[authorme] PUBLISHING NEW WRITERS, JANUARY 2007
- From: "Bruce Cook, AuthorMe.com" <cookcomm@xxxxxxx>
- To: authorme@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 31 Dec 2006 12:34:11 -0800 (PST)
You are receiving this periodical because you marked a request on a website in
the www.Author-Me.com group.
If
for any reason you'd rather not receive this periodical, simply write
an email to PublishingNewWriters@xxxxxxxxxxxxx and write the words "no
more" in the subject box. Thank you.
============================================================
In this issue...
--AUTHORME IN 2007, by Bruce Cook
--STRANGER THAN FICTION, by Sharif Khan
--ADVANCED TECHNIQUES: SAY IT ONCE, SAY IT RIGHT, by Sandy Tritt
============================================================
There! A Biblical Chronicle, by
David C. Cook III and Jenny Wren (Cook Communication,
2006)
Author David C. Cook III, president of a religious
publishing company, was unable to complete his vision
of present
tense stories placed in Bible times. Jenny Wren stepped
in a few
years after his death and added her chapters to
complete this
exciting chronicle, written as if you are there, in
Bible times!
To order/preview:
http://www.lulu.com/content/553895
--Impartial
review of your book. Send a complimentary copy (including Press
Release, including a short bio and your e-mail address - Required) to
Cook Communication, P.O. Box 451, Dundee IL 60118 USA.
ReserveBooks.com reserves the right to choose which titles to review.
============================================================
AUTHORME IN 2007
by Bruce Cook
The publishing world has radically
changed for new writers. In the recent
past, chances of publication were slim
to none, unless you used a vanity press
costing thousands. Today new writers are
creating Print on Demand Books with no
initial outlay.
With such a change, Author-me also needs
to change.
First, rather than simply posting
stories, we are considering them for
inclusion in our new paperback book
series scheduled to emerge under the
ReserveBooks.com label. Also, if a
single author has a complete work which
they consider worthy of publication on
Author-me (as excerpts) and as a
paperback book, we are willing to
consider setting this up for them with
Lulu.com. (See, for example, the book we
just put together for Alfredo G.
Herrera, Reaching An Loc, now available
from Lulu.com for $6.63 plus shipping.)
See http://www.lulu.com/content/603568
Second, we continue the service which
other writing websites skip - actual
editorial feedback, and a system which
represents the typical structure of a
publishing house. We are not a service
where someone can just drop 100 poems
onto a web page, for this only serves
the vanity of a writer. We feel it is
important to improve every work we
receive (although we occasionally
receive manuscripts which require no
revision).
Third, we remain open to audio and video
clips to go along with stories, as long
as these are properly licensed, etc. In
January we will move to a web host with
an amazing 25 gigabytes of disk space
and 500 gigabytes of bandwidth dedicated
to our use, so there is little that we
cannot do for you. I would like to see
authors try experimenting by reading
their stories aloud so we
can post it in audio form.
Fourth, we have simplified our
submission process. The best way to
submit your manuscript is this:
1. You must first register (which you
have done if you receive this
newsletter) at ...
http://author-me.com/forms/member.html
2. You can then submit your manuscript to us on a highly secure server using
the
link on our home page (left column):
http://www.author-me.com
We have other ideas too, but we'd like to hear from you. Write us at
cookcomm@xxxxxxx!
============================================================
STRANGER THAN FICTION
By Sharif Khan
I recently had the pleasure of watching Marc Forster’s film, Stranger
Than Fiction, which I found to be a delightfully charming, intelligent
comedy written by first-time screenwriter Zach Helm. I give it two
guitars up. Way up. (Platonically speaking of course).
It’s
about an uptight IRS agent, Harold Crick (Will Ferrell), who realizes
that his mundane life is being narrated by the voice of a chain-smoking
novelist played by Emma Thompson. The novelist is suffering from a bad
case of writer’s block and is on the verge of a nervous breakdown
because she can’t decide the ending to her story.
Going mad with
the constant narration in his head that accurately predicts his every
move, Crick solicits the help of a literature professor (Dustin
Hoffman) to help find his voice. To his utter shock and dismay, Crick
learns that the voice of his narrator belongs to this eccentric author
that writes tragedies in which her heroes are killed off.
But
Crick does not want to die! For the first time in his life he is
discovering who he really is and what his true passions are. He sets
out to meet the author with the determination to alter his fate. And
upon meeting, the two worlds collide. The author is petrified to see
that her main character has come to life and that he is very real
indeed.
I can certainly relate to this movie as a writer working
on my first inspirational novel. The movie raises some intriguing
questions: What does it mean to be real? To find one’s voice? To
express one’s voice? Who is narrating our story? Can fate be altered?
