Hi Writers,
There seems to be some blogosphere chatter surrounding a quote from the Laurell K. Hamilton interview in our April issue. So I'm posting that particular Q&A here. The full interview will be available on our website next week.


Do you work on only one series at a time?
Yes, especially when the Merry series was new. I'd written five Anita books in a row so Anita's voice was very strong. Merry's voice was hard to stay in and the Anita voice kept intruding. So I had to be very careful at the beginning. When I was working on Merry I had to not be thinking about Anita and vice versa.
    A Lick of Frost is number six. Sometime around book four, the world begins to solidify and it's not as much work to do the voice of the characters. Book four seems to be the magic number for me. And somewhere between books six and eight, it just gets to work.    
    One of the things I did before I started Merry was research mystery series, because at that time there were no fantasy series that had gone past five books. A lot of writers seem to get bored with their own series between books five and eight. One of the reasons I didn't do a straight mystery series is because I thought I'd get bored. That's why I have fantastic elements; I thought it would keep me interested, and it has.

Stay tuned for more.

Keep Writing,
Maria

Writer’s Digest magazine is pleased to announce the addition of four famous writers to its Writer’s Workbook line-up: Steve Almond, Susan Shapiro, Dorianne Laux and M.J. Rose. Writer’s Workbook is a popular eight-page section of Writer’s Digest magazine that offers lessons and tips for working on specific aspects of writing, including fiction, nonfiction, poetry and marketing.

Steve Almond is the author of two story collections, My Life in Heavy Metal and The Evil B.B. Chow; the novel Which Brings Me to You (with Julianna Baggott); the nonfiction book Candyfreak; and his new essay collection, Not That You Asked. His provocative how-to fiction advice first appeared in Writer’s Digest’s February 2008 issue.

Susan Shapiro is a Manhattan-based journalism teacher who has written for The Washington Post, The New York Times Magazine, The Nation, Glamour, People and Salon. She’s the author of the memoirs Five Men Who Broke My Heart; Lighting Up and Only as Good as Your Word: Writing Lessons From My Favorite Literary Gurus. Her tried-and-true nonfiction lessons debuted in Writer’s Digest’s April 2008 issue.

Celebrated poet Dorianne Laux’s poetry commentary debuts in Writer’s Digest’s June 2008 issue. A poet-in-residence at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, she’s the author of Facts about the Moon as well as three collections of poetry from BOA Editions: Awake, What We Carry and Smoke, and co-author of The Poet’s Companion: A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetry.

M.J. Rose, the newest addition to Writer’s Workbook, shares her savvy marketing tips in Writer’s Digest’s, beginning with the August 2008 issue. The bestselling author of nine novels, including The Reincarnationist, she founded the first marketing company for authors, AuthorBuzz.com, and writers flock to her popular marketing blog, Buzz, Balls & Hype.

Writer's Digest is the world's leading magazine for writers, founded in 1920. Writer's Market, the bible for writers seeking to publish their work, was first published in 1921. Together, they form the foundation of a wide range of informational, instructional and inspirational offerings for writers. Today those offerings include books, magazines, special-interest publications, educational courses, conferences, websites and more.

Hi Writers,

To follow up on my previous post on changing reading habits, the poll right now:
Do you buy less print (books, magazines, newspapers) than five years ago?
37 people so far have voted “yes” (they are buying less) vs. 51 people who voted “no.” I'm keeping the poll open so scroll down and cast your vote.

Reassuring numbers for writers, although the fact that writers are the primary readers of this blog skews those numbers. Interesting to note comments here and on the forum, many mentioned that while they do buy fewer newspapers, they buy just as many if not more magazines and books than they did five years ago. So that’s encouraging.

On that note, HarperCollins is rolling the dice with a new program that will offer the full contents of many of their books online free of charge.

HarperCollins Will Post Free Books on the Web

Here’s an excerpt from The New York Times article:

In an attempt to increase book sales, HarperCollins Publishers will begin offering free electronic editions of some of its books on its Web site, including a novel by Paulo Coelho and a cookbook by the Food Network star Robert Irvine.

The idea is to give readers the opportunity to sample the books online in the same way that prospective buyers can flip through books in a bookstore.

“It’s like taking the shrink wrap off a book,” said Jane Friedman, chief executive of HarperCollins Publishers Worldwide. “The best way to sell books is to have the consumer be able to read some of that content.”

A gamble to be sure, one the whole publishing industry will no doubt be watching closely. Hopefully what Paulo Coelho had to say is true: “I believe that generosity pays off.”

I love that. And I hope he’s right.
What’s your take?

Keep Writing,
Maria