Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Entry # 66 - "Establishing Setting: More Than 'JUST' A Place"

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Setting for a work of fiction or nonfiction requires careful attention to the specifics of “PLACE and TIME,” if the work is to establish credibility and connect with readers.  I wrote about this in several recent posts and I continue to think about it. 

HARBORSCAPE_ Leaving Dublin - May 2012 - Jan Bowman
Eudora Welty wrote two useful essays on both Time and Place in her book, The Eye of the StoryWelty said that, Being shown how to locate, to place, any account is what does most toward making us believe it, not merely allowing us to, whether the account be the facts or a lie; and that is where place in fiction comes in.  Fiction is a lie.”   But if fiction is an imaginary untruth, nonfiction is not altogether the truth.

Nonfiction describes truths, but these are filtered through an opaque glass of inexact memory that tends to distort. For example, if my sister and I describe the same childhood events, we both believe we give truth, but our focus, our memory, our perspective is different.  But ironically, fiction carries the deepest human truths under the surface, and nonfiction’s truth is fractured below the surface by the narrator’s memory reconstruction.  Welty says, “Fiction is a lie. BUT never in inside thoughts, but always on its outside dress.”   Which is to say that while fiction is imagined, the reality and truth that holds the reader in belief, is a reality that establishes a ‘place’ for the reader to stand and connect to events.  
CITYSCAPE - Leaving NYC - May 2012 - Jan Bowman

Writers must give readers a place to stand early in fiction and nonfiction.  It is an essential component in the writing process.    Having said this as background, I have read several unpublished stories recently for a writing class, and one of the ongoing problems with these otherwise strong stories lies in the slippery beginning. The sense of a story closes out the reader, when the visibility of place is only partial or intermittent, and it unnecessarily challenges the reader before the reader is fully engaged. That’s a good way to lose your reader.  And if your reader is an editor that you hope will publish your work, you will not likely get them to page three where the reader will finally “figure it out.”

Welty said that “…fiction depends for its life on place. Location is the crossroads of circumstance, the proving ground of ‘What happened? Who’s here? Who’s coming?’ and that is the heart’s field.”

Jan Bowman’s work has appeared in Roanoke Review, Big Muddy, Broadkill Review, Trajectory, Third Wednesday, Minimus, Buffalo Spree (97), Folio, The Potomac Review, Musings, Potato Eyes, and others. She won the 2012 Roanoke Review Prize for Fiction. Her stories have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best American Short Stories and a story was a finalist in the “So To Speak” Fiction Contest. She is working on two collections of short stories and currently shopping for a publisher for a completed story collection. She has nonfiction work pending publication in Spring 2013 Issues of Trajectory and Pen-in-Hand. She writes a weekly blog of “Reflections” on the writing life and posts regular interviews with writers and publishers.   Learn more at:





Friday, May 25, 2012

Entry # 65 - "It's About Time!"

After returning from my travels and recovering from "time travel" - better known as "jet-lag" I have thought this week about time and how it forms our lives and our fiction. An awareness of time goes with us all our lives.  

Sunrise Off Coast of Scotland -  5/12/12 - Jan Bowman
Eudora Welty described the clock as an arbitrary bully with power over daily affairs that can not be ignored.  Time awareness seems to exist at the cellular level in the body.  Whether we wear our watch set for the present or the past, we carry an awareness of the needs of the body that does not gain reassurance by a watch or clock that tells us we don't really need sleep, even though we just traveled back into another present - from a future time already lived on another continent. 

Sunset Later That Same Day - Jan Bowman 5/12/12


When we think about time, we acknowledge our own mortality and eventual demise.  We are mortal. This is time's deepest meaning. Fiction shows us the past and the present in mortal light. Fiction reminds us of future time without our presence. Eudora Welty described this processing of time in our minds - as art served by our memory and empowered by a sharp awareness of what is ephemeral.  The management of time is a deeply conscious and an organic part of fiction's dramatic structure in the writer's decision-making process.  Writers play with time and fine-tune time's role in driving plot and clarifying setting to the ends of forming powerful plot events that connect to readers.  Time can be altered - exaggerated - but never ignored. 

