I've long said that the act of writing, whether a short story, a novel, or a poem, is like giving birth. The only difference between the three is the length of gestation.
There is the initial orgasmic ecstasy of a new idea, of plot twists and characters imbued with meaning and perhaps layers of symbolism. There is the period of morning sickness, of wondering what the hell I've gotten myself into and isn't there a more qualified writer to manifest this idea into reality?
There are those first kicks, proof that the idea is developing a life of its own, that ultimately the story will leave the womb and make its way into the world. At times, the story leaves me fatigued and heavy, a beached whale that can barely string two words together while having to pee every thirty minutes.
And finally, after what seems like a lifetime of feeding off me like a literary parasite, and at the same time not nearly enough time together, it's ready to be born, accompanied by sweat and copious tears and possibly some blood.
Nursed through marketing efforts, it soon can stand on its own, garnering the strength to stand up to bullying critics, to make new friends, to find its place in the world.
Until a new idea hits with white-hot passion and my toes curl with the sheer joy of telling another story that can touch someone else's heart.
Showing posts with label Writing Process. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Writing Process. Show all posts
Saturday, September 02, 2017
Friday, September 25, 2015
Suspense and the David Cohen series
Destined to Choose (book 1 in the Rabbi David Cohen series) and Strength to Stand (book 2) are very different books in some ways. Destined to Choose might be best described as literary suspense (literary fiction with suspense elements) and Strength to Stand is an out-and-out thriller. It's come to my attention that an explanation of why this is, and what's in store for the rest of the series, might be of help to readers.
Let me start with a little bit of background. I first wrote Destined to Choose over a period of several years, culminating in its initial publication in 2003. In 2000, I'd shopped it around to other publishers, both Jewish and mainstream, and received some heartwarming responses. The vast majority of publishers loved it. The biggest problem was that I was an unknown author. The next biggest problem was that it was a niche book, too religious for some of the mainstream publishers, not religious enough for some of the Jewish publishers. Some publishers said they'd take it if I could prove myself with a few standalone novels first. Others said they'd publish it if it wasn't part of a series—if it was a standalone novel itself.
I actually received several book contracts for it, but I didn't like some of the things they required in the contract. At the top of the list was that I'd have to sign over rights to the series. If Destined to Choose didn't sell well enough for their bottom line, I would be legally prohibited from publishing any other books in the series with another publisher. This, as you can imagine, is the kiss of death for a series author. So I declined to sign them, and my attempts at renegotiation didn't go anywhere.
Upon the recommendation of the founder of a small Jewish press whom I highly respected, I launched my own publishing company in 2002, taking great care to get everything right so that I could compete with the big guys. It worked, better than I could have ever imagined.
At the time, I wasn't thinking about genre. I'd written the book that was inside me, the one that wouldn't leave me alone. David and Sara and Batya and Arik and Eli can be very noisy when they want to be heard. I'd written it also thinking that the primary audience would be the Jewish community, or those who were interested in Judaism. I thought of it as a kind of "scholarly fiction"—the thinking person's novel. A novel with depth and well-researched ideas from a distinctly Jewish perspective. To be honest, I thought that the Jewish community would respect "scholarly fiction" more than "fluff fiction," but the overriding drive was that I love books that make me think more than books that simply make me laugh.
I'd published Destined to Choose with a small print run supplemented by on-demand printing, years before that became The Thing To Do. I didn't print the genre on the book itself because, honestly, I thought of it simply as "fiction." Then I started noticing some troubling things.
Amazon had tagged the book "Christian fiction" until I wrote to them and pointed out that it featured a rabbi, who was rather obviously not Christian. They didn't have a "Jewish fiction" tag back then. (They do now.) Barnes & Noble was shelving it in the "Christian Fiction" section of the bookstore, where it wasn't getting noticed, or was getting passed over because it wasn't, well, Christian.
Around the same time, a publishing organization of which I was a member offered an educational meeting about choosing the right genre. I figured maybe it was time to give this another look. The meeting was a presentation by a bookseller, a book reviewer, and a librarian. I had the opportunity to talk to them about my book. I gave them a copy to look through. They did, and discussed it among themselves.
When they called me back, they said they'd unanimously agreed: Destined to Choose was, in the
broadest terms, a mystery. More specifically, it was a suspense, but bookstores didn't have suspense sections. They all agreed it should be marketed as a mystery.
"But there's no murder," I countered. "Nobody even dies."
"Not all mysteries have to have a murder," the book reviewer told me. "This clearly has suspense elements: finding the teenage runaway, then what all is going on in the rabbi's life, and then especially everything leading up to the crisis with the teenager. That's suspense."
