Everywhere I look on-line I read that an author needs a platform if he/she expects an agent or publisher to accept the writer or the work.
Now, I can see that if you have a published work to tout. A platform helps get the book the publicity it needs to be successful. The internet makes that relatively easy. If you have a ready-made platform, all your "friends" on FaceBook and elsewhere have supposedly been following you and should be anxious to see your book.
But what if you don't have a book to tout yet?
I've been struggling with that issue a lot lately. I have two books, one of which is probably ready for publication. But, without a platform is an agent/publisher willing to accept me or my book for publication? But how can I get a platform if I have nothing published yet?
Maybe someone can help me here. It seems like a dilemma to me.
I got a message from a fellow writer today telling me she thought I should change the title of my first novel, "An Urge to Kill." She said: "In this killing world, many parent's may not agree with your title and you may be turning off some publishers."
Now, I think I have to agree with her. My only problem with that is I totally suck when it comes to creating titles. She gave me some suggestions: "The Merciless Bridge? Or maybe, Mark's Verdict? Or The Jeering Bridge? Or The Taunting Bridge? Or The Bridge of Ridicule? After all, this bridge keeps taunting Mark right?"
To me, none of those ideas capture the essence of my novel. Neither does "An Urge to Kill," for that matter. She said she likes my original title. But I'm not even sure I can remember what that was - I've given it so many titles over the past few years. Maybe she means "Bridge to Destiny," or "Sweet Revenge," or "The Bridge Beckons." Probably not "Sweet Revenge." That sounds too violent too.
Problem is, I've used all of them at one time or another to query agents. Would agents still remember them and think my novel is still that same piece of pulp that they rejected several years ago? I've made many changes to the novel. It's grown, matured if you will, thanks to my great critique partners at "Writer's Pen" in the "Authors by Design" writer's on-line forum. Maybe it's time to try out one of the old titles again. One that better suits the essence of the novel without giving away the plot.
Now that Christmas and New Years are behind me, I think it's time to get back to novel writing. I have been working to make my first novel (now titled "An Urge to Kill") fit with my critique partner's suggestions. They suggested I cut out the first 3 or 4 chapters, beginning with my MC starting his first day in a new school, not remembering the accident that took his family's lives. He starts off offending the school's bully/screw-up and life continues to get worse as he begins remembering bits and pieces of the accident until he realizes it was caused by some driver who cut his family off, sending them veering into a gasoline tanker truck. He then vows to kill the person who caused his grief if he can find out who he is.
In my old version, I built up to the accident, showing the MC upset at his parents and sister because he wanted to spend Christmas Even with his friends and get a date with a girl he'd had a crush on for over a year. Then a speeding driver cuts them off.... When he wakes up in the hospital he doesn't remember the accident. Then at the funeral he vows to kill the person who caused it if he can find out who he is.
These versions are pretty much the same from when the MC starts school. I'm really struggling to decide which version I like best. Which one I should try to market.
I realize I'm a bit late with this. I haven't been on my blog site for several weeks. On September 1st, we had another wonderful blessing. Xander Stoddard was born to my beautiful daughter, Kristen and her husband Nate. We are excited with this newest addition. Isn't he cute?
I was just looking at some pictures I have of Port Costa and Crockett taken back in the 1960s and 1950s. Boy, I sure miss those days. I was only a kid, and probably didn't realize all the problems we had back then, but I can't believe they were any worse than what we're going through now. Yes, we had Nikita Kruschev threatening to bury us and threatening nuclear war, and Fidel Castro rattling his saber as a puppet of the Soviet Union. But those were external threats, things we could deal with. But today's threats are internal, Obama pretending to be a conservative while actually being a fascist, openly wishing he could be a dictator. His advisers secretly being communists and plotting the overthrow of our government.
I sat this morning looking at some pictures of a train taking on passengers at Crockett in 1956, thinking times were so much simpler in those days. No EPA, no OSHA, no frivolous law suits, and we got along just fine without them. In those days, some of us thought John Kennedy was a communist in disguise, but by today's standards he would be considered a conservative -- a Republican, or at least a blue-dog Democrat.
