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Publishing Pulse: Jan 27, 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Stina Lindenblatt) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Contest Reminder

Our contest with agent Natalie Lakosil will open Monday at 9:00 am EST. For more information, click on link in the sidebar for Latest Contest.

Success Stories

There are three new success story interviews this week. Congratulations

Stephanie Thornton, Cheryl Angst, and Priscilla Mizell.

Around the Web

Winners of several notable children’s literature awards were announced this week, including the prestigious Newbery and Caldecott Medals. Congratulations to all the winners.

Publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt struck a deal to publish and distribute Amazon Publishing’s adult books in the fall.

The ARR (Association of Authors’ Representatives) has been discussing the current situation of agent members helping clients with ePublishing current or backlist titles. Agent Kristin Nelson explained what this means.

Agent Jessica Faust discussed the appropriate response for when you receive a rejection. She also explained what ‘not right for my list’ might mean.

Are you making this sloppy mistake when sending out query?

Agent Vickie Motter shared some tips on formatting your manuscript. With a growing number of agents reading requested material on their eReaders, her advice will help you prevent them from going cross-eyed while they read yours.

Check out this short video on 29 Ways to Stay Creative.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Stina Lindenblatt writes young adult novels. In her spare time, she’s a photographer and blogging addict, and can be found hanging out on her blog, Seeing Creative.

Catching Your World on Paper

noreply@blogger.com (Danyelle L.) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Courtesy of heban

World building.

If I were to stereotype, I'd say it's something that every author who writes speculative fiction is intimately familiar with. And yet, it's a tool that all authors--regardless of genre--can make good use of in deepening their stories and bringing them to life.

World building, in it's most basic form, is the process by which an author takes the story as it is in his or her mind and carefully reconstructs it on the page.

In speculative fiction, it involves creating a new world from the ground up. In other genres, especially in contemporary settings, it involves catching the world and pinning it in strategic places in the story.

So what's involved in a world? There are three main components to any world:

Language

For any people in any world to live together, they have to be able to communicate with each other. How this is done--both verbally and nonverbally--will depend on the people and their world view. What's important to this people? What do they value? Have disdain for? Fear? What sounds do they make, and why? How formal or informal is the language, and in which situations?

Having a basic understanding of the people's language will enable both the author and the reader to have a better understanding of the world and the characters that populate it.

Culture

Culture covers a wide range of things: architecture, morals, values, laws, dress, grooming, fashion, foods, expressions, governments, religion, customs, art, daily life, etc. A person's culture helps to shape who they are. How they see the world. And how they react in certain situations.

Having a basic understanding of the people's culture can help the reader connect with the characters better, and can also present all kinds of opportunities for conflict.

Geography

How the world is shaped and formed will have a huge impact on who populates what areas, if they are to be populated at all, and how they must adapt in order to survive and flourish. Geography will also shape a culture and language as people integrate it into their daily lives.

During the world building process, it's highly likely that you will have more built than you may ever use--and that's okay. More than okay, actually, because the more world building that makes if from your mind to the story, the more real and vibrant your world will feel to the reader. (Caveat, like everything else, there is a balance. All world building and no story makes for a very dull time.)

Once the basics are down--even in a contemporary setting--it's all a matter of details. Of allowing the world to intrude upon the characters, to help shape who they are and who they will become. It will inform potential conflicts in the story, and deepen the sense of history of the tale.

Some great resources I've used for my own world building include: allowing my muse (a.k.a. my subconscious) to run wild, Patricia C. Wrede's world building questions, and Holly Lisle's world building series that (for now) includes language and culture.

What about you? Any good world building resources out there?

Danyelle Leafty (@danyelleleafty) writes MG and YA fantasy. In her spare time, she collects dragons, talking frogs, and fairy godmothers. She can be found discussing the art of turning one's characters into various animals, painting with words, and the best ways to avoid getting eaten by dragons on her blog.

one for the record book

noreply@blogger.com (Jane | @janelebak) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:06:00 +0000

Last week I ended up in my basement searching for something. I found a box of stuff from my desk at the previous house, and I pulled out a journal-type book a friend (a multipublished SFF author) had given me right after I got my first publication contract. She said, "Record everything here, that way you'll always have the information handy."

I'd dutifully followed her instructions...for the first four publications. And then afterward, well, I'm not too good at remembering to do things like that. Organization, people. Organization. (Which is why you may have noticed this blog post is about four hours late going up. Organization.)

So there I was in the basement, this piece of my past in hand, and I paged through it. My first novel. A short story I'd published right after that. A short story in an anthology. And then...

And then a story I'd forgotten I had published at all.

Now I remembered the story. It was a flash humor piece, jotted down in about two hours, worked over for another few weeks, submitted...and if you'd asked me before that moment, I'd have said rejected.

Instead I found myself looking at a page with a magazine name, an issue number, and which pages the story appeared on. Which means not only did it get accepted for publication, but it got published, and somewhere I must have a copy of this issue. Only I had no clue it had ever happened.

(This is the point where my lovely literary agent may be wishing my mother had locked me in the basement and never allowed me access to the postal system.)

I'm going to go out on a limb and assume I'm not the only writer who has organization problems. For me this was not really an issue: I never tried to republish the story, but you can see where if I had, two magazines claiming first rights to a story might both get a little ticked off at the author with a memory problem. That's not even going into the legal problems that would arise if there was major money involved. (I assume the market paid under $50 for my flash humor story. Maybe under $5. I don't remember.)

Therefore, I will tell you what my wise publishing friend told me. First, find a place where you will record everything. Everything. If you get a letter to the editor into the paper, you will record it there. Guest blogging? Speaking to your friend's son's high school class? You will record it there. My friend gave me a blank journal because we were in the early 1990s, but you might feel a spreadsheet is the better way to go. (I like the blank book idea, though. It makes it feel special-er. Like history in the making.)

You will record:

- the title

- the publisher, along with its location (whether it's West Cupcake, VA or http://awesomemarket-dot-com)

- the ISBN if there is one

- the publication date

- the page numbers if it's in a magazine

- the name you published it under if you ever plan to use a pseudonym

- the amount you were paid, if any

Rule Number One for my life is "don't be an idiot," but since as you can see I routinely violate Rule Number One, good record keeping can only help matters.

---

Jane Lebak is the author of The Guardian (Thomas Nelson, 1994), Seven Archangels: Annihilation (Double-Edged Publishing, 2008) and The Boys Upstairs (MuseItUp, 2010). At Seven Angels, Four Kids, One Family, she blogs about what happens when a distracted daydreamer and a gamer geek attempt to raise four children. She is represented by the riveting Roseanne Wells of the Marianne Strong Literary Agency.

Publishing Pulse for January 20, 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Ash Krafton | @ashkrafton) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Success Story

Congratulations to Melodie Wright, who has recently signed with agent Tricia Lawrence of Erin Murphy Literary Agency. Read Melodie's success story on Query Tracker.

Publishing News

It's been a landmark week in the history of the Internet. On Wednesday, many websites went "dark" to show their opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the U.S. House of Representatives or the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) in the U.S. Senate. Wikipedia shut down completely, as did many others.

If you haven't heard much about this legislation (beyond the blackout reactions) it's a good time to read up on the subject. Many are concerned that, in an effort to control "internet pirating", the laws will impose censorship on everyone--pirates and ordinary citizens alike.

Chuck Wendig speaks out against the proposed laws and Tim O'Reilly discusses the White House's response. Because of the pressure created by those blackouts, the legislation lost a lot of support. You can see if your Representative opposes this legislation. If you are interested in doing so, you can also sign Google's petition.

The legislation goes up for vote on January 24th.

Conference Calls

In more positive news, many writers, agents, and editors are looking forward to the upcoming conference season.

Attention, romance writers! Registration is now open for RWA2012, which will be held July 25-28 in Anaheim, CA.

Also, my group (Pennwriters) will be hosting our 25th Annual Pennwriters Conference May 18-20 in Lancaster, PA.

Writing conferences are fantastic ways to network with agents and editors, to meet up with writer friends new and old, and to take in workshops that help us hone our crafts. Most of all, they are an opportunity for us to leave the confines of our solitary writing efforts and simply enjoy being one of a fabulous group of peers.

Have a conference you'd like to mention? Want to encourage a new writer to attend their first one? Leave a comment and spread the word.

To the Blogs!

Rachelle Gardner writes about timing and trends and the "maybes" that sit on agents' and editors' desks for months—perhaps "no response" doesn't mean "assume rejection", after all.

Janet Reid prefers simple uncluttered queries—read about tips to keep your queries free of unnecessary information.

Vickie Motter goes a step further and clarifies what your query is not supposed to be.

In this older post, author Roni Loren describes her experiences at a writers conference and shares what she learned during an agent version of the Gong Show. Check out the list of things that may get your query "gonged" by an agent.

And Don't Forget...

...about the upcoming contest.

Agent Natalie Fischer Lakosil from the Bradford Literary Agency will be judging our next contest, which opens January 30, 2012. She'll look at the first hundred words and a one-sentence logline for children's lit, romance, and upmarket women's fiction manuscripts. Find details about specific genres as well as the guidelines here and start working on your pitch perfection.