Welty described time and place as the two bases of reference upon which fiction, in seeking to come to grips with human experience, must depend for its validity.  She said, "Time is plot's right arm, indeed, but is always answerable to it.  It can only act in accordance with the plot, lead only toward the plot's development and fulfillment."  She observed that "Man can feel love for place; he is prone to regard time as something of an enemy." from The Eye of the Story by Eudora Welty.   -->
Jan Bowman’s work has appeared in Roanoke Review, Big Muddy, Broadkill Review, Trajectory, Third Wednesday, Minimus, Buffalo Spree (97), Folio, The Potomac Review, Musings, Potato Eyes, and others. She won the 2012 Roanoke Review Prize for Fiction. Her stories have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best American Short Stories and a story was a finalist in the “So To Speak” Fiction Contest. She is working on two collections of short stories and currently shopping for a publisher for a completed story collection. She has nonfiction work pending publication in Spring 2013 Issues of Trajectory and Pen-in-Hand. She writes a weekly blog of “Reflections” on the writing life and posts regular interviews with writers and publishers.   Learn more at:





Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Entry # 64 - WRITERS TALK - D.L. Wilson - Thriller/Adventure Fiction Author


Background Notes:

D.L. Wilson was President, CEO, and Managing Director of U.S. and European corporations and consultant to industries and governments in 32 countries. His extensive international travel spawned a fascination with world cultures and exotic locales. His first book, The Kitchen Casanova--A Gentleman's Guide to Gourmet Entertaining for Two, was featured on CNN, Evening Magazine, and Regis & Kathy Lee.

Wilson's first novel, Unholy Grail, became a national bestseller and has been translated into eight languages. He has received praise from New York Times bestselling thriller authors. Clive Cussler called Unholy Grail "a tale rich with intrigue that grips the imagination. A must read." James Rollins said Wilson’s latest novel “Sirocco is both a razor-edged thriller and a tour de force.” Steve Berry said “D.L. Wilson is a wry, appealing voice in the thriller world. This one is well worth a look.”     Learn more about D.L. Wilson at his website: dlwilsonbooks.com 

Jan:     Your books are described as thrillers.  What do you see as the most essential ingredients in a successful thriller?


D.L. Wilson:     A thriller novel must be exciting, a real page turner, a book that readers just can’t put down. A successful thriller must start with a bang, build excitement, create tension, and finish with a bigger bang. I found a real challenge in writing thrillers. My goal was to create fiction with content. I wanted my readers to become engrossed with my characters, scenes, and terrifying plots and after reading my novels, come away with a newer and better understanding of important factors in our complex world.


Jan:     Your first novel, Unholy Grail, reached the best seller list just behind one of Stephen King’s books and has been translated into eight languages.  Tell our readers a bit about this book and why they might enjoy reading it.


D.L. Wilson:     Unholy Grail, is based upon broad research into the facts, legends, myths, and even conspiracy theories relating to Christianity and Judaism. A trip to Vienna, Austria and the South of France presented great insight into Fr. Berringer Saunier who had somehow amassed great wealth and built a beautiful church and villa in the small village of Rennes-le-Château high in the Pyrénées.   In Unholy Grail, I created a Fordham University theology professor, Fr. Joseph Romano, who receives an anonymous call offering him a secret Gospel written by James, the brother of Jesus. When he arrives at Grand Central Station to meet the mysterious caller, a shot rings out, bedlam erupts, and Fr. Romano is thrust into a centuries-old conspiracy that threatens the very sanctity of the church.


Jan:     When did you begin writing and why this particular genre? 


D.L. Wilson:     As part of my day job in the fashion industry I traveled to over 32 countries. During countless hours on airplanes, I became a novel reading junky. After reading 100s of thrillers, I decided to focus on that genre and try my hand at becoming a writer when I retired.     To learn about the publishing world, I attended writing conferences and workshops where I learned that writing is an art and a craft that requires serious dedication. Top authors shared their secrets on how they became published. They wrote a few novels that never saw the light of day to learn the craft. I followed their advice and learned the importance of practice, practice, practice. 


Jan:     How did you find your publisher and agent?  How did you go about marketing your books?


D.L. Wilson:     As I was finishing my first serious novel, Unholy Grail, I decided to learn what transpired in the inner sanctum of agents and editors. I wrote articles for Writer’s Digest and The Writer where I interviewed agents and editors to learn from the experts their criteria for weeding through hundreds of submissions each month. One of the agents I interviewed asked me what I was working on and asked me to submit my novel to him. I was at the right place at the right time. He liked my work and got me a contract with Berkley, Penguin.


Marketing and promoting novels is a whole different world that is changing every day. Book signings, establishing a web site, Internet promotion, social networking, interviews, conferences, advertising, it goes on and on and on. I have found the promotional work takes a great toll out of an author’s writing time.

