Fatuous Friday: My Summer Reading List

I won't be posting any reviews, but here is my Summer Reading Thing List:

• Agent in Old Lace by Tristi Pinkston (I like mysteries.)
  

• Bone Warriors by Bron Bahlmann (Interested to see what a teen can do.)
  

• The Hourglass Door by Lisa Mangum (Always fun to see what my peers are doing.)
  

• Trail of Storms by Marcia Ward (One of my reviewers told me I had to read it. I am nothing, if not obedient.)

• A few others that I'm waiting to come out later in the summer
  

Help! I Queried Too Soon!

Let's say I'm a dingbat and started to query while I was still editing my manuscript. Even with submitting queries via email, I thought it would take several weeks to hear back from anyone. (Everyone writer I know complains about how long it takes to get a response to a query so I thought I was safe.)

But, amazingly, I got a response the next day, requesting a full manuscript. What do I do?

Do I tell them it will be a few weeks before I get back to them? Or do I not say anything and send it when it's ready? Is this going to be a problem? Have I totally wrecked my chances with them?

First off, everyone learn from this writer's mistake. Do not send a query until your novel is ready to go—written, edited and as good as you can make it. (This is not an issue with non-fiction, as those queries are often sent before the book is finished.)

The good news is that unless whomever you sent it to was brand new and desperate for reads, they are either very efficient or you simply got in on the day they were clearing through their query file and sending out responses. Chances are they aren't sitting there tapping their foot, waiting for your full. However, if your query was so awesome that they really, really want to read your mss, they might possibly be wondering what's taking you so long. (I've had a few mss that I was excited to see. I bugged my assistant every day, asking if they had come yet.)

The other good news is your query was probably really good. Really good queries and really bad queries typically get fast responses, while those queries that fall in between take some time to think about. If your mss was good enough to want today, it will be good enough to want in a few weeks—probably.

The bad news is that the longer you wait to submit the full, the higher the reading pile will be on top of it and there's a possibility that someone else will send in something similar to yours and beat you to the punch.

If you can get it done in two weeks, I wouldn't bother responding. I'd just buckle down, work really hard, and do whatever it takes to get that mss finished and off (even if it means taking time off work and neglecting the family). If it's going to take you longer than that, I'd send a very short email (just a few sentences) explaining the situation and letting them know you'll send it as soon as it's ready.

Writing Tip Tuesday: Giving Your Characters Voice

I've read several novels lately where all the characters sound the same; you can't tell them apart without a dialogue tag. Sometimes I've even had to retrace a conversation between two people back to the last dialogue tag and then count them out to know who's talking.

Ooops. Not a good thing.

Here are some tips for giving your characters unique voices:

• Spend some time getting to know your characters as people. Who are they? What are they like? What's their backstory? When you know your characters well, they become unique individuals to you—with unique language patterns.

• Give your characters favorite words or expressions. You don't want to overdo this or, well, does "Holy overdone expressions, Batman" give you an idea?

• Loosely base your characters on people you know—how would they say it? Then tweak it a bit.

• Go hang out where people like your characters are. Listen to the way they talk. Incorporate that into your dialogue.

• Read your dialogue aloud—as if you were performing it on stage. Does it sound right?

Readers, what tips or tricks do you use to give (and keep) your characters' voices unique?

Summer Reading Thing 2009!

Join us for the Summer Reading Thing 2009 reading challenge!

SRT 2009 is a low-pressure, easy challenge where you set your own goals for reading fiction by LDS authors.

We did this last year under the title Summer Book Trek. It was a lot of fun.

This year's reading challenge starts in exactly one week. That gives you time to come up with a goal.

Click HERE for details.

Fatuous Friday

Do you ever feel like jumping the LDS ship and moving to New York where you could be rich and famous?

No. I am committed to the LDS industry. Although I might consider working with national titles that promote LDS values and themes.

But I would love to be rich and famous right here in this little niche. (It could happen.) (Maybe.) (Whatever—a girl can dream. . .)

I'm interested in your Whitney picks. And I'm also interested to know if you edited any of the Whitney finalists. But I suspect those questions are in the same category as "who are you?"...

Whitney picks: Two of my picks won.

