Apr
17
2012
![elizarmada[1]](http://maryvine.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/elizarmada1-150x150.jpg "elizarmada[1]")
The Armada Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I, c.1588.
George Gower. Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire, UK. http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/elizface3.htm
About once a year I try to sit down and read a writing reference book. This year I picked, The First Fifty Pages by Jeff Gerke since I have the hardest time putting together the first part of a manuscript, but once I get through this section my characters come alive and I sail through the rest of the story. Below I share some of Gerke’s thoughts.
During the Renaissance period a person’s portrait included items that conveyed much about his interests, background and life. For example, look at the picture above of Queen Elizabeth I. See the globe, and her hand resting upon it? Perhaps she wants to rule other countries besides England. Is she pointing at a particular land that she wants to have? Why does her crown sit beside her and not on her head? Look out the window on the left. Looks like the queen is in favor of a large navy or, perhaps it symbolizes her power. What’s out the right window? I’m thinking maybe it symbolizes the fate her opponents faced in battle. Your guesses are probably as good as mine.
I started to think about myself. What would be a representation of me? A typewriter or computer, a cat, my books, a teacher’s bell, something like a rosary to symbolize my faith in a higher power, a picture of my family on the table and a pecan mud slide from Diary Queen. My setting would probably be in a forest, or at least be out of one of the windows. Think about all the things that make you who you are and put them in your picture (at least mentally).
If your hero had a portrait done such as this, how would he want to appear? How about your heroine? What would be the setting? What will he/she wear? What would be in his hands? On the table? Out the window? If you know your hero in his essence you can figure out how to display it.
Further, if your hero/heroine could be anywhere else in the world what would she be doing, wearing, or talking about? How about putting her/him into a different time? How would your character get around if there wasn’t a car? What would be the ultimate-for-him activity?
Designing this portrait will help you figure out who your hero is. When he is tossed into trouble how will he handle it? Come back to this picture and look for clues.
Gerke says the most important thing to consider: Why would this be what the character chooses? How is this the ultimate expression, or revelation, of the person’s core?
What would be in your portrait?
More about Jeff Gerke:
He says, “Please point people to www.fictionacademy.com, which will be my site for online video training when we go live later this month.”
You can find Jeff’s book at: http://www.amazon.com/The-First-50-Pages-Editors/dp/1599632837
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15
2012
Back in 2005, I had the opportunity to have two of my favorite authors’ sign the books I’d purchased. To be able to stand close to Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Nora Roberts was a dream come true for me. I can picture the scene in my mind’s eye to this day.
Since then, I’ve watched writer friends get “The Call” and then I joined the ranks of the published, too. Being able to hold a book in your hand and actually sign it for a reader is something a writer hopes for, even if my reader isn’t as smitten as I was when I approached Phillips and Roberts.
To be able to hold a hand is not as easy as it once was. The midlist is vanishing and it is harder to sell the manuscript you’d worked so hard to produce. I have been able to have both print and e-book publications with a small press. In this economy, mixed with the demand for e-books, a smaller publishing house may only produce e-books. Further, a larger house may want to turn your manuscript into an e-book only format as well.
Yes, e-books are convenient and the future of publishing, but technology has a hard time satisfying the public’s desire to personally connect with the author. So, the question is: Can a digital only author participate at a book signing and/or connect with their readers?
First of all, there are a few ways to get yourself noticed. For example, sign bookmarks, or rack cards, and leave them at the book store to pass out (you’ll need to check with the book store’s policy). Or, pass them out anywhere you can.
Authors can do readings and Q&A sessions, which can be even more valuable than a book signing. Here you can meet the author, state your appreciation for their book, shake their hand, and take their picture.
When there is a group book signing, think about printing, then displaying, a booklet with a chapter included, or with photos and an interview with the author about how he/she wrote the book, etc. When shoppers pass by your display, you will have something to give them.
I have heard of people getting the back of their e-readers, or iPads signed by an author with Sharpies, and some say this will become more popular. How about signing associated merchandise? See what Vista Print, or your printing house, has to offer.
We should never underestimate technology. I imagine with it will come more and more marketing ideas and a way to connect. Perhaps you’ve heard of companies such as Autography and Kindlegraph that have come up with ways for authors to digitally sign electronic books. In the case of Autography, they’ve actually come up with a way to add a page to your digital book that contains the author’s inscription.
The creator of Kindlegraph, Evan Jacobs, says, “…the connection between authors and readers is the important thing and the signed book is simply a memento of that connection. The move toward digital books doesn’t mean that these connections will no longer exist or no longer be important. On the contrary, I created Kindlegraph as an acknowledgment of the power of personal connections even while people become more anonymous because of technology.”