The bookseller nodded. "I'd shelve this in the store in the mystery section."
The librarian nodded with the other two. "What they said. It's not a murder mystery, but it's still within the genre."
I thanked them for their time and consideration and started marketing Destined to Choose as a suspense novel. I also started thinking about the rest of the series.
My idea for the series was pretty general. I knew I wanted to pair each novel with a Jewish holiday, finding intriguing ties between the plot and the holiday. I knew I wanted to deal with big issues: the existence and role of evil in the world, hatred and intolerance, family violence. I knew that each book would be partly from David's point of view and partly from others' points of view. I knew that I was less interested in a whodunit and far more interested in a whydunit.
But I hadn't plotted out all of the books in the series. I didn't have a whole-series story arc. Some might say that I should have had all of that in place before I published Destined to Choose, but if I'd waited until my series plan was clear, then the publishing company—if it ever got launched—wouldn't have been around to publish other authors' books. Many debut authors and two veteran authors wouldn't have the award-winning books that Yotzeret published. The timing might not have benefited me, but it definitely benefited others. Who am I to say that wasn't part of the Big Cosmic Plan?
Years passed while I raised very young children and published others' books. I worked slowly on Strength to Stand. Several traumatic life experiences changed me and how I see both myself and the world. My writing developed and changed as I did. I wanted to challenge myself as a writer. I wanted to stop hiding in fear of what others thought. I became willing to write controversial material. Strength to Stand took on a different shape. It became darker. Edgier.
Strength to Stand was, once again, the book that was in me. The book I wanted to read. But ten years had passed and I was a different person. I was a different kind of author. The characters remained the same, but I was willing to put them in more difficult circumstances. I stopped playing nice.
Readers who hear about Strength to Stand and are drawn to the thriller nature of it will quite possibly be disappointed by Destined to Choose. Readers who loved the almost-cozy-mystery aspect of Destined to Choose might find Strength to Stand too dark or too violent. Readers who love books that make them think and feel might well enjoy both.
The third book, No One to Fear, is even darker and more violent. It's a no-holds-barred thriller with a whodunit element. If Destined to Choose was rated PG, Strength to Stand would be PG-13, and No One to Fear will most certainly be rated R. It's the book that's in me and I won't apologize for being who I am.
If you're like me, you like (or need) to read a series in order. For many—some may even argue most—series, all the books are going to fall in the same genre. If the first book is a cozy mystery, so will be the second and fifth and tenth books. If the first is a thriller, you're not going to get a romantic comedy thrown in the mix. Those are arbitrary rules that someone made up about book series. Rules can be broken.
Ultimately, the Rabbi David Cohen series is about the stuff of life that enters David's realm, his arena, so to speak. It's the could-actually-happen events that real people deal with, where life—quality of or length of—hangs in the balance. Sometimes that stuff of life is harsh and unforgiving, dark and violent. Sometimes it requires thought and finesse and subtlety.
I invite you to join me on this journey with David and Sara, Batya and Arik, Eli and others as they deal with this stuff of life—the good, the bad, and the ugly—no matter what labels the genre folks would like to slap on it. Let go of your expectations that every book in this series be a thriller or a mystery or a whatever, and enjoy them for what they have to offer: a story that makes you think and feel about life and the world around you.
Let me start with a little bit of background. I first wrote Destined to Choose over a period of several years, culminating in its initial publication in 2003. In 2000, I'd shopped it around to other publishers, both Jewish and mainstream, and received some heartwarming responses. The vast majority of publishers loved it. The biggest problem was that I was an unknown author. The next biggest problem was that it was a niche book, too religious for some of the mainstream publishers, not religious enough for some of the Jewish publishers. Some publishers said they'd take it if I could prove myself with a few standalone novels first. Others said they'd publish it if it wasn't part of a series—if it was a standalone novel itself.
 |
| Photo: thinkpanama |
Upon the recommendation of the founder of a small Jewish press whom I highly respected, I launched my own publishing company in 2002, taking great care to get everything right so that I could compete with the big guys. It worked, better than I could have ever imagined.
At the time, I wasn't thinking about genre. I'd written the book that was inside me, the one that wouldn't leave me alone. David and Sara and Batya and Arik and Eli can be very noisy when they want to be heard. I'd written it also thinking that the primary audience would be the Jewish community, or those who were interested in Judaism. I thought of it as a kind of "scholarly fiction"—the thinking person's novel. A novel with depth and well-researched ideas from a distinctly Jewish perspective. To be honest, I thought that the Jewish community would respect "scholarly fiction" more than "fluff fiction," but the overriding drive was that I love books that make me think more than books that simply make me laugh.
