Some Damned Tough Questions Part II

FICTION

1. What thought have you given to the time the story takes place? Is it in the past, present, future or all three? Have you credibly established a familiarity with the time period?

The story takes place in the distant past. It is, actually, the story behind a myth. As for the credibility factor, I kinda just made everything up, but it is roughly based on late Iron Age Europe.

2. What thought have you given to the location in which your story takes place? Does your narrative convey an intimate familiarity with the location?

Location is interesting. I know the Kwon Continent like the back of my own hand. However, I don't describe the way that Tolkein described locations. That was mostly due to length considerations. I had to take out a great deal of description to cut the manuscript down to a more palatable length..

3. Does the premise provide enough direction to keep all your events and character developments on track?

Apparently so.

4. Is the premise strong enough and clear enough to carry the story to its logical conclusion?

Apparently so.

5. Have you developed the personalities of all your characters to the extent that their participation in the story is absolutely believable, and in keeping with the main premise of the story?

I think so, but it is very difficult for me to be objective about that!

6. Have you developed a sense of conflict, to carry the premise and bring the characters and events a resolution?

Oh have I ever. My poor Julian. How he has suffered.

7. If you have changed the outcome, or resolution, of your premise: have you also changed the first part of the premise? (Have you created a different relationship "from pole to pole"?)

This doesn't really apply, since none of the premise has been changed at all.

8. What, if any, sub premises (smaller contrasts, sub conflicts, movements, transitions) need to be changed along with the major premise?

None... yet. If I get the attention of a publisher, I am so certain that there will be a number of rewrites!

9. With the thoughts you have generated about your premise, do you more fully understand your characters?

I did things backwards. I started with the characters, and the premise just magically appeared.

10. Have you communicated that understanding to the reader?

Again, this is one of those things that is difficult to be objective about. I like to think I have, and the feedback I've received seems to suggest that.

11. Have you treated any character too lightly?

Not to the best of my knowledge. I know that there are some characters that come in and out of my main character's life, just as they do in real life. There are there and then they are gone and sometimes you never hear from them again.

12. Does your premise fit your characters?

Yes, since it developed from my characters!

13. Have your characters carried their situations through to a believable conclusion?

I think so! Again, it's ridiculously hard to be objective.

14. Are all characters' actions and decisions necessary and logical, based upon clearly developed character traits?

I think so. They are definitely necessary. Poor "Dan."

15. Have the main characters been allowed to grow and develop naturally?

Yes. It was the only way they could have developed. I couldn't have forced my hand if I tried. These characters seemed to have a life of their own and all the decisions they made in the story were truly their own decisions. If ever I got stuck at a certain point in the writing of this book, all I'd have to do was walk away from it for a day or two and by the time I sat back down to write, they had figured it out for themselves.

16. Is the pivotal character's defining characteristic apparent either immediately or very soon after the story opens?

Hang on, let me check... Yep. The very first paragraph.

17. Are ALL the characters three-dimensional (with physical, social, and psychological dimensions)?

I believe so. Everyone in this story has issues and problems they must deal with. Some deal with it very well. Others do not.

18. Are ALL the characters likable? (That is, does every character have a quality the audience can empathize or sympathize with?)

There are some characters I personally really don't like very much. There is one character I certainly hope that people don't empathize with, though there are sure to be some people who do. That is a scary thought.

If I may digress from the question, everyone has a motive. Everyone has a reason for doing whatever it is they are doing. Whether or not one agrees with those motives is entirely up to the individual reader. I mean, what would you do if you believed a little boy would one day be responsible for the destruction of the entire world? It gets ambiguous.

19. Are all the characters believable?

To people who read Fantasy, I'm sure they are! I was worried about "Dan" being too good to be true, but the fact of the matter is, he made a deliberate decision to be that way. He was faced with a very tough reality check, but he never really waivered. That's just the incredible guy that "Dan" is.

20. Does each character speak, dress, and behave in a manner consistent with that type of person?

Yeppers. Well, now they do, after some inconsistencies were pointed out by my friends. Thanks guys.

21. Is every situation believable because it springs from the nature of the characters?

Some situations made me very uncomfortable, but I believe it was the characters that pulled me through it. So, to answer the question, yes.

22. Is every contrast, or conflict, true (inherent in the characters), rather than false (contrived)?

I think I've already covered this in a round about way, but I'll say it again. Every time I tried to force the story in the direction I thought it should go, I ended up with a severe bout of writer's block. I couldn't move the story. When I finally relinquished control and just let the characters dictate the story, things started to move again. So, the answer would be, I think so!

