SLING WORDS

Country Pop Culture

2008-05-19T06:00:00.003-05:00

I hope you can see the detail in this picture. The mother duck is swimming with her babies - all 12 of them!

I first saw Mommy Duck and her ducklings as they were walking to the water. She was leading the parade with all her little ones waddling behind. I snapped a pic with my cell phone, but it didn't come out very well so I ran for my camera.

By the time I returned, they were all in the water with two Mexican whistler ducks on the bank, a heron, and a family of turtles in the water.

The funniest thing is that 11 of the ducklings are dun-colored like their mother and blend easily into the environment. The 12th duckling is straight out of Hans Christian Anderson. It's larger than the others and a very pale yellow. It doesn't blend at all, but stands out from the flock like a changeling. You can easily identify it in the picture.

I'm pretty sure it's not from the same DNA pool as the other 11. Was Mother Duck fooling around or did someone play a trick on her and insert an extra egg into her nest?

Regardless, she and the others accepted it. Guess that's unconditional love in the feathered kingdom.

Living Large Country-Style

2008-05-13T19:37:00.008-05:00

Guess you've figured out already that I am not in mi casa since there was no blog posted Monday.

I'm visiting my mom who is having a birthday tomorrow and my brother and his family.

It's May, and there are miles and miles of corn everywhere. The photo is just that across the road. Travel any road and both sides are planted in corn. Cotton once was king in this parish but that was before ethanol. It won't be long before it's "higher than an elephant's eye."

This month before summer's heat takes over is hay hauling time. Today, more than thirty bales were added to what was left from last year in order to feed the cattle when grazing isn't enough. The new hay is the lighter, blond at the back.

Farming in this country helped create our prosperity and our ready supply of food. For most, it's a thankless, back-breaking job with no 401K plans, no corporate perks, and no big profits. Remember that the next time you gripe about the cost of a steak or a head of romaine.

Sling Words out to go sling some fresh blueberries from my cousin Carolyn into a bowl with some ice cream.

Orphan Works Bill: Important Issue For Writers

2008-05-09T08:00:00.000-05:00

If you follow the legal issues that may have a great impact on your writing career, then you probably know about the history of the Orphan Works Bill which failed to pass last time but has again been introduced. This issue is important. I blogged about it at Performancing and decided to post it here too.

The first alert was sounded by Jonathan Bailey of Plagiarism Today

What is an Orphan Work?

An orphan work is one that is believed to be protected by copyright law but whose owner can't be located. Anyone who wants to reuse such a work can't find the owner to ask permission from or contract with in order to use the piece. Therefore, the piece lands in a legal limbo - no one can use it or reproduce it because they may be sued for copyright infringement.

Supporters of Orphan Works legislation say this isn't what the ideals of copyright law intended. So the Copyright Office wants to draft new rules to make these orphan works available for use so anyone who wants to use them won't incur any legal liability.

The problem is what if you are a copyright owner, alive and well, but for whatever reason can't be contacted as the legal holder of the rights to a work. Can it be declared an orphan and you forfeit your rights? This is just one of the issues that may have to be confronted along with other dangers the Copyright Office may unwittingly create for creative copyright holders.

Draft Letter To Congress

Read more at Jonathan's blog to gain an in-depth understanding of the issue. If you agree with his points, copy the Plagiarism Today Draft Letter, make it your own if you are so inclined, and send it to your Representatives and Senators.

PASIC: Another Notable Writing Contest

2008-05-07T10:31:00.002-05:00

Why am I listing contests this week? Because these are opportunities to bring you and your writing to the attention of agents and/or editors.

Today's listing is about the contest sponsored by PASIC, the Published Authors Special Interest Chapter of Romance Writers of America.

Several years ago PASIC started a Book of Your Heart Contest, a place for those manuscripts that writers felt just had to be written even though they didn't meet marketability theories of major publishers.

The 2008 PASIC Book of Your Heart Contest is now open. It's for published or unpublished, and it may be the contest you've been waiting for.

Sponsor: Published Authors Special Interest Chapter

Fee: $20 for PASIC members, $30 others

Postmark deadline: May 15th (must arrive by May 21st)

Eligibility: published and unpublished writers

Enter: First chapter (25 pages max) and synopsis (10 pages max) of unpublished manuscript.

First round judges: booksellers and librarians; published authors
used for emergencies.

Final judges: Editors

Categories & Judges

Series: Diana Ventimiglia - Silhouette Desire

Single Title: Latoya Smith - Grand Central Forever

Historical: Leis Pederson - Berkley

Paranormal: Heather Osborn - Tor

Mainstream: Becky Vinter - NAL

Young Adult: Megan McKeever - MTV Books

Erotic Romance: Hilary Sares - Kensington

For more information, visit PASIC

Good luck!

LONESTAR: Notable Contest For Writers

2008-05-05T23:59:00.000-05:00

Contest season is open. Does it ever really close? But this week, the Lone Star Writing Competition, sponsored by the Northwest Houston Chapter of Romance Writers of America, gets under way.

What makes this contest different is that most winners and even finalists have gone on to publish their books.

Here's the info hot off the press.