Jan:     Your latest book, Sirocco, is described as a bio-terrorism thriller.  How is this book different in its structure and focus from Unholy Grail?  What did you do to research your book?


D.L. Wilson:     SIROCCO, is a bioterrorism thriller. I met with experts in biotechnology, pharmacology, and medicine to learn about the potential dangers of bioterrorism. I studied Islam and interviewed Muslims to try to understand how a religion could be used as a foundation for terrorism. It’s people who are terrorists, not religions.


To keep the thrill alive, I had to start with a bang. Brett Reynolds, an attorney representing the pharmaceutical lobby, is summoned to Washington for an urgent meeting by Homeland Security to investigate a threat by a Middle Eastern terrorist group, Sirocco, to unleash a bioweapon at the heart of the United States. With a bioterror looming that could devastate the U.S., Brett learns of his brother’s death in a bizarre murder/suicide. As the plot unfolds he discovers connections between his brother and the terrorist threat. His investigation leads him on a harrowing chase that ends in a deadly confrontation with Sirocco and a chilling climax in the Oval Office 

Jan:     I understand that Sirocco has gotten rave reviews from a number of international best selling suspense/thriller authors.   Who are some of the more notable and how were you able to gather these wonderful reviews from other thriller writers?


D.L. Wilson:     I was honored to receive great reviews from Steve Berry, James Rollins, and Andrew Gross who are some of the top authors in the suspense/thriller field. I learned the great importance of networking from my business career and experiences as a novice author. I was very fortunate to meet top authors in my genre at conferences and writing events and some of them agreed to read my manuscript and liked my writing style.


 Jan:     You were recently elected to the board of the International ThrillerWriter.  Couldyou tell our readers more about this writers organization and your duties as VP of Membership.


D.L. Wilson:     The International Thriller Writers (ITW) is an honorary society of authors, both fiction and nonfiction, who write books broadly classified as “thrillers.” The organization provides opportunities for mentoring, education and collegiality among thriller authors and industry professionals and grants awards for excellence in the thriller genre. ITW promotes literacy, gives money to worthy organizations, supports libraries, a USO tour, and advances the genre. It brings together almost a thousand writers, readers, publishers, editors and agents at its annual conference, ThrillerFest, as well as at CraftFest, a writing workshop program, and AgentFest, where aspiring authors can meet and pitch top literary agents.


I was honored to have been elected to the board of directors as VP of Membership where I am responsible for bringing on board Active and Associate members. You can find out more about ITW at our website: thrillerwriters.org 

Jan:     So who are some of your early favorite writers in the thriller genre who had a lasting influence on your work?


D.L. Wilson:     Some of the thriller authors who inspired me are: James Patterson, David Baldacci, John Sanford, Dan Brown, Steve Berry, James Rollins, Clive Cussler, Andrew Gross, and the list goes on. I try to read as many authors as I can. I learn bits and pieces of their writing techniques that hopefully will help me improve my style and keep my readers turning the pages.


Jan:     What is the worst advice and what is the most useful advice that you’ve received during your writing career?  What words of encouragement can you offer to those hoping to break through in the thriller genre?


D.L. Wilson:     I really haven’t gotten any bad advice during the many years I spent developing my writing career. I’ve found authors are very forthcoming with sharing their experiences in how they’ve fought to succeed in the writing world. It’s a very close-knit group who appreciate the years of dedication and focus necessary to get that first book published. Steve Berry on his website shares his long and arduous road to getting published spanning 12 years and 85 rejections over 5 separate manuscripts.


My advice to those hoping to break through in the thriller genre is to stick with your hopes and dreams. Keep learning, keep reading, keep writing. It’s like learning a musical instrument. It takes time, dedication, and practice, practice, practice.


Jan Bowman’s work has appeared in Roanoke Review, Big Muddy, Broadkill Review, Trajectory, Third Wednesday, Minimus, Buffalo Spree (97), Folio, The Potomac Review, Musings, Potato Eyes, and others. She won the 2012 Roanoke Review Prize for Fiction. Her stories have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best American Short Stories and a story was a finalist in the “So To Speak” Fiction Contest. She is working on two collections of short stories and currently shopping for a publisher for a completed story collection. She has nonfiction work pending publication in Spring 2013 Issues of Trajectory and Pen-in-Hand. She writes a weekly blog of “Reflections” on the writing life and posts regular interviews with writers and publishers.   Learn more at:













Friday, May 18, 2012

Entry # 63 - "Regarding Place: A Real Place for Fiction?"

