A minor update
May 20, 2013 • No Comments
Subscribing to the boomerang theory of manuscript submission – book 3 went in and came back again, landing on my desk with a wet plop. Revision time! But at least the page proofs for book 2 are done, waiting like an eager puppy for the courier to take them back to New York. I’m rather glad to be focussed on the third volume now–I knew it needed more attention, and now I have the clear desk to give it the attention it needs.
The primary objective: more battle scenes. I think I need some of those toy armies, except maybe with giant steam-powered armadillos. Or dinosaurs.
Where, oh where has Miss Emma gone?
May 8, 2013 • No Comments
One may ask why I have been so desultory in terms of social media over the last few months. The answer is simple, dear reader. Before gamboling about the aether talking about my projects, there were dues to be paid, pages to be covered, and words to be slung. In other words, book first, schmooze later. Plus, I can’t think of anything an editor would find more annoying than hearing from me how I couldn’t possibly make my deadline while it was clearly evident that I’d been all over Facebook.
But turning in book 3 means that I’ve touched the end of this trilogy, even if it was just a brief brush with finality prior to editing. After plunging headlong into this writing project, it felt strange and terrible to think of coming up for air. I got up from the computer for a breather and found myself feeling terribly solemn about the whole thing.
Another milestone
May 7, 2013 • No Comments
Turned in the first iteration of book 3 in one of those last moment, race to the finish scenarios. Thanks go to the Beta Crew, Captain Cat in particular for the real-time editing.
I know there is a lot more work to come, but I love the ending, if I do say so myself.
Project round-up is:
- Book 1 – done
- Book 2 – waiting for page proofs
- Book 3 – waiting for round 1 edits
Progress Report
February 24, 2013 • No Comments
So much to do, so much to do. The cover copy for all 3 books is up now (yay!). Plus, I’ve been getting some very nice blurbs in from other authors. To say that I am so very grateful is a vast understatement, and I’ll be unrolling those as things go along.
Here is where we are:
Book One: in the page proofs stage. That is, me proofreading the typesetter’s work. They’ve done a few interesting things with the interior design, which is cool.
Book Two: in the second round of edits, which must be done today Or Else.
Book Three: on the workbench. I am loving the opening which, of course, may or may not end up as the actual opening.
There are also related shorts coming out, and three out of four are complete. Only one is what I would legitimately call short, though. I write long, and short stories always end up like puppies with big feet–they keep growing and growing in the most alarming way.
Dating!
December 18, 2012 • No Comments
There is nothing quite so motivating as a goal post, and now I have actual release dates for the books. Yippee! and Yikes!
In other news, my second short story is accepted and the third begun. These are meant to be promo pieces for ebook extras, but they’re turning into actual incidents in the overall plot arc, so we’ll see how that works out. This is the down side of having a lot of interesting secondary characters…given half a chance, they seize the limelight. I thought the short story idea was perfect for giving them their fifteen minutes, but noooooo–they have to take over the whole freaking storyline and then hand it back all rumpled when they’re done.
We haz titles!
December 12, 2012 • No Comments
The series will be called: The Baskerville Affair
The individual books will be titled:
Book One: A Study in Silks
Book Two: A Study in Darkness
Book Three: A Study in Ashes
I’m very, very happy with these titles. For one thing, now I get to curse the manuscripts in much more specific terms.
Edits for Book #2 are back
December 5, 2012 • No Comments
And in record time. The box was waiting for me when I got home with my manuscript inside – and a lot of work to do!
I go through what must be a fairly typical cycle when I read the editorial comments. At first, outrage at being so egregiously misunderstood, and then I calm down enough to actually read the notes properly. Then they’re either not as bad as I thought, or not as good as I thought. This results in tea, self-pity, resignation, gloom. Then comes resignation, hope, determination and–after many tiny violins–actual work.
Of course, once I actually do the edits and realize the editor was right, then I wonder what all the fuss was about. Writers are such odd beasts!
Virtual renovations
May 9, 2012 • 3 Comments
Few things are more daunting or more exciting than a cunning plan. Daunting, because I’m a bit short of cleverness, not to mention cunning, when faced with the world of internet technology. It outwits me on a regular basis.
That doesn’t mean I get away with ignoring it. And, unfortunately, there is only so much I can designate to other people. The sad truth is that while I can ask a technician to build a web site for me, I still have to tell them what I want to include. Now there’s a good question.
Web site? Yes, I have one already, but it was made before my Dark Forgotten series came out. With the advent of a new string of books, heroes, adventures, and the rest, I thought it was time for a makeover. What I want to know first, though, is what parts of a web page readers actually want to see. Do you care about what writing courses I can teach? Whether the text is white on black or black on white? Where do you click to first?
Answer this survey in a comment and you will be automatically entered into a prize draw for one of my books—your choice of title. If you answer all five questions, you will double your entries—yes, two chances as a reward for being thorough!
1. When you visit an author’s web site, do you look at their blog?
2. What are the first two pages you look for?
3. What pages do you ignore?
4. What turns you off about a website?
5. What features do you like so much that you bookmark a site that has them?
I’ll draw the winner in one week, so get your answers in!
This contest is also open to my newsletter group.
The loneliness of the long-distance synopsis
May 2, 2012 • No Comments
There is plenty of advice out there on how to write ‘em. Keep it short and simple, no more than two pages. Keep the tone of the work you’re going to write. Use the present tense. Be focussed on the key points of the book.
None of that is bad, but it’s only conditionally true. In reality, the right way to produce a book outline is a) any method that will get it from your brain to the page in a coherent and meaningful fashion and b) it has to be in a form that your editor/agent wants to receive it. The bottom line is that they want to find out, with as little effort as possible, what you’re going to write about.
These two points, in my opinion, cut out a lot of stress. I long believed myself to be the worst synopsis-writer on the planet, and so laboured long and hard to produce a perfect specimen for my editor. Two pages, not a word over. I tracked the romance arc to perfection, touching on all the grey, black and purple moments. Began and ended with catchy phrases and had many a chuckle in between. It was great, she said, but what happened in the story? She knew everything but the details of the plot. I was about to protest that all the books said that was the one thing that didn’t matter, then fortunately stopped myself. The only thing that mattered is that she wanted to know, and I had to tell her.
The next outline I stuck to just the facts. I wrote was a ten-page blow by blow, chapter by chapter account with separate sections on character background and world-building. Crazy? Overblown? Flying in the face of received wisdom? Perhaps, but she loved it. For her, the supersized synopsis was the right approach.
Ever since, I’ve tended toward these monster-sized tomes, some of which top 5K words. Yes, it gives the editor more to quibble about, but I generally get far less push-back in the end. My agent loves them, too. Plus, they can give far, far better feedback when they know the specifics of your proposal and if there’s something they just don’t feel will work, it’s better to have that discussion before you write the next 90,000 words.
This does not mean that every editor or agent out there is going to adore this method. That two-page rule came from somewhere, so a goodly portion of publishing professionals prefer it. The point is simply that it pays to ask the simple question: what does your editor/agent like? The guidelines on their web site might be a company rule, but if a publishing house has a herd of editors, their individual tastes could be quite different. If you have a chance to ask, do it. Throwing the rule book out the window did me a world of good.
In some ways, that’s the hardest lesson to learn in an industry where advice is plentiful and hard facts are rare as cream puffs at the Hunger Games. Always ask what actually works.