Editing: Uhm, well, I better not say. However, there were several nominees and finalists that made my red pen twitch.

Very, Very Basic Self-Publishing Tips

I want to talk a little bit about self-publishing. This is becoming more of an option with publishers accepting fewer titles.

First, before jumping into it, get yourself an education. Read up. I recommend The Complete Guide to Self Publishing by Tom and Marilyn Ross. It's complete, it's thorough, and it's balanced.

There are also some good books by Dan Poynter. He has solid information, but he's a little too pie in the sky. It's not quite as easy as he makes it seem.

Here are some basic self-publishing tips:

• Non-fiction is easier to self-publish and sell than fiction.

• Before you print anything, get a distributor. If you're targeting the LDS market, you need a distributor that can get your book into the bookstores. If you're going national, you need to get your book into Baker and Taylor and/or Ingram, and on Amazon.

• Hire a professional editor.

• Hire a professional typesetter who has experience with books (if they use Word or Word Perfect, they are not professional).

• Hire a professional book cover designer. (A good graphic designer may or may not know anything about designing for books.)

• Yes, you need an ISBN number and the correct type of scannable bar code on the back.

• Yes, you need to register it with the Library of Congress.

• Create a publishing company with a professional sounding name and list that as the publisher. Do not use your own name. In most cases, advertising that you're self-published is not a good idea.

• Plan to do a LOT of marketing. Your distributor may or may not actually market your book. Find out what they do and don't do, and then make up the difference. (What's "the difference"—read one of the books I suggested.)

• Plan to do a lot of hand-selling of your book.

• Lower your sales expectations. Do not print 10,000 copies at first. I recommend starting with a POD printer. The per book cost is higher, but you won't end up with 2,000 copies sitting in your garage.

What's With All the Fantasy?

I noticed in the Whitney Awards that not only is there a Speculative Fiction category, but all of the Youth Fiction category nominees were fantasy. What's with all the fantasy?

Uhmm, that's what is popular right now.

The Whitney's, being a reader nominated award, is going to reflect the general popularity. Right now, fantasy is hot in youth fiction. That's what everyone is buying and reading. (And by "everyone," I mean lots and lots of people.)

Which is a pain for people who don't like fantasy.

But eventually, the pendulum will swing back. The masses will get tired of fantasy and you'll see more realistic novels coming back. When that happens, other genre fiction will show up in the Youth Fiction category.

Writing Tip Tuesday: Paragraph Length

This tip was prompted by a question:

At my last writers group meeting, I was told that my paragraphs were way too long. Can you give me an idea of appropriate paragraph length? Is is a certain number of sentences? How do I know when to make a new paragraph? Help!

First, let's define "paragraph".

Short answer: A paragraph is "a distinct portion of written or printed matter dealing with a particular idea." (Dictionary.com)

Longer, more detailed answer: CLICK HERE.

A paragraph can be anywhere from one sentence (even one word) to a dozen sentences or more. In today's world, shorter is better. (When editing, I frequently add paragraph breaks; rarely do I suggest combining paragraphs.) When a reader sees a page that is all one paragraph or has one long paragraph after another, they stop reading. It's visually overwhelming. Breaking your text up into paragraphs makes it much easier to read.

So, when do you start a new paragraph?

• When a new person speaks

• When you start a new topic

• When you move to a new time or location

• When you need to give your reader a break or rest

• When you want to create a dramatic effect

Grammatically Correct, But Oh So Wrong

While editing my WIP I came to the realization the my characters often begin to. They begin to cry. They begin to run. They begin...well you get the point. At first I laughed because it was funny. Do these guys ever get around to doing anything? Then I realized it wasn't so funny because I was the one who did it and I had to fix it. Thank heaven for the search function. That got me thinking. So I searched for started to, able to, and seems to. (I blush at how long this took.) So now my characters run, cry, jump, eat, etc. It reads better but I'm wondering...what other problems are lurking in my WIP that I skim over because I've read it so many times? (And my wonderful readers have missed too?)

So here's my question. What problems do you often see in manuscripts that are grammatically correct - yet awkward? Do you have a list of common errors that writers should search for while editing?