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Lonely Highlands of Scotland - May 12, 2012 - Jan Bowman

 This week I have returned after a Trans-Atlantic cruise and subsequent travels in Scotland. I am somewhat “jet-lagged,” but I have more than a few thoughts about the power and relevance of establishing place, that is - the where and when - in writing fiction. And I intend to write several subsequent “Reflections” pieces about this.

Whether landscape or cityscape, real places have been key elements for some of the most powerful novels ever written.  Joyce’s Dublin, Balzac’s Paris, Dickens’ London, Dostoyevski’s St. Petersburg are vivid places that spring to mind for avid readers. 

Establishing setting, that is - the place and time of a work of fiction, is an essential element that reveals and connects historical, cultural, social, ethical, as well as powerful emotional aspects of characters’ lives and motivations. Huck Finn needs the Mississippi setting, if we are to believe in his actions. Flannery O’Connor’s people need the 1950-60’s South. James Joyce’s people need Dublin. Characters are formed out of place. And since characters, – what they do and why they do it – informs plot, setting provides the environmental and cultural stimulation for motive.

In movies, music and shots of landscape and cityscape provide essential backdrop for action and dazzles viewers into emotionally connecting to intense actions and characters’ emotions. Think of the most recent examples used in these movies:  Hugo, War Horse, and The Descendants. Modern drama, as well as installation and performance arts, and in particular dance, are using film clips as backdrop for setting, establishing mood, tension and - yes - to "dazzle" (amaze, fill with wonder, inspire) audiences with the power of light, color, sound.

Halifax Harbor - May 8, 2012 - Jan Bowman
Unfortunately, modern readers may be inclined to skip over descriptions of place. I have had students tell me they skipped descriptions in classic works of Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens, Henry James, the Brontes’ and others. Yet those writers' descriptions of landscape and cityscape provide vital connections to the actions of characters. The idea of the power derived from landscape may elude less mature readers, particularly in our culture that floats on the anxious desire for "a sound bite of action." In his guide, Fiction Writer’s Workshop, Josip Novakovich said, “These days, many writers withdraw their gazes from city architecture and country life, and as they do, their fictional worlds diminish.”  

And yet, I am reminded of Eudora Welty’s essay, “Place in Fiction,” from The Eye of the Story, in which Welty describes place powerfully.  “Place is one of the lesser angels that watch over the racing hand of fiction, perhaps the one that gazes benignly enough from off to one side, while others, like character, plot, symbolic meaning, and so on, are doing a good deal of wing-beating about her chair, and feeling, who in my eyes carries the crown, soars highest of them all and rightly relegates place into the shade. Nevertheless, it is this lowlier angel that concerns us here. There have been signs that she has been rather neglected of late; maybe she could do with a little petitioning.”


Jan Bowman’s work has appeared in Roanoke Review, Big Muddy, Broadkill Review, Trajectory, Third Wednesday, Minimus, Buffalo Spree (97), Folio, The Potomac Review, Musings, Potato Eyes, and others. She won the 2012 Roanoke Review Prize for Fiction. Her stories have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best American Short Stories and a story was a finalist in the “So To Speak” Fiction Contest. She is working on two collections of short stories and currently shopping for a publisher for a completed story collection. She has nonfiction work pending publication in Spring 2013 Issues of Trajectory and Pen-in-Hand. She writes a weekly blog of “Reflections” on the writing life and posts regular interviews with writers and publishers.   Learn more at:





Friday, May 11, 2012

Entry # 62 - "New Beginnings & Once Upon a Time"

This week I’ve been thinking and reading about beginnings.  Opening lines, whether in a novel or story, carry the heavy task of holding the reader’s interest and providing sufficient information to orient the reader to the core setting and characters. Perhaps early narrative did start with the famous fairy tale lines of “once upon a time” but most readers want more,  if they’re to be seduced into buying a book or reading a story in a journal.

Alex Dunn & Jim Wilson- CHILE - Great Photo - March 2012
Homer set the standard in The Odyssey.   The Greek concept of “in media res” which means to begin in the middle of things, is the standard for most openings, even now.  In her book, Building Fiction: How to develop plot and structure, Jesse Lee Kercheval writes “Structurally, openings tend to fall into three basic types, which I’ll call - Into the Pot, Already Boiling; Calm Before the Story; and Opening Statements to the Jury.”  While these types of openings are not the only ones, they seem to be among the most successful.

