A Rose by any other name -- would be difficult to sell ...

... Or ...

I came here expecting horses

There's been a lot of hoopla of late over genre, cross-genre, tagging, labeling -- whatever you want to call it. Writers agonize over what genre their book fits into, which agent/small press/publisher to submit their work to, what tags to use on Amazon and so on.

The situation strikes me as one in which we've built the buggy and now feel compelled to find the one and only horse to pull it -- or perhaps the perfect compliment of horses to pull it.

News flash: You can switch horses. Anytime.

That horse, er, label is, and always has been, a marketing tool. It does more to help focus marketing efforts on niche groups (reader target audiences) than it does to help niche groups find books to read. (think of it as the difference between being pursued by a guy you'd probably like vs. a guy you'd find boring) (Now, that's not a bad thing -- although you'd probably be missing some gems).

We want people to read our books, but hey, even Coca Cola targets audiences. Sometimes companies even create niche groups (anybody remember the "Pepsi Generation"?). However, until you get to be your own genre (Steven King, Lee Child, JK Rowling, Janet Evanovich ....) you have to target a genre if you expect to sell. That doesn't mean you can't include different genres in your work, it means you have to be able to use a label without lying (too much) if you want to sell your books easily.

Easily? 

Yes. Stop laughing. "Easily" only because otherwise, it becomes a lot more work. That's probably why marketing departments in publishing houses have been seen making purchasing decisions (I was shocked, too, when I found that out. If I was in marketing -- which I was years ago -- wouldn't it be my job to sell what my company produced, not tell my company what they should make?) (yes, I'm perfectly aware of the value of market analysis -- did it myself)

As writers, we not only need to learn to write well enough to hold a reader's interest (otherwise we write ONLY for ourselves), but we have to learn how to stir up excitement in a specific group by using a very few well chosen phrases....not exactly lying, but selective truth-telling.

We can do that, right? We write fiction, after all.

The labeling/genre situation is far too established to fight and conquer at this point -- and I'm not sure it's such a good idea, anyway. However, we can learn to market to target audiences who, once having discovered a good read, don't seem to mind multiple genres at all.

So, if you want to sell a rose don't call it "a flowering bush that requires a lot of fertilizer, water and spraying for insects and disease, and produces blooms for a couple of months out of the year." Call it "a bush that produces armloads of fragrant blossoms," "a velvety flower given to one's heart's desire," "an ancient symbol of passion," AND call it a "Rose." People get that. Those of us who love roses, don't really mind the other, un-poetic stuff -- we know it and don't want to hear it. The other sometimes-truthful description simply feeds our interest.

Podcast Interveiw

This week, all my energy went into an interview over at Unruly Guides. Suzanne Parrot made me feel right at home as we chatted about books, writing and the writing life. Follow the link and have a listen while I talk about characters who get away with murder and tell me how to write the story, and why in the world I included a food fight in An Error In Judgment! It's all good fun and perhaps a little advice tossed in for good measure.

Unruly Guides is a terrific website for all kinds of writerly advice, including help in self publishing from formatting for e-book to marketing and promotion.

An Interview with HOT New Author, Kaylan Doyle

Today I have the great pleasure to be able to pull up a chair next to the Writing Horses cozy "writers' fire" with Kaylan Doyle, author of the new scifi adventure-thriller, Survivors' Dreams. Although Kaylan is from my neck of the woods, she writes about other worlds in a clear and compelling manner that simply absorbs the reader. She is easily one of the most imaginative authors I've encountered. Survivors' Dreams debuted at Dragon Con 2011 to overflowing praise, and is sure to be one of the hottest books of the year.

A Kra'aken warplane, severely damaged in an attack that may have destroyed the home planet, carries its near-dead pilot through a strange portal. Maintained in stasis for nearly 150 years by the ship's artificial intelligence, Prince Helrazr is awakened in an alien galaxy. His mission: to find Kra'aken srvivors or die…

Lady Rak'khiel, a toddler sent in a survival pod to escape Kra'aken's destruction, also passes through the hidden portal only to crash-land on the planet Olica, a primitive world ruled by Kra'aken's deadliest enemies. Found by a childless woman who hides her from those who would kill her, Rak'khiel grows to puberty ignorant of her heritage and the danger surrounding her.

The two meet as Rak'khiel is simultaneously fleeing for her life and changing into a Kra'aken adult. Although she desperately needs his help, and he requires her companionship to continue living, their alliance is fragile -- complicated by differences that may turn them against each other and laden with perils they may not survive.

 _____________________

Welcome, Kaylan! I'm so happy you can be here. You have wonderful, creative ideas for stories. What inspires you?