------------------------

NORTHWEST HOUSTON RWA Presents The Sixteenth Annual LONE STAR WRITING COMPETITION

ENTRY FEE: $20 NWH members; New lower fee! $25 non-NWH members

ELIGIBILITY: Competition is open to published and unpublished authors.

ENTER: First 25 pages, including prologue, if any.

BOTH POSTAL AND E-MAIL ENTRIES ACCEPTED

All entries will be sent to three first round judges: two published authors
and one unpublished author. The lowest score will be tossed and final round
contestants will be chosen by the combined total of the final two scores.

Finalists will be sent to both an agent and an editor for placement.

Final judges:

Inspirational Category:
* Editor: Charlene Patterson, Bethany House Publishers
* Agent: Mary Sue Seymour, The Seymour Agency

Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal Category:
* Editor: Ami Russell, The Wild Rose Press
* Agent: Taryn Fagerness, Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency

New this year! Young Adult Category:
* Editor: Karen Chaplin, Puffin Books
* Agent: Rachel Orr, Prospect Agency

Single Title Category:
* Editor: Lindsay Nouis, Penguin Group
* Agent: Carolyn Grayson, Grayson Literary Agency

Romantic Suspense Category:
* Editor: Patience Smith, Harlequin Silhouette
* Agent: Laura Bradford, Bradford Literary Agency

Contemporary Series Category:
* Editor: Faith Black, Avalon Publishing
* Agent: Pam Strickler

Historical Category:
* Editor: Hilary Sares, Kensington Publishing
* Agent: Michelle Grajkowski, 3 Seas Literary Agency

Important Dates:

Deadlines:
Sent via postal service, must be Post marked by June 6, 2008
Sent via e-mail: by midnight CST June 6, 2008.

Finalists: Announced August 8, 2008.

Winners: Announced October 25, 2008 at the Lone Star Conference, Houston, Texas.

For More Info, visit Northwest Houston RWA

Next time, more contest info.

Promotions For Writers

2008-04-30T13:26:00.006-05:00

Most writers I know do a lot of promotion for either their book or their name. Today's blog is a resource for you if you're into career, book, or self promotion.

I'm always looking for fonts and artwork because I love to dabble in graphic design. I design products for my cyber shops like The Write Way, Gifts and Promotions for Writers, so I'm always adding to my library of fonts. A striking font can create a great promo product. The font shown in the little sign to the left is Alias. Yep, like the font used on the TV show. Very cool.

Writer Promotion
With a good computer and some user-friendly software, any writer can create promotion materials with ease.

If you're into the promo game, enhance your print materials - newsletters, bookmarks, brochures, whatever - with more stylish fonts than the usual ones that come with Word Perfect or Word. You can get a great selection entirely free at dafont.com

If you've never downloaded a font, it's easy. Dafont.com offers the instructions on their FAQ page for various Windows versions, Mac, and Linux.

4 Steps To Stylish Fonts
1. Make note of the folder you want to download to. You can just create one on your C drive called Download Fonts.

2. Select your font. Click download and select the folder where it will land.

3. After that, double click the file to unzip it.

4. In Windows XP, click "Extract all files" and select where you want it extracted to which is probably c:\Windows\Fonts.

That's it. Super easy. Have fun!

Attention Authors: American Airlines Wants You

2008-04-28T19:36:00.000-05:00

The Book Publicity Blog had an item last week that I wanted to be sure and pass along.

American Airlines wants summer reads for women so click the link and learn how to propose your published book to them.

Sling Words out. I've taken the day off to garden since the weather is so beautiful.

10 Ways To Hook Readers

2008-04-25T14:46:00.000-05:00

I'm getting ready to start a new manuscript so, of course, I'm agonizing over how to write the scene that opens the book. Conventional wisdom says an author must hook the reader from the very first sentence. So let's talk about baiting the hook.

1. A story begins with change. Change alters the environment for the character and/or threatens a character’s self-concept.

2. Never warm up your engines when writing. A novel isn't zero to sixty in a quarter mile from a warmed-up engine. It's more like Le Mans with a thrilling start and the stamina to make it to the finish line while constantly increasing the pace. So start the story immediately then keep it going.

3. Establish a threat or worry or story question at once. The king is giving a ball. Will Cinderella get to go? (Classic fairy tale Cinderella) There’s a bomb on the elevator. Will the bomb squad be able to rescue the people inside before the bomb detonates? (the movie Speed)

4. Keep character confusion to a minimum by introducing your characters carefully, one at a time not in clusters.

5. Get something happening immediately. A novel is characterized by rising action.

6. Make the story go forward by pushing the hero/heroine back. Make life difficult for them and make those difficulties riveting.

7. Don’t pick up the story threads too quickly. Make readers wait until they can hardly stand it.

8. Do not give the entire life story of your characters immediately. This bogs down the story more completely than black gumbo soil after a rain impedes walking. Sprinkle the back story throughout.

9. Evoke some kind of emotional reaction in the reader. Laughter, tears, anger, disgust, whatever you elicit, make sure it has a universality which gets the same response from someone in Houston as it does from someone in Rio or Prague. We are all basically the same human animal once you remove the trappings of our particular culture. What makes me cry, more than likely makes someone in Tokyo cry. Evoke emotions in readers, and they will stick with your story from the first word to the last.