Beginnings often plague writers. P.G. Wodehouse acknowledged the problem in his classic Jeeves novels. “Its a thing you don’t want to go wrong over, because one false step and you’re sunk.  I mean if you fool about too long at the start, trying to establish atmosphere, as they call it, and all that sort of rot, you fail to grip and the customers walk out on you.”   

Michael Seidman’s useful book, Fiction: The Art and Craft of Writing and Getting Published, writes “There are two decisions you have to make as you begin: Where and How; where does your story begin and how should you present it to the reader?” 

"Opening words must enthrall in much the same way a bag of popcorn seduces the movie-goer to munch it down without pause." 

Jan Bowman’s work has appeared in Roanoke Review, Big Muddy, Broadkill Review, Trajectory, Third Wednesday, Minimus, Buffalo Spree (97), Folio, The Potomac Review, Musings, Potato Eyes, and others. She won the 2012 Roanoke Review Prize for Fiction. Her stories have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best American Short Stories and a story was a finalist in the “So To Speak” Fiction Contest. She is working on two collections of short stories and currently shopping for a publisher for a completed story collection. She has nonfiction work pending publication in Spring 2013 Issues of Trajectory and Pen-in-Hand. She writes a weekly blog of “Reflections” on the writing life and posts regular interviews with writers and publishers.   Learn more at:



 

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Entry # 61 - WRITERS TALK - David Stewart White - Nonfiction Author


Background Notes: 


Just in time for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, David Stewart White is the author of Let’s Take the Kids to London (4th edition) and co-author with his wife Deb Hosey White, of their just released newest publication, Beyond Downton Abbey: A Guide to 25 Great Houses.  Published as e-books and paperback on Amazon.com — Amazon "Prime" ---  members can read it for free as part of their membership.
In addition to these books, Dave has also published travel articles, on London and other locales, in magazines like AAA World and AAA Traveler; online in BootsNAll.com and TravelMuse.com; in the Washington Post; and he also writes a European travel column on Examiner.com news service.

Available from Amazon.com
Jan:     Dave, you and your wife, Deb, are both “Writers in Common” as you’ve referred to yourselves, and you’ve made major career shifts in order to dedicate time for writing and publishing. Tell our readers about your newest venture, Beyond Downton Abbey: A Guide to 25 Great Houses
What inspired this book? What will readers particularly enjoy about it?

Dave:     To say that we were inspired by the Downton Abbey television series is at least somewhat correct, but the series reminded us of just how many great houses there are in Britain and how many we've enjoyed visiting.  What we've learned from those visits is that each house has at least several stories: the "official" version of history, and architecture that appears in the printed house brochure, but often there is a much more fascinating back story about the people who lived and worked there. So the Downton Abbey TV series is just the tip of the iceberg in a country filled with great houses and great stories.

We say that Beyond Downton Abbey is a book for serious travelers and armchair tourists alike. So it will appeal to readers who are planning to visit Britain or to those who just want more background after watching the Downton Abbey TV series. I might add that I am the co-author of the book; the concept, much of the research, and the bulk of writing credit goes to Deb.

Jan:     So tell us about the research and photographs for this book.  When did you begin it?  How did you select the manor houses? Were you able to interview people who had lived and worked in these houses?   

Dave:     Deb and I have visited many of the houses on past trips to Britain, so we started with a pretty good base of information on those properties and the whole subject of great houses in Britain. We're also members of the Royal Oak Foundation, which is the US affiliate of Britain's National Trust; they own and operate many of the houses that appear in our book. So, we've been visiting and reading about historic British properties for many years. 

We did extensive online research and emailed questions to the press offices of some of the properties, too. The public relations contacts either answered questions directly, or relayed them to the lord/lady of the manor for us.  I took a number of the photographs during past visits, but we also included pictures that professional and amateur photographers were kind enough to allow us to use.   

There are hundreds of great houses in the United Kingdom—England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland. We chose properties from England and Wales for this edition of Beyond Downton Abbey.  We plan to write a second book soon, but for this project, Deb narrowed down the list even further, selecting properties to epitomize the best of something:  best ghost stories, most romantic gardens, most beautiful ruin, or best art collection.

Jan:     I’m sure you ran into some interesting stories of people and events in all of these amazing houses, but is there a particular story or event that was so powerful that you can’t forget it?

