Author and memoir embellisher James Frey's publisher announced that Mr. Honesty will be adding a note to future editions of his partially fictional work A Million Little Pieces.
Probably too much to hope that Frey's author note will say something like "Hey, in this book? Sometimes I'm lying to you", right?
While Frey was admitting to his latest wrongdoings on Larry King's TV show, Oprah Winfrey called in to tell Frey that she still supports him and his novel, and evidently blames the publisher for bad categorization. It's always those pesky meddling publishers. But now I'm wondering, how would one correctly categorize Frey's novel? As alternative history?
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Perception
While I'm tinkering with the blog, and we're getting bombarded by stories of liars in print, here's something vaguely related the latter that I've been pondering:
Shrinks tell us that when you're face-to-face with someone, changes in the other person's body language, eye movements, vocal intonations and even skin color and dampness are all signs that the other person is lying to you.
You can't see anything of these things in cyberspace, of course, unless you're into that whole webcam business. Assuming you're not, how can you tell when someone on the internet is lying to you?
Shrinks tell us that when you're face-to-face with someone, changes in the other person's body language, eye movements, vocal intonations and even skin color and dampness are all signs that the other person is lying to you.
You can't see anything of these things in cyberspace, of course, unless you're into that whole webcam business. Assuming you're not, how can you tell when someone on the internet is lying to you?
Reconstruct
Over the next week or so PBW will be undergoing renovations to implement my ideas and some of the excellent suggestions you all made here. Barring bad luck, the new weekly feature will debut on January 13th and return every Friday thereafter. I'll also be adding some fresh links, recs, freebies and other neat stuff.
This is only if I can get it all to work, of course. Keep in mind that I'm severely HTML challenged. My daughter has kindly offered to help me out, as in Let me do the hard parts Mommy, but her bedtime is 9:30 p.m. on school nights, at which point, I'm on my own.
Thanks again to all for your input.
This is only if I can get it all to work, of course. Keep in mind that I'm severely HTML challenged. My daughter has kindly offered to help me out, as in Let me do the hard parts Mommy, but her bedtime is 9:30 p.m. on school nights, at which point, I'm on my own.
Thanks again to all for your input.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Freyed
I've never found two new entries for the Authors Behaving Badly file in one day, especially writers with the names Vice and Frey (and wouldn't that make a good cop show title?)
Anyway, Oprah, I think you've been hustled.
Anyway, Oprah, I think you've been hustled.
Authors Behaving Badly
(back by popular demand)
Evidently it's tough for many writers to think up their own stories, so it would stand to follow that it is much, much easier to steal someone else's work and pass it off as your own.
We call this plagiarism. It's illegal, but don't let that stop you.
Here's how it could work in your favor: all you have to do is go back a century or two and pick someone who was a damn good writer, but obscure and not widely read. There are so many authors like that whose fine, award-worthy work has not seen the light of day in God knows how many decades. And in this age of Nintendo DS and PSWhichever, it's not like anyone will ever read that tired old stuff again, except maybe the occasional old lady librarian.
So if you're a young writer of promise, you might steal a big chunk of another, dead writer's work for something like, say, your Ph.D. dissertation, or your big literary award-winning story collection, and probably no one will ever notice, and you can go on to teach at a big university and be awarded fellowships and win things like the Flannery O'Connor Award and you'll never get busted.
Unless you're Brad Vice.
His defense? Let me quote from the article: "I made a mistake concerning the parameters of copyright and fair use."
Well, duh.
Evidently it's tough for many writers to think up their own stories, so it would stand to follow that it is much, much easier to steal someone else's work and pass it off as your own.
We call this plagiarism. It's illegal, but don't let that stop you.
Here's how it could work in your favor: all you have to do is go back a century or two and pick someone who was a damn good writer, but obscure and not widely read. There are so many authors like that whose fine, award-worthy work has not seen the light of day in God knows how many decades. And in this age of Nintendo DS and PSWhichever, it's not like anyone will ever read that tired old stuff again, except maybe the occasional old lady librarian.