Unsure how to write that killer logline? We can help.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Ash Krafton is a speculative fiction writer who resides in the heart of the Pennsylvania coal region, where she keeps the book jacket for "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" in a frame over her desk. Visit the Books of the Demimonde blog for updates on the release of her debut novel, Bleeding Hearts: Book One of the Demimonde, forthcoming in March 2012 through Pink Narcissus Press.

Writing Q&A: Using the Insanity Defense in Your Story

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn Kaufman | @CMKaufman) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Disclaimer: The information provided in this post is intended for writing purposes only and does not represent psychological or legal advice.

A reader/writer asked us,

What is the insanity defense?

and we decided to go all out. For psychologist Carolyn Kaufman's psychological perspective on Psychological Disorders and the Insanity Defense, visit lawyer Leslie Budewitz's Law and Fiction blog. For Ms. Budewitz's legal take, keep reading!

The underlying premise is that a person cannot be held responsible for criminal behavior if mental illness prevented him from understanding that his actions were wrong. This inquiry focuses on the defendant’s mental status at the time of the crime.

The test has changed significantly since the defense was first recognized in 1843. Courts applied several standards from the 1950s to the early 1980s. The 1982 trial of John Hinckley, who shot President Reagan, highlighted the controversy and prompted legislative changes. In most cases, there is little doubt that the accused committed the crime; the real issue is insanity. In Hinckley’s case, the defense arose early, and psychiatric evaluations–which took four months–began shortly after his arrest. The standard applied at trial was whether Hinckley could “appreciate the wrongfulness” of his actions, and the government had the burden of proving that Hinckley was sane. After three days of deliberations, the jury found him “not guilty by reason of insanity” on all counts.

After the trial, Congress and many states changed their laws to shift the burden of proof to the defendant, meaning that a person claiming the defense must prove its essential elements. In essence, the presumption of innocence is now paired with a presumption of sanity. Currently, in federal cases, the defendant must prove that he has a "severe" mental disease which made him "unable to appreciate the nature and quality or the wrongfulness of his acts." (I say he for simplicity’s sake, though I suspect most such criminal defendants are male–Squeaky Fromme and Lorena Bobbit aside.) The language of state standards varies somewhat, but is similar. Note that proof of mental illness alone is not enough.

Several states give jurors an additional verdict choice: “guilty but mentally ill.” A handful of states (Idaho, Kansas, Montana, and Utah) do not allow the defense at all, but allow the defendant to introduce evidence of mental conditions to show that he did not have the level of knowledge or intent (“mens rea”) for the crime charged. In other words, he tries to prove that he could not form the intent to purposefully or knowingly kill another. If he meets his burden, the state will be unable to prove all elements of the crime charged, and he will be acquitted by reason of mental illness–essentially the same result as under the insanity defense.

A defendant found not guilty but mentally ill may be confined to a mental institution if commitment standards are met, and released if he becomes no longer mentally ill. Hinckley is confined to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, D.C. In 2003, a judge ruled he no longer presented “a serious danger” to himself or others, and approved unsupervised visits with his parents. If he establishes that he is no longer a threat to himself or others, he will be released.

In December 2011, Hinckley’s lawyers sought his release on lengthy unsupervised visits to his widowed elderly mother, arguing that he is no longer dangerous. Government lawyers opposed the petition, presenting evidence that when out on unsupervised free time, he did not go where he claimed but instead went to bookstores and looked at books on Ronald Reagan and presidential assassins.

A defendant found guilty but mentally ill will be sentenced and kept in government custody for the length of his sentence. Where he is held depends on that state’s procedures and facilities, but it’s typically a prison mental health unit. If he becomes no longer mentally ill while still serving his sentence, he will be transferred to an ordinary prison unit. Once his sentence is complete, he must be released although civil commitment is still possible.

The defense is not limited to murder cases. Lorena Bobbitt argued that she was temporarily insane when she severed her husband's penis with a kitchen knife, and a Virginia jury agreed; she was released after psychiatric hospitalization.

The insanity defense is still much in debate. The heart of the disagreement is the tension between treatment or protection, and punishment. Advocates say the defense allows mentally ill offenders to obtain needed treatment and keeps them out of the prison system, where they lack treatment and are often victimized. A humane society must recognize that some people cannot be held to the same standards of conduct as the rest us because of mental illness they can’t control. Others believe the defense allows the guilty to escape punishment for their crimes, and suspect defendants of faking mental illness to get an acquittal or avoid prison. Justice Department statistics say the defense is raised in only about 1 percent of cases, and succeeds in only 25 percent of those. A large percentage of acquittals result from plea agreements, where the prosecutor agrees that the defendant should be sent to treatment, not prison. Ideally, the evaluation process detects attempts to fake mental illness, which can trigger an enhanced sentence.

But the insanity defense was anathema to Ted Kaczynski, who insisted on representing himself in part because his court-appointed lawyers wanted to raise the defense, while he believed he was sane. By legal measures, he was right. His writings and his arguments to the court demonstrated that his paranoid schizophrenia–a diagnosis he rejected–did not prevent him from understanding that his actions were wrong.

The insanity defense looms large in Otto Preminger’s 1959 classic, Anatomy of a Murder, based on the novel by Robert Traver (the pen name of Michigan Supreme Court Justice John Voelker), starring Jimmy Stewart, Ben Gazzara, and George C. Scott. Just be aware that the law on insanity has changed, as has the admissibility of evidence of a woman’s dress, behavior, and reputation in a rape case.

For details of John Hinckley’s trial, see law professor Doug Linder’s Famous Trials website.

The insanity defense dates back to 1843–writers of historicals should start their research with an article on the evolution of the defense on Professor Linder’s website or the Supreme Court’s historical review in Clark v. Arizona (2006).

And here’s a state-by-state summary of laws on the insanity defense from Find Law.

Leslie Budewitz is the author of Books, Crooks and Counselors: How to Write Accurately About Criminal Law and Courtroom Procedure (Quill Driver Books, 2011). She is a practicing lawyer and a mystery writer living in northwest Montana. Read an excerpt and more articles for writers, or send her a question, at www.LawandFiction.com , and visit her blog at www.LawandFiction.com/blog.

Leslie’s short fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen, Alfred Hitchcock, ThugLit, and elsewhere. Her cozy series, The Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries, will debut from Berkley Prime Crime in 2013.

Making Your Dreams Your Reality

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn Kaufman | @CMKaufman) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

By Kristy Lahoda | @KristyLahoda

I’ve had a lot of dreams since I was young, and at first glance, one might say I have failed to fulfill them. In fact, there are days when I almost convince myself that this is true. Thankfully, those days are few and far between.

Though my life hasn’t turned out exactly the way I envisioned it, in a way, I believe I have fulfilled every memorable dream I had in childhood. I remember sitting in the hallway during church services when I was young and writing books during the sermons. I wanted to be an author. Next, I wanted to be an architect.

By late elementary school, my best friend and I were pretending that we were detectives and forensic chemists and making up “secret” mixtures. Fast forward to high school, when I absolutely loved chemistry. It was during those years that I became fascinated with explosives. In college, I majored in chemistry and decided I wanted to be a forensic scientist. This was before forensic science was on the general public’s radar—before CSI Las Vegas aired. I graduated and was offered a job at a private forensic lab and turned it down. Was this a mistake? Mostly, yes. But, a lot of good things came out of my choice.

I decided that I didn’t know anything about forensics or analytical chemistry and that I should go to grad school and learn before working in a crime lab. Knowing what I know now, nothing trumps experience. I was fortunate enough, however, to do my research for a professor who had worked at the FBI as an explosives researcher. It was a perfect fit for me. Another really good thing to come out of my decision to go to grad school was meeting my future husband the last year I was there!

I also got the itch to start writing a forensic crime novel, but only wrote about twenty pages. I never had a plot and thought that things would just come to me as I wrote. I didn’t spend much time writing, so I didn’t get anywhere. After a short post-doctoral stint, I hoped that I would be able to get a job in the explosives field. Nothing. In fact, I was unemployed for almost two years. While unemployed, I began to get the itch to write a book again.

I did profuse amounts of research and filled up several notebooks. I came up with ideas, talked them over with my husband, and we brainstormed together. I had a plot and an outline of the first fifteen chapters and an idea of how I wanted the ending to turn out. Just after I wrote the Prologue, I was offered a job as a science content editor at a major educational publishing company.

Over three years later, I have yet to work full-time in the forensic field, but is that stopping me from finding fulfillment? Does that mean that I can’t still enjoy forensics? Of course not! I’ll let you in on a few nuggets I’ve learned along the way.

First, don’t give up on your dreams! Second, sometimes you just have to get creative. You never know when an opportunity will present itself. Third, there are many avenues for achieving similar goals—this is where creativity comes into play. Professionally, editing never entered my mind, but after being unemployed for so long, I got creative in my job search. I realized that being a science content editor combined my interest in writing with science. A year and a half ago, I got the opportunity to be an explosives analyst contractor for a crime lab. This has greatly enhanced my writing—it comes straight from the source, not just what I imagine working in a crime lab to be like. Living what you are writing about goes a long way with agents.