I’m always applying the “what if?” question to my life, my interaction with people (friends and strangers) and with animals. I watch the History Channel, the news, and I read in every genre. With each new thought or bit of information - tragedies, natural disasters, scientific discoveries, etc., I find I’m extrapolating a scene. These grow to be part of a larger structure. What if she/he found herself in this situation? What would she/he do? How would she/he survive? What tools would they need? The answers create a story in my mind.

To my way of thinking, that starts to create the structure for a story. Do you carry that structure further? In other words, are you a plotter or a pantser? 

I try to be an organized plotter but no … I’m a pantser. I begin with a mental picture of how the characters look, who they are and how they will react. But the plot, the situations and the outcomes morph into unforseen twists and turns. Almost without exception my finished manuscript is nothing like my original idea or plot.

LOL! I think a good many of us writers could confess to that. Even when we try to herd our characters back into a preconceived story line they'll insist on doing what they want. I love that part of story-creation. There are times when I find it difficult to get into my story-world. Does that ever happen to you? Do you ever not feel like writing? If you do, what do you do to kick the muse back into the chair and re-immerse yourself into the amazing worlds you create?

It is a rare occasion when I don’t want to write. But when it does, I either go for a drive, wander through a bookstore, people-watch or meet a friend for coffee or lunch. If the person I meet is a fellow writer, by the time we finish our conversation, I’m ready to get home and go to work.

That's good advice -- go out and seek inspiration and haul it out from the rock it's hiding under! What's your favorite part of writing?

The initial draft – the free-flowing rush of ideas and words.

Why is that?

Creating characters, seeing them come alive on the page, developing their personalities – both good and bad – is a rush! There is so much joy in taking my imagined worlds, and giving them form and substance so my readers can experience them too. Sharing the fun, the what-ifs, is like a party with your best friends.

Sounds like the kind of party I'd enjoy. Especially if your characters were in attendance. Some of them would scare me but, I've got to tell you, I wouldn't mind partying with Razr! Hunky guy -- even if he is dangerous and has well …"unusual" food preferences. Speaking of "different," among your unique characters are many who are non-human or partially human. Why choose creatures as opposed to human sidekicks?

I love combining the best (or worst) of behaviors of both human and non-humans. The possibilities are endless for creating physical traits – extra strength or intelligence or other enhancements, plus also it gives me opportunities to place constraints on such characters, making goal attainment more difficult. Creatures add such interesting variety, in addition to a cast of regular humans and animals. Plus I just love making them up.

I heard that diabolical chuckle! Is there anything you don't enjoy? What is your least favorite part of writing?

The fifth … or perhaps the eighth … revision. I love working through the manuscript a second time, and the third is still enjoyable. But by that time, a new story is bubbling in my mind, demanding my full attention and the revision becomes a “To Do” task instead of a joy.

Does that "To Do" task ever extend to having to write something you don't want to, like a bloody scene, a death, or sex? How do you work around the "disinclination"?

Yes. There are scenes which I absolutely must write to satisfy my reader and I’ll admit to “writing around” a scene which made me uncomfortable. One of my test readers called me on it. He insisted it was absolutely necessary, I had to include it or leave my reader feeling shortchanged. I knew he was right. Although it made me uncomfortable, I wrote the scene (as honestly as I could) and the result was a much better book.

I should probably ask what those scenes were in Survivors' Dreams, but I'm not going to. The whole story was so consuming and exciting I can't imagine any of it being a chore to write! You had me on the edge of my seat and turning pages so fast I thought they'd catch fire! Thanks so much for stopping by today, Kaylan. We'll have to do this again. Can you let our reader know where they can get your book, and how they can contact you? I'm betting there's more than one reader who can wait to start chapter one!

You are much too kind but I appreciate both your comments and the opportunity to chat with you on Writing Horses. I’d love to talk with you again. In answer to your question, Survivors’ Dreams by Kaylan Doyle is available in print at Amazon.com. The epub version can be found at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and very soon at Sony and iBookstore.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kaylan Doyle has been reading and writing her entire life. Years ago, a co-worker handed her Dune. Three pages and she was hooked. After a second loan, Lord of the Rings, Kaylan set a goal - to someday write her own novel. Survivors' Dreams, a Science Fiction action fantasy, is the realization of that goal. Bijoux Magic, a Paranormal urban fantasy, will be released November 2011. Sequels to both books are under construction, and will be published in 2012.

Kaylan lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two extraordinary cats. She enjoys reading, knitting, Tarantino and Coen Brothers movies, watching football and spending time with friends.

A Book in the Hand ....