So if you're a young writer of promise, you might steal a big chunk of another, dead writer's work for something like, say, your Ph.D. dissertation, or your big literary award-winning story collection, and probably no one will ever notice, and you can go on to teach at a big university and be awarded fellowships and win things like the Flannery O'Connor Award and you'll never get busted.
Unless you're Brad Vice.
His defense? Let me quote from the article: "I made a mistake concerning the parameters of copyright and fair use."
Well, duh.
Monday, January 09, 2006
Content Ten
Ten Things for Your Weblog Content
1. Active Web Reader is a free web feed reader that allows you to add all your favorite RSS feeds, bookmark web pages and be notified of changes (it will also highlight the changes since your last visit for you.)
2. ArticleCity.com offers free articles for reprint on your web site (78 writing-related articles are here; also as with any free-reprint material, remember to read and comply with the terms and conditions.)
3. Got free content but not sure how to use it? Check out BlogHerald.com's post A Quick Guide to Free Content.
4. You can download a free thirty-day trial of EgoClip, an RSS aggregator that automatically sorts and prioritizes your news according to what it thinks will interest you.
5. Free content and Creative Commons advocates may want to link to Lawrence Lessig's book, Free Culture, How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity which he's posted for free download on the internet here.
6. MobilePlay provides free PDA and other mobile device access to news, games, weather information, weblogs and more.
7. PodOmatic, the easiest place to create, find and send podcasts and videocasts, offers free services.
8. The whole blogging world can interview, podcast and vlog for free with Skype.
9. Stickam is a free, all-in-one multimedia tool.
10. Traffic Genius has assembled a monster link list of public domain content sources.
1. Active Web Reader is a free web feed reader that allows you to add all your favorite RSS feeds, bookmark web pages and be notified of changes (it will also highlight the changes since your last visit for you.)
2. ArticleCity.com offers free articles for reprint on your web site (78 writing-related articles are here; also as with any free-reprint material, remember to read and comply with the terms and conditions.)
3. Got free content but not sure how to use it? Check out BlogHerald.com's post A Quick Guide to Free Content.
4. You can download a free thirty-day trial of EgoClip, an RSS aggregator that automatically sorts and prioritizes your news according to what it thinks will interest you.
5. Free content and Creative Commons advocates may want to link to Lawrence Lessig's book, Free Culture, How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity which he's posted for free download on the internet here.
6. MobilePlay provides free PDA and other mobile device access to news, games, weather information, weblogs and more.
7. PodOmatic, the easiest place to create, find and send podcasts and videocasts, offers free services.
8. The whole blogging world can interview, podcast and vlog for free with Skype.
9. Stickam is a free, all-in-one multimedia tool.
10. Traffic Genius has assembled a monster link list of public domain content sources.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Adding Machine, Stat
Bookwire has put up its finalized U.S. Book Production Stats for hardcover and paperback books from 1993 through 2004.
Problem*: based on the figures from this earlier report, as well as this PR, did Bowker's stat guy forget to carry over some ones? Or am I reading this new report wrong?
*Problem solved: Sharp-eyed PBW reader Terry pointed out via e-mail that the new stats are probably for industry trade (how-to, professional pubs, etc.) production versus all book production shown in the earlier report (which does not have "trade" in the title. PBW doesn't need an adding machine, she needs new glasses.)
Observation: that would mean we published 5,125 trade books on fiction (how to write it, perhaps?) in 2004. Seems like a lot more how-to's than I'm seeing in the book store. I wonder how many are sold exclusively online?
Problem*: based on the figures from this earlier report, as well as this PR, did Bowker's stat guy forget to carry over some ones? Or am I reading this new report wrong?
*Problem solved: Sharp-eyed PBW reader Terry pointed out via e-mail that the new stats are probably for industry trade (how-to, professional pubs, etc.) production versus all book production shown in the earlier report (which does not have "trade" in the title. PBW doesn't need an adding machine, she needs new glasses.)
Observation: that would mean we published 5,125 trade books on fiction (how to write it, perhaps?) in 2004. Seems like a lot more how-to's than I'm seeing in the book store. I wonder how many are sold exclusively online?
More Than Words
E-mail to the business account, posted without permission (you SPAM me, you take your chances):
Writing. Make it more than just words.