10. Do not be afraid to write a beginning and toss it away. Sometimes you have to write just to figure out what you’re trying to say. Don’t look at your words as if they are carved in stone. If you think your prose is unchangeable, trust me, once an editor or agent gets a hold of you, you'll learn differently. Be willing to experiment in order to grow.

10 Truths About Writing

2008-04-23T14:13:00.002-05:00

Several years ago I experienced a personal loss that made me fully realize how fragile life is, and how fleeting time is. I realized that I had no guarantee of another year, or five, or ten, in which to find the time to turn the ideas bombarding my brain into novels and then to get them published.

Freelance vs. Novel
Compared to publishing novels, freelance writing is easy. Easier than devouring warm fudge brownies, chased by a glass of cold milk. My journey to published novelist was often a bumpy one. Looking back on that pot-holed road to becoming published, I realize that I wouldn't know as much about the publishing industry, the creative process, and the business of writing had I instantly achieved my goal.

Learned Lessons
The lessons I've learned have often been learned the hard way. I joke that I'm a slow learner. Perhaps resistant is more accurate. (My mother always said I was the most stubborn child she'd ever seen.) I tried to impose my belief systems on the vagaries of the publishing business. For instance, I believed that you could write a book about anything that struck your fancy, and if it was a good book it would get published. Guess what I learned? The publishing business didn't care what I thought. Big surprise, huh?

Perhaps Ben Franklin meant people like me when he said: "Experience keeps a dear school but a fool will learn in no other." I don't say this with bitterness, but with a self-deprecating laugh. I may not be the brightest person in the world, but I possess one trait that many do not have. I learn from my mistakes. And I learn from other people's mistakes because I figure I won't live long enough to make all of them myself!

For Your Consideration
From my years in the business, I pass along these truths.

1. Writing successfully requires a consistent commitment. You must place the seat of your pants in the seat of the chair on a consistent basis.

2. Writing is hard work physically so incorporate taking care of your body from the start. Prevent problems like back spasms, sciatic pain, carpel tunnel rather than try to cure them.

3. Writing is hard work emotionally so take time to play. Don't tell your child "later" every time she or he wants to toss a ball with you or take a swim. Don't tell your husband “no” when he wants you to go fishing with him or play golf. You'll regret it one day if you do. Pages can be written another day but time with loved ones can't be reclaimed. Life is short. Children grow up while you aren't looking.

4. Writing is hard work mentally so read for pleasure and read to learn more about the world and do fun things to balance the work.

5. Not every good book you write will sell. Sad but true. Ask any published novelist.

6. After you sell a book, you'll still get rejected. Yep. Unfortunately true too.

7. If you don't get rejected very often, you aren't trying hard enough.

8. You'll lose friends because some become jealous. The day may come when you realize there is no excuse for their nasty comments to others about you. No excuse but jealousy. You'll grieve, but you'll accept and move on.

9. You'll make new friends who accept you and cheer you on.

10. You won't get rich unless you are that one in a million, and no one can predict that so don't expect it. Just write the best book you can write and have fun doing it.

Then do it again and again.

Help Children Of The Dump

2008-04-21T15:37:00.004-05:00

Marketing Maven is on a fund drive to raise money for Children of the Dump, called that because it's near the entrance to the dump in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Children of the Dump

The group "teaches computers, English, and math to the poorest Mexican children in hope of providing them with real job skills that will lift them and their families out of the cycle of poverty. The program is free for the kids. They're given meals to ensure they get at least one proper feeding per day.

What can you do?

Visit Marketing Maven and click the Google Ads on her site. Use the arrow keys to scroll. She's donating all her AdSense revenue to the school. She plans to post her receipts so everyone can see the effect of their clicking. Each time the revenue reaches a $100USD, she'll go to the Office Depot at Puerto Vallarta to make a purchase of school supplies.

Let's click away.

Get Ready For Hip Hop Emma

2008-04-17T13:08:00.000-05:00

Dan Calvisi just started a blog. When I expressed dread to him about a new movie he mentioned, he was kind enough to send me a link to the Variety article about the new hip hop version of Jane Austen's Emma.

That's right, you Jane Austen fans. Emma for the new millennium. Like I told Dan, when I see the movie, if I hear a whirring sound, it'll be Ms. Austen spinning in her grave.

Okay, I want to be the first to pitch this idea to the studios so I'm claiming it here. Today, Sling Words aka Joan Reeves, pitches the idea of a new millennium version of Casablanca with Beyonce as Ilsa, Usher as Lazslo, and, drum roll please, Jay Z as Rick.

Nazi Major Strasser will be played by Fifty Cent, and police Captain Renault will be Master P.

Sam, the piano player, who never really is instructed to: "Play it again, Sam." will feature Mary J. Blige in a gender twist as Samantha.

Hollywood, have your people call my people, and we'll do lunch.

Oh, I forgot. I don't have any people. That's okay. We'll still do lunch. Just email me.

Sling Words out to go count my imaginary chicks before they hatch.

Judging Books By Their Covers

2008-04-16T15:48:00.002-05:00

Authors rarely have cover art approval because publishers think that is best left to the pros in the design department. The resulting covers range in quality and appeal from brilliant to nausea-inducing. Every published author has at least one horrible cover in the past and/or in the future if they're unlucky.