It's not that hard to put your book into paper format. Getting started can be the most confusing and confounding part of the journey. Building momentum takes energy -- as any student of physics can tell you.

This is not a physics book.

You've made the decision to publish your book on your own, and maybe you've already tackled the e-book world and successfully uploaded your book on Kindle, Nook, iPad and the rest of the e-readers out there. Congratulations. That was no mean feat. Pause for a pat on the back.

For any of a variety of good reasons, no matter how much you adore e-books, you'd like to do a paper version and … you don't know where to begin.

It's different -- a lot different -- from formatting an e-book. I'm going to walk you through the initial steps for getting your book ready for CreateSpace. You can probably use the same preparation for other POD publishers since I don't believe there would be that much variation, but someone else should tell you that for sure. CreateSpace is what I'm familiar with.

Step 1

You've already written your very excellent book, had the editor of your choice go over it, made your corrections and inserted all the appropriate title, copyright verbiage, etc., and gotten rid of all that messy formatting stuff that can plague an e-book.

Make a copy of that file you can use for the print version and call it something else like, Very Excellent Mystery Print.doc. (Use Ctrl A to mark the entire manuscript, right click and COPY, then open an new document and right click and PASTE. Use SAVE AS to save it).

Put it aside.

Step 2

Go to www.createspace.com and log in or sign up. I'll wait while you read all their information about all they can do for you. Don't worry if you get thoroughly confused. Just read, and come back here when you're done.

Step 3

Back? Good. Confused? Never mind. It'll make sense later. Here's what you have to do next: decide what size you want your book to be. Take a ruler (tape measure will work) and pull out some of your favorite books. Measure the cover and decide which size you'd like for your book. Then open a few of those books and pick one that has a layout that's pleasing to you.

Yup, this is all about "presentation" -- just like haute cuisine.

Take that book (or books) you like back to your computer with you so you can reference it.

Step 4

Go back to Create Space. Under the "Books" tab at the top of the page is "publish a trade paperback." Pick that one.

Just a little ways down the page are a bunch of tabs that read "Overview" "Cover" "Interior" etc. Pick "Interior"

Now, see "Submission Requirements" in blue? Click on it. And OH MY GOD! It wasn't bad enough to have to convert your .doc file to html for an e-book, but NOW YOU HAVE TO CONVERT TO A PDF FILE!!

Calm down, it's not that terrible. Besides, we haven't even gotten there yet. There's some work to do first.

Step 5

Scroll down to Step 3 (yes, we're skipping steps 1 and 2, but go ahead and read them if you want) where you see all those size books listed…let's pretend we're going to use 6x9. Click on "Download a Blank Word Template"

Why? Because this template will set up all your margins for you exactly right. It will also change your page count. You will work with your manuscript within this template, so once you have it downloaded, copy (using Ctrl A) your entire manuscript and paste it into the template. SAVE IT NOW using SAVE AS and a new name, like Very Excellent Book 6x9.doc. Be sure to save it in the right folder so you don't have any trouble finding it later.

Step 6A

Once you have your book in the template Ctrl A again, so you've marked the whole document. Go to the tool bar and click "Format." From that, select "Paragraph." Go to the "Line and Page Breaks" section and unselect everything. NO widow or orphan control. If you see the little boxes as filled in blue squares, select everything and then unselect. Click OK. Trust me.

Step 6B

Now, while the whole manuscript is still "marked" go to the toolbar and click the little icon that justifies the text so you have nice neat left AND right margins.

Step 6C

Now go to the font box. You've probably got Times New Roman. Pick something else like Garamond or Book Antiqua. TNR will make your book look like a business proposal. Ick. Don't worry, you can make the title and chapter headings something else, too. You've got a little more leeway than you did with your e-book.

Step 7

Now you get to put in headers and page numbers. You remember those things? You had to take them out for the e-book. Now you get to put them back in again. Go over to "Files" in the tool bar and select "Page Set Up" then select "Layout." Under "Headers and Footers" select BOTH "different first page" AND "different odd and even." Click OK. Now you can go over to "View" in the tool bar and click on "Header and Footer".

Remember the book I told you to get out of your bookshelf? Notice where the page numbers are and how the page headers look. The author name is on one page and the book title will be on the other. Maybe the page numbers are at the top, maybe at the bottom. Emulate the style you like. Be sure the font for the header is different from the text. You can use a tiny version of the font you used for your book's title. That would look cool. Then select the location where you want the page numbers by selecting "Insert" from the tool bar and "Page Numbers."

Step 8

Now for the blank pages. Yes, print books have blank pages, and YOU have to insert them. Where do they go? Look at your example book.

