You Won NaNoWriMo (ie, wrote a book)!? Now What? Part 2

Oi! How the time flies. It's a lame excuse, but work and personal life was just too much over the holidays. I was burnt out. Now, here it is February and it still feels like I'm going 100 mph. Anyway, here's my follow up article to Part 1. So, what follows is the second part of my list of "must haves" for successfully self publishing your first novel.

5. Know Where You Want to Publish

This might seem like a no brainer, but determining where you want to publish ahead of time can save you a lot of headaches down the road.

eBooks

Kindle Direct Publishing (Amazon) - This is an absolute must. They are the largest provider of ebooks in the US, with coverage across the globe as well, and growing
Nook Press (B&N) - Strictly US and UK distribution. Their website is pretty awful and some of the publishing quirks are strange, but it's still got strong name recognition
Kobo Writing Life - Remember Borders Bookstores? Well, this was their Kindle/Nook. Still very popular in Canada
Apple iBookstore - Still haven't jumped head first into the book game, but too big to ignore. Need to have a Mac in order to upload through their service, but there are other options (read on)
eBook Aggregators
Smashwords and draft2digital - Third-party distributors that will, essentially, do the work for you (for a small fee). You submit a single file (formatted to their standards) and they send it out to the various ebook sellers (see above) and then some (eg, Sony, Diesel, Oyster). If you aren't tech savvy, this may be the most logical option, though be warned that Smashwords' formatting requirement may just have you pulling your hair out by the end of the day

Paperbacks

There are many print-on-demand (POD) options out there with CreateSpace and Lightning Source being two of the most popular. Formatting a paperback is very different from formatting an ebook, plus you'll need a different image file. Though both of these services offer create-your-own-cover options, I would recommend asking the artist who created your cover (because bad covers don't sell books, remember?) to create the binding and the back cover as well. It'll cost a little more but, again, well worth the expense. So, you might be asking yourself, "Do I really need a paperback?" Well, do ya punk? ;-) Paperbacks are fun to have and require very little additional expense. It's a tangible token of your accomplishment, they make great gifts, you can use them for marketing at book events (yes, people still buy paperbacks), and believe it or not, folks may even want you to sign it!

6. Build a Platform

Whether you put yourself onto every social media site known to man, or focus your efforts on one, you need to have a place where you can talk to potential customers and colleagues. Create a Facebook page, join Twitter, create a blog, or build a web site. It's important to have a web presence. Personally, I've ventured out to them all and found that I just don't have the time to keep up with all of them. I'm an irregular blogger, an occasional Twitterer, and a fairly faithful Facebooker. Don't even get me started on what an awful Plusser I am (Google+). Even if your book isn't ready to launch, you can build up a fan base. Talk about your writing. Talk about the subject matter. Read other blogs on those subjects and make thoughtful comments.

You too can have a giant too-close-for-comfort face shot on Facebook!

Establishing a platform can build an audience who is willing to listen to what you have to say. Be engaging, start conversations, find a like-minded forum and talk about what interests you. If you become a trusted voice, you may find that folks are willing to help you out when your book launches.

Just don't get overwhelmed. Remember that you're a writer first. Social media can be the biggest "time suck" known to man. Limit yourself to a small time frame every day. Ten minutes here, five minute there, another five minutes to craft a smart response to an article. I recommend picking two social media channels and dedicating yourself to becoming a part of the writing community there. Spamming tweets and Facebook posts about your book will only leave people with a bad taste in their mouth. Make comments, have conversations. They're just people like you.

7. Develop Your Thick Skin
It's going to happen. You're going to put your work out there and someone... some fool... some horse's arse who doesn't know good writing from chicken scratch... will give your pride and joy... your brilliant masterpiece... a nonsensical 1-star review. Be prepared. It happens to the best of us. Deep breath... it'll happen to you too. Go to Amazon and look up the best book you know and you'll find that some snarky troll has slapped it with a 1-star review. Know why? Because they can. Now, are all 1-star reviews the work of trolls? No. But, we're going to pretend that your masterpiece is at least good enough to avoid deserved 1-star reviews.
One of my favorite reviews for my debut novel, Multiples of Six, is a 2-star review. Why? Because it's absolutely honest and well thought out. Plain and simple. You can't argue with the truth. But, that being said, you can't argue with lies in this business either. I can't tell you how many stories I've heard of authors responding to bad reviews. It never ends well for the author. Do yourself a favor... look forward to your first bad review. Cherish it... give it a hug... welcome it into your home... then lock it in the closet and leave it alone. Sure, you may hear it whimper on occasion, but don't be tempted to respond. It'll never go away, but you can only hurt yourself by trying to "fix" it.

8. Get a Head Start on Book #2
Nothing sells a book like another book. I wish I had followed this advice. Apparently, I just didn't have enough of a head start (what can I say, I write my thrillers slowly)! If you're writing a series, it's essential to have that second book ready to come out on the heels of first. If your're not sure you can write the next one quickly enough, you may want to consider holding off until #2 is ready to go. Yes, you heard me... hold off. You'll thank me. In this day and age of quick publication, readers no longer have to wait years to get their favorite (self-pubbed) author's next book. Sometimes, it's as little as a couple months. Russel Blake is cranking them out every six weeks! Sure, we can't all be that prolific... or anywhere near that prolific in some cases, but we can glean from that an important point; if a reader likes book #1, they like to know that they can pick up book #2 right away. Of course, this isn't just for series. This carries over to stand-alone books as well. So, what are you doing reading this? Get back to work!

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I hope you enjoyed my list of what you need to self-publish. Again, I'll reiterate that this is not a comprehensive list and that monetary success with self-publishing is never guaranteed. However, if you've got these things set, you'll be well on your way to self-publishing the best book you possibly can.

What do you think? Agree? Disagree? Am I missing something? Please feel free to post questions or comments on any of these topics below. Thanks! :)

You Won NaNoWriMo (ie, wrote a book)!? Now What? Part 1

So, you're on your way to finishing National Novel Writing Month with a completed manuscript (or already have one). Congratulations! It's quite an accomplishment to finish a novel. Now, the real work begins. Editing, revising, having "real" people read it. Getting it into shape to be published. If you're on the road to traditional publication, my usefulness probably ends here. Good luck to you. If your book ever gets published, I look forward to seeing it on a shelf in a bookstore several years from now (if bookstores are still around). I'm for independent publishing. And what follows is the first part of my list of "must haves" for successfully self publishing your novel. So, here goes...

1. A Finished Novel
Ok, this might seem obvious, but you'd be amazed the time some people waste looking into how to publish when they haven't even finished the story yet! If your manuscript is incomplete, you're not ready to be reading this list! And even if you think you're ready, you might not be. Story finished? You have my permission to read on. Not finished? Get back at it!

2. Honest Feedback
Yep, it's time to seek out some people who aren't your Mom, Dad, Sister, best friend, grandma, etc. Honest feedback is what can really take your writing to the next level. Let's face it, we all get a little blinded to our own writing. It's perfect in our mind and, obviously, what we've put on paper (or screen) is just as perfect. Errr... probably not. So, find a writer friend, a writing group, go out and seek people who are writers (or regular readers of your genre) who are willing to be brutally honest. Even if it hurts, it's an important part of the writing process. Guess what? If you're planning on publishing, you'll get that feedback one way or another. And, personally, I'd much rather have the feedback offline than online for the world to see.

If you can afford it, I highly recommend hiring a professional editor. Even a simple copy edit from professional eyes can make the world of difference. Your readers will thank you. However, be prepared for a bit of sticker shock. A simple edit of a 60k word novel will run you upwards of $500... and that's without really looking at content. Shop around. Preditors & Editors is a good place to start.

3. A Professionally Designed Cover*
*Unless you're an amazing artist with mad Illustrator/InDesign skills

What to not do...