All of your examples fall under the category of "passive voice"—something that should rarely be used. Pretty much any verb followed by to is passive. Other indicators are verb phrases that use a form of be—such as am, are, been, is, was, were. Also look for the phrase by the or just by after the verb. CLICK HERE for a great list of passive tense verbs.

One note on passive voice: Sometimes it may be appropriate. For example, in first person dialogue. The key is to use it consciously and for a specific reason.

Other common things that I see and regularly delete or change:

• author's favorite words (varies by author)

• too many adverbs and adjectives

• of (as in "He jumped out of the window.")

• overused words—just, that, however, so, because, although, etc. (CLICK HERE for a great list of examples.)

• names that end in s—this is a personal thing. It's just so visually awkward to make possessive or plural

• another personal peeve—irregular verbs that have been forced to be regular, for example, lighted. I change it back to lit.
  

(P.S. Everything went as expected. All is well.)

Writing Tip Tuesday: Give it a Rest!

Seriously.

Sometimes, the best thing you can do for your writing is to take a break. This is especially true during the editing phase. Let it sit for a day or week. Then go back to it with fresh eyes and a fresh brain.

It's also good to take an occasional day away from your story to just go play, relax, have fun. Energize the creative side of you.

Of course, I don't recommend taking a break if you're on a roll or if you're way behind deadline. But every once in a while, give it a rest.

And I'm going to follow my own advice. I'm having a medical procedure (routine, nothing serious) that requires follow-up pain killers and who knows what I'd write under that influence. So I'm taking a break for the rest of the week. Go browse through past posts—commenting on old posts enters you into the contest to win the books in the sidebar. Or head over to the LDS Fiction site. We've got new titles popping up every day for awhile.

Getting on My Black List

A commenter asked this question, referring to this post:

What ELSE will land an author on the never-publish-this-person list?

There are only two things that will get you on this list.

1) Dishonesty—which includes plagiarism (as mentioned in the previous post), also lying to me, and unethical behavior with past publishers

and

2) Being too hard to work with. This includes personality conflict issues, fighting me on every single thing, refusing to market their book, behaving in ways that make it harder to sell their books—basically being obnoxious and/or clueless and refusing to change.

This is what gets you on MY list. Other publishers, editors and agents may have different things on their lists.

Fatuous Friday

Welcome to the first of the Friday all-about-me posts, where I answer your questions about me without giving you any real information as to my true identity. Fatuous Friday will continue as long as you continue to ask questions about me, or until I get bored, whichever comes first.

Why did you go into publishing?

1. I love words, books, reading, stories.
   


2. I have an ego the size of Texas and believe I can polish up anyone's work and make it shine like a diamond.


3. Someone dared me to do it and I didn't have anything better to do with my time. (This is true, btw.)

Image Copyrights

I would like to use a few graphics in the book. Is there a specific form or format that you need the approval from the source to be in?

For instance, the cover. I can find the artist and ask permission to use his/her work, but would a simple email stating that he/she has allowed me to use it suffice?

What if the artist has died many years ago and dozens of art dealers sell the same picture? Do I still need to get permission from someone to use the Art?

As an author or self-publisher, a simple e-mail will do it most of the time. Just be sure you've contacted the correct person and that they, indeed, own the rights to the work.

As a publisher, I required a little more from my authors because I was not contacting the original source myself. I had a contract they could use. In some cases, I needed the contract notarized.

Even if an artist has died and others sell the artwork, it still may be protected. You have to do your research to find out if it's protected (then yes, you need permission) or if it's in public domain (no, you don't need permission).

I've mentioned The Copyright Permission and Libel Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide for Writers, Editors and Publisher by Lloyd J. Jassin and Steven C Schechter before, but I highly recommend it for anyone (read: everyone) writing non-fiction and quoting other sources. I got mine at my local Barnes and Noble, but it's also available on Amazon.

This is a reasonably priced book and has lots and lots of really good information on the topic, including how to tell what's protected and what's not, getting permissions and releases on artwork (and literary works), how to find artists, and sample contracts in the appendix (including ones for art).

