Anne Carroll: So many stories . . . so little time

FREE E-Book - what a great "loss leader" idea!

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Carroll) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 17:37:00 +0000

You know how stores lure you in with good sales and while you're in the store you see other stuff you want/need and end up buying more than the sale items? The sale items are known as loss leaders because the store usually doesn't make any money on them, in fact they usually lose money but the store still comes out ahead on the profit they make from the non-sale stuff that people buy.

Of course "loss leader" was the first thing that came into my head when I saw this offer from St. Martin's Press for two free e-books written by Julia Spencer-Fleming. I'd never heard of her before but I thought what the heck, they're free books so if I don't like them it's no loss, right?

Like all writers, I love discovering a new "favorite" author and Spencer-Fleming is going on my author BOLO list. The two e-books are the first two books in Spencer-Fleming's Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne series. Clare Fergusson is an Episcopalian priest and, as Clare explains it, she's chaste (meaning not have sex) not celibate (meaning not allowed to marry). The whole priest/celibate thing adds a touch of humor to Clare's encounters but also, interestingly enough, adds to the sexual tension between Clare and Russ VanAlstyne, the local police chief. Clare is automatically held to a higher standard than your typical heroine because she's . . . well . . . a priest.

Russ isn't your typical hero either. He wears glasses, has bad knees and is at least 10 years older than Clare. And as a Vietnam vet, he still carries baggage.

Spencer's website bills her work as "novels of Faith and Murder for readers of literary suspense". I'm hooked. I read the second book of the series - A Fountain Filled with Blood - first. I'd have to rate it as an excellent mystery with strong romantic elements. In addition to the scrappy Clare and wounded warrior Russ, the story held my interest because I couldn't figure out whodunit until the very end. And, Spencer-Fleming didn't wrap it up with a neat bow at the end, which is why despite the strong romantic elements the story doesn't qualify as a romance. The bad guy wins . . . sort of, and will no doubt show up in another story in the series.

Now I'm off to read the first book in the series - In the Bleak Midwinter. The free e-book offer is over, but it's well worth the $7 a piece for the books!

More About Politics

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Carroll) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 15:48:00 +0000

I'm sorry. I just can't help myself. When I started this blog the goal was to promote my writing and build a name for myself as a writer. Writing related stuff only.

Boring.

No, writing isn't boring. I love to write. But I'm not one dimensional and it seems somehow . . . disingenuous to limit myself to blogging about writing especially given the political and economic environment of today. There are so many interesting things going on in the world.

So. no more one-dimensional blog for me. Politics. Religion. The economy. Stupid criminals. You name it, it's all fair game.

Pesky Surveillance Measure Gets in the Way of Running for Re-Election

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Carroll) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 15:39:00 +0000

From the June 21 (Saturday) edition of the The Wall Street Journal in an article written by Siobhan Gorman and titled Many Democrats Object as House Passes Spying Bill.

The House voted 293-129 for a compromise bill setting new electronic surveillance rules that effectively shield telecom companies from lawsuits arising from the government’s war on terror. The measure now moves to the Senate, where it is expected to win approval.

“Despite broad opposition from Democrats, the party’s leaders concluded Congress had to pass a surveillance measure. They faced an August deadline, when previously authorized
surveillance orders would begin to expire. Conservative Democrats in tough re-election races were clamoring for a bill. Party leaders wanted to pass the surveillance bill, so they could move on to issues where they would have more election-year traction, such as the economy, congressional aides said.

Still, 128 Democrats voted against the bill. Rep. Holt said the compromise measure "permits massive warrantless surveillance" and contravenes Fourth Amendment protections against unwarranted search and seizure. The compromise bill turns the notion of innocent-until-proven-guilty on its head and "alters the relationship between the government and the people.

Let me get this straight. In their rush to get the pesky surveillance measure out of the way so they can move on to issues that will help them get re-elected, the House passed an electronic surveillance bill that Rep Holt (Democrat from New Jersey) says “permits massive warrantless surveillance” and violates our Fourth Amendment protections against unwarranted search and seizure.

It’s not the surveillance measure that’s got me riled up. Well, it does but that’s a whole ‘nother blog post. It’s the rush to sweep this pesky issue under the rug so conservative Democrats in tough re-election races can have more appealing issues to wave before the voters’ noses.

What are we paying these people for? To get re-elected? Or to represent the people and run the country?

I’m one of those folks that held out hope when the Democrats took Congress in 2006 that our elected representatives would get back on track by putting the country ahead of their political careers and personal interests.

Silly me.

Networking - It Isn't About You

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Carroll) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:17:00 +0000

This link was shared on one of the writer's loops to which I belong. It's an interview with Stephanie Palmer - a consultant to creative types who are looking for help in getting their work in front of the right people. Of course, she's written a book Good in a Room: How to Sell Yourself (and Your Ideas) and Win Over Any Audience.

