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Friday, May 30, 2008
The New Archive is Now Open
The new
Marketing Vault is available to browse now. Simply click here, and you'll find all my marketing advice articles in one place.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Publication News!
MY
NEW E-BOOK OUT NOW! I want to officially announce the publication of my e-book, Plan Well, Write Well: The secret to crafting your
best plots, characters, and settings.
Click here to learn more!
CLIENT TO BE PUBLISHED! I am thrilled to announce
the forthcoming publication of “Let It Be Done,” a poem written by my client Stephanie Wilson. The poem
will feature in Hopelessly Romantic Magazine, a print publication with a circulation in, among other places, San
Francisco, Paris, London, Dublin (Ireland), and Venice (Italy).
While a native of Dash Point, Washington,
Stephanie recently moved to the Portland Metro area. In addition to her passion for writing, her myriad interests include
photography, painting, and music (drums, guitar, harmonica). Next up for Stephanie is to compile a poetry chapbook and continue
to submit her current work to editors.
To
see the cover of the latest issue, click below:
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Contact Me
. . .On People,
Books, and Software.
News/Events
Author
Events in July at Murder by the Book AARON
ELKINS appears at 5:00 pm on Sunday, July 13, at Murder by the Book, 3210 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd., to read from and discuss "Uneasy
Relations," the latest in his series starring "The Skeleton Detective," Gideon Oliver. Oliver journeys to Gibraltar
to examine the remains of what could be a skeleton belonging to an astounding combination of Neanderthal and Homo sapiens.
Elkins is an Olympic peninsula resident, a former anthropologist, and an Edgar award winner, one of the premier mystery awards.
CRAIG JOHNSON appears at 6:00 pm on Friday, July
18, at Murder by the Book, 3210 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd., to read from and discuss "Another Man's Moccasins," the
latest release in his series starring Walt Longmire, intrepid sheriff of Absaroka County, Wyoming. Longmire's past as
a Marine investigator in Vietnam affects his investigation in the present of the death of a young Vietnamese woman. Johnson
will be roaring to a stop at the door as part of his book tour on his trust Harley. RHYS BOWEN appears at 5:00 pm on Sunday, July 27, at Murder by the Book, 3210 S.E. Hawthorne
Blvd., to read from and discuss "A Royal Pain," the second in her series starring Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte
Eugenie ("Georgie"), cousin of the king of England, set in the 1930s. At the queen's behest, clever Georgie
must pull an Eliza Doolittle with a Bavarian princess to distract Prince Edward from Mrs. Wallis Simpson. For further information, contact Barbara Tom at 503- 232-9995 or email
btom2@mac.com.
HOW READY ARE YOU? Pre-Conference Workshop Offered
on June 28th
A Pre-Conference Workshop for Fiction Writers
sponsored by Willamette Writers and presented by The Willamette Writer editor, Leona Grieve. Saturday, June 28, 9 a.m. - 3
p.m. (1/2 hour for lunch), Location: Portland area, PCC SE Campus, 2305 SE 82nd Ave. Cost: $50. Is your material ready to be read
by an agent or an editor? Reduce the possibility of rejection. In this six-hour workshop we will cover the query letter, synopsis,
first 3 pages of your novel, pitching to agents and editors at the Conference. Bring your submission packet (query letter,
synopsis and first chapter) and we'll work together as you read, write, evaluate, polish and get ready to pitch your novel.
Pre- register by calling Willamette Writers office: (503) 452- 1592.
Christine Fletcher Speaks About Writing for Young Adults on July 1st
As a child growing up in the San Francisco Bay area, Christine
Fletcher spent her days reading, drawing animals, and at the age of seven, dreamed of inventing veterinary medicine. Crushed
that the profession was already in existence, she went on to become a veterinarian, and though drawing fell by the wayside,
she never stopped writing. Though she claims she
hadn't thought of becoming a writer, after reading a particularly badly written novel she came to the conclusion that
she could do better. And apparently reviewers have thought so as well, with high praise for her first young adult novel, Tallulah
Falls, from Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, School Library Journal, and many more. Tallulah Falls was named a 2007 Book for the
Teen Age by the New York Public Library. Tallulah
Falls is the coming-of-age story of seventeen-year-old Tallulah Addy, who drops everything when she gets a frantic message
from her best friend Maeve, and sets out from Oregon to rural Tennessee to rescue her. But a few days later it's Tallulah
who needs help after she finds herself abandoned and penniless. Fletcher's most recent novel is Ten Cents a Dance, published by Bloomsbury Children's Books.