Interesting side-note, it can be very dangerous to let the characters decide for themselves. Sometimes the story would go nowhere. It would never end. I was extremely fortunate because there was a definite ending to this one before I even started writing it down. A little tip: you must know how the story ends before the story can begin!

23. Do the changes in each additional character follow from what the audience knows of the person's physical, social, and psychological makeup?

In a word, yes. Some of the changes are extreme. Some don't really change. Like "Dan." He was a good soul from the beginning, and that never changes. He was luckier than everyone else, though!

24. Are the protagonist and the antagonist both extremely strong (uncompromising) characters?

I'm unsure what is meant by this question. Are they in possession of strong personalities? Yes.
Are they strong people? Well, yes, to a degree. I mean Julian was incredibly strong to withstand all that he did, though it changed him. With every experience someone has, it changes them. I get so sick of the "perfect good-guy" who doesn't change at all, who isn't affected by what goes on around him, who can slay the "bad guys" all day and not understand that lives are being lost, who can't smell the blood and who doesn't feel the fear. That is so unrealistic as to be boring.

As for the antagonist, well, it hasn't changed in millions of years.

25. How sharply drawn are the characters? (How definite, definitive, and different from each other?)

Oh, they are all different! Though, Julian is the most different, since that is a major thrust of the narrative.

26. Is your pivotal character really a protagonist, and is your opposing character really an antagonist? (Are you sure you've not confused the two?)

Yes.

27. How satisfied are you with your cast of characters?

Very satisfied. Though "Dan" is by far my favourite.

28. If you're not satisfied: what should you do?

This doesn't apply to me... yet, so I'll throw it open to the audience.

29. Does your opening grab attention?

I have been told it does... though now I am wondering if people weren't just trying to be nice to me.

30. Does it present a character with something vital at stake?

It presents a character, yes. With something vital at stake? I'm not so sure about that. You will certainly know that there is something if you've read the Prologue.

31. If your audience may be bored from the beginning: what can you do about the lack of conflict and tension? You may need to change your point of attack; start by showing there is something vital at stake, and increase the emotional involvement of the characters.

I may...

32. Have you allowed the characters to form the plot and work out their own destinies, or have you forced them to fit a contrived plot?

Already said, but I shall reiterate. They definitely worked out their own destinies!

33. In creating contrasts and situations, have you asked your characters what THEY would do?

I didn't ask, they just went and did it anyway.

34. Does the audience perceive a LOGICAL, STEP-BY-STEP DEVELOPMENT OF THE STORY through a series of sub conflicts and resolutions, each one stemming from the one before it?

Since that's the way the book was written (as in characters would find themselves in situations which, once resolved would lead onto the next), I assume so.

35. Does every movement (sub conflict/transition) lead the relevant characters FROM ONE STATE OF MIND TO ANOTHER, on the way to proving the premise?

Most definitely!

36. Is one belief forced to give in to another?

No. In every action taken, there is an ambiguity about it, and enormous grey area which invites the reader to make their own minds up about any one character's actions. The good guy isn't necessarily that good, and the antagonists might just be right to do what they can to stop him. In the end, I leave that up to the reader to decide.

37. Even if you have a specific message to convey through your story — a message in which you passionately believe — have you avoided "preachiness?"

I certainly hope so. "Dan" gives a little speech on the subject, but that is truly just "Dan's" opinion. The readers are invited to decide for themselves.

38. Somewhat related to the above question: Do you try in every way possible to show rather than tell in order to get your point across and move the story along?

I think so.

39. Have you avoided letting "the writing" get in the way of the story?

I hope so.

40. What POSITIVE things might a discerning audience or critic say about your story, your characters and proof of the premise?

Good grief! This question is too hard! Can I skip it? No? Hmmm... let me think then...

Nope. I have no idea. I shall leave that to the discerning audience or critic.

41. What NEGATIVE things might a discerning audience or critic say?

I'm trying really hard to think about it, I promise. But I think it is a bit too soon after completion to look at my work objectively. I will revisit this question a a couple of months, perhaps.

Some Damned Tough Questions Part I

Here's a great quiz for aspiring authors I found at:
http://home.swbell.net/moonshad/author.html
An editing/formatting/self-publishing house. They are actually quite informative and not very biased. I was pleasantly surprised.

No, I'm not going to self-publish, but these are good questions to ask yourself. I've provided some very feeble answers, but feel free to take the quiz and insert your own answers.

I'm using this as a sort-of self-interview.

GENERAL QUESTIONS

1. What are your personal reasons for writing this book?

The book really wrote itself. I mean, it was my fingers doing the typing, for sure, but it was the book, or at least the characters that directed the tale. For me, it was like this alive thing (for lack of a better word) inside me that just needed to get out. Sounds like the literary equivalent of Aliens really...

2. What are you trying to accomplish by writing and publishing your book? (Be specific.)

The fulfilment of a dream, I suppose would be the answer. Even if the dream is quite recent (only in the past two years or so), it is incredibly powerful and exceptionally forceful. I don't really understand properly why I want this story to reach a broad audience. Is it for the recognition? Well, yes, I suppose. I would like to be recognised for the work I've put into it. Even still that doesn't quite cover why I have this bizarre compulsion to write and publish.

3. In what format do you see your story (novel, short story, motion picture, etc.)?

It's clearly a novel. Actually, a series of novels.

4. What is the medium for your story (book, magazine, etc.) ?

Um, is this not just a re-working of the previous question? It's a book. Well, four of them.

5. Who is the primary audience for whom your story is written?

Absolutely, unequivocally mature adults. There were scenes I wrote that turned my stomach a little. This is definitely not for children.

6. What is your premise? (What are you setting out to prove?)

I really like this question!

I really didn't have a premise when I started writing the book, it just sort of happened that as I was re-reading the text, I was struck by it's message. I really wasn't trying to push any line at all. Of course it is a Fantasy title, so there are strange races, and some magic, and monsters and so on.

Yet beneath all of there there is this one, incredibly powerful message. The message is two-fold: that the manner in which we treat others has a profound effect upon them and that we create for ourselves the very things we fear most. In other words, treat others well or you might just create of them the monster you were fighting against in the first place.

7. How strongly do you believe in the truth of your premise? (If you do not hold a strong conviction about your premise, how do you expect to write with conviction? Remember, the reading public demands integrity!)

I can relate from personal experience. There is something cyclical about cause and effect. I was bullied as a child, quite badly at times. I was accused of snobbery and other nonsense because I withdrew from contact with people as a result of the bullying, which caused more bullying, which caused greater withdrawal until I was every bit (outwardly at least) the arrogant, snobbish, horrible little bitch people had accused me of being. Only when someone dared to break through the ice they had created did they realise that underneath it all, I wasn't as evil as everyone said I was.

Unfortunately, later in life, I was also the victim of work-place bullying (by three different people, at the same place!), and it really did create a hateful, vengeful monster out of me. Luckily I was loved by my family and the few friends I had enough for me to struggle my way out of being such a small, cruel person. It wasn't easy, let me tell you.

8. How sure are you that your premise has enough substance, or is compelling enough, to sustain audience interest?

Everyone has been a child in their lives. Everyone has known, even if only briefly or vaguely, the sting of not fitting in, of not being accepted for who they are, of feeling not good enough, of feeling unloved. No one should ever feel unloved.

For some, the feeling is stronger, fresher and more hurtful than for others, but everyone knows it. Everyone has struggled with their own personal monster. Some people make it, some don't. I think that because everyone has caught a glimpse of their own monster, they will understand this character and narrative, even if only intuitively.

9. What effect will the nature of your audience have on your choice of premise or the way you'll develop the premise?

It had absolutely no effect whatsoever. The series was pretty much written before I even noticed a theme.

10. How quickly have you established the first part of the premise? Is the reader engaged quickly, or do they have to work patiently to "get into" it?

The first part of the premise? Well I suppose that would be that some monsters are not born, but are made. That was done in the first section, I think.

11. Is your premise still perfectly clear to you, even after close analysis?

My premise only became clear to me because of close analysis!

12. Can you state the premise of your work in fewer than 10 words?

I think I did: "treat others well or you might just create of them the monster you were fighting against in the first place."

No, apparently I didn't. That was twenty words.

"Treat people well." There we are!

13. Does your book say something important?

It's important to me.

14. If you doubt that you've said something important, why continue?

I am convinced that this is something that other people will find important, but I can't rightly speak for them. I did it because I just needed to get the words out on paper. The rest just kind of happened.

15. What different premise would accomplish your aim?

I don't think there could have been another premise if I tried.