The very best piece of writing advice I ever received was, "Write the books that you want to read." I did exactly that.
I'd published Destined to Choose with a small print run supplemented by on-demand printing, years before that became The Thing To Do. I didn't print the genre on the book itself because, honestly, I thought of it simply as "fiction." Then I started noticing some troubling things.
Amazon had tagged the book "Christian fiction" until I wrote to them and pointed out that it featured a rabbi, who was rather obviously not Christian. They didn't have a "Jewish fiction" tag back then. (They do now.) Barnes & Noble was shelving it in the "Christian Fiction" section of the bookstore, where it wasn't getting noticed, or was getting passed over because it wasn't, well, Christian.
Around the same time, a publishing organization of which I was a member offered an educational meeting about choosing the right genre. I figured maybe it was time to give this another look. The meeting was a presentation by a bookseller, a book reviewer, and a librarian. I had the opportunity to talk to them about my book. I gave them a copy to look through. They did, and discussed it among themselves.
When they called me back, they said they'd unanimously agreed: Destined to Choose was, in the
 |
| Photo: Derek Bruff |
"But there's no murder," I countered. "Nobody even dies."
"Not all mysteries have to have a murder," the book reviewer told me. "This clearly has suspense elements: finding the teenage runaway, then what all is going on in the rabbi's life, and then especially everything leading up to the crisis with the teenager. That's suspense."
The bookseller nodded. "I'd shelve this in the store in the mystery section."
The librarian nodded with the other two. "What they said. It's not a murder mystery, but it's still within the genre."
I thanked them for their time and consideration and started marketing Destined to Choose as a suspense novel. I also started thinking about the rest of the series.
My idea for the series was pretty general. I knew I wanted to pair each novel with a Jewish holiday, finding intriguing ties between the plot and the holiday. I knew I wanted to deal with big issues: the existence and role of evil in the world, hatred and intolerance, family violence. I knew that each book would be partly from David's point of view and partly from others' points of view. I knew that I was less interested in a whodunit and far more interested in a whydunit.
But I hadn't plotted out all of the books in the series. I didn't have a whole-series story arc. Some might say that I should have had all of that in place before I published Destined to Choose, but if I'd waited until my series plan was clear, then the publishing company—if it ever got launched—wouldn't have been around to publish other authors' books. Many debut authors and two veteran authors wouldn't have the award-winning books that Yotzeret published. The timing might not have benefited me, but it definitely benefited others. Who am I to say that wasn't part of the Big Cosmic Plan?
 |
| Photo: Stuart Anthony |
Strength to Stand was, once again, the book that was in me. The book I wanted to read. But ten years had passed and I was a different person. I was a different kind of author. The characters remained the same, but I was willing to put them in more difficult circumstances. I stopped playing nice.
There's now a sort of dichotomy between the first two books in the same series.
Readers who hear about Strength to Stand and are drawn to the thriller nature of it will quite possibly be disappointed by Destined to Choose. Readers who loved the almost-cozy-mystery aspect of Destined to Choose might find Strength to Stand too dark or too violent. Readers who love books that make them think and feel might well enjoy both.
The third book, No One to Fear, is even darker and more violent. It's a no-holds-barred thriller with a whodunit element. If Destined to Choose was rated PG, Strength to Stand would be PG-13, and No One to Fear will most certainly be rated R. It's the book that's in me and I won't apologize for being who I am.
If you're like me, you like (or need) to read a series in order. For many—some may even argue most—series, all the books are going to fall in the same genre. If the first book is a cozy mystery, so will be the second and fifth and tenth books. If the first is a thriller, you're not going to get a romantic comedy thrown in the mix. Those are arbitrary rules that someone made up about book series. Rules can be broken.
Ultimately, the Rabbi David Cohen series is about the stuff of life that enters David's realm, his arena, so to speak. It's the could-actually-happen events that real people deal with, where life—quality of or length of—hangs in the balance. Sometimes that stuff of life is harsh and unforgiving, dark and violent. Sometimes it requires thought and finesse and subtlety.
 |
| Photo: Karola Riegler |
Sunday, August 23, 2015
The Ups and Downs of Being an Author OR Check Your Ego at the Door
Be careful what you ask for, the saying goes, because you might just get it. That can be a problem.
The problem isn't getting what you want. The problem is that once you have what you want, you want something different, something more.