I can remember riding my bike along the railroad tracks between Port Costa and Crockett. I loved it when a train pulled by an articulated mallet steam engine would chug past me. I had to cover my ears it was so loud, and the ground would shake as it passed by, but the feeling of power fascinated me. I can still hear them.
Then, I would ride my bike to visit some friends, or ride past that special girl's house I had a crush on. I loved hiking in the hills, pretending to look for Black Bart's hidden loot (he was supposed to have buried it somewhere in the Port Costa hills but no one has found it yet). I miss those days. Maybe that's why I love to write. I don't know if my writing will ever sell, but I love passing my old dreams and reminiscences on to today's generation -- dreams and reminiscences of a simpler, more innocent, time.
What is it about Socialism/Communism that liberals and progressives like? In the words of Winston Churchill:
"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance,and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery."
Winston Churchill
Here are some photos of the twins born last Thursday.
This one is Seth West (I don't know their middle names yet).
And this one is Simeon West
My son's wife just gave birth to twins yesterday, Seth and Simeon. They're very small, a little over 4 pounds each. They will need to stay in the NICU for a few days, but they look healthy and well.
We are so proud of Mike and Mimi for all they went through to have these babies, and excited to have two more grandchildren. That makes nine now, 6 boys and 3 girls, with two more on the way. Wow, could you say this has been a very productive year???
Yes, folks (all 1 or 2 of you), I'm going to start querying again. I figured out, after a lot of rejections from agents, that my #1 WIP is going nowhere. I think my critique group was being nice to me to tell me they all liked it.
After getting nowhere, I decided to let them take a second and even more critical look at it. Based on their comments I cut out the first 4 chapters. Now looking back, I don't think that hurt my novel at all, and may even helped. I was concerned, however, that a lot of the tragic events I had portrayed in Chapter 1 would be lost, as the book is based on those events. But I found a way to insert bits and pieces of that chapter in the form of flashbacks as the main character (Mark) remembers his family's tragedy.
So now, I've totally revised my #1 WIP and even gave it a new catchy title -- An Urge to Kill. Does that grab at you? I hope it grabs an agent and publisher.
I also have a better looking query letter that did garner a few positive responses before I gave up the hunt. Oh, and those positive responses all died an ugly death and were given a proper burial.
Well, here's to wishing and hoping and even praying that this next go-round works better. Not holding my breath though, but my fingers and toes are all crossed.
My wife and I are super excited to welcome our newest granddaughter into our family. Isabella Jo West was born last evening at 9:13 p.m.. She was 7 lbs. 3 oz., and 19.5 inches.
That make our grandchildren count at 3 girls and 4 boys now, with 3 more boys on the way.
Welcome Isabella Jo!!! We already love you.
I've been asked why I chose the 1960s in which to set my first novel. In answer to that question, the main reason I set it in the '60s is mostly because that's where I envision it. I've tried to bring it up to modern day but it loses a huge, dare I say "magical," something. In short, it just doesn't work for me.
Call me weird, but I love looking back into the past and dreaming up stories of what could have happened back then. And I do not like stories with vampires and ware wolves and para-normal aspects, etc. that today's youth seem to prefer to read. That doesn't mean I won't read them. I just don't want to write about them.
I loved the books of Jack London, Harper Lee, Frank Norris, John Steinbeck, and others. They were what would be described as "realistic." These authors have had a strong influence in my decision to be a writer. I prefer realism. It has more true meaning to me.
