Blog Chain: The Brave New Publishing World

So here I am, at work at 7 PM, the first shift in my new schedule, the DuPont schedule, which is a behemoth you can read more about, here.

Anyway, partly because of this new schedule, and partly because I just suck at organization, I missed the first post I was supposed to put up yesterday for this new blog chain I've joined. The topic for today, in fact for the entire chain, is this:

Have the recent changes in the publishing industry affected your writing plans/career? If so, how?

Before I get to answering that, I want to explain how the blog chain works, and introduce you to the other members of the group. It works by one member picking a topic, and then writing about it on the first day. What makes it a chain is that each subsequent blogger then covers the same topic, also linking to both the previous, and the next blog.

I screwed all that up, so I'm going to link to all the blogs.

First, let me introduce you to the other new members of the chain, most of whom you may already know. Amparo, Tere, PK, Katrina, and Jon. The already existing members of the chain, some of whom I already knew, but others whom I just met, are: Christine, Sarah, Michelle M., Shaun, Cole, Kate, Sandra, Eric, Margie, Michelle H., and Abby.

Now I realize that's a lot of blogs, but you don't have to read them all right now. Just go follow them, and I promise you won't be disappointed. For now just read the post that came before mine, Sandra's, and then go read the one that comes tomorrow (which by the way is actually today since I screwed all this up), Kate's.

Now that we've gotten all that housekeeping out of the way, let's get down to the topic.

My opinion, and please take this with a grain of salt as I am a completely amateur and unpublished writer, is that it is both an exciting and a terrifying time to be (or be attempting to be) in the publishing industry. I say that in all my comments whenever the topic comes up, and I mean it.

I used to own a small, independent record label in Minneapolis. My partner had all the musical talent, and I (supposedly) had all the business acumen. We didn't get rich, but we had a lot of fun.

You can't compare the music industry to publishing with a one to one correlation, because they're very different, but I can make an analogy that I hope will make my opinion about the state of publishing more clear.

When a record gets put out (for us it was usually 12 inch singles, which is actually just 2 songs, an A side, and a B side, and then possibly an instrumental and an acapella version of each) the record label generally recoups all costs before any artists get paid, which can be quite substantial depending on the scope and quality of the production. In general, independently produced music allows for better art to get from the artist to the fan (or listener) for a lower cost, and with more of the fair share of profits actually making it into the artist's hand (or bank account).

It seems to me that the same will eventually be true of publishing, but I don't think we're there yet, not even close. So far, self and e-publishing (or even vanity, which is NOT the same thing) has always had a very negative stigma attached to it. In the sense that self-published books are of lower quality, because the author simply got impatient about trying to get published traditionally. I can't personally tell you whether or not that was ever true, because I haven't read a lot of self-published books, but I can tell you the stigma was there.

I think all of that's changing, and fast. My friend PJ Hoover has already shown that you can write a great book, one good enough to get an agent, and then still choose to publish it outside of the traditional channels. I haven't read the whole thing, yet, but I've read an excerpt of Solstice, and I can tell you that PJ is a damn fine writer.

For my own career, I still intend to get published traditionally, at least once, if only to prove that I can do it. After that, who knows? All I really care about is telling great stories and having them reach as many readers who will love them as much as I do, as possible.

I could go on, but I've probably already said too much. Please bear with me as I try to wrap my head around this crazy thing that is my life.

The Sound of One Hand Clapping

Recently there have been a couple of flame wars in the blogosphere.

Last month it was a self published author complaining about book review bloggers on her blog. It wouldn't have been as huge a deal if she hadn't named them.

The other day it was a book review blogger who reviewed a self published author's novel on his blog. It wouldn't have been such a big deal if the author hadn't showed up and started getting angry in the comments, literally swearing at almost everyone.

This kind of behavior is unacceptable. It's also rather embarrassing. Look, I get it, it hurts to get rejected. It hurts anytime someone doesn't love your writing. I mean we pour our hearts and souls into our stories and if someone doesn't connect with what we're trying to say ... it stings. Sometimes it stings more than others. Like when it's done publicly.

That doesn't mean you should respond. We need to be above all that. We need to grow thick skins and move on. The fact is: not everyone is going to love our work. There are people who don't like Tolkien. I have no idea what's wrong with them, but they do exist. There are people who don't get Cormac McCarthy. That I can actually understand, even if I don't agree.

There will always be some people who don't like your writing, or don't care for your story, or just don't get your characters. It cannot be avoided. It will happen. We have to accept that and move on.

There are three main things that piss me off about these flame wars and the behavior of these authors (and no, I won't be linking you to the posts, they're beneath this blog, and I'm sure you heard about them already):

First, it gives self-published authors a bad name. I have friends who are self-published, who are incredible writers, and who conduct themselves with the utmost professionalism on the internet and in their real lives. Please stop making them look like hacks. There is a reason people give self-publishing the stereotypical assumption of being not good enough. That reason is these authors taking part in these flame wars.