• Typically, copyright information is on the backside of the title page.
• The dedication page is on the right when the book is open, as are the Acknowledgments.
• Chapter one starts on the right side of the open book. My personal preference is that all chapters start on the right side of the open book. Those are the odd number pages, by the way. You'll need to go through your book and take a look at what page each chapter starts on.
• While you're at it, make the font correct for the chapter heading and move it at least half way down the page for each chapter. Unlike e-books, print book chapters don't start at the top of the page.

DO NOT USE TABLES OR ANYTHING FANCY TO INSERT TEXT OR A PAGE INTO YOUR MANUSCRIPT OR YOU WILL BE REALLY REALLY SORRY. DO NOT USE TABS. EVER.

Just use the boring old "Insert page breaks" and the copy and paste as necessary.

Are we done yet? Nope. Did you include an "About the Author" page at the end? You should. Notice how your favorite books end. Do what they do.

Now save your file and close it.

Step 9

Now you're ready to convert to pdf. And you're right -- you can't do that from MS Word. You need something else. I use Open Office. It's free. Go ahead and download it -- or use something else if you want. I don't mind waiting (again).

Open your file in (say) Open Office. You'll need to review it before you export it as a pdf because "things can change." You can fix them while in Open Office. For example if the page numbers get all wonky on you, delete them and reinsert them in Open Office.

Check and make sure your chapters start where they're supposed to. Delete or add page breaks as necessary.

Did the line spacing get funky in places? Did you notice an extra line between paragraphs and don't know how to get rid of it? Mark the section where the problem spacing is, then go to the style box in the tool bar. Select "clear formatting" then select "default." It is the same as "Normal" in Word. That should fix the problem.

Once you've checked everything over go ahead and select "File" from the tool bar and "Export as PDF."

Viola!

Step 10

There's your pdf file. For heaven's sake, check it to make sure it looks right. Then check it again. If you need to fix something, delete the pdf and go back to Open Office to fix the .doc file. Then "Export as PDF" again.

Once the pdf looks like you expect the print book to look, in person, you're ready to upload to Create Space.

Oh, and the cover? It's a little complicated to talk about here, but you'll need to know how many pages are in your pdf version for that, plus you'll need to design the back cover according to specs, too. The cover, also, has to be in pdf. 

Good luck, and DO NOT skip ordering the proof. You'll definitely want to do that!

Celebration!

An Error in Judgment is launched! 

Lots of celebration is going on, among which is thanking everyone who participated in the title contest. Those of you whose email addresses I have will hear from me right away with a free coupon for the e-book copy from Smashwords. If you entered the contest, but haven't heard from me, drop me a note at susan@susanschreyer.com and I'll get that coupon to you right away.

Smashwords is incredibly easy to use and has the books available in formats for virtually every type of electronic reader. They're a great company, too, treat the authors like kings and queens and are leaders in the e-book revolution. I sometimes think of them as the Ben & Jerry's of e-books (small, innovative company with big influence, lots of flavors & share the wealth)

And now, without further ado, here's how the adventure begins....

Chapter One

Guilt tapped me on the shoulder for the hundredth time since my morning coffee --although plaguing me for another, more immediate, reason. Paul, my boyfriend of six months, stood directly in front of me, hand on his hip, tux jacket pushed back, and eyes narrowed to the point of hiding their luminous blue.

"Is there something you'd like to tell me? Something in particular you've been sitting on since, I don't know, all day?"

I shifted on my three-inch stilettos, clamped down on my lower lip, then turned it loose. I'd only chew off my lipstick. "It's Andrea, and …" I trailed off. The excuse of our families and friends waiting for us to join them in one of the several huge banquet halls on the second level of the Seattle Convention Center seemed … lame. Sure, the annual awards dinner for the Puget Sound Dressage Society would be starting soon. Because of my foot-dragging we were tardy. Now, because of Paul's insistence we talk, we'd be later still. The problem essentially came back to Andrea. I scanned the elegantly dressed people streaming past us in the massive glass, brass and granite foyer.

"Thea …"

I returned my gaze to him and he circled my shoulders with an arm. At first I thought he intended to hug me. Instead, he gently steered me across the flow of pedestrian traffic to the protection of one of the numerous shoulder-high stone planters. Packed with large ferns and other greenery, they softened the cold, hard lines and gave the Convention Center's gleaming interior a Pacific Northwest feel. The main advantage -- and obviously Paul's intent -- was that the planter kept people from bumping into us. However, it did nothing to block the cold October breeze gusting in each time a door opened and raising goose bumps under the lightweight fabric of my long gown and tiny jacket. I should have worn a coat. What was I thinking? At least Paul's arm was warm.