In the past, I had agents ask for a marketing plan to accompany my query, synopsis and sample chapters. Maybe, for writers, that would be about the same as a business plan. So, I think if I were to write a business plan for my writing it would look something like this:
1. Write the novel - Done
3. Join a critique group - Done
3. edit the novel and rewrite it - Done
4. edit the novel and rewrite it - Done
5. edit the novel and rewrite it - Done
6. edit the novel and rewrite it - Done
7. Write query and synopsis and find an agent or editor - Done
8. edit the novel and rewrite it - Done
9. Revise query and synopsis and find an agent or editor - Done
10. edit the novel and rewrite it - Done ad nauseam
11. Revise query and synopsis and find an agent or editor - ad nauseam
And finally, once I find an agent or editor who is willing to publish it:
12. edit the novel and rewrite it
13. Create web site with blog
14. Create catchy trailer
15. Talk up book on web site and blog
16. Talk up book on FaceBook, Twitter, and any other social network
17. Reap the meager rewards of all that effort.
At least that's what my business plan would look at from my experience so far. I hope your experience won't be so dragged out as mine has been.
I suppose you could put dates as goals, but expect them to be shattered.
Happy Writing!!!
I just finished reading a most wonderful debut novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford. It's about a Chinese boy, Henry, and Japanese girl, Keiko, who fall in love at the tender age of 12, but circumstances beyond their control, the evacuation of Japanese people during WWII, kept them apart. The story is written in two eras, the 1940s and 1986 shortly after Henry became a widower. With the insistence of his son, he attempts to find his long lost love.
It's a sweet and tender story, sure to dampen your eyes a bit.
If there is something to criticize about Jamie Ford's work, I couldn't find it. It's a powerful and compelling story about how love can endure.
Frankly, I highly recommend it. You can read more about Ford's book at this site.
The problem arises, as I see it, when what is called edgy becomes something that appeals more to kid's prurient interests than as a learning experience.
For example, I once started reading a novel by Judy Blum. Yes, the same Judy Blum who wrote all those cute childrens books. It was touted to be a young adult novel, so as a writer of young adult novels, and the book having been written by a famous author like Judy Blum, I thought it would be a good read. About a quarter of the way through it, I had to take it back to the library. I could not read it any further. It was filled with graphic sex, describing the act in great detail. I suppose it was supposed to have some kind of lesson about a girl losing her virginity and the consequences that follow, but to me it was nothing more than child pornography. It made me sick to think our children are reading that kind of filth.
I don't have a problem with an author writing about sex, even events leading up to a sexual encounter, but to describe the act in detail is pornography in my mind.
I like an edgy book now and then, if it's done without appealing to our children's baser and prurient interests. And I could go off on another tangent and say edgy does NOT need to have the infamous "F" word, or many of its synonyms. But that is something for another discussion.
There has been quite a lot of talk recently on the utahchildrenswriters email forum about what constitutes edgy young adult fiction. There have been a lot of great comments, some pro and others con.
So, what is it, and is it good for our youth to read?
Well, I think a lot of people have differing ideas about what constitutes "edgy" fiction. I may be wrong (wouldn't be the first time) but to me, edgy does not have to have graphic sex, violence, or use the infamous "F" word on every other paragraph - or at all for that matter (and that's a subject I've covered before).
I think edgy is more a function of subject matter. If a novel touches on serious issues, such as rape, hatred, prejudice, bullying, unwed pregnancy, drug abuse, alcoholism, suicide, etc., it's edgy - at least in my mind - without all the graphics.
In my first novel, I tried to be as edgy as I could get without crossing the line into what I consider unacceptable. In the first chapter, I have described a horrific scene where a family is killed in a fiery automobile crash. Only two survive by being thrown clear of the accident (this was before seat belts). I may have pushed the limits of acceptable violence a bit, but I don't think it's out of line. The story is about forgiveness and judging, and throughout the story the main character is subjected to acts of violence as he tries to find who caused the accident that killed his family. He makes some rash judgments and eventually has to face his fears and the person he believes killed his family. In the end, their feud finds them on opposite ends of a gun – and Mark’s next move could be the biggest mistake of his life.
Still, with all this going on, I don't feel my novel crosses over the edge of what I consider acceptable.
Our youth today are deluged with graphic sex and violence and hear the "F" word constantly in school and other places. I think we, as adults, need to raise the bar of what constitutes good literature for young, impressionable minds.
