Reflect on this philosophical dispute submitted by one poetry-devoted reader:

"The book was a collection of love poems by William Carlos Williams. The poem was 'Asphodel, that Greeny Flower.' And the specific line of the poem over which we disagreed was: 'I cannot say that I have gone to hell for your love but often found myself there in your pursuit.'

"Although my boyfriend and I had been dating seriously for about a year, we disagreed so vehemently about whether pain and struggle constitute a fundamental part of love that we decided to break up then and there after reading and discussing the poem."

• Hating writer's block and loving the eventual (hopeful) breakthrough
• Loving to have written (but hating the writing itself)
• Loving the end results of criticism/editing, but being wounded in the process

Thursday, August 20, 2009 8:46:09 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [3] Trackback

"The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he’s always doing both."
—James A. Michener

Monday, August 17, 2009 6:46:44 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [5] Trackback

“Hello, Liesel,” Daniel said as he grinned, brushed fresh snowflakes from his wavy brown hair.

“Danny, what are you doing here so late?”  Liesel asked from behind the hostess stand. “Look at you.  Are you drunk?”

“It’s wonderful to see you, too.  You look exceptionally lovely tonight.  Hey, is Andre still here?  What kind of mood is he in?”

“He’s in the back room.  He’s bearable tonight,” she whispered.  “Danny, seriously, why are you here?”

“Tonight deserves one more.  Then I’ll be on my way home,” Danny replied.

“Oh?  What’s the occasion?  A Christmas party?  Your birthday?”

“It is an anniversary of sorts.  But I’m not celebrating.  It’s a day to forget, and so far, alcohol is the only way I’ve found.  Just a little something for the pain, you know?”  Looking around, he asked, “Who are all these people?

“Hello, Liesel,” Daniel said as he grinned, brushed fresh snowflakes from his wavy brown hair.

“Danny, what are you doing here so late?”  Liesel asked from behind the hostess stand. “Look at you. 

"Danny! Are you drunk?” Liesel stood with arms crossed behind the hostess stand.

“It’s wonderful to see you, too. You look exceptionally lovely tonight. Hey, is Andre still here? What kind of mood is he in?”

“He’s in the back room.  He’s bearable tonight,” she whispered.  “Danny, seriously, Why are you here?”

“Tonight deserves one more. Then I’ll be on my way home,” Danny replied.

“Oh? What’s the occasion?" A Christmas party?  Your birthday?”

“It is an anniversary of sorts.  But I’m not celebrating.  It’s a day to forget, and so far, alcohol is the only way I’ve found.  Just a little something for the pain, you know?”  Danny looked around. “Who are all these people?

• Make sure it's really time to pay for a professional edit. (And realize it's not the key to publication or an agent.) I recommend you read about writer Jim Adam, and his advice on how/when to hire a professional.

• Make sure you know what kind of editing help you need: developmental, content, copyediting, or proofreading. The editing I've done above could be part of a developmental edit or an extensive content edit, which are far more expensive than a copyedit or proofread. A developmental edit will give you high-level feedback on how to rewrite and revise (on your own), often with major structural changes or complete redirection. A content edit may be just as thorough, but may not require a lot of new material or restructuring. Copyediting and proofreading looks at your material at a surface level (grammar, syntax, punctuation, typos).
  

• Follow a thorough process to hire someone. Do your research. And try to get some kind of sample or idea of their work before committing. Here's an article that describes how one writer did it.

• Critters.org
• Authonomy
• Online Writing Workshop for SFF & Horror
• Ray Rhamey's blog offers a free critique of your first 16 lines
• Writer's Digest forum

Thursday, August 13, 2009 2:23:17 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [4] Trackback

1. You may have little experience or practice in pitching, and walk into the pitches unbelievably nervous and anxious. All of that anxious energy usually detracts from the quality of the pitch. (So many writers fill the first few minutes with apologies for being nervous—not sure what to do, or what to say.) While it's a skill I wish more writers would practice (the art of persuasion or the art of selling), most writers expect their heart and passion to carry them. Sometimes it works, sometimes not.
   