"'It's Andrea and' what?" he asked, turning me loose and facing me. I shivered with the returning chill.

"And … and we're going to be late, because I couldn't find my evening bag, ran over to Aunt Vi's to borrow one, messed up my hair and had to redo it, ripped a perfectly good pair of panty hose getting into this dress and had to go out again to buy more."

"That's all?"

"What? That's not enough?"

"So you're telling me all this stress has been about seeing Andrea?"

I swallowed and darted another look at the crowd. Not everyone was headed to our banquet, unless we had a bridal party joining us. I returned my attention to Paul. "Yes."

Celebrating a mistake?

Party? Did Someone say PARTY?

Nope! Just kicking off the month long party for 

An Error In Judgment

To celebrate, I've reduced the price on Levels of Deception to .99! 

Whoo Hoo!!!

You can find it on Amazon, Smashwords, (where you can download the format of choice for the e-reader of choice), and as soon as the electronics grind it all out the e-book will be available all over the place for .99.

I LOVE celebrating the release of a new book! Mine or anyone else's. It's a new adventure waiting, an invitation to laugh, cry, gasp, shiver and love -- and it's a new friend who, once read, will wait patiently for you to return, or be satisfied with a cozy spot in your memory.

If you haven't had a look at Levels Of Deception yet, here's a brief synopsis -- I should probably warn you … the heat turns up between Thea and Paul. Like one reader mentioned, "it's nail-biting romantic drama" added to a mystery that twist, turns and ultimately surprises!

Levels of Deception

The second in the Thea Campbell Mystery Series

The murder of a professor in the basement of the Seattle's Burke Museum is haunting Thea, and not just because the man was her absent boy friend Paul's colleague. Both men have been implicated in the theft of valuable fossils from the museum and Paul not only refuses to discuss any of it with Thea, but warns her to butt out.

Unwilling to see him framed for crimes he didn't commit, Thea launches her own investigation. When an attempt on her life lands her in the hospital. Everyone, including Paul, insists she run to his protection at his dig site in Montana.

But what she finds there is far from a refuge.

The levels of deception are more personal and extend farther than she could have imagined.

The price of her pursuit of truth will be blood.

And Now......

Is she reading the new Thea Campbell Mystery?

An Error in Judgment

The third in the Thea Campbell Mystery Series

During the awards ceremony at the Puget Sound Dressage Society's annual banquet dressage judge Sig Paalmann collapses and dies. The wealthy man leaves his bride of two months -- Thea's estranged friend, Andrea -- and enigmatic last words.

Thea's initial plan to reestablish her friendship with Andrea, despite the arrogant man she married, grows into resolve to support her through the crisis. But Andrea needs more than support when her husband's death is deemed murder and she is arrested.

With boyfriend Paul Hudson's help, Thea's digs in to investigate only to discover complications far worse than either had anticipated. Andrea is pregnant and in fragile health, warring business partners jockey for control, slighted family members turn ruthless, and Thea and Paul become pawns in a desperate struggle for money and power. But, the situation, already critical, takes an even more personal twist with the arrival of an old nemesis -- a man capable of orchestrating not only Sig's death but the grave danger stalking Andrea, Thea and Paul.

He's not dead, but...

Artist/writer Tracy Hayes and I have been tossing around ideas for a cover for An Error in Judgment. She decided she wanted to do more of a scene from the book this time.

"Fine," I said. "Go for it."

She emailed me links to a bunch of cover styles and we narrowed it down to one we both liked. Then she asked me to help her look for some images. 

"We'd make a good cover!"

You may find this hard to believe, but artists don't work from memory.

Cats do the best job at keeping paper under control

Yeah, I know, surprised me too. (All of the above)

Anyway, she told me she was having trouble finding an image of a middle-aged dead guy, so I went to work and Googled images of sleeping men. Hey, sleeping men often look dead. Tell me I'm wrong.

[there's no picture here because, well, come on -- not cute!]

However, it soon became apparent that photographers don't go for realism. Most of the pictures I found were somewhat evenly divided between men who were horizontal and had their eyes closed, but were smiling, and nearly naked men curled up in bed with nearly naked women.

None of them looked very dead.

In fact, quite a number of them looked pretty lively. I sincerely doubt any of them were sleeping.

Then I hit the jackpot. Students asleep in a lecture hall.

Those guys looked dead.

I owe a debt of gratitude to boring professors. I think Tracy's going to use a couple of those snoring students to help concoct the cover. If not, I know how to look for images of dead guys now: Google "bored men."