SAme Old, Same Old

First, sorry, I keep forgetting when Monday is *g*.  So we’re talking about what it means if you’ve been working on the same project for years.  It’s happened to a lot of us, but is it worth it?

Um, in two words, Hell no. After about 6 months you’ve polished it so often the finish has rubbed off.  Not only are you too close to the material to really see/fix any problems, but as time marches on, you’ve lost that freshness and enthusiasm.  I can’t tell you how many people I’ve met who tell me they’ve been working on something for 12 months or more.  Now yes, there are lightning strikes and sometimes those manuscripts sell, but most of those are manuscripts finished at one point and shopped for months or years.

So what’s the solution?  If you’re at the 6-month mark or if you’ve done three drafts, time to move on.  Time to get excited about your next project.  Tuck that old project in a drawer – or a flash drive – and take the lessons learned and move forward.  You can learn volumes about a project.  Honing skills necessary to improve your craft is always good, so don’t look at a long-running work as a failure.  Hopefully the most important thing you’ve learned is how to take a book from beginning to middle to end.

Conversely, if you’re a 3-chapter Sally, time to rethink your process.  If you’ve spent 6 months or more ‘polishing’ your first 3 chapters, time to bone-up on plotting and pacing.  I should know, I was a 3-chapter Sally for years.  I’d write the first three chapters, then have no clue where to go next, so I’d write 3 more chapters of a new project, then have no idea where I was going, and so on and so on.  In all those cases I knew the ending, I just didn’t know how to get through the middle of a book.  My saving grace was learning to organize my manuscript.  The first manuscript I wrote using organizational techniques I sold.  And I did it in one shot.  No drafts, no polishing, just made myself do it right the first time.

So take stock and be honest.   Especially to yourself.

It was a dark and brainstormy night

Sorry, I couldn’t resist.  This is a concept near and dear to my heart.  I love, love, love brainstorming.  I actually like doing it for other people more than for myself.  I love the ‘what-ifs’ of writing.  And I like coming in out of the blue and tossing out ideas to my buds.

I’ve been brainstorming for years.  I am blessed with a great group of friends who are always willing to help me work my way out of whatever hole I’ve dug for myself.  For us it basically works like this:

{Friend’s phone rings} Hello?

{Me} I’m screwed.

What’s wrong?

I don’t have enough conflict to sustain the book.  It’s now a short story.

Tell me about where you are in the story.

{Long recap}

Sounds like you’re rushing it.  Have you thought of X?

Um, no, but I don’t really like that.

How about Y?

Y could work.  Thank you! {I get giddy}

Okay, so maybe it’s a longer conversation.  We touch on characterization, plotting, pacing, conflict – you name it, we bounce ideas off one another.  The key to making this work is having a brainstorming buddy who is familiar with what and how your write.  My brainstorming buddies know better than to brainstorm an angst-ridden subplot because they know this isn’t part of my skill set.  The other thing you really need is trust.  Make sure your brainstorming buddy will tell you the truth.  If you want to be told how special you are, call your mommy.  If you want an honest critique of where you’ve zigged instead of zagged – brainstorm.

The other advantage of brainstorming is plotting and pacing.  By running your plot past your buddy, you can often hear and see the places in your plot that are weak and/or unnecessary.  The same is true of pacing.  Recapping your story gives you a better handle of how the book is moving.

Brainstorming should help you, not defeat you.  Find the right person or people and your manuscript will shine.

I suck

First, bad reviews come with the territory.  If I could write a book that appealed to everyone on the planet, I’d be a very rich woman.  But the tone and tenor of bad reviews has expanded thanks to the internet and its anonymity.

So let’s start with the old.  Back when I was writing for Harlequin I used to get a letter from the same woman after every book was released.  Included with her letters were the pages of my sex scenes with big red circles around the consummation scenes.  Then her letter would blast me for being personally responsible for the aids epidemic and teen pregnancy because my characters never wore condoms.  I always wanted to write her back and say, “yeah, well, they can’t get aids or pregnant unless I write that in because they aren’t real!”  But instead I’d stew for about 30 minutes, then forget Condom Cathy.  Especially once I found out she was writing the same letters to many Harlequin authors.

On with the new.  Now it’s a tad tougher.  Between Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes and Noble, publisher’s sites, etc. it is a whole lot easier for someone to offer a critique.  And they can do it while hiding behind some silly screen name.  It isn’t the critique that bothers me, it’s the fact that people don’t have the stones to sign their name.  IMHO, the worst site (And my editor at Simon & Schuster said the site is useless and they pay no attention to it) is Goodreads.  People go in and give a book a single star but they often don’t explain what they found so distasteful.  How helpful is that to other readers?  Maybe the critique hates funny dialogue or wants more romance.  Well then say that.  The next person may want more funny and less romance.  At least pretend to be a place to exchange valid information.