Despite the wisdom of "don't judge a book by its cover," we all do it anyway. With the ease of self-publishing, it can be tempting to make your own or have that "nephew who knows computers" slap something together for you. Don't do it! If you invest any money in publishing your book, make it the book cover. You can get a professionally made cover for as little as $50 (for non-exclusive artwork) and ~$200 and up for custom work. It can make all the difference. And, while I could go on forever about what to not do (see image at right), I have a couple of pet peeves that stand out in what you should do when designing your book cover.

• Big text for all! Your name should be as prominent as the title of the book. Most readers remember the author's name, not necessarily the book title. Make it big
• Use bold colors or striking contrasts. Your book needs to stand out from the crowd. Avoid bland and vague
• Make sure you can still get the gist of the cover when it's super small. Remember, Amazon uses thumbnails that are no bigger than 1"x 1.5" depending on the screen and some people are using B&W Kindles (the horror!). It should scale well and be clear
• If you're going to use artwork, make sure it tells the right story. Readers notice these things. If there's a picture of a desert on your cover, your main character better be hopping camels through the sand (or something like it) or you'll hear about it. A recent example of this was a traditionally published book that had a dog prominently on the cover. Turned out the dog had very little to do with the story

4. A Properly Formatted Manuscript

No one wants to read
                   a poorly formatted                               BOok.

See what I did there? Believe it or not, this is how your book can look if you're not careful. If you're familiar with Microsoft Word, you shouldn't have a hard time. But, if Word seems like it's been written in a foreign language, you might want to seek out help. There are people out there who will format your book for epublication for a nominal fee. Anything over $50 is pushing it. That might seem like a lot, but again, if it's the difference between people making it through your book or returning it because they couldn't get past the formatting errors, the investment is worthwhile. Most epub sites (Kindle Direct Publishing, Nook Press, etc.) have instructions on how to format. Smashwords, which is a mass distribution site has what they call "The Meat Grinder." It takes your manuscript and turns it into whatever format is needed. It's a very strict process, so if there are mistakes, they'll flag it and notify you before allowing it to be published.

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We're half way there!

Be sure to check out Part 2 of my You Won NaNoWriMo (ie, wrote a book)!? Now What? series!

What do you think so far? Agree? Disagree? Please feel free to post questions on any of these topics below. Thanks! :)

The Great eBook Pricing Dilemma

I got $3 over here, do I hear $4?

Two years, when I started this great self-publishing escapade, I did my fair share of research regarding ebook pricing. When all was said and done, I settled on $2.99 for the price of my full-length novel. I thought it was the standard going rate and as an unknown, I didn't expect anyone to want to pay more than that. I rated my writing at $3. $3 for a full-length novel. $3 for something that, had I been traditionally published, would command a price upwards of $9.99.

At the time, it made sense. $2.99 was sort of the standard indie number. It seemed that the majority of titles from colleagues were being set at the same price point. I dabbled with free back when Select had the most benefit (early 2012) and even dipped for a while into the $0.99 waters, without much luck. Since then, I honestly hadn't given much thought to pricing my book. Now, with the coming release of my book's sequel, the argument had crept back into my mind:
Am I short-changing myself at $2.99? In short, I felt the answer was "Yes."

So, that's why I'm changing my pricing regimen. I'm taking that leap of faith and asking... for a whole dollar more. I know, it's risky. $4 seems like so much more than $3, but it really isn't. I figure if erotica writers can get away with selling 15 pages "stories" for $2.99, then I can sell a 70,000-word novel for $3.99 and not feel too guilty.

I think the self-published market is experiencing dynamic change. People are recognizing the fact that quality work is coming from independent authors. I think more and more of those authors are taking chances with their pricing schemes and finding success. I'm feeling more confident about my pricing decision. It allows me more flexibility in terms of discounting and better return in regard to royalty rates. Some folks have it broken down to exactly how much they'll charge for a number of words. <10,000 = $0.99; 10,000-40,000 = $1.99; >40,000-<70,000 = $2.99, etc. I'm not producing at a rate where I need to worry about that, but I understand the scheme.

What do you think? Do you have a scheme, or are you still winging the whole pricing thing?

Finishing a First Draft

It's coming... really.

Let's just say, I've got a sketchy track record of completing first drafts. When I first wrote Multiples of Six, it took me 5 years, on and off, to complete the first draft. But, during that time, I also managed to crank out a 63,000-word YA fantasy in a matter of 6 months (not published). So, when it came time to put together the first draft of Multiples follow up, Divisible by Six, I was feeling pretty confident. So confident, that I made promises of 6-10 months. That was obviously a mistake. Two years later, I'm finally finished with the first draft. Yeah, I might've oversold it by 18 months or so. My bad.

So, what is it about the thrillers that bogs me down? Well, right off the bat, it's a much more complicated plot scheme. Multiples had 2 distinct plot lines. Divisible ramps it up a notch with 4. Four plot lines that have to intertwine and come to a resolution (of sorts) by the end of book 2. It was a first for me. Most of the other stories I've written have been fairly straightforward linear plots from the perspective of 1 or 2 characters, tops. Four was a pretty big jump.

But, the mere complication of the plot wasn't what slowed me the most. You see, and it shames me to admit it but, I'm a lazy writer. Not in the sense of form and function, but in the sense that I need someone to stand over me and crack a whip. I'm too easily distracted and even more so when the writing doesn't come easy. I overcame this recently by finding a group (which I detailed in a past blog) to act as my whip. It's just a group that meets to sit and write, but it was exactly what I needed. It gave me two islands of time during the week in which to focus solely on my writing and it accelerated my completion time immensely.

Writing a novel is as much about story creation as it is about putting one word after another until it's finished. You can have brilliant ideas pouring out every orifice in your body, but unless you take the time to crank out the words, all you have are ideas that might be good stories. I definitely envy my colleagues who can regularly crank out a novel every six months. Maybe I'll get there some day. For now, I'm just content with the good things I've got going on. I'm looking forward to getting Divisible finished up soon and the trilogy's finale, Power of Six, started.

Have you struggled to finish that first draft? Would love to hear about your experience.

Busted! - Plagiarism in Publishing

Sigh. Two steps forward one step back. Independent publishing has come a long way, in case you didn't come to light that a certain successful debut novel by a certain independent author was merely a plagiarism of existing content from two previously published books.

know. It's going mainstream. It's getting recognition where it used to get ridicule. And then something happens and you smack your forehead. "But we were doing so well!" Recently, it's

Plagiarism isn't a new problem in the publishing business. Where there is written language, there will always be plagiarism of one form or another. However, in today's day and age of copy and paste and simplified electronic publishing platforms, the task is simpler and, I imagine, much more tempting to the potential perpetrator. Find some successful books, mesh similar plot points together, fill in some blanks, draft up a cover, upload to Kindle Direct Publishing and voilà! You have only to get people to read it. Here is where the potential for success begins to fade. You see, this country (and others) is filled with voracious readers. And those readers like to read the same genres. And, if they read something similar, it doesn't take them long to sniff out a rat.

Some folks are suggesting (some seriously, some not so) that this was a conspiracy to put down independent publishing. While I wouldn't put it past Big Publishing to resort to dirty tricks to get their way, I highly doubt this was staged to besmirch indie publishing. While there was definitely some thought put into the act (and a lot of money spent on marketing to the New Adult bloggers who praised the book just prior to its release), I think it was just someone who thought they could trick the system. Luckily, it's harder to trick the people than it is to trick the system. In this case, the people prevailed. It was caught in such a short timespan that no check was cut to the perp and funds will more than likely (I hope!) be redistributed to those who bought the book.

The whole thing is very disappointing to an indie like myself. I'm not perfect, but my mistakes are mine. I own them and live with them every day. Sure, I use a pseudonym, but it's not to hide behind. It's purely marketing and anyone who wants to know my true identity doesn't have to look very far. So, to those folks out there who think they can cheat their way to the top. Well, go for it. Sure, I'll mourn the black mark you temporarily put on the face of steadfast independents, but I'll laugh when your facade comes down and you're left scampering away naked into the darkness of failure.

For some heated (and inquisitive) discussion on the topic, check out the KBoards.com thread.

Thoughts? Feelings? Please share!

6 Things to Know Before Your Author Signing

This past weekend, I attended my second ever author signing event. Organized by the NJ Authors Network, this was an opportunity to set up a table at a public venue hosted by a local book store. Being as my book has been out for 2 years, you would think I'd have attended more events, but I pretty much fell off the public book event radar last year. I was too ashamed at having not finished the second book in my series (it's coming, I swear). That being said, I'm now booked for four more events this year and am hoping to schedule a few more.

It occurred to me that, even having just attended one prior event (2011 Collingswood Book Festival), I knew waaaay more about public signings than I had going into my first. And, that I especially had a bit to share with folks who had never done a signing event. So, here are some tips to prepare you for your first public signing.

1. Bring plenty of your books. This might sound obvious, but there's a point here. Even if you only have one book in print (like me!), you're going to need to take up real estate on a table (or even a booth for larger events). Even a six-foot table starts looking enormous when you only have one book. Bring 15 copies at least and make staggered piles. This is the "I had more, but already sold a few" trick. Keep some in reserve, though. You don't want to pile a hundred books on the table that you have to look around in order to greet someone.

2. Have something small to give away. Think bookmarks, flyers, business cards, or some other branded trinket. Heck, tape your business card to a piece of candy. Candy draws kids, but can also draw the ire of parents. Be creative with your giveaways. Try a theme if your book suggests one. Vampires? Give away fake teeth. Mobsters? Give away fake tattoos. Romance? Ummm...yeah... stick to candy.

Normally, I print my little signs in color, but the printer was down. :(

3. Consider getting some swag. I'm a huge proponent of Vistaprint. They have a lot of different options for marketing materials. It's not cheap, but here's the trick: wait for a Groupon (or Living Social) deal. Right now, you can get $70 of stuff for a $17 Groupon! You can get some serious swag for $70. As you can see in the photo, I have bags and mugs on the left side of the table. A dozen of both cost <$50 because of coupons. A bag works well, especially at a large show where folks may be carrying a few books with them. And, it's free advertising!

4. Bring a pen. Another obvious one, but there's a caveat here. Make sure it's the right kind of pen. Make sure you test it out. A Sharpie might be too heavy and run through your page. Practice with your pen and be confident about which page you're going to sign. Oh, and take it from me, if you've got a pseudonym, PRACTICE your signature a lot!

5. Have a hook. This is my least favorite part of the public book signing. The circus barker call. The "hey, come see what I have over here," only... a little less creepy. I'm passive aggressive. This can be surprising to some folks who know me, if only for the fact that I can be downright gregarious at times. Let me tell you something, the two are not the same. I hate confrontation and I'm very empathetic. I don't want someone shouting at me to buy their book, so why would I want to be that guy? Instead, I tend to engage only those who engage me first. They have to at least look my way and/or glance at my book. "Suspense, thriller. First book in a trilogy. A little bit of James Patterson with a dash of Dean Koontz." If they linger longer, I add a bit about the story. "Young man is accosted on his back porch by an identical twin he never knew he had." That's where I leave it. If they inquire further, I know they're interested. Otherwise, I give them the kind of space I would want.

6. Prepare to be disappointed. Be realistic. Let's face it, no matter how well prepared you are, things might not go the way you hoped. Maybe the venue is slow. Maybe the clientele isn't your typical readership. Maybe you get a bad traffic location. Maybe you didn't find the right hook. Maybe the guy next to you was so aggressive, he was scaring everyone away. Stranger things have happened. As a self-pubbed writer, you also have to understand that some folks don't want to buy a book from someone they've never heard of, even if your idea is the greatest ever. I sold three books at my first signing. I'll admit, being at a large book festival, that number was a bit disappointing. But, I took what I knew from that experience and applied it to my second event. I had the same number of sales with much less traffic and a much smaller venue. I'd tempered my expectations and walked away pretty satisfied.

The point of doing a signing isn't about making money. If you go into it with that as the primary goal, you'll more than likely come away with a bitter taste in your mouth. It's an opportunity to get your name and the title(s) of your book(s) out there, and to talk books with fellow readers and writers. Book signings are as much about networking and socializing as they are about selling books.

If you live in NJ or the tri-state area, be sure to visit my Facebook event page and check out some of the places I'll be this summer and fall.

Achieving Writing Goals the SMART Way

We all have goals as writers. Some folks want to write more. Some want to get published. Some want to write better. Some want to finish their project. Others want to start. So many goals, so little time. So, what do we need to do to achieve these goals? Well, the details are different for everyone, but if we apply a standard formula, the steps are pretty much the same. Using the SMART method (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound), anyone can create a path to achieving their goal.

So, let's take a look at an example.

SPECIFIC This is where you lay out your goal. It's important that your goal is as specific as possible so that it can answer to scrutiny. What do you want to accomplish? Why? As we're talking about writing, let's have a goal that most writer's have: "I want to increase my per day word count so that I can finish novels quicker and produce more content over the course of the year." Nothing vague there. Let's move on.

MEASURABLE It seems obvious, but this is where you define how you will measure the success criteria for achieving the goal. In this example, it's a matter of being able to point to a higher word total per day and, therefore, more finished projects and content (eg, I write 500 words a day now and publish a novel every year. I want to write 1000 words a day and publish 2 novels a year).

ATTAINABLE Is this a realistic goal? Is it achievable? Have I set the bar to high? And, if it isn't achievable now, what tools or resources do I need in order to achieve this goal? You may not even know the answer to this right away. Do some research. Find out how others have gotten over this hurdle. In our example of "writing more," I'm sure there are many answers out there. However, you need one that works for you. There may be several ideas that you can use at once (eg, carry a notepad wherever you go, write before you go to work, write on your lunch break, set your alarm a half hour early in the morning and write then).

RELEVANT How much does this matter to you? Guess what? If you don't care, you'll probably never achieve the goal you set. It doesn't matter what it is. You don't just accidentally accomplish anything, right? Well, at least for me it doesn't work that way. You have to want to get there. And, it has to make sense for you to get there as well. You may be at a point in your life where the additional stress of another goal, or a particular goal, isn't worth the hassle. But, you must also consider that by achieving the goal, you may relieve other stressors in your life (eg, writing 2 novels a year may increase my cash flow and pay a couple of bills).

TIME-BOUND When? When do we start? Now. How soon before I start evaluating my progress? Two weeks? A month? If you don't set a time boundary, you're setting yourself up for failure. We're creatures of habit and if your goal involves a new one, you've got to put it into motion right away. Even if your goal isn't habit related, you should still have a due date at which point you need to assess your progress toward your goal. Have you met it? And, if not, what went wrong? What can you do to get back on track? Do you need to adjust your goal, or the process that you're using to achieve it?

I hope this provides some guidance for setting and achieving goals. The SMART criteria were first described in the November 1981 issue of Management Review by George T. Doran as a method for writing goals and objectives for management. I think it's a good tool for just about any goal-setting objective.

What do you think?

Fan Fiction Gets A Venue - Amazon Announces Kindle Worlds

Fan fiction's new best friend.

Amazon has announced a new platform available to authors called Kindle Worlds. "Amazon Publishing has secured licenses from Warner Bros. for Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars, and The Vampire Diaries, with licenses for more Worlds on the way."

Definitely an interesting development and another sign that Amazon is doing all the right things for independent authors. While I don't personally have an interest in fan fiction, I can see this being HUGE for those who started their writing this way. It will be interesting to see what other licenses Amazon acquires for Kindle Worlds in the future.

What do you think?

Let's Tell a Story

A while back, I wrote a piece about how to plot your novel. Well, today, we're going to break that down
even further into its basic elements. How do you go about the “simple” process of telling a story. I've read and seen a lot of answers to this question, but we're going to keep it as simple as possible.

At its base level, there are 5 parts to a good story; foundation, change, significance, culmination, and purpose. That’s not to say that these are the only parts or the order in which they must appear. However, take any one of these away and you might be left with a story that doesn't feel whole. And starting to write before fully understanding what makes your story complete can make the experience harrowing. Writing can be challenging as it is. Let’s go through the parts and see what we have.

1.       Foundation – This is the “Once upon a time…” or “A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away…” aspect of the story. What’s the norm? What’s the average day-to-day like in your story? Even if it’s just a glimpse, providing this information gives your story a platform on which to build. We don’t always need to put this up front, but we need to know it’s there. No character should live in a bubble… unless your story is about a character in a bubble… so, show the life that goes on around him/her/it. Bob was a hard-working man who loved life and his family.

2.       Change – Something needs to change the status quo. You’ve established the norm, so now you need to introduce the catalyst that induces a change to which your main character(s) needs to react. The extent of the change need only be relative to the main character’s need to be affected. Folks have a tendency to assume that big things need to happen in order to invoke change in a story (eg, death, cataclysm, zombies). However, sometimes the smallest stones make the largest ripples. Bob loses his well-paying job.

3.       Significance – The change has occurred. What does this lead to? How is your main character’s daily life affected? In life, as in the stories we tell about it, events aren’t usually cut and dry; Bob can’t afford food anymore and is forced to kill his neighbor. Hmmm…seems like we might be missing something. Like maybe some details? Bob can’t afford food anymore; Bob’s neighbor offers to give Bob help, but he wants something in return (a night with Bob’s wife); Bob’s got nowhere to turn and is running out of options; Bob’s sadistic neighbor taunts Bob and threatens to… and we could go one, but you get the point. A series of events then leads us to the…

4.       Culmination – …and in the end, Bob and said neighbor struggle in a fight to the death before Bob comes out on top. Extreme? Yes. Overly simplified? Indeed. But, you get the picture. You’re significant events must lead to a focal point, or climax. This is where everything comes together and the conflict that has propelled the story to this point is resolved, one way or the other.

5.       Purpose – Why did the character just go through all of that? What’s the resolution, or the new norm? Essentially, what’s the moral of your story? I would argue that this is the most important part of your story. What is it that you’re trying to tell the reader? When Bob is arrested, the police discover that his neighbor is a wanted serial killer and Bob is exonerated and they all live happily ever after (except for the neighbor, obviously). The moral? Don’t mess with Bob.

These 5 points create the thread of your story. While the order of the story thread can vary, it’s rare to find a good story that doesn’t incorporate each one of these. If you have an idea for a story, determine which of these parts you know and which you don’t. I often have 1, 2, and 4 in mind before I ever start writing, but 3 and 5 can often be the most difficult to put together on the fly. Starting your next project with all of these pieces in place can make the story-writing experience that much more enjoyable.

Plotting Your Novel

Four Steps to Putting Your Plot in Order

I've spent a bit of time on Reddit's writing forum over the last couple of weeks. One of the recurring questions I kept seeing was about plotting (or outlining) a novel before starting to write. To be honest, I was never a big proponent of plotting. Until, that is, it worked for me.

Do you remember the movie How to Train Your Dragon? Well, the morning after seeing that movie with my then 4-year-old son, I woke up with a name in my head and the title of a book on the tip of my tongue. While the title quickly died (for being a bit too similar to an existing series), the character thrived and within 48 hours I had plotted out the first book of a proposed trilogy. Six months later, I had translated that outline into a 55,000 word YA novel (which is still on the proverbial shelf). As soon as I finished that book, I sat down and plotted book #2. I was thrilled at how easy it came to me. But, it doesn't always work that way. Let's take a look at some of the key points to successfully plotting your novel:

1. Know where your story begins

When I sat down to write my suspense thriller, I cranked out 40 pages of writing. It was the least suspenseful pile of drivel ever imagined. I shelved 98% of it. It was back story. I had spent ~10,000 words trying to build up a sense of who my character was, without realizing he had accomplished absolutely nothing in that time. You need to establish your starting point. If you're protagonist is a 24-year-old, the reader doesn't need a detailed description of the 24 years that preceded the story's starting point. These are details that can be infused throughout the rest of the story (y'know, the one you really want to tell?). Don't be afraid to throw your characters immediately into the fray. Whether it's drama, fantasy, suspense, or sci-fi, nothing will tell the reader more about your character than seeing how they react when the pressure is at full tilt. Finally, don't be afraid of being vague at this point. We're not writing yet, we're plotting to write. A sentence will do if it conveys Who, What, Where, and When (Why can wait a while). When you recognize your starting point, give yourself a pat on the back. You've found the starting line. Now, stop the self-congratulations and move on.

2. Know (roughly) where your story will end

This one can be tricky for a number of reasons, but it's possibly the most important part of the whole process. Why? Because knowing the ending allows you, as the author, to seed the path with the kinds of things that readers eat up. Nothing impresses me more as a reader than when I get to the end of a book and find that the author has tied together little bits and pieces of the story that were sprinkled throughout. Plus, as a writer, it gives you a point of focus (we'll talk more about focus in step #3). So, where do you want your characters to be at the end of your novel? Can't see it? Imagine the end of your five favorite movies. Happy endings, sad endings, poignant endings, doesn't really matter. But, the best endings are those that show how life has changed the characters involved, for good or bad. As fiction writers, we're conveying a series of events that happened to people. And, despite what some people may believe, life changes us (if it didn't we'd all be pretty damn boring). So, what are the results of the events in your story? What sort of consequences do your characters have to deal with? This is where you may discover the "Why" of your story. When you find that, you'll have found your finish line.

3. Know where the middle point of your story is

Scranton, home of The Office and... not much else.

Consider this a way point in your plot development. We're trying to get from the start to the finish, and a good plot rarely takes a straight line to get there. If it does, it probably won't be very entertaining. But, there's a difference between a plot detour and a major plot detour. Sure, we could just jump on the Jersey Turnpike to get from Philly to NYC, but it might be more interesting to take a detour through Scranton. Essentially, don't be afraid to take side routes to get to where your going. But, it's important to keep your middle point within shouting distance of your proposed ending. Go to NYC from Philly through Cleveland and you're going to lose readers (and potentially drive yourself insane). Why? You're prolonging the trip. Readers aren't dumb; they can often see where you're going. And, even if they can't, when you do finally get where you're going, you may leave them scratching their heads. Why the heck did he walk around the block to visit the neighbor?! So, what is the middle? Well, in my mind, it's the part of the story that leads right into the climax of the story. Your characters have been introduced and the catalyst of the story has been introduced. The middle is where it all begins to come together and it's a straight shot to the end game.

Your riders (ie, readers) might be a bit ticked at your "short cut."

4. Fill in the gaps of your story

Now, comes the hard part for some folks. You know your beginning, middle, and end, but now how to get from one to another. Well, this is where your ability to build a story shows itself. Here's what I do. Thirty is my magic number. It's the number of chapters I start with. I jot down my starting point at #1, my middle goal around #15, and my finish line at #28 (I like to have some room to let things settle at the end). I then mark out the first 5 chapters, the next 10, and the final 15.

The first 5 chapters are character development and initial action. It's in these chapters that you will capture your audience. Some writers will argue that it has to happen in chapter 1, which is true, but you can't place all of your hope on one chapter. Give the reader 5 strong chapters at the beginning of your novel and they will let you take them on whatever journey you want. Grab their attention and empathy for your character in those chapters and you'll be set. No empathy = no care for what happens to the characters = no reason to read on.

The next ten chapters are entirely a setup for the end game. This is where your characters are challenged, poked, and prodded into their point of no return. The reader should be able to look back at this point of the story and say, "That's where it could have changed." If he had only taken the blue pill!

The final 15 chapters are are where the roller coaster plunges over the precipice and the laws of gravity take over. This is where the novel should run at full speed to the climax of the story. Everything chapter should have a distinct effect on how the story will end. Anything else is just slowing the coaster down.

Now, obviously, 30 is just a number I like. You might have 50 chapters or 20. Either way, you should be sure to balance out the plot so that it makes sense for your story; beginning, middle, and end. End too soon, without enough transition, and you'll leave your readers feeling short-changed. Put too much filler into the "middle" and your readers will get bored before they can get to the end. And, a weak beginning won't stimulate the reader to continue reading about your characters.

Would love to hear your opinions on the subject! Questions? Suggestions? Best practices that have worked for you?

Resolutions Shmesolutions

It's that time of year. You know. The last day of the year as determined by a certain group of little beings that populate the third planet from the sun (that's us, btw...unless you're some of those other little beings that have a different New Year...rebels). It's a time to raise a glass of (alcoholic or non) beverage of choice and say one of two things "Here's to a better year" or "Here's to a year as good as the last." And it's also that time of year when people make promises to themselves (and sometimes others) about the coming year (promises may vary depending on alcoholic content of aforementioned beverage).

Being a writer, you can imagine that most of my previous resolutions involve, well...writing. And, this year is no different, but it occurred to me today that it's a waste of time to make a resolution today just because everyone else is doing it. What we should really be doing, whether you're a writer or not, is to stop making promises of what we will do and commit to taking action every day to reach our goals. So, join me in making a promise to stop making promises we can too easily ignore. Let's change our attitude. Let's make a commitment each day to do something that will make a positive impact on the things we want to change. So, here's my top five daily "resolutions."

1. Work on my novels every day, even if it's only a paragraph.
2. Read more.
3. Spend less time procrastinating (eg, surfing internet, playing video games).
4. Work out at least 3 days a week.
5. Eat out less.

Comments are very much welcome and feel free to leave your own daily resolutions! Happy New Year everyone!  

The Same Six Questions - Anne Holly

Hi, and welcome to another installment of The Same Six Questions. Today, we have author Anne Holly. Welcome, Anne!

Hi Andy! I am a Canadian instructor at a university and mom with a secret double life—I write romance at night! Growing up on a little family farm in Nova Scotia, without television or computers, reading, drawing and making up stories were my life. From an early age, I knew that my home, while beautiful, wouldn’t hold me, and soon I was off to the big city, where I studied and eventually had a child, my three year old son. When I finished my education, I returned to writing, and published my current new release, Strings Attached, which I originally wrote in 2001. Since then, I’ve been a double agent—working the day job to pay the bills, and spending the nights (when I finally get the tot to bed) thinking of new adventures for people who don’t exist, and doing the “buy my book!” dance on the internet.

So, what are your answers to The Same Six Questions?

1. Have you published a book yet?

Strings Attached was written at a crossroads in my life. I had just finished college and wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue in academics or work. Then one day, I read the foreword to the last book from romance author LaVyrle Spencer. She wrote that romances had been good to her, and about the love of her readers, and about how people should write if they feel the fire to do so. And I recalled when I was a kid and loved writing.

So, facing this indecision, I sat down and wrote Strings Attached. At face value, it’s a simple story—a Canadian rancher, Josie, falls in love with an Australian rancher, Theo, and then proceeds to convince him they have a future. Theo has been badly damaged, and is convinced that his life is over—he has become an automaton. It’s up to Josie to save him. The novel comes from a dark place, where the road ahead isn’t very clear, every grasp for happiness is a huge gamble, and sometimes you feel damned if you do and damned if you don’t.

I was too young in some ways to write this story. It was partially inspired by an American case of a woman killing her children, and the discussion of postpartum psychosis surrounding it. This case made me think about how people can face this kind of tragedy and still go on. This was the seed of Theo’s story—a father without a child—and he wouldn’t stop nagging me. I knew I had to make someone save him. And Josie was born. Only love and hope can dig a man out of that kind of pain.

Then I put the book away when I decided to go to graduate school. When I graduated, I was again at a crossroads. Now a mother myself, I pulled out that old manuscript and rewrote it—finding new wells of pain and hope inside myself. What the younger me had written naively, the older me could rewrite into something both heartbreaking and redemptive. This became my novel, Strings Attached.

2. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I can’t recall a time when I wasn’t making up stories, or illustrating them, or acting out plays of my own devising. We were a very low-tech family, so it was entertainment. I spent a lot of time by myself, outside, and my characters were my friends. One summer after reading too much Farley Mowat, I spent all my daytimes fantasizing the story of an abandoned wolf cub for the whole school break.

As idyllic as my childhood was in some ways, in others it wasn’t. I also can’t recall a time when we weren’t poor as dirt. And anyone who grew up out of charity boxes knows this doesn’t make for happy school society at times. I was always eager for validation as a child, and I quickly realized my teachers liked my writing—winning their approval was the saving grace of my early school years, so I kept at it. While my classmates teased me, I was off in my stories.

In high school I decided to become a “real writer.” And I saw it as my ticket up and out. Eventually, academics swayed my path, but I never wandered too far from writing being a means of improving my mind, supporting my family and distinguishing myself from what others thought me capable of. And as a means of escape.

3. What was your first lengthy piece of fiction? What was it about? When did you write it? Do you still have it?

In the eighth grade, I wrote my first novel. It was about segregation in the American south of all things, as if a white kid in Canada during the 1990s knew anything at all about it. It was tawdry and awful, I know now, but at the time I felt like the next Harper Lee. I do still have it. It’s in the same binder that held the loose leaf back then, although quite worse for wear. It lives in a storage box in my closet. I think I also still have the second draft on a now completely unusable giant floppy disk I typed it into in computer class. It will never, ever see the light of day, and if I become famous I will destroy it so no one gets the bright idea of publishing it in a “juvenilia collection” after I’m dead.

4. When was your first indication, "I can do this (write)"?

I give all the credit for my initial ideas to become a writer to my wonderful teachers. In high school, I won a regional competition for a play I wrote, and some essay and poem prizes. I got in the local paper. Most importantly, my teachers were constantly urging me to hone my skills and focus on a career in writing. I realized, “Hey, I can do this!”, despite my natural inclination towards shyness, because they believed in me so much that they were always pressing me to enter this or that contest, and helping me publish small bits here or there.

Being a writer is wonderful, but being a teacher can literally save lives. I cannot ever thank them enough for what they did for me.

Then, in 2010, after re-writing Strings Attached (which had been rejected by a publisher—quite rightfully, I know now—back in 2002 or so), I decided to give “being a writer” a chance. When my editors and test readers embraced the book, I felt like maybe I really could really do it. When I then came up with new books, that’s when I did know my teachers had been right.

5. If you could meet one of your characters in real life, which would it be?

I have a huge crush on the writer Kale, who is the main character in my Christmas romantic comedy novella Unwrapping Scrooge. I loved him so much, and had such a good time writing him, that I still miss him. I would like it if he were real—and I am now writing a short story where a novelist falls for her main character, based on the weirdness of crushing on Kale.

In truth, though, I would be happy to know most of my main characters. I try to put positive energy out there, and even the most flawed of my characters are usually people I could live amongst happily.

6. It's a dark and stormy night...you're alone in the house...there's a knock at the door...you open it, look out, and proceed to scream like a little girl/boy (they kinda scream the same anyway). What's on the doorstep?

I don’t know—that depends. Is it a good scream or a bad scream? I guess, if it were Kale from question 5, it would be both, because I would be gleeful while also realizing I had finally lost my crackers.

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Thanks so much for spending some time, Anne! For more of Anne’s work, please check out her blog, website, and Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Makes sure to stop by on Thursday when author Lisa Scott answers The Same Six Questions!

The Same Six Questions - Chris Blewitt

Welcome to another edition of The Same Six Questions. Today, I'm happy to have along Chris Blewitt, a fellow New Jerseyan! Welcome Chris!

Thanks Andy! I live in South Jersey with my wife and 3 kids. I grew up just south of Philadelphia, went to school at the University of Dayton (Go Flyers!), and graduated with a degree in Criminal Justice. Which proves that your career path is not determined by your degree. I've spent 16 years in sales, first selling golf clubs right out of college. I've always enjoyed golf and my biggest regret is quitting the high school golf team to play ice hockey. Who knows? I had my handicap down to a 5 before kids, then golf got put on the back burner. So instead of golfing, I wrote a fictional novel about golf.

Now it's time for The Same Six Questions

1. Have you published a book yet?

I published Deep Rough in October of 2010 through Createspace and Kindle Direct Publishing. Finishing DR 5 years ago, I thought agents would be fighting over my manuscript. Not so much. I received over 100 rejections, mostly form letters, and a handful of "I love the story but there is no market for sports fiction." So, after a few lengthy discussions with other authors, I self-pubbed and couldn't be happier. I'm not getting rich but to know my hard work is in the hands of readers is rewarding enough. DR can be found on Amazon in paperback and for Kindle as well as on Barnes & Noble's Nook.


2. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I knew I wanted to be a LAWYER after reading The Firm. Since that didn't work out, I figured I could try my hand at writing. I was overtaken by this book. I think I read it in 2-3 days. I was not a big reader at the time, so this was new to me, the overwhelming feeling of suspense and fear by placing yourself IN the book. That's when I knew that I would love to write something like this that captivates the readers imagination.

3. What was your first lengthy piece of fiction (say, >1000 words)? What was it about? When did you write it? Do you still have it?

My first piece of fiction was actually my first novel (unpublished), entitled The Three-Sided Square. I finished it about a year after college and gave it to an author I knew who said it was not very good and that I should write "what you know." I still have it somewhere and I may whip it out and polish it up now that self-publishing is a reality.

4. When was your first indication, "I can do this (write)"?

It had to be after I joined a writer's group at the local Y. I was surrounded by women and felt totally out of place. We would do exercises and share them with the group. I would read mine and receive critiques from each member of the group. After hearing their stories, I thought mine was so much better! I loved writing random things down. Our instructor would say, "one-armed man on a bus" and you would just write a few paragraphs and let the imagination flow. It was great.


5. If you could meet one of your characters in real life, which would it be?

It would have to be Red Maitland. He is a conniving old man that is a member of Augusta National. He is dark, soulless and carries a 30-year grudge. He is not your typical country-club member and it would be intereting to play a quick round of golf with him.


6. It's a dark and stormy night...you're alone in the house...there's a knock at the door...you open it, look out, and proceed to scream like a little girl. What's on the doorstep?

Ed McMahon and the crew from the Publisher's Clearing House handing me a check for $10 million.

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Thanks so much for sharing, Chris! For more of Chris' work and writing, be sure to check out his web site and give him a follow on Twitter!

That concludes another fascinating round of The Same Six Questions. Be sure to stop back on Monday, when my guest will be author Z.D. Robinson! See you then!

The Nuances of #SampleSunday

If you're a writer who posts on Twitter (and believe me, you should be) and you haven't checked out #SampleSunday, I recommend it. If you're a reader on Twitter, it's a great way to introduce yourself to a variety of new authors.

Typically, authors who use the #SampleSunday hashtag link their tweet to a portion of their work available online. This eliminates the need for the reader to download a file or "sample" through your Kindle, Nook, or iPad. So, if you have an opening chapter or just a piece of your work posted to a blog or website, or some other repository, you can drive traffic to it using this very simple tag. If you're looking for a network that might help you spread the word, there's usually a thread devoted to #SampleSunday over on the Writers' Cafe at kindleboards.com. Just make sure to follow the rules wherever you may go. I'm constantly amazed at the folks who "join", but don't provide the necessary info. Let's take a look at a properly formatted #SampleSunday tweet that I've written for my novel:

#SampleSunday Ever wanted a twin? How 'bout on your back porch with a gun to ur head. MULTIPLES OF SIX @andyraneauthor http://bit.ly/rpSzH1

If you're posting this to a forum, where others will copy and paste it as a tweet, do them a favor and add in "RT" at the beginning. Remember, a tweet can only be 140 characters long. Use them wisely. Start with the tag #SampleSunday. Don't use #SS...it doesn't mean the same thing. Next, create a hook for your book. It's gotta be short, so choose your words carefully. Try not to use too many shortened words or abbreviations. You've got one chance to get someone to read your tweet. If they have to sit there and try and decipher what you've written, you've already lost. Also, avoid talking about the book as if it's yours (eg, I, mine, my). If someone else tweets this, they'll have to revise it, or it'll sound a bit funny. Next comes the title of your book. Hopefully, it's not too long. This will obviously affect the length of the remainder of your tweet. Twitter handle (eg, @joeauthor) is next. Very important if you want to know who tweets this or retweets it. Then, add a link to wherever your sample is. Mine links directly back to the sample on this blog (which can be found in the tabs at the top of the page). I suggest using http://bit.ly/ for shortening your links and tracking their use. It's free to use, and you can reuse the same shortened links over and over again. It's one thing to send out a tweet with a link you hope gets used. It's another to see that someone has actually clicked on it. Finally, if you stil have some room (you might!), add another tag that describes your book. Perhaps #suspense or #thriller or #paranormal or #kindle or #nook, etc. Try out different approaches. You may find a particular combination of hook and tags brings in more clicks.

So, get out there and give Sample Sunday a try. What's the worst that could happen? If you try it, be sure to come back and let me know what you think. If you're a #SampleSunday seasoned scribe (say that 5 times fast), feel free to leave a comment with any suggestions I might have missed. :-D

The Same Six Questions - Tallulah Grace

Welcome and welcome back! Today's guest on The Same Six Questions is author Tallulah Grace!

Hi Andy, thanks for hosting. I write non-fiction business articles to pay the mortgage and all those other pesky necessities, but my southern roots show through when I flip the switch to fiction. When I’m not writing, I’m an avid reader and bead weaver. Ghost-hunting is another hobby, but lately I haven’t had time to explore that as much as I’d like. Traipsing around in the dead of night with a camera, a recorder and an amateur or three does not flow seamlessly into a day filled with writing. I’m a single mom and thrilled to say that college tuition is finally in the past. That one fact gave me the freedom, time and energy to pursue fiction as a full-time career. My daughter thinks my ghost-hunting is ‘cute,’ but she really likes my fiction. She’s at the age where she knows everything, so who am I to argue?

Thanks, Tallulah! Now it's time to answer The Same Six Questions.

1.Have you published a book yet?

My first book, Fate, went live in early June. The second book of the
trilogy, Spellbound, became available in July. I plan to publish the third installment, Destiny, in late August, early September. Collectively, the books are part of the Timeless Trilogy series. The series revolves around the lives, loves and paranormal abilities of three women; Kristina Collins, Veronica Myers and
Cassandra Locke. Kris takes center stage in Fate and enjoys a quiet, successful life as an independent television producer near Charleston, South Carolina. Her life turns upside down when she discovers that she is being stalked by a very clever serial killer. An old love reappears and new friends emerge as she deals with the drama. The book trailer for Fate can be found here. I recommend that anyone who watches it first turn up the volume. If you scare easily or have a history of heart problems, please don’t watch the trailer.


2. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve always been a writer, in one form or another. I have journals from my childhood, filled with poetry and short stories, but I stepped away from writing fiction for pleasure when my full-time writing career took off. After too many years of dry, to-the-point writing, my inner voice began crying for something extra. Timeless Trilogy is the answer to that niggling little voice, but those stories are only the beginning. Now that I’ve begun, I never intend to turn it off.


3. What was your first lengthy piece of fiction (say, >1000 words)? What was it about? When did you write it? Do you still have it?

The first serious short story I wrote as an adult was a romantic interlude about reincarnation. I had it, and a few other short stories, recorded to an acoustic guitar about ten years ago for a venture that never got off the ground. I hadn’t listened to, or read, the stories since then. I unearthed them this past spring and they helped give birth to the Timeless series.


4. When was your first indication, "I can do this(write)"?

My first 5-star review gave me goose-bumps. The reviewer expressed how I felt about my characters—‘I found myself wanting to be a part of their world’—so I knew then that it worked.


5. If you could meet one of your characters in real life, which would it be?

I’d like to meet all of them, but if I had to choose just one it would be Cassandra Locke. Cassie’s story unfolds throughout the first two books in preparation for Destiny. Cassie’s dreams convince her that she’s lived many times before, but she’s loved only once. The power of that relationship transcends time, which, as any genuine romantic will tell you, is the ultimate test of true love. Cassie is also a successful author who lives in and tends to a Victorian mansion in the heart of Charleston. I’d love to pick her brain and hang out at her house.


6. It's a dark and stormy night...you're alone in the house...there's a knock at the door...you open it, look out, and proceed to scream like a little girl. What's on the doorstep?

A box overflowing with spiders. How did they knock, you ask? Of course they didn’t, but the deranged stalker who’s been following me for months used them as a diversion to gain entry into the house, unnoticed. I slam the door in the path of the eight-legged fiends and run to find the phone. After calling my neighbor for extermination assistance, I fly upstairs to find my hiking boots and spot the stalker, poised behind a door in the foyer, ready to spring. Upon reaching the upstairs landing, I head for the iron urn filled with great-aunt Gert that’s sitting on the table directly above the crouching man. Without a second thought, I drop the urn on his head and go for the boots. I’ll deal with him later; the spiders must not get into the house.

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Great stuff, Tallulah! For more of Tallulah and her writing, visit her web site, check out her Facebook page, or follow her on Twitter

Be sure to stop in for a visit this weekend, between the picnics and the pool, and meet another indie author, C.A. Deyton!

The Same Six Questions - Jacques Antoine

Welcome back to The Same Six Questions. Today's guest is author Jacques Antoine. Welcome, Jacques!

Thanks, Andy! I instruct at a tiny liberal arts college in the southwest, where I teach classes across the entire curriculum. I grew up in the New York area and went to college at a "great books" school. One thing I learned in college, and re-learn alongside my students all the time, is that writing is not specific to a particular subject or specialty. Writing is about making public what originally seems private, the contents of our consciousness. This is true whether you're writing a poem, or a mathematical proof. The ironic thing about this process is that you only learn what it is you really think when you try to explain it to others.

My daughter (12) loves karate, violin and astronomy. We spend many nights in the backyard with a telescope. The heroine of my latest book is a high school girl who loves karate, so naturally my daughter thinks it's about her. But, in truth, she is more of a story consultant than a direct inspiration.

Thanks, Jacques! And now for The Same Six Questions.

1. Have you published a book yet?

I just published my first book, Go No Sen (also available for Nook and other platforms). It's a martial arts/espionage thriller, and maybe even a coming-of-age tale. Here's what it might sound like in a capsule:

Emily Kane, 17, high school student, martial artist--when her family is shattered by covert operatives who attack their home, they go into hiding, but she refuses. She insists on staying behind, staying in school, confronting the people who attacked her family. She will do what it takes to wrest control of her life from the people seeking to destroy her.

The original idea came to me while watching my daughter in her karate class. I noticed that most girls don't really like sparring very much. It's not that they're afraid of mixing it up in a fight, but that the boys in a typical dojo tend not to have as much control and this annoys the girls. I tried to imagine the girl who wouldn't care about the boys' lack of control, and what her life might be like. The rest of the story just grew around that idea.

As you might expect, there are lots of fight scenes, some intense violence, as well as profound camaraderie. But instead of merely describing the action from the outside, I have tried to present a fight as it would be experienced by the people in the fight. This is a theme implied by the title, Go No Sen, which refers to the way a fight is determined by whoever can seize the initiative.

With my daughter's help, the story grew into a three part series. The sequel, Sen No Sen, will be available in September (we've been working on it all summer!). The third book, Sensei/Sempai, exists only as a rough draft. It will come out by Thanksgiving. We'll put our heads together over Christmas to decide if there is more to Emily Kane's story we want to tell.

2. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I come from a writing family. My grandfather was a very successful children's book author. He even won a couple of Caldicott awards. My father was a professor of neurology, and wrote many medical articles. He taught me how to write directly and clearly by his own constant example. My brother is a journalist and one sister has also published a children's book. My wife, who was a professor of English literature, and a fine literary stylist in her own right, showed me how elegance and forcefulness go together. As you can imagine, writing has always been a part of our family conversations.

As an academic, I have published several scholarly works, and even though this might seem like a far cry from creative fiction, it shares the need to be able to present ideas with sufficient clarity. But I have always tinkered with little creative projects throughout my career. Mostly these have been children's stories, none of which have I taken the trouble to publish. But I'm beginning to reconsider that.

3. What was your first lengthy piece of fiction (say, >1000 words)? What was it about? When did you write it? Do you still have it?

A manuscript for a children's book, entitled The Cat in My Back Yard. I wrote it about fifteen years ago. I still have it in a notebook on my bookshelf. It's about a little girl stuck at home looking out the window at the wildlife in her backyard. It's an exploration of a child's powers of imagination.

4. When was your first indication, "I can do this (write)"?

I've always known that I can tell a tale. Though I didn't realize I could sustain a narrative for a couple hundred pages until Go No Sen. For me, the hardest things have always been to write "life-like" dialogue and to imagine a complete narrative arc. But the way through each of these problems is to imagine your characters as fully as possible. I ask myself what this or that character would do or say. It begins with a single event or conversation.

Each scene implies a few more. The more scenes under your belt, the further along the narrative arc you can see. When I finished the first book, I found that I was already able to see the entire arc for the sequel.

5. If you could meet one of your characters in real life, which would it be?

Because my method grows out of my ability to imagine my characters, I am in a way fascinated by them. I'd love to meet Emily Kane, since I'm currently fascinated by her. Writing is really fun for me because it lets me spend time with the characters. The few hours a day I spend writing are often the happiest part of my day, because I want to find out what happens to them next. That doesn't mean I can't kill them off, of course. Sometimes death is a tribute to a character.


6. It's a dark and stormy night...you're alone in the house...there's a knock at the door...you open it, look out, and proceed to scream like a little girl. What's on the doorstep?

My mother...aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

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Thanks so much for sharing with us, Jacques! For more of Jacques' writing, be sure to check out his blog, his Your Book Authors page, of follow him on Twitter.

Be sure to stop by on Thursday to meet author Tallulah Grace!

The Same Six Questions - S.B. Jones

Another chance to meet indie authors on The Same Six Questions! Today, we welcome S.B. Jones to the blog.

Take it away!

Thanks, Andy! I am 33 years old and writing under the pen name S.B. Jones. I live in South Central Idaho in Twin Falls and Hagerman. I have a passport with a lot of stamps in it and have traveled to the hacker convention DefCon in Las Vegas now for five years.


Thanks, S.B.! Now it's time to answer The Same Six Questions...

1. Have you published a book yet?

Yes, I have published a book! It is the first of a trilogy titled The Eternal Gateway: Requiem. It is available on Amazon as well as Barnes & Noble in both e-book and paperback. I outlined all three books before I began work on the first. It revolves around the hero’s journey in a Steampunk, Science Fiction, and Time Travel setting. The first book is 74,500 words long and took me an estimated 250 hours to write the first draft and several months for the rest before it was launched.


2. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

There never was a moment really that clicked about becoming a writer. I worked for Dell for 8 years in a call center that had me do just about everything from taking calls to getting on a plane and flying to another country to train people. When they decided to shut down the call center I had six months notice and a severance coming. I took that time to trim expenses and invest what I already had to make it last. Then I decided that this was a very opportune time to do something new. The computer world had gotten stale so I decided that I would take the time to do something different. The idea of ‘The Eternal Gateway’ was something I had been kicking around for years.

3. What was your first lengthy piece of fiction? What was it about? When did you write it? Do you still have it?

Aside from writing the outlines for classes, the only thing I had written before was a piece of Harry Potter fan fiction that I posted in August of 2009. It is still out there as I posted it on the HPFF site. I did go back and look at it for this interview and it’s a pretty sad unedited piece of work. However, I was surprised at how many of the objects and ideas that were in there made it into my own book.

4. When was your first indication, “I can do this (write)”?

I think when it dawned on me that I had something going was when I handed the first rough draft of ‘Requiem’ to my parents to read. My father is a lawyer and reads a lot, but does not read for pleasure. When I handed him a copy he told me that he could count on one hand how many books he has read for entertainment with a roll of his eyes. A weekend later and my mom and sister tell me that he couldn’t put it down and joked about him coming out of his study to tease them that he had read it but couldn’t talk to them about it because they hadn’t. If the syntax-butchered rough draft could do that, then imagine what an edited and polished version could do.

5. If you could meet one of your characters in real life, which would it be?

That’s a tough one. I would have to go with meeting Angela Atagi, the woman who was born a thousand years ago with the ability to fly. A close second would be Bastiana, the psycho child who commands a lot of magical power. They would be a lot of fun to show up at the movie premier with.

6. It’s a dark and stormy night...you’re alone in the house...there’s a knock at the door...you open it, look out, and proceed to scream like a little girl. What’s on the doorstep?

I have two answers for this. One would be the ex-wife, that would be the most scary thing to have show up on the doorstep, regardless of the weather. The other would be Gwen Stefani and Zhang Ziyi begging to play a part in the film adaptation of my books.

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Thanks for stopping by S.B.! For more of his work, check out his blog or follow him on Twitter.

For more indie author goodness, be sure to stop by on Thursday, when my guest will be Nancy Fulda! See you then!

The Same Six Questions - Bill Grasso

Welcome one and all! Today's visitor to The Same Six Questions is historical fiction author, Bill Grasso! Welcome, Bill!

Thanks, Andy! I grew up on Long Island, NY, but my wife and I have spent most of our adult lives someplace else. After graduating college in 1970, I did a stint as an army officer. Once a civilian again, I gravitated to technical pursuits and NY rock and roll bands (guitar/bass). By 1976, the need to feed a young family was paramount; I took a job as an aircraft mechanic for a major airline in Miami, Florida. Airline jobs tend to be mobile and sometimes fleeting: over the next 30 years, we moved to Atlanta, Georgia; had that airline die under us; then moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma for a series of managerial jobs with another airline. After retiring in 2006, I spent another 2 years as an airline consultant. Good money...but ultimately, the job interfered with my writing (I had gotten the fiction-writing bug pretty strong by 2005).

We’ve been in Tulsa since 1989. We have one son, grown and married, with two boys of his own. He’s a professor of English Lit. at a university in Oklahoma. I seem busier in my retirement than I ever was in my working days, spending my days writing, fixing a never-ending parade of broken things, and flying radio-controlled aircraft. I can still rock out on guitar pretty well, too.

And now for The Same Six Questions!

1. Have you published a book yet?

Yes. East Wind Returns, my first novel, was published as an ebook in March 2011. It became available in paperback in May 2011. It’s a story I’ve lived with, developed, and refined over the course of six years.

I’m a lifelong student of history. When you realize how little it would have taken to change most historical outcomes completely, your mind can’t help but speculate. I love alternate historical fiction—my credo is change one thing...and watch what happens. East Wind Returns is set near the end of World War II—July to November 1945—and explores a very different road to that conflict's conclusion. To quote my book blurb:

The American war leaders grapple with a crippling setback: Their secret atomic bomb does not work. The invasion of Japan seems the only option to bring the war to a close. When those leaders suppress intelligence of a Japanese atomic weapon poised against the invasion forces, it falls to John Worth, a young photo reconnaissance pilot, to find the Japanese device.

It’s full of political intrigue, exciting aerial action and passionate romance. John Worth is an everyman turned quiet hero—my favorite type of protagonist. I really loved writing this book.

2. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve wanted to be a fiction writer for as long as I can remember. The trouble is, I couldn’t come up with a story to save my life. I knew I had a talent for writing, though—in my aviation career, I was a prolific writer of tech and industry articles. But coherent fiction? That didn’t start until about 2005—when I was well into my 50s.


3. What was your first lengthy piece of fiction?

East Wind Returns was the first piece I started that didn’t quickly fall apart. I’m not sure of the exact chronology, but in the year it took me to write the first draft, I completed a few short stories (and submitted them, to zero acclaim). One short story is about an over-the-hill NY doo-wop guitarist, from a very bigoted background, who realizes he might have fathered a daughter with a black woman in a drunken haze some 20 years before. The others are about a clever Chicago policewoman who yearns for success as a sculptor. I’m considering expanding the cop/artist stories into a series of short novels and releasing them as ebooks. I think I’d publish them under a pen name, as they’d be radically different in genre from the alternate historical fiction that preceded them under my own name.

4. When was your first indication “I can do this (write)”?

I’ve known I could write in a clear and engaging manner since I started writing non-fiction, aviation-related articles many years ago. I didn’t know I could write fiction that people wouldn’t laugh or spit at until I began shopping East Wind Returns to traditional publishers and agents in 2006. In my hundred or so rejection letters, no one ever said or implied don’t quit your day job. I took that as encouragement.

I received some reinforcement over the next few years. In 2008, I became enamored with screenwriting. I took classes at the local university, ultimately becoming a member of a screenwriters’ workshop that met weekly. From 2008 to 2010, I wrote six feature length and two short screenplays, often adapting stories I had already written in prose. Two of my works (one short, one feature) were semi-finalists in international contests. I took that as a sign that my sense of story (and craft) had finally arrived. Ultimately, I had to make a choice: I could not write novels and screenplays simultaneously—it had to be one or the other. While I loved both mediums, there seems to be almost no commercial outlet available for the works of a novice screenwriter in his 60s who lives outside of LA. Direct e-publishing, on the other hand, provides opportunity to anyone.


5. If you could meet one of your characters in real life, which would it be?

I’ve already met the vast majority of my characters, either in person or through the media. The names may be different, but the personalities and traits are the same. I owe a great debt to some of our recent political buffoons for providing models that are wonderfully hateful, intellectually challenged, and morally deficient.

There is one exception, though, and she’s the one I’d most like to meet. I’m currently wrapping up my second novel entitled Unpunished, and she is completely a product of my imagination. Her name is Pola Nilsson-MacLeish, a Swedish economist who falls desperately in love with an American airman interned in Sweden during WWII. She’s brilliant, passionate, and multi-lingual, speaking English with a maddening Scottish accent, the result of honing her language skills with the help of the Scotsman she met and married at the London School of Economics. Ultimately, she proves herself terribly courageous. As an added bonus, she constantly created her own dialogue with very little help from me.

6. It’s a dark and stormy night…What makes you scream like a little girl/boy?

It’s a barrel full of snakes—big ones, with the spade-shaped heads that identify them as poisonous. They’re escaping the barrel, forming a carpet of slithering menace that’s growing quickly across the front yard.

I can imagine the fool who placed the barrel there laughing his head off from a safe distance. I can’t help it...I have an Indiana Jones thing about snakes.

There must be hundreds of snakes in the woods behind our house, but they have the good sense to stay away from civilization—most of the time. Once or twice a summer, though, I seem fated to tangle with one.

Like Indy said, “Why does it always have to be snakes?”
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Entertaining stuff, Bill! The book sounds great. Thanks so much for stopping by.

For more on Bill and his writing, check out his Facebook page.

Be sure to stop back on Monday, when we'll indie author Patrick Johnson!