Earlier this week, Michele Shaw posted an excellent article about beta readers on her blog. If you haven’t read it, please check it out.
Beta readers are given the task of examining an author’s work in process and offering constructive advice concerning plot, prose, structure, and virtually every aspect of a manuscript. They do this for no pay, few accolades, and often little more than the satisfaction that they kept an author from looking like a total moron.
Good beta readers are like the ground crew that checks out a commercial jet before it takes off. The passengers usually don’t even see them, but, the fact that the plane is able to take off and land without losing a wing or running out of gas means that they did their job.
In case you are wondering, readers equate to passengers in that analogy.
What?
No, you can’t be the pilot.
This is my blog, so I am the pilot, dammit. Get your own jet.
Sorry. I was rambling. I’m a rambler.
I have had the good fortune of interacting with several fantastic beta readers. Here is my list of traits they all share:
1. Brutal honesty.
This is why it is difficult for friends to beta read. If a passage makes you want to set fire to the manuscript and bury the remains in a haunted pet cemetery so the thing can rise as an evil doppelganger thus giving you the chance to kill it again, then the author needs to know that. It can be sugar coated or dipped in vinegar, but that is information they need.
2. Fresh ideas.
Sometimes an interesting idea makes it into a manuscript but is never fully explored. A good beta reader can pick up on an orphan idea and give the author a nudge to feed and water it until it grows into big plot lizard that eats the weak story threads and poops out 24 karat gold rubix cubes! It’s a fact.
3. Ability to see both the big picture and the details.
Picking out an author’s tendency to overuse the phrase “he smirked” is an example of good detail observation. Pointing out that a character is always smiling and giddy despite the majority of a story involving them being in a state of utter despair is a great big picture observation. A beta reader who can point out both of those things is worth his or her height in Guinness.
Yes, height.
4. Understanding of the genre and writing style of a given work.
A reader who enjoys historical fiction probably shouldn’t beta read a futuristic sci-fi tale. A fan of gothic horror might like a romance book, but the odds of that are not great. A good beta reader knows what they like and can offer great advice for someone writing a book in a genre they enjoy.
Think you have what it takes to be a beta reader, lil' buckaroo? Prove it.
I am looking for several beta readers to test drive a horror/urban fantasy short story I am working on for an upcoming anthology. If you are into vampires and werewolves who act like monsters instead of lovesick emo adolescents and you want the chance to help make a soon to be published story as good as it can be, send me a message.
authormikemurphy@gmail.com
Keep in mind, I am my own biggest fan so I already know how awesome I am. If my head were any bigger, it would require a signal light for passing planes. I need someone who is not afraid to tell me what sucks about the story so I can make it better.
I also need some Cheezits, because Cheezits are fantastic, but you let me worry about those.
Now that my pitch is out of the way, are there any beta readers out there who want to share their thoughts and experiences in beta reading?
How about authors, have you had any shockingly good or horrifyingly bad beta readers?
Also, do Schnauzers make good beta readers? If so, I know a guy.
Showing posts with label fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fiction. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
Author Interview: Zoe Winters Part 2
Zoe Winters's first novella, Kept, has become a mainstay in the top ten gothic romance titles on Amazon.com’s bestsellers list. The follow up, Claimed, is receiving rave reviews and quickly climbing up the list as well. The third novella in the trilogy, Mated, is now available and also racking up glowing endorsements from satisfied readers. Recently I had the opportunity to conduct the following interview with Zoe via chat. We had so much fun that I had to divide the interview into two parts. This is the second part.
MTM: The Anthony character really develops from Kept to Claimed. He seemed to be just another evil vampire in Kept, but shows another side in Claimed. Did you have that planned for the character all along?
ZW: As soon as I finished with Kept, I got the idea for Charlee and Anthony's story. And Anthony IS an evil vampire. He's the same dude. He just loves Charlee. Love can make men into puppies.
MTM: Nuh uh! … Okay, yeah, that’s true.
ZW: You did it in Lucifera's Pet. Your werewolf was a total badass, but he loved Lucifera and showed her that softer side. But I hadn't planned for Anthony and Charlee as a couple from the very very beginning, not when I was writing Kept, because originally it wasn't going to be a series. It just sort of sprawled out that way. You can bet the side Anthony shows Charlee is not the side almost anyone else ever sees of him.
MTM: Do you find that makes the softer scenes carry even more weight?
ZW: I think so, yes. A reader also commented to me that she thought given the circumstances, that a sex scene would have weakened the romantic aspects. Sometimes it's hotter when a guy shows some restraint. I think that's part of what makes Anthony a likeable hero people can get behind even though he's so morally gray.
MTM: For an evil character such as Anthony, restraint is a surprising trait.
ZW: Well he's actually got a ton of self-control. He's restrained himself from biting Charlee for so long. It was the drugs that screwed his record up, lol. Combined with werecat blood.
MTM: Of course, but when it was revealed that he hadn't fed from her before even though he could have, that brought a level of complexity to the character for me.
ZW: He doesn't want her in this world. Doesn't want her to see the monster in him because he's afraid he'll lose the banter they have. She makes him feel like a person.
MTM: So, supernatural beings exist outside of "normal" society, but they still have their own problems and hang-ups?
ZW: Of course. Doesn't everyone? :P
MTM: Humanity within the monster ... are any of the characters in their world beyond redemption?
