Tuesdays with Story

Writer’s Mail for 04-16-13

“I wanna hang a map of the world in my house. Then I’m gonna put pins into all the locations that I’ve traveled to. But first, I’m gonna have to travel to the top two corners of the map so it won’t fall down.”— Mitch Hedberg

Last Tuesday at the B&N . . .

Two guests joined us – Julie and Mike.

Lisa started us off by sharing part of chapter twelve of Follow the Yellow; the last chapter of this work she plans to share with the group for a while. Andy likes it. He only found some small typos. Pat liked the whole thing except at the very beginning. She thinks there should be some blood stains on one character’s shirt instead of having the character still bleed several hours after an altercation took place. Andy lost track of who was who on the phone later in the chapter. Mike thought the part Lisa read flowed well.

Amber shared chapter eleven of her YA novel Noble. Andy liked it, but the looking for Zephyr went a little fast. The scene could be drawn out to create tension. Pat asked if the rules for magic in this work were following rules of any previous work. Amber admits she’s making it all up as she goes along.

Millie shared Chapter forty-three of Life on Hold. Lisa didn’t get the last line until Millie read it. Pat and Lisa think it would be a good time to kill off the mother, but Millie says she’s not going to do that. Lisa wonders if we will skip ahead in time soon. Andy thought the writing out of one character with a single line was a little abrupt and he thought she could expand that into a mini-scene instead of just a passing detail. Lisa didn’t enjoy the rehashing of a female relationship later in the chapter. Jen pointed out some problems with POV. Jerry wonders if the professor needs a name change.

Andy shared the first chapter from one of three different character’s point of view. Millie didn’t see what one character had done to set another off. Answer: nothing. Pat kind of liked her character, but there were a few too many adverbs. She hopes that Andy lets the character have a voice. Julie thinks the main character here would be more manipulative and cool given her background. Bob suggests a character inventory and knowing what’s going on in the character’s mind and heart. Julie suggests Andy also think about voice and making all three very different. Jerry mentions that if the character has killed someone they would not make it into the FBI. Pat suggests a shadow agency.

Aaron read from part five of Whole Again. Lisa was under the impression two characters were dating longer, because she’s just not buying it. Andy thought things were moving a little quickly there also. Pat wonders why they don’t treat this great article of importance with a little more respect. Several agree the main guy is the everyman. Andy wonders if the main characters use prosthetics. Aaron says they do not.

Bob shared two poems (posted that morning, grrr) with the group. We start with Message. Lisa liked it. She thought it was very mysterious. Pat thought the animals in the poem made her think of the sea instead of the lake. She thought it had a great rhythm too. Next is London 1973. Bob is looking for context and how to get the reader in the place where the narrator is writing from. Pat went right there and came home fast. Millie enjoyed it. Pat thinks the reader can feel the fear of it. The second one spoke to Jerry. Pat liked the first one better.

Jerry read from chapter eight of the Last Good Man. Pat wonders why they don’t put the horses at the end of the parade and asks if the truck started up before. Julie asks if this is present day. The story takes place in the late eighties. Pat thinks Jerry should still kill someone off. Julie wonders if the novel will maintain its PG rating or get raunchier.

Who’s Up Next . . .

April 23: Carol Hornung, scene, Ghost of Heffron College; Andy Pfeiffer, scene, People; Rebecca Rettenmund, chapter, The Cheese Logue; Bill Eisinger, short story; Ray Woodruff, short story. Room for 1 more.

May 7: Lisa McDougal (chapter 13, Follow the Yellow), Rebecca Rettenmund (chapter, The Cheese Logue), Pat Edwards (???), Alicia Connolly Lohr (chapter, Lincoln’s Other War), Judith McNeil (???), and Jerry Peterson (chapter 7-9, The Last Good Man).

Fifth Tuesday is April 30th

At Panera Bread on University Avenue
The challenge is: Poorly Translated Cliché
Pick a cliché. Make a poorly translated version of it. Build a story around this translation. Perhaps a foreigner or alien writes home about the cliché and you translate the letter back to English? 250 words or less.

Bring your own copy to read at the party!

How to Write a Better Blog Tagline…Can we come up with one for TWS?

1. Make it short.
10-12 words is good. 6 or fewer is even better. Many times if the process is a struggle, it means you haven’t clearly defined your blog yet.
One of the best short taglines I have ever seen comes from the Zen Habits blog: Breathe. It isn’t always possible to sum it up in one word, but when it’s done well, it really works.

