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Archive for the ‘Fiction’ Category

Writing Awards Spurs on This Writer of Westerns

Thursday, November 8th, 2012

I’d like to introduce Kathleen Ewing, freelance and fiction writer, Prescott Valley, AZ

The novel bug bit hard when the first chapter of my novel Hang the Moon won the 2008 CNW/FFWA Writing Competition, Fiction—Novel Chapter. I admitted to some self-doubt. One entry, one win could be a fluke. Four more submissions, four more awards. Apparently the novel about a rodeo cowboy on the brink of retirement possessed a broader appeal than I suspected. I dug the manuscript out of the garage to rewrite it.

Kathleen’s Technique
While outlines and detailed character sketches appeal to the manufacturing engineer I was, they suffocate the writer in me. So I start simply, with an interesting character doing something striking—in this case, a world champion saddlebronc rider getting bucked off onto his head. I visualize my character vividly. Shoot, I live in his hip pocket. I decide where the character is headed, what he wants most and what he’s prepared to do to get it. And what or who threatens to stop him.

At this point, out comes a large poster board from my closet. With a sticky notepad and a red marker, I begin writing down titles for scenes where this character might find himself in his quest to fulfill that want. No details. Just three or four words per note. I try to have twenty-five or thirty of these scene notes stuck on the board before I proceed to the next step.

The test I use to determine if I have a viable scene? Either it moves my character toward his goal or throws a barrier in his way. If it does neither, I trash it or set it aside for revamping. Now I begin arranging the notes in what feels like a logical order, subject to future change, of course.

Once I’m comfortable with where those scenes take the story, I transpose them to my novel’s workbook, a large loose-leaf binder. With one page per scene, I make brief notes on what I expect the scene to accomplish, which characters are present to interact and a snippet of action or dialog to serve as a springboard when I write the scene. For each scene page, there is a pocket page where I can capture notes, photos and bits of research that pertain to that scene.

Working backward from page one, I add a timeline to the workbook so I can keep track of critical milestones in the backstory. I know how my cowboy looks, how he thinks and what he drinks. By now he’s an old family friend. But I need to keep track of years he won championships, when he missed the PRCA Finals due to serious injuries, what he scored on his best ride, the name of the horse and where that ride occurred. Rodeo cowboys remember these things. I can’t.

Now that I know where my cowboy’s been, where he’s going and why, I add one crucial element. How is he going to change through the course of the novel?

Finally. I am prepared to narrate the story of rodeo legend Gib McCasland.

Posted in Creativity, Fiction, Guest Blogger | No Comments »

Hope Clark Writes Novels From Experience

Wednesday, November 7th, 2012

My name is C. Hope Clark and I have a Jekyll and Hyde persona in the writing world. By day I’m founder of FundsforWriters, a resource for writers which includes a website that’s been designated on the 101 Best Websites for Writers list by Writer’s Digest for 12 years, and newsletters that reach 40,000 readers. By night, I’m author of The Carolina Slade Mystery Series, published by Bell Bridge Books. The debut of the series, Lowcountry Bribe, came out in February 2012. Book Two, Tidewater Murder, comes out in early 2013. I speak across the US at writing conferences, writers’ clubs and book clubs about both FundsforWriters and mystery fiction.

I’ve written mysteries for 15 years, but it took 14 years to write the first one, find an agent, contract a publisher, and receive the book in my hands. I started writing mystery to exorcise a demon, so to speak. In my prior life, I worked for the federal government, with US Dept of Agriculture. A client offered me a bribe. The case went awry and left a very unpleasant taste in my mouth about the meaning of whistle-blowing, so I wrote a story about it. Unable to sell it as a quasi-memoir, I rewrote it as pure fiction, with many more twists and turns, recalling my case and adding a lot of “what if’s” until I found I LOVED writing mystery.

I inserted a love interest in the story, as most stories today must have, because in reality, I married the federal agent who arrived on the scene to investigate my bribery case. I get a lot of awwwwww’s when I tell audiences that story. Funny. It wasn’t all fun and games at the time!