In an author's world, there is no such thing as enough. There's always the next book, the next review, the next reader, the next appearance, the next award, the next book contract. Sure, some few lucky writers have more than they ever could have dreamed of in royalty income. Their award shelf is sagging with the weight of having won every award given in their genre. Some might call that enough. But no true writer I know of has ever finished writing a book and said, "Okay, I'm done now. No more books."
There's always another book. Which means there's always more reviews, sales, signings, award submissions. There's always a new opportunity to succeed. Or fail. Most authors do some of both.
This past May, I was feeling pretty down, coming off the temporary high of seeing interior and cover files for Strength to Stand go off to the printer. This book was a long time in coming. I'd finished most of the book by 2006, with the exception of one scene that my editor wasn't buying. The manuscript languished as I put all my efforts into my day job and my kids. Years passed, and while I felt the pull to return to that manuscript, it wasn't until a good friend prodded me into rewriting that one scene, late in October 2014, that I finally picked up the mantle of author again.
I was a writing machine for two months, the book coming together seamlessly. In January 2015, it was back in my editor's hands. By April, Advance Reading Copies (ARCs) were being prepared, and by May, I was four chapters into writing book 3 (No One to Fear) in the series. And then I did the Bad Thing. The Bad Thing that authors should never do if they want to keep their sanity. (No, not that one. The other Bad Thing.)
I compared myself to other authors.
I was skimming through Facebook and seeing posts from fellow author friends, some struggling with their work in progress (WIP), some also anticipating a new release in the fall, and then others who were awash in good news—every few days a glowing review or the announcement of an award won.
If you've ever compared yourself to someone whose life's work is somehow related to yours, you know the inevitable outcome: when you compare yourself to others, you always, always lose. I am now convinced that authors should only ever compare their current work to their work from at least a year ago. No one else's. Ever.
But the book industry thrives on comparison. "If you like x author, you'll like y author." The various bestsellers lists are all about ranking sales, and if you know anything about the book industry, you know that sales are not a factor of how good the book is. Rather, sales are a measure of how effective and broad the marketing campaign was (hint: $$$). But any author who is deemed a "bestselling author" will claim the title without asking any questions, and they certainly won't ask if they're now a bestselling author because of the quality of their work or because a well-timed publicity campaign followed by a few Goodreads giveaways happened to go viral and it could have happened to anyone.
And then there are awards. The ultimate in comparison. Awards are supposedly an objective ranking of the best books in any given genre. But even this is suspect. Awards judges have biases, including sometimes a bias against Jewish books, no matter how well they're written, or a bias against small presses, no matter how beautiful and professional the book appears.
In the space of one week on Facebook, I watched no fewer than three authors, whom I knew personally, receive highly prestigious awards nominations, win other highly prestigious awards, and receive amazing reviews in some of the most highly regarded media, all for their debut novels.
I felt sure my book, which wouldn't even be out for another five months, was doomed to fail.
I wrote an impassioned note to an authors' group in which I'm active, hoping for some comfort or support: "I'm finding that as I'm seeing all the awards nominations and the photos from conventions, reading about new book deals and bestseller lists, I'm happy for those involved, and it's also kicking into overdrive my tendency to compare myself to others, in which I always lose.
It's hard sometimes to remember that I write the books that are in me, in my soul, not the books in someone else. I don't write for the purpose of winning awards or making a bestseller list, though both would be welcome acknowledgments.
I'm learning to focus on my own writing, on being true to that part of me that MUST put words to paper, reminding myself that I'm me and you're you and there's no need to compare. And yet..."
The responses were as expected: Yep, that's life. Keep on writing. Me too. One author posted a blog article on writer envy. I didn't want to admit this was what I felt.
Another well-published author sent me an email in response, and managed to hit the nail on the head, saying their reaction was twofold: happiness, on the one hand, for these other authors' successes because they deserved them, and a mixture of hurt, despair, and even anger, that after years of writing and being published, they still didn't see the level of acknowledgment these other authors were now enjoying.
That was exactly it. I was thrilled for my author friends, who were finding such success (and with their first novel!), and at the same time, there was a little voice inside asking, "But what about me?"
Ten days later, I learned experientially that I should be careful what I ask for.
Ten days later, Destined to Choose, my first book, the one that was first published back in 2003, which was re-released as a tenth-anniversary edition in 2013, was named a National Indie Excellence Award finalist. Kindle sales of Destined to Choose spiked and it ranked #1 in the Kindle store under Jewish literature. Back on the authors' group, I felt like eating crow.
Sometimes we human beings learn best by experiencing what we need to learn. And often times, especially for the hard lessons, the Universe decides to teach us also through repetition. So it was with me, though whether that's because it was a hard lesson or because I have a hard head remains to be seen.