16. Have you reached your destination? Has your premise been carried to its logical conclusion?

Yes, but I'm not going to spoil the end of the series here!

17. If the premise has not been proved, did you get confused or lose sight during the progression of the text? If so, how can you get back to your original premise? Or, do you need to revise the premise from the beginning?

Even if I wanted to, I couldn't change it.

18. Do you provide documentation and / or appropriate attribution for facts and / or events set forth in support of your premise?

It's Fantasy. I made up my facts. Of course, gravity still applies.

19. Have you obtained written permission to utilize all quotes and / or data obtained from other sources?

I believe that the quotes I used are covered by the Fair Use Act. If not, I'll be told as much. Though, I can't much ask Shakespeare, now, can I? Séance anyone?

20. How is your book different from other books in the same category? Amazon.com or Bowker's SUBJECT GUIDE TO BOOKS IN PRINT are good places to research this question.

It's dark. Very dark. School for wizards this is not (although I am a huge Harry Potter fan!).

21. How big (in your estimation) is the market for this book?

Fantasy, from my understanding, is on the up right now. It's chic to be geek. With things as upsetting as they are now in the world, I think the need to escape into other worlds has become much greater. But, I am a geek, so that might be just my friends and I.

22. What do you believe are the best ways to reach that market?

Good question. A marketer I am not. I've started a couple of things on my own to drum up some grass-roots stuff (my blog, a facebook fan page and profile, several networking sites etc.). I suppose Comic Con would be a great place to go to reach all those Fantasy and Science Fiction buffs that exist in the world... But I'll only go there if I am published.

7 Myths of Publishing

I read this article on writersdigest.com. It's a really good article, so I thought I'd share it with all of you, assuming you aren't subscribed to Writer's Digest. The link to the article is provided at the end.

The 7 Biggest Myths of Publishing (Know the Truth)

August 26, 2009
by Elizabeth Sims

A veteran author tells you, writer to writer, what getting published is really like—and confronts the seven biggest myths.

Writers talk about “giving birth” to a book, and that’s a beautiful metaphor. Same as with a baby, your book is first, well—conceived. Initially it’s just a mote of a thing, insubstantial and unreal, yet over time you feel it growing inside you. Eventually it begins kicking to get out.

And so it happens: You acknowledge its inevitability, you work long and hard, you bleed, you sweat, you cry, and then one day the pains cease and you’re holding this beautiful little being in your hands. It has your DNA! And even though it comes from your deepest core, it’s really got a personality all its own. Naturally you hope that someday it will develop free will and learn basic skills like cleaning the oven or calculating algebra. You love it unconditionally. It’s your bundle of joy: your book.

Yet in truth, this metaphor is totally wrong. Having your book published is not like giving birth. It’s like having your newborn ripped from your arms and given to a foster family you’ve never laid eyes on in your life.

It’s a heavy trip, as laden with phony stories as parenthood is. In order to survive it in style, you need to know the truth behind the myths.

MYTH 1
BOOK CONTRACTS ARE TOO COMPLICATED FOR A NORMAL PERSON TO UNDERSTAND.

I sold my first book myself (read: without an agent), to the leading publisher in my then-current niche. After the magical “We’d like to make you an offer!” phone call, I took a long walk in the sunshine to let the pleasure soak in. But I’d barely turned homeward when I realized I’d have to negotiate my own contract. And being a creative individual with severe allergies to numbers and money talk, my heart quailed.

The advance wasn’t big enough to attract an agent to negotiate for me, and I didn’t want to pay a lawyer’s fees. So I went out and bought two volumes on negotiating a book contract and forced myself to read them cover-to-cover, making notes on
anything that seemed beyond my intellect.

Amazingly, when the contracts arrived in the mail the next week, I could read them. Not only that, I knew enough to be outraged by them.

I phoned my editor. “Do some authors just sign these and send them back without asking for any changes?”

“Yeah, some do,” she admitted, sheepishly.

The good news: My editor had the power to negotiate, and I got much of what I wanted, such as a lower ceiling for royalty bumps, more subsidiary rights retained, elimination of the first-refusal clause, and more author’s copies. Ask for lots more than you’re willing to settle for.

Now is not the time to be meek. Remember, they’ve decided they want to publish your book—meaning they think they can make money from you—but you haven’t signed yet.

Even if an agent is representing you, you must read every line of your contract and make notes. Go over your concerns with your agent or publisher. This is the only time you actually wield power in the publisher-author relationship. Make the most of it.