Today Fletcher lives in a 100-year-old house in Portland that
she says is constantly in need of repairs. Her companions are her boyfriend of many years, two dogs and two cats, and a hognose
snake named Snappy Tom. Join us July 1st at The Old
Church, SW 11th and Clay at 7 pm when Christine Fletcher will share her insights and experiences in writing for the young
adult market.
Magical
Realism Mentorship Announced
Tamara
Sellman, director of MRCentral (www.mrcentral.net) announces the opening of the 2009 Magic Carpet Ride mentorship application
period (www.angelfire.com/wa2/margin/MRCentral/mentorship.html). This mentorship, an innovative one-on-one creative writing program, is the first of its kind to provide specialized
instruction, direction, and motivation specifically for a writer of literary magical realism. The purpose of the Magic Carpet Ride mentorship is to assist a promising magical
realist writer from anywhere in the world in the completion of a polished manuscript by the end of the session which may then
be actively submitted to potential publishers. Qualification
This mentorship, valued at $1500, will be awarded
annually, and on a competitive basis, to a single applicant who is able to demonstrate: • a deep commitment to completing their work in progress •
strong writing skills • a desire to learn and to succeed • a good understanding of the magical realist nature of their manuscript Applications for the 2009 mentorship session are now available
(www.angelfire.com/wa2/margin/MRCentral/mentorship.html) Applicants must fill out an online application, respond to a questionnaire, send a 10-page sample and pay the application
fee ($40 for members of MRCentral; $60 for nonmembers, which covers lifetime membership). Postmark deadline for receipt of all application materials for the 2009 mentorship
session is October 31, 2008. Email deadline for receipt of all application materials for the 2008 mentorship session is midnight
[Pacific time], October 31, 2008. More info
(www.angelfire.com/wa2/margin/MRCentral/mentorship.html)
(magicalrealismmaven at hotmail dot com) Tamara Kaye Sellman,
Director
MRCentral.net
321
High School Road NE
Ste D3, PMB 204
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
Elizabeth Lyon's Manuscript Makeover craft book out now! Writing
teacher and editor, Elizabeth Lyon, is excited to announce that her sixth book for writers is being released on April 1, 2008.
Manuscript Makeover: Revision Techniques No Fiction Writer Can Afford to Ignore is
the most comprehensive, practical, and economical book on revising fiction you'll ever find.
Pre-order from
many online booksellers and get a discount.
www.manuscriptmakeover.com
An Audio Treat from Kristin ThielFellow editor Kristin Thiel of Indigo Editing recently read an excerpt from her short story published in an anthology
of local women's writings, VoiceCatcher. To hear an audio recording of her reading
as well as other readings from VoiceCatcher writers, click here.
2008 SCBWI ConferenceThe Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators to present the 2008
Spring Conference "Aspire to Inspire" on May 16-17 at the Shilo Inn Airport Hotel in Portland,
Oregon. Pre-registration is required. For more information, visit www.scbwior.com/events.
Hear, Hear!I was recently interviewed by reporter Dawn Feldhaus of the Camas-Washougal
Post-Record newspaper regarding National Novel Writing Month. To read the full article as a .PDF, click the link below.
(See page 2 for my portion of the interview.)
Camas-Washougal Post-Record article
My Novel Excerpts
Enter The Faltering Stone
Enter Sacrifice the Lamb
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Writers Finders Newsletter
June 25, 2008
Questions and Answers with Ken Arnold, Founder of KenArnoldBooks, LLC.
Q. You use digital printing, a more unusual approach to the
printing process. Many writers are unaware of this shifting paradigm to a more environmental- and budget-conscious approach.
Can you explain the benefits of digital printing for both publisher and author? A. For publishers, the advantages are in not having to invest as much money up front in publishing a book. A print
run of even 2,000 copies can cost $6,000 and up. And then it might take two years to sell all of them—or perhaps to sell only some of them. Capital is tied up for all of that time. And, moreover, the publisher has to
pay to store the books in a warehouse. Digital printing requires only the cost of printing each book as it is sold or ordered.
And there are no warehouse expenses. For the author, the advantage is that the publisher can invest money in promotion rather
than storing books (assuming the publisher is honorable). There are some disadvantages. The publishing business, particularly
some bookstores and review media, hold a prejudice against digital or print on demand because over the years self-publishing
has tended to use these printing techniques. Excluding books digitally printed from a bookstore or review makes it easier
for booksellers or reviewers to decide which books to ignore. It is not a fair way to make a choice, but it happens. Q. Let's say you have currently accepted a new writer. Can you
explain the steps the writer would take in working with you? A.