By the end of May, about 180 ARCs had been sent out to reviewers, bloggers, magazines, newspapers, and journals. I figured by August, I'd start seeing reviews. August 15th came with nary a review, and not knowing where to turn, I emailed my publicist, trusting her experience and trying hard not to whine.
"Oh, who knows?" my publicist said, adding that many reviewers shoot for publishing reviews closer to a book's pub date (in this case, September 1st), so I may see more in September. Some may hold on to reviews until late fall, since the book takes place during Chanukah, and then they could review it as a "Chanukah book." (It isn't, really, but I could see the point.) In any event, she instructed me to keep working on those things I could control, check in with some of the places to which ARCs had been submitted, and let the rest go.
A trusted advisor pointed out to me that, really, I'd already received reviews in the form of blurbs. They were all fantastic. No one said, "Sorry, I can't blurb this; I didn't care for this book." The same advisor asked me what I felt about this book.
"I love it," I said. "I think it's a better book than the first one, though I'm loving book 3 even more than the second one."
"Isn't it a sign of growth as a writer that each successive book is better than the one before it?" she asked.
"Yes. It's when the first one is spectacular and the second one tanks that you have a problem."
"And you love Strength to Stand?"
I had to separate out my own feelings from what I'd taken in from others. "I do," I said.
"Then there you go."
I'd gotten myself to the point where, even if no one else reviewed Strength to Stand, I still believed in it. I still loved it. I was coming to understand that reviews didn't define my book, and they certainly didn't define me. I could live with that.
And then this morning, I received an email with a link to a review of Strength to Stand, which reads in part: "Sheyna Galyan offers a sophisticated blend of insight and entertainment; suitably complex, flawed, and yet commendable characters; well-developed action and suspense; and an authoritative rendering of synagogue-centered Jewish life. This is a very fine book group selection and teaching text." The review will appear in the fall issues of three publications in Florida.
Okay, I get it, Universe. Really. Do I have to eat crow again?
The problem isn't getting what you want. The problem is that once you have what you want, you want something different, something more.
In an author's world, there is no such thing as enough. There's always the next book, the next review, the next reader, the next appearance, the next award, the next book contract. Sure, some few lucky writers have more than they ever could have dreamed of in royalty income. Their award shelf is sagging with the weight of having won every award given in their genre. Some might call that enough. But no true writer I know of has ever finished writing a book and said, "Okay, I'm done now. No more books."
There's always another book. Which means there's always more reviews, sales, signings, award submissions. There's always a new opportunity to succeed. Or fail. Most authors do some of both.
This past May, I was feeling pretty down, coming off the temporary high of seeing interior and cover files for Strength to Stand go off to the printer. This book was a long time in coming. I'd finished most of the book by 2006, with the exception of one scene that my editor wasn't buying. The manuscript languished as I put all my efforts into my day job and my kids. Years passed, and while I felt the pull to return to that manuscript, it wasn't until a good friend prodded me into rewriting that one scene, late in October 2014, that I finally picked up the mantle of author again.
I was a writing machine for two months, the book coming together seamlessly. In January 2015, it was back in my editor's hands. By April, Advance Reading Copies (ARCs) were being prepared, and by May, I was four chapters into writing book 3 (No One to Fear) in the series. And then I did the Bad Thing. The Bad Thing that authors should never do if they want to keep their sanity. (No, not that one. The other Bad Thing.)
I compared myself to other authors.
I was skimming through Facebook and seeing posts from fellow author friends, some struggling with their work in progress (WIP), some also anticipating a new release in the fall, and then others who were awash in good news—every few days a glowing review or the announcement of an award won.
If you've ever compared yourself to someone whose life's work is somehow related to yours, you know the inevitable outcome: when you compare yourself to others, you always, always lose. I am now convinced that authors should only ever compare their current work to their work from at least a year ago. No one else's. Ever.
And then there are awards. The ultimate in comparison. Awards are supposedly an objective ranking of the best books in any given genre. But even this is suspect. Awards judges have biases, including sometimes a bias against Jewish books, no matter how well they're written, or a bias against small presses, no matter how beautiful and professional the book appears.
In the space of one week on Facebook, I watched no fewer than three authors, whom I knew personally, receive highly prestigious awards nominations, win other highly prestigious awards, and receive amazing reviews in some of the most highly regarded media, all for their debut novels.
I felt sure my book, which wouldn't even be out for another five months, was doomed to fail.
I wrote an impassioned note to an authors' group in which I'm active, hoping for some comfort or support: "I'm finding that as I'm seeing all the awards nominations and the photos from conventions, reading about new book deals and bestseller lists, I'm happy for those involved, and it's also kicking into overdrive my tendency to compare myself to others, in which I always lose.