MYTH 2
YOUR PUBLISHING TEAM IS YOUR NEW FAMILY NOW.

They might be like family to one another, but they wouldn’t know you if they fell over you in the street.

You live in whatever nonglamorous town while they dwell in New York City and walk to the Met while eating fresh bialys and bumping into celebrities. You are an outsider. They are the foster parents who have just been granted custody of your child. If left alone, they’ll probably do an OK job. After all, they’re nice people and they mean well. But they’ll treat your kid a lot better if you participate, try to get to know them and find things to like about them.

Odds are you will have, as I do, a wonderful publishing team. I respect their skills and passion for their work, and we enjoy a cordial, professional relationship. However, at no time should you delude yourself that they work for you. They work for themselves, as do you, as does everybody.

Bring no neediness to any conversation. Never whine. Remember that if you pump out great salable books at the rate of one every 12–18 months, mutually beneficial results are bound to occur.

I’ve found that thanking people is a good obsession to develop. During an important conference, my cartons of books didn’t show up. Thousands of miles away, my publicist sat on his neck to find out what happened (they’d been addressed wrong), figure out where they were now (some other hotel) and get them delivered in the nick of time. He received chocolates.

MYTH 3
IF YOUR BOOK HAS BEEN ACCEPTED BY A MAJOR PUBLISHER, IT MUST BE PERFECT JUST THE WAY IT IS.

This one makes me laugh every time.

“But it’s my baby—I worked on it for five years. I’ve already revised! This is not a first draft!”

Realize that your editor is a professional at what he does—he makes his living and reputation helping authors put their books into the best possible shape.

Then, make up your mind to be open and nondefensive.

Most changes editors request are minor, and you think about it and go, “Oh yeah, that plot point would work better if I put it earlier in the book.” Or, “Gosh, I never realized how flat that dialogue really sounds. I need to create more hostility between the characters there.”

But how do you not melt down when your editor asks for a huge change?

Eliminating a major character, putting in a new one, drastically revamping the ending (with concordant alterations to the rest of the manuscript to accommodate it)—those are big. If your editor asks for a major change and after thinking it over you agree, you’ve got some work ahead of you. Welcome it, because it’ll make you a better writer.

Any major change is simply a bunch of minor changes put together, so approach it that way; make a list of what you have to do, and get going. If you feel stymied or have serious reservations about the suggested changes, talk it over with your editor. You’ll be surprised at how many good ideas will result.

Remember that in the end, it’s your book. If you give a concrete reason for refusing to make a given change, that will help you test your position, and it’ll help your editor learn, too. I’ve never had an editor do this, but if one ever asked me to dumb down a passage or avoid some subject because of political correctness (“We might offend someone!”), I would balk, and I’d expect you to do the same.

MYTH 4
IT’S IMPORTANT FOR AUTHORS TO HAVE INPUT ON COVER ART.

For some incomprehensible reason, this is one of the biggest topics on the minds of new authors. Listen: Because you are an author, you by definition have no artistic talent, so to imagine yourself capable of distinguishing a good book cover from a bad one is laughable. Your publisher trusts the job to experts in graphic design. This doesn’t mean every cover will be perfect for every book, but it does mean you should relax about the art.

MYTH 5
WORKING WITH YOUR COPY EDITOR IS BORING AND ARDUOUS.

Not so; the great thing about copy editing is seeing your manuscript through the eyes of someone fresh to it. Your copy editor will, if she’s good, challenge any grammar and mechanics you’ve hot-footed it over and suggest micro-improvements that never would have occurred to you. She can also catch embarrassing mistakes (I once had a character divide 20 million by 10 and come out with 200,000, instead of 2 million).

Any time you have a chance to review edits or make additional ones, have a sheet of proofreader’s marks handy, and make your marks with meticulous clarity.

MYTH 6
IF YOU’RE COMING OUT IN HARDCOVER, IT’S PRACTICALLY GUARANTEED YOU’LL BE REVIEWED IN THE NEW YORK TIMES.


In fact, it’s rare for a debut author to be reviewed in The New York Times, so don’t get your hopes up; the first-time authors featured there are one in a million. If you’ve received a massive advance (which usually generates big buzz in the book media) and your book is being packaged as literary, those things could help.

But who knows whether you should hope for such a high-profile review or not. A favorable one may not boost your sales the way you expect, and a savage one could make you feel suicidal. There’s no shame in focusing on lower-profile reviews—good ones can add up, and bad ones won’t be catastrophic.