I have found a way to incorporate the different things I wanted to be growing up with the reality of not always getting to do what I wanted or what I envisioned my life to be like as a grown up. I wanted to be an author, architect, detective, and a forensic explosives chemist. In reality, I am a full-time editor and an explosives contractor, who has found a way to combine my passions—I am the architect, or writer if you will, of forensic explosives suspense. I want to encourage you to find a way to incorporate your dreams into your life.

Are your dreams long forgotten? If so, find them! What are you passionate about? What do you enjoy doing? Take away your obligations and/or money limitations for a moment. If you could do anything, what would you do?

Now, is there a way to incorporate your dreams into reality? Are you unemployed? Make good use of your spare time. When you aren’t looking for employment, which admittedly can be a full-time job in and of itself, start working on things you’ve been meaning to do. Maybe you haven’t had the opportunity to live out or experience your dreams in the way you were hoping. Since you are a writer, maybe this can be through writing…or maybe there is another avenue that you haven’t yet thought of! I am here to tell you that you can use the gifts and talents you’ve been given despite your restrictions, you just may have to get creative.

Kristy Lahoda, Ph.D., is an explosives analyst contractor in a crime lab as well as a science content editor for a major educational publishing company. She writes Christian forensic suspense and discusses forensics on her blog called Explosive Faith. You can follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

If you have a forensics question for Dr. Lahoda that you'd like to see answered on the QueryTracker Blog, send your question via Carolyn Kaufman using the email link under Contact Us in the right-hand column of the main QTB page.

Publishing Pulse for January 13, 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Jane | @janelebak) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

New At QueryTracker:

Congratulations to our newest success stories, Courtney Pippin-Mathur, Barbara Longley, and Tara Dairman!

Five agent profiles were updated this week, including one agent who opened her own agency. Please make sure you double-check every agent's website or Publisher's Marketplace page before querying. If you're a QueryTracker member (membership is free) then you can be notified whenever an agent or publisher is added or updates their profile.

Publishing News:

A study shows that three- to six-year-old children prefer reading ebooks to print books. (Speaking as a parent who has seen what a three-year-old does to print books, my kid's not getting his hands on my e-reader. I'm just saying.)

Open Road Media and HarperCollins are still fighting it out over digital rights to decades-old works.

Some Amazon.com authors see a huge growth in royalties due to library lending.

Around the Blogosphere:

So how do you know you're growing as a writer? Maybe you have no idea where your thesaurus went, and you don't care.

Via Christina Lee,

http://www.someecards.com/usercards/viewcard/MjAxMS1hODJhNjNhOWFiN2JhMTg1

Writer Beware discusses how to vet a PR service for your book.

Agent Janet Reid offers to answer quick how-to questions about the querying process.

Agent Rachelle Gardner discusses those pesky deadlines, especially how to deal with the deadline you're not going to make.

Dialogue is great, but Agent Kristin Nelson cautions against over-reliance on dialogue.

Literary Quote of the Week:

"...you have to allow yourself the liberty of writing poorly. You have to get the bulk of it done, and then you start to refine it. You have to put down less than marvelous material just to keep going to whatever you think the end is going to be—which may be something else altogether by the time you get there." -Larry Gelbart

---

The Business-Minded Writer: When the Hobby Becomes the Job

noreply@blogger.com (Ash Krafton | @ashkrafton) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

"Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work." -- Stephen King

Work. Uck. Such a strenuous word. It draws up images of toil and labor and exertion, more often than not for a pittance far below that what we deem to be our worth. Who knows that better than a writer?

Writers write because it's what we love to do. For some, it means a job and a pretty income. For others, it's a hobby and a pleasure. But the one thing both kinds of writers have in common is that, whether hobby or career, we tend to call our poems and stories and books by the same name: our work.

Uck. That word again.

My first published piece was a poem that appeared nearly three years ago. "Note to Self:" was published in the March 2009 issue of Poe Little Thing, an e-zine. When I first started selling my poetry, I was happy to simply be published--getting that acceptance from a publication, hearing that "yes" was the real rush. It inspired me to keep writing, keep submitting, keep getting my stuff out there in search for another acceptance.

I am proud to say that since that first acceptance, I've had nearly a hundred more. While I still love that "yes" rush more than anything else, I have to admit I've become a bit more grounded.

More businesslike, I shudder to say. Terrible thing for me to admit, considering I began writing to get away from the rigors of my day-job. Writing was supposed to be my hobby. When did it become work?

The answer: it became a job the very first time I submitted something to an editor.

Who knew? Not me. I was a hobby writer who, like most writers, decided my stuff was too cool to keep to myself. Since I gravitate toward the shady side of the written word (dark spec fic, mainly) I was limited as to how much love I could expect from my mom, who is more of a feel-good kinda gal. I sought a wider audience, those readers who appreciated shadows and sinister grins and cheerful depression as much as I.

Another note to self: what you might think is "sharing" is actually "marketing" and, therefore, work.

Over the past few years, I'd gradually shifted my self-perception from "hobby writer" to "freelance author." I like the term "freelance" because it doesn't just pertain to business or copy writers--it refers to any creative writer (fiction and literary writers included) who aren't bound by exclusive contracts or the limitations of employment. Hey. If writing is work, I want a real title to go with it.

I've also increased my awareness of the business side of writing with particular emphasis on the rights involved with selling my non-novel length work. While my search criteria when shopping literary markets still relies heavily on how much I like the title of a publication (seriously. I mean, if a potential sale is going to be listed in my bio, I want to love the sound of the journal's name, too) I have begun to shrewdly evaluate the rights that would be transferred in the event of a sale.

As a freelance writer of poetry and short fiction, I've got to know what I'm selling so knowing these rights are extremely important. While I publish primarily for the satisfaction, I want to know what rights I'm giving away when I "give away" my work.

There are several excellent online references that describe the different rights. At the end of the article, I'll include links to those websites that I keep bookmarked for easy reference. But for the rest of us who like instant gratification (and, honestly, who doesn't?) here is a brief summary of some of the rights you can sell when marketing your own work.

(And by the by, I'm not a lawyer and I'm the last one to ask for legal advice. Maybe some of our other Query Trackers are but I sure as heck didn't consult any of them before writing this article. Consider this an official disclaimer.)

First things first: the copyright. A writer owns the copyright to anything he (or she) writes. Period. Print it out, e-publish it, bingo. Copyright is expressed. Registration with the US Copyright Office simply entitles a writer to monetary damages in case of copyright infringement. (When I was a newbie novelist I read a few articles whose authors were of the opinion that a "poor man's copyright"--essentially, printing out your work, sealing it in an envelope, and mailing it back to yourself--was enough to protect your copyright. Not so. Filing with the Copyright Office is the only sure way to back up your claim in court.)

At any rate, along with inherent copyright comes a bunch of other, separate rights that a writer can sell, either in bulk or one by one. Knowing these terms will make it easier to evaluate what you are selling along with your masterpiece. Among others, the main types of rights that are negotiated when selling to the small markets are:

All rights--pretty much just what it says. It's the right to own your work. If you sign away all rights to a publisher, you can never use the same work again in its current form. The new owner of all rights to your work is free to reprint your material or to sell it elsewhere without paying any additional money to you. They aren't even obligated to give you a byline. These are the rights you don't want to sell unless you really have to do it.

First serial rights--These are the rights most commonly granted in a publishing contract. These rights grant the publisher of a serial publication the exclusive right to print an article first. After the work is published once, rights revert back to the writer, who is then free to resell the work. More specific terms like FSNAR (first serial North American rights) limit to a specific area--if you sell FSNAR you can still sell to a UK publication. Watch for terms like "worldwide" because it means, well, worldwide.

Exclusive rights-- The right to publish your work without it appearing somewhere else at the same time. Often publishers request exclusive rights for a specified length of time. When the exclusivity period ends, the writer is free to publish the work elsewhere. The flipside of this is non-exclusive rights.

Electronic rights-- If a publisher's contract includes electronic rights, a writer should know how long the publisher has permission to keep the work published on the web. Recent years have sparked an explosion in the number of online magazines and literary blogs so electronic rights are commonly contracted. Determine if the editor wants first electronic rights or all electronic rights. You must keep in mind that "electronic rights" doesn't just mean web publishing--it also means CD-ROMs, databases, etc.

Internet rights--Specific electronic rights to publish work on the Internet or via email (i.e. newsletter). Unlike electronic rights, Internet rights don't give an editor the right to reproduce your work on a CD-ROM or other physical electronic device.

Reprint rights-- This is the right to print a work a second time. Reprint rights imply that first rights have been sold. It's also called second serial rights.

Knowing these definitions have made it possible for me to determine which pieces I can legally market as reprints. Reprints are my new big thing--now it's no longer enough to have a poem published. I want to have it published in as many places as superhumanly possible. I want to spread my words around with the same vigor my kids use to destroy the house on a day off from school.

So far, it seems to be working out. That first poem "Note to Self:" was eventually picked up by the Cover of Darkness anthology.

Ooh. Anthology rights. Another shudder but, all things considered, it's a shudder of a good kind.

Some links I keep bookmarked:

The editor of Rampant Loon Press has a great section in his submission guidelines regarding rights purchased using software licensing terminology. Although these are the guidelines for a specific magazine, they illustrate the ongoing shift of publishing from print to electronic formats...and the shift of rights available for purchase along with it.