2. You may consider the pitch a make-it-or-break-it moment—like awaiting the official verdict on whether your idea is worthy of further review and publication. The reality is that in-person pitches have about the same success rate as a cold query (less than 1% in my experience).
3. Because you are so focused on this mythic opportunity (and hearing that "yes" or "no" verdict), you might miss out on the greater benefit of the pitch experience—getting instant feedback on your project, or having a meaningful conversation about the market for your work. Such information can dramatically reduce future frustration and shorten your path to publication. Sometimes just 5 minutes of very insightful professional advice can change your perspective, approach, or slant. Plus flexibility and openness to change in today's publishing environment is important to long-term career growth and success.
   
4. That said, most pitch sessions don't offer enough time to have a solid conversation about your best path forward (next steps). At least 75% of the writers I meet with have a fuzzy or misdirected goal or path, and no clear idea of how to make progress. Fifteen minutes (or less!) isn't enough time to have a coaching session, plus most writers are so focused on the pitch they aren't in the right mindset to receive redirection. (Not to mention that such redirection can be a huge blow to a writer because it equates to rejection.)
5. Most writers don't experience the pitch process as part of the business of being a writer. Most writers I meet experience the pitch as a highly intense, emotional, and personal process. Unfortunately, whenever engaging in a business conversation (which is what a pitch is), it's important to have some distance and perspective. That's why I always love meeting potential authors who have a business or marketing background, because they know that getting an idea shot down isn't personal, and they're more likely to be receptive to a conversation about marketability of a project and alternative routes to success.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009 3:59:09 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [5] Trackback

1. Keep it short. (Brevity is your friend!) Just because you have three minutes (or 5 or 10) doesn't mean you should take up all the time. Never talk for as long as possible—it can take a mere 15 seconds to deliver a convincing storyline. The longer you talk, the less time the agent or editor is talking. And isn't that why you're meeting with them—to hear THEIR feedback and reaction?
   
2. Focus on a character and the character's problem. When it comes to fiction, it's much easier to follow a pitch and remain interested when we can connect to a character and immediately understand the problem or conflict facing that character. Why are we going to care? What are the stakes? So what?
   
3. Stop at a moment of tension and wait. Rather than talk and talk (which sometimes happens because you're nervous), remind yourself that it's OK not to explain all the details or the final outcome. It's more effective to stop just as you've established the key stakes or tension, and wait for a reaction from the agent. Let them guide the discussion; find out what's caught their attention or what piece is missing.

Thursday, August 06, 2009 1:19:37 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [1] Trackback

In the trade space, one of the big ebook topics (which we plan to explore in depth at DBW) is “pricing.” What should ebooks cost the consumer? The convention among trade publishers has been to peg ebook retail prices to the least-expensive edition available in print. So if there is a cloth edition and a paperback edition, the publisher would be guided on ebook pricing by the paperback (usually setting at or slightly below the print book price.)

But in academic publishing, hardcover and paperback editions are often published simultaneously. The publisher figures that the paperbacks are for the students; the hardcovers are for the libraries. Since ebooks in the academic space are considered primarily library items, and because they have often become part of larger searchable databases, the academic publishers would set their ebook prices based on the hardcover, the more expensive print book available. He also said that sometimes they are even more expensive than the hardcover, because of the additional functionality they have, like links and embedded video.

This was important information for our client, who works across publishing segments. But if presented without a clear contextual frame, it could well be confusing information to a consumer trade publisher (or an academic publisher) trying to figure out a pricing strategy. Because we are tightly focused on consumer trade publishing, our panel(s) at DBW might not mention a tie-to-hardcover pricing, but if we did, we’d pose the model and talk about why it made sense in some other context, but not in ours. We’ll be talking about lots of other things that affect price: discounts, retailer strategies and control, the impact of the publisher selling direct to the consumer, and the extent to which there is enrichment or enhancement, for example. All of those things, as well, are somewhat different in the consumer space than in the others, where aggregation and value-added capabilities are critical components of ebook development.

Wednesday, August 05, 2009 5:01:30 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [2] Trackback

• See the conversation on Twitter about "follow the reader."
• Visit the blog Follow the Reader.
• Read about the conference we're hosting this September that will help you follow the reader.
  

Tuesday, August 04, 2009 5:21:21 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [1] Trackback