There is another very good book, Kirsch's Handbook Of Publishing Law: For Authors, Publishers, Editors And Agents by Jonathan Kirsch, but it's currently out of print and not available at Amazon. It was also pretty pricey when it was in print. This one I recommend to agents, editors and publishers.

Self-Editing Before You Submit

Julie Coulter Bellon class on self-editing was wonderful! Oh how I wish I could make her notes into a booklet and make it mandatory reading before submission. (Julie, we should talk. . .)

I cannot tell you how many manuscripts I've rejected over the years due to the issues Julie discussed in her class. (Lots and lots.) Too many errors will cause a good story to be rejected simply because of the time it would take to clean it up.

Julie covered basic editing (CLAW—4 Secrets to Self-Editing) and Deep Editing. Just a few of the items she mentioned were:

• Spelling and grammar errors—run your spelling and grammar check but don't rely on it to find all the mistakes.

• Watch out for too many adverbs and adjectives, inconsistent tense and subject/verb confusion, clichés and repititious words, and POV problems.

• Let others read your mss before sending it out.

• Print and read a hard copy. On-screen editing is not good enough.

• Take a break (days or weeks) and come back to it when your eyes are fresh.

• Create a checklist of things to look for that are specific to you—your favorite overused words and phrases, your problem areas.

• Create a big picture checklist, covering things like voice, chapter hooks, character motivation, story timeline and other things an editor will be looking for.

It's very important to send your very best, highly polished work out.

Writing Tip Tuesday: Super Glue, Epoxy and Duct Tape

One of the most common laments from new writers—and even from more experienced writers who have fallen off track—is, "Where do I find the time to write?"

The answer is, you don't FIND it. You MAKE it.

Simple as that. We all have people and responsibilities tugging us away from our computer or notebook. Whether it's the distraction of the television or Internet, or the very real need to support a family, we've all got reasons not to write.

What you have to find are the reasons inside yourself TO write—that burning desire that won't go away. Stoke it every chance you get. I guarantee that if you really, really want to write, you'll be able to eke out a few minutes here and there to do it—even if it's only 15 minutes a day.

It's all about choices. Choose to write. Choose when and where. Then support your choice. Do whatever it takes to get yourself in front of your computer and stay there during your allotted time—even if it takes a little duct tape.

No-No's That Stop an Editor Cold

Janette Rallison started her class at LDStorymakers with a statement that all of you should understand: Agents, editors and publishers will continue reading your manuscript until you give them a reason to stop.

Any of the items listed below are reasons to stop reading:

• Problems with POV

• Improper use of dialog tags

• Starting your book too far away from the world-changing event that propels your characters

• Lack of character motivation and/or goals

• Sentence structure and grammar issues

Janette went into detail on these and other no-no's and gave examples of correct and incorrect ways to deal with them.

Before you submit, be sure to check and double-check your manuscript for these things.

P.S. Conference photos are up.

May 2009 Prize Sponsors

Last month's prize winners announced HERE.

Please take a moment to learn more about our wonderfully generous sponsors.

Adventures with the Word of God by Rebecca Irvine


Do your children's eyes gloss over as soon as family scripture study starts? Adventures with the Word of God is exactly what you need to get them excited about scripture study. Interactive scripture reading makes family study fun for the whole family. Help your children learn and understand gospel principles directly from the scriptures with a year's worth of scripture study themes.

Together, your family can study and learn from sets of verses on similar topics, which helps children to better understand the language of the scriptures. Helpful hints are included to provide additional ways to encourage children to pay closer attention during family study time. With this handy helper, children can gain the tools they need to begin personal scripture study and increase their individual testimonies.


Rebecca Irvine lives in Mesa, Arizona. She is a graduate of Brigham Young University and served as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the England London South Mission. Married for twelve years to her husband, Steve, she is the mother of three terrific children. Rebecca also works part-time as a market research analyst and volunteers as the research director for the Mesa Temple Easter Pageant.






Agent in Old Lace by Tristi Pinkston

Shannon Tanner has it all, a perfect family, perfect job, perfect boyfriend—or so she thinks. What Shannon doesn't know is that her boyfriend, Mark, is stealing money from her father and making millions doing it. When Shannon learns Mark's secret, he turns on her, and Shannon's life abruptly goes from perfect to perilous.