With what? Pictographs? Sound buttons? Scratch-n-sniff patches? John, ignore that last idea.
When I was ten I used to illustrate my stories by tracing pictures of kissing couples out of love comics. That was fun, mainly because I never had to draw their noses (noses are hard), just a squiggly seam between their faces.
Or maybe you mean that old Extreme song, More Than Words. Nuno Bettencourt was very hot guy. Now I'm going to hear it in my head for the rest of the day.
Or . . . maybe I had a little too much Red Zinger this afternoon.
Written a book? Need a publisher?
Yes and not at the moment. (singing) What would you say if I took those words away?
Print your book with Authorhouse.
(watching dazed birds collide in mid-air outside office window, stops singing) I think Writershouse might have a problem with that.
Our clients have become bestsellers.
So have theirs and, oddly enough, they didn't ask any of us to take out a mortgage. (goes to window) You dogs quit that howling this instant.
When you have the right tools, you're more likely to get read.
Ingrates. (shuts window) Didn't you guys just send me a penis-size enhancement SPAM? You know, the one that starts off When you have the right sized tool, you're more likely to get...?
Get on radio and TV.
With who, Howard Stern? Wait, now I'm confused.
We have the resources to help you
What about my anxiety over penis size? Not that I have a penis, but still. I can't sing. I don't have the right tools. I'm not on radio or TV. Nuno Bettencourt cut off all that gorgeous hair and wouldn't do an Extreme reunion for VH-1. God, my career, my musical history and my sexuality are completely messed up here.
Click here.
(sniff) No, no, I'll stumble along on my own. Unknown to Nuno. Still stupidly being paid by publishers to get into print. And tool-less.
Click here.
I don't need your mercy links. All I ask is that you remember the love comic moment we shared. Whatever act you put on in front of the others, I know that it was special for you. Much, much more than words.
Writing. Make it more than just words.
With what? Pictographs? Sound buttons? Scratch-n-sniff patches? John, ignore that last idea.
When I was ten I used to illustrate my stories by tracing pictures of kissing couples out of love comics. That was fun, mainly because I never had to draw their noses (noses are hard), just a squiggly seam between their faces.
Or maybe you mean that old Extreme song, More Than Words. Nuno Bettencourt was very hot guy. Now I'm going to hear it in my head for the rest of the day.
Or . . . maybe I had a little too much Red Zinger this afternoon.
Written a book? Need a publisher?
Yes and not at the moment. (singing) What would you say if I took those words away?
Print your book with Authorhouse.
(watching dazed birds collide in mid-air outside office window, stops singing) I think Writershouse might have a problem with that.
Our clients have become bestsellers.
So have theirs and, oddly enough, they didn't ask any of us to take out a mortgage. (goes to window) You dogs quit that howling this instant.
When you have the right tools, you're more likely to get read.
Ingrates. (shuts window) Didn't you guys just send me a penis-size enhancement SPAM? You know, the one that starts off When you have the right sized tool, you're more likely to get...?
Get on radio and TV.
With who, Howard Stern? Wait, now I'm confused.
We have the resources to help you
What about my anxiety over penis size? Not that I have a penis, but still. I can't sing. I don't have the right tools. I'm not on radio or TV. Nuno Bettencourt cut off all that gorgeous hair and wouldn't do an Extreme reunion for VH-1. God, my career, my musical history and my sexuality are completely messed up here.
Click here.
(sniff) No, no, I'll stumble along on my own. Unknown to Nuno. Still stupidly being paid by publishers to get into print. And tool-less.
Click here.
I don't need your mercy links. All I ask is that you remember the love comic moment we shared. Whatever act you put on in front of the others, I know that it was special for you. Much, much more than words.
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Don't Feed the Writer
I was fairly disciplined about food through the holidays, and as a result gained only three pounds instead of the usual ten to fifteen. Those three have got to go, though, so the pup and I will be taking some extra walks this month.
My diet is gradually meandering back to vegetarian, so I'm experimenting with salads, looking through old cookbooks and trying to find new ways to liven up steamed and raw veggies, along with hunting down new online recipe resources and trying to balance out my cockeyed food pyramid.