The American Society of Journalists and Authors has an excellent position paper from 2003 that is worth a careful look.

And because I know you are all dying to do some light reading, there's always the US Copyright Office's website.

Ash Krafton is a speculative fiction writer who resides in the heart of the Pennsylvania coal region, where she keeps the book jacket for "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" in a frame over her desk. Visit the Spec Fic Chick website at www.ashkrafton.com for updates on the release of her debut novel, Bleeding Hearts: Book One of the Demimonde, forthcoming in March 2012 through Pink Narcissus Press.

How Not To Mutilate A Foreign Language

noreply@blogger.com (Stina Lindenblatt) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 10:00:00 +0000

When you use foreign slang, you have to be careful. You can’t take a dictionary and translate your English phrase—word for word—into the other language. You might be creating a sentence that means something different than what you intended. And the results might be embarrassing.

For one of my novels, I used some Spanish phrases in the dialogue of my secondary character, who was originally from Mexico. One phrase I used was ‘Está muy caliente’, which in English translates to ‘he’s very hot’.

Or does it?

After writing the phrase, I read the following in Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles:

She flashes me a sexy smile and leans closer. “Estás muy caliente.” I think she just called me hot. That’s not the way we say it in Meh-hee-co, but I get the idea.

Whoa, so what does the phrase really mean? I spent the next hour, online, pouring through idioms to find out what it meant in Mexico. Here’s where I used the phrase in my novel. The italicized part is the proper translation:

“You should definitely give Aaron a chance. He’s cute. Very horny.” She started counting his attributes on her fingers.

Yep, you can stop laughing now. That’s definitely not what my character wanted to say.

When you add foreign slang in your story, check a foreign slang dictionary specific to the country your character is from. Or better yet, have a native speaker of the language read over the phrases to ensure you haven’t made any mistakes*. And remember, idioms used in England can be very different to those used in Canada or the US. The same is true for Spanish idioms spoken in Mexico compared to those spoken in Spain.

Another thing to watch out for is simple translations that can be found in a beginner’s guide to the language. For example, I recently read a novel in which the author used a simple phrase in Finnish. What the author had meant to say was ‘Anna’s House’ (Annan Talonsa), but what she really wrote was ‘Anna my house’ (Annan Taloni). Most readers wouldn’t know better, but it irritated me because the mistake was easy to avoid.

It’s not an agent or editor job to verify that you used the language correctly in your story. That’s solely your responsibility. Take the time and get it right so you can avoid embarrassing mistakes.

Has anyone else used a foreign language or foreign slang in their stories?

*(In my defense, I did do this. My daughter’s kindergarten teacher said I could use the term, but there’s another term too. I didn’t clue into the subtext which told me my phrase wasn’t the best choice. I only realized that later on.)

Stina Lindenblatt writes young adult novels. In her spare time, she’s a photographer and blogging addict, and can be found hanging out on her blog, Seeing Creative.

Publishing Pulse: 1/06/2012

noreply@blogger.com (Danyelle L.) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Anne Lamott shares tips on things you can do if you find yourself short on writing time.

Mike Shatzkin offers some interesting question rather than predictions on how publishing will look in 2012.

Barnes and Noble is looking at "increas[ing] its investments" in its Nook.

Ellen Archer, CEO of Hyperion, discusses how "the book publishing model is broken."

Jane Friedman has a great list of 12 must-read articles from 2011.

Porter Anderson has another excellent post on writing on the ether this week including a discussion on the $0.99 price point, focusing on quality, that now may very well be a golden age for writing for authors.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Danyelle Leafty (@danyelleleafty) writes MG and YA fantasy. In her spare time, she collects dragons, talking frogs, and fairy godmothers. She can be found discussing the art of turning one's characters into various animals, painting with words, and the best ways to avoid getting eaten by dragons on her blog.

New QueryTracker Features

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +0000

First off, I would like to thank everyone for a great year. In 2011, QT added 12,036 new members and displayed over 6,300,000 pages. Members are now tracking nearly 250,000 queries, and logged 273 offers of representation. Thank you all for making QT a success, and I hope to add your success story to our list in 2012.

But that's not really what I'm here to talk about. I had a little extra time off work over the holidays, so had the chance to add a few more features to QueryTracker and would like to take the opportunity to talk about those now.

The new Fastest Responders Report lists the agents who, according to QT data, respond to queries the fastest. Data is shown for several different categories:

Fastest responders to email queries.
Fastest positive responses to email queries.
Fastest rejections to email queries.
Fastest responders to snail mail queries.
Fastest positive responses to snail mail queries.
Fastest rejections to snail mail queries.

View the Fastest Responders Report.

The other new feature is the ability to search for agents who are members of the Association of Authors' Representatives, or the AAR. As most of you probably know, the AAR is an organization for agents with a strict canon of ethics, including rules against charging reading fees and other such dishonest acts. You can view their website at aaronline.org.

In the past, QT merely provided a link to the AAR website where you could manually search to see if a particular agent was a member. But that was an unacceptable extra step, which QT has alleviated. When viewing an agent's profile on QT, you'll now see a label indicating the agent's AAR membership status. You no longer have to jump over to the AAR website.

But wait, that's not all. When searching for agents, you can now choose to only view agents who are AAR members. This means you can quickly and easily pinpoint AAR members if you would like to query them exclusively.

You can learn more about these new features by viewing QT's What's New page. These new features are available to premium members only. Learn more about the benefits of premium membership.

The Challenges and Rewards of Self-Publishing: An Interview

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn Kaufman | @CMKaufman) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Here on the QueryTracker Blog, we often talk about publishing in a traditional way: seeking out an agent, who then finds a home for your story with a publishing house. But more and more authors are taking non-traditional approaches to publishing, and there are lots of options out there! Today we talk with our own Danyelle Leafty about her journey with self-publishing her series, The Fairy Godmother Dilemma. Read on to learn about the challenges and rewards of non-traditional publishing!

You decided to go the non-traditional publishing route with your trilogy The Fairy Godmother Dilemma. Why?

With the publishing industry going through some major changes, I wanted to approach [publishing my book] in as many different ways as possible so as not to put all my eggs in one basket.

When I learned about people releasing their novels as serials, I thought this would be an interesting way to get a book out there. The Fairy Godmother Dilemma: Catspell is the book I wrote specifically for this purpose.

One of the big challenges of non-traditional publishing is that the author is responsible for everything—from book artwork to formatting the digital book files to marketing. Can you talk a little bit about these challenges?

I’ve actually loved doing all of these things—which kind of surprised me. I don’t mean to say this isn’t a whole lot of work—it is—but I’ve enjoyed learning how to do new things even if I wanted to drop my computer out the window when I hit bumps.

I’ve been very fortunate in finding stock art for my cover that was perfect in terms of character and tone of the book. I was even more fortunate that there are some incredible Photoshop and Indesign tutorials on Youtube. :) The part I dreaded the most was coding the files, but Scrivener (the writing program I use) came out with an update that compiled manuscripts into digital files without the author having to do all the coding.

Marketing, I think, is the hardest for me. I’m still working on finding a balance between getting my name out there without turning into a commercial. I’m still fine-tuning my approach and will be putting it to work in February. For now, I’m just focusing on getting the series polished and up.

Tell us a little bit about what you’ve liked best about self-publishing.

The thing I’ve liked best about self-publishing is the control I have over my story. I’ve enjoyed putting everything together and learning new things. I’ve also loved getting to know new people along the way.

What have you liked least?

The thing I’ve liked least is the dividing line between the different avenues of publishing. Publishing is a hard business, and I like to think we’re all in this together.

What advice would you give others considering the self-publishing route?

Don’t do it unless you mean it. What I mean by this is don’t self-publish to make a million dollars, to prove anyone wrong, or because it’s easier. (It’s not. I promise!) If you’re going to self-publish, do it deliberately. Have a good plan, be willing to work hard, very hard, and educate yourself on the process and the business. Make sure you put out your very best.

There will be times when you’re so tired you can’t see straight, you put the milk in the oven, and you forget what your name is. There will be times when you want to pull your hair out and give up. There will be times when you really wonder if it’s worth all this.

And there will be times when it all comes together and you know it was. The key is being true to yourself and focusing on the positive while learning from the mistakes you make. (Be flexible! Things can and will go wrong, but that’s all part of the business.)

Some people feel that self-published material may be poorer quality than traditionally-published material. How do you combat that prejudice?

The short version is that I work very, very, very hard. I combat that prejudice by adjusting my thinking and my actions.

Thinking: I’ve determined that the only person I’ll ever be competing against is myself. I strive to make sure each book I put out is better than the one before, and will not release a book unless I feel it’s ready. I had originally planned on releasing the whole series in November (I’d had most of them written and completed long before), but as time went on, I realized that in order to make that deadline, I’d have to work myself to death and risk putting something out riddled with errors.

Which leads to my actions. Because self publishers are in charge of doing everything, it’s vital they don’t skim over the finer details. Editors, or at least really honest, very talented beta readers, are a must. No author can catch all of her own mistakes or weak points.

To be seen professionally, it’s important to act professional and make sure the total package of the book is at a professional standard. This means good cover art, good editing—both line and content, a great synopsis, and professional comportment online.