It's hard sometimes to remember that I write the books that are in me, in my soul, not the books in someone else. I don't write for the purpose of winning awards or making a bestseller list, though both would be welcome acknowledgments.
I'm learning to focus on my own writing, on being true to that part of me that MUST put words to paper, reminding myself that I'm me and you're you and there's no need to compare. And yet..."
The responses were as expected: Yep, that's life. Keep on writing. Me too. One author posted a blog article on writer envy. I didn't want to admit this was what I felt.
Another well-published author sent me an email in response, and managed to hit the nail on the head, saying their reaction was twofold: happiness, on the one hand, for these other authors' successes because they deserved them, and a mixture of hurt, despair, and even anger, that after years of writing and being published, they still didn't see the level of acknowledgment these other authors were now enjoying.
That was exactly it. I was thrilled for my author friends, who were finding such success (and with their first novel!), and at the same time, there was a little voice inside asking, "But what about me?"
Ten days later, I learned experientially that I should be careful what I ask for.
Ten days later, Destined to Choose, my first book, the one that was first published back in 2003, which was re-released as a tenth-anniversary edition in 2013, was named a National Indie Excellence Award finalist. Kindle sales of Destined to Choose spiked and it ranked #1 in the Kindle store under Jewish literature. Back on the authors' group, I felt like eating crow.
Sometimes we human beings learn best by experiencing what we need to learn. And often times, especially for the hard lessons, the Universe decides to teach us also through repetition. So it was with me, though whether that's because it was a hard lesson or because I have a hard head remains to be seen.
By the end of May, about 180 ARCs had been sent out to reviewers, bloggers, magazines, newspapers, and journals. I figured by August, I'd start seeing reviews. August 15th came with nary a review, and not knowing where to turn, I emailed my publicist, trusting her experience and trying hard not to whine.
"Oh, who knows?" my publicist said, adding that many reviewers shoot for publishing reviews closer to a book's pub date (in this case, September 1st), so I may see more in September. Some may hold on to reviews until late fall, since the book takes place during Chanukah, and then they could review it as a "Chanukah book." (It isn't, really, but I could see the point.) In any event, she instructed me to keep working on those things I could control, check in with some of the places to which ARCs had been submitted, and let the rest go.
A trusted advisor pointed out to me that, really, I'd already received reviews in the form of blurbs. They were all fantastic. No one said, "Sorry, I can't blurb this; I didn't care for this book." The same advisor asked me what I felt about this book.
"I love it," I said. "I think it's a better book than the first one, though I'm loving book 3 even more than the second one."
"Isn't it a sign of growth as a writer that each successive book is better than the one before it?" she asked.
"Yes. It's when the first one is spectacular and the second one tanks that you have a problem."
"And you love Strength to Stand?"
I had to separate out my own feelings from what I'd taken in from others. "I do," I said.
"Then there you go."
I'd gotten myself to the point where, even if no one else reviewed Strength to Stand, I still believed in it. I still loved it. I was coming to understand that reviews didn't define my book, and they certainly didn't define me. I could live with that.
And then this morning, I received an email with a link to a review of Strength to Stand, which reads in part: "Sheyna Galyan offers a sophisticated blend of insight and entertainment; suitably complex, flawed, and yet commendable characters; well-developed action and suspense; and an authoritative rendering of synagogue-centered Jewish life. This is a very fine book group selection and teaching text." The review will appear in the fall issues of three publications in Florida.
Okay, I get it, Universe. Really. Do I have to eat crow again?
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Fiction: to describe or not to describe is the question
Less than a week ago, I had a conversation with another author in which she asserted that she can always identify an amateur author by the fact that they describe their characters upon introduction. I didn't respond. I was a little shocked and I didn't know what to say. She explained that she could be friends with someone for years and never know what color their eyes are, so an eye color description in a book was a tell, practically a sign screaming amateur. She went on, saying that in her first book, she didn't describe any of her characters. At all.
"But do they need to be described?" asked a second author, who'd joined the conversation.
To answer that question, I have to pull out my favorite Jewish answer: it depends.
I've thought about this, worried about this, even obsessed about this a little (okay, maybe more than a little) since the conversation took place. I know that I'm sensitive to it because my first ever bad review (to which I did not respond, thank you very much) was about my character descriptions. This reader (not a professional reviewer) even used the same trigger word, saying that descriptions are the mark of an amateur writer.