Then lastly, the direct email . . . yes, you can reach me through my website and yes, I eventually get around to reading each and every comment.  After FAT CHANCE was released, I received a strongly worded email from a woman who took great offense to a line in the book about Finley having homeowner’s Tourette’s.  She accused me of making light of a serious disease and promised me she’d never buy another book of mine.  STUPIDLY I responded to her, explaining that for me, it was an analogy, much like saying something was eating away at a character like a cancer.  That’s not making light of cancer and more than I was making light of Tourette’s.  Bad, bad move.  She came back at me telling me I had a sick sense of humor if I thought mocking the sick and infirmed was funny.  I thought about it for a while, then just wrote her back and suggested that perhaps my books were not meeting her reading needs.  What I really wanted to do was tell her to get a life, but I restrained myself.  Moral of the story . . . if my reply is anything other than thank you, I don’t bother responding, I let my assistant Susan handle the hate mail.

A nip and a tuck

Getting up there in age . . .

Plastic surgery isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.  Take Priscilla Presley.  The once beautiful woman had a facelift that left her looking like she’s standing behind a B-52 engine at take-off.  I almost didn’t recognize her when I saw her on an episode of Oprah.  If her daughter hadn’t been with her, I’m not sure I would have put two and two together.  Sometimes you can go too far.

Who has aged gracefully?  Michelle Pfeiffer.  I swear the woman still looks like she’s 35 when she’s actually 54.  Wouldn’t mind aging like her and from all accounts, she hasn’t had anything done.  Talk about great genes!

I know we’re supposed to be talking about women who’ve aged well . . . or not.  But in a nod to the Olympics, I have two words.  Bruce Jenner.  I swear, his ears are on his cheeks he’s been so tucked and tightened.  He’s a walking advertisement for what not to do to your face.  Like Priscilla Presley, his mouth is drawn into a taut line and he blinks and his scalp moves.  I’m old enough to remember when he won the decathlon in 1976 and at the time, he was the Olympic hotty of the games.  Now that he’s been relegated to the Kardasian stepfather, he looks more like a billboard for don’t let this happen to you.

I’m not anti-paint and body work.  I like my botox and I’ve had a lid lift.  Nothing major though and I’d be a little afraid to get any of that done.  The last thing I want to do is look like Priscilla.  Too bad I have a bad gene pool.  But maybe with enough moisturizer I can make it to the end without a major overhaul.

So if you could have anything done, what would it be?

My RWA Recap

Well, my trip started out on a sour note.  Like many others I spoke with, getting to Anaheim was a challenge.  In my case, I couldn’t get a flight out of West Palm Beach so I had to drive an hour and a half to Ft. Lauderdale.  Then I hoped on a flight to Tampa.  Changed planes and hoped a flight to Chicago.  Then hoped a flight to Phoenix, then finally landed in Ontario where it cost me $200.00 for a car service to the hotel.  Needless to say, I was exhausted before the conference even started.  Oh, and my flight was delayed so instead of arriving at 8:30 PM, I got there after midnight.

Day 1 (Wednesday) was full.  I went to Disneyland with Leanne Banks and Cindy Gerard (shout out to my brother-in-law who works for Disney and gave me some free passes).  We hit a few rides, and then shopped a bit before going back to the hotel to get ready for the literacy signing. 

I’ve been attending RWA for 20 years and I’ve never seen a bigger cluster f*^% than what happened at Anaheim.  Instead of alphabetically seating authors with a select few stars having their own tables, we were spread out like a rash with no rhyme or reason.  Wait, let me back-up for a moment.  The event wasn’t held at the hotel, it was at the Anaheim Convention Center.  On the plus side it was a large space so authors weren’t on top of each other.  On the down side, you had to walk through a construction zone to get there.  Once there, attendees were given a map with names and table numbers on it with a free highlighter.  The print was so small you couldn’t read the author’s names.  They should have given free magnifiers instead.

Aside from people not being able to find their favorite authors, I experienced something that I found disturbing.  I was seated next to a woman who had no sense of decorum.  Every time a person came to me to have a book signed, she would lean over and hand out her promo stuff while I was signing a book.  I wanted to slap her hand but decided corporal punishment wasn’t the best tact.  So what did I do?  I left the signing after about an hour because I was put off by the aggressive behavior and frankly, embarrassed by her rudeness.  While I appreciate that if you’re an e-pub getting your name out there is very important, just please don’t do it at my expense.