This also comes with the understanding that no book is perfect, no matter how many editors have edited it, and no book is going to appeal to everyone. And that’s okay.

Tell us a bit about your story and how we can get it!

The official synopsis is:

Sixteen-year-old Breena never thought anything could be worse than being forced to leave the faerie realm. Then she got stuck with a fairy godmother. But if she has to choose between the two, she’d leave the Faerie Realm over getting bossed about by a faerie with a pointed stick any day. Unfortunately, her attempt to evade her fairy godmother gives her growing pains in the form of fur, whiskers, and a tail.

Turning into a cat is the least of her worries, though. The potion wasn’t meant to bring out her inner feline, it was meant to put her to sleep. Forever. If Breena wants to make it to her Happily Ever After, she’ll have to accept that sometimes a fairy godmother really does come in handy, after all.

Catspell is a fairy tale retelling of The White Cat with a few twists *coughcoughcrazycatscough* and a fairy godmother. It’s the first in a series of five. The first 3 books are available now, and I hope to have books 4 and 5 up and ready to go by February.

The Fairy Godmother Dilemma: Catspell is available on B&N and Amazon as e-books.

I’m planning on either doing a print run or releasing the paperback through POD (publishing on demand) mid-2012. I also have some hard cover copies I’m having printed as part of the serial, but will only be releasing a limited number of those through my website. Each of those will be signed and numbered!

Thanks so much for the interview! It’s been a pleasure.

Thanks to you, Danyelle!

Carolyn Kaufman, PsyD's book, THE WRITER'S GUIDE TO PSYCHOLOGY: How to Write Accurately About Psychological Disorders, Clinical Treatment, and Human Behavior helps writers avoid common misconceptions and inaccuracies and "get the psych right" in their stories. You can learn more about The Writer's Guide to Psychology, check out Dr. K's blog on Psychology Today, or follow her on Facebook or Google+!

Publishing Pulse: Dec 30, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Stina Lindenblatt) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Jane Friedman shared secrets for finding timeto write, promote, and still have a life.

Are you creating a book trailer and want to add explosions to it? Galleycat tells you how to do it with a free app.

Here are the ten commandments of asuccessful author by Roni Loren.

Agent Janet Reid has a brilliant new way toshoot yourself in the query (which is actually less painful than shooting yourself in the foot).

Have you written your goals for 2012 yet? For advice on how to write realistic ones, check out this post and this post.

From all of us at the Querytracker.net blog, we wish you a happy (and safe) New Years!

Stina Lindenblatt writes young adult novels. In her spare time, she’s a photographer and blogging addict, and can be found hanging out on her blog, Seeing Creative.

Show and Tell

noreply@blogger.com (Danyelle L.) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Courtesy of chidsey

One of the first things I learned when I started working toward writing professionally was the old adage show, don't tell. And since then, I've repeated it many times as I've critiqued and done beta reads. (Actually, I've modified it a bit so I say something more like, show more here where I think showing would deepen the impact of the scene.)

But like all the rules of writing, I think show, don't tell is more about balance than choosing one thing or the other. There will be some places in the story where telling works more effectively than showing, but the trick is figuring out which ones. This all goes back to taking a step back and looking at the story objectively so you can see what the story needs where.

In my opinion, showing and telling are at opposite ends on a spectrum with many varying degrees of each in between. The key to writing an effective scene is to find the degree that works strongest for the story.

What's the Difference?

According to Brown and King in their Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, telling is ". . . a narrative summary, with no specific setting or characters." The reader is told what has happened rather than living it along with the characters.

Showing, on the other hand, engages the reader in specifics, often while employing the five senses. Many writers do well when it comes to sight, but for me at least, I often forget about smells and the sense of touch when I'm showing a scene. And yet a person's sense of smell is closely linked with memory and could be used every bit as powerfully as the sense of sight.

When to Show

I would say that it's safe to show most of the story most of the time. A good story engages a reader, allows them to slip into the characters' skins and see life through another person's eyes. Showing, making the reader feel the heart pounding terror the character is experiencing is one of the most effective ways to do that. It brings the story alive in a way that is deeply personal to the reader.

The key point to remember when showing is that the amount of time you spend showing something or someone is going to determine the importance of the object, event, or character the reader. A rule of thumb for me is that if I'm going to show something, it's got to matter to the story.

When to Tell

There are some times when telling is more effective then showing something happening in the scene. As you go through your manuscript, pay special attention to your gut and what it's telling you the story needs. 9 times out of 10, your gut is right.

The times when I tell are usually determined by the scene, the importance and relevance for what is happening in the scene, and the pacing.

For example, the characters are gathered in the hearth room when one of them notices the painting above the fireplace, specifically the necklace the woman in the painting is wearing. For each person, let's say there's five, in the room, the necklace brings back a different memory which, in turn, arouses different emotions.

Showing all of this would draw out the scene when maybe what the story needs is a short, snappy bridge to set up for the murder that occurs. So, rather than dwelling on each part of each memory (let's say we're either in an omniscient POV or a character is observing the other people in the room), I'll only focus on the ones that matter most overall for the story.

Then the murder happens and the pacing speeds up. This is where I'd use shorter, somewhat choppier sentences that do a little more telling and a little less showing. How much of each would depend on what the story needed the scene to be. The important thing here would be to make sure that the showing and the telling complement each other and work hand in hand to convey the story with the most power possible.

Because that, I believe, is what all writers are aiming for--transmitting the thoughts, pictures, and ideas in their heads to someone else's through words.

Caution: Contains Strong Language

noreply@blogger.com (Ash Krafton | @ashkrafton) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 14:00:00 +0000

When I was a kid, my mom had a vehement distaste for what she called "strong language." She loathed vulgarity and did her best to teach us to avoid using "dirty words," threatening that, if we cussed or swore or used dirty words, people would avoid us. And no kid wants to be avoided.

Despite her tutelage, I became quite fluent in strong language--just not in the way you think.

STRONG LANGUAGE, STRONG STORY

Writers are always after the words that touch closest to the nerve endings, those that can illicit the perfect response. We are not only judged by the story we tell—we are also judged by the way we tell it. Even the most intriguing plot lines and story twists and character building is subject to scrutiny of the strength of our language.

When I was a novice writer, I wrote the story exactly as I thought it—line after effortless line streamed out of my pen, filling a stack of notebooks over the course of a single summer. I wrote without regard to rules or regulation, allowing the story to manifest itself on its own.

When the idea for a second story came along, I did the same thing. However, I had a different goal in mind; this new story wasn't simply a way to pass the time writing something that would remain in notebooks. This story had potential. This story, I wanted to share. This story needed more than just passion and a new pack of gel pens.

I turned, as I often do, to the Internet in search of guides. I wanted to develop my skills as a writer beyond the level of Passionate Novice. If I wanted to realize my goal of publication, I had to improve my craft.

So began several years of "homeschooling" myself to be a better writing. I joined my local writing guild—Pennwriters—and enrolled in a few courses. I read countless online articles with tips for better writing. I amassed an impressive library of books on the craft. All of these things took me down the road to becoming a stronger writer.

Perhaps the most valuable advice I'd found was the simplest concept: word choice. The strength of a word determines the effect it will have on the reader. Sounds too basic to be of any use, doesn't it? But take a moment and consider the following:

Patty was swimming.

Not bad. You get an idea of what goes on in this passage. It's clear and it's effective. It's passable.

Now consider:

Patty took a deep lungful of air and dove under the water, kicking and clawing the water past her in an effort to get as far away as possible.

The same story. The same people. The same action. Definitely not the same impact.

What's different?

THE EVIL "WAS"

The verb "to be" is the king of all verbs. It's also the most overused, particularly when was is paired with an –ing word.

For instance: Patty was swimming.

When I first started writing, I didn't have any real sense of tense. I now know that my stories are best told in past tense—but back then, I wrote as the story unfolded in my mind and it came out in present tense, instead. I had barrels full of was + -ing words on every page.

I also had a complete manuscript that topped 115,000 words.

Ugh. That number scares agents away. And you know why? Because if the sample you include in your query isn't granite-solid writing—if it contains a single instance of was + -ing—that agent knows the entire manuscript is full of extra words.

Extra words make agents and editors go blind. It's easy for them to pass on a mammoth manuscript that is potentially full of extra words, and weak ones, at that.

Patty was swimming. The reader knows exactly what action in which Patty was engaged. But it's not the best way to convey it.

First of all, just give up on trying to get the reader to experience the story by using this crazy tense. Make it past tense and the reader will still be engaged.

Patty swam. Plain and simple. You just reduced your word count by 33.3% and every editor and agent on the planet just heaved a sigh of relief. The entire publishing industry thanks you.

THE EVIL PLAIN AND SIMPLE VERB

Plain and simple is okay…but it's not rocking. You want unequivocal action. Choose a stronger verb.

Patty had been swimming with friends and, while she was far enough off shore (where most of her friends sat on the beach,) Paul swam out to talk to her in private. What did Patty do?

Patty tread water, careful not to kick Paul when he moved close enough to whisper to her.

Paul told her one of her so-called friends was actually a double agent who meant to kill her. He had a gun hidden in the picnic basket. Patty saw him wrap a long dark shape in his towel and swing it in it her direction. A tiny zing whizzed past her head and something plipped into the water next to her. She panicked.

