(no subject)

[alg]

I was going over the question post earlier, and I realized that a lot of your questions are about specific situations -- my book is unique, my book is 250,000 words but it's really good!, how do I figure out what the genre is of my book if it's a romantic literary mystery with science fiction elements?, if field X is my background, how do I get into publishing? ....

These are really good questions, but they are hard to answer specifically without more detail -- and I've already answered them all in general. I mean, just because you don't like the answer doesn't mean that if you ask the question phrased a bit differently, the answer is going to change. Sure, once we get down to specifics, those specifics are going to be different from the generalities based on lots of different factors -- like the quality of your writing. Who your friends are. Who is going to give you blurbs, where you want to live, what your skills would bring to the publishing industry, how focused you are on writing to make money vs. writing as an art...

So I'm not sure how to answer a lot of them. I'm going to keep thinking. For now, y'all should feel free to start a new question thread in this entry. Specific questions? General questions? Stupid questions? Sure. Stupid questions usually get answered first, then general questions, then situation-specific questions, fyi.

Hm.... So today is a Monday, huh? It's been very Mondayish so far, although erratic0101 had his assistant bring me a cup of coffee -- grande soy no foam no whip pumpkin spice latte. Hell yeah! While drinking said coffee, I am entertaining myself by reading the responses over here. Submissions just cannot compare to the stuff over there!

The most important part of this entry: This past weekend I saw the full-length version of D.E.B.S. and. Whoa. Whoa. What else can I say? If you like spies, girls kissing, movies that are funny, and wacky sidekicks, I recommend finding yourself a copy. I think it's my new favorite movie.


Questions answered in the below comments:

- One thing I've not heard mentioned before in the publishing business, until now, is the "where you want to live". Could you explain this in a little more detail?

- If you have a trilogy you are interested in marketing, is it preferable to wait until all 3 books are written, or can you finish the first, and start marketing it while writing the 2nd?

- What's the ideal way to impress a Tor (or similar book publisher) art director?

- The book is unique, and as far as I know I am the only writer to put something together like this...

Comments

[devilwrites.livejournal.com]

One thing I've not heard mentioned before in the publishing business, until now, is the "where you want to live". Could you explain this in a little more detail? I mean, I know writers who aren't in driving distance of NYC can be at a disadvantage because all of the important people live in and around NYC, and therefore, connections can be hard to make, but what else is involved?

Thanks! :)

[alg.livejournal.com]

My comment about "where you want to live" has more to do with working as a publishing professional than working as a writer. You can live anywhere if you are a writer, and if you want to make connections, you can join professional writing organizations and attend professional conference and stuff.

Working in publishing as a publishing professional (editor, publicist, whatever) is a little harder. There's an entry with advice and stories of other people's beginnings here (http://alg.livejournal.com/83635.html).

[devilwrites.livejournal.com]

Whew, okay, thanks. :) You had me worried, for a moment. :) And thanks for the link!

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

From my vantage (not an author, know a lot of authors), the great thing about fiction writing is you can live *anywhere*. Which means you can find a place with low cost of living and high quality of life, and make just as much money there as anywhere else. (So two good friends got to move *to* Minnesota, but three have since moved *away*, so it's a net loss for me, grump.)

You'll just get fewer editorial lunches, since you'll visit your editor a lot less often. But with email, and telephones, the in-person visit isn't that common anyway. And besides not all publishers are in New York (see for example Baen Books, a major player in the SF/fantasy market).

[devilwrites.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[sdn.livejournal.com]

who is erratic1010, who does not seem to be registered?

[alg.livejournal.com]

Ooops. it is my friend Jon, who is actually erratic0101. I just mess up the numbers all the time.

[miintikwa.livejournal.com]

Possibly a stupid question, but I've been curious. If you have a trilogy you are interested in marketing, is it preferable to wait until all 3 books are written, or can you finish the first, and start marketing it while writing the 2nd?

