We’ve reached that point. The dreaded point. I need to have a one line summary of my novel, The Six Train to Wisconsin, for my promotional materials and my newly-created Facebook Author Page.
I despise one line summaries. How do I boil 400 pages down to a sentence? How?! How?!
Okay, sorry for venting.
I wrote out a couple dozen attempts. I’ve whittled it down to my top four with the help of a few people that read the manuscript.
But then I realized I really really need input from people who haven’t read it. Because this one line summary has to grab potential readers’ attention.
So I’m putting up my first poll ever in this blogs three year history. Do you hear the trumpets blaring?
Please let me know what you think by voting or commenting on what didn’t work with any of the one liners. I really appreciate hearing your thoughts. 🙂
And if you like my writing, would you please click on the “like” button for my just launched Facebook Author page (it’s to the left)?
I am incredibly excited to have won a copy of Amy Shojai’s Lost and Found! It’s at the top of my to read list. But it gets better, Amy agreed to do a Q&A here on my blog.
She has multi-published with the Big 6 and also a smaller press. Many thanks to August and Amy for this amazing opportunity to pick Amy’s brain on her publishing experiences!
1. I read on your bio that you’ve published 26 bestselling pet books. Wow. That’s amazing! What do you think is essential to your prolific writing?
Deadlines and to-do lists are essential for me to get things done. If it’s not on the calendar, it doesn’t exist! I create a weekly to-do list and take great pleasure in crossing each item off as it’s finished.
Also I think many prolific writers simply are driven to get THIS project completed so they can begin THAT project, all the while looking forward to the OTHER project beckoning on the horizon. J Another aspect that inspires my muse is the bills that must be paid. I work for myself—I quit my “day job” back in 1992—so if I don’t meet my deadlines, I won’t get paid, and won’t be asked back. Writers are only as good as their most recent project, so we have to constantly up the ante.
2. Most of your writing is non-fiction, what made you cross over into fiction?
I started out writing fiction. That was back *mumble-mumble* years ago, and editors and agents weren’t interested. Probably that’s because my fiction writing suck-eth at the time, and also because what I wanted to write (pet viewpoint) was considered only kiddie fare, yet I wanted to write thrillers and horror. That was a major disconnect!
At the time, I worked as a veterinary technician and was asked to write articles for the local paper about a new shelter. Apparently my nonfiction suck-eth less, and I began writing articles and columns for a variety of pet magazines. Those were the days of print-only, and snail-mail submissions (no such thing as Email or Internet for regular folks). It occurred to me that a collection of articles might make a worthy book—and once I’d begun publishing nonfiction pet books and found a high-power agent, there truly wasn’t time for fiction.
When publishing began to change due in part to free Internet information, the nonfiction books became less sale-able. And I figured why not try the fiction once again, and publish it myself? After writing so many articles, columns and books, I’d learned how to suck even less as a writer. J Yes, there are degrees of suck-isity, at least in my world!
It took quite a while to write the LOST AND FOUND thriller because I continued my regular nonfiction commitments at the same time. I had freedom to write whatever I wanted, no publisher or agent telling me “that won’t sell.” I’d hired an editor, and felt the book was ready, but at the last minute decided to submit to Cool Gus Publishing, a hybrid publisher I’d worked with to bring out my backlist nonfiction books. I’m so glad that I did! As a result, LOST AND FOUND was the book that I always wanted to read. It got the attention and support it deserved, and I’ve had more input into the publishing process than I ever received from the so called “big guys” in New York.
I call myself the “reinvented writer” because every time I feel like progress has been made, life gives me a kick in the ass-ets to push toward that next goal. LOST AND FOUND success has given me more confidence to take chances and listen to my gut. In fact, I just got the go-ahead (and a deadline, urk!) to deliver a sequel to the book.
3. How did you make the decision to go with a small press? Did you consider self-publishing?
(see above)
4. You’ve published several books with smaller presses, what do you see as the biggest pros and cons of a small press?
Actually, the only “small press” that I’ve worked with has been Cool Gus Publishing. All my other nonfiction titles were Big 6 publishers: Ballantine, Simon and Schuster, Penguin, New American Library, Rodale Press, etc.
The biggest “cons” of a small press are visibility and clout. The big guys already have all those connections made, such as accounts with major brick and mortar book stores. Small publishers may not be able to get print copies into book stores, or have the $$ to offer lots in publicity/promotion. That said, the “big” publishers won’t put $$ behind any authors except their front of the list A-team guys, so that’s a wash.
The biggest “pro” is the flexibility of the smaller press. There are fewer people so less hoops to jump through to get decisions made. That means a book can be accepted, edited and published within a very short amount of time. LOST AND FOUND was submitted in February 2012, accepted in late March, and published in September of that same year. That’s unheard of! The publishers in New York that I previously worked with had a turn-around time of 12-18 months. Small presses also may be more open to author input on cover design—New York houses rarely ask for input, or change a design.
