Five Ways that Writing is like Working Out

5. Most people can't make money at it.

4. Talking about it with people who don't do it will almost certainly result in them nodding politely and looking for a way to get away from the conversation.

3. The more you do it, the easier it gets, and the more you can accomplish in a session.

2. Doing either to excess seems to release endorphins and result in a high.

1. Both are a lot easier to do when someone else is watching the kids.

Literary Pilates

I'm trying to tighten up the saggy middle of my current MS. I've gotten some feedback from a couple of family members, and need to improve the pacing before I let others lay eyes on it. So, today I'm asking--what's your process for editing and revising? When do you let others see your work, and who gets to see it?

Independent Publishing--Part 1

Before I start today's post, here are the winners of the blog-jog t-shirt contest:
Warren Baldwin
Linda Henderson
Barbara M. Hodges

Congrats!
Please fill out the contact form at ganzfield.com.
Include your shirt size (S, M L, XL) in the comments section. They run a little small after they're washed, so go with the larger size if you're on the fence.
Then, just send me a picture by June 10th of you wearing it (with the front logo visible, please!)--I'll add it to the collection.

Back to today's post: Independent Publishing (Part 1 of however many it takes). I finished the articles that my publicist requested, but we found that the one about "How I Got Published" didn't really fit the rest of the campaign. But it fits here, since several of you asked for the info--so here it is:

The first part of publishing your book is writing it.

Checklist Item #1: Write Manuscript

Chances are, you read Nathan Bransford's blog and you think that the next step is writing a query letter and sending it to agents. Ha! Wrong wrong wrong. The next step is to revise. When you finish revising, revise again. Polish that sucker until you can see your face shining in it. Get feedback from responsible readers (people who know how to write well and will give you honest feedback). Take their critiques to heart, and revise again.

And again.

And again.

Do NOT shake off criticism as "They just don't understand my work," unless they really don't—and you're OK with that. My grandmother is intelligent, literate, and a published author, but she doesn't "get" Minder. She thought the action was "too intense," and she wanted them to "stop and eat a bowl of cereal once in a while." Fortunately, octogenarian New Englanders aren't my target demo. I didn't add the quiet cereal scene--all my meal scenes are action-packed with the threat of imminent violence.

Once your book is really, really, REALLY ready--write your query letter, revise THAT a bunch of times, and then send it out. When I queried agents for Minder, I got a bunch of partial and full manuscript requests, but nothing panned out. I think I read that agent Janet Reid got over 10,000 queries in 2009--and took on two new clients. The odds are against you.

So, if your queries are successful--and getting 10% "Send me more!" responses is considered successful at this stage--you'll start sending out partial and full manuscripts. If you get an agent at this stage--congratulations! If not, well…

Now comes the moment of decision. Is your book really as good as you think it is? What did the professionals say? What works and what doesn't? Does it need another revision; does it need to go in the drawer; or is it publishable, but just not getting into the right hands?

Be brutally honest with yourself. You can be sad and disappointed now--or sad, disappointed, poorer, and several months closer to death later. My first novel, Bagastana, is still in the drawer. I queried extensively, but I never got even one partial request on it. I keep telling myself that I'll get back to it someday and revise it up to professional caliber later.

The point is, I moved on. My second effort was originally titled Maddie Dunn. It's the story of a sixteen-year-old who can kill with her thoughts. The book's now called Minder, and it comes out next month.

And tomorrow, I'll tell you how I got it there.*



* By writing cliffhanger endings that kept people coming back for more.

I'd Like to Thank the Academy

Thank you, Sandra! Say hello to the Scottish ghosts for me--some of them are probably relatives of mine.

This award comes with certain responsibilities, although what they are exactly seems a bit unclear. As it travels from blog to blog, the list changes.

1) thank the bestower--check.

2) Say a little about myself:

My book MINDER comes out in June, and I want everyone on the planet to buy it, read it, and love it.

3) nominate 7 or 10 or 15 worthy blogs

And the nominees are...
fairyhedgehog
steph the bookworm
ann foxlee
YA Book Nerd
Writing is a Blessing
Writer's Cramps
Stepping into Fantasy
Kiersten Writes
Substitute Teacher's Saga
In Sight of the Crazies
Hatshepsut
Dangerous with a Pen
Combreviations
Fiction Groupie
A Paperback Writer

OK, I went with 15. You don't have to.

Some of you may be more funny or edgy than what is considered traditionally beautiful, but I'm a gruff old mama bear from New England, so that works for me. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and whatnot. Check 'em out; they're worth reading.

I also didn't list some of the online reviewers, since you'll be getting copies of MINDER in the next month or so, and I didn't want to be a suck-up.

Although I have no problem with people sucking up to me, and I hope to one day be in a position to gracefully accept sycophancy. I plan to give a small, indulgent smile and a regal wave of the back of my hand.

Oh, and let me mention the Brenda Novak auction that starts in May.

Teasers

When I first read TWILIGHT, I got to the end, and there was a "teaser" chapter for NEW MOON. In those first pages, we learn how Bella and Edward's relationship progresses, and he and his family throw a birthday party for her. One of Edward's brothers goes feral when Bella gets a papercut, and, the next thing we know, she's fallen through a glass-topped table and is lying, bleeding, in a room filled with hungry vampires.

And then the pages run out.

I'm not sure where you live on the planet, but that cry of anguish you heard last February was me.

I HAD to get NEW MOON. Right that very moment. It could have been hailing toxic waste*, and I still would have driven to Borders.

* Which is pretty rare. When I was growing up in New Jersey, they only had to cancel school twice because of it.

So, teaser chapters work on me. How about for you? If you read and enjoyed a book, would a teaser chapter make you more likely to buy the sequel? Are there situations where you avoid reading the teaser?

Show, Don't Tell

I've been editing my own books and critiquing several other people's over the past few weeks. There's one saying that keeps coming back to me:

SHOW, DON'T TELL

What does this mean?

Well, I'll tell you.

No, wait, I'll show you.

Tell: Kate felt angry.
Show: Kate's gut clenched, and she suddenly wanted to hit him.

Showing makes everything more vivid. I've also seen a lot of conversations summarized rather than dialoged. Give us the conversation, unless the characters are telling other characters about something we, the readers, already know, e.g., "Dan brought his parents up-to-speed on the whole bathtub-in-the-tree situation."

Show us what the characters say.
Show us how the characters feel.
Show us everything. But only once.

My favorite show-don't-tell quote is from Anton Chekhov:

Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.

It always gives me shivers to read that. I may have to embroider it on a pillow or something.