I didn't want to insult another writer by posting one of their ugly covers so I've stuck my least favorite one up to illustrate this problem. Even so, I hope the artist who created the cover doesn't read this. I really don't want to insult artists. My daughter is one so I know how sensitive they are. But artists can miss the boat too. So, dear cover artist, I apologize in advance.

Why do I abhor this cover? Dorky, completely unappealing people adorn this brightly colored hardback. Does this cover say "laugh out loud comedy of errors courtship romance?" I don't think so. Buyers didn't think so either. But what's a writer to do? Grin and bear it is about the only sane course.

One of the most difficult tasks facing those who sell to electronic publishers, self-publish, or act as book producer, i.e. a freelance writer who ghosts a book and completes the production process as a turnkey project for a client, is cover design.

In the beginning most writing professionals could glance at a book cover online and know whether it was an E-book. Why? Because of the amateurish cover design. That's not true now for many E-publishers because they've really stepped up their game in this area.

If you're not an artist, how do you know what good cover design is? If you need to know this, fortunately, the Internet brings you resources to explain covers, illustrate good covers as well as bad ones, and sites that allow you to vote on covers if you're following the POD route.

6 Book Cover Resources
1. Here's a great link to a video presentation featuring Dorchester Publishing onNovel Covers.

2. Book Design Review is a blog devoted to the best in book covers.

3. Covers features some unique ways to display books.

4. Paper Cuts is a blog about books that show the best book covers of 2007 according to the NYT.

5. Rate My Book Cover is a blog that let's you vote on covers submitted by brave authors.

6. Smart Bitches Trashy Books dishes the dirt on covers.

If you're a traditionally published author with a royalty publisher and you're proud of your book cover, maybe you should enter it in the annual Book Cover contest sponsored by the Bay Area Houston Chapter of Romance Writers of America.

Takeaway Truth
1. Don't ever judge a book by the cover.

2. Don't ever think an author has any say regarding said cover. Unless you're talking about Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Nora Roberts, Jayne Krentz, Anne Rice, et al.

3. Do learn something about design elements if you're responsible for cover art or if you want to argue with your editor about it.

4. Learn to grin and bear it.

5. Learn how to promote the heck out of your book so the cover art won't hurt sales. If possible, capitalize on the lousy cover. Years ago a friend of mind Christina Dodd had a historical romance with a cover showing the heroine with three hands! That's right, three hands! Christina got more mileage out of that cover that if it had been a normal cover.

Dear Regis Philbin

2008-04-14T14:20:00.006-05:00

Romance novels and their writers took it on the chin again today, courtesy of Regis Philbin.

This morning I happened to be watching Regis and Kelly while I had my morning coffee since I'd overslept. The daring duo called a woman for their daily quiz. Regis said, "I understand you like trashy romance novels?" He went on to ask how raunchy they were. He confessed that he'd never read one.

SOS (And you know what that means!)
I'm always amazed that no one hesitates to brand romance novels as trash. The genre written primarily by women for a mostly female audience is considered fair game to denigrate and disparage by everyone from the snotty Half Price Book Store clerks to television celebrities.

Other Genres Get Respect
Horror novels aren't called malevolent, evil trash. Serial killer novels aren't called depraved, gory trash. Even male-authored romance novels, which are usually marketed with great acclaim and sold under the guise of general fiction, aren't called trash.

Rodney Dangerfield Of Literature
So why is a book with romance on the spine called trash. This genre that is primarily about male-female courtship, sometimes with consensual sex, and with the end goal of a committed relationship is the Rodney Dangerfield of the literary world.

You know, I've been married 31 fabulous years to the most wonderful man in the world. That's a romance in the real world and that kind of magic is what romance novels try to give a reader: the possibility that a man and woman can fall in love and live happily ever after. I take umbrage with anyone who says a relationship like that is unrealistic and unachievable. I take offense when someone says that romance novels, which are all about that type of male-female relationship, are trashy books.

Old School Thinking
If nothing else, Regis, it's really old school for anyone to label romance novels as trash. You're not the first. You won't be the last. It wasn't even an original or witty comment. But it did offend. Not just me but probably the other 12,000 plus members of Romance Writers of America and the millions of fans who have made the romance genre the best-selling genre in history. And that's just in this country. There are comparable writing organizations in other countries along with legions of readers.

Call To Action
Next time, it would be more original if you said something laudatory about the genre. Call the headquarters of Romance Writers of America and get someone who knows something about the genre to be on your show. Now that would be a real shocker! I'd be the first to applaud, and I wouldn't be alone.

Did Libraries Buy Your Book?

2008-04-11T18:12:00.002-05:00

Libraries account for a lot of book sales for authors, but especially for those published with Five Star, Avalon, Ulverscroft, and some of the other companies with a solid list of library clients. So how can you find out if a library or library system bought your book? World Cat is a website that can help you out.

If you've been sending promo materials to libraries, learning whether your promo resulted in a sale is especially valuable information, and you can find this information at WorldCat, the world's largest network of library content and services. They provide Web access to their resources. If you click the link, you'll be taken to their site.