My biggest problem with balancing my diet is the milk/dairy requirement. I'm supposed to have two cups of milk or something dairy per day. I can't stand milk or milk substitutes; they make me throw up and have since I was a kid. All other dairy products including ice cream and cheese just don't appeal to me much anymore (I'm also mildly to moderately lactose intolerant.) I take my calcium supplement every day, like every good middle-aged girl should, but the doc says it's not enough. I have to find two cups of some sort of natural dairy product that I can handle daily. If I just didn't have to smell or taste it, that would work (someone please invent cottage cheese gel caps for me.)
More info:
Marcia Golub has a cute article, The Writer's Diet, or How to Lose Weight Without Losing Your Mind" here.
World builders with primitive cultures might find this article on modern vs. primitive diets interesting.
My diet is gradually meandering back to vegetarian, so I'm experimenting with salads, looking through old cookbooks and trying to find new ways to liven up steamed and raw veggies, along with hunting down new online recipe resources and trying to balance out my cockeyed food pyramid.
My biggest problem with balancing my diet is the milk/dairy requirement. I'm supposed to have two cups of milk or something dairy per day. I can't stand milk or milk substitutes; they make me throw up and have since I was a kid. All other dairy products including ice cream and cheese just don't appeal to me much anymore (I'm also mildly to moderately lactose intolerant.) I take my calcium supplement every day, like every good middle-aged girl should, but the doc says it's not enough. I have to find two cups of some sort of natural dairy product that I can handle daily. If I just didn't have to smell or taste it, that would work (someone please invent cottage cheese gel caps for me.)
More info:
Marcia Golub has a cute article, The Writer's Diet, or How to Lose Weight Without Losing Your Mind" here.
World builders with primitive cultures might find this article on modern vs. primitive diets interesting.
Friday, January 06, 2006
Mulling
Thanks to everyone who commented on the Q&A inquiries (your suggestions are also of value to other authors who blog and stop by here.) I will have to let the swelling in my head go down while all this percolates over the weekend.
JAK and Friends
We know blogs are hot. We love the whole idea of doing blogs. We view blogs as a Great Leap Forward in the world of author-reader communication. But we won't kid you, the sad truth is that none of us has the time and energy to keep our own individual blogs going. However, in a burst of absolute desperation, we have banded together in the hope that we can inspire (read: nag and harass) each other into maintaining a group blog. We shall see how it goes. Meanwhile, offered below are some glimpses into the writing life.
Welcome to the time-consuming, energy-siphoning blogosphere, ladies.
(Doug, have you seen my kindness duct tape? I think I left it over at your blog last time I used it.)
Welcome to the time-consuming, energy-siphoning blogosphere, ladies.
(Doug, have you seen my kindness duct tape? I think I left it over at your blog last time I used it.)
Q&A
I have only one regular feature, the Monday Ten List, here at PBW, but I'm thinking of adding another. Before I do, I have some questions for you regulars, new visitors and lurkers out there:
1. How often do you like to read posts about an author's past, present, or future novel releases on the author's weblog?
2. How often do you like to read posts about books by other writers that the author recommends (or liked, loved, quoted for, etc.) on the author's weblog?
3. Is there any regular feature (like the Monday Ten List) you'd like to see on PBW?
Answer as many as you like in comments. If you're uncomfortable posting under your handle, feel free to comment anonymously. There are no wrong answers.
1. How often do you like to read posts about an author's past, present, or future novel releases on the author's weblog?
2. How often do you like to read posts about books by other writers that the author recommends (or liked, loved, quoted for, etc.) on the author's weblog?
3. Is there any regular feature (like the Monday Ten List) you'd like to see on PBW?
Answer as many as you like in comments. If you're uncomfortable posting under your handle, feel free to comment anonymously. There are no wrong answers.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Little More Richard
Just when a girl thinks Richard Chizmar is out of her novel listings, they pull him back in.
Maybe I should snitch Joe Konrath's idea and pitch the guy. I mean, imagine the great cover letter:
Dear Richard,
As you are already editing one of my novels in name only, perhaps you might consider reviewing my latest horror short story, Chizmarred. It's the tale of a multi-genre writer who no matter what she does cannot escape a nameless, determined force that is slyly altering her work. Will our heroine discover how to destroy the Byline Demon before it drives her mad and erases her identity from publishing altogether?