I find it interesting that some of the points she makes are the same strategies used by folks who are good at business development (in the professional services world thats a more PC term for sales).

Stephanie talks about building relationships. Real networking isn't about meeting people that can help you - it's about looking for ways you can help the people you meet. The end result is people that are willing to help you. It's about building genuine relationships where you see the person as a person not a stepping stone on the way to achieving your own goals.

How many of us miss this key point in our quest to meet the folks that will help us achieve our goals?

And how many of us eschew selling ourselves because we think that's our agent's job? True, it is your agent's job to pitch you work, but you still have to sell yourself to readers and editors and reviewers and so on and so on.

I can't tell you how many times in the last year I've heard (or read) authors with scorn in their voice talk about how they shouldn't have to market their work. Marketing's a dirty word it appears. But as a wise old friend of mine once said, sometimes you have to blow your own horn because nobody else is going to blow it for you.

People Watching

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Carroll) — Fri, 23 May 2008 00:43:00 +0000

On my way home from Vegas! Hurrah! I'm not a big city hustle and bustle kind of person - too much farm girl in my veins.

More characters from my people watching excursions. Last night I walked along the Strip and observed. I wonder how many of the crowd were natives and how many tourists. Years ago my younger sister lived in Vegas and told me that the natives don't come to the Strip unless they work there. But surely . . . not even for a show???

I passed an elderly Asian woman with her silver hair in a punk style with patches of pink. She was dressed entirely in pink, including her pink translucent walking cane. Tottering along in front of Treasure Island, she smiled as if in her advanced years she knew something the rest of us didn't, something special for her pleasure only.

I'm waiting in the airport now with a family seated behind me in the waiting area. Mom, Dad and two kids one of whom is obviously newly diagnosed with diabetes. The parents' conversation focuses on how many carbs in the pizza the kids want and how best to handle the injection the child will soon need. And can they have ice cream during their layover in Phoenix.

People at the slot machines - I wonder why they never look like they're having fun? No smiles. No expression of pleasure in their eyes. Just staring and repetitive motion as they insert coins and watch the wheels spin around.

Plenty of time to people watch. In our zeal for a direct flight, my co-worker and I ended up with an almost seven hour wait between the end of our conference and the flight home. What were we thinking?!

I'm here trying to tune out the incessant click and hum and chiming of slot machines enough to write. He's wandering the airport shops and most likely trying to figure out how to have just one more cigarette before he has to pass into the no-smoking zone.

But yet another people watching interruption. Another traveler desperate to connect with something other than the airport activity asking to borrow my power chord. Dead electronics are never any fun but especially in an airport waiting area.

What's the point of my ramblings today? I'm procrastinating with writing but, unlike my procrastination habits at home, today I have nothing else to do.

Back to writing.

Characters everywhere!

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Carroll) — Wed, 21 May 2008 01:07:00 +0000

I'm in Vegas this week for a day-job related conference. If Orlando, or more specifically Disney World, is the happiest place on earth, Vegas must surely be the most . . . self-indulgent. After all, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right?

Melon breasted women with spray on tans and Barbie hair hanging on the arm of men older than Methuselah.

Middle-aged men sucking in the beer belly and preening in the mirrors in the elevator (I'm staying at the Mirage) checking teeth and smoothing well gelled hair combed back to cover the burgeoning bald spot.

Young women with their navels and butt cracks exposed, pouches of belly/hip fat bulging over the tops of too tight, too short skirts or too tight jeans. They walk swinging their hips and strutting through the casino - one with fur-topped, calf-high boots.

By the time this conference ends in two days, I'll have so much material for characters I won't know what to do!

I'm not a gambler and all the hyperactivity in Vegas puts me on sensory overload within a few hours after I walk out of the airport. But what a place to people watch! And I've got my Kindle to keep me company when the sessions get eye-gouging boring!

Kindle and the Age of the E-Book

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Carroll) — Mon, 19 May 2008 11:13:00 +0000

Back when Amazon first released the Kindle, I did the happy dance to finally see an electronic reading device that was designed with the reader's experience in mind. Based on Jeff Bezo's comments during a Charlie Rose interview when the product launched, the Kindle was designed by readers for readers rather than by techies for readers. The design emphasis is on the device not getting in the way of the reader's experience of being pulled into the story.

When I got my tax rebate I just had to be a good citizen and do my part to boost the economy. So I looked at my wish list of expensive gadgets I think I just must have and ordered a Kindle. (It beat out a digital SLR camera that's more pricey but, hey, wait until income tax return time next year!)