The Method

1. In the Search box, enter your name or ISBN and click search.

2. Scroll through the results, and when you find your name, click on the link or links.

3. A page for your book will open. Below will be tabs, and the total number of editions in the libaries will be shown. The tabs are: Library, Detail, Subject, Edition, Reviews.

4. On the Library tab, fill in your zip code. The results will be a list all the libraries that have your book along with the mileage from your zip code to that library.

Wait, There's More

Register as a User on this site. You can add information to your listings and even post reviews for your works.

Additionally, you can find the details on foreign translations of your books.

If you're really into information gathering for your own statistical purposes, do a search at various times during the life of your book. You may find with your first search that 200 copies have been bought by libraries. Months later or even a year, that number may change.

Decreasing Numbers

We had a discussion on one of my author lists about how your numbers can go down at libraries.

Libraries rotate their inventory now, just like book stores though perhaps not as frequently. About every year or two, most library systems purge their stacks. Some may do it on a shorter time schedule now.

Libraries base this purge on the number of times a book has been checked out. If the numbers aren't high enough, they pull the book.

When books are purged, the library system adjusts their computer data to represent the fact that the books are no longer in their system so your numbers would decrease over time.

Recycled Books

The books removed from libraries are sold to jobbers who in turn sell the books in retail outlets. You may have been in a brick and mortar store and seen hardback books with library check out slips inside the covers or with library stamps on them somewhere. These are purged books.

The bookstore resells them for a buck to about half their original list price.
Unfortunately, the author doesn't get any more money even though the book has now been sold twice, actually three times if you count the jobber.

If you Google your books or check Amazon, B&N, etc. you'll see they have used copies for sale for varying prices. Read the description copy, and you may find notations that it's a library copy or may have library stamps. More purged books being resold.

I've actually bought some of my older hardcover editions by hunting for them online. So if you need copies of your older books, this is a good way to find them. That and possibly another reader discovering you are the only bit of silver lining those discouraging gray clouds of this scenario.

What You Can Do

If you want to make sure the library keeps you, you need to let your local library system know you are a local author or make sure your book is checked out often. Hard, if not impossible, huh? Don't be so sure about that.

Local authors who support their libraries and are known by the library can give speeches, workshops, or just drop by for a book chat once in a while. You can't do this for every library, but you should do it for your local one.

The Takeaway Truth

What? You don't think of libraries when you're making those promotion plans for meeting the book-reading public?

Well, maybe you should start, but first visit World Cat.

Key City Drive-In Theatre

2008-04-10T09:08:00.000-05:00

Bill Crider said if I really wanted to show some love that I'd have posted that handbill for the drive-in movie theater mentioned in my blog about ideas.

Well, Bill, here it is. I erred on the date. My memory said 1962, but it's actually 1967. In case you can't read the small print, here's what it says.

KEY CITY DRIVE-IN THEATRE, 1750 N. Treadaway -- Abilene, Texas. AUGUST 1967.

Open Nitely 8:30. Feature starts at 8:55. Admission: $1.20 per Carload. All Features Will Be Shown Only Once Nitely -- Come Early and See the Complete Show.

The movies were all double or triple features. I'll list them and their stars. From July 30 through Sept. 2 they were:

Namu, The Killer Whale -- Robert Lansing
The Russians Are Coming -- Carl Reiner and Eva Marie Saint

The Racers -- Kirk Douglas
The Hunters -- Robert Mitchum and Robert Wagner

Honeymoon Hotel -- Robert Goulet and Nancy Kwan
North To Alaska -- John Wayne

Boy, Did I Get A Wrong Number -- Bob Hope and Elke Summer
The Fortune Cookie -- Jack Lemmon

The Trouble With Angels -- Rosalind Russell and Hayley Mills
Alvarez Kelly -- William Holden and Richard Widmark

The Invisible Horror -- Lex Barker and Karin Dor
Terror Of The Mad Doctor -- Gert Frobe and Senta Berger

Way...Way Out -- Jerry Lewis
The Flight Of The Phoenix -- James Stewart

The Young Racers -- Mark Damon
Road Racers -- Sally Fraser and Alan ??
The Green Helmet -- Bill Travers and Ed Begley (that's senior, not the reality show guy who is saving the planet by powering his toaster with a stationary bike)

None But The Brave -- Frank Sinatra and Tatsuya Mihashi
Two On A Guillotine -- Connie Stevens and Dean Jones

Claudelle Inglish -- Diane McBain and Will Hutchins (He was Sugarfoot on TV.)
Susan Slade -- Troy Donahue and Connie Stevens

Ever see any of these? I think only the John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart flicks are still shown. I see them on TV from time to time. Stewart's Flight of the Phoenix was so much better than the remake with Dennis Quaid. Why it was grouped with a dumb Jerry Lewis (apologies to the French) I don't know.

The hot young stars of that era like Diane McBain, Will Hutchins, Troy Donahue, and Connie Stevens were shoved into one movie after another. None of the movies held up over time. Neither did the hot stars for the most part with the possible exception of Connie Stevens.

Ah, fame is so fleeting. Can you say "flash in the pan?"

From Where Do Ideas Come?