5. If you had one piece of advice to authors in search of publication, what would it be?
Take a chance. Believe in yourself. It’s scary, but don’t hesitate to jump off that cliff. Don’t worry about what’s hot, or what someone else will think. Write what YOU LOVE; write what you want to read. If you’re passionate about the book, the readers and editors and publishers will recognize that.
Back Cover Blurb for Lost and Found
An autism cure will kill millions unless a service dog and his trainer find a missing child . . . in 24 hours. Animal behaviorist September Day has lost everything—husband murdered, career in ruins, confidence shot—and flees to Texas with her cat Macy to recover. She’s forced out of hibernation when her nephew Steven and his autism service dog Shadow disappear in a freak blizzard. When her sister trusts a maverick researcher’s promise to help Steven, September has 24 hours to rescue them from a devastating medical experiment impacting millions of children, a deadly secret others will kill to protect. As September races the clock, the body count swells. Shadow does his good-dog duty but can’t protect his boy. Finally September and Shadow forge a stormy partnership to rescue the missing and stop the nightmare cure. But can they also find the lost parts of themselves?
Book Trailer
That’s her voice *s* and her own dog making a cameo!
I would advise every self-publishing author to pick up a copy. Jen builds upon what you learned in Market or Die: Sensible Brand Building Advice for Authors and Market of Die: How to Use the Power of Your Brand.
She does some terrific hand-holding in the book, guiding authors through the essentials of marketing: knowing their audience, assessing the competitive situation, understanding the four P’s, developing an integrated strategy, and keeping their readers over the long haul.
Somehow she manages to take all her marketing know how and tailor it to an author’s needs using easy-to-grasp, real-world examples.
One of my favorite parts was where she walked us through how to conduct a SWOT analysis. It’s a useful tool where you assess your books strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the the marketplace.
Sounds a bit intimidating, right? Not with Jen by your side walking you through it.
I love Jen’s books because she makes marketing feel like something I can do. She’s taken my fear factor down several levels. I’ll definitely be stopping by her MOD website for more tips!
As I’m in NY for the week, I thought I’d share one of the most beautiful posts I’ve read in 2013.
Winsomebella writes about her mother with such poignancy. I had to share this tender moment with all of you. Because she has captured something so private and so personal and moved me to tears.
“I have seen in my mirror the lines of my mother’s face.
I was first told I looked like her when she was the age that I am now.
I was just past 30 right then and skewed in my worries toward the shallow and small…”
To read more click below and visit Winsomebella’s blog:
The lovely Naomi Baltuck has tagged me in a round of Lucky Seven. I adore her blog and her writing so I’m delighted to participate.
I also have a new YA manuscript. I’ll put up a few lines from that one.
The rules are:
* Go to page 7 or 77 in your current manuscript
* Go to line 7
* Post on your blog the next 7 lines or sentences
* Tag 7 other people to do the same
But you know I never follow the rules completely. 😉 So I’m going to make the tagging open to anyone who wants to participate, just let me know in the comments or link back so I can hop over to your post.
Here are my seven sentences:
The rest was divine intervention. Random Act of God, the newspapers said. Close enough. Dad was so proud. Mom scolded me.
But they almost realized what I was capable of. Before they started arguing again.
As you may have guessed from all the Q&As, I’ve been gathering as much info on self-publishing as I can.
After reading Jenna’s responses to our Q&A, I decided to engage CreateSpace to design the interior formatting of my paperback. I’ve uploaded all the files for their review. We’re going to do a quick conference call at some point and then they will provide me with a mockup of the first few chapters to approve.
I get to include images inside the book and really make it a personal experience for the reader. I’ve visited every place in the book so I have my own photos to use.
I’m engaging Kirkus Indie Review to write a review of the book prior to publication. This will push the publication date into May, but I think it’s an important step to give readers a little more certainty about the quality of my book. I’ll be including a Kirkus blurb on my back cover.
Jenna’s and Audrey’s posts also made me feel confident enough to take on the e-book formatting myself in March.
Audrey’s and August’s posts made it clear I wanted a great cover, so I asked my website designer, Jian Chan, to take on that task.
One thing I took away from all these amazing Q&A posts was the need for an editor and a copy editor. I have one person I trust completely with my novels. My critique partner, who has always given me top-notch advice even when it took me a few months to see the genius in it, Katrina Bender. Having seen what her edits did for my YA story, she’s the only person I wanted to work with on my adult novel. She talks to me in a way that I don’t just hear what she says, but I understand what she means.
My copy editor is my mom. She’s a grammar stickler and catches every little mistake. Even the intentional sentence fragments. But I love her eagle eyes.
I’m really happy to have had such awesome people help me make the decision to self-publish and to have such a talented team help me move forward!
Most writers make the mistake of introducing too many characters or not making clear who the main character is.
The Hobbit is an excellent example of how to do this properly. We open with Bilbo Baggins. We meet his nephew Frodo briefly, which gives us an anchor from The Fellowship of The Ring films. It’s easier to connect with Bilbo because we know him from the other films, but having Frodo there reminds us of this connection.