MYTH 7
WITH ALL THE IMPORTANT THINGS YOU HAVE TO DO NOW, IT’S OK TO PUT YOUR NEXT BOOK ON THE BACK BURNER FOR A WHILE.


This isn’t so much a myth as a lie you enthusiastically tell yourself as you’re thrilling to the image of your book jacket on Amazon.com, just above the “pre-order” button.

You actually began telling yourself this lie as you painstakingly went over your contract, executed whatever edits you needed to, dealt with the galley proofs and started work on the suddenly endless project of promotion.

“But I must set up a page on MyFace! It’s free! I’ll interact with my future readers there! How else is my book gonna—”

OK, yes, you do have to do promotion on your own, but you need to create a balance. If you did everything you possibly could to promote your current book, you’d never finish another one. And there is nothing more important than writing your next book. Nothing.

So, don’t let temptations get in the way of your writing schedule. I’ve found it best to demand a certain minimum word count from myself every writing day, either 1,000 or 1,500, depending on what else is going on. If you slam down your words faithfully, you’re going to have a career.

In short, put your faith in your writing.

Here's the link:
http://writersdigest.com/article/the-7-biggest-myths-of-publishing-know-the-truth

Reasearching Publishers 101

Who knew that researching could be so much fun? It's actually pretty exciting sitting with a big book of who publishes what, going through and narrowing down your choices. Perhaps I should have become an R.A.?

Regardless, today's lesson is on Elimination: How to Narrow Down Your List of Prospective Publishers.

In a wonderful, perfect world, every single publishing house would accept every single manuscript for review. The truth is, however, they don't. You must, therefore, know thy publishing houses. For example, if a publishing house publishes only non-fiction titles, submitting a fiction manuscript will get you absolutely nowhere. Sounds pretty basic, right? In my case, I want to find publishing houses that will publish Fantasy titles. Of the 3 500 listed in 2010 Writer's Market, that leaves me with just 62.

Excellent! Now moving on.

Next to be cut out would be those publishing houses that will not accept any query, proposal or manuscript unless it comes from a literary agent. Submissions to agents will come later. Of the 61 North American options I had, there remains 57.

Good!

Next off the list would be perhaps the most obvious and it comes directly from knowing your audience. As basic as this sounds, I had no idea who my audience was until I had finished the Great Man series. Now that I do know, I can eliminate publishing houses based on that. The age range of your target audience will be the single largest deciding factor in reducing your options. In my case, for example, children are not my target audience. Neither are teens. This book is clearly for an adult audience. With publishing houses focusing on a younger audience struck from the list, the number of options is down to just 37.

Cutting based on audience doesn't end at just age-range, however. It also comes down to the tastes of the target audience. Exclusively religious publishing houses are out in my case, even if they accept Fantasy submissions. That was based purely on content. My story isn't particularly about religion. One more down.

There is a publishing house devoted entirely to lesbian protagonists. Well, my protagonist is a male, and not particularly homosexual, so that one goes as well.

One is devoted entirely to U.F.O.'s and government conspiracy theories. I have nothing of that in my manuscript! That's gone.

Here is a publishing house that wants sex. Don't we all? I especially love their 'Tips.'
"Our audience... wants to read more sex, more detailed sex.... More sex is the motto, but there has to be a storyline - a logical plot and a happy ending."
- Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc., 2010 Writer's Market, pg 153.
Oh dear. While there actually is a fair amount of sex in my book, not much of it goes into very explicit detail and there might be a slight problem with that happy ending. Clearly, this is not the publisher for me! Another one bites the dust.

One publisher is listed twice. I can't rightly count them twice, so I'll ignore the second listing.

That leaves a grand total of 32 publishers I can send a query/proposal/manuscript to. That's actually a fair amount and may just constitute years of waiting!

Don't get me wrong, I still really, really want to be published by Tor. I shall not be submitting anything to anyone else until I have either heard from Tor or six months have passed. That said, I have to prepare for a rejection. Let's face it, how many authors are accepted on their first submission? Exactly.

Now I have to do some serious research into each of my choices. A good thing I like research!

Some Websites You Might Find Useful

I was fortunate enough to be given some helpful sites by Charles Weinblatt, author of Jacob's Courage. There is a link to his site in my "Must Reads" section on the right hand side of this blog. I have to say, I am rather encouraged by his openness and willingness to help unpublished nobodies like myself.