Dave:     I was a political science major in college. So I was fascinated to realize that one of the houses in the book, Cliveden, just outside of London, was the setting for one of the biggest political scandals of post World War II British history. Cliveden was owned by American billionaires, Waldorf and Nancy Astor. The estate became a social hub during the 1920s and 1930s, with guests ranging from Charlie Chaplin to Winston Churchill. After serving as a hospital during World War II, the house returned to use by the Astors and their friends. In 1963, scandal erupted at Cliveden when British War Minister John Profumo chased after an alleged prostitute whose boyfriend was a Russian spy. The spy’s target was a top-secret plan for a British nuclear missile system. The Cliveden scandal caused the fall of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. Cliveden is now owned by the National Trust, which operates it as a luxury hotel.
 

Jan:     You recently released the 4th edition of your book, Let’s Take the Kids to London.  How did you find your publisher, and convince your publisher, Roaring Forties Press, that a new edition was needed? What types of things did you need to change when you updated this edition?

Dave:     Life is sometimes a series of coincidences, and finding a publisher for the latest edition is certainly a good example. In 2011, I was selected to attend a conference sponsored by British Airways. We began in New York with speakers and workshops, then continued networking at 30,000 feet across the Atlantic, and finished with conference sessions in London. The conference was interrupted by a winter storm in the US that kept some attendees from reaching New York and flying with the group to London. Among them was Deidre Greene, co-owner of Roaring Forties Press in Berkeley, California. Because of the snow storm, we didn’t met at the conference, but Deirdre learned about my book and contacted me later to ask if I was interested in working on a new edition.


It's probably not typical for a publisher to contact a writer about a project, but I'm certainly glad Roaring Forties Press showed interest in Let's Take the Kids to London. Using a traditional publisher, I was able to work with their editors, proofreaders, mapmakers, indexers, and designers. That was a huge benefit.  The fourth edition was released in early April, 2012.

London is a dynamic city, but in 2012 the changes are particularly extensive—the 2012 Summer Olympic Games are taking place in London this July. That's caused a tremendous amount of change to information on hotels, transportation, and tourist attractions.

Jan:     Getting into the publishing business in 2009 was a nightmare for most people, because the traditional industry began to unravel, and older ways of operating fell by the wayside, but new technical advances are bringing a sea change.  What did you see and what advice would you offer to those who are just beginning to explore the power of the individual writer to alter market habits of readers? 
   
Dave:     I've often said that writing is easy, but book publication and publicity are incredibly challenging.  That's not one hundred percent true, since writing isn't always easy.  Some of the online tools available to writers today allow them to publish their works directly. But what can go missing in this process are the important roles that a traditional publisher provides:  editing, proofreading, publicity and more. I've seen many "published" books that are very poorly written, full of grammatical, formatting, and factual errors. 

So, while the self-publishing tools are wonderful for aspiring writers, they aren't the complete answer for producing quality books. My advice:  don't give up on using a traditional publisher, but if that does not work out, be certain to find a good editor for your self-published books.

As far as publicity, that's a role originally filled by traditional publishers and agents.  If you aren't lucky enough to have a publisher, or an agent, then you face the task of trying to get your book noticed in a sea of competing publications. Social media certainly is a tool that aspiring writers can use to help promote their books. And there are companies that offer book promotion packages, too.  But I'd be very careful before paying for book promotion—I'm sure some promoters are wonderful and effective; others are just out to make money.

Jan:      Dave, you’ve been on the front edge of e-book design and production.  What have you learned the hard way and what do you wish you had known earlier? 

Dave:     Years ago, I took a short course on HTML programming — the computer language that originally allowed webpages to display graphics.  
When eBooks first came along, there was a real shortage of people who knew how to convert books from paper into electronic formats.

 I had an earlier paperback edition of Let's Take the Kids to London available from a print-on-demand publishing company. They offered to convert the paperback to an eBook.  Unfortunately, they did not know what they were doing and they made a mess of the project. I pulled the eBook from sale, sat down and dusted off my HTML programming skills, and taught myself how to create an eBook (the formatting language behind many eBooks is similar HTML).

What did I learn? One more bit of evidence to support my theory—writing is easy, publishing is a challenge.  By the way, there are now many individuals and companies that offer quality book-to-ebook conversion, for a price, and there are  software tools that some technically-savvy writers can use to do this themselves.
Jan:     Are you more optimistic now about the changes in publishing now than you were four years ago? 
   
Dave:      Like many writers, I'm concerned about the recent events in eBook publishing—legal questions about who sets the price for eBooks and who gets the profit.  We read a lot about the rights of publishers and eBook sellers, but very little about the rights of authors.  So while I'm more optimistic that the tools for publishing are getting better, the marketplace for books is still in an uproar. We'll have to see how this all turns out...like a good novel.
Jan:      Deb had mentioned that your next joint project is likely to a book with the promising title, The Kids Are Grown: We’re On Our Own in London.  Tell our readers about this project.  I think a lot of retirees would like to read it. Will it be a travel guide complete with reviews of hotels and restaurants or will it take readers off the beaten path a bit more than most guides? 