I wanted to traditionally publish my fiction, as an item on my bucket list. It took 72 individually written queries to land the agent, and 18 months of pitching through her to find the contract. And I wouldn’t have done it any other way, because my writing grew phenomenally in that interim period. The delay in publishing made my writing stronger…much stronger. As a result, Lowcountry Bribe has garnered several awards.

Hope’s Writing Technique
My novels, and I’ve written three in the series, come partially from experiences of myself and my husband. I handled minor investigations with USDA and my husband was a federal agent, the real gun-totin’, badge sportin’ type. Between us, we had ample experience with those types of people that cross the line. I have a ball taking what I know and embellishing, mixing up, and making up layers of mystery for Carolina Slade.

Her name, by the way, was strategically selected. Carolina reminds the readers the story is in the Carolinas. Slade is a family name traced back to the late 1600s on my mother’s side. I combined my home and my family in this character, and I imagine my friends and family see glimpses of themselves in the stories. But for all the other character names, since they must be Southern in origin, I research two main places: 1) cemetery listings, and 2) websites of Southern cities where very Southern names appear on town councils and in various government positions. Old South usually has a hand in politics.

As for creating the stories, since I write a series, my characters come first, then a location, then a crime. In Lowcountry Bribe, the crime came first, obviously, with the characters close behind. But in the others, to maintain the theme of placing crimes in rural communities, I select venues with intriguing histories or agricultural backgrounds that could add flair to the story.

Lowcountry Bribe takes place in Charleston County, but specifically Edisto Island, an area not commonly seen in novels. Tidewater Murder takes place on St Helena Island, in Gullah country, full of intensely rich history.

In the actual writing of the story, I’m a pantser with a hint of outlining in my system. I outline three chapters, write them, edit them once, then outline three more. My characters have been known to take off on crazy tangents, so I don’t dare outline 33 chapters only to have the story take on a new flavor in chapter 5. And to edit, I park my behind usually on the back porch, if the weather is right, and pour my husband and I a bourbon as he grabs a cigar, and I read aloud to him. He’s a great technical advisor, and he hears mistakes pretty darn well for a guy who hates to read. He keeps my guns and legal matters correct, too.

Keeping Characters Straight
I don’t keep a file on characters. I feel I have to know them intimately to even start writing about them, so the info needs to be inherent in my head. When I first started writing I did some of what gurus suggest: writing biographies for characters. But today, I have a very large dry erase board on my wall divided in three categories. 1) one-line descriptions of each chapter as they evolve. 2) character names and 3-4 words about them. 3) Loose ends, which changes constantly as I identify red herrings and tie them up, as I drop clues and find ways to make them fit. That way I don’t forget what happened in Chapter 3 needs to be explained by the end of Chapter 33.

Other than that, I have no real formula. I hate it when formulas and organization get in the way of creativity. I organize heavily with FundsforWriters, but I free-wheel it with my fiction. If I wind up like Sue Grafton or Janet Evanovich, with a series that reaches 15 and 20 books, I’m sure I’ll have to create a monitoring system of some sort, but for now, it’s fun and games as I go.

Contact Hope Clark at http://www.chopeclark.com

Posted in Authorship, Fiction, Guest Blogger | No Comments »

Wendy Dager’s Novel-Writing Secrets

Tuesday, November 6th, 2012

This is my second interview with novelists this week. I’d like to introduce Wendy Dager.

I’m professional freelance writer Wendy Dager. I’ve written and sold button slogans, greeting card copy, press releases, articles, advertorials, short stories, a biweekly newspaper opinion column, two novels and more. My humorous mystery novel I Murdered the PTA was a top five finalist in Court TV’s Search for the Next Great Crime Writer, and was published by Zumaya Publications under its Enigma imprint June 2011. I Murdered the Spelling Bee, the second book in the series of Daphne Lee-Lee Misadventures, was published by Zumaya May 2012. I also wrote a very dark and kitschy thriller, the novella Thrift Me Deadly, which was a Fabri Literary Prize finalist and is now available on Amazon and Smashwords.

I’ve been a writer for as long as I can remember, but started getting paid for my work when I was in my early twenties—just a few decades or so ago! I primarily write nonfiction, so fiction has always been very difficult for me. I once won the top prize of $500 in a short story contest, and I believe it’s because I wrote the story the same way I write my nonfiction—in a non-literary, realistic, what-you-see-is-what-you-get style. That’s what I decided to do when I wrote the first draft of my first novel back in 2000.