I'm willing to take constructive criticism. Some of my beta readers actually wanted more description (body type, clothing, stature, facial features) because they couldn't picture the characters otherwise. Other beta readers took the opposite stance: "Why do I care what color her hair is? Get on with the story."
I was (and am) adamant that some descriptors are important, even essential, for the reader to know. It's important for the reader to know that David (my rabbi protagonist) is clean-shaven, because there's this assumption that all (male) rabbis have beards. It's important for the reader to know that Arik looks Middle-Eastern (and in book 3, that will cause him a lot of grief).
That said, I also have learned in my growth as a writer that the old instructions to writers, imparted in sage tones by prestigious-award-winning authors, no longer apply in today's reading climate. It used to be that description, whether of character or setting, was the place where an author's prose could have free rein to explore flowery language and poetic combinations of sounds when read aloud. But now? Now readers want action. They want dialog. They want, it seems to me, something more like a script.
There's no description on TV or in the movies. What a character wears, looks like, observes in their scenery is just there. We know which cops wear suits and ties and which ones somehow manage foot chases in low-cut silk blouses and high heels because we see it. But we don't really process what we're seeing. We're too engaged in the plot and the dialog.
Some readers (and some authors) think that not describing characters allows the reader to put him/herself into the story. If the protagonist is a redhead and the reader is a brunette, it's harder for the reader to imagine herself as the hero, is the argument. Lack of description allows the reader to fill in their own.
I disagree. It's the opposite for me. Lack of any description leads (for me) to a difficulty in seeing and therefore connecting with the characters. I don't want to have to do my own casting for the story. I want to know what the author pictured. I want to be invited in, to feel like I'm there, and that's hard when all I have are faceless names on a page.
But I'm also a visual person, and not all readers are. Perhaps, then, it's simply a matter of style, or taste. I like it when authors use some description, because that draws me in. I don't like long laundry lists of description for every character (age, height, weight, hair color, eye color, distinguishing marks, corrective lenses, clothing style/color, gender expression, organ donor: yes/no, ad nauseam). I don't like laundry lists so I don't write them either.
Part of what sticks in my craw is really the application of the word amateur. So I did a little digging (in my bookcase) for other mystery/suspense/thriller novels. This is by no means an exhaustive list. It is, however, a nice sampling, and I think it supports my point that the use of description is the author's style and may not be for everyone, but doesn't make that author any less talented or skilled or experienced. Here's what I found:
Agatha Christie, Evil Under the Sun (1940), "pocket book" edition, p. 16: "Young Mrs. Redfern had taken off her rubbery cap and was shaking out her hair. She was an ash blonde and her skin was of that dead fairness that goes with that colouring. Her legs and arms were very white. With a hoarse chuckle, Major Barry said: "Looks a bit uncooked among the others, doesn't she?"
Wrapping herself in a long bath-robe, Christine Redfern came up the beach and mounted the steps towards them. She had a fair serious face, pretty in a negative way, and small dainty hands and feet."
Robert Ludlum, The Bourne Ultimatum (1990), mass market edition, p. 6: "...the driver a long-framed man, his sharp-featured face intense, the muscles of his jaw pulsating, his clear light-blue eyes furious. Beside him sat his strikingly attractive wife, the reddish glow of her auburn hair heightened by the dashboard lights. In her arms was an infant, a baby girl of eight months; in the first backseat was another child, a blond-haired boy of five..."
Note: This is a description of the protagonist, which could justify more description, and it's important to point out that the description here does not stand alone but also gives us mood and setting and the protagonist's feelings. So let's look at a non-protagonist character...
Robert Ludlum, The Bourne Ultimatum (1990), mass market edition, p. 13: "There was a brief knock on the door and the DCI called out for the visitor to enter. A medium-sized, slightly overweight man with wide eyes magnified behind steel-rimmed glasses walked into the room..."
Jonathan Kellerman, Therapy (2004), hardcover edition, p. 4: "He waited, green eyes dimmed to near brown in the miserly light of the restaurant. Under the spotted napkin was a baby blue polo shirt that really didn't work well with his pallid complexion. His acne pits were flagrant, his jowls gravid as freshly filled wineskins. Long white sideburns frizzed his big face, a pair of skunkish stripes that seemed to sprout artificially from his black hair. He's a gay policeman and my best friend."
Note: While not the protagonist, this is a major supporting character. This description does not overtly provide mood or feelings, but it does paint a clear picture, and gives us some insight into what the character thinks of himself and what others think of him, which come into play later in the book. Let's look at a minor character...