The device arrived on my doorstep this week, just in time for an out-of-town trip. Of course, there's tons of stuff you can buy from Amazon to use on the device - books, magazines, newspapers, etc. I was a little disappointed that the selection of magazines, newspapers and blogs isn't as extensive as I expected. But all-in-all a good assortment.

I was even more thrilled to be able to download a book by one of my favorite e-book authors, *lizzie starr (published by Wings ePress). In the past, although I love her work, I've struggled to read her books because I had to sit at my computer to do so. Her Tales of the Double Keltic Triad series is wonderfully captivating (*lizzie I'm waiting for Toccata in Fuge!).

Downloading from a non-Amazon site took a couple of extra steps and a few pennies more but it's worth it if I can enjoy my favorite e-pubbed authors. I'm hoping more readers feel that way too and sales of e-books get a boost from Amazon and Kindle.

Are we thinking too small?

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Carroll) — Sun, 11 May 2008 15:48:00 +0000

For those of us who've been pursuing publication without success for a long time now, why do we keep going? Romance Writers of America recently hosted three authors that took a long time to publish as part of their series of classes for RWA PROs. Two of the authors mentioned that they didn't break into print until they learned to understand the use of emotion in their work.

That stumbling block was in the back of my mind when I was reading Walking in this World by Julia Cameron. In reading her discussion about how we often rely on what is mirrored to us by others to find our way as creative people, I wondered how often we don't see something about our work - like the lack of emotion in the story - because it's not reflected in the mirror?

Cameron says "In this way [seeing only the part of our artist with which others are comfortable], quite inadvertantly we often get miniaturized. We often get fragmented."

So what's the moral of the story? Maybe it's that when we limit our exposure as artists to a homogenous group of people, we don't get an accurate view?

It's okay, but sometimes uncomfortable, to march to the beat of your own drummer.

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Carroll) — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 22:09:00 +0000

Around 16% of RWA members are published in book-length romance fiction. That means that roughly 84% aren’t. It doesn’t appear that those published in novellas or anthologies are included in those numbers. So it’s not clear what the number for un-published RWA members is.

Just for the sake of argument, let’s say that another 16% are published in non-book length romance fiction and say that number includes those that are published by non-recognized publishers.

That leaves roughly 68% of RWA members who are not published in any form of romance fiction.

Why do we keep doing this?

My guess is that most romance writers would say they keep at it because they can’t not write – they’ve got a story to tell and they won’t have peace until they tell it. They’re happier when they’re writing. They enjoy the camaraderie, the sense of belonging when they’re with other writers. Having an outlet for their creative energy makes the other areas of their lives better too. (At least those are my reasons and the reasons I’ve heard dozens of other unpublished writers say again and again.)

Why do so many of us get stuck?

We go to RWA Chapter meetings. We go to conferences and enter contests. We start stories and polish those first three chapters until they shine.

Then we stall. We struggle to keep moving. We let a hundred and one other things steal away our writing time.

And then because we’re all this strange mixture of ego and insecurity, we beat ourselves up because we’re not writing. We cast about for the magic ‘thing’ that will solve our writing woes. The perfect plotting tool. The secret to effective self-editing. The magic motivator that will wipe away the procrastination and self-doubt.

Realistically, we all know there is no magic ‘thing’. There is only putting one foot in front of the other, moving forward one step at a time.

It’s tiring though, isn’t it? Wears you down to work and work only to be rejected again and again. In some respects getting one “good” rejection after another is almost worse because you know you’re getting closer. You just don’t know how close – a few months or a few more years?

I don’t know about you, but I’m one of those writers that doesn’t really have a writing cheerleader. Oh, my family is supportive. They make the right kinds of expressions and feign interest when I talk about writing. (I’m sure when I sell that they’ll swell with pride and push my book(s) on all their friends) My writer friends have to be supportive of me just like I’m morally obligated to be supportive of them. What kind of people would we be if we stomped on each other’s dreams?

How can we help our fellow writers that are struggling in that “slough of despond”?

In thinking about the answer to that question, I’m reminded of a colleague who attended training on working with adult learners. She came back talking about the need to distinguish between a value and a standard.

For example, my work ethic includes the belief that one should keep their personal calls at work to a minimum. That’s a value. If my employer has a policy about keeping personal calls at work to a minimum that’s a standard. When my values and the standards mesh everything is good. When they differ, I have to be careful not to judge those around me by my values. I have to be careful not to look down on a co-worker because she spends more time at work on personal calls than I think appropriate. If I do, I’m expecting her to live by my values – I’m judging her.

How does this apply to writing?