Murdered the PTA is about a rock-and-roll mom trying to live as inconspicuously as possible in suburbia, when her kid’s elementary school PTA blows up and she becomes the prime suspect. It’s basically a cozy mystery, but the point of view is first person—something I do with my opinion column—which made it much easier for me to write. It was somewhat based on my experience sitting on an elementary school PTA board for seven long years—but it’s entirely fictional. I had lots of fun writing it, because I didn’t have any expectations. I knew I wasn’t writing the Great American Novel. My books are purely for entertainment.

A common phrase is “write what you know,” which a lot of people don’t do, but which happens to work for me. That is, I write fiction, but it’s based on real life, not zombie ghost vampire werewolves wearing fifty shades of grey. The problem with writing about everyday things and putting a spin on them is that people sometimes think I’m writing about stuff that’s really happened. When my book I Murdered the PTA came out, a lot of folks in my town were trying to figure out if it was a who’s-who and if they were in it! So, it’s kind of a compliment that readers—not just where I live—could identify with the characters, the setting and the plot.

The first book was fairly easy to write—and rewrite—but the second book, a sequel, was a little harder because it was more like work than playtime.

Wendy’s Approach
I don’t really outline anything I write, whether it’s fiction or nonfiction. I kind of already know where I’m going, and then I start writing and see where it takes me. With my novels, my biggest goal is to make it hard for the reader to figure out whodunit, but not insult them by making the ending totally implausible.

Naming characters is like naming children. It’s an awesome responsibility, but also a terrible one if you mess up. I had to change some names in the years between my first novel being represented by an agent, becoming a Court TV finalist and publication, because several of my characters’ names were that of people who’d become famous in the interim, including one “celebutante,” and two that were character names in a popular sitcom.

Another interesting incident: I went to a local book club meeting—the club members had read my book as their selection of the month—and learned that the name of my first novel’s PTA president was similar to that of a real PTA president who happened to preside over my children’s school’s PTA many years before I got there. It was a crazy coincidence, but I was mortified when I found out.

Creating and Developing Characters
My characters, like my plot, mostly develop as the book is written. I like to think of spontaneous character development as another way to move along the action. Even though fictional characters—just like real, living, breathing people—have specific ways of speaking and behaving, they sometimes react oddly or unexpectedly to unforeseen circumstances. Or, perhaps, they have a dark side we don’t know about until something awful happens. When one of my book’s readers told me she was very surprised by something one of my characters did, I said, “Me, too!” It probably sounds weird, but I get a kick out of surprising myself.

Story Development Wendy Style
I may be unusual in that I sort of go with whatever my imagination tells me to do at the moment. I don’t have anything entirely plotted out in my head or on 3” x 5” cards or in a detailed journal. Occasionally, I’ll scribble down some ideas for plot twists—usually illegibly, in the middle of the night, on a notepad on the nightstand, with a pen that’s nearly run out of ink—and you can imagine how that looks in the morning. After I decipher what may or may not be a brilliant idea, those twists and turns may change once I get to that chapter. Instead, I defer to my imagination, which tends to dominate my fingers on the keyboard. I guess you can call me a “seat of your pants” kind of writer. Which is not so bad. At least I get to love what I do.

For more about Wendy Dager, visit http://www.wendydager.com

Posted in Fiction, Guest Blogger | 1 Comment »

Novelist, Margaret Brownley

Monday, November 5th, 2012

This is the first in my series of interviews with novelists. Every day this week, I’ll feature a different writer of fiction. Today, I’d like to introduce Margaret Brownley.

Hi everyone,
First, I want to thank Patricia for kindly inviting me to visit today.

My writing career began, and ended, early. I wrote my first book in fifth grade—a mystery without an ending. I was on a roll until I reached eighth grade. Unimpressed with my essay on why I wanted to be a writer, my English teacher flunked me and told me not to even think about becoming a writer.

Discouraged, I put my dream aside until years later when I volunteered to write the church newsletter. After making the church picnic read like a Grisham novel, my former pastor said, “Maybe God’s calling you to write fiction.”