2008-04-09T10:51:00.000-05:00

Everyone asks writers, especially novelists, "Where do you get your ideas?" I've been asked this. I'd bet money that everyone who has ever published a book has had that question tossed at them.

Sometimes I've felt like saying, "Why, over at the local Wally World. But only when they're on clearance."

The Answer
Instead, I always say, "Writers get ideas from everything they've experienced. People they meet. Things they read. Stories they hear. Television, movies, eavesdropped conversations. Everything is idea fodder."

Idea File
I also keep an Idea File. That sounds pretty organized, but it's actually one of those expanding files with slots filled with items I've torn from newspapers or other print publications as well as things I've found by happenstance. For instance, in one of the slots is a scrap of paper I found in a used book I bought. The cryptic note talks about a woman who is a slut and lists some Bible verses. I looked them up in the Bible. Freaky stuff.

Also in there is a bulletin from a 1962 drive-in movie theater that lists what's showing that month. I think I found that in an antique cabinet I bought.

Another intriguing tidbit is an ad torn from a newspaper. It reads: "J.E.P. ALBUQUERQUE, CHA-CHA-CHA Lessons Needed. Hurry, he is dying. Call Julia @ (555)123-4567."

Oh, man! Doesn't your imagination just go wild with plot scenarios for that ad? I found it in a used book too, and I've had it for years. One of these days, don't be surprised if you see that in a book I've written.

Organized Ideas
Once I just tossed all this stuff in a storage box, but it's useless that way. During a January organization orgy a couple of years ago, I got the expanding file, went through everything, and categorized. Then I pulled some and placed them in a binder. These are the ideas that sparked manuscripts I've either written or am writing. The rest went into the labeled divisions of the expanding file.

Now if you ask me from where do I get my ideas, I can show you. Literally. Cool, huh?

Branding: Why Do It

2008-04-07T11:57:00.001-05:00

Everyone talks about branding. As a writer, we're all supposed to brand ourselves if we want to get ahead. What is branding? Why should we slap a brand on our respective hides? And what happens if you don't brand yourself?

Bob visited Sling Words recently so I followed his link back to his Writing-Journey blog. I found myself leaving a comment about this issue and thought it would be an excellent topic for us to sling around. So I've taken part of my comment and slung it into a blog.

What is Branding?

If you've been in this biz a while, then you already know that branding could be considered the current buzz word for what we've always called name recognition. It's a promotion tool.

A marketing principle is that it takes 9 instances of hearing a name before someone remembers it. Branding is a way to make sure the person who remembers your name also remembers something linked to the name i.e. Stephen King = horror novels; Nora Roberts = romance novels, etc.

Admittedly, King and Roberts branded themselves the old-fashioned way: by publishing well-received books at a fast pace in a time when the entertainment industry (books, movies, video games) wasn't over-saturated with names, all competing for your entertainment dollar. Their name became their brand so all you have to hear is the name, and your brain supplies the link.

There are so many people out there now, all competing for the public's attention and bucks, that branding is a good tool to have in your writer's tool kit. Most authors know that publishers normally give very little publicity money to anyone below their big A list authors thus the self-promotion industry was born. This home-grown industry is our amateur way of achieving the same thing that an ad agency might.

These promotion efforts vary widely from the very professional to the amateurish, sometimes embarrassingly so. If you're into self-promotion, you should start with branding. For what do you want to be known? Unfortunately, most people don't know this very basic fact. They struggle to brand themselves. They have difficulty with the concept.

Three reasons why people can't figure out a brand:

1. They don't yet know who they are as a writer.

2. They cannot be objective enough to see the common denominator of the underlying theme in their work.

3. They just don't have the marketing skills necessary to know how to present themselves and their work.

Identity

You need to write a lot before you'll know who you are as a writer. Literary author Larry Brown and popular fiction author Dean Koontz both have said something to the effect: "You need to write X number of words before you'll be able to write anything that is publishable. What X is varies from person to person."

Write a lot. Let it flow. Become one with the word. Develop an affinity for telling stories then ask yourself what stories come to you? How do they come? In languid, descriptive prose? In taut, staccato bursts? What do you find yourself saying over and over in many different ways? All writers have a universality of story and of technique that is unique to each. Find that in your writing.

Theme

Look at your writing and figure out what you're trying to say. Theme. Yes, every story has one whether you realize it or not. You may think you're writing a story about a woman who's been hurt so she resists the hero because she doesn't want to be hurt again. In actuality, that story may be about redemption.

Look at everything you've written and see if there is a theme you come back to again and again. When I began reading Dean Koontz many years ago, it took only three books for me to see that he was writing about child abuse survivors in each book. Later, when I learned that he'd been physically battered by his father, it came as no surprise.

Whether we like it or not, we all write what we know. So your theme is based on something that is a hot button for you.

Do you write romance "where love conquers all?" Then that is your brand. My brand for romance? "Live fully...laugh often...love deeply." I write sassy, heart-warming romantic comedy.

Think like an ad agency

You know, there is a wealth of information available at your fingertips. Learn the basics of marketing if only to know what is effective and what isn't. Writers have lists devoted to promotion tips. The Net has thousands if not millions of articles about marketing. You have to know what to do with your brand once you've identified it so research, read. Find out what works in print and what works on the Net. If you want to promote but don't want to do it yourself, then find a pro who'll do what you want. But know what works so you won't pay for something that doesn't. As in everything, buyer beware.

How some of my friends branded themselves.

Colleen Thompson: "exciting, compelling, suspense."

T. J. Bennett: "Dark and daring romance."

Gerry Bartlett: "Because vampires are everywhere."

Kerrelyn Sparks: "Where romance sparkles with humor."

Nina Bangs: "Hot, funny, and deliciously different."

The Takeaway Truth

A writer must always look inward and explore in order to create, establish, or discover one's writing identity and in what way you want to share that identity with the world i.e. what genre of type of writing. It's not rocket science. It can be learned.

The Net is filled with authors who have successfully branded themselves. Study what they did. If necessary, enlist the help of friends. Develop your own brand that will make the reading and buying publish recognize you.

Hurray for RWA

2008-04-04T17:30:00.003-05:00

RWA is, dollar for dollar, the best investment a writer can make. What? You don't know what RWA is? Why it's the Romance Writers of America, a nonprofit organization founded back in the 1980's in my town, that's Houston, Texas, to the uninitiated.

I was just reading the most recent issue of Romance Writers Report, the official magazine of RWA, and was overcome with admiration. I've been a member for a long-time and have always received my money's worth for my annual dues, a measly $75 bucks. The magazine alone with its market and agent update, the articles on the craft and business of writing, and the interviews with publishing professionals as well as successful writers is worth the dues.

I've heard other published writers say they never would have been published if it hadn't been for RWA.

Good writing is good writing regardless of the genre in which you work so RWA has something to offer all writers. So, if you're struggling in the barren wasteland of the unpublished, do yourself a favor and check out the dynamic RWA.

Sling Words, climbing off her soapbox to prepare an early dinner. This is the night for the premiere of Battlestar Galactica. Enough said?

So say we all.

(Oh, embarrassing moment. I said a dinner blessing at Thanksgiving and closed with SO SAY WE ALL. The family laughed. They know I'm cracked. Then we all said a hearty Amen.)

Hurray for Ulverscroft

2008-04-01T13:31:00.002-05:00

Since I made the announcement on my website update for April 1, I'll tell the blog world too about my deal with Ulverscroft, a division of F. A. Thorpe Publishing in the UK. The British publisher has purchased large print rights to six of my backlist titles.

The lovely company made me a lovely deal so we are all happy with the win-win deal.

If you live in the UK or a Commonwealth, you'll be seeing my name on some books.

Dale Furutani Writes Again

2008-03-27T12:14:00.003-05:00

I'm a big Dale Furutani fan. His Samurai Mystery set in feudal Japan and featuring Kaze are among my favorite books. I had a very nice email from him a couple of days ago and wanted to pass on the good news about a new book from him.

Novelist Interruptus
A few years ago, Dale and his wife actually moved to Japan. Subsequently, they worked there for three years. Unfortunately, he did no writing during that period. Then, when they came home to the States, Dale became ill for an extended period of time.

Bad News/Good News
The bad news is that he wrote no books during that time of sickness. Understandably so. The good news is that's he's finally healthy and back to normal.

Fortunately, Dale's fan base continued to grow, especially in Europe. In fact, he's so popular in France that a publisher is growing his fan base by publishing a manga edition from his first book. That'll reach an entirely new demographic group.

In case you don't know, the French respect and treat those in the arts the way our country treats pro athletes. They treat famous chefs of the culinary arts as if they're gastronomic gods. I wouldn't be surprised if Dale's not recognized and mobbed everywhere he goes.

Better News
The even better news is that Dale says he's now completing a book set in 1894 Japan. During the latter weeks of last year, he and his wife returned to Japan to do more research for his work in progress. Now, he's almost finished with that manuscript.

After that, he says he'll be writing another Kaze book. The new book will pick up the Kaze trilogy.

I don't know when these books will be published, but I can hardly wait. As some of you know, I lived in Japan for several years so the culture holds a special fascination for me.

I stand with all his other eager fans, just waiting for a release date. For now, I'll have to content myself by reading again one of his books from my library. Think I'll start with Death At The Crossroads.

Sling Words out to lose herself in feudal Japan.

10 Ways To Reduce Writing Expenses

2008-03-25T10:19:00.000-05:00

All the talking head morning shows are doing segments on saving money. In the interest of helping writers save money, here are 10 ways to reduce writing expenses.

1. Recycle your hard copy paper. If you've got an inkjet printer, as most do, this is easy. Just flip the paper over and print on the clean side. For the sake of clarity, you might mark a big X on the printed side so you won't get confused as to which side you're supposed to be reading. If you (or someone close to you) works in an office, bring home printed paper that's been tossed out because many offices still do not recycle paper.

2. Try to go paperless as much as is practical. I don't advocate editing completely on the monitor unless you're doing short copy. I think there are some errors in book manuscripts that you just don't see unless you're reading hard copy. Don't print every email you want to save or every picture you get or every piece of research you read online. Save emails electronically in "folders" in your email software. Bookmark links to research articles. Set up a pictures folder on filmstrip and view the photos on your computer or store to a CD or DVD and view in your DVD player.

3. Set your printer settings to draft in order to use less ink. Some software allows you to select draft and a low number DPI (dots per inch) which saves even more ink.

4. Use your ink until it's completely gone. Many new printers start giving you a low ink warning to change cartridges before the ink is completely gone. Ignore that. Change ink cartridges only when you can't read the writing or the printer refuses to print unless you insert a new cartridge. If you have to print something for a good presentation, put in a new cartridge, print, then remove the new cartridge, and stick the low ink one back in. Always recycle your ink cartridges. Office Depot offers a $3.00 coupon for each cartridge. Office Max sometimes offers up to $6.00. Check around.

5. Keep a mileage book in your car and record mileage when you make a run to the post office, bookstore, or office supply store. A mileage deduction on your Schedule C is a very big item, but a lot of writers don't take this because they think it isn't worthwhile. Trust me, it is, and it isn't difficult to keep track of.

6. Sometimes ordering books online is a lot cheaper than browsing your local store. With gasoline at an all-time high, the cost of a trip to the bookstore must be added to the cost of a book when considering whether to order online or hit the store.

7. Join with other writers in paid promotion projects. The cost of advertising in reader publications is prohibitive for most writers as is the cost of producing a print brochure or newsletter. But if you join forces with other writers, possibly those who have the same publisher or pub date, the cost is then within reach.

8. Take advantage of any free publicity you can create. Guest blog or start a campaign for others to blog about your release with a donation to charity as the prize for all who participate. The more who blog, the bigger the donation. Explore other free online venues for promotion.

9. If you need a certain software, check and see if there is a shareware or freeware version that does the same thing. For instance, if you need Microsoft Word or Excel, then download FREE the Open Office Suite.

10. Absolutely set up a simple set of accounting books which list expenses and, hopefully, revenue. Do it with a 3-ring binder and write it by hand or use Quicken or some other software if you have it. If you don't, see #9 above. File a Schedule C each year with your tax return. The publication explaining the rules for Schedule C and the form are online.

All these suggestions have the goal of decreasing expenses. That's part of the business side of being a writer. The other part is increasing income. Just as in a corporate job, your goal is always to reduce expenses and increase income. Otherwise, you might be forced to have an employee lay off. Which, of course, is you.

Writers Digest Website Remodeled

2008-03-24T09:52:00.000-05:00

The website for Writers Digest has been remodeled. Check it out. They did an excellent job of making the website easier to navigate.

There's such a wealth of information available on the site so it's a great resource for writers, especially those just beginning. Be sure and read the most recent Popular Fiction Report.

What Do Editors Really Want

2008-03-22T15:21:00.000-05:00

This isn't really hot news, but it's interesting. The powers that be at the Authors Guild newsletter asked editors, "What do you want?"

You can just about change the names and the publishing houses and keep the comments the same because editors and agents always say, "We're looking for something new."

Trouble is most of them also add, "We don't really know what that is though."

Something new. That covers a lot of territory. Unfortunately, it can't be too new because that gets turned down. I often wonder if motivationist (don't really know if that's a word, but it fits the job description) Paul Harvey was correct when he said something similar to: "Something new can't be more than 10% new or it doesn't get accepted."

What do you think?

March, National Kidney Month

2008-03-20T08:28:00.001-05:00

March is National Kidney Month. Yeah, that doesn't sound too glamorous, but it is important to shine a spotlight on something we all take for granted.

A few years ago one of my friends died of kidney disease. I remember when he was fourteen and was diagnosed with diabetes. As kids we just thought he had to give up Cokes, cake, and candy. Tough, but doable. Little did any of us know the impact that insidious disease can have on the human body or the quality of one's life. Nor did we know how diabetes can incapacitate a body or take life away long before the body is old.

Unfortunately, millions of Americans can walk around with kidney disease and not even know it until it's almost too late. Because of this, each year when you have a physical, you should request simple blood and urine tests to make sure your kidneys are healthy. The sooner you can diagnose a problem; the sooner you can take action to correct the problem. You may possibly avert major organ failure.

There's more info online at Kidney.org or the National Kidney Foundation at 1-800-622-9010.

If you're healthy and you have the means, donate a gift of money to the foundation. Consider becoming an organ donor. I know that's a hot button for many people, but do consider it.

My friend needed a transplant. He was on the list, but the list is long. His body couldn't wait. Bubba Bruce. Gone before his time, but not forgotten.

Online Word Of Mouth Marketing

2008-03-18T14:13:00.001-05:00

Everybody in the book biz will tell you that Word of Mouth marketing is perhaps the best way to sell books. Some books' sell-throughs have been created by Word of Mouth marketing. Now there's another online way to take advantage of Word Of Mouth praise for an author and a book.

Most readers are always looking for new authors to discover and new books to read. So we ask bookstore employees and owners, friends, and relatives. That way we feel as if we're getting good advice on who to read and, in many cases, which book to start with if the author has written several.

That's the idea behind Debbie's Idea. It's a website where readers make suggestions about authors' books, giving their opinion as to which book best represents an author's work.

Good news for writers. You can go and register your own titles on a personalized page on the site so readers can be sure to find you.

Think of it as another tool in the PR Tool Box as well as a way to grow readers. You too might discover a new author to read.