2. Make it sticky.
If visitors remember your tagline, they can more easily tell other people about your blog. Play around with visually appealing, image-rich words that instantly give readers a picture in their minds.
I like the tagline of Nomadic Chick, a travel blog: Cubicle Dweller to Traveling Gypsy, because I can visualize that. I know where she used to be and where she is now—and what she blogs about.

3. Be clear.
This is not the time to dance around the theme and topic of your blog. Readers need to know within seconds what your blog is about, what they can expect to find there. What is the premise of your blog? Who is it for? What is it about?
Your measure should be: Will a complete stranger to my blog understand what its purpose is by reading my tagline?
Also, if the name of your blog doesn’t really tell visitors what it’s about, it’s especially key that your tagline does. For instance, the TwiTips blog has this tagline: Twitter Tips in 140 Characters or More (a nice twist on Twitter’s 140 characters or less).

4. Project your voice and personality.
People come to your blog because you are an interesting person. If you write funny, throw some humor into your tagline. If you have an attitude, make it a little edgy. You get the idea.
For instance, the blogger at Five Kids Is a Lot of Kids warns you that she is not going to sugar coat things—and she proclaims it in her tagline: raising kids to be self-sufficient enough to pay for their own counseling. That’s funny, a little edgy and not your typical “pink ballerinas” mommy blog. We have been forewarned. So we can choose to stick around or leave.

5. Consider building your tagline on your brand’s promise.
It’s a challenge but it can be done. If you haven’t tried it, maybe you should. Because it helps you define what your blog is all about and that’s a good thing. What are you promising readers if they stick around?
My friend Joanna Penn over at the Creative Penn blog states her promise nicely in her tagline: Helping you write, market and publish your book.
Read more at:
http://catseyewriter.com/2012/07/08/the-hollywood-guide-to-a-better-blog-tagline/

Review of Joyce Carol Oates’, We Were the Mulvaneys.
Submitted by Millie Mader

This is a timely tale of tragedy, endurance and spirit. The Mulvaneys suffer a traumatic event that tears the family asunder. The father, Michael Sr., is the sturdy trunk of the family tree, and is the first to split, as if torn by a tornado. The branches are blown apart and tossed to the wind. How each family member deals with the assault is probed deeply, baring their souls in conflicting reactions. The story is recalled by the youngest son, Judd, who is now a newspaper editor. However, each member of the family is exposed and their reactions defined.
****************
The Mulvaneys live in an enchanted world. Their home is an enviable, restored Victorian, surrounded by lush lawns and manicured shrubbery. There are animals, although most of the High Point Farm’s fields are rented out. Michael Sr. is a respected, successful business man. A highlight of his life is when he is asked to join the Country Club. His loving wife, Corinne, is an antique collector, a sort of ex-hippie, who is not at all awed by the social life. She is eccentric, but a loving wife and mother.
Beginning in the seventies, Judd, now the writer, is the youngest Mulvaney. The oldest is handsome Michael, Jr., popular quarterback for their upstate New York high school foot ball team. In between is “P.J.” a vociferous reader and a student of science. Then there is Marianne, a gorgeous, bubbly teenager. Marianne is a cheerleader, so popular that she is the only junior chosen to be on the senior prom king’s court.
That is when the family’s downhill slide begins. Marianne is brutally raped after one of the post prom parties. She is left in a void—religion and self-loathing following her for many years to come. We see her unable to find a place where she can resume her shredded life. She quits college, then one job after another. Her only solace is her beloved cat, Muffin, who accompanies her everywhere. Though Marianne’s life is the center of the novel, all of the family members deal with “it”, as they call the rape, in diverse ways. Each heart and mind are probed and opened.
The rapist, a spoiled, wealthy young man who gave Marianne a spiked drink, fills the school with viscous rumors. He is believed because Marianne is too overwhelmed by grief and guilt to speak up. The Mulvaneys become social outcasts. Michael Sr. resorts to drink and despotism, causing the homestead to be foreclosed and his business thrown into bankruptcy. The grieving mother loses her grip on the children as they scatter. Almost twenty years pass before there is a reunion.
We are drawn into their lives, and left to wonder if any of the family can ever resolve their feelings about “it.” Does the father live to forgive Marianne? Did they react too radically? And will any of them—especially Marianne—ever find peace? You will be tempted to look at the ending, and you will not be able to put the book down until the finish.