Where do the boundaries of fiction and non-fiction collide?
I certainly don’t pretend to
know the answers. I can only share my perspective as a writer. One of
the challenges writers face is to know their characters inside and out
and to have a complete understanding of the world they have created so
that everything magically comes to life. As the story-writing guru,
Robert McKee, likes to say, “Not a sparrow should fall in the world of
a writer that he wouldn’t know.”
I believe in a sense that we are all writers. We are writers of our own play.
In The Hero Soul (www.HeroSoul.com), I close the last chapter of my book with a
quote from Shakespeare:
“All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.”
The
world is a stage upon which we perform. Each age consisting of the acts
and scenes of the play. But it’s our play. We choose how we act in each
scene moment by moment. What type of play do we want to write? What
type of a life do we want to live?
Realizing
that he is going to be killed off, Harold Crick asks the literary
professor for advice. The professor gives him a deceptively simple
answer, “Go live your life! Do what you love to do!”
At first,
Crick is offended by the professor’s triteness; but he realizes later
that he has no control over his mortality and decides to do just that:
live his life. He’s always wanted to play the guitar but never really
had the time. For the first time in his life he walks into a guitar
shop and sees this wicked turquoise guitar starring back at him. He
picks up the guitar and begins strumming. In that moment his life is
transformed from a tragedy into a divine comedy.
What have we
been denying ourselves? What type of play do we want to have a starring
role in? Sometimes we act in an “If Only” play with a bit part in
shoulding all over ourselves until we are mired deep in our own pile of
dung. I should write a novel. I should exercise. I should be a painter.
I should start my own business. I should go on a dream vacation. If
only I was younger. If only I was older. If only I had the money. If
only I had the time.
In
the professional world of writing there is a clause known as the “kill
fee.” The kill fee is a fee paid by the editor to the writer for an
assigned piece of writing that is killed off and never published. It’s
usually a percentage of the total amount that was originally agreed
upon between the editor and writer. Although there can be many reasons
for rejecting a piece, the kill fee is often executed because the
writing simply isn’t up to par.
When we’re not being our best
selves, when we’re not expressing our unique voice, when we’re not
being true to ourselves and not doing what we love to do, something
inside of us dies. Life then pays us a kill fee: something less than
what we truly deserve.
Are
we living a life that’s worthy of being published, or will we live a
life of mediocrity and accept the kill fee that’s assigned to us?
Sharif Khan (http://www.herosoul.com;
sharif@xxxxxxxxxxxx) is a freelance writer, inspirational keynote
speaker, and author of the leadership bestseller, "Psychology of the
Hero Soul." He publishes his monthly Hero Soul ezine for cutting-edge
advice on success, leadership and personal growth. To contact Sharif
Khan about his writing and motivational speaking services, call:
416-417-1259.
Copyright © 2005 by Sharif Khan
============================================================
ADVANCED TECHNIQUES: SAY IT ONCE, SAY IT RIGHT
by Sandy Tritt
Let’s
face it. We’re writers because we
love words. We love the way they
sound and we love the way they roll
off our tongues. We love to string
them together and give meaning to
our existence through them. Words
are our babies. And one of the
toughest things we must do as
professional writers is to weed
through these babies we’ve created
and eliminate those that don’t pull
their own weight. Yes, we are
talking infanticide here. Killing
our babies.
Redundancy is one of the carnal sins of
writers. We don’t trust our words to do their job. We don’t trust our reader to
catch our meaning the first time. So we repeat ourselves. Unfortunately, any
word that doesn’t add to a story, detracts.
Now, before you slam this book shut on
me, let me offer an alternative. For large groups of words that I just don’t
have the heart to kill, I keep a file on my hard drive titled “Babies.”
Whenever
I write (what I consider) beautiful prose that just doesn’t fit my story, I cut
it from my manuscript and move it to my “Babies” file. That way, I don’t feel
like a murderer.
But for those little redundancies, the
little repetitions (like in this sentence), the best alternative is death.
Let’s
take a look at an example:
Shelly sat cross-legged on the
over-sized sofa. Her life was about to change. She peeked inside the envelope.
The letter in the envelope was neatly folded. She took the letter out of the
envelope and opened it. She was afraid of what it would say. She was scared
that
Larry was giving her the brush-off. Her trembling hands held the paper open.
With great trepidation, she read the words that would change her life forever.
She would never be the same again.
Okay, redundancy irritates us. Did the
writer think we were so bored we had nothing better to do than read the same
thought over again? Or did the writer just think we were too stupid to catch on
to what was happening? My guess is that the writer was trying to slow down the
pacing and became lazy.