I don’t know if that’s what God had in mind, but I wasn’t about to take any chances. I immediately began work on a novel. Five years and four books later I received what is known in the business as the “call.”

I’ve since made the N.Y. Times bestseller list and am currently writing historical romance. Waiting for Morning will be released January 2013 and A Bride for All Seasons will be published June 2013, followed by Gunpowder Tea in October. Not bad for someone who flunked eighth grade English. Just don’t ask me to diagram a sentence.

Margaret’s Approach to the Writing Process
I wouldn’t know how to begin outlining a book. I’m not much of a planner which makes dinner a nightly surprise. To me the fun of writing is the suspense of not knowing what’s going to happen next. That’s what keeps me jumping out of bed each morning and rushing to the computer.

I start with a short blurb—a paragraph or two—which includes the basic idea. I then write out a simple sentence and let my characters reword it. Once I’ve determined character “voice” I then look for frame of reference. A poor person has a different way of looking at things than a rich person. A gambler’s daughter has a different world view than one brought up in a strict Christian home. Once I have the voice and world view down, I’m ready to go.

With Regard to Fleshing Out Characters
I’m a big Post-it note fan and they’re all over my desk and screen. When the Post-its are gone I know my book is finished. What doesn’t fit on a Post-it stays in my head.

The Flow of the Story
It seems to me that the more books I write the harder it gets. You’d think it would be easier, but it’s not. I’m always trying to “grow” my work by finding more effective ways to tell a story.

Margaret can be reached through her website: http://margaretbrownley.com
She’s also on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Bloggers note: I have read a couple of Margaret’s books. I highly recommend them. You’ll enjoy the unique circumstances, twists and turns and excellent writing.

Posted in Fiction, Guest Blogger | No Comments »

The Novelist’s Approach to Writing Fiction

Thursday, November 1st, 2012

I have five novelists lined up to talk about their approach to writing fiction, why they write fiction—how they got started and so forth. Next week, November 5-9, I will post an interview with one author per day. I have three of the interviews in and boy are you in for a treat. You’re going to learn how novelists keep track of their characters—the techniques are creative and varied.

Ever wonder what inspires an author to write a novel and where his or her ideas come from? These five novelists will give us a peek into their inspiration and what keeps them going.
How do they name their characters? How do they get to know them? How is the story formed? You will be surprised by some of the methods these novelist use and where their ideas come from. One author tried to write a true story of something that happened in her life. No one was interested in publishing it, so she created a work of fiction and found a publisher.
Some authors design characters after real people.

How do you get the courage to write fiction and then present it to the public? One of my participating novelists wrote fiction rather secretly, entering a chapter here or a story there in contests. She kept winning contests and this gave her the courage and enticement to finally write seriously for publication.

I am new to writing fiction. I wrote my first novel over the summer. It is with a publisher as we speak and I am working on the second one. It wasn’t until after I had written my first few drafts that I began to recognize character traits of real people in some of my characters. I guess we can’t help but be influenced by what we know, have experienced and who we know in our stories. So, perhaps you can learn a lot about someone by reading their fiction.

If you write fiction or are thinking about starting, don’t miss my fascinating interviews with five novelists all next week. You’ll meet quite a variety of authors with a wide range of techniques. The interviews will run Monday through Friday, November 5-9, 2012. Stop in. You are bound to learn something that will inspire you to move forward with your fiction project, that will bolster your confidence in your approach to fiction, that will help you to improve your methods. And you’ll be learning about some wonderful fiction novels along the way.

Good news! My latest book now shows up on your screen at amazon.com when you type in the title—Talk Up Your Book. There is just one book ahead of it and it is called, “The Boy’s Body Book, Everything You Need to Know for Growing Up You.” Hmmm. And this book relates how? Oh well, at least you can easily find the book you are seeking when you are ready to order the book that could change your life as an author. Talk Up Your Book by Patricia Fry (that’s me) is your key to selling more copies of your book through your personality. And personality is the best way to sell books. Order your copy today. This is the official publication date. So Happy Birthday Talk Up Your Book! And many happy sales!