[alg.livejournal.com]

I suggest that you don't get too tied to doing a trilogy. If you want a trilogy, plot it out and write a synopsis for each book. Then write the first book. Stop there. Try to sell the first book. If no one likes the first book, you haven't wasted your time writing the other two! Even if the third book in the trilogy is the best work in the world, and would rival classics in its brilliance, no one is going to read the first two books to get to the one brilliant part.

I always suggest to new/unpublished writers that they start with a standalone novel that could be expanded into a trilogy or series or group of connected novels.

[miintikwa.livejournal.com]

My foundations are shaken, but in such a good way I feel inspired.

Thank you!

[gryphart.livejournal.com]

Well, I have no idea if this is running too wide of your field or not, but I'd always wondered - what's the ideal way to impress a Tor (or similar book publisher) art director, in your opinion? Is there a specific convention that they largely go to? I know the lovely Ms. Gallo goes to SDCC, but I didn't know how many of the other ADs went as well...

[alg.livejournal.com]

I have no clue what impresses art directors. I will ask Irene and see if she has an answer.

[gryphart.livejournal.com]

Cool, thanks! I'm assuming if cons are kosher, it's either World Fantasy, Boskone, or SDCC/Comic-con, since I'd variously heard all three had publishers around, but I'd love to get it from a direct source. I know she posted about what to put in a portfolio, but not quite as much on the other end of self-marketing.

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

Probably should add Worldcon to that list, too.

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

It's hard to demonstrate "sanity" or "timeliness" in an art show, or even a portfolio :-).

[gryphart.livejournal.com]

*giggle* No kidding. That's part of why I always assume it's better to meet in person at a con or some such than send mailers, since then the poor ADs have some assurance that I'm not completely wacky.

[alg.livejournal.com]

Irene directs you to these links:

http://igallo.blogspot.com/2006/07/in-response-to-old-question-what-do-i.html
http://igallo.blogspot.com/2006/07/how-do-i-get-my-work-in-front-of-art.html

She says that if she has time she will reply more fully tonight. Yay Irene!!

[gryphart.livejournal.com]

Yay indeed! Thank you muchly!

[scixual.livejournal.com]

I thnink I'm the "unique" one you mention. If that has been answered elsewhere, could you point it out to me, or give me a quickie synopsis? I have read through a lot ofthis journal, but haven't read it all.

And if my question is too vague, might I ask what I could add to make it more answerable?

[alg.livejournal.com]

Um. I was just talking off the top of my head, not thinking of anyone specifically. Post your question here and I'll answer it in the comments like I did the other ones, ok?

[scixual.livejournal.com]

Oh, okay. Let me just dig it up again:

------
I wrote a book.

*whew*

Okay, that's still kind of a scary thing to say. I have written a book -- in fact, I am about 2/3 of the way through the rough draft of the sequel.

The book is unique, and as far as I know I am the only writer to put something together like this. In essence, it's more similar to a collection of short stories, poems and short-shorts than a novel, but the intent is that the assembly of the pieces create a whole rather like the incomplete pieces of pictures can combine to create something interesting and meaningful in a collage. Most of the book is "fragments" that do not stand on their own, but weave together in interesting ways.

So it's probably best described as an "experimental novel." Easier to read than Joyce, though, I guarantee.

And I suspect that such a thing is like a red flag that says, "not salable." The conceit that holds it together concerns parallel worlds, so it's probably a better fit for the SF/F market than any other.

Gosh, I promise there's a question in here. It just feels like an AA meeting: "Hello, my name is Scott. I write experimental literature."

Those I have had read it (including a couple with minor writing creds of their own) have told me that the experiment "works" -- and at least two have rather gushed. And I am not talking about my Mom here. These are staid people.

So here's the question: Do you have any recommendations on what might be the best way to approach a publisher with something like this so that it would get a fair reading? I think anyone who reads the first few pages is likely to get drawn in; or at least, anyone for whom it "works". I know it won't work for everyone, of course, and I know it'll likely take me some time to get through to the -- what, 1% maybe? -- people who would appreciate what I have created and be willing to stick their neck out for it.

Would it be better to be up-front that I know it's possibly a difficult book to place, or should I drop it in a publisher's lap, more or less, and hope s/he gets it without my help? And/or should I find ways to generate or find a ready-made audience for it so I can say, "hey, I know X demographic will love this, and here's why"?

Or is this the sort of thing that maybe will only ever be self-published until or unless it takes off unexpectedly? Or must I write and succeed with other "normal" books and set this aside until I have some big chops?

Thanks for your blog, by the way. It's a great reminder that publishing folks are human, and not out to get me.

[alg.livejournal.com]

Okay. You can either put this aside and write some more "traditional" or linear books, and bring this out as your coup de grace later in your career;

or you can focus your search for publication on companies that have published "experimental" fiction -- not stuff identical to yours, but with the same "experimental" conceit (and I am thinking here of Hal Duncan's Vellum, etc.);

or you can focus your search for publication on small presses that are more literary, who like quirky, offbeat stuff (and I am thinking here of Small Beer Press and the like);

or you can just send it in to a few regular old publishers and see what you get.

there's no harm in trying and the worst that can happen is a form rejection.

And you don't need to bother using the words "unique" and "experimental" -- you've just employed several different storytelling methods as window dressing to get your point across, much like putting cheese on vegetables to get kids to eat them. See?

[scixual.livejournal.com]

Very well put, thank you -- and you've given me some new things (including a new book!) to look up, which is excellent!

[(Anonymous)]

"The book is unique, and as far as I know I am the only writer to put something together like this. In essence, it's more similar to a collection of short stories, poems and short-shorts than a novel, but the intent is that the assembly of the pieces create a whole rather like the incomplete pieces of pictures can combine to create something interesting and meaningful in a collage. Most of the book is "fragments" that do not stand on their own, but weave together in interesting ways."

I wouldn't be so sure about that "only writer to put something together like this" thing. That sounds a *lot* like Jeff VanderMeer's CITY OF SAINTS AND MADMEN or even a Mark Danielewski project. Which is to say, more encouragingly, there is hope for weird, weird works. :)

[scixual.livejournal.com]

That's why I said "as far as I know" -- I am more than pleased to see others doing something similar. I shall have to look them up (though I have read Danielewski, and adore House of Leaves.)

Pros & cons of pseudonyms for different series?

[kelljones.livejournal.com]

Could you discuss the pros and cons of pseudonyms for different series?

For example, if a writer wanted to write two SF/F series with different tones or target audiences, what would be the benefits and disadvantages of publishing under the same name or different ones?

Would the author's "numbers" be the same for two different pseudonyms, or not, usually?

(and thanks, as usual, for all the frank answers!)

Re: Pros & cons of pseudonyms for different series?

[alg.livejournal.com]

This is the kind of thing that depends on the author and the writing. A lot of times, an author will use various names for various series that are in different genres. For example, if Mary Sue Genoese writes a fantasy series about elves, and simultaneously wants to write a science fiction series about black holes, she might want to use a pseudonym so people in the sf/f section won't pick up her book about black holes thinking it's about elves.

Sometimes an author well known for sf/f or historicals will want to write, oh, a mystery. Said author might not want that mystery to show up on the sales track, because it would affect the sales of the sf/f books or whatever. Then the author would use a closed pseud -- either the author wouldn't even tell the editor, or the editor wouldn't tell marketing/sales. Etc.

A lot of times authors will make public these pseuds, so their fans who read cross-genre can pick up their books.

On Craft

[laast.livejournal.com]

Do you have any suggestions on books about craft? Characterization, plotting, the basics, and so on? Or maybe any online workshops? I have only recently realized the importance of learning craft and I am trying to find all of the best resources out there. Thanks for your time!

Re: On Craft

[scixual.livejournal.com]

Oddly,t he best I have found is by Stephen King: On Writing.

Mind you, that's just my opinion, I'm not in the biz.