Tuesdays with Story

Tuesdays With Story
WRITER’S MAIL for December 28, 2012

Good Words from Way Back

After midnight, we’re gonna let it all hang down.
After midnight, we’re gonna chug-a-lug and shout.
We’re gonna stimulate some action.
We’re gonna get some satisfaction.
We’re gonna find out what it is all about.
After midnight, we’re gonna let it all hang down.

–From “After Midnight,” song written by J.J. Cale in 1966, made famous by Eric Clapton in 1970 (complete lyrics at http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/After-Midnight-lyrics-Eric-Clapton/75E32C0A25AB514148256877003316FD, notes from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/After_Midnight_[song]).

December 24 Meeting: “Not,” Nor January 1 Either
But we hope you’re writing anyway, every day. Our next meeting is Second-and-Fourth group’s return to Barnes & Noble West on January 8. Meanwhile, there’s….

Post-Christmas Party Rescheduled: Now January 12
Our annual post-Christmas gathering at Jerry and Marge Smith Peterson’s Christmas Castle in Janesville, originally set for January 5, has been rescheduled for Saturday, January 12. Time’s the same — arrival at 1:00 p.m. or so. The plan is to feast at 1:30 p.m., then break out the games we’ve brought.

The feast is a potluck, so Jerry reminds us: “Do fill your lucky pot with some great food to share and bring it with you.”

Last thing: Jerry and Marge need to know who’s coming so they can set out the right number of chairs and an additional table or two. So, do email a reservation to Jerry.

Yes, spouses and friends are welcome, so please include the name of the guest who will be with you. And, don’t forget to check with other TWS members for carpooling opportunities.

Who’s Up Next?
January 1: No meeting for First-and-Third group.

January 8 with Second-and-Fourth group returning to Barnes & Noble West: Terry Hoffman (chapter, The Great Tome), Jack Freiburger (rewrite — with illustrations! — Path to Bray’s Head), Jen Wilcher (chapter, Hogoshiro Chronicles), Carol Hornung (chapter 1, scene 1, The Ghost of Heffron College), and time for two more – contact Carol Hornung (chornung88@aol.com).

January 15 with First-and-Third group returning to Barnes & Noble West: Clayton Gill (chapter 17, Fishing Derby), Susanne Fortunato (part 1, Before & After), Rebecca Rettenmund (chapter 14, The Cheese Logue), Alicia Connolly-Lohr (chapter, Lincoln’s Other War), Bob Kralapp (?), and Michelle Nightoak (chapter, memoir).Sp

January 22: Contact Carol Hornung to reserve a reading spot.

January 29: Fifth Tuesday! We’re working on location, guest speaker, and other details, but we need your Fifth Tuesday Challenge entries. See below.

February 5: Clayton Gill (chapter 18, Fishing Derby), Lisa McDougal (chapter 10, Follow the Yellow), Amber Boudreau (chapter, Noble), Millie Mader (chapter 41, Life on Hold), Pat Edwards (?), and Aaron Boehm (film script/part 3, “Whole Again”).

February 12: Contact Carol Hornung to reserve a reading spot.

To read or reschedule reading:
• First-and-Third Tuesdays, contact Jerry Peterson
• Second-and-Fourth Tuesdays, contact Carol Hornung

Fifth Tuesday on January 29: Post-Non-Apocalypse
Both the 2012 Winter Solstice and Christmas are behind us now. So, either there is a significant margin of error in the impending apocalypse, or it’s not coming anytime soon. However, we’re not letting the Non-Apocalypse pass without a Challenge. Fifth Tuesday is coming up January 29 and this is your opportunity to tweak the course of “unhistory.”

Our Fifth Tuesday Challenge premise: You (or your character or characters) absolutely believed that the world was going to end on December 21. You got ready for it. Totally. But today you’re still here on Earth. As usual. Hmmm. Your Fifth Tuesday Challenge: Tell us what happens next… in 250 words or less.

Jerry Peterson will welcome your flash fiction, essay, poem, song lyrics, PowerPoint presentation, etc. before Friday, January 25. Please send your Non-Apocalypse Challenge text to Jerry.