Patty took a deep lungful of air and dove under the water, kicking and clawing the water past her in an effort to get as far away as possible.

That's a lot stronger than Patty swam. Same lady, same action, better impact.

STRONGER LANGUAGE

These two small tips lend tremendous strength to writing and it's easy enough to apply them to your manuscript. Use your word processor to search for the word "was" and get to work on eliminating the unnecessary ones. Then scour each sentence for plain and simple verbs and replace them with words of flame and steel and all sorts of strong language. Your writing will be stronger, tighter, and more attractive. Your manuscript will lose many weak words. Agents will not be afraid to read your pages.

Take my mother's advice but with my twist on it. Use strong language whenever possible and remember: the "dirty words" are the weak ones. Avoid them and others will not avoid your writing.

Ash Krafton is a speculative fiction writer who resides in the heart of the Pennsylvania coal region, where she keeps the book jacket for "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" in a frame over her desk. Visit the Spec Fic Website at www.ashkrafton.com for updates on the release of her debut novel, Bleeding Hearts, forthcoming in early 2012 through Pink Narcissus Press.

Publishing Pulse for December 23rd, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Jane | @janelebak) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 12:39:00 +0000

New At QueryTracker:

Congratulations to our newest success stories, Joan Stradling and John Zeleznik!

Eleven agent profiles were updated this week, including those who are closing to queries for Christmas and New Year's. Please make sure you double-check every agent's website or Publisher's Marketplace page before querying. If you're a QueryTracker member and want to be notified whenever an agent or publisher is added or updates their profile, check out these instructions.

It's been a quiet week with publishing gearing down for Christmas and New Year's.

Publishing News:

Nielsen bookscan released their top 10 titles for 2011, both fiction and non-fiction. The top two fiction slots are taken by different editions of The Help. In non-fiction, you've got Heaven Is For Real, followed by the Steve Jobs biography, the combination of which probably says something clever about our culture (but in order to point it out, I'd have to be clever, so instead I'll just move along.)

Agent Rachelle Gardner is reportedly moving from Wordserve Literary Agency to Books And Such. We wish her luck in her new venture!

Around the Blogosphere:

As long as we're talking about her, Rachelle Gardner discusses rumors that B&N may not stock your book if your website links only to Amazon.

If you're looking for the perfect drink for the holidays, how about Charles Dickens' Eggnog?

Annie Dillard on winter and wonder, and how the old world is new.

Literary Quote of the Week:

"Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures." Jessamyn West

Thanks for reading! A Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Joyous Kwanzaa to you all!

---

Psychology Q&A: Dissociative Amnesia After a Trauma?

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn Kaufman | @CMKaufman) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Disclaimer: The information provided in this post is intended for writing purposes only and does not represent psychological advice.

QUESTION: I am writing a novel in which I've given the main character Dissociative Amnesia. My understanding is that the condition usually develops after a stressful or traumatic event. My character has been abducted by her stalker of three years and held prisoner for several days. She is eventually shot and left for dead. She is rescued but it is discovered she has amnesia. I need the character to remember events in her past but only up to a certain age/point. My questions are:

Is there a certain sequence or specific event that needs to take place in order for the condition to develop?

Is it possible for a victim of Dissociative Amnesia to lose three years worth of memory? More specifically, is it logical for my character to only remember events up to a certain age (let's say age 30), forgetting everything else beyond that (even the trauma), and believe she is age 30 when she's really age 35?

How would a doctor handle my character's condition?

ANSWER: I'll answer your questions one at a time below in more detail, but it sounds like what you actually need may not be dissociative amnesia but a dissociative fugue.

Dissociative amnesia is essentially amnesia for a particular event or set of events that are, as you note, traumatic in nature. It would be perfect if you just needed your MC to have amnesia for what happened when she is stabbed and flung from the van. A fugue is basically when someone has a dissociative split in identity, i.e. they develop amnesia for all events after a certain point (though they can make new memories) and travel away from home. During a fugue the person may (or may not) take on a new identity. When they eventually come out of the fugue (which can happen with help from therapy, or spontaneously) they may or may not remember what happened during the fugue. During a fugue, the person usually seems completely normal to others. They don't act bizarre.

1. Is there a certain sequence or specific event that needs to take place in order for the condition to develop?

Just because it may be helpful, let me quickly summarize the difference between dissociative amnesia and organic amnesia. There are 2 types of amnesia—psychological (dissociative, in which the mind is thought to split off a traumatic event to protect the psyche) and organic (physical, in which the brain is affected). A really good example of organic anterograde amnesia is in the movie Memento (or 50 First Dates). In both movies, the MC's hippocampus (the brain structure which makes new memories) is damaged beyond repair, and the character is unable to make new memories.

Then let's differentiate between dissociative amnesia and a dissociative fugue. They're essentially the same thing except that in a fugue the individual travels away from home (or wherever she normally is) and the amnesia can be more extensive. So let's say someone walks in on her partner in bed with someone else. Dissociative amnesia might be that she completely forgets walking in on them, but all other memories are the same; someone with a dissociative fugue will walk out the door, get in the car, and travel away, possibly while taking on a new identity. It seems that people with fugues are actually fleeing physically as well as psychologically from a traumatic event. Years ago actress Anne Heche went through a breakup (from Ellen DeGeneres) and went wandering in the desert claiming to be someone named Celestina. She later said she had dissociative identity disorder (multiple personality disorder), but what she was actually describing was a fugue. If you want to do a little more movie research, The Long Kiss Goodnight with Geena Davis portrays a fugue.

For either amnesia or a fugue, there has to be an event traumatic enough that the mind decides to wall it off (dissociate it) so the individual doesn't have to deal with it.

2. Is it possible for a victim of Dissociative Amnesia to lose three years worth of memory? More specifically, is it logical for my character to only remember events up to a certain age (let's say age 30), forgetting everything else beyond that (even the trauma), and believe she is age 30 when she's really age 35?

It would be rare for either someone with amnesia OR a fugue to lose 3 years prior to the traumatic event, but you could pull it off better with a fugue. You could argue that the identity the character having the fugue is taking on is that of a younger self.

The hard part about pulling off a fugue for your character may be the travel—the person has to travel. Though I suppose she could travel away from where she is living as a 35-year-old and make her way back to a "safer time," ie when she was 30.

3. How would a doctor handle my character's condition?

Who brings the character into treatment? Theoretically, if she is dissociating, she is not going to realize she has a problem.

A doctor would probably screen for organic problems (such as concussion; damage to the hippocampus, frontal lobes, and temporal lobes) as well as for drug and alcohol use and abuse (prescription and nonprescription)—for things that could cause memory problems, in other words. If nobody can find any physical cause, the character would be referred to a psychologist.

The psychologist would probably be someone who specializes in trauma (e.g. PTSD) and/or dissociative disorders. Her goal would be to help your character come to terms with the trauma that triggered the fugue. She would probably encourage your character to remember what happened, though if she's a good therapist, she definitely wouldn't hypnotize her to remember. (Hypnosis just puts you into a natural dissociative state, and makes you more suggestible. As a result, it's super easy to influence people who are hypnotized and cause them to create false memories, which certainly would not be helpful—especially if your MC ever wanted to take her stalker to court.) There would also be work on helping your MC develop coping mechanisms besides dissociation. If your therapist was someone who used EMDR (a treatment some people find helpful for PTSD), she might also use EMDR.

The therapist would also use cognitive therapy, including dealing with irrational and upsetting thoughts by changing self talk; and behavioral therapy, probably including exposure therapy of some kind. To pull those things together, the therapist would have your MC talk, and listen for ways she might be unintentionally self-sabotaging (everybody does it to some extent) due to cognitive distortions (there's a list of the ones we usually listen for at PsychCentral). Then the therapist teaches the client to think more realistically. (She doesn't whitewash things, just helps the client stop blowing things out of proportion).

Exposure therapy involves exposing oneself to the things that are associated with the traumatic event while practicing new coping and relaxation skills. You can do imaginal exposure, where the client imagines going through things again, or you could even take her back to the place the trauma happened with the therapist.

EMDR is a treatment that combines cognitive and behavioral therapies with a particular pattern of eye movement. Some people swear by it, and some people will tell you it's garbage.

If you want more detailed information on portraying these therapies, including EMDR, I go into more detail in my book, The Writer's Guide to Psychology. I also talk more about why you don't want to hypnotize someone who has a dissociative condition, and talk more about the differences between psychologists and psychiatrists.

Finally, while there are no medications for dissociative disorders, if the character is struggling with depression or PTSD symptoms, there are medications for those things.

Remember, if YOU have a psychology in fiction question you want to see answered here, use the Q&A form on the Archetype site or send an email using my QueryTracker email address to the right. (Please use Q&A in your Subject Line!).

Taking Time to Enjoy Life

noreply@blogger.com (Danyelle L.) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 06:22:00 +0000

Courtesy of Nossirom

It's that wonderful time of year again. The month that's stuffed full of celebrations and family togetherness. And like all times like this, crazy, hectic, busy.

And some of that frenetic energy can dribble into other aspects of our lives like writing. As a goal-driven Triple A-type personality, this means that I watch self-appointed deadlines whoosh by with tense muscles and fierce determination to somehow keep on top of everything.