A huge thank-you to Mr. Weinblatt.

Since he was so kind as to share with me, I think I should reciprocate by sharing it with you, the other unpublished authors out there. The first site that may be of interest is:

www.LinkedIn.com

I signed up for this site a couple of weeks before finishing the first ever, exceptionally rough draft of my four book series. This is also the site through which I first got in contact with Mr. Weinblatt. As far as networking, it clearly works and we all know that the more we network, the more ears there are available to hear our stories, the greater chance there is that someone will be interested in our work, the greater chance of being published.

For this reason, you might also want to check out www.ziggs.com.

The last website to try is www.goodreads.com. This site is an absolute must for book lovers. Not only can you share and recommend books to other people, you can submit a part (or all) of your work for review and commentary by complete strangers, who love books and reading. That is a fabulous way to:
1. Have your stuff read and constructively critiqued, and
2. Get word out about your stuff.
Also, if you are already a published author, there is a special section for you to create an author's profile where you and your fans can communicate directly. It's a fantastic way to get an "in" if you catch my drift. I'm not a published author, so I can't do that... yet!

I am on all three websites. Feel free to add me as a contact/friend/connection and with luck, we'll all be published someday.

Perhpas Not?

One of my friends sent me this link, and it describes with far greater eloquence the experience I was trying to explain yesterday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86x-u-tz0MA

I don't feel so crazy now.

Whose Line is it Anway?

Friday's post got me thinking a little about how odd it was that I really just couldn't change the way the story went. After all, it's my story isn't it? Then it clicked. This isn't my story at all! It's his story.

I have to explain this and hopefully I won't sound crazy. I probably will, but here's hoping anyway. I have absolutely no control over this story. Zip; Zilch; Nada; None. In truth this story is controlling me. It pours through my mind like some ghost river and it is relentless until the words are typed out, or written down somewhere, anywhere. I just have to get it out.

It's really difficult to describe, but more than once during the writing of this series I found myself writing for hours on end and having no idea what I've written until I went back (after some much-needed sleep) later to read it over.

I really feel like I am not really the creator of this tale. This tale already existed out there somewhere and I guess I was the only brain tuned into that station. I was the lightening rod. I am nothing more than a conduit for this story. I sit at the computer finding that sentences, intrigues, plots and sub-plots, are being formed on the screen in front of me.

Certainly it was my fingers that typed out the story, but was it my brain that thought it up? I'd love to take all the credit and say yes, but I'm not sure I can. This story is bigger than I am. It's almost as if my character's ghost is standing at my shoulder, letting me know how things happened.

This story isn't mine. It's his. I just hope I can do it justice.

Perhaps I do need that straight jacket.

Should We Call for a Straight Jacket?

I'm writing today on the many behavioural... uh... oddities you will notice that some writers specifically (and some artists in general) exhibit. I'm not talking about suicidal tendencies or really bad temper tantrums. I'm talking about the bizarre attachments to characters that are purely fictional. Writers, alright I (since I can't speak for all writers), tend to feel for their characters as if they were, in actuality, real people.

When something good happens to a character, we rejoice. When something terrible happens, it is not uncommon to find the author... alright, me... moping around the house in her pyjamas for days at a time scraping the bottom of a large ice-cream container for that last little lick of comfort. I'm not sure why this is, but it is.

An example of this happened to me a few years ago. I had reached an impasse in my story. It simply wasn't moving forward, so I decided to leave it alone for a couple of days and let the characters figure it out. When one character decided (of his own accord, of course) to take action, the consequences left me so desolate I phoned my mother in tears.

The conversation went something like this:

"Hello?"
"Mum?" *sob "It's me."
"Oh my God! What's wrong love?"
*sob *sob. "He's dead."
"Who's dead?"
Sounds of a distraught young woman trying to control her crying.
"Honey?"
"Um, Dan*."
Confused silence.
"Who?"
"From my book."
Sudden burst of laughter.
"It's not funny. I'm really sad!"
More laughter.
"Then change it! Un-kill him!"
"I can't! He's dead!"
*named changed to protect the identity of the victim.

Before you start to scoff and say:
"You're the author, just change the story," I have to tell you now that I can't 'just change the story.' That's the way the story went. When I saw the spectacularly heroic death of "Dan" in my mind's eye it was so clear and final that there was no going back. This is what Dan had decided to do, he knew how it would end, but he went and did it anyway. Stupid git. I loved Dan. He was a good soul.

