RECOMMENDED READING:
1. FORGET REAL LIFE: Characters cannot do the things that we do, such as eat, drink, sleep or take a bath.
Agatha Christie: Evil Under the Sun
2. FLOW CAN TURN GOOD INTO GREAT: Jaws, The Mummy, The Usual Suspects, White Oleander by Janet Fitch, PD James. None of these aspired to be the Great American story, but I think they are truly great for one reason: there is not one moment that your attention wanders.
PD James: Shroud for a Nightingale
3. SETTING THE PACE BEGINS WITH THE FIRST WORD. Backstory belongs later, as stated by Donald Maas. Beginnings are hard.
Donald Mass: Writing the Breakout Novel
Jeffrey Deaver: The Bone Collector
4. ANYTHING THAT APPLIES TO FICTION APPLIES TO NONFICTION. You will have to pay even more attention to your pace when you can’t make up a dramatic event when the narrative calls for it. You will have to open each chapter with a surprising statement or line of dialogue, and ending each chapter with a bang, a cliffhanger or some other stunning remark.
Ann Rule: And Never Let Her Go
5. LESS IS MORE: How much description do you really need?
Lawrence Block: Telling Lies for Fun and Profit
6. IT’S ABOUT TIME: Use flashbacks sparingly, and no gaps of weeks or months unless absolutely necessary. Every time time lags in the book, it’s going to lag in the reader’s mind.
What not to do: James Patterson: Along Came A Spider
What to do if you want to span generations: Stuart Woods: Chiefs
7. NEVER REPEAT YOURSELF. Just because one character has to recap recent events for another character does not mean you make your readers listen to it again. Do not tell them things they already know.
What not to do: James Patterson: Cat and Mouse
Jeffrey Deaver: The Stone Monkey
8. ACTION DOESN’T HAVE TO COME WITH LIGHTS, CAMERAS, CAR CRASHES AND EXPLOSIONS. Keeping the book moving doesn’t mean a constant barrage of noise and chaos.
Peter Abrahams: The Tutor
Elizabeth George: Write Away
9. THE DIE HARD RULE: Just keep going. Otherwise known as pacing is like paint—it can cover a multitude of sins.
Robert Ludlum: The Matarese Circle
10. ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL: You have to do what’s right for you.
Takes place in one night: David Morell: Creepers
Takes place in one week: Scott Smith: The Ruins
Takes place in one generation: Dan Simmons: The Terror
PRESENTOR:
Elizabeth Becka/ Lisa Black www.elizabethbecka.com
PO Box 151090
Cape Coral, FL 33993 www.lisa-black.com
Using the Blogosphere to Maximize Online Marketing
By Sandy Lender: To contact Sandy email at: sandy_lender@yahoo.com
I. Here are a couple of Sandy's current blogs you can look at for examples:
www.todaythedragonwins.blogspot.com (run by Sandy)
http://sandylender.blogspot.com (run by Nigel Taiman)
www.fromthestart.wordpress.com (run by Sandy; you can submit first chapters and author bios to Sandy for this site)
http://friendsofdragons.ning.com (run by Sandy)
II. Here are blog servers with established communities:
http://wordpress.com/ (has a built-in sitemeter/counter)
http://www.typepad.com/ (incredible support features)
http://360.yahoo.com/login.html?.done=http%3A%2F%2F360.yahoo.com%2F&.src=360 (extremely user-friendly for set-up, but not exciting)
https://www.blogger.com/start (easy for new users; no customer support)
http://morganmandelbooks.ning.com/
www.xanga.com/ (looks like it's run by some guy in a basement)
III. Some good site-building resources
www.sparklit.com (has a free counter; has surveys you can conduct, web polls, mail forums that let you collect information on the people visiting your site)
www.weblogtoolscollection.com/ (contains tools such as "track visitors to your blog" and "Link Love", which is a plug in that turns off no follow for all commenters who have posted at least 10 comments)
http://bloggerfordummies.blogspot.com/ (check the archives for "how-do-I-track-visitors-to-my-blog)
IV. Pinging
Your html code to use for metatags:
<a href="http://technorati.com/Choices%20Meant%20for%20Gods" rel="tag">Choices Meant for Gods</a>
or visit http://technorati.com/tools/tag-generator/index.html to input your search words and have the tag created for you to cut and paste in the HTML mode of your post
The Three R’s of writing: Rejection, Revision and Rejoicing
By Bonnie Vanak, author of THE SCORPION AND THE SEDUCER, www.bonnievanak.com
Rejection reminders
☺ Don't take rejection personally. You aren't being rejected; your work is.