But doing that defeats the purpose.

In order to be productive, certain goals need to be met--whether they're openly stated or not. And yet, sometimes it's all too easy to get caught up in the doing and checking off of little boxes that we lose sight of why we're doing what we're doing. At least I do. Not only does this add to the other stresses, but it also drains my creativity well until there's nothing left but a little sand and a lot of rocks.

So this year, and the next, I'm going to work on enjoying life a little more. Writing is important. My book schedule is good because it keeps me going and gives me something to aim for--so long as I remember that it's just there to help me accomplish the tasks I set out to do. But when those goals become all I see--mostly because they're the balls that keep slipping away as I try to juggle everything--then I need to remember to take a step back and just breathe.

It's a proven fact that breathing helps you live longer, so I'm going to aim to do it a little more often.

Sometimes it's okay to turn off the Writing Boss glaring at you from behind a cluttered desk in a corner of your brain. Sometimes it's okay to ignore the empty word count bar and go on an outing with family and friends. Sometimes it's okay to watch a movie, read a book, have a conversation with a friend instead of getting the writing done.

It's all about balance. When the joy that comes from uncovering the threads of a story becomes work for an extended period of time, then it's probably a good idea to stop. Step back. And take stock of what's really going on.

I've found that even if I miss deadlines I've set for myself, if I'm balanced, I'm a lot more productive than when I force myself onward and upward too hard for too long.

So this next week, instead of chaining myself to the computer to stay on track, I'm going to slip out into a world filled with wonder and colorful lights. I'm going to enjoy the sound of laughter and joy, and watch the snow coat everything with white.

Because *not* sitting at a keyboard and writing doesn't mean you're not being productive. Sometimes stepping away from the goals and the writing means you're filling up your creative reservoir and giving yourself space to take off so you can really fly.

How do you know when it's time to take a step back and just enjoy what's going on in the here and now?

Publishing Pulse for December 16, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Ash Krafton | @ashkrafton) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Query Tracker Contest

Get your pitches ready… Agent Natalie Fischer Lakosil from the Bradford Literary Agency will be judging our next contest, which opens January 30, 2012. She'll look at the first hundred words and a one-sentence logline for children's lit, romance, and upmarket women's fiction manuscripts. Find details about specific genres as well as the contest guidelines here and get to work on your perfecting your pitch.

Unsure how to write that killer logline? We can help.

Around the Internet

Agent Natalie also offers advice on how to survive waiting. (Turns out agents play the waiting game, too!) Perhaps you'll find something there to inspire you through the end-of-year publishing "slowdown".

Discouraged that the overall querying process (or the submission process or the editorial process) is taking forever? Kameron Hurley of The Night Bazaar discusses 10 things she learned about the publishing biz the year her first novel was published. It offers a little perspective on the long, long road to publication.

Chuck Sambuchino stopped by Rachelle Gardner's blog to talk about the truth about book publicity--and it involves a lot of hit-and-miss.

Even if you didn't participate in this year's NaNoWriMo event, you'll find some valuable tips about revising your new manuscript on their site.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Ash Krafton is a speculative fiction writer who resides in the heart of the Pennsylvania coal region, where she keeps the book jacket for "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" in a frame over her desk. Visit the Spec Fic Chick website at www.ashkrafton.com for updates on the release of her debut novel, Bleeding Hearts: Book One of the Demimonde, forthcoming in March 2012 through Pink Narcissus Press.

Writing Killer Loglines

noreply@blogger.com (Stina Lindenblatt) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 10:00:00 +0000

source

Whether you write short stories, novellas, novels, or screenplays, loglines are an important part of the process. If someone asks you what your story is about, you aren’t reduced to the incoherent word ‘um’. Or better yet, you won’t ramble on, leaving the poor listener wishing he hadn’t asked.

If you attend a conference and have the chance to say ‘hi’ to an agent or editor (or if you’ve signed up for a pitch session), you have a quick way to let them know about your book. If the individual is interested, she might ask to see your manuscript (or portion of it). Many blog contests require a logline (psst, look at the side bar for an upcoming contest).

When you write a logline, you want to keep the following questions in mind:

1. What genre is the book? If your logline is for a children’s book, the protagonist’s age will indicate this. It isn’t necessary though, as you will see in the following example.

2. Who is the main character?

3. What makes her unique?

4. What is the inciting incident?

5. What is your main character’s goal?

6. What is the major conflict your character will face? Unlike in the query, you only have room for one conflict in the logline.

7. What is the consequence if the main character fails?

This sounds like a lot to get into a single sentence, but it isn’t. At least it isn’t after you rework your logline.

Example

The Hunger Games (The following is from the logline created for the upcoming movie.)

1. What genre is the book? Young adult dystopian

2. Who is the main character? Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen

3. What makes her unique? She is willing to sacrifice her life to save her young sister, who is selected to participate in The Hunger Games. Katniss volunteers to take her sister’s place.

4. What is the inciting incident? Katniss’s young sister is selected by the Capital to fight to the death on live television. (Even the contestants on Survivor had it easier than this.)

5. What is your main character’s goal? To survive the fight to death on the reality TV show.

6. What is the major conflict your character will face? Katniss isn’t the only contestant who wants to win. Only one contestant gets to live.

7. What is the consequence if the main character fails? Katniss dies. It goes further than that, but this is enough for the logline.

Now rewrite the information into one sentence:

Set in a future where the Capitol selects a boy and girl from the twelve districts to fight to the death on live television, Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her younger sister's place for the latest match.

Do you notice something else about the logline? It hints at the emotion of the story. This is live television, where the audience gets to watch their loved ones or friends die. And what if the boy and girl from the district are friends or are in love? That ups the stakes and the emotional conflict of the story. You don’t know which is true from reading the logline, though you might be compelled to read the book (or see the movie) to see what happens.

Additional Tips

If you’re participating in a contest, check the rules. Some allow for longer loglines. This could be two or three sentences instead of just one. Make sure you follow the rules or else your entry will be disqualified.

At a conference, you might have a ten-minute pitch session scheduled. If the pitch is brief, it gives the agent or editor a chance to ask YOU questions. An engaged agent or editor is more likely to request material. A bored agent or editor is more likely to pass.

Try out the logline on people who have read the book and those who haven’t. This way you can make sure the important parts of the book are included and that it makes sense to everyone.

Avoid writing long, convoluted sentences. Too often writers try to squeeze in as much information as possible while abusing punctuation. The sentence is confusing and doesn’t compel the agent or editor to want to read the book. Worse yet, the agent or editor might believe this is the typical sentence structure in your novel.

If you struggle answering the above questions, it might not be the logline that is the issue. It might be your book.

Here are three more loglines from current or upcoming movies for you to analyze. The more you analyze, the easier it will be to create one for your story.

Hugo

Set in 1930s Paris, an orphan who lives in the walls of a train station is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet agent within MI6's echelons.

The Descendants

A land baron tries to re-connect with his two daughters after his wife suffers a boating accident.

For more movie loglines, check out The Internet Movie Database.

Stina Lindenblatt writes young adult novels. In her spare time, she’s a photographer and blogging addict, and can be found hanging out on her blog, Seeing Creative.

Forensics Q&A: Explosives Crime Scene Investigation

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn Kaufman | @CMKaufman) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 14:00:00 +0000

By Kristy Lahoda | @KristyLahoda

Disclaimer: The information provided in this post should not be used for malicious intent unless it is in the form of crime writing. The author is an explosives expert, not a crime scene expert. While every attempt was made to ensure the accuracy of this information, for security purposes, some details may have been withheld.

QUESTION: My antagonist is a juvenile delinquent who set off a pipe bomb with the intent to destroy property. What would the bomb scene investigation look like?

ANSWER: There should be three phases of the investigation: outside investigation, control and coordination, and inside investigation.

Outside Investigation

First responders have the initial responsibility. Above all else, safety and security must be ensured. After assessment, a call for backup may be warranted. If the scene is unsafe, the first responder must not only wait until the scene is made safe, but must also ensure that the scene is secure for the safety of others. The last casualty from the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City was a nurse who wanted to help the injured. She passed away because a computer monitor fell on her from one of the compromised floors above. Once the scene is safe, rescue of victims is performed.

The crime scene must be secured. This involves establishing an inner security perimeter by placing crime scene tape around the scene. Hazards should be identified and removed or mitigated. Sometimes it is not initially known if the explosion was the result of a bomb, so a call to the bomb squad might be necessary in order to check for secondary devices. A structural engineer may need to be called to check the structural integrity. Other potential hazards that must be taken into account may include fire, hazardous materials such as asbestos and carbon monoxide, utilities such as electrical, natural gas, and ruptured water pipes, debris such as metal and glass, and blood-borne pathogens. If there is fire at the bomb scene, firefighters should use only enough water to quench the fire because the evidence could be washed away. Also during this phase the first responders should ensure that evidence that might be removed from the scene is properly preserved. Witnesses should be located and interviewed and license plates checked—the perpetrator might be among the crowd. The outside investigation is not just a phase of the crime scene investigation, but remains ongoing until the case is solved.