The book is also available at http://www.matilijapress.com

Looking for a good book editor for your manuscript or help with your book proposal? Learn more about Patricia Fry here: http://www.patriciafry.com

Don’t try to publish without hiring an editor to fine-tune your manuscript. Don’t rely on the self-publishing company’s editing package. Hire your own independent editor with experience.

Posted in Announcements, Authorship, Fiction | No Comments »

Attract Readers for Your Novel

Tuesday, October 16th, 2012

We’ve been talking about authors offering free ebooks at their websites as a way to attract potential readers/customers and to build an email list. I’ve suggested creating a list of 25, 50 or 100 tips related to your nonfiction book topic or theme. This might be “50 remodeling ideas for under $100,” “25 ways to save money,” “50 quick summer day recipes,” “100 ways to entertain a child on a rainy day,” “25 ideas for at-home businesses you can start for under $200,” “25 things to watch for when adopting a dog,” etc.

But we haven’t talked much about how to promote a novel through a free ebook or report. I suggest that you think “entertainment.” What can you offer your readers and potential readers that they would enjoy as much as they enjoyed (or will enjoy) your story? What will they go out of their way to download? I know one bestselling author of Western romance novels who might offer “25 little-known facts about the old west.” For a historical novel, you might share fascinating tidbits from the history of the place and period of your novel. Humorous or thought-provoking quotes might pique the interest of your readers. How about providing a list of shocking stories about some of the men and women who lived the history you are portraying in your book?

Probably the most popular type of freebie, however, is the one that has definite benefits for the reader. Can you write a guide to writing fiction? Perhaps you could compile a cheat sheet for fiction writers who need help creating characters. What about tips for popular storylines, rules for writing dialog or a list of storytelling techniques. Write a how-to booklet—how to come up with a title for your novel; how to choose an editor for your novel; how to write humor; how to promote your fiction book, etc.?

As a writer of fiction, you rely on your imagination. Use it to promote your book, too. And one fun and effective way to promote your book is to post something of value to your readers FREE at your website for download. Not only are you getting more exposure for you and your book, but you are accumulating the names and contact information for those who are interested in books like yours. You are building an emailing list to use in future promotion.

To download my current freebie, “50 Ways to Promote Your eBook,” go to http://www.patriciafry.com

Posted in Book Promotion, Fiction | No Comments »

Need Readers for Novel

Sunday, October 7th, 2012

I’m working on my new free ebook—50 Ways to Prepare for Publishing Success. I’m also preparing to welcome my newest book into the fold—book number 36, Talk Up Your Book, How to Sell Your Book Through Public Speaking, Interviews, Signings, Festivals, Conferences and More. It will be available in paperback and digital—Kindle, Nook, etc.

The book is actually finished. I haven’t received copies yet and I see that the publisher (Allworth Press) hasn’t dotted all of its “i’s” in the process.

I wanted to share the cover with you, but I see that the new cover image is nowhere to be displayed. Amazon.com and the publishers’ website still have the original cover, which I vetoed. They designed a whole new cover for me and I really like it. As soon as they correct that situation, I’ll let you know so you can take a look at it.

I’m busy planning my promo and contacting my 24 contributors about getting a copy of the book to them. I’ve ordered two cases of books so far.

In the meantime, I am soliciting readers for the novel I wrote over the summer. Is there anyone who would like to read The Klepto Cat Mystery and give me feedback before I move forward with it? I know we all have different opinions about what we like to read, how we would write that story, etc. But I also believe that, as writers—especially of fiction—we can become blinded to the flaws in our stories or characters. Don’t you find, as a writer, that it is difficult to stand back from your work and view it objectively?

So—if you want to read this 115-page novel and give me some feedback, please let me know: PLFry620@yahoo.com.

Something I did has sure garnered a lot of attention. I believe it was my guest blog at BookBaby, but I’m not sure. After this month’s blog post appeared, I had over a hundred (to date) requests for my free ebook, 50 Ways to Promote Your Ebook. How cool is that?

Would love to hear about some of your writing/publishing accomplishments this summer or little surprises, invitations to speak, etc. PLFry620@yahoo.com

http://www.matilijapress.com
http://www.patriciafry.com

Posted in Announcements, Fiction | No Comments »

Blogging Ideas for Promoting Your Novel

Saturday, October 15th, 2011

Yesterday, we talked about how authors of nonfiction books can come up with ideas for a blog. Today, let’s talk about how to maintain an active blog when you write fiction.