Dan was dead and that was that, just like the death of a real person. You can't undo the death of a friend, however much you would love to have them by your side again. And so it is with fictional characters for authors... alright... for me.

Do I need a straight jacket? Based on what I've heard from other authors during interviews, I don't think so.

Now I'm off to terrorise the spider people who live under the bridge....

That Was My Idea!

Every writer has them: really amazing, original ideas that are just so clever it makes you want to dance in the radiance of your own astounding imagination.... at least, until you read a book with the exact same idea already in print.

That happened to me. Twice.

The first time I almost cried. The second time I threw a temper tantrum. Yes, I am that much of a queen. Well, sometimes I am.

Let me tell you, as a fantasy author it is really stupidly difficult to be original. Tolkien set the standard and now whenever you pick up a book it's almost always Elves, and Dwarves, and Wizards and Dragons. Perhaps the greatest exception (though not the only exception) to that is Steven Erikson, who, I think, is a brilliant mind and I just can't get enough of his Malazan Book of the Fallen series. So good! Read it!

But that is a digression. This is about great ideas that turn out to be not as original as one would have thought. The first time happened shortly after I had written my Prologue. Who can I blame for thieving my spectacular idea? None other than J. R. R. Tolkien himself, yesss precioussss. The Prologue in his book The Silmarillion was so similar to mine, I burst into frustrated tears and cried aloud: "I'll never be published now!"

I hadn't read The Silmarillion before writing my Prologue, I swear! I actually got the idea from The Bible. That's right, The Bible. John 1:1, to be exact. You know, the bit that goes "In the beginning was the Word... and the Word was God." That bit. Only I thought it would be an idea to make the "Word" song, since music is universal and any one language is not. That was the idea and the inspiration. Tolkien had nothing to do with it.

Now, I am a Tolkien fan. I think he is brilliant. His worlds are so vivid and beautiful and terrifying. He is the sort of author authors everywhere hope to approximate, even in the smallest measure. So as frustrated as I am at this development, which will be a huge hinderance to my quest of getting published, I really can't hate him for it.

The other, perhaps more nefarious, "stolen" idea was my golden eyes - black eyes idea. Damn you Edward Cullen! Damn you!

This was the one that gave me my all-out, haven't-taken-a-turn-like-this-since-I-was-three, temper tantrum. I stomped my feet, I punched my mattress, I screamed into my pillow and I cried tears of frustration.

My main character has golden eyes. He was born with golden eyes. It's something I cannot change because it is hugely important to the story and my character's identity. His eyes turn black. This is something I also cannot change, because it is integral to the story.

Expletive! Expletive! EXPLETIVE!

To clarify though, the thing with my character's eyes is once they turn black, they stay black. He's not some good vampire (though there are some similarities there as well, damn it!) who feeds on wild animals rather than people, either. He's the unintended outcome of an ill-fated affair between a Keshaly'i Queen and the Overlord of the Sammonishy'i, and who just happens to be the only person in the world capable of stopping the fantasy equivalent of apocalypse. Intrigued? Well, you'll just have to buy the book. When it's published. If it's published.

Now to be fair to Stephanie Meyers, the idea wasn't stolen.... probably.

Paranoid much?

Joking aside, I know it wasn't. We just both had the same stroke of genius, that's all. My character had golden eyes long before Twilight came out and became hugely popular. I was fourteen years old when that idea came to me. I do not know how long Stephanie Meyers had Edward Cullen floating about her head, so I can't say which of us thought of it first and really, in the long run, it doesn't matter. She was published first, therefore it was, technically, her idea first. That's a huge problem for me.

The biggest frustration with these eerily similarities to already established authors is that I'm now afraid that my work is going to be seen as unoriginal and that will make it really, really, really hard to get published. My one consolation is that my series is not intended for a younger audience. Adult readers only. Viewer discretion is advised. The bulk of the Twilight fan base, therefore, aren't likely to pick my book up. The Tolkien fan base, however, is a different story, and that will be problematic.

I'm not quite sure how to rectify the situation, really, since both the eye colour and colour change are hugely important to the story and the Prologue provides the mythos and history of this world and is equally as important. What do I do now?

All I can do really is send in the manuscript and hope that a publisher sees past these eerie, upsetting, and frightening similarities.

I don't know. I'm scared now, despite all the positive feedback I've received from friends.
Getting published just got harder. Like it needed to....