Control and Coordination

Control and coordination takes place once the scene is secure. This phase involves compiling the information obtained from the outside investigation and making it available to the inside investigation. The people operating in this capacity direct investigative endeavors by acting as the filter for incoming and outgoing information by briefing and debriefing. They are responsible for resources acquisition and allocation. A command post is set up near the crime scene, but at a distance so as to not interfere.

Inside Investigation

The inside investigation may occur within a building or outside. The term “inside” is used to indicate that this phase of the investigation is generally confined to the crime scene itself. It is like piecing a puzzle together by collecting physical evidence. The inside phase may need to be moved to a secure area if, for example, the structure is unstable.

The crime scene investigator should meet with the first responders at the command post to learn what actions have been taken. Are there are any victims? Is there any relevant information from witnesses regarding the scene? Are there any known hazardous materials present? Is there any physical evidence already located? They should establish perimeters. The inner perimeter should encompass the blast area including where the evidence is present. The command post should be set up at this boundary and should be determined by multiplying 1.5 by the distance from the epicenter to the farthest piece of evidence located. The outer perimeter is the distance at which investigators want to keep people away not affiliated with the crime scene.

The investigator needs to conduct a walkthrough for observation purposes to identify the “nature of the explosion” and possible evidentiary items. The process of documenting the scene may commence during this stage.

After the walkthrough the team lead should come up with an investigative plan for the scene such as contamination prevention. Contamination of the scene with trace evidence is a real possibility. The investigators should wear Tyvek or laundered clothes and shoe coverings. Care should be taken to avoid stepping on potential evidence and destroying things like shoeprints, tire treads, etc.

The team lead should brief the team and assign specific tasks, ensure that team members are wearing proper protective clothing, and provide reminders not to forget the basics—to be on the lookout for fingerprints, shoeprints, tire treads, tool marks, and trace evidence such as DNA, blood, fibers, suspicious packaging and wrappers, etc. A member should be assigned to swab explosive residue.

A number of steps take place during the inside investigation including establishment of a team lead, evidence identification, documentation, collection, and preservation, and the performance of a final survey.

Establishing a Team Lead

A team lead should be chosen to serve as a liaison between the inside investigation unit and the command post, to formulate an action plan such as assigning investigators/scientists to certain tasks in order to cover all bases, arrange for the command post to obtain essential equipment, and help to maintain the morale of the unit. Two essential questions should be asked. What happened? How did it happen? This is the objective of the crime scene search.

Documentation, Identification, Collection, and Preservation

The scene is documented. This includes photographs, sketches, and notes. Photographs of the scene should be taken to include an overall perspective. Once evidence is identified, such as pieces of an explosives device: the possible container, fuzing mechanism, and filler, it may also be documented. Key evidentiary pieces should be photographed individually. The photographer should coordinate with the sketch artist. Photographs of every individual item are not required, but should be taken prior to moving the evidence if that piece is considered vital to the investigation. Evidence custodians collect, package, and label the package. Chain of custody is important during this step, thus an evidence log should be maintained.

Final Survey

A final walkthrough of the crime scene is performed to verify completion of crime scene evidence search, documentation, and processing. Recovery of all equipment used should also be completed at this time.

There are multiple investigations occurring during an explosives crime scene investigation. The outside investigation and inside investigation are linked together through the control and coordination unit. This connection is important to bring the puzzle pieces together for both phases. It is the responsibility of the inside investigative team lead to keep up the team morale due to the nature and tedium of the investigation. This is one of the most important jobs. When the crime scene investigative team grows weary or emotionally unstable, mistakes are made.

Source: Thurman, James T. Practical Bomb Scene Investigation. Boca Raton: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, 2006.

For more information on these topics, stay tuned for the installments in the upcoming months of Forensics Q&A!

Publishing Pulse: 12/09/2011

noreply@blogger.com (Danyelle L.) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +0000

QueryTracker Success Story

Congratulations to Stephanie Knipper!

Around the Internet

Author Rick Daley (hosted by Nathan Bransford) has a great article on what you need to know about SEO.

Editor Alan Rinzler discusses when you need an editor. He also does a great job of covering the three phases of writing in the post.

Cheryl Klein has a fun quote file on character/s that's worth taking a look at when you're crafting your own.

Author Deborah Niemann (hosted by Janet Friedman) has some excellent advice on how to confront the fear of public speaking.

And last, but not least, for a comprehensive overview on publishing matters this week, Porter Anderson's Writing on the Ether covers everything from FutureBook 2011: New Publisher Business Models to marketing vs discover in e-books.

Have a great weekend!

Fantasy World-Building: Magical Rules

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn Kaufman | @CMKaufman) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Magic Circle by J.W.W. Waterhouse

World-building is different for those of us who write speculative fiction than for people who write stories based in the "real" world. Rather than examining the past for factual details, we have to make up alternate worlds. One of the most important tasks, then, is to establish the world's "rules," or perhaps more accurately, the laws.

By laws, I mean the factual kind that recur in nature. You can jump upwards as many times as you want to, but as long as you’re dealing with a g of gravity, you will always come back down. You can do your darndest to stop the ocean tides, but as long as the earth keeps spinning and the moon keeps pulling, there will be tides.

The same thing has to happen with magic. There must be laws to any magical universe, and to create them, a writer must ask herself things like

* Who can use magic and who can’t? Only people who are trained? Only people who have certain genes? Only people of a certain gender or race or culture? Why only those people? Must the power be awakened, or is it there from birth?

* What is magic? Where does it come from? Is it a force of nature, neither good nor evil, or is it a spiritual or eschatological kind of power only angels or demons can grant?

* How is magic used? Must the user cast spells, or is magic more of a generalized energy? Must he rely on herbs, or blood, or eye of newt, or are spell components obsolete in your world? Are sigils, runes, or incantations used?

* What price must be paid? If you fight gravity by jumping, eventually you’re going to wear yourself out. That’s the price. So what happens when one uses magic? And are the consequences the same for any kind of magic, or do they vary with the kind of spell?

* What are the limits on magic? If your character can do anything and everything, there’s no tension in the story, so what can’t she do with magic?

* Are there different types of magicians with specialized powers -- like necromancers and alchemists and prophets -- or are they all the same?

Your answers can’t be random, either. They have to make sense, just like the laws of our universe do. And you can’t be whimsically changing them because your character suddenly needs to be able to do this or that kind of magic. You should write your rules down and pretend they're set in stone.

One more thought: It's challenging to come up with new rules if you write in multiple fantasy universes. When you have a logical, well-defined set of rules that you carefully abide by, it can be hard to think beyond them for another story. This is part of the reason many authors set different stories in the same universe. If you have trouble coming up with multiple sets of rules and keeping them straight, don't feel bad about setting things in the same universe!

Begin as you mean to go on

noreply@blogger.com (Jane | @janelebak) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

I got an email recently from SoccerGirlie@emaildomain-dot-com*, which wouldn't have startled me except that it was from my son's religious education teacher.

I'm sure she's a lovely woman, but...?

You probably would not sign on to do business with a real estate agent whose email address was WillDanceForBeer@something-dot-com, right? But I've seen agents tweeting or blogging that people often query with email addresses that are less than professional. Addresses like HotChickie@whatever-dot-com don't exactly give off that professional vibe.

Get a separate email address for writing-related business. It's easy to get another one, so there's no excuse. Do it now. Even if you think your From line tells us something about you, it's better to tell the world that you're a professional. Your name should appear in the FROM line as your first name and your last name or however you intend it to appear on the cover of your book. That means no From line such as The Smith Family or Mrs. Jane Doe. And no Soccer Girlie, even if you've won the World Cup.

Begin as you mean to go on. Introduce yourself with your bestselling-author-name.

(Unless you intend to use a pen name. But even then, use your legal name in the From line.)

That email account? Give it a signature. Give it a professional-looking signature. Not your favorite quote from Mystery Science Theater 3000 (which yes, I do sometimes use on my personal email account) but a signature with your name as it will appear on your book cover, your website address, and no ascii art.

No colors except black and white please. No utterly gorgeous curly fonts that are unreadable. No queries that play music or have artwork embedded in the background.

Begin as you mean to go on. If you intend to write professionally, start being professional. Start now.

The common advice in the business world is to dress for your next position. If you're in middle management and want to be in upper management, you dress one "click" higher than you have to in order to insinuate that you're capable of better things than you've got now.

Your email query is your suit and tie. Dress for your next position.

*I did change the instructor's email address significantly, but you get the point.

---

Publishing Pulse: 12/2/2011

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn Kaufman | @CMKaufman) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:13:00 +0000

Success Stories

Congratulations to our newest QueryTracker.net success story, J.K. Wise!

Around the Internet

Ever wonder what turns an agent off to particular query letters? Kristen Nelson gives you some insight.

Before you decide that e-books aren't Real Books, Rachelle Gardner reminds you that e-books give readers another way to buy your book.

And after you're done digesting that, check out this interesting article on how DRM (digital rights management, which is essentially anti-copy protection on e-books and other media) is going to hurt the big six publishers...and boost Amazon even more. Didn't know there was a controversy? SBTB has a little more info on what's been going on.

Learn to set SMART goals to achieve your writing dreams in 2012!

And to everyone who finished up with NaNoWriMo this week--congratulations!