Writers work with us pretty much as they might work with any publisher, except I think we tend to involve them more in our
process. We invite a manuscript, offer suggestions for revision, issue a standard publishing contract with royalties. Authors
pay for nothing. We offer standard royalties. We copy edit and design our books; authors review editing and have a chance
to offer design suggestions and review the design. We work with authors to create a review and media list and send out as
many as 100 copies to promote the book. We also work closely with authors to set up events and readings. Finally, we sell
authors their own books at a 50% discount, and they are encouraged to sell the books themselves, keeping the "profit."
In effect, it's a 50% royalty. Most authors like the option. We print the books as authors need them. We also sell through
Lightning Source to bookstores, the chains, and libraries —both
in the US and the UK. Our books are on Amazon.com here and in the UK. Q. KenArnoldBooks does not work with agents in the traditional sense. Can you explain why? A. Again, it's a matter of where to put our money. Agents want advances; we don't
have that kind of capital lying around to invest. Advances can tie up capital for a couple of years. Also, we are not a mass-distribution
publisher. Our sales goals for our books are modest —or, perhaps, reasonable,
given that there are some 200,000 books published every year in the US. Q. You offer your authors industry standard royalty-based book contracts. Do your royalties rates also compare similarly
to traditional pub houses? A. Our royalties are pretty
much standard. For example, we pay 30% on sales through Amazon because Amazon takes a pretty big cut and a 10% net royalty
—which is what we offer on other sales —would
be negligible. Our 30% equals about 9% of the list price, which is as good as the larger trade houses. A 10% royalty on net
sales is standard for most houses, slightly better than the 6% or 7% even larger houses offer for trade paperbacks. We also
pay authors 50% of subsidiary rights sales--also standard in most contracts. Q. The financially strapped publishing industry now has very little budget available for the publishers to aid the
author in marketing. What kinds of traditional and non-traditional marketing methods do you use, and how do your authors help
you in accomplishing your marketing strategies? A. We
work closely with authors to identify the right market for a book. We ask them for mailing lists and information on their
networks. For us —and for most publishers, I think —we
depend on the authors' networks to get the word out. We publish a monthly newsletter for our own list and for authors'
lists. We do a national press release for each new book to targeted markets and to local media. Although we do some print
advertising, we find that it is not the most effective use of our money. Our core efforts are in the internet, where we use
viral marketing, blog-related networks, and online review media. We send a lot of books to reviewers and try to generate author
and book stories in the non-book pages of media. This summer we will start using Google adwords and advertising on Amazon
to increase the visibility of our list. We also focus on local marketing in an author's community, wherever the author
lives. Portland is a key market for us, and we have been successful in generating publicity here for us and for our authors.
Publicity is the key: it's cheaper and, eventually, more effective. Q. Submissions to KenArnoldBooks are currently closed, but will reopen during a short window between October 15 and
December 31, 2008. What types of writing will you be seeking at that time and what are your submission guidelines? A. Potential authors should look at our website and the kinds of books
we have already published. That's the surest guide to what we are interested in. Good writing of all sorts is important.
We will be looking for a poet or two for next year, perhaps a fiction title, a book in spirituality (I'd like something
with a Zen perspective), and something really hilarious —a book of political or
social satire. In the end, I think our list looks like Portland —a
little bit weird, a lot committed, serious but not too nerdy about it. Potential authors should send us a letter of inquiry
and a sample of writing. The website has guidelines for authors to follow.
Ken Arnold has at various times been a poet, playwright,
author, deacon, and publisher. He is the author of several plays, including House of Bedlam, She Also Dances,
and Enlightenment, and two books on spirituality, On the Way: Vocation, Awareness, and Flyfishing, and Night
Fishing In Galilee: The Journey Toward Spiritual Wisdom. He has been the director of Rutgers University Press, the editor
of CrossCurrents, an influential inter-religious press, and the Publisher of Church Publishing, Inc. He founded KenArnoldBooks,
LLC, after moving to Portland in 2007, and is working on another book of spirituality, The Body of the Beloved: Trusting
the Wisdom Within.