Writing and submitting in order to get published is a standard because it’s impossible to get published unless you write and submit. Believing you should write X number of pages or words every day or every week or even every month is a value. Believing you should attend conferences is a value. Believing you should serve on the board of your local RWA Chapter or volunteer for committees is a value. When we apply our values to others, we run the risk of becoming judgmental and that is never helpful.

So, let me ask again how can we help our fellow writers that are struggling in that “slough of despond”?

I submit to you that the answer includes encouraging them while at the same time respecting the path they must travel as a writer and striving not to apply our values to their journey.

WIGs

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Carroll) — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 16:25:00 +0000

No, I'm not blogging about hair.

A few weeks ago my boss sent me to a three day seminar on leadership run by the Stephen Covey folks. I love this guy's work - The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People was a life-changer for me.

One of the things discussed at the seminar were WIGs - Wildly Important Goals. These are "the vital few goals that must be achieved to fulfill the purpose, or nothing else you achieve really matters much."

Covey says that a well crafted goal should:

Be specific and clear
Be explicitly linked to a purpose
Be written in plain language
Be broken into bite-sized chunks
Be measurable
Be deadline driven

When I applied these principles to my work related goals, I was surprised to discover that the things that should be WIGs were the things that I routinely shoved to the back burner. They're not very glamourous, down right tedious in fact. And they're not the kinds of things that generate public recognition.

So now I'm working on writing goals and trying to apply those same principles. It will come as no surprise that one WIG that applys to every writer is to write. Whether that be every day or every week or whatever works for you, if you're not writing you're not going to meet the goal of getting published.

To my mind, another no-brainer WIG is honing your craft. To me, that means more than "butt in chair". It means getting and giving feedback through critique opportunities. It means doing the research necessary to make your story and characters believable (and accurate). It means continuous learning about the craft of writing. It means networking with other writers or finding other ways to rejuvenate your creativity - filling the well (a Julia Cameron reference) or sharpening the saw (a Stephen Covey reference).

I've seen dozens of posts and articles about goals - it's the goal setting time of year. Almost all of the ones from my writing life focus on cranking out pages. It concerns me, though, that none of them talk about balance.

Anyone can crank out pages but what good does it do if you're cranking out crappy page after crappy page? Volume alone isn't going to get you published. Quality counts. And how can you work towards quality if you're not taking time to critique or research or increase your craft knowledge? How can you rejuvenate if you're not spending time interacting with the people that share your passion?

For most of us, finding that balance also includes juggling a job and family and myriad other obligations that we either can't or aren't willing to give up in order to pursue our writing. Yet, we beat ourselves up because writing every day doesn't work for us. If only we'd try harder or manage our time better we tell ourselves. Horse puckey! There's nothing wrong with finding balance in your life. Writing is ONE thing we do. Having balance in your life, relegating writing to fourth or fifth or even lower on the list of priorties doesn't mean you're (I'm) not committed.

So the next time I see a post or article touting "butt in chair" as THE Holy Grail of writing goals, I'm going to delete it or throw it in the trash! And a pox on the people that use number of pages produced in a day or a week as the standard for judging committment to getting published!

Those that dance . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Carroll) — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 20:11:00 +0000

I was just responding to a post on a writer's loop and caught sight of my sig line. I'd forgotten that I'd included a quote from the comedian George Carlin.

Those who dance are considered insane by those who can't hear the
music.

It sums up my 2007. I've been dancing away only to be surprised to find that others considered me insane - or variations on that theme. It's quite a shock!

The other day I caught a little bit of the Ellen DeGeneres show and saw her do a bit on "what if there were no mirrors"? So what does that have to do with dancing and insanity?

When I see myself in the mirror of other people's perceptions, I'm always a little surprised - whether their perceptions are good or bad. And it leads to wondering how much to heart should I (or anybody) take those reflections? Particularly when it comes to me as a writer.

2007 wasn't a banner year in my writing life. I left a long-time critique group over disagreements about "the best" approach to writing. Angry words were served up on all sides and friendships ruined. In hindsight I can see that the whole thing was really more about control than about writing.

I regret losing the friendships but not leaving the critique group because in leaving I discovered that I'd been acting like a chamelon - twisting myself into knots trying to please everyone while at the same time trying to stay true to the stories that are in me. The approval of my writing buddies was taking on more importance than my writing. The personal dissonance took a heavy toll.

2008 will be better. Hope springs eternal, and so we writers plunge ahead. We will continue to struggle with the dichotomy of wanting/needing approval and staying true to our stories, the stories in our heads and hearts. But this year I think I'm a little wiser and stronger in knowing where the line between the two needs to be drawn.

Kindle - start a fire

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Carroll) — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 19:17:00 +0000

Today, Amazon.com launched its newest innovation – a wireless reading device called the Kindle. As I write this, Charlie Rose is interviewing Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com about Kindle and Amazon in general. Bezos’ story is worth studying because his ability to take ideas that make sense from both the consumers’ and company’s viewpoint is what makes him so successful. Win-win.