Dave:     I like the idea of an experience-oriented guide to London for adults. We all know that traveling with children is vastly different than traveling as adults.  So in writing the new  The Kids Are Grown book we will be liberated from finding Paddington Bear and Harry Potter related adventures in London. We'll stop worrying about finding family-friendly meals and locating hotel rooms to accommodate mom, dad and two kids. 

London is a great city for walking and exploring the architecture of neighborhoods, visiting small galleries and museums, having drinks in amazing pubs, and other activities enjoyed by adults, but not necessarily family-oriented. So our Kids Are Grown book will expand to include these aspects of London and, as you note, we will wander off the typical path followed by visiting families.
Jan:      I understand one of your true passions is point-to-point long distance hiking and that you’ve done quite a lot of this in Europe?   I have a friend in Maryland who loves to do this; she’s hiked all over Scotland, Ireland, and England. Seems like there’s a book in here somewhere.  Tell our readers about this type of travel. How long have you and Deb hiked and where have you gone? Will you be writing about this in the immediate future?

Dave:     Our favorite hiking experience in England has been a 60 mike trek along the Cotswold Way. That's an idyllic countryside, dotted with tiny villages, stone walls, churches and country pubs ---the latter being quite welcome after a long day's hike!---  To simplify logistics, we used Sherpa Expeditions, a walking support company, that transported our luggage from B&B to B&B, so we simply carried daypacks during our walk.   We started in tiny Broad Campden, south of Stratford-Upon-Avon, and hiked south to Painswick, south of Cheltenham. Hiking in late September, we had wonderful weather and no crowds.  Bottom line: A highly recommended, not too strenuous, walk through central England.

Next up for us in the hiking department is a trip later this year to Austria's Dachstein Alps, not too far from Salzburg.  Again, we're using a walk support company and we are hiking a seven-day circular route through the mountains. And while that sounds challenging, there are less strenuous routes available even in the Alps.  I hope to write a series of articles based on this experience.

Jan:     What question do you wish I had asked?  Ask it and give the reply that you think it deserves or if you don’t like that one, how about this one?  What have you written that has pleased you the most so far?  Or  - Why do you write?   

In my pre-travel writing career as a government budget director I had ample opportunities to write long, detailed publications on the riveting subject of local government finance. And while I strove to write in plain English - which is rare in that field - I can't say that my job met my lifelong goal to be a writer.

Travel writing combined my childhood-inspired love of travel with my desire to write creatively.  In Let's Take the Kids to London, for example, I've woven passages from British children's literature into the facts and descriptions that you normally find in a travel guidebook. That pleased me as a writer. My newest book, Beyond Downton Abbey, was collaboration with my best friend (and wife) Deb Hosey White. Writing as a team was also very rewarding.

 More Information for Readers:

Our websites:
Beyond Downton Abbey (www.BeyondDowntonAbbey.com)   

also on Facebook  as BeyondDowntonAbbey)
contact authors:  mail@beyonddowntonabbey.com
Let's Take the Kids to London  (www.KidsToLondon.com)     
Facebook as Let's Take the Kids to London
contact authors:  mail@kidstolondon.com
and on Twitter  @KidsToLondon
publisher:  Roaring Forties Press
Pink Slips and Parting Gifts (www.PinkSlipsAndPartingGifts.com
Facebook search for Pink Slips And Parting Gifts
contact authors: mail@pinkslipsandpartinggifts.com
Our books:
Beyond Downton Abbey: 
eBook edition on Amazon.com
print edition on CreateSpace and on Amazon.com
Let's Take the Kids to London
eBook edition on  Barnes & Noble and online retailers
print edition on Amazon.com , Barnes & Noble, and in bookstores, other vendors, etc.
Pink Slips and Parting Gifts 
eBook edition on Amazon.com
print edition on CreateSpace and on Amazon.com

More About Dave:     Dave writes … my introduction to overseas travel started when I was a child—my family lived in France and Germany for several years. I had the opportunity to tour much of Western Europe. I never lost the travel "bug.” My wife and I took our kids to London when they were young, going back many times, adding trips to the British countryside, France, and Scotland. After our trips to London, I began to answer questions from other families about travel. Someone suggested that I compile my answers and write a book. The first edition of Let's Take the Kids to London was the result; the fourth edition has just been published. 
  