I felt a divide during the conference.  A kind of Us versus Them when it came to print authors and e-pubs.  Again, I get that e-pubbing is probably the future and it does allow you to write anything instead of writing a manuscript for print publication, there shouldn’t be this ferocious debate among members.  I even heard one woman say that since she’d self-pubbed 2 books on Amazon, she no longer needed workshops because she was already successful.  Really?  I’ve published more than 40 books and I still attend workshops.  You can never learn too much.  For example, I attended several workshops on electronic publishing because I know I’m way behind the eight ball on that subject.  

I also scoffed at those authors who told me they didn’t need editors.  Again I ask really?  Every manuscript should be looked at with fresh eyes to catch not just typos or grammar mistakes but also for continuity.  When you’re the author, you’re so on top of the work that you often miss glaring mistakes.  I know I do.  But saying you don’t need an editor is kind of arrogant to me and I wonder how repeat sales go if you’re slapping up manuscripts without that crucial step.

Enough about that . . . on to the fun stuff.  As always, RWA is a working conference.  I had some face-to-face time with my agent.  We did some strategizing but we ended up having to do it in my room.  The only places to sit were out in the open and you couldn’t have a conversation without interruptions.  On my behalf, she met with a couple of e-publishers since I am going – albeit kicking and screaming – into the world of electronic publishing.  That’s one of the great things about RWA, your agent takes meetings with publishers and does the pitching for you.  Since I hate – and am terrible at – pitching, I was very happy she assumed that responsibility.

Then it was time for the Pocket/Gallery/Simon and Schuster dinner.  As always, it was a wonderful experience.  The meal was incredible and the networking and chatting continued from appetizers on the veranda right into the private dining room.  For whatever reason, we were a smaller group so it had a more intimate vibe.  And did I mention the food was spectacular?

On Friday, my workshop was a lot of fun even though it was at 8:30 AM *g*.  My agent, my editor and I went through the steps of how a book goes from idea to sale.  I actually learned a few things from my editor about the process.  There’s nothing more satisfying than sharing information that a lot of people aren’t privy to or haven’t experienced.  My agent and editor were especially helpful, explaining all the steps that lead to production.  The handout of publishing terms is available on the RWA website.

Post workshop, my agent, editor and I went for a working breakfast.  It was wonderful and productive.  Like a lot of authors, I get nervous when meeting with my editor.  I’m always sure I’m going to say something irreverent or slip and reveal my potty mouth.  I did well.  I managed to enjoy my eggs benedict without a single inappropriate joke or slip of the tongue and we made a plan for the future.

Sadly I missed the free Pocket signing on Saturday because I flew out at 6AM.  Apologies to anyone who went looking for the latest Finley book!  But I had to get home.  Which wasn’t much easier than getting there.  I left Ontario at 7:30 pacific time.  Then hoped a plane in Phoenix.  Then hoped a plane in Houston.  Then hoped a plane in Tampa.  Then hoped a plane to Ft. Lauderdale.  And opps – I accidently parked my car in short term instead of daily parking.  $125.00 later, I was on my way home.  And as usual, I was exhausted.

Agents and editors and poblishing, oh my!

Here's a few tips to get you going on your quest to find and keep an agent.

My Agent Can't Give That Away

DO YOU WANT TO SELL ONE BOOK OR BUILD A CAREER?

Finding that perfect agent:

1.      Don't go agent hunting until you have a product to sell - or FINISH THE MANUSCRIPT!  Very rarely will a new author sell on proposal in this market.

2.      Do your homework.  Think about what you want from an agent.  Do you want someone hands-on or someone who just targets appropriate editors without offering edits?  Talk to friends, meet with potential agents at conferences, subscribe to PublishersMarketplace.com; check RWA for a list of editors and check AAR status;  and then visit Predators and Editors http://pred-ed.com/ or other informational sites.

3.      Think career and not just next sale.  Know where you would like to be in five years, ten years, etc.

4.      Know your own skill set and play to your strengths.  Never chase a market.

5.      Be realistic - an agent cannot sell what the market isn't buying.

6.      Listen to your agent's advice.  They have their ear to the ground and know more about the industry than you do.

7.      Be more realistic - be able to tell an agent when you can deliver a manuscript or a revision.

8.      Know an editor/agent's taste.  Submitting a humorous manuscript to someone who loves dark and angst-ridden (even if you are friends) is not a smart career move.

9.      Think very long and hard before insisting your agent market an unmarketable manuscript.

10.    Use your agent as a resource, not the enemy.

11. Be professional.  Your agent does not need to know your daily troubles.

12.             Every editor and every agent work differently and have priorities (and lives):

         A - Current/established authors;

         B - Meetings and commitments;

         C - New submissions.

13.    Keep your agent in the loop at all times.  Keep your editor in the loop only when necessary.  Otherwise, let your agent speak for you.

14.  Avoid hybrids.

15.  At conferences requests are common, acceptance is rare.

16. Don't be afraid of change.  Your agent can fire you or vice versa.