ZW: I'm really not sure. I think many "won't" change. I'm not sure that means they "can't." Actually Linus is kind of beyond redemption but that's a moot point. I can't really see Callie changing either. (villains in Claimed.)
MTM: On your writing in general, I would describe it as "all killer no filler." Have you always written that way or did that develop over your writing career?
ZW: Well Kept is the first thing I put out, so I feel weird calling anything before that a "career." Hell, I feel weird saying "career" now. I have quite a way to go for career, I think. Maybe in ten years I can call it a career. But, I've always tried to skip the boring parts. It was a revelation to me when I realized I didn't have to write super long fiction if I wrote better at a shorter length. I figure if I can't still be entertained by a section on the 50th reading, a reader doesn't need it the first time.
MTM: The novella concept worked really well for the Blood Lust stories. Will you continue that trend for future books in this series?
ZW: I think the future work will be shorter novels. The world is starting to expand out to the point where I need a little more space to work so to speak. But they won't be super long novels. We're talking probably around 65k words where Claimed and Mated are each around 35k. I "may" write some novellas in this series in the future, but if so they will probably be extra material and not the main story.
MTM: I asked this question in my blog and several readers got a kick out of it. Hollywood comes knocking on your door and wants to make a movie version of one or all of the Bloodlust stories. What is your dream cast and/or director for the big screen version?
ZW: LOL, man I have no idea, but dream director would probably be Joss Whedon. Though then again his vision would try to usurp my vision and then... yeah. I'm too much of a control freak. I don't see a movie being made, LOL. I know it's completely wrong. I know people dream about their book being made into a movie, but all I can think about is how they'd try to totally change everything so it was more like fanfic than what I wrote and then I'd be pissed and fans of the books wouldn't like it.
MTM: If Joss Whedon were at the helm, half of all your couples would end up pushing up daisies.
ZW: OH I KNOW. He'd break everybody up.
MTM: Hollywood doesn't have a great track record for novel adaptations.
ZW: No, they don't. Except for Rowling and that's only cause she was already famous. She had script approval. So it's a nice idea but unless I "really" needed the money, I can't see it. It pisses me off too much what Hollywood does to perfectly good stories. If they don’t like what's there they should make up their own story without using someone else's name.
MTM: Is there any argument for someone throwing himself or herself into the grind of traditional publishing today?
ZW: LOL, that's a big can of worms! If I say no, then a hundred trad pubbed authors will suddenly appear out of a purple mist to tell everyone exactly why I'm wrong :P But honestly, and I can only go on my personal beliefs here... but I truly believe digital publishing is the future. I believe being well-positioned now for when things really explode is the smart thing to do. A trad publisher will mismanage your e-rights and use agency pricing models and just generally make it impossible for you to get high sales rankings in E unless you're already famous. Already famous people are in an awesome position. Brand new people? Not so much. It's just… 7-10 years is a long damn time to be unable to control your digital rights not worth it to sit on the Titanic deck chairs just to hear the last songs played.
MTM: Great analogy.
ZW: Thanks.
MTM: I have never been a fan of the advice given by old school writers that you must wallpaper an entire room with rejection letters before you are "ready" to put your work out for the world to see. What advice can you give a new author on making sure their work is as good as it can be before they self-publish?
ZW: I agree that's pathologically masochistic. I think they need to get the most brutally honest critique partners and editors they can find to help them. Not friends and family. People who can write. Who understand the genre. Because you can't judge the quality of your own work. That's true even as an indie. There is always stuff I don't catch or don't see. So you HAVE to surround yourself with wise council. Those people will make or break you. If you don't take this vetting process seriously you're going to have your underwear on your head. I'm just saying.
MTM: Personally, I have a friend from Slovenia who pulled no punches on my manuscript, and I appreciate her for that. Is it sometimes difficult to find a brutally honest beta reader?
ZW: It can be. people don't want to hurt your feelings or get yelled at. And sometimes there are those who just want to rip you apart and cut you down. You have to find people who can be honest with you without being verbally abusive or making you otherwise feel like poop. Sometimes it's an intentional thing, and sometimes just a personality clash.
MTM: Cary Town sure feels like a real place. Those of us from the south can spot certain things that really bring it to life. I live a half mile from a Piggly Wiggly grocery store myself. Is the setting for your trilogy based on any town in particular?
ZW: Not Cary Town, no. Cary Town isn't in the south, though Anthony has been in the south. Which is why his Piggly Wiggly reference doesn't make sense to Paul. They aren't in the south and Paul doesn't know what a Piggly Wiggly is. Golatha Falls, the setting for Save My Soul, is an imaginary town in Georgia and parts of it are like an alternate universe version of my town. And the house from Save My Soul exists. Sometimes I walk past it and say, "There's where Luc and Anna live." LOL.
MTM: Thank you for letting me pick your brain. I’d love to do this again sometime down the road.
ZW: Thanks for having me! And sure. Sorry I talk so much that you had to break it into two interviews!
MTM: No worries! It will give me the chance to pretend that I interviewed you twice. ;)
~The novellas that make up Zoe's Blood Lust Trilogy, Kept, Claimed,and Mated,are all available on Amazon.