As an author, the Kindle is exciting news. When epublishing first came on the scene, a part of the debate revolved around a reading device that would be acceptable to book lovers. You know the die-hard book lovers that enjoy the experience of curling up with a good book. Bezos gets this. He says:

I also relax into the author’s words, stories, and ideas. The physical book is so elegant that the artifact itself disappears into the background. The paper, glue, ink, and stitching that make up the book vanish, and what remains is the author’s world.

He gets it! The reason other ebook reading devices haven’t succeeded is because they got in the way of the experience of losing yourself in the author’s world.

Amazon has signed on all the major publishers, according to Bezos, to sell books electronically through Amazon. 88,000 books, newspapers and magazines are available for download. The device can hold the equivalent of 200 books and Amazon offers free storage. So you can keep a virtual private library on Amazon. The device includes a resident dictionary and free access to Wikipedia as well as the ability to highlight and write margin notes. And you have the ability to browse the store and download the first chapter of books for free so you can get a good feel for a particular author before committing yourself and your money.

Can you tell I’m excited! As a writer, just think about the possibilities. Rose and Bezos discussed serialization of books – having books published in serial format as the author writes them. You’d be able to incorporate reader feedback into the manuscript as you went along. Obviously there are benefits for the publishers as well or they wouldn’t be on board with this. One of them could be lower production costs that might open the door to publishers accepting more manuscripts.

The drawback? One is cost. The device costs almost $400 and books are $10 a piece. (But it does appear that you can download from sources other than Amazon – like Project Gutenberg which has 100,000 titles with 20,000 of them free.) If you purchase books frequently, the device can pay for itself within a year or two. Kindle might be a great option for those with money but what about those folks that rely on the library for their reading pleasure. For residents of my city, a library card is free. I rely on the library to introduce me to authors I haven’t read before and to help me keep up with all the new titles coming out.

It’ll be interesting to see what changes this brings to the publishing world and we writers struggling to get our foot in the door.

Pushing on

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Carroll) — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 16:42:00 +0000

I've been getting pep-talk emails in my inbox from Nano celebs and gurus. The message is push through the doubts and time stealers. A message that hit home today.

Today I'm in mom-mode. Even though your kids reach adulthood (mine is early 30's), you still worry about them. So I started this morning sitting in the recliner brooding on my child's problems while watching Bear Grylls tell me how to survive if I'm ever stranded in Northern Australia - something I expect will probably happen in the next week or so. Not.

But then those messages from the Nano celebs and gurus started floating around in my head. Write! Write! Write!

Then I had a light blub moment - I can worry and write at the same time!

The protagonist of my Nano novel is a mom and she worries about her kids. Add that to the fact that I find it cathartic to weave bits of my life into my stories. It's part of that "write what you know" advice we always get. Making the story both universal and specific. By drawing on our personal experiences we can give our characters real emotions.

So two lessons learned for today - unless it's something completely disabling (like two broken arms) don't give into the tempation to let personal problems steal time from writing. And use what you're experiencing or have experienced to breathe life into the characters.

Nanowrimo!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Carroll) — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 17:39:00 +0000

We're on day 3 of NaNo and I'm at 2,715 words - most of them written today.

I'm a "plotter" (versus a "pantser" - someone who writes by the seat of their pants without doing a lot of plotting). Typically I do several things to get to know my characters - character g/m/c grid, back story and 'interviews', etc as well as a pretty extensive outline. I've found that when I think about my plot points and what needs to happen in order to get the characters to that plot point, writing is easier. It keeps me focused. I also tend to edit as I go along - rather than just putting down a word, I'll stop and look in the word finder or other reference book or jump on the Internet to verify a piece of information. I find this easier than cranking out the story and then going back to clean it up. Just feels more efficient and better to me.

But to each his own.

At any rate, the goal of Nano is to write 50,000 words in a month. I'm finding that in order to crank out the words I'm writing scenes that I'll put together later - next month - rather than my usual approach of starting at the beginning and working my way through the end.

We'll see how this works out. At first I felt disoriented but seeing the word count crank up got me inspired so I'm ready to keep going.

Go Nano!

NRW Conference and Stephanie Bond

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Carroll) — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 23:45:00 +0000

On Saturday I attended a conference hosted by Nebraska Romance Writers (Lincoln, Nebraska). Great bunch of folks! I just recently joined and this was my RWA PROLoop. My new best friend, Jeanne Kern (half the writing team of Jeanne Bruce, author of TRIPS AND WHALES AND PUPPY DOG TALES) even posed for a picture with me!

