</i><br /><br />I can't even tell you how much I disagree with your entire comment. With so many forms of entertainment competing for everyone's attention these days, economy of language is more important than ever. Long descriptive passages invite skimming. Rambling sentences bloated with adjectives and adverbs are boring and confusing. Bad writing is bad writing, whether it's on paper or a digital device.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16298343190864662091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-89718251572256689032013-05-24T16:29:14.442-05:002013-05-24T16:29:14.442-05:00@Anonymous
You make some good points.
I have wo...@Anonymous<br /><br />You make some good points. <br /><br />I have worked in "the industry" (literary; print; budget constraints), and selecting stories suitable for publication of our journal did indeed entail looking at those that used an economy of words. Sometimes our editorial team had to pass over a lot of really good stuff ...<br /><br />What I'm noticing as I read self-published novels is that a lot of the big "honey don'ts" industry professionals advise against are astonishingly popular with readers. I'm in the middle of reading a novel with more backstory that one typically sees right at the beginning of the first chapter. This is supposed to be a big "no," but readers love this book, given the reviews I have read thus far. That in itself is extremely telling, don't you think? <br /><br />So authors can write "to formula" *while* adding their own unique style. It is indeed possible -- so say they all. :) Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17843311834980760671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-15519958223256420632013-05-24T16:18:52.724-05:002013-05-24T16:18:52.724-05:00"Lelaina Landis said...
Ann,
...rather than...<br />"Lelaina Landis said... <br />Ann,<br /><br />...rather than put him or herself through the rigors of traditional publishing."<br /><br /><br /><br />A lot of the generally accepted "rules" for writing were made by publishers who wanted to save costs by saving paper.<br /><br />Such as leaving out unecessary descriptions. While you certainly can go overboard, some mundane descriptions are useful in that it makes the prose flow more naturally by emulating the way the average person thinks or speaks. Cutting things out just for the sake of word economy (to save paper) makes the prose sound stilted, disjointed, contrived, and worst of all--VERY UNNATURAL.<br /><br />Some of the old "rules" of writing are arcahic and were formed during a time when saving costs through saving paper was an accepted way of doing business in the publishing industry.<br /><br />E-books in digital format remove the saving paper constraint.<br /><br />I say this so that fellow writers can reevaluate what "good writing" really means, and leave the brainwashing they received from industry dinosaurs behind.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-23657037328800169372013-05-24T15:27:00.787-05:002013-05-24T15:27:00.787-05:00Ann,
I shot you a more personal email about this,...Ann,<br /><br />I shot you a more personal email about this, but I thought I would just put it out here as well.<br /><br />My own personal experience (as a writer) has led me to believe that any writer who is talented, experienced and industry-savvy should indeed self-publish rather than put him or herself through the rigors of traditional publishing. There is so much magnificent talent emerging from the indie writer pool. It's truly amazing how cream rises to the top. <br /><br />:D<br /><br />As a reader, I find myself veering away from traditionally published books in my preferred genre, opting instead to take a chance on the indie writer, even if he or she is unknown. Sure, there's still some dreck to sift through, but it's becoming increasingly rare that I purchase a "DNF" ebook that's completely unreadable. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17843311834980760671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-82421739246675403992013-05-24T02:53:49.937-05:002013-05-24T02:53:49.937-05:00Joe:
Exposed:
'Maybe I could make due with a...Joe:<br /><br />Exposed:<br /><br />'Maybe I could make due with a knife strapped...'<br /><br />spelling mistake with word 'due'.The Fatsnackerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11762077085396633789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-34448604533528623762013-05-23T19:08:35.881-05:002013-05-23T19:08:35.881-05:00Lelaina--