In an effort to protect Shannon, the FBI assigns their only female agent to go undercover as her personal bodyguard. But when the agent falls ill the day before the assignment, they turn to the next best thing: their top agent, Rick Holden—in a dress.

Life seems safe again for Shannon with Rick by her side and Mark apparently gone for good. Then Shannon gets word that her best friend has been kidnapped, and it becomes clear that Mark isn't going to stop any time soon. Shannon realizes the only way to save herself and her friend—and stop Mark once and for all—is by sending Rick, her only source of protection, away. Can Rick save Shannon before it's too late? (Available in bookstores May 15th)



With her crisp writing style and attention to detail, Tristi Pinkston pulls her readers into the pages of history and helps them feel the emotions that fueled the events of that time. She has been hailed as one of the most talented historical fiction writers currently on the market.

Jeff Needle's review for AML, said, "This kind of writing can only come about when the author has thoroughly researched her subject and worked very hard to put herself in the place of her protagonist."

Tristi is the author of Strength to Endure, Nothing to Regret and Season of Sacrifice.


Click here for details on sponsoring this LDSP blog.

Click here for details on winning one of these books.

Marketing and Branding Your Name

Note: I did not go to every class at the Storymakers conference. Obviously. But I did attend several and was very pleased that much of the information given out was exactly what publishers hope new writers will incorporate into their writing and submission process.

I'm not going to give deep details on the content of these classes because that wouldn't be fair to the presenters, nor to those who paid to attend. However, over the next few days, I'll mention a few of the classes and outline some of the more vital hints and tips (IMHO, of course).

New authors often expect that publishers will do all the marketing for them. Let me burst that little fantasy bubble right now. Your publisher markets to the bookstores. They market through the product itself, via book cover and liner notes. Some of them may provide posters and bookmarks. If you're very lucky, they may help you set up a website and a signing tour. But for the most part, you need to be prepared to market to the consumer.

Candace Salima talked about the types of branding and marketing of your name and face that most successful writers do, particularly the online things you can do at very little or no cost.

• A professional looking website that pulls people in and keeps them there.

• A blog that you update weekly.

• Social networking—such as Facebook or Twitter.

• Book videos (these cost a little moolah).

• Publish articles on topics of interest to you, with a byline that mentions your book.

• Join forums in your areas of interest.

Candace talked about each of these areas, in depth, plus gave a plethora of other ideas. If I had her class on video, I'd send it to all my authors and prospective authors.

You don't have to do every single one of these things. You don't want to spend so much time networking and marketing that you have no time left to write. But you do need to do some of them (website and/or blog is the most important). Find a balance that works for you.

Conference Photos

NONE of my photos of the conference turned out. I couldn't believe it. They were blurry and yellow and featured way too many backs of heads. Oh well, I'm a word person, not a picture person I guess.

The "official" photos of the conference will show up here (soon, I hope).

If you were at the conference and you posted about it (with or without photos) on your blog or website, feel free to leave a link in the comments section of this post.

Writing Tip Tuesday: Attend a Writers Conference

One of the best ways to sharpen your writing skills—after writing and reading, of course—is to attend a good writers conference.

A good conference will send you away with lots of new ideas and remind you of things you know but have forgotten. The information you glean at a conference is worth its weight in gold. (Including the repeated advice to avoid clichés.) The creative energy at a conference can help spark new story ideas, get you unstuck if you're blocked, and inspire you to keep going.

Another great reason to attend a good writers conference is the networking with authors and industry specialists. Talking to like-minded people, sharing stories about your writing journey, meeting people willing to help and support you—invaluable!

Of course, as with any good thing, you can overdo it. Don't go to so many conferences that you don't have time left to write. Look around in your area and see what's available, then pick a good one or two to attend.

How do you know which conferences are good? Ask your writer friends who've attended conferences to recommend some. Or just go—knowing that it's a gamble—then keep going to the ones that you like.

As a writer, I like to attend between two and four conferences or workshops a year. This keeps me going when I get stuck and disheartened. As a publisher, I would often attend as many as eight to ten conferences a year. I've been to some good ones and some pretty bad ones.