I would appreciate the chance to send the story along for your review. An acceptance would be wonderful, of course, plus it might also hold off the IRS from auditing you for unreported editing income. We all win!
Best,
PBW
Maybe I should snitch Joe Konrath's idea and pitch the guy. I mean, imagine the great cover letter:
Dear Richard,
As you are already editing one of my novels in name only, perhaps you might consider reviewing my latest horror short story, Chizmarred. It's the tale of a multi-genre writer who no matter what she does cannot escape a nameless, determined force that is slyly altering her work. Will our heroine discover how to destroy the Byline Demon before it drives her mad and erases her identity from publishing altogether?
I would appreciate the chance to send the story along for your review. An acceptance would be wonderful, of course, plus it might also hold off the IRS from auditing you for unreported editing income. We all win!
Best,
PBW
Pay Nothing Ten
Ten Things for Freeware Lovers
Freeware caution: always scan free downloads of anything for bugs and other threats before dumping the programs into your hard drive.
1. BookFormat takes any text and formats it to print out in book form (this would be a good one for writers who make their own chapbooks.)
2. BookReader is a comfortable, customizable e-book viewer.
3. Unzip your zip files with CoffeeCup Free Zip Wizard.
4. Need a thesaurus? Try Mobysaurus.
5. Store and retrieve your most frequently-used text phrases with PhaseExpress.
6. Edit and manage your word, e-mail and site lists with SlimList.
7. Learn to read faster with Speed Reading is not magic.
8. StickIt allows you to tack virtual sticky notes anywhere on your desktop.
9. Vizual Einstein ME sounds like a pretty decent outlining/organizing program, that "allows you to visually develop a project document with notes, headings, subheadings, and hyperlinks. Vizual Einstein is also Web-enabled and has full database search functionality. There are many other features, including bibliography and formatted essay report output." The same site offers more research/organizing freeware here.
10. WordWiseLookUp reads a word you click on your screen and opens a window to www.wordwiselookup.com, where you can pick one of the free web glossaries or dictionaries of your choice. With one more click, you get a definition.
Freeware caution: always scan free downloads of anything for bugs and other threats before dumping the programs into your hard drive.
1. BookFormat takes any text and formats it to print out in book form (this would be a good one for writers who make their own chapbooks.)
2. BookReader is a comfortable, customizable e-book viewer.
3. Unzip your zip files with CoffeeCup Free Zip Wizard.
4. Need a thesaurus? Try Mobysaurus.
5. Store and retrieve your most frequently-used text phrases with PhaseExpress.
6. Edit and manage your word, e-mail and site lists with SlimList.
7. Learn to read faster with Speed Reading is not magic.
8. StickIt allows you to tack virtual sticky notes anywhere on your desktop.
9. Vizual Einstein ME sounds like a pretty decent outlining/organizing program, that "allows you to visually develop a project document with notes, headings, subheadings, and hyperlinks. Vizual Einstein is also Web-enabled and has full database search functionality. There are many other features, including bibliography and formatted essay report output." The same site offers more research/organizing freeware here.
10. WordWiseLookUp reads a word you click on your screen and opens a window to www.wordwiselookup.com, where you can pick one of the free web glossaries or dictionaries of your choice. With one more click, you get a definition.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Workspace
Lee Goldberg put up a shot of his office and asked everyone to post photos of their workspace. Jennifer Crusie's office would drive me insane. I'd need a bulldozer to deal with that.
This was my workspace at the old house. The only things that have changed are that the window and the painting are gone, and the wall behind Mrs. Peel and the workstation is ivory white instead of ecru white. Yep, I'm that boring.
The nice thing about my workspace is that it is portable (all I need is a four-foot square space or corner, a computer, a chair, my workstation, the electrical/telephone connections, and I'm good to go) and very, very easy to dust.
This was my workspace at the old house. The only things that have changed are that the window and the painting are gone, and the wall behind Mrs. Peel and the workstation is ivory white instead of ecru white. Yep, I'm that boring.