Second, it takes attention away from positive, uplifting posts that deserve the traffic that these flame wars get. The most recent one got over 300 comments, and brought more visitors to a brand new blog than any inspiring post has ever done. I understand it's human nature to stare at a train wreck, but it's sad, really. There are plenty of bloggers writing posts that deserve that kind of traffic, and never get it.

Finally, well ... I forget what my third reason was, but if I thought about it for a minute I could probably come up with ten more. Just don't do it, it's not worth it.

If you want to know more about flame wars, trolls, and internet etiquette, you can read this Wikipedia article. There is also a proposed Blogger Code of Conduct.

Bracketology

As I watched the announcement of the NCAA men's basketball tournament on CBS last night, it dawned on me that making the tournament was a bit like getting published.

There's a lot of hard work involved, sure, and a lot of waiting for other people to make decisions that you have no control over, and frankly sometimes seem ridiculous, but honestly, it's sometimes entirely inexplicable why some teams make it, and others don't.

You have automatic qualifying conferences, at large bids, and a bunch of other formulae and reasons why certain teams make it, but they're generally quite hard for most people to understand, and there is inevitably someone left pissed off for getting skipped over. This year it's the University of Colorado, Virgina Tech, St. Mary's, the University of Alabama, and I'm sure several others.

Then you have the teams that probably shouldn't have made it, but did. I'm not knowledgeable enough about college hoops to judge this one for myself, but all the experts say that UAB, VCU, and USC don't belong.

Anyway, this needs to be a quick post today, but I think this sounds a lot like publishing. All my published friends say that first you have to write a good book, work really hard, and then there must be a sort of a perfect storm of timing, luck, and fundamentally subjective taste. I don't have any reason to doubt them.

You've got authors like James Patterson (think Ohio State), who can essentially write anything, and it will be published, and be commercially successful. Then you've got authors like Brunonia Barry, or Christopher Paolini, whose road to publication did not go through the normal routes, but who still found success (think Butler, last year). Finally, you've got authors like Amanda Hocking, who find incredible success without entering the traditional publishing waters (I'm not sure I have a perfect basketball analogy for this one, but maybe this would be the winner of the NIT).

What do you guys think? Am I nuts? Did anyone get left out of the tournament that you would have liked to see make it? Is there anyone who made it that you think does not belong?

Interview with Author Jessica Bell

I don't know if the rest of you feel this way, but I consider an author to be something a little different than a writer. An author is published. And author is a professional writer. I don't consider myself an author, yet, but Facebook made me put "author" in front of my name because they wouldn't accept "writer".


Jessica Bell doesn't have to worry about stuff like that anymore.

Her debut novel STRING BRIDGE, is going to be published by Lucky Press, next year. Crap, I can't remember if she knows the release date yet. Jess? Please put that in a comment if you have that info.

Jessica is also really awesome. There is a funny little story about our friendship too. When we "met" I was a complete blogging noob. I had maybe 10 followers and probably only 3 people who actually read my blog. One of them was Jessica. And she has the coolest screen name too, as I'm sure you know "The Alliterative Allomorph". She commented on my blog for like two weeks in a row. I loved her comments and thought she was awesome, but for some unknown reason, had never visited her blog. I tell myself it was because I just didn't get it yet, but really I think I was just an idiot at the time. So long story short, Jessica had the balls to email me and ask me WTF?

We've been good friends ever since.

So, this interview is long. Good, but long, so we might as well get to it. Here goes:

When did you first decide you wanted to be a writer?

I played with the idea when I was about fifteen, when I started getting into literature at school. I was already writing a lot of lyrics and poetry then. When I started university I thought about it more seriously, but lacked the talent because I was too used to writing lyrics and having the emotion of those lyrics embellished with music. I just couldn’t make my words sing without the music. Then I moved overseas, was isolated on a small island for two years (story too long to go into), and began hammering away at my first novel. Which I eventually erased, never to be retrieved again. I hated it. Don’t regret deleting it at all. When I finally got off the island in 2005, I started another novel – the one that’s finally getting published. Yay!

How long have you been writing seriously?

I guess since 2005.

What is your favorite thing about writing?

Being alone. And not being judged for my weird thoughts, because for some reason society allows us to be weird in writing and art. Don’t you think?

I do!

What is the most difficult part?

Being true to myself. I doubt myself all the time. You know, I think, ‘yeah, sure, I feel this way, and I can probably find the words to express it, but will anyone understand?’

What kind of band were you in, and did you play lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass, or something else?

It was like a rock band, except not the usual set-up. I played guitar, lead and rhythm, what ever was right for the song, as I was the only guitar. There were drums/congas (again depending on song), and violin and cello. The cello always played the bass lines. It was one of the best periods of my life having that band.

Did you ever release any albums?

We made a lot of demo CDs, but never released any. We did play a lot of gigs though, and also won a few band competitions.

If you had to meet one of your characters in a dark alley who would you last want to meet, and why?

Er, I dunno. I like all my characters. Even the majorly flawed ones can be easily persuaded to calm down if they decided to psychologically flip out. Wait … there is one character(s) that gets mentioned very briefly who we never meet, in String Bridge. The rock-venue mafia that slashed Melody’s husband’s chest. But that happened in the past and is not a part of the plot.