☺ Give yourself time to recover and be gentle with yourself. You're a writer and most of us are sensitive; it's what makes us creative! Take a day or two to get over it. Then get back to writing!
☺ Many famous authors have been rejected time and again. Stephen King used to keep his rejection letters nailed to the wall with a spike because he accumulated so many. John Grisham accumulated more than 28 rejections. You're in good company!
☺ Use rejection letters as a means to see if there is anything you can improve. If an editor or agent gives you suggestions, carefully consider them and rewrite.
Revision reminders
☺ Take a hard look at the rejected project. Ask yourself, "Can this be saved?" If the rejection letter from an editor or agent came with any solid reasons why it was rejected, use these nuggets as a basis to starting to revise.
☺ Ask yourself if it's worth the time to save the project or if you are better off setting it aside to work on another project.
☺ Once you decide it's worth saving set the book aside for at least a week. This will enable you to turn on your internal editor and gain some distance from the project.
☺ When you're reading to revise, start by asking yourself and be brutally honest. What is the biggest problem with this book? Use this as the springboard to start revisions.
☺ Use any agent or editor or contest comments to start editing and changing. If an editor rejected the book because she said, "There's not enough conflict," then examine the conflict in the book. Can it be made stronger?
☺ Ask a friend or critique partner to read your work for evaluation, and answer these five questions, or you can ask yourself the questions:
1. Does this book capture your interest and make you want to read more?
2. Is it clear or confusing?
3. Did you like the characters?
4. Was the conflict and romance clearly understood?
5. Is the plot plausible?
☺ Look at your work with an impartial eye and turn ON your internal editor. NOW is not the time to be creative. Be as critical as you can be and forget about creating. Your goal is to revise, not create.
☺ Cut the fat! Cut out unnecessary scenes that can slow pacing.
☺ Save yourself the trouble in the beginning of a project. Write a synopsis just for yourself! A synopsis is a short document that outlines key events, characters and conflict. I call it a road map for a book. Even if you deviate from the main road, you still keep in mind where the final destination is. You can also write a synopsis when you are revising a book. This will help you outline key problems. And you'll need a synopsis when you begin to sell books on proposal (first three chapters and a synopsis).
Inspiring quotes
“Believe in yourself and in your own voice, because there will be times in this business when you will be the only one who does. Take heart from the knowledge that an author with a strong voice will often have trouble at the start of his or her career because strong, distinctive voices sometimes make editors nervous. But in the end, only the strong survive." - Jayne Ann Krentz
"You must keep sending work out; you must never let a manuscript do nothing but eat its head off in a drawer. You send that work out again and again, while you're working on another one. If you have talent, you will receive some measure of success - but only if you persist. "- Isaac Asimov
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." - Eleanor Roosevelt
Editing services
There are professionals you can hire to help you edit your book before you submit it for publication. A friend of mine does this so-called book doctoring. Alice Duncan has written over 40 books under various names for Jove, Dorchester and Kensington and is now a freelance editor. She does book doctoring for a fee of $2.25 per 250 words. A typical manuscript costs about $400-$500, depending on how long the book is. One of her clients recently had his young adult book accepted for publication by a small press.
Her email is aduncan@zianet.com and her website http://www.zianet.com/aduncan/
Useful web links
Preditors and Editors: Website listing agents and editors and giving warnings about those who are unscrupulous. http://anotherealm.com/prededitors/
Agent query: Website database of literary agents. http://www.agentquery.com/
Publisher's Marketplace: Sale news, publishing news, place where you can subscribe to Publisher's Lunch, which lists the latest book deals and gives you insight into what is selling.
http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/
Writing a synopsis: Web page with many links. http://writingcorner.com/fiction/synopsis/index.htm
Sabrina Jeffries article: Good article with detailed information about how much money you can make in mass market paperback fiction.
www.sabrinajeffries.com/big-misunderstanding-about-monev.php
About the author: Bonnie Vanak is a multi-published author of 7 romance novels, with her eighth book, ENEMY LOVER, out November 2008 from Silhouette Nocturne. Her May 2008 Egyptian historical romance, THE SCORPION & THE SEDUCER, is available at Borders. Barnes and Noble. Books-a-Million and Walmart.