Stephanie Bond was the featured speaker and gave a refreshingly honest assessment of the business of writing. I loved it - probably because far to often I'm in the minority when it comes to discussing writing as a business. To my mind (saturated with years in marketing) a manuscript is a product and agents/editors are one of the target markets. Basic marketing and business management principles apply. My muse likes to keep one eye on the "bottom line".

My favorite "take aways" were her tips on writing clean. Her writing process includes outlining the story (yeah! a fellow plotter!) and editing as she goes along. All of which has helped her manuscripts go through the pipeline faster (because they require much less editing) and has helped her become a "go to" person for her editor when another author drops the ball by missing a deadline.

I loved what she had to say about branding yourself, too. Imagine, being able to articulate your brand and be so confident of that brand that you have the confidence to turn down projects that don't feel right to you.

And get this for a great marketing strategy -- Stephanie has a deal with Amazon.com to sell her articles as part of their Amazon Shorts offerings - a set of articles (she said usually three or four to a set) goes for $0.49.

It was great to hang out with fellow writers. There's nothing like walking into a room and instantly knowing everyone else there has people inside their heads that talk to them.

So, anyway, now I'm all fired up for Nanowrimo! Like my published friends Kim Louise and *lizzie star say - don't look down!

NaNoWriMo

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Carroll) — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 01:13:00 +0000

November is National Novel Writing Month. There's a web site run by The Office of Letters and Light (whoever they are) where you can sign up and join writers from all over the world in trying to reach a writing goal of 50,000 words in the month of November. The website helps you keep track of the number of words you're writing, shows you how many words others have written and provides all kinds of forums so you can hang out with other writers.

This is my first year. Already I'm hooked into a forum of other writers from Nebraska discussing getting together before the big 11/1 kick off. And I've got several writers from my RWA Chapter - Heartland Writers Group - on my buddy list.

There's nothing quite like the energy generated by a bunch of writers gathered in one place.

Poll Results So Far Give Food For Thought

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Carroll) — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 14:40:00 +0000

Sorry - I slipped in to quasi-journalist mode there for a moment when I came up with the title of this post. But it does describe what I've learned so far from the results of my "book buying behavior" poll.

I plan on leaving the poll open for quite a while and see what happens.

The poll results so far show a fairly even split between "read the back cover blurb" and "read a few pages". Kerry Blaisdell noted that she tends "to read a few pages, to get a feel for the author and the story" and then wondered if that's what editors and agents do too.

That got me thinking. I've always put agents and editors in a different target market than ordinary people buying books. But maybe they're really not two separate target markets.

I'm coming to see that they're all readers. What grabs an agent or editor about the story is likely to be the same thing that grabs the bookstore customer.

I don't know why this is such a revelation to me but it's given me a whole new appreciation of the importance of the synopsis and having "hooks" in your story.

Misconceptions about Romance Novels

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Carroll) — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 14:54:00 +0000

Say the words “romance novel” and waaaay too many people think of “bodice ripper” book covers and stories about damsels in distress waiting for the white knight to come and rescue them. It’s unfortunate that the early days of the Harlequin romance novel created the stereotype that still persists today.

In reality, the romance genre has been around forever. Think Romeo and Juliet, written in 1595 and based on an Italian tale translated in 1562. A classic love story albeit without the happily ever after ending.

Jane Austen wrote Pride and Prejudice in 1813. It’s considered one of the first romantic comedies in the history of the novel. This popular story has been made into movies no fewer than four times starting in 1940. It’s also been made into three TV serials. There’s also a Broadway musical version of the story. The popular movie Bridget Jones’ Diary is a loose adaptation of the novel with Mark Darcy modeled after Austen’s Mr. Darcy.

Today’s romance novels feature strong women – think Stephanie Plum in the wildly popular Janet Evanovich series, or the heroines in the novels of romance mainstay Nora Roberts. A romance is really just a story that contains a central love story with the “plot centered around two individuals struggling to make the relationship work” and has an emotionally satisfying ending. Many novels – I’d venture to say most – contain romantic elements. Even the novels by renowned western writer Louis L’Amour contain romance.

And the romance doesn’t have to be between a man and a woman. Diana Gabaldon follows up her popular Outlander series with a series about Lord John Grey in which his undying love for Jamie Fraser (the hero in the Outlander series) underlies any other romantic relationship Grey attempts. In case you didn’t get it, Lord John is gay and his homosexual lifestyle adds a sense of danger to the Outlander and Lord John series both set in the 1700s.

All the “eeeewwwww, romance novels” attitudes are contradicted by the numbers. Romance sells! Of those who read books last year, one in five read romance novels. With the exception of religious/inspirational, romance outsold every other category in 2006. That’s more than westerns, mysteries, sci-fi, etc. Romance fiction generated $1.37 billion in sales in 2006. (2007 numbers aren’t in yet but they will, no doubt, show similar results.)