Here are a few thoughts about selling e-books at a book signing:
If you don’t already know, check to see if your publisher has an author discount, and download them into a CD to sell.
If there’s an internet connection, bring your laptop and sell to those through your Amazon (Smashwords, B&N, etc.) account. Remember, you would have to have an account at each site.
Follow the author’s link to the book then gift the book to the buyer’s email address. You’d receive a royalty for the sale. This idea is from author, Delle Jacobs.
I’ve heard of a credit card scanner that attaches to your phone. I’m not techno savvy with phones these days, so you’ll need to research to see if you can use PayPal with a phone.
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2
2012
I blog twice a month (every other Thursday) at GEM STATE WRITERS. Gem State Writers is on the top ten list at Versatile Blogger.
Check it out at: http://gemstatewriters.wordpress.com/
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Jul
3
2011
July is here and my new novella, WANTING MOORE, has just been released. Black Lyon Publishing did everything possible to get it out early and to put the novella in paperback as well as e-book formats, which is beyond my hopes and dreams for this historical. My stories take place in the mountains of Northeast Oregon, and the rush was to ensure the paperback edition would be available for the Baker City’s Miner’s Jubilee, held on July 15-17. They have made the date. Black Lyon also gave me input on the cover, and kept the title I chose, a luxury so many writers aren’t allowed. I couldn’t have had a better company to take these extra steps for me and WANTING MOORE. The story goes like this:
Independent beyond what’s good for her, Isabella Moore leaves her brothers and parents in Prairie City in search of her true calling. Traveling to Haines, Oregon, by way of the historic Bourne-Haines Stage Road, she runs across the type of people from whom she’d been sheltered, leading to an accident and a man she’d only dreamed about.
Blacksmith Gabriel Stone saw enough of death during the Civil War to last him a lifetime. To him, Isabella is a broken wildflower in need of his care-but caring for her may bring back unwanted memories of this former life as a doctor. And dare he entrust his heart to a woman filled with ideas of gold mining and adventure?
They were lost until love put them back on the right path.
As of today, it is on Amazon as a Kindle Edition, but will soon be listed as print.
Thanks for reading!
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May
23
2011
When I started writing, my sons were young. They left for school in the morning, and I plopped down on my bed and wrote my first novel by hand. It took me about thirteen months to finish and then transfer to a word processor. At least I thought it was finished, yet now I know it needed about ten good turns of editing. I sent it to a few editors and by the time I received the rejection slips, I had a job.
For years I’d dreamed of selling a book and then retiring from my day job. I could just imagine myself cranking out page after page, taking a break to have chocolate, and then back to the page once more. Life couldn’t get better than that, I believed.
But something happened along the way; I started to really enjoy my day job. Good thing, because I hadn’t sold that one book to get me propelled into stardom! Still, I loved writing and tapped away at it when I could.
I learned more about writing from good critique partners, and sold the third manuscript I’d written, then the fourth. Somewhere along the line, I learned that it’s very hard to quit your day job to be a full-time writer, unless you’re bestselling author Dean Koontz, or Nora Roberts.
Over time, I lost my longing to be a full-time writer, probably because it was nigh impossible. After trial and error, I learned how to work and write until twists and turns in the road had my husband retiring early. I, too, had enough years to draw my pension.
By this time, retirement meant many things to me. I’d lost sight of that young woman sitting on the bed writing by hand. I now had a chance to do the things that were limited due to my time at work. I could read, cook, travel, see family more often, sew and sleep in. And I still wanted to keep my hand in education and presently work part-time.
So, I cut down my work week by hours, twenty-two to be exact. Did I mention I have my summers off? I can travel during the summer. I’m making a homemade pizza tonight. I can sleep in tomorrow morning. Sure, this all takes me away from my writing, plus I noticed something else. I’m not alone sitting on my bed writing as in the old days. My husband is here with me most of the time. He likes to watch television or movies and guess who gets side-tracked?
There is so much more involved with a writing career today. Marketing oneself, and book, is required for almost all writers these days. One must have a website and blog updated regularly. I’d been spending time with this lately, too. If you’re not careful it sucks a large amount of time every day.
I heard a saying that makes a lot of sense to me. If you need something done, ask a busy person to do it. I got just as much writing done when I was working full-time at my day job, than I did retired or semi-retired. Many busy people know they have time limits and get things done in a more organized manner. They just do it. Since retiring I’ve been saying to myself that I can do it tomorrow. That’s wrong, I know now. A plan is necessary no matter how much time you have.