Certainly, it is more of a challenge to contribute meaningful posts to a blog based on your novel or fiction-writing in general.

A good start would be to determine the purpose of your blog and the direction you want to take it. Of course, your primary purpose is to get exposure for your book(s)—to generate sales. But it isn’t practical to write every post about your book. You’d soon reveal your entire story and there would be no need for anyone to purchase your book. So what could you write about that would be of interest to your audience and offer an infinite array of post topics?

• If you have the knowledge to do so, write about fiction writing—character-building tips, how to handle dialog, how to choose a setting, what goes into creating a plot and moving it forward strategically, how to work lessons into your story, the importance of consistency in your writing, writing style, grammar, etc. You could continue in this theme for years by bringing in other books to use as examples, interviewing other fiction authors, discussing the writing advice of other fiction experts and so forth.

• Blog about fiction in general—review novels, describe some of your writing sessions—your challenges, post excerpts from your book from time to time, write about your experiences in critique groups, report on sessions at conferences you attend and discuss the style of other novelists. If you are creative and observant, you should get many miles from this type of blog.

• Create a blog site devoted to publishing fiction. Interview publishers of fiction. Talk to authors and marketing experts about book promotion for novels. Post sources for getting fiction published. Write about author’s experiences publishing through certain avenues. Provide resources for promoting fiction. This could be a very helpful blog for authors who aspire to be published and need some guidance specific to fiction.

• Become a fiction-writer’s go-to person. Write about the various fiction genres, who’s writing in which genres and subgenres, how to determine your genre, how to choose which genre to write in—which genres/subgenres are selling best, which publishers are publishing certain genres, which bookstores are carrying and selling books in specific genres. Answer questions about publishing contracts for fiction authors, how to determine which publishing option is best for you and your project, and so forth.

Visit the blogs of other fiction authors to discover how they handle their posts—what do they offer their followers? This will provide you with numerous ideas for your own fiction blog. What aspect of fiction-writing or publishing is most fascinating to you—do you understand most fully? Consider creating your blog around your abilities, skill and interests.

Some of you might have additional ideas. We’d love to hear them.

In the meantime, fiction must be promoted just like nonfiction if you want it to sell. Blogging is, of course, one way to promote your novel. I include at least 120 other book promotion ideas specifically for fiction authors in my book, Promote Your Book, Over 250 Proven, Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author. Actually, pretty much all 250 ideas are suitable for promoting your fiction book, but you’ll find 120 places where I tell novelists specifically how to use this idea to promote his or her book. Order your copy of this valuable book today: http://www.matilijapress.com/PromoteYourBook.html

Posted in Book Promotion, Fiction | 3 Comments »

Can You Identify Your Book’s Genre?

Saturday, October 8th, 2011

Do you know what genre you’re writing in? Many authors do not. And the issue of genre seems to become more and more confusing all the time. It used to be there were specific genres—romance, thriller, fantasy, adventure, etc. Now there are new genres and sub-genres. Have you heard of, “steampunk” or “urban life” fantasy? What about “high tech” or “space opera” science fiction?

According to one publisher, science fiction might be a subgenre of horror, time travel is a subgenre of romance, and what is up with the term, “alternative history science fiction?”

How would you categorize your thriller? Is it a political thriller, futuristic thriller, paranormal thriller or a suspense thriller? Have you ever read or written a book that could be considered a docufiction, realistic fiction, dark literature or airport novel?

There are genres in nonfiction, too—true crime, biography, adventure, narrative nonfiction, creative nonfiction, ethnic, self-help, how-to and memoir, for example. And what about the different types of memoirs one can write?

There’s the recovery memoir, military memoir, historical/family memoir, political memoir, situational memoir, travel memoir or inspirational memoir to name a few.

You’d think there are enough genres already used to label your book. But guess again. Authors are still having trouble pigeon-holing their books because they believe that nothing currently fits their particular tome. Some books do not deserve an exclusive label—they fit into one that is already accepted. I’ve met authors, however, who consider their books so unique that they can’t apply any current genres to it. They want to convince publishers (and the public) that their book is a humorous thriller cookbook, a medical adventure with a how-to aspect or, perhaps, a lesbian fantasy romance, for example.