Who reads romance? Just about everybody – even men. According to a poll conducted by Corona Research (a market research firm in Denver), in 2002 seven percent of romance readers were men. In 2006, that number jumped to 22 percent. Forty-two percent have a bachelor degree or higher. Geographically, in the US readership is split fairly evenly between Southern, Midwestern and Western states.

People are reading romance and not even recognizing that it is romance. One of my friends commented the other day that she never reads romance yet one of her favorite authors is Barbara Taylor Bradford, arguably the number one best seller of women’s fiction over the last 30 years. “Women’s fiction” is just another way of saying it’s a novel with strong romantic elements, which puts the work under the romance umbrella.

So how do we put these misconceptions to rest?

When I hear the “eeewww, romance” reaction, I like to ask people to name their favorite books and then note which ones are really romances or contain romantic elements. I get a lot of “oh, I didn’t think of that” reactions.

That tells me that, bottom line, overcoming the stereotypes means focusing on stories that are so well written with well developed plots and compelling, three dimensional characters that the non-romance reader won’t automatically slot the book into their mental “bodice ripper” category. If quality writing and compelling stories hook the reader, maybe they’ll forget all about the “eeewww” factor.

Book Buying Behavior

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Carroll) — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 14:12:00 +0000

At lunch the other day my colleagues and I were talking about books. (Most of the people I work with are avid readers.) The conversation turned to what prompts them to pick up a book when they're browsing in the book store (or library).

One said she goes solely by the back cover blurb. That impressed upon me how important that short paragraph is in getting the essence of the story across. It also made me realize the similarity between grabbing a reader with that blurb and grabbing an editor or agent with "the pitch".

One said that she goes solely by the cover. Ouch! That's one that authors can't always control. Even when an author submits their cover ideas, there's no guarantee that the publisher's marketing department is going to listen. So do you trust a graphic designer in the marketing department to be able to translate the essence of your story correctly? I guess this is one area where a strong relationship with your editor and an assertive agent will come into play.

A friend of mine looks at how much dialogue there is. She won't buy a book that has more than one page without any dialogue.

What prompts you to pick up a book? Take the poll (click on the link at the right side of your screen) and let me know. I'll share the results.

Happy?? Endings

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Carroll) — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:35:00 +0000

Nineteen Minutes is one of the most riveting, heart wrenching books I've read in a long time.

According to amazon.com:

Set in Sterling, New Hampshire, Picoult offers reads a glimpse of what would cause a 17-year-old to wake up one day, load his backpack with four guns, and kill nine students and one teacher in the span of nineteen minutes.

But. (And it's a BIG but) Picoult adds a romance between two major characters that really detracts from the emotional intensity of the story. It's almost as if someone told her to throw some romance in there to soften it up.

Too bad. The effort to achieve the requisite "happily ever after" ending falls flat. The relationship between the judge and the detective feels contrived. Slapped on as an afterthought. And it makes the judge character appear shallow and heartless. Picoult misses an opportunity to end this powerful novel in a powerful way.

As one of my book club buddies said, "The romance muddies the waters."

One of the "rules" in the romance genre is that the story must have a happy ending. Sure. I expect that from a romance.

Nineteen Minutes is a far cry from a romance. In fact, anyone who's experienced being bullied at school will relate to Peter, the 17 year-old shooter, as he struggles through life never quite fitting in, never quite living up to expectations. And never really knowing why.

I especially appreciated the way Picoult was able to show the story through Peter's eyes. My book club buddy insists that Nineteen Minutes should be required reading for every high school student. I think it should be required reading for every parent. A lesson in why it is so important to take the time to appreciate the uniqueness of our children. To learn who they are and give them the room (and security and encouragement) to be just who they are rather than trying to press them into some mold.

The story also touched me because my teenage grandson has Asperberger's a variant of austistic spectrum disorder. It's characterized by social isolation and eccentric behavior in childhood. We've had first hand experience with how cruel people at school - students, teachers and administrators - can be when they're dealing with someone who doesn't "fit in". But that's another post for another day.

Mary Castillo's Five Things One Needs To Be A Writer

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Carroll) — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 01:26:00 +0000

There's an uplifting post over on The Writing Playground. Mary Castillo writing about the five things one needs to be a writer.

The five qualities that I've seen in authors are: generosity, discipline, patience, joy and writing.

Check it out. Castillo gives a great perspective that's so different from the usual "butt in chair" or "Know the market" perspective.

Beauty In The Sky

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Carroll) — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 14:33:00 +0000

My house is near a small bird habitat area overseen by the Audubon Society right next to a golf course and a plant nursery. In the fall, Canadian geese migrating south over eastern Nebraska use the area as a resting place at night. This time of year I can hear them every day calling to each other.