Connect with Zoe Winters here:
http://www.zoewinters.org/
http://zoewinters.wordpress.com/
http://twitter.com/zoewinters
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Author Interview: Zoe Winters Part 1
Today, I am honored to welcome independent author and self-publishing guru Zoe Winters to Werewolf Kibble. With electronic books growing in popularity at an exponential rate, Zoe stands at the front of a wave of talented self-published authors who are breaking into the game that has belonged almost exclusively to the big publishing houses.
Her first novella, Kept, has become a mainstay in the top ten gothic romance titles on Amazon.com’s bestsellers list. The follow up, Claimed, is receiving rave reviews and quickly climbing up the list as well. The third novella in the trilogy, Mated, releases today. Recently I had the opportunity to conduct the following interview with Zoe via chat. We had so much fun that I had to divide the interview into two parts. Here is part one.
ZW: Jane, a side character from Claimed, is the heroine and Charlee and Dayne and Greta all make brief cameos. Anthony "sort of" does but he's "off camera."
MTM: When we last saw Jane in Claimed, she was in the arms of fledgling vampire, Paul. What happens between the end of that story and Mated?
ZW: Charlee and Anthony get immediately wrapped up in the politics of running the coven. Paul being a fledge still can't really contribute in any meaningful way so he's sort of pushed to the fringes. He's got this irrational hatred toward Charlee or "that human Anthony's with" because it's changed the dynamic of his friendship with Anthony. He's figured out Jane can take more pain than your average human, and so he's been taking his anger out on her. So basically Jane is in an abusive situation, which is exactly where she was before Gregory rescued her.
MTM: Did her experience with Gregory the vegetarian vampire change her in any way or is she still desperately seeking a vampire who will turn her?
ZW: She just wants to survive. And becoming a vampire is the only way she knows to get them to leave her alone. She needs something that will take her out of this victim space, but given her peculiar situation of being able to sense vampires and having some of that blood in her veins, she's somewhat perpetually trapped.
MTM: Tell me a little bit about the main players and what we will see in Mated.
ZW: Jane ends up with Cole, the alpha of the werewolf pack because of a gambling debt her abusive vampire... I hesitate to say 'boyfriend'... has accrued. Cole takes Jane in lieu of ten grand
MTM: I'm sure Jane appreciates being bartered for a marker.
ZW: LOL. Oh she's freaked the hell out. But personally I think what Paul was going to do otherwise was worse. He was planning on passing her around to the other vamps to raise funds. Classy guy, huh?
MTM: Wow. I agree. Boyfriend isn't the right word unless she is used to dating ogres.
ZW: LOL Unfortunately "ogres" are all she's ever really known due to her particular gift. She's really more his pet. And not in a positive cutesy way. But she can't help it. She can see/sense vampires because she has their blood in her veins. They pretty much make it their mission in life to punish her for that. She's wanted to be turned in order to be safe, but they won’t turn her. They've basically enslaved her instead.
MTM: No mind tricks for her then?
ZW: Nope. They can't thrall her, another reason they hate her. They could just kill her, but vamps like playing with their food too much. They're more amused by the prospects of keeping her alive. So she's basically been passed from sadistic psycho to sadistic psycho except for the brief reprieve when Gregory was protecting her.
MTM: My favorite character of the series so far is the vampire, Anthony. He is about as far from the typical “tortured vampire with a heart of gold” as it gets.
ZW: Thank you! I don't care for sparkly vampires. Vampires are supposed to be bad. Is it wrong that I LOVE when Anthony says all nonchalant-like, "Well, she's mine now"?
MTM: I did catch that and it was cool! He strikes me as being along the lines of badass Spike from the second season of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Is that a fair comparison?
ZW: Oooh! yeah I hadn't thought of that, but you're right. He is definitely in the same category as season two Spike. He's very morally gray. As becomes clear in later books, sometimes he'll be hero-like sometimes villain-like.
MTM: The men of your universe seem to fall into those gray areas a lot. Are there any "goody two shoes" guys floating around in there?
ZW: Oh good lord no. I don’t find that sexy at ALL. I could never bring myself to let one of my heroines sleep with a pussy. I think Dayne was about as wimpy as they get, though Cole is a very gentle alpha but he scares the crap out of Jane at first cause the wolves have a worse rep than the vamps. But that's all political BS.
MTM: I think most people would agree that morally ambiguous characters are much more interesting. Personally, I prefer it when the leading lady has some badass in her as well.
ZW: I think my heroines have got some fire in there, though they also are in messed up situations and I HATE when females in fiction act totally unlike real females because it might look "weak." Well um, if he could crush you easily you're not going to be too brave until you know you're safe.
MTM: I like that about your females. They don't turn into Ripley from Aliens just because they are the protagonist.
ZW: There are different types of strength and I like to think my female characters are strong, intelligent, and sassy, but they aren't unrealistic. Even though Greta was stronger physically than Dayne, she wasn't kicking his ass all the time.
MTM: Dayne was very much about how others perceived him. He was widely regarded by the Therians as dangerous but it seemed as though he may have been much darker before Greta came along. Had his character mellowed some by the time of the events in Kept?
ZW: Well he was never really a badass, not to his reputation's degree anyway. He'd fallen in love with Jaden (Greta's adoptive mother) and she'd been a part of a plot to hurt him and get him out of the way. He went in thinking he was saving her and really he had to save himself, but all the werecats he killed in self defense gave him this reputation. So in order to protect himself from further betrayal, he just withdrew and let people believe it. Basically a lot of it is a protective wall because Jaden really hurt him, and here he thinks Greta is there to do the same thing.