The other day, a fellow writer asked to see my first novel, you know, the one I began writing nearly 25 years ago, and after having gone through several critique groups, I thought it was as good as it could get??? Well, this writer wrote me a note, suggesting I read it aloud. Well, actually, I have never done that, at least not all the way through, but despite everyone saying how beneficial that usually is, I didn't think it would help. After all, my novel has been through the critique mill. It's gotta be near perfect. At least I thought so until I took up the challenge. Today, I read the first two chapters aloud, from a printout, not on the computer screen.
GASP! and GADS! What a horrible mess!!! I never dreamed it was so bad. I found typo after typo, extraneous words, noun-verb disagreements, and dialog that sounded stilted.
Now, I'm totally embarrassed that I actually sent it out to a couple of agents. They must think I'm something to think it was good enough for their consideration.
What now? Give up? NEVER!!!
Just let this be a lesson to me, and to all of you, my faithful readers (all 1 or 2 of you). Never think your writing is good enough. Read it aloud from a printout, not on screen. You'll be surprised as the goofs and gaffs you will find.
I certainly am.
Recently, a writer friend commented that it seemed most middle grade novels begin with a "child of destiny" being attacked by a bully, then the bully disappears while the main character goes on to do whatever it is the book is really about.
I wish my novel I'm calling GERTA! were finished. It's about a horribly ugly, smelly, and fat girl who nobody likes - at first. She's not a child of destiny, far from it. She's also a slow learner, does poorly in school, but she's a genius mechanic. The boys in the class tease and ridicule her until the MC (POV character) eventually learns to love her as a child of God.
Yes, there are bullies, but they run through the entire novel, not just at the beginning.
I just wish it were close to being finished. I think there would be a big market for it.
I wrote this blog a long time ago, but I'm re-posting it as I'm hearing a lot of bull about the necessity of using profanity in one's writing.
Some people believe using profanity in their writing makes their prose sound more realistic. They claim it's necessary for shock value. While that may be, I don't believe it's "necessary" in order to create a sense of realism, which is all fiction is anyway.
In my novel "Sweet Revenge," I have some pretty tough characters, but I don't have any of them using profanity, even when they are being beat up by a group of thugs, or by the thugs themselves, for that matter. The antagonists (thugs) swear, but I never use the actual swear words. I just say, "So and so swore," or something like that, which allows the reader to imagine the epithet.
I don't think it's necessary to show a person swearing in order to show his emotional state. That can be shown by what he's seeing, hearing, saying, but mostly feeling in his heart.
I was part of a critique group once that was supposed to be strictly for writers of young adult literature. A young boy (around 16 or 17) joined the group and proceeded to put the infamous "F"-word in every other paragraph. When I told him publishers of YA material probably would not accept that kind of language, he became even more profane. I complained to the moderator, but she refused to do anything about it, so I quit rather than read any more of his filth.
I know I don't like to read those kinds of words when I’m enjoying a novel, and I think a lot of readers would prefer not to be subjected to them either, if the truth were known.
I for one, do not believe using profanity in ANY book is necessary, adult or young adult. I've seen many books depicting bad characters who use profanity, but the author chooses not to use the actual words. I think it's sufficient to indicate that a character swears, or swore, without using those profane words.
As an example. I read "The Great and Terrible" series by Chris Stewart. I recommend reading this series and other "best-selling" books by Mr. Stewart as great examples of what I'm talking about. Mr. Stewart has some pretty awful characters depicted in his books, characters who swear and use profanity, but he does not use the actual profane words, choosing rather to indicate that a character swore, and leave the bad word up to the imagination of the reader. It works. I don't think anyone reading his books will think they are fake or phony. They're quite realistic.
Another example is Dean Hughes' books. He writes about WWII and other difficult subjects where profanity should be expected. But I can't recall a single profane word and his books are totally believable.
Certainly, it takes a bit more creativity on our part, but isn't that what we writers pride ourselves as being -- creative?
I think we can avoid using profane words and still be realistic. It just takes a slight bit more effort. In my mind, using the actual words in our writing cheapens our work and is the lazy way out, and what example are we showing our youth?
