I’ll be back next year, friends. Have a great and a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Gone for Christmas
Author: Jack
Hare or Tortoise–Which One Are You?
I have a confession: I’m a tortoise. No, not a literal tortoise, a writer tortoise. My writing speed is…well…it’s slow.
When I see advertisements about helping writers “write fast,” I often pause. Me? Write fast? Well, I have nothing against writing at hare speed so long as the writing is well done. However, I prefer to write slowly. For me, writing is akin to eating a half-gallon of ice cream during a four-hour Oscar-winning movie. Both take time to enjoy.
I love playing around with words and phrases, taking things out and putting things in till I’m comfortable with how my writing sounds. Sometimes I do catch myself envying those who can write both fast and well, but if I write too fast, I feel that it’s sloppy. This is just me, though.
I’ve come to realize that every writer is different. Tolkien spent twelve years writing his trilogy, The Lord of the Rings (1937-1949). Other writers, such as Joyce Carol Oates, are super-prolific.
No, it’s not wrong to write hare-fast as a hare, nor is it wrong to write tortoise-slow. Each writer must write at the pace that he or she is most comfortable with. And even though I’m a literary tortoise…Hey! I’m enjoying the process!
Experimental Fiction
James Joyce (1882-1941)
Three Identifiers of Experimental Fiction
Experimental fiction breaks the rules of genre fiction. Often, it doesn’t have a beginning or an end, or it may go in circles and barely have a plot. It can be long or it can be short. It goes however and wherever it wants to go, and ends wherever and whenever it wants to end.
Experimental fiction is hard to read. If you want a nice, quick read when you go to the park or the beach, I highly suggest you don’t take an experimental novel with you.
Experimental fiction experiments with language. Authors use various literary techniques, often in the same book. They may put a new definition on a word, make up a word and even use poetry.
Experimental Fiction Tips
- Know the rules of good writing: grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
- Know the principles of good storytelling in the traditional sense, such as when to show and when to tell, dialogue and characterization, etc.
- Don’t break the rules just for the sake of breaking them. Be able to justify your decisions in experimenting.
A Few Famous Experimental Novels
James Joyce, Ulysses
Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five
Henry James, The Other House
Daniel Keyes, Flowers for Algernon
George Orwell, Animal Farm and 1984
If you want to write experimental fiction, know the rules before you break them and be able to explain why. Also, don’t forget to revise and produce the best work you can. Who buys literary fiction these days? Submitting your work to literary magazines is the best way to begin.
Publishers Who Prey, Part Three: How I Do It
The term, “self-publishing,” says how I do it. I am the publisher, which means I have total control of my work, which means I go through many of the same steps traditional publishers do.
My Nine Steps to Self-publishing
Step One
I buy my International Standard Book Number (ISBN) from bowker.com. ISBNs are your book’s unique identifying number. They help buyers identify you as the author and enable places such as libraries to order your book. Bowker is the only legitimate company in the United States where these important numbers can be purchased.
Some self-publishers, such as Amazon KDP, will provide an ISBN for you for free. However, if Amazon provides the number, authors aren’t allowed to have their own imprint, but Amazon does give authors the option to use their own ISBN and imprint when they publish their books.
Step Two
I write my book and revise and revise and revise till I’m happy with it. In other words, I strive to write the best book I can.
Step Three
I submit my work to beta readers, those readers who read objectively and offer sound advice. I’ve written a blog about beta readers that discusses how to find the right one. Visit it at: https://wordpress.com/post/theauthorscove.com/2050
Step Four
I hire a professional freelance editor to review my book and offer suggestions for improvement. Because each genre has its own rules, it’s important to find one who is knowledgeable about your genre and era. In historical fiction, for example, lots of narrative exposition is more acceptable than in other genres, such as thrillers.
Step Five
Taking the editor’s advice into consideration and using what’s helpful, I make more changes. Since we’re all human, it’s easy to overlook things such as punctuation and spelling errors, so I proofread again.
Step Six
I hire a good cover designer. Some of the companies I mentioned in my previous post do cover designs, but I hire my own because covers are hugely important. They’re the reader’s first impression of your book. A good cover encourages readers to look inside your book and perhaps even buy it.
I also hire a professional to format my book. A short while back, I did something I’ve never done before. I took a book I’d purchased back to the bookstore for a refund. I bought it because it dealt with a subject I had an interest in. I returned it because the formatting was bad, which led me to believe the author was an amateur. The writing wasn’t that great either.
For any who may be interested, my cover designer and the one who formats my books can be found at this website: www.teddiblack.com. I have used Teddi and Megan for many years.
Step Seven
Once step six is done, I proofread again, make suggestions for changes to my formatter and when I’m happy with the result, I upload my book on Amazon KDP.