I've heard similar things, but I wa...Lelaina--<br /><br />I've heard similar things, but I wasn't a new author when I left, so I can't -personally- verify that it's more restrictive for new authors.<br /><br />However in my experience, the more print runs drop(in the case of Harlequin's series lines these are usually not author specific but line specific) and the more pressure a publisher is under to keep making more profit, the more likely it is that they feel the need to micro manage content. And that did happen to me.<br /><br />But beyond that, I changed as well. I wrote 25 series romantic suspense novels for Intrigue, and it has been great to get the opportunity to explore some different stories.<br /><br />Part of the beauty of indie publishing is that you don't have silly restrictions. You can tell your story the way you feel you can best tell it. Indie publishing has been worlds better for me in terms of money and in terms of creativity. <br /><br />Ann Voss Petersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15141783064748972033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-19734123281832004852013-05-23T17:43:10.769-05:002013-05-23T17:43:10.769-05:00Ann, I'm always curious when traditionally pub...Ann, I'm always curious when traditionally published authors (turned indie) state, as you have, that the landscape of publishing has become too restrictive. Could you go into more detail, because I really need to know that I'm not the only one who feels as though traditional publishing is really battening down the hatches as far as what it's willing to accept from new authors. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17843311834980760671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-12751361406688545322013-05-23T15:46:18.470-05:002013-05-23T15:46:18.470-05:00I clicked on the book cover at the top of the post...I clicked on the book cover at the top of the post but it didn't redirect to Amazon. Not sure if that was intentional or not. I'm used to being about to click on a cover to get to the buy page.Diana Baronhttp://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CIEBODInoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-7794613767745850452013-05-23T15:38:11.638-05:002013-05-23T15:38:11.638-05:00What is the best way to work out a collaboration a...What is the best way to work out a collaboration agreement? Kathyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13508250402019061354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-27809374513033990112013-05-23T14:36:46.681-05:002013-05-23T14:36:46.681-05:00"For those of us who don't read romance n..."For those of us who don't read romance novels, what are the conventions of the romance genre?"<br /><br />The hero and heroine have to be together in the end (just as a mystery has to be solved in a whodunit or the threat has to be stopped in a thriller). A romance is the story of two people getting together, so if they don't get together, it's not a romance. However they don't have to marry or even say I love you, just be together.<br /><br />There can be sex before love, Joe (and how) unless you're talking about sweet romances (no sex before marriage). What there generally can't be in nearly all romance is infidelity. Once the hero and heroine are in love, messing around with someone else is generally frowned upon.<br /><br />The conventions aren't defined by Harlequin. Harlequin has many more criteria than this, because each of their series lines target certain niches within the romance genre. Sometimes they can get pretty restrictive, depending on the line or what feedback they've gotten from readers.Ann Voss Petersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15141783064748972033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-61673667737067309252013-05-23T12:02:00.887-05:002013-05-23T12:02:00.887-05:00For those of us who don't read romance novels,...<i>For those of us who don't read romance novels, what are the conventions of the romance genre?</i><br /><br />According to Harlequin rules, the hero has to get the girl at the end.<br /><br />Also, depending on the imprint, no sex before love (or so I've heard.)<br /><br />Hit qualifies as a prequel to THREE, so taken as a whole, I think the two books could be considered romance. But romance doesn't usually have martial arts, torture, over-the-top action, a bunch of psychotic assassins, and a plot to kill the President.<br /><br />That said, I think the Heath/Chandler relationship meets most criteria for romantic suspense. But I don't write romance, so I may be totally off base.JA Konrathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08778324558755151986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-68753094920992225112013-05-23T10:42:10.715-05:002013-05-23T10:42:10.715-05:00Joe and I had a debate about whether Hit was a rom...<i>Joe and I had a debate about whether Hit was a romance or not. It isn't. It has some romantic elements, but it doesn't follow the conventions of the genre at all.</i><br /><br />For those of us who don't read romance novels, what are the conventions of the romance genre?G. M. Frazierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17351102285187053889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-31555900313417285682013-05-23T10:39:02.571-05:002013-05-23T10:39:02.571-05:00Shoot! I forgot bacon dipped in chocolate! It will...Shoot! I forgot bacon dipped in chocolate! It will be in the next book. :)Ann Voss Petersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15141783064748972033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-39452074842932772192013-05-23T10:06:32.811-05:002013-05-23T10:06:32.811-05:00Going over to download the book now.