The other day at sunset, just as a bank of clouds moved in from the east, I was stopped at a red light near my house and saw a flock of geese flying really low. Against the backdrop of clouds, the setting sun made them appear to be made of silver. The beauty of it awed me.

When I glanced around at my fellow drivers stopped at the light, I was even more impressed. Everyone, and I mean every one, was staring into the sky watching this spectacular sight. Some people even rolled down their windows and put their heads out to get a better look.

Expressions of wonder and amazement on the faces of busy adults at a red light = priceless.

Nature has a way of putting things into perspective.

Fellow Writer Cheering Section

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Carroll) — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 15:51:00 +0000

A few days ago I wrote about professional jealousy. (Boy, what a negative post that was!) That kind of drag-you-down-and-kick-you attitude is in the minority. Thankfully.

I'm a member of Romance Writers of America and qualify for PRO status within the organization. Basically it means that I'm actively seeking publication. There is a PRO email loop and I have to say that I've met some really nice people there. We commiserate with and encourage each other in a way that no one else can. Because, bottom line, no matter how supportive your family and non-writer friends are, they can't really understand.

One of the PROLoopers (affectionly referred to as Oat Cakes) said it best:

I try to comfort myself with all the wonderful positive phrases that I've clung to over the months and years of rejection. But for a day, I feel as if maybe I've got it all wrong and I'd probably be more successful selling origami...or oat cakes. But alas, both the optimist in me, along with my passion for writing, barrel their way through any realistic thinking in calling it quits, and insist I press on. . . . As rejections hit the mailbox and eventually the shredder, I remind myself: I am a writer and my stories must be told. To deny myself this joy is to deny my passion, my spirit, my yearning for something so sweet even a little taste now and again keeps me going.

We keep writing because to stop would be to die.

Good Rejections

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Carroll) — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 14:47:00 +0000

Rejections are a fact of the writing life. They fall into two general categories: "sorry not for us" and "good rejection".

The "sorry not for us" kind are form letters. Usually a photo copy of an original that's been photo copied to death. Sometimes not even a good photo copy - fuzzy and misaligned on the page. The "sorry not for us" letters are often unsigned. And they leave writers scratching their heads trying to figure out why the story wasn't right. I have a stack of the "sorry" rejections.

The other kind - "good rejection" - is a personalized letter explaining why the story wasn't acceptable. The editor points out specific flaws that make the manuscript unpublishable and offers words of encouragement. Oftentimes the "good rejection" includes an offer to take a look at something else the writer has done. This kind of rejection gives the writer a boost. Makes them feel like it is worth going on in the writing life.

I got my first "good rejection" yesterday from Kimberley Young at Mills & Boon. (Read an interview with her at the review site wewriteromance.com) Is it silly to send a thank you to an editor for giving you a good rejection? I don't know, but I sure want to!

Her positive comments gave me encouragement and her specific feedback about the problems with the manuscript give me something I can sink my teeth into as I work on honing my skills.

Using Technology to Build Reader Loyalty

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Carroll) — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 00:55:00 +0000

I was reminded today of how old I am when I mentioned that I could remember when computers didn’t have sound. Actually, I remember the first electronic word processor I had and how thrilled I was to be able to edit my manuscripts without having to re-type pages upon pages.

What brought all this to mind is Victoria Alexander’s e-book Lady Amelia’s Secret Lover from Harper Collins. The book includes video of the author talking “candidly about the plot's turning points and her vivid characters.”

If you’ve ever had the opportunity to hear Victoria Alexander speak, you know you’re in for a treat. She has a quick wit and well-honed sense of irony. The video portions promise to be entertaining! Victoria’s sense of humor shines through in her writing. The Effington’s are among my favorite characters.

Okay – enough of a plug for one of my favorite authors!

Using technology to give readers a sense of interacting with their favorite authors is, in my opinion, a great way to build that all-important reader loyalty. Alexander’s e-book is probably about 1/3 the length of one of her print books – just enough to give new readers a taste of her style. The e-book contains six video clips – enough to give Alexander fans a sample of what this author is like.

Including an excerpt of the next book at the end of the book that’s currently on the shelves has become a standard promotional practice. Harper Collins incorporates that strategy here too by including an excerpt of Secrets of a Proper Lady, which hits bookstore shelves the end of September.

I imagine Harper Collins did their market research before launching this new promotional strategy, and I expect we’ll see a lot more of it as other publishers follow suit. Readers like connecting with authors. Authors like connecting with readers. I’m glad to see established publishers thinking outside the box and coming up with innovative ways to help readers connect with their favorite authors.