Gandolf shows up to take Bilbo on an adventure. Another signal that Bilbo is the main character. Bilbo refuses.
Later, dwarves start showing up on his door in 1s, 2s or 3s. We get to know the dwarves and see how they interact. We might not know all of them by name but we get a feel for who they are individually and within their group.
Then Thorin shows up. We know he’s important. He was the last to arrive and his arrival shifts things.
We watch Bilbo struggle with these uninvited guests. Fret over his food being devoured and the possibility of dishware being broken. Then he receives the invitation to join their quest. We feel for him. Who would want to leave their comfortable life for some dangerous unexpected journey?
The time spent seeing him in his natural habitat helps us understand him and sympathize with him. We bond. Because we see who he is. No one tells us Bilbo is a contented non-adventurous sort. We surmise this from his reactions to the dwarves and the invitation.
To say that this is an epic adventure is an understatement. My mom and I both left the theaters with racing hearts. We were drawn so deeply into the film and were so invested in the characters, we experienced every threat with them. And I think a huge part of that is attributable to the opening sequence.
How do you feel: Between Shades of Gray (Ruta Sepetys)
Describe where you currently live: The Fault in Our Stars (John Green)
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: The Future of Us (Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler)
Your favorite form of transportation: If Fried Chicken Could Fly (Paige Shelton)
Your best friend is: Second Sight (Cheryl Klein)
You and your friends are: Immortal Beloved (Cate Tiernan)
What’s the weather like: The Book of Lies (Brad Meltzer)
You fear: Market or Die (Jennifer Fusco)
What is the best advice you have to give: Live to Tell (Lisa Gardner)
Thought for the day: Deadline (Chris Crutcher)
How I would like to die: Nightshade (Andrea Cremer)
My soul’s present condition: Timeless (Gail Carriger)
Lots of amazing books didn’t make it on here because the titles didn’t quite work as responses. Made me realize how many books I got to in 2012 and how many more I want to read in 2013. 🙂
If you decide to play the My Life in Books game, let me know. Or if you have one perfect title for a question, please post it below, I’d love to read it!
Journey back with me to Christmas Day. A day of Grandma H moments…
Grandma H and I sit side by side eating ham at dinner. It was a buffet-style dinner so everyone had to grab their own utensils.
She has a fork. I have a fork and knife and spoon.
Not for long…
She says, “Give me that knife.”
I say, “I need it.”
She says, “So do I.”
I hand her mine and ask my cousin, “Can you grab me a knife?” I’m seated against the wall trapped beside Grandma H and she doesn’t move when she’s eating.
I get my knife and commence slicing my ham. Grandma H looks over at me. “I’ll take that spoon too.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
I have nothing on my plate that requires a spoon. Plus it’s Grandma H so I hand it over.
We eat for a bit in silence. Then I look over. She’s slicing her ham with the knife but holding it in place with the spoon.
I ask, “Why are you using the spoon like that?”
“Because it’s easier to scoop up the juice.” She sounds mildly annoyed by my ignorance.
“But to hold the meat in place when cutting?” I ask.
“It’s how I like to do it.”
******
Later we are sitting in the living room. Grandma H decides to start a conversation by asking, “So Steve, do you have water in your basement?”
It’s the weirdest conversation starter ever. I giggle.
Steve however goes with whatever topic is thrown at him and launches into a story about his basement flooding in the past but no longer.
*******
Later, we sit around talking about an old family friend. Someone calls her to touch base. The phone gets passed around.
Unbeknownst to Grandma H, the call is ended.
The family then chats about the old family friend.
Grandma H looks to be stewing.
As the conversation gets louder, she shhhs everyone and says, “She’s still on the phone.”
My aunt says, “No she isn’t.”
Grandma H points to my cousin and insists, “He’s holding the phone talking to her.”
My cousin unfurls his hand which was beside his temple. “No, I was just resting my head on my hand.”
“Why would you do that?” Grandma H asks in a huff.
Silver Linings Playbook was an unexpected pleasure. My mom really wanted to see it. I was interested, but not nearly as motivated as her.
But we went.
And I LOVED it.
Bradley Cooper turned out one of his best performances ever. He was so deep in character I forgot he was Bradley Cooper. It’s so rare to see actors actually well acting. And Jennifer Lawrence. That woman can act her butt off.
The supporting cast were riveting and the perfect foil to Cooper and Lawrence. Robert DeNiro was AMAZING. The father-son dynamic and the father-mother-son dynamic were so intricate. It was like slipping inside your neighbor’s house and watching their family interact.
The clip gives you an idea of the story. It’s a character-driven, messy story filled with broken moments. But it was terrifically real.
My mom and I laughed dozens of times. There is something beautiful and tragic and heartwarming in these characters and their struggles. I loved ever second of the movie. In fact, I’d go see it again and again.