Step Eight
After the book is published, I record it in my Bowker account beside the ISBN number I’d purchased.
Step Nine
I send two copies of my book to the Copyright Office. Why? Because it’s the law. The Copyright Office gives authors three months to do this.
Although it’s not required, I register my book with the Copyright Office. According to copyright law, once a work is in fixed form it’s automatically copyrighted. Registration just gives the work a little more legal protection and more money if the author sues someone who plagiarized him.
Well, folks, this is how I do it. Till next week, y’all.
Publishers Who Prey, Part Two: How to Spot Predators
Although this list of red flags isn’t exhaustive, if you spot any of them during your search for a publisher, watch out!
Red Flags
- Predators charge exorbitant fees. As indicated in last week’s post, authors should not have to pay fees to publishers or agents, except for necessary things such as postage. Authors who fall victim to these predators pay thousands of dollars for their book’s publication. On the other hand, legitimate publishers and agents earn their money by taking a cut of an author’s royalties. This is explained in their contracts.
- Predators promise to edit and proofread an author’s manuscript. Well, their editing is often shoddy, as is the proofreading, and this can embarrass authors once their book is in print.
- Predators promise high royalties (such as 70%) and say they’ll put your book in bookstores. They’ll put it on their website’s online bookstore and on other online bookstores, but no brick-and-mortar store will carry their books. Why? Because nine times out of ten, the writing is poor. These predators accept practically every manuscript that crosses their desks. It’s how they make money—from authors, not from the reading public. They can promise high royalties because few readers will buy their books.
- Predators promise to make an author’s book a bestseller. How many wannabes have fallen for this line? I shudder to think of a number. The fact is, no one can make this promise, not even a traditional publisher. Lots of factors must fall into place for it to become a bestseller. If a publisher promises this— beware!
- “Publisher looking for authors.” Wow, this sort of predatory advertising is a dead giveaway—predators hunting for victims. Actually, it’s authors who look for publishers, not the other way around.
- Predators promise to get your work registered with the copyright office. This isn’t a false promise. I’m sure they do this. Hey! I’ve registered my work with the copyright office too. It’s super-easy to do, yet it sounds complicated to inexperienced writers.
Some Legit Self-Publishers
There are legitimate self-publishing companies out there. Below, I’ve listed a few, but once again, it’s not exhaustive. I’ve only listed those I’ve had experience with and/or those I know something about.
- Book Baby: Book Baby does charge authors, but its prices are not exorbitant. It has a very good reputation in the self-publishing industry.
- Amazon KDP: Amazon doesn’t charge authors to publish its books. I’ve used it for all of my self-published works.
- Barnes & Noble Press: This press is relatively new. An earlier version of this was Barnes & Noble Nook, which was similar to Amazon Kindle.
- Kobo: It publishes ebooks.
- IngramSpark: Although this company is primarily a book distributor, authors also use it to publish books. A cost is involved but again, it’s not exorbitant. The owner of a local independent bookstore in my hometown told me she orders all of her books from IngramSpark. It’s great to use if you want your book in a brick-and-mortar store.
- Draft2digital: This company will format and update an author’s manuscript for free. It makes its money in a manner similar to traditional publishers, that is, when a book sells it takes 10 % of the book’s retail price.
Be sure to research a company before spending your hard-earned money.
A Tip for Finding a Literary Agent
Be sure the agent is a member of AALA (American Association of Literary Agents), which used to be called AAR (Agents and Authors Representatives). The AALA is like the Better Business Bureau of literary agents in that it requires them to abide by certain ethical standards. For more information, here’s a good link: https://nelsonagency.com/2021/03/one-easy-way-to-verify-if-an-agent-is-legit/
Next Week: Self-publishing: How I Do It
Publishers Who Prey, Part One: Don’t Be a Victim
When I began writing for publication, in the mid-1980s, serious authors (myself included) frowned upon self-publishing. Ah, but times have changed! In today’s literary world, many traditional authors have also self (indie)-published. Writers’ magazines sponsor indie contests, awards are given for indie books, and so on. No longer is it frowned upon, at least not like it was in the old typewriter days.
I applaud indie publishing. It’s opened numerous doors for authors such as me, and it’s great for those who’ve learned how to write and produce quality books. These authors take the time and effort required to study and learn the craft, and they work hard to make their books the best they can be.
However, self-publishing has a downside. What is it? Scams. Thanks to modern technology, they inundate the internet. Nowadays, most anyone can write and publish a book. Scam artists touting themselves as publishers and/or agents prey on eager, inexperienced authors who’ve longed to see their books in print. In short, these authors become victims.