MTM: After Blood Lust, will you revisit any of the same couples?
ZW: Actually yes. There will be future books where some of these characters will play pivotal roles in what happens, and one of them will be a romance between a previous couple as they go through a challenge their love has to grow stronger for. Right now I'm setting up a lot of the power structure, such as with Dayne and Anthony and Cole and Cain (he's an incubus you meet in Mated). A lot of these men because of their positions of power will play major parts in future books.
MTM: Can you tell me a little more about Cain? Does he protect Jane?
ZW: Cain is too much of a serial killer to be protecting anyone at the moment.
MTM: Sounds like my kind of guy. LOL
ZW: Haha. Well, Cain kills his food. He's evil. (Since there is reincarnation in my world and Cain knows that, he doesn't see it as "ending" someone, just inconveniencing them and sending them back to start.) Though he gets his own book later. He's also quite charming when he wants to be. And he's ultimately redeemable.
MTM: Redeemable? How so?
ZW: Actually, yes. When you find out Cain's history it will make a lot more sense. But let's face it... if you watched Buffy, Spike killed humans for freaking EVER before falling in love with Buffy. So did Angel. And yet we let them be heroes of their own stories. We don't stop to think about the fact that they are basically reformed serial killers.
MTM: Save The Cat!
ZW: Haha. What?
MTM: LOL. It’s a book by Blake Snyder. He suggests if you put a villain in a heroic situation, the reader can forgive all.
ZW: YES. LOL. It's much more interesting when you can make a reader have sympathy for the devil, but I have an unholy crush on Cain. It's so wrong. But he knows he's getting his own book
MTM: How many books do you currently have in your mind for this series?
ZW: At least 10, but 8 are semi-planned already. I'm creating a big world that I can play in endlessly. Because we aren't following every single character through every book, hopefully it will stay fresh way past the point a series usually starts to get blah blah.
MTM: That’s a great way to keep breathing life into it and avoid the dreaded Anita Blake syndrome.
ZW: Oh, we'll also have some books set in "the future" about 20 years from now when everybody knows about vampires and therians and such and everything is crazy. Then for the next book, we'll hop back to the present where people don't know. One of the heroines is going to be Charlee and Anthony's daughter.
MTM: Spoilers!
ZW: So, see? Anthony and Charlee have sex!
MTM: HA!
ZW: That wasn't TOO spoilery though. Just a little. I also like throwing out little easter eggs, so people following and paying attention catch them.
~Stay tuned for Part 2 of my Interview with Zoe on Friday. Claimed and Mated are both available now.
Connect with Zoe Winters here:
http://www.zoewinters.org/
http://zoewinters.wordpress.com/
http://twitter.com/zoewinters
Monday, May 17, 2010
Lucifera's Pet: The Motion Picture!!!
Ok. The title is a little misleading. Has my novel been opted for a major motion picture? No. Not yet. That doesn’t mean I can’t go ahead and get everything planned out for when Hollywood eventually comes knocking on my door.
This morning, I asked a couple of fellow writers the following question for an upcoming interview:
Assume you have just won the equivalent of the literary lottery and a major film studio wants to turn your work into a big-budget motion picture. Which of your stories would you like to see as a film, and who would you want to be involved (actors, director, etc.)? Also, CGI or no CGI?
I decided I wanted to be the first to answer my own question.
Without further ado, here are the cast and main players in the film adaptation of Lucifera’s Pet:
Director:
Guillermo Del Toro
He has proven that he can do amazing things within a budget. He also can stay faithful to source material and bring even the most absurd characters to life in such a way that you forget about the prosthetics and just see the character. He can also pepper horror with a healthy dose of comedy. GDT is my guy.
Cast:
The Werewolf
Robert Downey Jr.
The lead player has to be able to chew up entire chunks of every scene in which he appears. He also has to be simultaneously psychotic and sympathetic. Who better than “the dude playing the dude disguised as another dude?”
Emil Vladu – Master Vampire
Cary Elwes
Let’s turn back the clock and have Dread Pirate Roberts from The Princess Bride, circa 1987 play the villain. He already has the air of condescension down to a science.
Robert Marrick – Emil’s henchman
Steve Buscemi
Marrick is creepy and he talks with an exaggerated lisp that makes him sound like a snake. I can think of no one better to play him than my favorite creepy actor.
Nash – Lucifera’s consigliore
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
Nash is big, brooding, and never speaks a word. He probably has a little too much charisma for the part, but The Rock will have no trouble filling the role physically.
Christopher Johnson – Newly turned vampire
Justin Long
The awkward, brainy kid from Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, will be perfect as the awkward, brainy vampire.
William O’Connell – werewolf
Daniel Day Lewis
O’Connell is big and boisterous with a mustache as big as all outdoors. He also has two knives: one in his hand and one in your back. Daniel Day Lewis is a lock for the role.
Now for the tough part: casting the title character.
Lucifera Romana – Master Vampire of Los Angeles
Shelly Martinez
Whenever I write Lucifera, Shelly in her former role as “Ariel” is how I picture the character. Would she win an Academy Award? Don't know. Don't care. If I were interested in Academy Awards, I’d rewrite the story about an innocent man on death row that Hollywood usually loves to shower with golden statues.