Ann, please ...Going over to download the book now.<br /><br />Ann, please write bacon dipped in chocolate into a scene. It's a conference thing.Mary Stellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02186261066656584772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-67740651014752898582013-05-23T09:32:07.211-05:002013-05-23T09:32:07.211-05:00More thoughts on choices:
The beauty of indie pub...More thoughts on choices:<br /><br />The beauty of indie publishing is that we can decide these things and experiment. Not just in pricing but in content. Authors have both business and creative freedom that we've never had before.<br /><br />Joe and I had a debate about whether Hit was a romance or not. It isn't. It has some romantic elements, but it doesn't follow the conventions of the genre at all. The genre conventions it does follow are those of the thriller genre. So it is listed as a thriller. <br /><br />But you know what? As self published authors, we can play with genre conventions. We can find new and different ways to tell new and different stories. That is incredibly freeing creatively, and it's one of the things I most love about self publishing.Ann Voss Petersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15141783064748972033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-59508122146400387022013-05-23T09:30:19.018-05:002013-05-23T09:30:19.018-05:00"What are your cut off word counts between &q..."What are your cut off word counts between "novel", "short novel", and "short story"? And your pricing structure for each?"<br /><br />I operate under the old print system (because I learned these definitions back when print was the only game around). But other people and organizations define these things differently.<br /><br />Short stories were published in magazines, therefore they were actually short. Like anything under 5k or so. There's a lot of leeway there now, though. However at about 10k I personally think the piece is a novella.<br /><br />Novella means short novel, but the range is so big that it helps to call the ones in the upper range short novels. Exposed is 35k. Hit is 40k. RWA's definition for novel starts at 40k. In my mind, anything over 50 is probably a full length novel, but others like a higher threshold.<br /><br />Pricing varies depending on what you want to accomplish. The best thing to do is ask yourself what prices work best for you as a reader. How does price impact your purchase decisions? What assumptions do you have that are tied to price?<br /><br />Mark Coker has a survey he has presented at conferences suggesting the 3.99 price point works best for novels. That doesn't mean it will be best for your novel. <br /><br />Maybe you want to lower the price of the first in a series in order to entice readers to try it. Maybe you want to make it free. Maybe you want the price to be higher, and that works better for your book. You have to weigh your options and experiment.<br /><br />I like 99 cents for a short story, 2.99 for a short novel, and somewhere around 4 to 5 dollars for a novel. That doesn't mean I won't try different prices and see what happens. That doesn't mean I won't change my mind.<br /><br />A big part of the advantage of self publishing is that we have choices.Ann Voss Petersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15141783064748972033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-41353291580712171042013-05-23T08:50:14.572-05:002013-05-23T08:50:14.572-05:00"Or do you have whoever makes the cover just ..."Or do you have whoever makes the cover just look for a model who looks similar?"<br /><br />This. Carl Graves does the covers for us (to answer the other anonymous's question). These models all look like Chandler.<br /><br />Extra thanks to G.M. Frazier. Not sure how we missed that. Big duh.<br /><br />Merrill, I think it takes a while for the preview feature to kick in on Amazon. This book just went up, so that should straighten itself out as the book integrates into the system.<br />Ann Voss Petersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15141783064748972033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-57251625434175456802013-05-23T08:19:48.742-05:002013-05-23T08:19:48.742-05:00Shot you an email yesterday, Joe. Let me know. Tha...Shot you an email yesterday, Joe. Let me know. Thanks!Jude Hardinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09994813046526310594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-15711923930102519322013-05-23T07:43:12.221-05:002013-05-23T07:43:12.221-05:00With a character named Heath, this book has gotta ...With a character named Heath, this book has gotta be good.<br /><br />BTW, the preview feature isn't working.Merrill Heathhttp://merrillheath.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-41244682948678746762013-05-23T00:36:52.413-05:002013-05-23T00:36:52.413-05:00Hi Joe.
I notices you called the new book a "...Hi Joe.<br /><br />I notices you called the new book a "short novel", you explained in an earlier blog entry that you use the term "short novel" because:<br />1.) Novels sell better than short stories.<br />2.) And labeling a book as a "novella" for some reason doesn't produce better sales. Probably because some readers may be unfamilliar with the term.<br /><br />So now my questions: What are your cut off word counts between "novel", "short novel", and "short story"? And your pricing structure for each?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-86447267007671008812013-05-23T00:28:09.830-05:002013-05-23T00:28:09.830-05:00
The female model on the cover looks the same for ...<br />The female model on the cover looks the same for the Chandler books.<br /><br />Did you buy a series of covers with the same girl on them? Or do you have whoever makes the cover just look for a model who looks similar?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-34180733620375923652013-05-22T22:42:29.438-05:002013-05-22T22:42:29.438-05:00Awesome. I love to hear the success stories. Int...Awesome. I love to hear the success stories. Interested in your take on the new Amazon deal for those who write in other writers' worlds. Patrice Fitzgeraldhttp://www.patricefitzgerald.comnoreply@blogger.com