Leaving your day job to write is not the answer to everything. You will still have to plan your day, and your writing time. If you don’t your time will wither away, and you’ll have nothing to show for it.
My new retirement plan (excuse me, semi-retirement plan), is to take my laptop into a separate room for a period of the day, on a regular basis. Wake up just a little bit earlier, on a regular basis. Plan out my manuscript in sections, on a regular basis. Take my AlphaSmart or computer with me when I travel and use it, on a regular basis. Limit the time I spend online on a regular basis, even if it is for promotion. I’ll let you know how it goes.
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24
2011
Recently, I read an article in Reader’s Digest titled Fact vs. Film, by Max Glaskin. The piece illustrated how television and movies aren’t always accurate when it comes to police or FBI procedures. On the positive side, wearing a tie is correct; sometimes people are involved in a raid after they are called from their desk job in a pinch. Those extended shotgun barrels can really give an extra two or three cartridges before reloading. On the other hand, too many people moving together in a raid can cause a pile up, making it easy for the bad guy to shoot everyone. And yes, even though you are wearing a bulletproof vest, duck out of the way. With no visible radio, you can only communicate with your squad by body language or shouting. I thought you could communicate without a visible radio, but then I know little to nothing about the field of crime fighting.
Recently my writer’s group had a guest speaker, Vickie Gooch of Idaho State Police. She shared what it’s really like on a crime scene and had pictures to show us, as well. One of the photos was a burn victim, which is hard to forget, so when my favorite police drama came on TV with a burn victim of their own, I was annoyed at the inaccuracy. But then, perhaps we can’t take the truth. I do occasionally turn to my husband and complain about other errors in areas I do know about, but I forget my complaints quickly. In other words, I don’t take it to Facebook. Besides, I know that one of the main objectives for film and television is to entertain in a short amount of time, without too many details.
Books are a different story. Readers want the truth, and have been known to put a book down forever when they’ve been cheated. I heard from one of my readers about a fact I was pretty sure I’d researched correctly. It had to do with looking for mushrooms where white firs grow. Yet, I rechecked with a couple of mushroom hunters and they said I was right. I just thanked the reader for the information. What else can you do?
Often times I buy a book if I like the theme or setting, sometimes even knowing something about the subject myself. My favorite time in history is between 1840 and 1900 and I appreciate the facts. Besides good romance elements in the story, I want my readers to learn something else along the way about the theme, the setting, or a thread through the story. I don’t want to plant seeds of distrust amongst my readers so I do my best to fully research my subject. Above all it’s for the author to decide when detail corrupts the truth. All I can say is if what you’ve written sounds questionable, rewrite the sentence. Basically, I believe my manuscript is not finished until the details match up, for me as well as my readers.
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Nov
16
2010
![to-kill-a-mockingbird[1]](http://maryvine.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/to-kill-a-mockingbird1-300x225.jpg "to-kill-a-mockingbird[1]")
To Kill a Mocking Bird, by Harper Lee, is said to be one of the most inspiring stories ever read, outside of the Bible. When Lee submitted the story to a publishing company, she was told that it was too much of a collection of short stories, so she spent three more years working on it until it became the best seller we know today. The next year, Harper received the Pulitzer Prize for her work, and the book was made into a major motion picture.
I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard, “Write what you know.” Sure, it seems logical that if you know a subject you will write accurate facts, and your research is mostly your life experience. Yet, never have the words seemed truer than they did today, as I sat working with a student on his To Kill a Mockingbird assignment. I stumbled upon the similarities between Harper Lee and the young girl, Scout, who lives and narrates the story in her book.
Harper Lee grew up in the 1930s in a rural southern Alabama town. Scout grew up in the 1930s in a rural southern Alabama town.
Lee’s father, Amasa Lee, is an attorney who served in the state legislature in Alabama. Scout’s father, Atticus Finch, is an attorney who served in the state legislature in Alabama.
Lee’s older brother and young neighbor (Truman Capote) are playmates. Scout’s old brother (Jem) and young neighbor (Dill) are playmates.
Lee was an avid reader as a child. Scout reads before she enters school and reads the Mobile Register newspaper in first grade.
Lee is six years old when the Scottsboro trials are widely covered in national, state and local newspapers. Scout is six years old when the trial of Tom Robinson takes place.
Harper Lee told the press that she had started another book when To Kill a Mockingbird came out, but to this date she hasn’t submitted any others. Some say she didn’t like the fame, others say it would be hard to beat the book she already wrote. Nevertheless, her work is still read in high schools today, teaching life lessons as students read about the life Lee actually lived.
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