Supporting cast: Sean Connery as Tarquin. Catherine Zeta Jones as Lucrecia. Sir Anthony Hopkins as Cornelius. David Tennant as James. Valerie Bertinelli as Mary. Christian Slater as “The Mugger.”
Special Effects:
The team from Hellboy and Hellboy 2.
In both films, they bring monsters to life that I never believed would work on the big screen. These guys blend makeup, animatronics, and computer graphics in such a way that you forget you are watching something impossible. I would love to see what they could do with a pack of seven-foot-tall werewolves.
There you have it. That’s my film.
Now for the fun part. Tell me about your movie. You can post your thoughts here or we can make it really fun: Add pictures and put it in your blog, then post the link here. Either way, I want to hear about what your vision will look like on the big screen.
This morning, I asked a couple of fellow writers the following question for an upcoming interview:
Assume you have just won the equivalent of the literary lottery and a major film studio wants to turn your work into a big-budget motion picture. Which of your stories would you like to see as a film, and who would you want to be involved (actors, director, etc.)? Also, CGI or no CGI?
I decided I wanted to be the first to answer my own question.
Without further ado, here are the cast and main players in the film adaptation of Lucifera’s Pet:
Director:
Guillermo Del Toro
He has proven that he can do amazing things within a budget. He also can stay faithful to source material and bring even the most absurd characters to life in such a way that you forget about the prosthetics and just see the character. He can also pepper horror with a healthy dose of comedy. GDT is my guy.
Cast:
The Werewolf
Robert Downey Jr.
The lead player has to be able to chew up entire chunks of every scene in which he appears. He also has to be simultaneously psychotic and sympathetic. Who better than “the dude playing the dude disguised as another dude?”
Emil Vladu – Master Vampire
Cary Elwes
Let’s turn back the clock and have Dread Pirate Roberts from The Princess Bride, circa 1987 play the villain. He already has the air of condescension down to a science.
Robert Marrick – Emil’s henchman
Steve Buscemi
Marrick is creepy and he talks with an exaggerated lisp that makes him sound like a snake. I can think of no one better to play him than my favorite creepy actor.
Nash – Lucifera’s consigliore
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
Nash is big, brooding, and never speaks a word. He probably has a little too much charisma for the part, but The Rock will have no trouble filling the role physically.
Christopher Johnson – Newly turned vampire
Justin Long
The awkward, brainy kid from Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, will be perfect as the awkward, brainy vampire.
William O’Connell – werewolf
Daniel Day Lewis
O’Connell is big and boisterous with a mustache as big as all outdoors. He also has two knives: one in his hand and one in your back. Daniel Day Lewis is a lock for the role.
Now for the tough part: casting the title character.
Lucifera Romana – Master Vampire of Los Angeles
Shelly Martinez
Whenever I write Lucifera, Shelly in her former role as “Ariel” is how I picture the character. Would she win an Academy Award? Don't know. Don't care. If I were interested in Academy Awards, I’d rewrite the story about an innocent man on death row that Hollywood usually loves to shower with golden statues.
Supporting cast: Sean Connery as Tarquin. Catherine Zeta Jones as Lucrecia. Sir Anthony Hopkins as Cornelius. David Tennant as James. Valerie Bertinelli as Mary. Christian Slater as “The Mugger.”
Special Effects:
The team from Hellboy and Hellboy 2.
In both films, they bring monsters to life that I never believed would work on the big screen. These guys blend makeup, animatronics, and computer graphics in such a way that you forget you are watching something impossible. I would love to see what they could do with a pack of seven-foot-tall werewolves.
There you have it. That’s my film.
Now for the fun part. Tell me about your movie. You can post your thoughts here or we can make it really fun: Add pictures and put it in your blog, then post the link here. Either way, I want to hear about what your vision will look like on the big screen.
M.T. Murphy is the author of Lucifera’s Pet, a violent and sexy dark fiction tale of werewolves and vampires. Connect with him below:
Website: http://www.luciferaspet.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/WerewolfMike
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/luciferaspet
Smashwords (Free eBooks): http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/mtmurphy
Friday, May 7, 2010
Judging a book by its cover
I grew up reading comic books. I bet I just lost a lot of you right there. Believe it or not, comics can teach us a lot about how people decide whether or not to look at a book. In no other area is a cover image more important than for monthly periodicals.
I spent several years in magazine circulation and learned that readers flock to a pretty cover. One of the magazines I worked with was a food publication. They could have an issue with the best recipes and articles about food written by world renowned chefs and critics, but if they were stuck with a cover image of a wilted bologna sandwich, they wouldn’t sell an issue.
When I was small, my dad would come home from his job chasing bad guys as a State Trooper every Friday and bring me a comic book. We would sit together and read a story about (what else?) chasing bad guys. He didn’t pay attention to covers. He just grabbed whatever comic was on top of the rack at the convenience store on the way home. I grew up with a love of reading and a love of comics.
I drifted out of comics for several years after dad retired and no longer made it by the convenience store each Friday. One day after school, a comic caught my eye: Incredible Hulk #340. The character Wolverine had his claws drawn and a snarl on his face while a reflection of the Hulk’s face showed that the anger was mutual.
I opened the book and found exactly what I hoped to find: those two characters engaging in a brutal battle.