Many wannabe writers think all they have to do is put words and sentences together. They don’t revise, because they haven’t studied the craft to know what to look for. They don’t edit and proofread, because they don’t know how, nor do they hire those who know how to do it. They just want a book out there. The quality of their writing is of no concern. They pay these scam artist publishers lots of money—in the thousands of dollars—and often endure emotional pain in the aftermath of publication. We’ll go into more detail on this in next week’s post.
For now, let’s learn the basic difference between vanity publishing and self-publishing.
Vanity Publishers
- Vanity publishers publish books in a manner similar to traditional publishers, yet unlike traditional publishers, they accept most every manuscript that crosses their desks regardless of its literary quality.
- Vanity publishers make money from the exorbitant fees they charge authors. Traditional publishers take a percentage of authors’ royalties, which they specify in their contracts. Traditional publishers do not charge fees.
Self-Publishers, aka Indie Publishers
- From cover design, interior format and back copy to finished book, self-publishers have total control of their book, even in regards to pricing.
- Self-publishers do spend money for their book’s production, but they hire qualified people to do this work. Traditional publishers have their own people they pay to do similar things: proofreading, cover design, formatting, etc. So, in a sense, a self-publisher is his/her own traditional publisher.
Are There Legitimate Self-Publishing Companies?
Yes. We’ll discuss these in another post. For now, be sure to research a potential publisher before signing a contract. Many a “wannabe author” has had his/her potential career ruined by these scam artists.
NEXT WEEK: Red Flags of a Scammer. What to look for.
Characters and Their Arcs
As you work on your story, does it have events that change your main character(s), for better or for worse? Most stories should. This change is called a character arc. There are three main kinds: positive, negative, and flat arcs.
Why Use Character Arcs?
- They make characters interesting and relatable.
- They make characters three-dimensional. A perfect character with no need to change becomes boring.
Must All Characters Change?
No, but the main characters should. There is, however, an exception to this which we’ll look at later.
Three Types of Character Arcs
Positive Arc
Three main ingredients of a positive arc: (1) the character believes a lie, (2) circumstances, conflicts, and events bring the character to a realization of the truth, and (2) the character changes for the better.
Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol is an excellent example of this. At the beginning of the story, Scrooge is a greedy fellow who doesn’t believe in Christmas. He believes the lie about wealth’s importance and the need to constantly work and make money, even during holidays.
Then the three ghosts arrive and show him his life and its events – past, present, and future – which result in his change of heart. By the story’s end, Ebenezer Scrooge has become a pretty nice fellow!
Negative Arc
In this arc, the character starts out good but by the story’s end, he’s changed for the worse. In other words, he doesn’t grow into a better person. Just as in the positive arc, the events and conflicts that change this character must be believable. Negative arcs do not end “happily ever after.”
Leo Tolstoy’s novel, Anna Karenina, provides us a good example. This novel has lots of themes, but I’ll focus on one of them: adultery. In the beginning, Anna is a popular socialite, the perfect model of a Russian lady in the 1870s. But she has a fatal flaw: her passions. These drive her to commit adultery with a character named Vronsky, and she abandons her children. As the story ends, she kills herself by jumping in front of an oncoming train.
Flat Arc
Although I don’t recommend this arc, it can and has been used successfully. In this arc, the main character doesn’t change. Sherlock Holmes, who is actually too perfect and too smart to be believable in my opinion, is a good example. From one story and novel to the next, Detective Sherlock never changes. These arcs may work in a series that features characters such as Sherlock, but the character must interesting and the stories must have an interesting plot.
Do your characters change, for better or for worse? Or are they flat, like ole Detective Sherlock?
Edward Troye: The Horse’s Artist
For horse lovers and those who love Thoroughbred racing along with the sport’s history, we can thank a famous artist who played a pivotal role in chronicling many of the nineteenth century’s famous racehorses. His name was Edward Troye (1808-1874). According to the Encyclopedia of Alabama, he was “nineteenth-century America’s first important portrait and landscape painter.”[1]
Though born in Switzerland, he eventually moved to the United States and later lived in Mobile, Alabama (1849-1855), where he taught painting and French at Spring Hill College[2]. He painted horses as well as people, but his horse portraits are what earned him fame. His accuracy and attention to detail are stunning, to say the least. His work included not just the horses, but jockeys and trainers as well, providing us with a visual chronicle of the antebellum era’s favorite sport.
In 1869, he retired and moved to a farm in Owens Crossroads, Alabama. Even though he’d now turned to farming, he never quit painting and died of pneumonia in 1874.
To view some of his paintings, visit the National Sporting and Library Museum at
http://www.nationalsporting.org/nslm/exhibition_details/562.
[1] Genevieve Baird Lacer, “Edward Troye,” the online version of the Encyclopedia of Alabama, accessed Jully 16, 2020, http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-2560
[2] “Faithfulness to Nature: Paintings by Edward Troye,” Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame, accessed July 16, 2020, https://harnessmuseum.com/content/edward-troye
Formula Fiction: Bad or Good?