What’s my opinion of genre hop scotch? I appreciate that there are new genres and subgenres being recognized as some of them definitely give a book a more definitive identity. But I would also warn authors against trying to be so inventive with their books that they turn off their potential readers altogether.

No matter your book’s genre, you are going to have to promote it and boy to I have a book for you. It is a reference book. I would also call it an informational how-to. The publisher tagged it “reference/writing.” I guess there is no publishing or business of writing category accepted, yet. And that’s too bad.

Order your copy of Promote Your Book, Over 250 Proven, Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author. http://amzn.to/oe56Ia

While you’re at the Amazon book page, check out the latest review by Anne Schroeder, editor of the SLO Nightwriters newsletter in San Luis Obispo, California. As you will see, this is review number twenty-two.

Posted in Fiction, Writing | No Comments »

Public Speaking for Novelists

Thursday, February 24th, 2011

It is common for nonfiction authors to go out and speak about the subject of their books. Children’s book writers promote their books by doing readings where children congregate. But what about novelists? How can you promote your mystery or your historical, fantasy, period, adventure, etc. novel by doing speaking gigs?

Use some of that imagination that you poured into your story. Yes, book promotion is serious business. But the activities you choose in order to get your book known do not have to be rigid and boring. And your venue doesn’t have to be ordinary.

You can do readings, but only if you can pull this off really, really expertly. If you cannot read well out loud or you do not have a nice voice, do not attempt this in front of your potential audience. It will not be effective. Either have an actor do the reading for you or take steps to improve your speaking voice and your reading skills.

For example, hire a voice coach to help you with the quality and projection of your voice. (Look in the Yellow Pages under singing teacher.) Join a storytelling group. This will help you to learn how to push the limits of your voice so it is more effective for your purposes. Practice reading out loud to children. Use a lot of vocal variety in the process.

Where can you do readings? At writers’ conferences, writers’ group meetings, book clubs, bookstores, specialty shops, public or private/specialty libraries, home parties featuring local authors or just you, coffee and tea houses and just about any place where people gather. I heard authors reading from their books while I was eating pizza on n outdoor patio at a local gourmet Italian restaurant last summer.

Fiction authors can present programs just like their nonfiction counterparts do. You can talk about the story in your book or your personal story of becoming an author. But there are many other ways to present your book to audiences.

Let’s say that your novel features a lifelong love story between two professors beginning in the late 1890s and covering a sixty year period, and it is set in the south. You could dress in vintage clothes while telling parts of the story. You could talk about what went into writing the story.

You don’t have to stay locked into your story. You could create an interesting talk wherein you analyze the mindset of various lovers in classic stories over time. Compare life in the south during that time period to life elsewhere on this planet. Describe how your characters tried to hide their love affair from students and colleagues at the university where they worked. Talk about how some well-known fictional characters (or one of your characters) would be handling the technology age. Or, as I sometimes suggest, let audience members help you act out a section of the book. Bring props and costume accessories such as boas, hats, a pipe, a crown, an extreme example of a period shirt or tie, for example.

Use seasonal prompts for your speech themes. If we are nearing an election, discuss how your character and/or other well-known characters would handle being president—what would they bring to the position? If you are promoting a Christian novel in March or April, you might use Easter as a theme in your presentation. Maybe your story features a strong father figure, you should be able to focus on that aspect of your book when speaking to a group around Father’s day, for example.

What are some other themes you could use when planning presentations around your novel? World events, disasters, legends from the past (how does your modern day adventurer or rebel compare with the activities or the character of Billy the Kid or Butch Cassidy…), technology—space travel, computers, the era of the cell phone, etc.

You don’t have to stick solely to the story you tell in your book. You can dissect your story and create a larger picture, get into your characters’ heads, discuss your characters’ life choices and the what ifs that could have occurred instead. As you can see, you could get creative with your presentations related to your novel no matter the genre or theme.

I’d love to hear from those of you who have additional ideas for promoting a novel or a children’s book through live presentations and/or if you’ve used any of these.

Find articles on public speaking for authors at my website:
http://www.matilijapress.com

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