When I browse novels, nothing thrills me more than an exciting, artistic cover. I have been burned enough times to learn never to buy a book based solely on the cover, but that is what draws me to a book. The cover should be a window inside that gives potential readers a taste of things to come.
Blue Moon by Laurell K. Hamilton, is one of my favorite books. It is also the last book in the Anita Blake series that I have been able to finish. Here is the cover art on the version that I originally purchased:
The image is dark and foreboding. There is no question that this is a werewolf tale. I had read one previous book in the series before this one. I bought Blue Moon on the spot and read the other stories leading up to that one shortly thereafter. And then it stopped.
I let a friend borrow my copy of Blue Moon and it was never seen again. I wanted to reread it a few years back and decided to pick up another copy. To my dismay, the image above was now indicative of what that series became. If I were to evaluate Blue Moon based on this image, I would guess that it is a book about a wolf that has sex with a giant smurf. This would be an inaccurate assessment. From what I understand, that does not take place until much later in the series.
One of my favorite books in high school was Surfing Samurai Robots by Mel Gilden. The book can be judged by its cover with 100% accuracy:
When I wrote Lucifera’s Pet, I knew exactly what type of cover I wanted it to have. Alissa Rindels was able to bring the lead characters to life in a painting that became the cover image below. You can take one look and know exactly what to expect.
Will good cover art and design alone sell books? Maybe a few. As a reader, I look for a cover that conveys a true sense of the story contained within a book’s pages. As a writer, I want potential readers to know what they have in store.
I spent several years in magazine circulation and learned that readers flock to a pretty cover. One of the magazines I worked with was a food publication. They could have an issue with the best recipes and articles about food written by world renowned chefs and critics, but if they were stuck with a cover image of a wilted bologna sandwich, they wouldn’t sell an issue.
When I was small, my dad would come home from his job chasing bad guys as a State Trooper every Friday and bring me a comic book. We would sit together and read a story about (what else?) chasing bad guys. He didn’t pay attention to covers. He just grabbed whatever comic was on top of the rack at the convenience store on the way home. I grew up with a love of reading and a love of comics.
I drifted out of comics for several years after dad retired and no longer made it by the convenience store each Friday. One day after school, a comic caught my eye: Incredible Hulk #340. The character Wolverine had his claws drawn and a snarl on his face while a reflection of the Hulk’s face showed that the anger was mutual.
I opened the book and found exactly what I hoped to find: those two characters engaging in a brutal battle.
When I browse novels, nothing thrills me more than an exciting, artistic cover. I have been burned enough times to learn never to buy a book based solely on the cover, but that is what draws me to a book. The cover should be a window inside that gives potential readers a taste of things to come.
Blue Moon by Laurell K. Hamilton, is one of my favorite books. It is also the last book in the Anita Blake series that I have been able to finish. Here is the cover art on the version that I originally purchased:
The image is dark and foreboding. There is no question that this is a werewolf tale. I had read one previous book in the series before this one. I bought Blue Moon on the spot and read the other stories leading up to that one shortly thereafter. And then it stopped.
I let a friend borrow my copy of Blue Moon and it was never seen again. I wanted to reread it a few years back and decided to pick up another copy. To my dismay, the image above was now indicative of what that series became. If I were to evaluate Blue Moon based on this image, I would guess that it is a book about a wolf that has sex with a giant smurf. This would be an inaccurate assessment. From what I understand, that does not take place until much later in the series.
One of my favorite books in high school was Surfing Samurai Robots by Mel Gilden. The book can be judged by its cover with 100% accuracy:
When I wrote Lucifera’s Pet, I knew exactly what type of cover I wanted it to have. Alissa Rindels was able to bring the lead characters to life in a painting that became the cover image below. You can take one look and know exactly what to expect.
Will good cover art and design alone sell books? Maybe a few. As a reader, I look for a cover that conveys a true sense of the story contained within a book’s pages. As a writer, I want potential readers to know what they have in store.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Four Steps to Writing a Novel
First, let’s clarify something. The title of this blog is “Four Steps to Writing a Novel,” not “Anybody Can Write A Bestselling Novel,” or even “Anybody Can Write A Good Novel.” Millions of people start novels every day. Very few actually finish. Even fewer manage to get their masterpiece in front of readers. In this blog, I will lay out a strategy that you can use to write a novel. The quality is up to you.
1. Build your characters
Novels are driven by characters. The best plot in the world is useless if the characters involved are not engaging. You need a protagonist or protagonists whose exploits will captivate the reader from the first page to the last page. An equally strong antagonist is just as important.
Once you have created your central characters , you need to bring them to life. Where did they grow up? What are their goals? How do they speak? How will they react when a giant spider bites the head off of the person next to them on the park bench? Your characters will experience a thousand situations in your story. Understanding who they are and what they want will help you keep their actions believable throughout their journey.
2. Plot out your story
You have defined characters with distinct traits that will guide their behavior. Now you need to decide what will happen to your characters. There are many ways you can do this. Some writers begin with a situation and let their writing flow and decide the story as they go.
I envy those writers. I am not one of them.
Every story has a beginning, a middle, and an end.
Beginning: A giant spider captures Joe’s girlfriend, wrapping her up in a web and dragging her back to its lair for lunch.
Middle: Joe fights his way through the spider-infested city to save her.
End: Joe gets to the nest and saves her, but finds that the spiders filled her with spider eggs. They are both eaten by a million tiny mutant spiderbabies. The end.