I have no official connection with LDStorymakers—I'm not a member—but I'd like to say that from both a writer's and a publisher's standpoint, they have the best conferences I've ever attended. The atmosphere is one of support and encouragement and the classes are wonderful. If you ever get a chance to attend one, do it.

Readers, what are some other regular conferences and workshops that you attend that you feel are worth the time and the cost?

Attention: Storymakers Conference & Whitney Gala Attendees

If you attended the Whitney Gala and/or the LDStorymakers Conference this past weekend, I'd love for you to send me your photos and share some of what you learned. Don't plagiarize the content of the conference classes, but do tell us what you liked best and how it helped you.

I'll post your photos and comments to the blog this week and link back to your blog or website (so include the link you want me to use in your email).

And the Winners Are. . .

Best Romance

Best Mystery/Suspense

Best Youth Fiction

Best Speculative

Best Historical

Best General Fiction

Best Novel by a New Author



Best Novel of the Year

Congratulations to all the Whitney winners!

(standing ovation, here!)

And thank you to the Whitney Academy and all those who helped in any way with the Gala and making these awards possible.


[And thank you to those who point out when I make a social blunder.)

Taking a Mini-Vacation

I'm off to the LDStorymakers Writing Conference and the Whitney Gala. (I'll be the one in the bright fuschia hat with the peacock feathers).

I'll take good notes and post some highlights here next week.

Also, the Whitney people will be doing live blogging of the gala. Click HERE to register for a reminder and to watch the event live. Live blogging will begin at 6:30pm, Mountain Time, on April 25th, 2009.

But I Tried to Find You, Honest, I Did!

In a comment on this post:

I am writing an extensive commentary on the book of Matthew. On the topic of plagiarism, many of the comments I would like to use are listed in several sources verbatim with no citation on any of them. How does one go about citing in this situation?

If you're quoting scriptures, the only citation you need to make is which version you're using. That is usually done on the copyright page and sometimes mentioned in the introduction or foreword.

If you're quoting someone else's commentary, do your very best to find the original source. Sometimes you can Google the quote and it'll pop up. Unfortunately, some quotes are attributed to a variety of people and it's difficult to find the original.

If you can't find a source, you cite it as "Source Unknown" within the text. Then on the copyright page, make a note that explains you've done your best to track and cite sources correctly, but if a reader knows the source of a quote listed as unknown, to please contact you. Then double-check their source information to make sure it's correct and add the new source in the next printing.

It also helps to keep a log of all the different ways/times you've tried to find the source and the results. That way, if someone sues you later, you can prove you did due diligence.

Writing Tip Tuesday: Writer's Notebook (pt 2)

Last week, I suggested you keep a writer's notebook as a way of tracking those brilliant flashes of writing ideas. I promised to talk about more uses for a writer's notebook this week. I should have followed my own advice because last week, I had several really good ideas for this post. Now, as I'm sitting here ready to write about them, I can't remember what they were. I'm having to force myself to recall and/or regenerate this list. If I'd jotted them down in my notebook when I first thought of them, I'd be good to go right now.

Therefore, I wish to reiterate (which is such a redundant word when "iterate" would do just as well) that the number one purpose of your writer's notebook is to remind you of your wonderful ideas.

Other ways to use your writer's notebook include:

• Practice writing. Be adventurous. Try things that are new to you—a different genre, POV or writing style than you usually choose. Remember, in your notebook, your writing doesn't need to be perfect. It's free-flowing. It's spontaneous. It's purposefully not good. If you get hung up on good writing, your notebook will not be the resource it could be.

• Write every day. This is critical. It is a way of training your mind to write on demand. Over time, you'll learn how to get yourself in the writing mood.

• Writing pages. Some people do "morning pages" as suggested by Julia Cameron, who recommends three longhand pages when you first wake up, on whatever comes to your mind. If you're not a morning person, do evening pages, or lunchtime pages, or whatever works for you. Daily freestyle writing is a good idea for everyone.

• Prime the pump. Use your notebook to start your writing session. Whenever you sit down to do your regular writing, spend 5 to 15 minutes notebook writing first. This gets the creativity flowing and can help prevent writers block.