Sherlock Holmes made his first appearance in this book.
As I opened a dresser drawer, my eyes fell upon a slender leather case. Tan in color and in mint condition, I knew what it was. Once I slid back its flap and opened it, I found inside it something else in mint condition. It was the slide rule I used in my high school’s physics class. Well, let’s say I bought it for that purpose, but I never used it much because I never truly learned how. And that’s why, after forty-plus years, it’s practically new!
You see, with the exception of archaeology (history-related), I never much cared for science. Numbers and letters and formulas, math and physics and chemistry … Just mentioning these subjects prompts my yawn.
Other formulas, though, do hold my interest. Story formulas, such as in Westerns and mysteries. Some people ridicule these genres by calling them “formulaic fiction.” We’ll deal with this criticism shortly.
A Few Elements of Formula Fiction
Predictable/Familiar Plots. The detective, with his/her superior gifts of deduction and insight, will always catch the criminal. Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes are excellent examples of this. Agatha Christie was an expert on poisons, which is why she used it so often in her books.
Familiar settings.These can be reused in one story after another. For example, lots of Westerns have saloons and perhaps a showdown or two on the street. But as a matter of fact, showdowns were rare in the Old West, though there were a few, such as the Earp brothers’ fight at the OK Corral.
Predictable characters. In Romance novels a strong, handsome hero and a beautiful sympathetic heroine fall in love, maybe have an argument and separate, then they come back together and get married. Readers of these books expect this.
Is Formula Fiction Bad?
Not necessarily. Many readers enjoy such stories. As stated earlier, I enjoy good Western and mystery novels and those of us who read them expect the authors to follow the genres’ formulas.
The main negative, though, is that if these stories aren’t well written, they can become boring. We all know the guy will get the gal, the sheriff will get the outlaw, and the detective will get the killer. Even so, we can still make these stories interesting.
Agatha Christie, for example, had a special gift for surprising readers with her mysteries’ endings. Her readers enjoy trying to figure out “who done it.” Our romantic hero may have an interesting flaw — perhaps he’s afraid of water and so, he doesn’t swim. In Westerns, maybe a sheriff can handle himself without needing a gun.
A Response to Critics of Formula Fiction
To one degree or another, lots of stories are formulaic. That is, every traditional genre has a structure with its own guidelines and rules.
On the other hand, experimental fiction is a different style of writing which I won’t discuss here.
The Author’s Job
Our job as writers is to concentrate on writing well. Strive for excellence in the basic elements of fiction: creating unique and interesting characters, including conflict and plot twists and tension, using fresh imagery, and writing powerful scenes with good dialogue. When we do this while following our stories’ formulas, no matter what those formulas are, we’ll keep our readers reading.
Epigraphs: What They Are and How To Use Them
… Troy, with walls still far from old
Had been destroyed, that noble, royal town
And many a man full worthy of renown
Had last his life—that no man can gainsay—
And all for Helen, the wife of Menelay,
When a thing’s done, it may then be no other.
John Lydgate, Troy Book, circa 1412-1420
This quote begins Margaret George’s excellent novel, Helen of Troy. She doesn’t put it in the body of her writing. Instead, it’s on a page by itself, right before the Prologue. There’s a word for such quotes—epigraph.
An epigraph can come at the beginning of a book, like George’s, or at the beginning of each section of a book, or introduce a chapter. They can also be used in both fiction and nonfiction. In a book I’m working on about the Creek War (1813-1814) in Alabama, I use epigraphs to bring historical context to my story. In my epigraphs, I briefly quote historians and others to help these readers follow and understand my tale’s historical events and tie my various plotlines together.
Epigraphs can be funny, serious, taken from the Bible, a philosopher or theologian, or even from one of the book’s characters. Also in my Creek War novel, I’m using quotes from a character’s fictional journal.
Using Epigraphs
- Under copyright law, if the epigraph comes from a source published after 1923, writers must get permission to use it. Before 1923, a work is in the public domain—free for everyone to use without permission. Although copyright law has a Fair Use Doctrine giving authors a little freedom to quote from copyrighted sources without permission, it also has certain guidelines to follow. We won’t get into that here. But in my opinion, it’s always best to “play it safe” and request permission from a copyrighted source.
- The epigraph must have a connection to the book’s, section’s, or chapter’s content. In other words, epigraphs cannot be used randomly. So if you use epigraphs, choose them carefully.
A Few Novels That Use Epigraphs
Helen of Troy, by Margaret George
The Fort, by Bernard Cornwell
Farenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway.
To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Helen of Troy, by Margaret George
The Author's Cove: John "Jack" Cunningham on Writing & History 