And which character would you want there with you for protection?

Melody’s mother. She’s got a mean slap and yelling voice.

Can you tell us a little more about STRING BRIDGE than what is revealed in your query (when you shared it on my blog as DEAD IN THE CORNER OF MY BEDROOM)? For example, a little about your characters, where the idea of them came from, what sparked your initial idea, and how you decided what genre it would be?

Woah! That’s a huge question. Ok. This means I have to let you in on some personal stuff …

My life sparked the idea, however, the situation eventually turned into something completely different from my life. Yes, it’s located in Athens and I’m a musician, but these are the differences: One: I may have a passion for music, but I don’t dream to be a rock star – I dream to be an author. Two: I’m not married with a four year old daughter. – I have a fiancé and a dog. Three: I’ve never had to choose between a corporate career and following a dream, because I’ve always been certain that following my dream will come first (after loved-ones of course).

I didn’t decide the genre until I’d written it and had to analyze what it was. I still can’t pigeon-hole it. The best description is literary women’s fiction.

Main characters of String Bridge:

Melody: A thirty year old wife and mother who lost sight of her dream to become a professional musician amidst a mountain of domesticity, motherhood and corporate ladder-climbing. A life she never asked for but somehow let herself fall into. She’s tries to find herself again, but becomes neglectful of her family. By the time she realizes they are more important to her than music, it might be too late.

Alex: Melody’s husband. A music events manager who convinced Melody to give up playing gigs after their daughter was born. Melody resents him for it – for obvious reasons. He resents Melody for putting up a wall. She used to tell him everything. Now she hides everything and their love is disintegrating. But instead of telling her how he feels, he goes and does something to make it worse. Which in turn causes a chain of events that could have been avoided had they communicated properly in the first place.

Tessa: The daughter. Four years old. The only person in Melody’s world she would do anything for. She likes to cut off her Barbies’ hair, and lick her dog’s face. Melody/Tessa encounters in the novel show a totally different side of Melody.

Betty: Melody’s mother. Suffers from bipolar disorder. Affects Melody’s existence in ways I can’t describe in a few sentences.

James: Melody’s father. Timid. Afraid to speak his thoughts. Does everything Betty tells him to. Kind-hearted. Gentle. But very passive, and easily walked all over.

Are you working on any other projects right now? If so, could you tell us a little about them? If not, have you got any ideas marinating?

Yes. A novel called BITTER LIKE ORANGE PEEL, about a woman in search for a father she has never met. Her search reveals secrets which threaten the solid family relationships she already has. You can read about it HERE.

I've read excepts of both these novels and just want to interject for a sec to say that Jessica's writing is ... incredible.

Tell us a little bit about what it’s like to work with a small independent publisher like Lucky Press, and what it’s like to work with an editor without an agent. I know you’ve written about this some on your blog, but is there anything new you can add here?

I’ve never had an agent so I can’t really compare. I’ve just this week signed the contract so I can’t add anything more than what I’ve written on my blog. Sorry!

No problem!

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Just that I love to explore relationships. My stories are more about emotions, and dealing with the mundane of the every day than exciting plot lines. That might sound boring on the surface, but I’ve really tried to write ‘the everyday’ in a way that readers can experience it on a deeper, more psychoanalytical level. I hope I achieve this. I can’t wait to get feedback on what people think of my writing when my debut is published. This makes it hard to summarize my work, too. Summaries of my work are BORING. The events, plot points, really mean nothing. What is exciting is in ‘the how’. And this is impossible to explain in a couple of paragraphs. Which peeves me to no end because I can’t find a way to pull people into my work without going into a lot detail. Thankfully, Lucky Press asked for the detail!

Fun Random Questions for The End (I stole this interview idea from Jen at Unedited, though I made my own questions up). Which would you rather be?

Joan Jett or JK Rowling? Joan Jett!

Eating chocolate or drinking wine? Wine.

Sunning yourself on an island in the Mediterranean or sailing near the Great Barrier Reef? Well, I’ve done plenty of the sunning in the Med in my lifetime, so sailing near the Reef it is for sure!

Writing poetry or singing music? You have GOT to be kidding me!?! This is near impossible!!! Ack … writing poetry if the singing you’re talking about is live in front of an audience. I hate performing live. And singing music, if it’s my own (so I get to sing my own lyrics – ha!) alone in my bedroom.

A Wallaby or a Platypus? Wallaby.

Eating a vegemite sandwich or shrimp on the barbie?

LOL! My answer is in this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aix0cEp0N_0

Wow, hilarious!

Thanks so much Jess! I really appreciate you coming by and answering my questions. It's been so fun to know you these last several months and I'm so excited to see you getting your debut novel published!

Please say hi in the comments and let Jessica know if you all have any other questions.

P.S. My daughter Kylie is playing Bookanista Junior today over at Lisa and Laura's blog, and reviewing The Replacement from an actual YA perspective. Please stop by and say hi, and then visit all the Bookanista's!