• Create lists. To-do lists are great. It doesn't necessarily need to be writing to-dos, although that certainly works. It can be a list of anything— Christmas ideas, new recipes to try, or your personal bucket list. If you don't like to-dos, then make lists of favorites or do one of those annoying online memes. The simple process of listing moves your brain into creation mode.

• Character sketches. I mentioned people-watching last week and describing people that you see in your notebook. You can take this a step further and create full-blown character sketches. These can be characters for your work in progress, or someone you might use in the future. Make up a secret life for someone at the mall or your alter-ego. Write a complete and detailed character bio.

• Dialogue. Write snippets of dialogue. You don't have to limit yourself to transcribing overheard conversations. You can rewrite a conversation you had last week—writing what you wish you had said.

• Play "what if" to create some basic plot outlines. Get creative with your current plot. Start with where you're at in the story, then throw in some outrageous "what if." You may not use it now, but it could become a springboard for future plots and ideas.

• Writing prompts. Use idea prompts, story-starters or competition themes to generate ideas. There are a zillion books out there with writing prompts in them. Writer's Digest has them online and in their magazine. If you're cheap (like me), Google Gadgets has several daily writing promps that can spark your imagination. I have some of these on my personal iGoogle page. I rarely use them exactly as they are, but sometimes they've helped me get started.

• Read your notebook. Don't just write in it, go back and review it on a weekly or monthly basis. Pull out those ideas that you find are especially good. Create an index page for them, or copy them into a second notebook or a computer file.
  

Keep your old notebooks in a safe place. When you find yourself with a bad case of writer's block, go back and review your notebooks that are years old. You may find an old nugget has turned into a mother lode of new ideas.

Readers, if you keep a writer's notebook, feel free to share with us how and when you use it.

Backing Up: A Cautionary Tale

I should have known better. I have many, many writer friends who've lost precious files due to inadequate back-up. I thought I was better than that. I thought I was taking precautions. I backed up all my writing files (I thought) to copied files and stored them in a different place on my hard drive. I also put them on a jump drive. I thought that was good enough. It was not.

My hard drive crashed. Many files were unrecoverable. Although most of them were on my jump drive, I'd gotten busy and lazy and hadn't put my newest WIP (nearly 40,000 words) on the jump drive. I also had an "idea" file, where I put basic plot lines for future books, that hadn't been updated to my jump drive in about a month.

I learned the hard way that a good back-up system is worth its weight in gold. Fortunately, most of them don't cost that much.

A good back-up system needs to be:

• daily

• automatic, invisible and easy

• off-site

There are several systems out there that fit this profile. (I ended up choosing Carbonite but this is not a commercial for them).

I just thought I'd share this with you and hope you'll pass it along to your readers so they'll avoid my truly sorrowful fate.

Amen.

I Laughed. I Couldn't Help Myself.

This blog is hilariously funny. In THIS POST, he turns his wit on an LDS publisher.


I'd think it was funny, even if I was on the butt end of this joke.

Happy (Belated) Anniversary to Me!

As I realized while writing yesterday's post, I just missed my third anniversary as LDS Publisher. I started writing this blog on April 7, 2006. (Yes, there are a couple of older posts, but they were backdated for indexing purposes.)

So as my Happy Anniversary present to you, I'm going to do the "100 Things About Me" meme.

Ha-ha. No, I'm not. (I should have started this blog on April 1st.)

But what I will do is answer questions about myself on Fridays, interspersed with various Stupid Questions, jokes and rants—because as everyone knows, all publishers take a three-day weekend and we never, ever do serious work on Fridays. (That was sarcasm, just in case you didn't get it.)

So, first—and most frequent—question: Who are you?


. . .



Did you even for half a trillimeter of a second believe that I was going to answer that one?

Try again. Post your questions in the comments or email them to me.

Writing for Fun and Not-for-Profit

Dear LDS Publisher, Your request for book reviewers started a huge debate in my writers group. I mentioned it in our last meeting because I thought it was a fun idea and a way to maybe get some exposure because I'm not yet published. But when I told them I'd be writing for free, one of the group members got really mad. She said we should never, ever, ever write for free. That writing for free is not only demeaning to ourselves, but also dilutes the earning capacity for writers everywhere. Another member then said that this might be a good way to earn writing creds. Then everyone else jumped in with opinions and suddenly we were all involved in a heated argument. How do you respond to that?