HA! Fun stuff.
For me, an outline is critical. I don’t have a lot of free time to write, so I must make each minute count. By putting the main points down in an outline, I am able to keep myself focused and give direction to my words. I expand on the beginning, middle, and end points, adding plot points in between. These elements become like small “finish lines” in the story. This allows me to write to the next plot point and stay focused on that particular scene.
The outline is a tool. It will help you write towards your goal, but it is not set in stone. You can and will change the outline many times over the course of a novel. Some writers fear outlines because they do not want to be constrained. If used properly, an outline will give you something that anyone who writes a novel must have:
3. Stay motivated
Writing a novel takes time. If you are not a full-time writer, it will take you months or years to finish. You must find a way to stay motivated.
FYI – Money and fame cannot be your motivating factors. For every Stephen King who lives, breathes, and bleeds the writing craft, there are fifty thousand M.T. Murphy’s trying to find an audience.
Find someone who will read your work. It can be your significant other, a friend, your old college English professor—anyone who will read your story and give you feedback. Writing a blog and allowing online readers to get a first look at your work in process is also an option that is gaining popularity. No matter who reads your story, just having an audience will make you want to keep going. If they are enjoying your words and letting you know that, you will be even more excited to finish what you started.
The only way to finish a novel is by writing. Whether you write ten words a day or two thousand, you are far more likely to keep going if you have goals. If you write three hundred words a day for five days each week, you will have written 78,000 words at the end of a year. That is the equivalent of one page of text each writing day. That is also the approximate word count of a 260 page novel.
4. Finished Product!
If you are able to fight your way through all the way to the end, congratulations! You have written your novel. At this point, you will want to step back and let it sit for a while. After you have given it a week or so to cool, read it yourself. You will likely see a thousand things you want to change. You can fix these as you go or read it until the end and then fix them. Either way, you will repeat this process several times, improving your story each time.
Once your novel reads exactly the way you want it to, you are finished. At this point, you have many options. You can file it away on your computer or send it to friends and family. You can self-publish it immediately as an eBook on the web. You can find a good editor who will review and suggest ways to improve it.
I suggest taking your finished draft to an editor who is experienced with similar books. Whether you publish the book yourself, shop around for a literary agent, or submit the book directly to publishers, every book needs editing. A professional editor can both point out your mistakes and help you make your story as strong as it can be.
Advice from a nobody!
The most important piece of advice I can give you is this: Make a commitment to yourself that you will finish your novel and write it down along with a deadline. Put the piece of paper where you will see it every day. When you give yourself a goal, your subconscious mind has a way of steering your waking actions to achieve that goal.
If you want to write a novel, you can. The only thing stopping you is you.
I may be a “nobody” right now, but I have finished writing a novel, and so can you.
In a future blog I will reveal the secrets for writing a bestselling novel that starts a movie franchise and makes the author rich beyond his or her wildest dreams—just as soon as I figure that out for myself.
1. Build your characters
Novels are driven by characters. The best plot in the world is useless if the characters involved are not engaging. You need a protagonist or protagonists whose exploits will captivate the reader from the first page to the last page. An equally strong antagonist is just as important.
Once you have created your central characters , you need to bring them to life. Where did they grow up? What are their goals? How do they speak? How will they react when a giant spider bites the head off of the person next to them on the park bench? Your characters will experience a thousand situations in your story. Understanding who they are and what they want will help you keep their actions believable throughout their journey.
2. Plot out your story
You have defined characters with distinct traits that will guide their behavior. Now you need to decide what will happen to your characters. There are many ways you can do this. Some writers begin with a situation and let their writing flow and decide the story as they go.
I envy those writers. I am not one of them.
Every story has a beginning, a middle, and an end.
Beginning: A giant spider captures Joe’s girlfriend, wrapping her up in a web and dragging her back to its lair for lunch.
Middle: Joe fights his way through the spider-infested city to save her.
End: Joe gets to the nest and saves her, but finds that the spiders filled her with spider eggs. They are both eaten by a million tiny mutant spiderbabies. The end.
HA! Fun stuff.
For me, an outline is critical. I don’t have a lot of free time to write, so I must make each minute count. By putting the main points down in an outline, I am able to keep myself focused and give direction to my words. I expand on the beginning, middle, and end points, adding plot points in between. These elements become like small “finish lines” in the story. This allows me to write to the next plot point and stay focused on that particular scene.
The outline is a tool. It will help you write towards your goal, but it is not set in stone. You can and will change the outline many times over the course of a novel. Some writers fear outlines because they do not want to be constrained. If used properly, an outline will give you something that anyone who writes a novel must have:
3. Stay motivated
Writing a novel takes time. If you are not a full-time writer, it will take you months or years to finish. You must find a way to stay motivated.
FYI – Money and fame cannot be your motivating factors. For every Stephen King who lives, breathes, and bleeds the writing craft, there are fifty thousand M.T. Murphy’s trying to find an audience.
Find someone who will read your work. It can be your significant other, a friend, your old college English professor—anyone who will read your story and give you feedback. Writing a blog and allowing online readers to get a first look at your work in process is also an option that is gaining popularity. No matter who reads your story, just having an audience will make you want to keep going. If they are enjoying your words and letting you know that, you will be even more excited to finish what you started.
The only way to finish a novel is by writing. Whether you write ten words a day or two thousand, you are far more likely to keep going if you have goals. If you write three hundred words a day for five days each week, you will have written 78,000 words at the end of a year. That is the equivalent of one page of text each writing day. That is also the approximate word count of a 260 page novel.
4. Finished Product!
If you are able to fight your way through all the way to the end, congratulations! You have written your novel. At this point, you will want to step back and let it sit for a while. After you have given it a week or so to cool, read it yourself. You will likely see a thousand things you want to change. You can fix these as you go or read it until the end and then fix them. Either way, you will repeat this process several times, improving your story each time.
Once your novel reads exactly the way you want it to, you are finished. At this point, you have many options. You can file it away on your computer or send it to friends and family. You can self-publish it immediately as an eBook on the web. You can find a good editor who will review and suggest ways to improve it.
I suggest taking your finished draft to an editor who is experienced with similar books. Whether you publish the book yourself, shop around for a literary agent, or submit the book directly to publishers, every book needs editing. A professional editor can both point out your mistakes and help you make your story as strong as it can be.
Advice from a nobody!
The most important piece of advice I can give you is this: Make a commitment to yourself that you will finish your novel and write it down along with a deadline. Put the piece of paper where you will see it every day. When you give yourself a goal, your subconscious mind has a way of steering your waking actions to achieve that goal.
If you want to write a novel, you can. The only thing stopping you is you.
I may be a “nobody” right now, but I have finished writing a novel, and so can you.
In a future blog I will reveal the secrets for writing a bestselling novel that starts a movie franchise and makes the author rich beyond his or her wildest dreams—just as soon as I figure that out for myself.
Book Review - Twinkle by Dan McGirt
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/10566
Available as a free download above.
Stella and Edmund share a love like no other. Neither an ancient curse nor the painful transition from adolescence to adulthood can quell their passion. Time has finally come for these lovers to cast off the conventions of their respective cultures and be together forever.
Before they can begin their new life of bliss an unwelcome outsider alters their course. In the midst of tragedy an ancient evil stirs, threatening to destroy the quiet town of Twinkle.
Can Stella overcome her fear and become a heroine with the help of a rogue warrior? Will the town of Twinkle crumble or triumph in the face of damnation?
How does that summary grab you?
Is your BS-o-meter going off yet? I hope it is.
Twinkle by Dan McGirt is satire at its best, folks. If you can read through the first three pages without laughing hard enough to cause internal bleeding and/or soil yourself, you should probably stop there. With approximately 16,000 words, it is well worth the small time investment it takes to read through to the end.
McGirt takes on a host of pop culture topics with the kid gloves left in their proper place: on the shelf. The angsty vampire genre receives a ten pound monkey wrench to the gut with hilarious results.
If you have no sense of humor DO NOT READ THIS BOOK.
If you believe politicians truly have our best interests at heart DO NOT READ THIS BOOK.
If you have a weak bladder DO NOT READ THIS BOOK.
If the thought of ridiculously good looking vampire and werewolf kids meeting untimely and unsavory ends bothers you in the least DO NOT READ THIS BOOK.
On the other hand, if you can appreciate a satirical look at the things and people over which we tend to obsess these days, then you might just enjoy Dan McGirt’s foray into the absurd.
Twinkle is easily worth a thousand times the $0 I paid for it.
~M
Note: After I posted this review, Dan has renamed Twinkle to Sara Palin, Vampire Hunter. A lot of the fun for me was discovering that major plot twist as I read, but the book is still a very funny and engaging story.
Available as a free download above.
Stella and Edmund share a love like no other. Neither an ancient curse nor the painful transition from adolescence to adulthood can quell their passion. Time has finally come for these lovers to cast off the conventions of their respective cultures and be together forever.
Before they can begin their new life of bliss an unwelcome outsider alters their course. In the midst of tragedy an ancient evil stirs, threatening to destroy the quiet town of Twinkle.
Can Stella overcome her fear and become a heroine with the help of a rogue warrior? Will the town of Twinkle crumble or triumph in the face of damnation?
How does that summary grab you?
Is your BS-o-meter going off yet? I hope it is.
Twinkle by Dan McGirt is satire at its best, folks. If you can read through the first three pages without laughing hard enough to cause internal bleeding and/or soil yourself, you should probably stop there. With approximately 16,000 words, it is well worth the small time investment it takes to read through to the end.
McGirt takes on a host of pop culture topics with the kid gloves left in their proper place: on the shelf. The angsty vampire genre receives a ten pound monkey wrench to the gut with hilarious results.
If you have no sense of humor DO NOT READ THIS BOOK.
If you believe politicians truly have our best interests at heart DO NOT READ THIS BOOK.
If you have a weak bladder DO NOT READ THIS BOOK.
If the thought of ridiculously good looking vampire and werewolf kids meeting untimely and unsavory ends bothers you in the least DO NOT READ THIS BOOK.
On the other hand, if you can appreciate a satirical look at the things and people over which we tend to obsess these days, then you might just enjoy Dan McGirt’s foray into the absurd.
Twinkle is easily worth a thousand times the $0 I paid for it.
~M
Note: After I posted this review, Dan has renamed Twinkle to Sara Palin, Vampire Hunter. A lot of the fun for me was discovering that major plot twist as I read, but the book is still a very funny and engaging story.
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