Jan Bowman’s work has appeared in Roanoke Review, Big Muddy, Broadkill Review, Trajectory, Third Wednesday, Minimus, Buffalo Spree (97), Folio, The Potomac Review, Musings, Potato Eyes, and others. She won the 2012 Roanoke Review Prize for Fiction. Her stories have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best American Short Stories and a story was a finalist in the “So To Speak” Fiction Contest. She is working on two collections of short stories and currently shopping for a publisher for a completed story collection. She has nonfiction work pending publication in Spring 2013 Issues of Trajectory and Pen-in-Hand. She writes a weekly blog of “Reflections” on the writing life and posts regular interviews with writers and publishers.   Learn more at:







Friday, May 4, 2012

Entry # 60 - "The Promise of a Title & How We Shop for Books"

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How important is the title in the way we shop for books? I was browsing the various book lists on my Kindle, which also caused me to think and to compare how readers browse the shelves in a brick and mortar bookstore versus how we shop online for books.  And clearly we have learned to approach these tasks differently. 
"Later That Afternoon" - Jan Bowman - October 2011
In a bookstore I am more likely to wander around scanning shelves in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Looking for eye candy for the mind.  I do confess that I’ve picked up a book I wasn’t looking for and had not heard of – just because - something about the title or cover intrigued me, seduced me into looking inside, and once I’d read the first few pages, I was either hooked or I put it back.  

But that’s not how I shop online for a book. I tend to go online on a mission. Looking for a particular book or author. I find it. Read about it or read a sample and decide whether to download it. Clearly this is a different experience from my bookstore search which involves more whimsical and exploratory acts.  


I’ve thought about the importance of good titles in the world of publishing.  And I’ve thought about the power of an interesting title upon readers as they shop for books. A great title gets writers “reading time” with their target readers. And a great working title gets the writer the time and attention of agents, editors and publishers. But if the writer fails to deliver the goods, the target audience will move on to something more interesting. 

And I wonder to what extent does the title increase or decrease the odds that a reader will select a book?  

Which is to say, would I be more likely to read, a novel with the titled, The Mute or one with the title, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter?  The first was the original title for Carson McCullers wonderful novel that was published under the second title.  

Stephen King originally considered Second Coming for the book we all know as Salem’s Lot. And F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 
The Great Gatsby almost had one of these three terrible titles: Trimalchio in West Egg (too obscure and no one could pronounce it), Gold-Hatted Gatsby, and Fitzgerald’s personal favorite, Under the Red, White and Blue.


Interesting, evocative titles are essential. But how does a writer come up with a title that works? What kind of guidelines do writers need to consider?
So I’ve looked for advice about book titles, and here is what I’ve learned.  Most of the time a publisher, agent, editor or someone “out there” is likely to change your title no matter what - once you’ve signed a contract or unless you are an established writer who has a following or series, think of Sue Grafton’s alphabetic crime books.  

But here are a few tips gleaned (online) from David White, Sr. Editor for American Book Publishers (2005).  He says that - in a few words a title has to do a lot.  It has to grab a reader’s attention, hold that reader’s attention and tell what it’s about.  Most titles are lucky to get two of these three things in the first round. White also suggests that writers avoid cliches, as well as any words likely to offend someone in a title. He reminds authors to use familiar words. No one is likely to stop and look up a word in a title.  And - YES. We mean you - F. Scott Fitzgerald. -- 

Titles make a promise to readers that if they read your book, story, article, they will discover something.  The best phrase is the worse, if it’s a title that can’t live up to the hype.  If you promise, then deliver.

"Camera Ready"- Jan Bowman - April 2012
 Try to capture the essence of the work using words, whenever possible, that provide evocative, powerful, and image-ready words.  I think of these as almost “camera ready” images.



Jan Bowman’s work has appeared in Roanoke Review, Big Muddy, Broadkill Review, Trajectory, Third Wednesday, Minimus, Buffalo Spree (97), Folio, The Potomac Review, Musings, Potato Eyes, and others. She won the 2012 Roanoke Review Prize for Fiction. Her stories have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best American Short Stories and a story was a finalist in the “So To Speak” Fiction Contest. She is working on two collections of short stories and currently shopping for a publisher for a completed story collection. She has nonfiction work pending publication in Spring 2013 Issues of Trajectory and Pen-in-Hand. She writes a weekly blog of “Reflections” on the writing life and posts regular interviews with writers and publishers.   Learn more at: