Writers on the Brink

It’s been a while since I’ve stood on my soapbox and touted the benefits of joining a critique group, and I’m experiencing a huge wave of gratitude for mine—the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ Southwest Plaza group. Talk about a bunch of enlightening, ego-bashing, brilliant-minded writers. They’ve praised me, scolded me, dragged me through the mud, offered sound advice, and pasted gold stars to my forehead. I love them, love them, love them…even when I hate them.

If you don’t belong to a critique group, for heaven’s sake, join one. If it’s a good one, you’ll leave the sessions feeling satisfied. And frustrated. And educated. And dumb. And ready to quit. And ready to succeed. Aside from having children, it just might be the most fulfilling and valuable love/hate relationship you’ll ever have.

If you already belong to a critique group and you’re not being enlightened and bashed to bits, one of the following things may be happening:

1. You’re perfect, your writing is perfect, there’s no way in hell you could possibly make it any better, and agents are begging to work with you.
2. Your group is not a good match for your needs.
3. You’re not open to constructive criticism.

Getting good critique should be like going to a good potluck—everyone brings something unique to share. Delicious opinions galore! And regardless of how things look or smell, they should all be tasted. Some dishes are pre-packaged, some are fresh, certain bites won’t agree with you, and others will have you going back for seconds. The important thing is to fill your plate. Try it all in your mind’s eye. And don’t be afraid to get another opinion from someone you trust. “Does this taste right to you?”

As you sort through all these tasty bites, hang onto the ones that improve your work and discard those that do not. One person might say, “You should trim this scene,” and the next will say, “No way, you should build on it.” You know your story better than anyone. Use your common sense. Play with both and see what sounds best to you.

A wise fellow-critiquer told me to trust myself. My first thought? Uh, if I trusted myself, I wouldn’t be asking for everyone’s help. Honestly, dude… Then I realized he was referring to the rewrites. Once you pick the finest tidbits of advice from your plate, rewrite your recipe and read it aloud to yourself. If it sounds like chocolate, tastes like chocolate, and feels like chocolate, it’s probably awesome and delicious. If it doesn’t, walk away from it. Let it age. Then try again.

Thanks to my band of critiquing peeps, I’ve shaved 25,000 words from my bloated manuscript. It’s tighter, cleaner, and I don’t get near as many heavy sighs when I read it aloud. I have 75 pages left to rewrite…with their valuable assistance, of course. Then I’ll try a new recipe on them.

And it better taste like $#@%-ing chocolate.

Hello, writing on the brink folks,

I mentioned providing a follow up to Tatterbook’s press release about their new book machine that copies, prints and binds a book in ten minutes.

Here is the formula for determining what you will pay Tattered Cover to produce a book for you, complete with cover (which you supply in JPG format). The upfront cost looks steep at first, until you read down and see what Chuck Rugh, the Tattered Cover Digital Print Manager, will do for you. Check it out. And go to their web page for more information. They are calling themselves Tattered Cover Press. Love that logo they use. Their web page is www.tatteredcover.com.

Retail Package: $299 (Special Introductory Offer, through April 30, 2012: $249)

This price includes the following services:

• One half-hour meeting with our pressman Chuck Rugh (examine file for print readiness, Q&A, submission requirements)
• File conversion (if necessary)
• Free preview copy of book to verify everything looks okay
• ISBN
• Barcode corresponding to the ISBN
• Copyright for author (may take awhile for confirmation)
• Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN) (may take awhile for confirmation)
• Preview copy to the Tattered Cover Local Author  Coordinator for consideration of in-store placement under  consignment
• Consignment (consignment fee is applicable if chosen for in-store placement)
• Online placement at tatteredcover.com
• ePub conversion and upload to Google eBookstore
• If the author notices problems in the free preview copy that are not related to mechanical problems with our Espresso Book Machine, there will be $25/hour charge for assistance with any revisions, with a minimum of one hour charge (applicable to either package)

Additional Printing Costs
(applicable to both packages)

Per book:

• For books up to 100 pages: $4 for the first 40 pages; and 5¢ per page for pp 41-100
• For books over 100, up to 800 pages: $7 for the first 100 pages; and 2¢ per page for pp 101-800

Example: For a book with 250 pages
$7 (for first 100 pages)
+ $3 (2¢ per page pp 101-250)
_________
= $10 total

Now, that is not too bad after the initial stuff is done. The cover design may be another $100-200.

Hope this is helpful for all.

Dave Stover

In my last few posts (a few months ago), I reviewed the process of downloading ebooks from online libraries and compared the differences between using these files on the Nook, the Kindle, and Nook and Kindle apps on tablets/smartphones. This time I am finally going to cover limitations of e-readers.

Number of Devices That Can Share an Account

For both the Kindle and OverDrive Media (ODM), the number of devices that can be registered to a single user ID is six. It is pretty easy, however, to change the account on a Kindle–and change back–without losing files.  And if you exceed six devices, you simply get booted out of ones you aren’t using and have to re-enter your user ID and password the next time you use it.

But if you reach the limit with Overdrive Media and want to add a new device, you have to call Adobe’s customer service number, wait on hold and then find your way to the right agent who can reset your account.  Be warned. Consider very carefully which devices you want to have on your account before you use all six of your Adobe Digital Reader (Overdrive) registrations. This includes the Nook devices, because Adobe Digital Editions must be used to download and transfer the library files to your Nook.

The Nook app, on the other hand, can be installed on unlimited devices under the same user ID.  Everyone in the family can share the same purchased books on the Nook app and devices.  The catch is that you have to register your account with a credit card number.  You will,  of course, not want to give out your credit card number to anyone and everyone.  Therefore publishing houses are confident you will self-limit the number of devices you register.  And the Nook app doesn’t support library ebooks anyway.  You will have to download and read them with the Overdrive Media app, my least favorite ebook reader.

Organizing Books and Other Files

Another small irritation I found with the apps (Kindle and ODM) is that they do not allow the user to make categories to organize book files.  On my Kindle and Nook I have categories or shelves for all my books.  I can organize my book files in such a way that I can find them easily.  I also keep a shelf of all library books I have read but which have expired.  I can’t open these files anymore, but I’ve found having the cover thumbnails useful when I want to tell someone about a book I’ve read.  I have the title and author’s name at my fingertips.

Overall Assessment

Overall, how do the different devices and apps for library e-books compare?  Before the introduction of the Kindle Fire and touchscreen Kindles, I would have said that Nook is the superior device for reading any e-book–library or not–despite its initial inconvenience with downloading.  Its notes, highlights and built-in dictionary, and touchscreen give it the advantage over the 3rd Generation Kindle, Kindle App, and OverDrive Media.

Now, I believe the Kindle Fire and touchscreen Kindles match or beat the Nook in features and have an advantage in the convenience of downloading.   If I want to have access to my notes and highlights later, Kindle library e-books are preferable. But if the book is one with a lot of words that I will have to look up, I would prefer to use my Nook or Kindle device (instead of one of the apps) for the built-in dictionary.  That way I can look up words even if I’m riding in the car without Wi-Fi access.  The problem for Kindle users is that libraries seem to have the books I want as EPUBs only.  So, sometimes there isn’t a choice.  But that may change.

For now, I sometimes download library books to the Kindle app, especially if I want to the kids to read them.  If I had a touchscreen, backlit Kindle (Kindle Fire), that would be my first choice.  But since I  have only an older 3rd generation Kindle, I still download library e-books mostly to my Nook Color because the advantages of  the device still trump the apps.

We writers should be aware that “an Espresso” may refer to coffee or it can now mean a paperback book. Within weeks, the Tattered Cover Book Store, LoDo, will turn on the Espresso Book Machine®(EBM). “Within minutes, the EBM can produce a bookstore quality paperback with color cover, in any standard trim size, at point of sale,” according to a November press release.

The EBM is the only digital-to-print at retail solution on the market. The content is fed to the machine via EspressNet, On Demand Books’ growing digital network of over seven million titles.

Like iTunes, EspressNet retrieves, encrypts, transmits and catalogues books from a multitude of English and foreign language content providers (including public domain, in copyright, and self-published). Through the SelfEspress software, writers can format, design, edit, and upload their physical book for printing and inclusion on the EBM catalog, and soon will be able to convert the print file to an .epub format suitable for ereaders.

The Tattered Cover will become a community self-publishing center, providing a new distribution platform for self-published authors.