Regardless of the reason, we, as
writers, don’t want to irritate our readers. Therefore, we need to use care in
choosing words that best say what we need to say, and then say those words
once.
We gotta trust our words to do their job and we gotta trust our reader to do
his. So, let’s revisit Shelly’s letter and see what we can do with it:
Shelly sat cross-legged on the
over-sized sofa and peeked inside the envelope. She removed the neatly folded
letter and opened it. Her hands trembled as she read the words that would
change
her life forever.
Well—it’s better, but we can
see the need to slow the pacing. To do that, we can add one of the following to
the paragraph:
·
“She wiped her palms on the shirt Larry had
given her.”
·
Something to give the depth of her feelings:
“She wouldn’t be able to bear life without Larry.”
·
The use of other senses: “The letter smelled
of Old Spice. Shelly took a deep whiff and imagined Larry sitting next to her,
holding her hand, rubbing her knuckles, bringing her fingers to his lips for a
soft kiss.”
Redundancy can also come in the form of
a single word or phrase. For example, “free gift” or “sum total.” Entire
websites are devoted to naming and eliminating these little nuisances.
Some writers repeat ideas in a list,
such as, “She was tired, worn out, and exhausted.” Okay. Wouldn’t just
saying she was exhausted serve the purpose? Better, say it more creatively and
actively, like, “Exhaustion hung to her like possums to their mama.”
(just kidding!)
Be aware of repetition in your writing.
Crisp prose has no room for it. So, the next time you feel like a redundancy,
repeat this to yourself ten times:
Any word that doesn’t add to your
prose, detracts from it.
Any word that doesn’t add to your
prose, detracts from it.
Any word that doesn’t add to your
prose, detracts from it.
Any word that doesn’t add to your
prose, detracts from it.
Any word that doesn’t add to your
prose, detracts from it.
Any word that doesn’t add to your
prose, detracts from it.
Any word that doesn’t add to your
prose, detracts from it.
Any word that doesn’t add to your
prose, detracts from it.
Any word that doesn’t add to your
prose, detracts from it.
Any word that doesn’t add to your
prose, detracts from it.
Exercise: Say it Once, Say it Right
Give
your hand a try at eliminating these redundancies.
1. Janie had a tiny little hand
2. Wilbur ate quickly, in a hurry, and rushed
through dinner.
3. Jacqueline looked at the old antique and quietly
whispered to the neighbor next to her.
4. “I don’t wanna go home!” she whined.
5. “Don’t touch me,” she warned.
6. There was three seconds left on the clock. The
arena was quiet, totally silent. Not a sound was heard anywhere. No one
shouted.
No one breathed. No one moved. Michael stood on the court and posed, then
raised
his arms and aimed the basketball at the net. He shot the basketball. It left
his hands and in slow motion, it lifted into the weightless air, then silently
slid through the net without so much as a swoosh. The quiet crowd exploded with
cheers, catcalls, applause, clapping and screaming. With less than a single
second left on the time clock, the Lakers stole the lead. They won. They had
done it. (Hint: my solution to this one might surprise you)
(c)
copyright 2002 by Sandy Tritt. All
rights reserved, except for those
listed here. The article can be
reproduced
for educational purposes (such as for
writer's workshops), as long as this
copyright notice and the url:
http://tritt.wirefire.com
are distributed with the pages. For
use in conferences or other uses not
mentioned here, please contact Sandy
Tritt at
www.InspirationForWriters.com.for permission and additional
resources at no or limited charge.
Keep writing!
Sandy Tritt
Sandy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sandy's website:
www.InspirationForWriters.com
============================================================
Please rate this Ezine at the Cumuli Ezine
Finder.http://www.cumuli.com/ezines/ra79672.rate
Note: This issue is sent as plain text. For an html view, go to
http://www.author-me.com/newsletters/current.htm
============================================================
Publishing New Writers, April, 2006 (No. 801)
Publisher: Cook Commm - Bruce L. Cook, P.O. Box 451,
Dundee, IL 60118 USA.
Submissions and comments to cookcomm@xxxxxxxx Links
are welcome. To receive monthly e-mail copies of this
periodical, go to:
www.Author-Me.com/member.html
To review our archive
of past issues, go to
www.Author-Me.com/newslist.htm.
AuthorMe.com is dedicated to the memory of David C. Cook III
Visit our recent websites...
Innisfree Journal
Greg McBride, Editor
WWW.INNISFREEPOETRY.ORG
Enskyment - Dan Masterson, Editor
WWW.ENSKYMENT.ORG
Reserve Books
WWW.RESERVEBOOKS.COM
Other related posts:
- » [authorme] PUBLISHING NEW WRITERS, JANUARY 2007