Early’s Winter: Now Available in Print and Digital Editions
“Here we are in winter with real snow,” says Jerry Peterson, “and just in time for Early’s Winter, the sequel to Early’s Fall, the first James Early Mystery.”

Both Early’s Fall and Early’s Winter are available as e-books from Amazon.com and Barnes&Noble.com. The “real book” is available directly from Jerry.

Author Interview: The Marketing of At First Light – Part 1
After a decade of writing, rewriting, and editing, TWS member Spike Pedersen self-published his first book this past September — the action-adventure novel At First Light. For the past three months, Spike has been executing his “self-marketing” plan. He agreed to an exclusive interview with Writer’s Mail, which we’re serializing in two parts – in this issue and the next.

Writer’s Mail: What is the marketing plan for At First Light? Can you tell us your major objectives and the approximate timeline?

Spike: Marketing At First Light operates on two tracks – one for “hand-selling” paperback copies and the other for selling the e-book online. There’s a lot of interplay between the tracks.

Because the e-book revolution is quite new, there seems to be no sure marketing method. What we know worked in the first 12 months of 2007 or 2008, no longer works today. Throwing money at e-book marketing does not work as well at it did either because traditional advertising avenues are being replaced by hundreds of blogs as places to get “all things writing.” What still does work for both e-book and hard-copy marketing is word of mouth.

I began with my social network on Facebook and Goodreads (http://www.goodreads.com/) to reach the people I know. That work triggered the “spider web” of persons they know. Next, I queried blogs that review books and got my book into their hands. Next, I reached out to many blogs that interview authors, much in the same way as this interview. I also hosted and operated “blog tours,” in which I hosted an interview and review of an author on my blog (www.spikepedersen.com) in exchange for them doing the same with me.

As for hand-selling, I did a book launch at two locations to put paperback books in the hands of the network of people I know. I wanted each of them to talk about At First Light among their own networks of friends. I plan to do more book signings in the months ahead. One of the writer blogs said you have to hand-sell a thousand books. After that, sales take off by themselves. That is my strategy.

In any case, the best marketing plan for your first book involves writing the second book. That way, when your first book sells and builds an audience, you have a second sale automatically with your second book. This approach builds an author platform much as novelist James Patterson has done.

A writer needs to write a great book, then research and create a marketing plan, then execute the plan and keep writing. And go to work. I can see that the difference between success and “also-ran” comes down to hard work and persistence.

Writer’s Mail: As “adult action fiction,” At First Light is entering a highly competitive field. What popular novels are comparable and what features of their marketing could you use?
Spike: Most adventure novels written today are heavy on action but lack depth of character and are full of plot holes. This seems to be acceptable so long as grenades go off in every scene. In Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain got it right. So did Jack London and Robert Lewis Stevenson. I modeled my story along the lines of the classics from these authors.

Despite the holes in modern adventure novels, they share an essential trait — a good story. They take the reader away, into another world full of thrills.

I planned to target this trait to readers of adventure books. The first thing I did was join Goodreads, which has an action aficionado group. I planned to reach some readers there and build a platform.

Successful authors get good reviews. Like them, I planned to ask for reviews. Reviews and “likes” on the seller sites are really important. Really important. Reviews drive rankings, and high rankings put your book in a place where it can be found. A high ranking heavily influences buyers.

Writer’s Mail: What aspect or objective of marketing At First Light has proven to be most challenging? Why?

Spike: Time. Building buzz about a novel is a big job. With so many things in life competing for a reader’s attention, you have to put the book in front of each potential reader three times before that person even registers that the book exists let alone is ready to buy it. So you need to contact bloggers and books sellers and keep writing the second book. More time.

Writer’s Mail: Thanks very much, Spike. We’ll continue this interview in the next issue of Writer’s Mail.

To date, Spike has achieved At First Light paperback sales of about 120 copies and e-book sales of about 20. “But the future is in e-book sales,” the TWS member told Writer’s Mail, “and that is what I am concentrating on. Sales are a marathon that builds with time, not a sprint as they used to be before e-books and the net.”

Please see below for links to purchase At First Light by Spike Pedersen:
• Amazon — http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0092G4L4E
• Barnes & Noble — http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/9781480237742
• Smashwords — http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/220594

Review: The Watch
Set in Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains, Jerry Peterson’s crime novel The Watch came out in October. Millie Mader offered the review below.

An antique watch features in the death of Doc Taylor and a car wreck results in the death of a local banker in Tennessee. There’s a connection to money laundering and deception in the thoroughbred horse industry. Prominent citizens of a rural county become suspect. The paths of evidence and circumstance begin to merge, but there are mysteries to taunt us throughout.

Following the threads of intrigue to their ultimate conclusion is lady lawyer A.J. Garrison. We learn to admire this clever, shrewd girl who has overcome childhood polio and the loss of her mother. She is undaunted by discoveries in her small Tennessee hometown “where everyone knows your name.” She is undeterred in her pursuit of the truths that lie so insidiously disguised. A.J. is aided by Sheriff Scott Moore. We sense a closeness developing between these two. So, keep in mind that this novel is the first of a series.

Both helping and hindering A.J. is her dad, an air force veteran of three wars. His knowledge of aircraft.is unequalled and he is intent on making a first class pilot out of his daughter. Through their relationship, we sense the little girl inside this tenacious lady lawyer. Father and daughter face the world together. Airplanes and seat-of-the-pants flying provide plenty of excitement en route.

Thanks, Millie!

That Pesky First Chapter: Advice from a Pro
Most first chapters in our first drafts tend to be pretty clunky, maybe even awful. Mystery writer/blogger Betty Webb (Desert Wives and 12 others) wrote about that in a recent post:

Writing Chapter One can be hell. When beginning the first draft of a novel, Chapter One is almost always clumsy, confusing, vague, and written with all the expertise of a college freshman whose brain is fried on a combination of ganja and energy drinks. In fact, these first chapters are such miserable messes that most newbie writers feel compelled to fix them before they move on to Chapter Two.

Then Chapter Three, then Chapter Four, then…

“Oh, the hell with the thing!” the newbies wind up screaming before storming away from their manuscript, possibly forever. “This book just doesn’t work.”

To which I say, “Of course your book doesn’t work, because you didn’t write it. Instead, you wrote and rewrote and re-rewrote your first chapter until it died in your own hands. You were so obsessed with getting Chapter One ‘just right’ that you ignored your novel.”

And that’s a shame, because in the end, that first chapter will probably be cut anyway. It’s worth rephrasing. First chapters are usually cut from the finished manuscript.

Why? Because by the time the newbie writer has finished his manuscript, his book has taken on a shape and maturity he didn’t have when he was slaving away on Chapter One. The final chapters of his book are more universal in scope, deeper in tone, and more assured in craft than anything he could possibly have accomplished when he began his manuscript. Somewhere along the way, between page 50 and page 410, the writer grew up.

Am I speaking from experience? I sure am. My critique group has been operating for two decades now, and during all those years, I’ve watched attacks of Chapter One-itis kill many a newbie writer’s dreams. I’ve seen the same thing while teaching creative writing at various workshops across the country. Too many newbie novelists with truly great ideas just can’t move past Chapter One.

But it’s not only the newbies who fall victim to Chapter One-itis. It can happen to seasoned pros. In fact, it’s almost happened to me.

My 13th book – The Llama of Death – will be released on January 6, and I am here to tell you that all my first chapters were eventually cut from my final manuscript, including Llama. In my first chapter, I’m always flailing around, trying to find the novel’s “voice,” trying to clarify my ideas while at the same time introducing various characters. And my poor protagonist? In my first draft of Chapter One I find myself explaining over and over how my protagonist got to where she is, what her life was like before the book started, and why she feels compelled to solve crimes.

This clumsy flailing around is par for the course at the beginning of a first draft. At that point, I’m so insecure about my story that I tend to explain things to death. Therefore, Chapter One comes out overcrowded, over-described, stagnant, and dull. Nothing much happens in those pages – instead, it’s all cerebral in-the-head stuff, muddled and fatally passive. In short, Chapter One reeks.

No problem. I never try to “fix” Chapter One while writing the first draft of a novel. I leave the ugly thing to stew in its own juice while I move on to the first draft of Chapter Two. Then I write the first draft of Chapter Three. Then… You get the idea. I never look back. I don’t “fix” the mess I left behind in Chapter One until I type THE END on the very last page of my manuscript’s first draft.

Once the first draft is completed, then, and only then, do I go back and address the problems in Chapter One. And what a surprise I find waiting for me! As it turns out, Chapter One no longer fits into my book. You see, once my story caught fire, it headed off in a different direction than I’d originally intended – a better, more creative direction. Chapter One now looks like a donkey’s head stuck on a thoroughbred.

So I just dump the nasty thing.

Then I write a brand new Chapter One. But while doing so, I often receive another surprise. I discover that what had originally been Chapter Two works even better as Chapter One, because Chapter Two has more action and less in-the-head stuff. I also learn that my later chapters handled most of the necessary explanations, so they weren’t necessary in Chapter One anyway. Therefore, my old Chapter Two – now evolved into Chapter One – sizzles. All it needs is a light rewrite to start the book off with a bang, instead of the dull thud that my clunky old Chapter One delivered.

My point here is that you never know where your story will go, so why bother torturing yourself trying to perfect a chapter that will wind up in the trash anyway? Don’t let yourself succumb to Chapter One-itis. Write the darned thing fast and dirty, then move on to the rest of your book, because that’s where the magic is going to happen.

To reiterate: Don’t try to fix that subpar Chapter One until you’ve finished the entire first draft of your manuscript. Then go back and write the wonderful Chapter One your book deserves.

For more on Betty Webb and her books, visit http://www.bettywebb-mystery.com/works.htm.

Thanks to Jerry Peterson for this item!

Great Words: “Self-Interrupt”
From the Word Spy, Paul McFedries: self-interrupt v. To interrupt one’s own work to check social media or perform some other non-work-related task. – self-interruption n.

Example citations:

Julie Morgenstern, author of “Never Check E-mail in the Morning,” said: “It’s important to recognize how much is coming from outside and how much is self-interruption. I think we self-interrupt just as much as we’re interrupted by others.” – Rex Huppke, “Calling time out on work interruptions, distractions,” Chicago Tribune, April 29, 2012

Office workers are interrupted – or self-interrupt – roughly every three minutes, academic studies have found, with numerous distractions coming in both digital and human forms. – Rachel Emma Silverman, “Workplace Distractions: Here’s Why You Won’t Finish This Article,” The Wall Street Journal, December 11, 2012

Earliest Citation:

Resist the urge to “self-interrupt” – it is far better to do a brief reminder to yourself to do it, make a note and put it aside to do later, and get back to the task at hand. – Margaret Miller, “Take a load off,” CMA Management, June 1, 2001

Thanks again Jerry!

Writer’s Mail: Duty Roster
• January – Pat Edwards leads us into the New Year!
• February – Be our Valentine: Sign up today!
• March – Spring ’r’ us, with you editing Writer’s Mail!
• April – “April is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs…” – who wrote that?

Join up for editing Writer’s Mail in February, March, or April with an e-mail to Pat, Thank you!

The Last Word: “Zoozled”
Richard Lederer in Amazing Words (Marion Street Press, 2012) lauds “fellow verbivore” Paul Dickson for tracking down 2,964 synonyms for “drunk”:

“The entries range from the euphemistic ‘tired’ to the comical ‘plastered,’ from the nautical ‘afloat’ to the erudite ‘Bacchus-plenus,’ from the elegant ‘inebriated’ to the scatological ‘shit-faced,’ from the rhyming ‘whiskey friskey’ to the time-bound ‘Boris Yeltstinned,’ and from the terminal ‘stiff’ to the uncategorizable ‘zoozled.’”

Please send your Writer’s Mail contributions to Pat Edwards. Thanks! We wish you a very creative New Year and productive 2013.