June 6, 2008
This issue's
guest contributor, editor/writer Elizabeth Lyon, has recently published her sixth and last book on the subject of
writing, Manuscript Makeover: Revision Techniques No Fiction Writer Can Afford to Ignore. Having read this book,
I recommend it unreservedly and with the highest praise. Manuscript Makeover is loaded with revision exercises, literary
examples, and invaluable insights from a veteran fiction editor, which are all designed to help you overcome any revision
pitfalls you encounter.
Think of this book as the ultimate survival guide for writers. No matter what stage
of revision you are in, you should keep Manuscript Makeover on your writing shelf as the go-to guide for
all your revision needs.
In this issue of Writers Finders, Elizabeth Lyon shows us a sampling of some
of the information we'll find in Manuscript Makeover: Revision Techniques No Fiction Writer Can Afford to Ignore.
Metaphors Help Make Memorable
Characters By Elizabeth Lyon
In
my work with writers over the years, I've come to believe that mastering plotting is far easier than mastering characterization.
Creating depth of character means, for the writer, diving into the mostly uncharted waters of the psyche, the soul, and the
spirit. Recently, I led one of my three critique groups
on a guided tour of these waters. I gave the assignment of discovering and developing a metaphor for the protagonist or other
point-of-view characters. One of my dictionaries defines metaphor as: "A figure of speech in which a term is transferred
from the object it ordinarily designates to an object it may designate only by implicit comparison or analogy." The dictionary
goes on to give the example, "the evening of my life." We use metaphors in daily speech all of the time. Don't
believe me? Dog days. Buried under a mountain of paperwork. My
belief is that human beings make decisions that are consistent with the metaphors or myths they have learned and adopted.
Since fiction seeks to approximate life, but is far more selective, it makes sense to limit to one, or two, the metaphor that
represents each character. For instance,
many characters fit a warrior metaphor. Fighters, soldiers, law enforcement personnel, and survivor types may view their lives
as a battlefield. If the battle or war metaphor fits a character, you can expect this character to think, talk, and act consistent
with that metaphor. Let's take characters who see
life through the viewing lens of an artist. The portrait of their lives will be far different from the warrior's battlefield.
These artists could consider the shades and gradations of meaning, see life as a canvas awaiting the application of color
and vision. What would it be like for the artist to find common ground with someone who divides the world into the powerful
and the weak, into friend and foe, conquered and vanquished? What if these two characters marry each other? After you have discovered the metaphor for your character, the next step is to find the words
and concepts that express that metaphor. Use your thesaurus or do a computer word search, as I did when I entered "art
terminology." Is your character a nature-lover, a descendant of farmers? Your word and phrase list might include: broadcasting
seeds, planting, waiting for the harvest, plowing under, ‘for everything there is a season', roots, fertile, fields,
trust and faith, sowing and reaping. This list becomes your resource for more authentic characterization. You can literally
build a dictionary, a lexicon, for your characters. Draw from it when you are writing this character's point of view,
in narration and in dialogue. With knowledge of a character's primary metaphor and with a word list in hand, you'll
have an easier time with one of a fiction writer's most difficult tasks: writing an extended metaphor. The careful sculpting of believable characters is so important, that
in my newly released book, Manuscript Makeover: Revision Techniques No Fiction Writer Can Afford to Ignore (Perigee Publishing,
368 pages, $14.95 US), I devoted 100 pages to what can go wrong and how to fix it vis-a-vis character development. Two other resources for helping you find metaphors that fit your characters:
Awakening the Heroes Within: Twelve Archetypes to Help us Find Ourselves and Transform our World by Carol S. Pearson (HarperSanFrancisco,
$14.95 pb), and, from a pre-eminent screenplay writer and teacher, Power Screenwriting: Ancient Archetypes in Modern Cinema
by Michael Chase Walker (Mentor Books, spiral bound, 300 pages, $42). Once you get the lay of the land, the land of metaphor that is, you will have all kinds of fun, working your word
lists and phrases into the prose, planting subtle seeds that the reader may sense at deep, perhaps right-brain, levels. The
culmination could be a wonderful harvest: deeper and truer characterization, more artistry in your writing, and touching the
reader. Like a cleansing rain or a breath of mountain air, your writing will refresh you and your reader. Can you tell that
I began life on a farm? © 2008
Elizabeth Lyon has worked as
an independent book editor for 20 years through her company, Editing International. She is the author of six books for writers
on nonfiction and fiction craft, on marketing nonfiction and fiction, and on revision. See www.manuscriptmakeover.com, www.4-edit.com,
and www.elizabethlyon.com. She resides in Springfield, Oregon.
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