First off, everyone in your group needs take a deep breath and calm down.

Now.

Writing online book reviews is not a way to get legitimate publishing credits. Unless you're applying for a job as a professional book reviewer, you wouldn't mention this in a query. It would be a useless fact, akin to mentioning that you do underwater basket weaving as a hobby. Even if you are going into the reviewing profession (and I use the term "profession" loosely), it's not much to brag about since anyone can publish anything online. So forget the creds angle.

As to writing for free, yes, as a general idea I discourage it. If your writing is good, you deserve to be compensated. Look for paying markets.

However, IMHO, there are conditions under which you can (and should) write for free. (Notice that none of the ones listed below say, "Write for free because you're a new or inexperienced writer.")

1. Do it for fun. Sometimes you come across a publishing opportunity that just looks fun, but they don't pay. If it floats your boat and you want to do it for love, not money, then go ahead. This could include many online magazines, contests, and articles or short stories that wouldn't sell in traditional markets (for example, an article on choosing the best dye for your underwater basket weaving designs).


2. Do it to support a cause or an organization you believe in. Many writers do freebies for various charitable organizations—with or without a byline. You might choose to write for a church newsletter, your child's s school, or a political cause. This is not demeaning your writing—it's you, being a good citizen and a charitable person.


3. Do it to help or inform others. This is what you do out of the goodness of your heart. For example, do you think I've gotten paid for the past three years of writing this blog?* Not one red cent, until I started running ads a few months ago (and I only did that because I'm in semi-retirement and I've become accustomed to some of the luxuries in life, like food and shelter). I do this blog for the warm fuzzies it gives me every time I read your comments. Many writers offer free mentoring in subjects they're familiar with, just for the sake of being a good and generous person.


4. Do it to build your career. This type of free writing includes your personal blog, your website, guest blogging to generate interest and visits to your website, articles in professional journals and other places that highlight your career as a writer. This is part of a marketing plan, a conscious decision on your part, and should include references to your website, blog, book, or whatever it is you're promoting. This is not an attempt to see your name in print, no matter what, or to polish up your skills until you're "good enough" for a paying job.

Doing free book reviews for me would fall under the first three categories: it would be fun, you would be supporting a cause you believe in (namely, LDS fiction) (and me), and you would be helping to inform others.

*I just passed the three year anniversary for this blog on April 7th. I intended to make a huge deal of it, but I forgot. Maybe I'll do something tomorrow.

What is Plagiarism? (aka Quit Stealing My Stuff!)

Plagiarism: the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work. (Dictionary.com Unabridged. Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.)

Notice how I gave credit to the definition above? Notice that I provided a source AND a link? Notice how even dictionary.com provided their source?

This is what you do when you copy stuff from any source and use it for your own purposes, whether from a printed book or posted on the Internet.

When you copy the wording from one blog (example: MINE) and post it straight on another blog (example: YOURS), and you give no source, that is called plagiarism. It's illegal, unethical, and extremely bad manners.

Folks, I have StatCounter (see bottom right sidebar). About once a month, I check out who my visitors are and where they're coming from. When I see a new referring blog, I go visit it. All too often (once is too often, and it's happened way more than once), I find blogs by writers, on the subject of writing, that have lifted my posts and put them on their blogs—verbatim! Without credit back to me. (Shame on you!)

And when I say verbatim, I don't mean that they saw that I talked about POV on Monday and they did their own post on POV on Tuesday, pretty much making the same points I did but putting it into their own words (although that's irritating to me and just kind of lazy on their part). No, I literally mean "verbatim"—as in, "in exactly the same words; word for word."* (Notice how I did this quote differently, but still gave credit to the original source?)

As a writer, you should know better and do better. If you don't know better, inform yourself. And quite stealing my stuff!

P.S. As a publisher, yes, I researched authors who submitted to me and read their blogs and websites. If I discovered that they used someone else's words on their sites without credit, they were rejected outright and were added to my "never publish this person's work" list.

*(Dictionary.com)