Pat Edwards attends an event on self-publishing…

Several TWS members attended a writers’ panel on Self-publishing Wednesday night at A Room of One’s Own downtown Madison. The panel was made up of four local authors who all had a lot of information about self-publishing and the publishing industry in general. They discussed e-books and print-on-demand (POD) services. I learned a lot!
Spike Pedersen, author of his self-published novel, At First Light, and a veteran of getting it published.
Marty Drapkin, author of, Ten Nobodies, and Now and at the Hour. He has a master’s degrees in English education from the University of Wisconsin, and is ready to share his experience with self-publishing.
Sarah White, Author of 3 books the traditional way and her self-published, Write Your Travel Memoirs. She coaches self-publishing and writing.
Christine Keleny, author of The Rose Series; The Red Velvet Box, Rosebloom, A Burnished Rose, and, Rose from the Ashes. She works with authors and the self-publishing process.
Spike led off recounting his process and learnings, “Number one,” he said, “have a finished book.” He described his manuscript review process and the various professional services he used to get his book in its best shape. He recounted the services and costs honestly, including the ‘do-overs.’ He admitted his editor was one of the higher costs, but it was well worth it. “Took the marbles out of my mouth,” he said.
Christine described her publishing process – she is a certified editor and has created her own publishing imprint. Interestingly, she used a local service to create an audio book version of one of her books. She recommended creating a series if your work lends itself to that, as each book ‘lifts’ the others’ sales.
Marty went over the various types of editing and formatting that you can (should?) do prior to publishing. Most POD companies offer editing services a la carte or as part of a package. You can also hire a contractor editor yourself. There are many levels of pre-publishing editing from manuscript critique to copy editing to full re-writing or ghosting. If you write non-fiction, you can hire a fact-checker or reference editor. Spike added in here that he googled several editors and sent them each a sample chapter to see how they would edit his work (did they get his voice and vision, etc.). When you get the results back, you can pick from there. You should do this gleaning and a credible editor will expect to be vetted.
Marty discussed formatting – not just the e-file document type, but layout and font. For non-fiction it is very important, but also for fiction should look at printed books and find fonts and layout you like and feel fits your book. POD companies can usually replicate fonts and styles if you can direct them. We all know a cover is important, but don’t forget the back-cover style, back copy, and flap copy texts.
An over-arching theme was said loud and clear: as a self-published author, you have complete control of your product (which you do NOT have if you are published by a mainstream publisher). However, you are also the person who has to do all the work or hire all the workers. This is why packages at POD services are so popular.
Sarah covered marketing your book, starting with a tale of her first foray into the publishing business where she learned a valuable lesson. “Don’t mistake that this process is about you – it’s about selling books.” At her first meeting with her publisher with her agent, they spoke only to each other, ‘hefted’ and flipped through her previous book, and ignored her completely.
She reminded us that this is a business of small numbers. A book first run is usually ~2000 books. If you sell those you’re considered well-met. After that, all books (except the platinum-level exceptions) are printed on demand by the same companies we can use.
Here are some of the panels marketing techniques:
• Find a bigger author than you to dovetail. She used a book by a travel writer that works with Rick Steves and worked to get her book viewed at the same time by purchasing at the same time herself and getting others to do, too. Thereafter, the books showed by Amazon at the same time.
• Have just a few books printed and send them out for back-cover “blurbs” and reviews.
• Ask for reviews!
• Keep checking reviews. If you get a really bad one, you can contest it, but it was agreed that non-perfect reviews gave you more credibility.
• You can purchase advertising on social media and other venues.
• Search Google for tips on timing your book publishing. People buy certain genres at specific times of the year.
• Identify your marketing plan! Who is your audience? What media do they use?
• What is your brand? Identify and create it for yourself. Social media helps greatly in this area with presence and brand establishment.
• Contact independent bookstores. They support independent authors.
• Be prepared to conduct talks and appearances (e.g., at independent bookstores)
• Network. Everyone has friends.
• Goodreads.com. Spike used their give-away contests to get exposure. He said a few minutes each day at lunch time can garner great results.
• Target your marketing. Who do you want to reach?
• A local publicist can be hired for ~$300 a month, but just directs the work to the author. For double that, they will do the work for you.
• Use social media to create a brand and presence as a person with multiple interests.

Overall, a really informative use of a couple hours to learn from those who’ve gone before me into self-publishing. I recommend you go to each author’s link (above) and see some interesting options for author web presence.
Thanks, Spike!

Thanks for reading – See you on a Tuesday.
— Amber Boudreau