The nice thing about my workspace is that it is portable (all I need is a four-foot square space or corner, a computer, a chair, my workstation, the electrical/telephone connections, and I'm good to go) and very, very easy to dust.
New Pal
I wasn't able to fill all of my daughter's Christmas wishes, but I did give her new bunny slippers for Christmas, and a remote-controlled mechanical snake for her birthday. After her birthday she told me she wasn't disappointed, because she really wanted a little Sheltie pup, and was prepared to wait until we could find the right one.
Little did my kid know that I went to see Skye and Jessie's breeder, and met an eight-week-old sable Sheltie pup with blackish-grayish markings.
The newest member of the family:
The kids have named him Buddy.
Little did my kid know that I went to see Skye and Jessie's breeder, and met an eight-week-old sable Sheltie pup with blackish-grayish markings.
The newest member of the family:
The kids have named him Buddy.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Got copy?
I have great respect for good cover copy. Even if the cover art is less than appealing, one or two well-written paragraphs on the back can induce me to buy your novel. Naturally good copy is a bitch to write well.
Novel copy needs to snag the reader's attention, develop his or her interest in the story, and give compelling reason(s) to invest in the book. I prefer brief, simply worded copy because it appeals to anyone versus the kind of copy you have to acquire a PhD to fathom. The most common problems I see with novel copy are that it's too long, too busy with info dumpage, too hard-sell, or doesn't provide any information about the story.
Take this example: "From [previous title] to [previous title] to [previoustitle], [author] has written one explosive thriller after another featuring [previous title's protagonist]. Now, in an electrifying departure, [author] presents a novel that breaks all the rules and will keep your heart racing and your mind guessing until the very last page."
Title dropping is a waste of copy space, particularly if the new novel has absolutely no connection with previous work, which this one evidently hasn't. What would an electrifying depature from explosive thrillers be, exactly? A dull thriller? A silly one? A chick-lit thriller? I need some details here. Predicting my stupidity and upcoming cardiac episode is a nice psychic trick, but mind telling me what this story is about?
And this little gem: "The master's first novel in 10 years is an erotic tale about a 90-year-old who discovers the transforming power of uncorrupted love."
This tells me that the master is lazy, ninety year olds are erotic? and I can expect uncorrupted love from the book, which btw has the word whores in the title. So did someone drink their lunch before they wrote this?
We are none of us safe from lame copy. My first published novel had a spelling error on the cover copy (I was not allowed to see it until it was too late to correct.) Flats for one of my 2005 novels went out with the wrong name for the heroine (I caught it in time to correct the final edition.) Another of my books starts off with "The circus is in town, and all the citizens are eager to attend the show" and, trust me, just gets worse from there.
Other than composition, I think the most common problems with copy for authors are spelling, name, place, and other errors. I find an error with copy about every three to four novels. If you get a chance to proof yours, read it carefully. On one of my novels, the copy included the hero's name, the heroine's name, and a different hero's name. Turned out that the copy writer had arbitrarily renamed my hero in mid-copy.
There is great copy out there, though. This has to be the funniest and most fetching paranormal romance copy I've read in a while:
IF YOU THINK LIFE IS COMPLICATED, TRY IMMORTALITY. Justine Bennett is cursing her life. She’s the Guardian of the Goblet of Eternal Youth, she hasn’t left the house in ages, and it’s been over 200 years since she’s had sex. Oh, and the Goblet has shape-shifted into an espresso machine named Mona. Not exactly the stuff grand destiny is made of... Derek LaValle is worried. Due to a family curse, he’ll be dead in the space of a week unless he finds the Guardian of the Goblet of Eternal Youth and beheads her. Which wouldn’t be a problem if she weren’t so sexy, smart... and ready to behead him right back.
The novel it belongs to: Date Me Baby, One More Time by Stephanie Rowe*, coming in May 2006 from Warner Forever. And God, I hope they put this on the back cover, because it's hilarious.
Effective copy hooks your interest immediately, and the first line of Stephanie's copy does that in a wry tone without the usual hard-sell push that sounds so fake. Investing the body of the copy with humor (or drama, angst, mystery, etc. as applicable to the story) draws the reader along (I love the goblet shape-shifting into an expresso machine.) The copy delivers a lot of information about the story with just 111 words. Stephanie's also got a beautiful wrap-up with delivering conflict as a punchline -- that's a neat teaser.
As with cover art, most authors are not consulted about copy for their novels, so how yours is written may be beyond your control. Always offer to help out writing and/or proofing copy whenever possible, though, and you just might be able to head off a minor to major copy nightmare.
*(Stephanie & book discovered via me link-hopping over at Vanessa's place)
Novel copy needs to snag the reader's attention, develop his or her interest in the story, and give compelling reason(s) to invest in the book. I prefer brief, simply worded copy because it appeals to anyone versus the kind of copy you have to acquire a PhD to fathom. The most common problems I see with novel copy are that it's too long, too busy with info dumpage, too hard-sell, or doesn't provide any information about the story.
Take this example: "From [previous title] to [previous title] to [previoustitle], [author] has written one explosive thriller after another featuring [previous title's protagonist]. Now, in an electrifying departure, [author] presents a novel that breaks all the rules and will keep your heart racing and your mind guessing until the very last page."
Title dropping is a waste of copy space, particularly if the new novel has absolutely no connection with previous work, which this one evidently hasn't. What would an electrifying depature from explosive thrillers be, exactly? A dull thriller? A silly one? A chick-lit thriller? I need some details here. Predicting my stupidity and upcoming cardiac episode is a nice psychic trick, but mind telling me what this story is about?
And this little gem: "The master's first novel in 10 years is an erotic tale about a 90-year-old who discovers the transforming power of uncorrupted love."
This tells me that the master is lazy, ninety year olds are erotic? and I can expect uncorrupted love from the book, which btw has the word whores in the title. So did someone drink their lunch before they wrote this?
We are none of us safe from lame copy. My first published novel had a spelling error on the cover copy (I was not allowed to see it until it was too late to correct.) Flats for one of my 2005 novels went out with the wrong name for the heroine (I caught it in time to correct the final edition.) Another of my books starts off with "The circus is in town, and all the citizens are eager to attend the show" and, trust me, just gets worse from there.
Other than composition, I think the most common problems with copy for authors are spelling, name, place, and other errors. I find an error with copy about every three to four novels. If you get a chance to proof yours, read it carefully. On one of my novels, the copy included the hero's name, the heroine's name, and a different hero's name. Turned out that the copy writer had arbitrarily renamed my hero in mid-copy.
There is great copy out there, though. This has to be the funniest and most fetching paranormal romance copy I've read in a while:
IF YOU THINK LIFE IS COMPLICATED, TRY IMMORTALITY. Justine Bennett is cursing her life. She’s the Guardian of the Goblet of Eternal Youth, she hasn’t left the house in ages, and it’s been over 200 years since she’s had sex. Oh, and the Goblet has shape-shifted into an espresso machine named Mona. Not exactly the stuff grand destiny is made of... Derek LaValle is worried. Due to a family curse, he’ll be dead in the space of a week unless he finds the Guardian of the Goblet of Eternal Youth and beheads her. Which wouldn’t be a problem if she weren’t so sexy, smart... and ready to behead him right back.
The novel it belongs to: Date Me Baby, One More Time by Stephanie Rowe*, coming in May 2006 from Warner Forever. And God, I hope they put this on the back cover, because it's hilarious.
Effective copy hooks your interest immediately, and the first line of Stephanie's copy does that in a wry tone without the usual hard-sell push that sounds so fake. Investing the body of the copy with humor (or drama, angst, mystery, etc. as applicable to the story) draws the reader along (I love the goblet shape-shifting into an expresso machine.) The copy delivers a lot of information about the story with just 111 words. Stephanie's also got a beautiful wrap-up with delivering conflict as a punchline -- that's a neat teaser.
As with cover art, most authors are not consulted about copy for their novels, so how yours is written may be beyond your control. Always offer to help out writing and/or proofing copy whenever possible, though, and you just might be able to head off a minor to major copy nightmare.
*(Stephanie & book discovered via me link-hopping over at Vanessa's place)
Monday, January 02, 2006
Gadgety Ten
Ten Things for the Gadget Lovers
1. ClockLink.com offers a bunch of free clocks for your site.
2. Keep up with the latest gadgets over at Engadget.com.
3. Hypergurl.com has a whole page of free flash and graphics gadgets/downloads here.
4. Aside from being a gorgeous blonde with a cartoony name, "America's Digital Goddess," Kim Komando, keeps an archive of some gadgety shareware here for Macs and Windows PCs.
5. PhotoGadget is a free tool dowload for easy resizing of images.
6. ProBoards.com provides free forums and hosting for them.
7. SiteGadgets.com has 23 free gadgets to spruce up your web site.
8. Find more gadget linkage over at Dvshop.ca's Website extras page.
9. Some of your free web site tools and gadget needs might be fulfilled at Widgetchuck.com.
10. YabbForum.com has free open source forum software for site builders looking to host forums on their own servers.
1. ClockLink.com offers a bunch of free clocks for your site.
2. Keep up with the latest gadgets over at Engadget.com.
3. Hypergurl.com has a whole page of free flash and graphics gadgets/downloads here.
4. Aside from being a gorgeous blonde with a cartoony name, "America's Digital Goddess," Kim Komando, keeps an archive of some gadgety shareware here for Macs and Windows PCs.
5. PhotoGadget is a free tool dowload for easy resizing of images.
6. ProBoards.com provides free forums and hosting for them.
7. SiteGadgets.com has 23 free gadgets to spruce up your web site.
8. Find more gadget linkage over at Dvshop.ca's Website extras page.
9. Some of your free web site tools and gadget needs might be fulfilled at Widgetchuck.com.
10. YabbForum.com has free open source forum software for site builders looking to host forums on their own servers.
Sunday, January 01, 2006
Memed
Last Book Read: Microcosmos by Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan (work); Goes Down Easy by Alison Kent (pleasure)
Last Live Music Show Seen: Bela Fleck, I think
Last CD Purchased: The State (Nickelback)
Last Thing Cooked: ziti with sausage and peppers
Last New Thing Eaten: Jamaican escabeche-style chicken. Spicy but delicious.
Last Thing Bought: clothespins for a birthday party game. In this day and age of dryers, unbelievably hard to find.
Last Gift Received: a pressed flower in a letter from an old friend in France
Last Piece of Clothing Bought or Received as a Gift: fuzzy slipper socks from my daughter
Last Embarrassing Experience: more painful than embarrassing; spilling half a cup of hot tea down the front of my blouse at a restaurant dinner with my parents.
Last Totally New Experience: learning to inject myself with my new RA meds
Last Foreign Country Visited, if any: Mexico -- not in 2005, though
Last New Bird Seen (substitute an enthusiasm of your own if not a birder): a small and beautiful spotted hawk (might have been a Cooper's Hawk) down by the lake
Last Big Achievement: throwing an 11th birthday party for my kid
I'm not tagging anyone, but if you want to post a link to your blog or put your answers in comments, inquiring minds would love to know.
(meme courtesy of Dispatches from Tanganyika.)
Last Live Music Show Seen: Bela Fleck, I think
Last CD Purchased: The State (Nickelback)
Last Thing Cooked: ziti with sausage and peppers
Last New Thing Eaten: Jamaican escabeche-style chicken. Spicy but delicious.
Last Thing Bought: clothespins for a birthday party game. In this day and age of dryers, unbelievably hard to find.
Last Gift Received: a pressed flower in a letter from an old friend in France
Last Piece of Clothing Bought or Received as a Gift: fuzzy slipper socks from my daughter
Last Embarrassing Experience: more painful than embarrassing; spilling half a cup of hot tea down the front of my blouse at a restaurant dinner with my parents.
Last Totally New Experience: learning to inject myself with my new RA meds
Last Foreign Country Visited, if any: Mexico -- not in 2005, though
Last New Bird Seen (substitute an enthusiasm of your own if not a birder): a small and beautiful spotted hawk (might have been a Cooper's Hawk) down by the lake
Last Big Achievement: throwing an 11th birthday party for my kid
I'm not tagging anyone, but if you want to post a link to your blog or put your answers in comments, inquiring minds would love to know.
(meme courtesy of Dispatches from Tanganyika.)
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