Think of it: no shipping cost, no returns, and no unwanted books. Joyce Meskis, owner of the Tattered Cover, said, “It will enhance our inventory selection by providing quick access to millions of books that can be printed in the store. That means more options for the reader. This cutting-edge service will also be a boon to the self-published author and the creative memoirist. We will be offering to them the ability to do affordable short print runs of their books, whether for resale to the public or as a family keepsake.”

The next follow up blog will contain more details about the EBM at the Tattered Cover in LoDo. Stay tuned.

It’s no surprise that Alfonso Cuarón has signed on to direct the motion picture version of The Radleys.

Matt Haig’s twisted take on a family of vampires living in British suburbia is redolent of the “co-existence with normal neighbors humor in the early books of the “Harry Potter” saga (including “The Prisoner of Azkaban”, of which Cuarón directed the film version).

But will the movie give us this thought from inside Will Radley’s head?
(from Page 306 in the U.K. novel version)

“I am Lord Byron.
I am Caravaggio.
I am Jimi Hendrix.
I am every bloodsucking descendent of Cain who ever breathed this planet’s air.
I am the truth.”

Lines like the above are why movies will never replace written words’ power to put you inside their characters’ heads.

The basic plot: Peter and Helen Radley live a “normal” life in Bishopthorpe, their adolescent children Clara and Rowan unaware of their vampire status until Clara is turned by an unexpected event. Her brother Rowan then realizes he is the “freak” his taunting enemies have made him out to be.

Then the family has to deal with Peter’s nomadic brother, Will. A chap “allergic to responsibility,” and a fair bit more than just the Radley children’s “eccentric uncle.”

“The Radleys” has been marketed for both adult and young adult readers, but many lines seem to aim for the “firmly adult” audience, such as (from Page 90, U.K. novel version):

“Or even the Stones, when the vampire was still with them.”

A bullseye for those of us who feel the Rolling Stones were never the same after Brian Jones left, maybe less so for young adults who may not “get” the above in-joke without the help of Google, Wikipedia, and/or their grandparents.

That said, the anguish Clara and Rowan feel about their new lives will resonate powerfully with readers in every age group. Peter and Helen’s realistically depicted marriage is a nice counterpoint to the typical paranormal romance sagas where companionship is seen only through rose-colored glasses.

There is a great twist concerning Helen Radley’s past. Her brother-in-law Will, however, turns out exactly as any decently astute reader would expect him to. I was left wanting a little bit of a twist for Will, and this didn’t occur.

Other than this minor quibble, I give “The Radleys” four-and-a-half stars out of five. Light on gore, heavy on characters’ heartfelt emotions and filled with Matt Haig’s wicked, sardonic sense of humor. I can recommend this novel for those who don’t usually like to read “vampire” novels. This is a novel I wouldn’t mind having written myself, although I would have had to make a few changes to pass our Southwest Critique Group’s strict standards.

Special thanks to Canongate Books U.K. for making this review possible!

Updated 1/21/12 – Please Make Your Donations by February 4th.

As a worldbuilder, a lover of books, and a person who believes in helping others, I wanted to share a fabulous charity that one of my favorite authors, Patrick Rothfuss, runs every December. Pat is an awesome fantasy writer, and he also happens to be a wonderful and giving person. Every year, since becoming a published author, he runs a charity called Worldbuilders.

Worldbuilders is connected to Heifer International, a charity that helps people raise themselves up out of poverty and starvation. They also promote education, sustainable agriculture, and local industry. By doing so, they don’t just keep kids from starving–they make it so families can take care of themselves. They give goats, sheep, and chickens to families so their children have milk to drink, warm clothes to wear, and eggs to eat. It’s no surprise that this is Patrick’s favorite charity.

Do you love books? Do you want help others? THEN YOU CAN HELP! By following the above Worldbuilders link, you can donate money and get your name entered into a drawing to win any number of prizes, like rare and signed books. Every ten dollars gets your name put into this lottery. If risk isn’t your game, you can also hop over to Pat’s gift shop, The Tinker’s Pack, and purchase anyamount of the cool merchandise available. All of the proceeds go to Worldbuilders. There will also be auctions, where you can bid on ultra-rare and super cool stuff, such as an entire manuscript review/critique by Patrick Rothfuss himself, or one from several professional agents in the industry (something I hope to bid on next year…if I can come up with the money).

Note that Patrick and Heifer matches 50% of every dollar you donate. That’s pretty awesome. In fact, the first year Pat started up Worldbuilders, it did so well that it left him broke. But he said the entire process helped him get his emotional feet back under him after dealing with all the stress of becoming a published author, as well as getting him out of a dip of a depression.

Worldbuilders is something I partake in every year, and if you like the cause, I urge you to do the same. Helping people and winning cool stuff is a win-win for everyone. So just click this WORLDBUILDERS link and get all the info from Pat himself off of his blog OR go directly to the Worldbuilders Donation Page.

A list of links to the various prizes you can win:
– AUCTIONS & Still More Signed Books -
– Graphic Novels -
– Auctions: Critiques and Other Assorted Cool -
– Books from Various Publishers -
– Signed Books from Pratchett, Gaiman, and More (and Moore) -
– More Signed Books from Cool Authors -
– More Books from Daw -
– ARCs from Daw -
- DVDs, Box Sets, CDs and More –
- Jayne Hats, Cool Art, Stein Bear Pots, and a handful of AUCTIONS (including a preview of The Kingkiller Chronicles, Day 3) -
- Books From Dreamhaven -
- Books From DAW -
- Signed Books From Ireland -
- Author Donated Signed Books -
- Books From Subterranean Press -

During the Colorado Gold conference, I picked up three different pieces of advice about how best to start your novel–the first 10 pages, basically. The opener.

Last time, I tackled Advice #1, which is “Don’t write the beginning until the end.”   I’m not advocating one approach over another. In fact, I find it difficult to absorb and internalize all three pieces of advice, as they conflict in some ways. I also haven’t entirely figured out how to put all this advice into practice. So take these posts more in the vein of “thinking out loud” as opposed to anything proscriptive.

This time, I’m going to take on Advice #2: “Make sure the inciting incident is in the first few pages (and not in a prologue).”

This advice came from Sara Megibow, of the Nelson Literary Agency, delivered in her excellent workshop at the Gold Conference. However, I’m challenged by this one too. I understand that she was aiming her comments at aspiring authors like me and her advice was designed to help new authors avoid some of the things that get them chucked out of the slush pile. I’ve seen enough first 20 pages from my stints judging contests that I can understand where the advice comes from:  an attempt to instill some discipline around the right amount of setup or backstory. A story should begin with action, not exposition. I get that.

But let’s take Joe in my fantasy story. The inciting incident is an attack on a Gatekeeper, whose death sets the whole story in motion. This beginning definitely meets the criteria of inciting incident. Without a prologue, this incident would not happen until approximately page 18 of my story. With a prologue, it happens on page 4. A better place to fall, but just barely within the bounds of “first few pages.” But my prologue violates the no-prologue rule. I haven’t found a way around that.

Even with my prologue providing the inciting incident in the first four pages, I’m still not convinced that this is the right place to start a story. When you look at mythic story structures, one of the most important parts of the story in a Hero’s Journey is the beginning. It’s a look into the “old world” that the hero currently occupies. It’s a familiar, safe place for the hero, because that is part of what gives the jolt to the inciting incident.  Heroes must leave behind the safe, familiar place to go out into an unsafe, unknown world far outside of their comfort zone, whether that journey is literal or internal.

Maybe my challenge here is that I am primarily a Fantasy/Science Fiction writer. In that genre, the familiar, safe world may not be readily recognizable to the reader. And scifi readers do have a bit more patience with openers, because some (subtle, not-overdone) world building is to be expected. When both the old world and the new world are totally unfamiliar, the author has to work harder to convey what’s safe and familiar about the old world before introducing yet another place that is also new to the reader.

Ah, well. More thinking is required. Next time, look for my take on advice #3: Start your story with an opening image that will later serve to contrast with the end and your hero’s  change or growth.

In my last post, I detailed the steps to take for downloading e-books from the library and compared the processes.  To summarize (see Table 1 below), the OverDrive Media app for iPad or Android tablet was easiest and most efficient.

Table 1: A comparison of downloading files to e-reader devices.

However, when it comes to reading ebooks on the different devices, the Nook Color has significant advantages.

1.  Highlighting and Note-taking

Many readers might not see the value of this feature in a fiction novel.  But as a writer, I collect words and passages that impress or inspire me.  When I read, I also like to make notes on the plot of a story as I go along.  For students who read novels for school, taking notes can be a class requirement.

While OverDrive Media Console is the most convenient means of obtaining a library book, it does not provide any means of highlighting or taking notes while reading an ebook.  You can place a bookmark on the page, but I don’t find that particularly helpful.  The Nook Color, Kindle, and Kindle apps all allow highlighting/notetaking.  In addition, the notes and highlights made while reading a library ebook are retained for future use on Kindle and Kindle apps.  Unfortunately, on the Nook Color once the loan period is over, I have been unable to find a way to access my notes and highlights.  Usually I don’t have much difficulty recopying my notes and highlights, but it would be nicer to have them saved in case I lose track of time.

A touch screen makes highlighting easy on the Kindle App for Android.

Adding a note on the Kindle.

Another useful feature on the Nook and Kindle is the ability to share a highlighted passage on Twitter or Facebook or via email.

You can share a highlighted passage on Twitter or Facebook using Nook (shown) or Kindle devices.

This is what a highlighted passage (in quotes) and added comments look like on Twitter.

Of course, this feature is not a necessity, but I think it’s fun to share a great line or word when you find one in the book you’re reading.  It was disappointing to find this feature is not available on the Kindle app or OverDrive Media.

To sum up, Kindle and Nook have highlights/notes, but only Kindle saves them for library books.  My preference in this category is as follows:

Kindle 3G = Kindle App > Nook Color

Table 2: A Comparison of Highlighting and Notetaking Features in e-Readers.

2.  Dictionary

Occasionally I’ll run across a word I don’t know.  And it’s nice to have a dictionary available to look up these words.  But if it’s  inconvenient, I’ll more than likely skip it.

Both Kindle and Nook provide a dictionary feature to allow the reader to look up words in a book as you read it.  OverDrive Media does not.  The Kindle apps include a feature to look up words as well, but need WIFI (or cellular service) to access the information.  The Nook and Kindle ereaders, however, both include built-in dictionaries.

Looking up a word using Nook's built-in dictionary

I found the ability to look up words without Internet access particularly useful when I started a challenging book at the beach.  However, using the Kindle’s arrow keys to highlight a word to look  up seems a bit tedious in the age of the touchscreen.  So for the dictionary feature, the Nook gets my highest marks.

Nook Color > Kindle App = Kindle 3G

Table 3: A Comparison of Dictionary Features for e-Readers.

3. Location/Progress Data

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like to see how many pages they’ve read in a book and how many remain. Digital book readers all provide this information in varying degrees.  The Nook shows pages read out of pages total while you are reading.  The Kindle 3^rd Generation shows pages read out of total as well as percentage, but you have to use the menu key to find it. The iPad Kindle app shows the page numbers and location in the book, whereas the Android version of the Kindle app gives me only a percentage read for the book.  OverDrive shows a percentage of progress as well.

Page Numbers on the Nook Color.

Location Number and Percent of Total on the Kindle App for Android

Progress Percentage on OverDrive Media

Page Numbers and Progress Percentage Shown on the Kindle.

So, again I thought the Kindle 3G and Nook devices performed best for this feature.  But honestly, any kind of indication of progress works fine for me.

Nook Color > Kindle 3G> Kindle App iPad > Kindle App Android> OverDrive

Next Time:  Reviewing the apps — some pitfalls and warnings.

I have been remiss of late in posting to the Brink. In part it was because I’ve been very busy following up on the pitches I made at the Colorado Gold Conference (fingers crossed!). But I have also been chewing on a few things I learned at the conference this year. This is the first of those, which is about where to begin your story.

Whether newbie or veteran to a critique group, I think the hardest pages to bring to the group are the first ten pages. It’s always a rocky start, even for a well-polished writer who knows what he or she is doing. I’m not highly skilled with these techniques.  Don’t necessarily advocate any of the advice I’m laying out in this post or the next two, but I will at least attempt to show exactly how I’m trying to absorb and make sense of it.

Advice #1:  Don’t write the beginning until the end.

While I understand this in theory, I find it extremely hard to apply in practice. You have to begin somewhere! It’s a little hard to write a coherent story if you gloss over the beginning and plow onward from there. Yet, the recommendation isn’t that you skip the beginning. Rather, you wait until you figure out everything you’ve set in motion THROUGHOUT YOUR STORY, then make sure you set it up in the beginning. You can’t do that until you kind of know where the story ends. But while this approach can help in making sure the opening is strong, it doesn’t help you make sure you start your story in the right place.

Take my fantasy story about Joe as an example. I think I’ve written the beginning of that thing five different times, not counting in-between edits. I have an ending and I like my ending. So theoretically I should know how to start my story. But the truth is, I go back and forth all the time. Prologue vs. no prologue? Is it fair to start with a POV character who shows up nowhere else in the story (by the way, that concern convinced me I needed a prologue)? If the story is about Joe, ultimately, is it okay to start Chapter 1 with Lyriel instead of Joe?

On the one hand, I can make logical arguments about all the choices I’ve made. In the story structure of the Hero’s Journey, one of the things the first part of the story does is demonstrate the “old world,” the original world of the hero that he or she must leave behind in order to begin their journey. In the case of Joe (my hero), you wouldn’t really have a good understanding of the world Joe leaves behind if you met him there first. He’s a normal college kid, leading a normal life, which isn’t so interesting.  Especially if you deliberately picked up the book from the Fantasy/Science Fiction section.  The most important part about Joe in the opener is that he’s completely unaware of the new world that is out there waiting for him. And as the author, I ask myself how best to convey that world? . . . By showing it to the reader, right from the start.

So, meh, as they say. I don’t know that this advice helps an author truly identify the right place to start their story. But I guess it’s better than nothing at all!

In part two of this post, I’ll take on the inciting incident and the opener. In part three, using the opening to contrast with the close.

When I grow up, I want to be Harlan Coben. With hair. Actually, there are several authors I aspire to be, but I just finished Coben’s new young adult mystery, Shelter, so today I want to be Harlan.

Normally, I avoid YA because several of my children are barely beyond the teen years. The last thing I want to do is relive the angst and drama in the name of entertainment. Give me a decade or two, and I might be able to wander through the YA section without breaking out in hives.

Shelter caught my eye while I was grocery shopping. Harlan Coben? Oooo! I parked my cart and tried not to drool. The cover said it was a Mickey Bolitar novel. Double-oooo! My favorite Coben character is Myron Bolitar, and he introduced Myron’s nephew Mickey in his last adult mystery. YA or not, I had have it. Screw the hives.

No matter what Coben writes, he never fails to suck me in and hold me tight. He makes every moment feel real with the clever use of simple words. I found several passages in Shelter where I paused and said to myself, “Genius! I wish I’d thought of that!”

Here are a two of my personal favorites:

The cop frowned his disapproval with everything he had. Not just his mouth frowned. All of him joined in. He had a unibrow and Cro-Magnon forehead. They frowned too.

And:

“Hi, guys,” Rachel said with a smile that didn’t just dazzle. It picked you up and shook you hard and then just dropped you back in your seat.

Genius, right? Not only did Coben implant a visual in my head, he stayed true to the emotions of a hormone-riddled teenage boy. His descriptions allowed me to experience the situation alongside Mickey. And whenever I experience a story, I find it hard to say goodbye to the characters when it’s over. Done well, they become real and a fixed part of my imagination.

As writers, we can use all kinds of words to touch our readers, including slang, dialect, text-speak, cuss words… My critique group (bless their invaluable souls) enlightened me on the impact of stronger verbs when conveying a character’s mood and personality. Instead of using the word ‘walk,’ spin a more realistic visual with stroll, flit, strut, totter, sashay, stomp, or storm. Or add more depth to a moment by replacing the word ‘look’ with gaze, gawk, peek, glare, scrutinize, or marvel.

I’ve bonded with my thesaurus—can you tell? I also note intriguing words, names, and phrases when I hear them in casual conversation. My printer and desk are covered in post-its with the ones I intend to use. My kids refer to me as The Word Nerd. Hey, at least I’m no longer The Annoying-Nosy-Stupid-Overprotective-Pain-in-the-Ass-Nazi Nerd.

So put yourself into your scenes, become your characters, and smith your words to suit the situation. Show your readers what you’ve got. And shave your head if you have to. It helped my buddy, Harlan.