Jonathan Kellerman, Therapy (2004), hardcover edition, p. 9: "She was in her midforties, trim but wide in the hips, wore green velour sweats, glasses on a chain, and nothing on her feet. Ash-blond hair was texturized to faux carelessness. At least four shades of blond that I could make out in the light over the doorway, blended artfully. Her nails were painted silver. Her skin looked tired."
Lee Child, Bad Luck and Trouble (2007), hardcover edition, p. 16: "She hadn't changed much in the four years since had last seen her. She had to be nearer forty than thirty now, but it wasn't showing. Her hair was still long and dark and shiny. Her eyes were still dark and alive. She was still slim and lithe. Still spending serious time in the gym. That was clear. She was wearing a tight white T-shirt with tiny cap sleeves and it would have taken an electron microscope to find any body fat on her arms. Or anyplace else.
She was a little tan, which looked good with her coloring. Her nails were done. Her T-shirt looked like a quality item. Overall she looked richer than he remembered her. Comfortable, at home in her world, successful, accustomed to civilian life. For a moment he felt awkward about his own cheap clothes and his scuffed shoes and his bad barbershop haircut."
John Sandford, Gathering Prey (2015), hardcover edition, p. 32 (protagonist description): "Lucas was a tall man, dark-haired except for a streak of white threading across his temples and over his ears, dark-complected, heavy at the shoulders. He had blue eyes, a nose that had been broken a couple of times, and a scar that reached from his hairline down over one eye, not from some back-alley fight, but from a simple fishing accident. He had another scar high on his throat, where a young girl had once shot him with a piece-of-crap street gun. So his body was well lived in, and he'd just turned fifty, and didn't like it."
John Sandford, Gathering Prey (2015), hardcover edition, p. 77 (minor-character description): "Chet got out of the car and an old man came to the front door of the house, pushed the screen door open, and stepped out. He had a mustache over a three-day beard, watery blue eyes behind plastic-rimmed glasses. He was wearing overalls and rubber boots, and carrying a pump shotgun, a 12-gauge."
None of these samples are from first books for these authors, so we can't say that it was a newbie mistake and they're better now. All of these authors are award-winners. All are or have been bestsellers. All have sold a freaking lot of books and have huge fan bases.
I had to look a little harder for a book with little or no description, but I did find one...
Erin Hart, The Book of Killowen (2013), hardcover edition, p. 20 (non-protagonist description): "For three days and three nights, she had studied his face against her pillow—dark hair and eyes, flawless pale skin that had somehow retained the high color of youth, though he was probably at least forty."
Erin Hart, The Book of Killowen (2013), hardcover edition, p. 29 (protagonist description): "She let her gaze caress the back of Cormac's head, admiring, as she so often did, the curve of his skull, how pleasingly it intersected with the angle of his jaw. Whenever he turned to speak she once again remembered the meandering path those same lips had traced across her bare skin only a few short hours ago."
There is a great deal of description of setting (Ireland) and scenes ("The cottage roof was stoved in and the windows were broken, the frames peeling paint; every wall seemed invaded by damp and mold."), but almost nothing of characters.
I'm not willing to say that Erin Hart is the only professional, experienced author in the group I've just surveyed, nor am I willing to say that her books suffer from the lack of character description. (In fact, I could argue that with the detailed descriptions of scene and setting, adding descriptions of characters might be too much description, and perhaps the author was well aware of that. Or maybe her editor hated character descriptions and cut them all out. I'd have to ask.)
What I am willing, even eager to say—and say loudly—is that character description is part of the author's style and what the author wants to convey to readers. Every traditionally published book (and these all are) goes through at least one editor's hands many, many times over. If it makes it into print, it was okayed by the editor(s). If character description was a bad thing, it would be edited out by all editors, not just the ones who don't care for it.
And that's ultimately what this all comes down to: preference. Some authors use a lot of description while others don't feel they need to use any. Some readers prefer description, others can't stand it. Most readers have learned that if they dislike description, they can skim over it and quickly get back to the dialog.
But description or not, it doesn't mean the author is an amateur, it doesn't mean the book is bad, and it shouldn't be used as a weapon to beat up either author or book.
One last note: self-published books and books published through publishing services (like CreateSpace) are a mixed bag. Some are extensively edited by professional book editors, and in such cases, the use of description is the same as with a traditionally published book—author style. Others are barely edited, or edited by an English major, or not edited at all, and these may be a little more suspect, simply because they haven't been as thoroughly vetted. A professional editor might leave the character description alone, or trim it down, or remove it all together.
What's your preference on description? Do you like it or hate it or don't care either way? What do you do when you encounter character description in a book?
"But do they need to be described?" asked a second author, who'd joined the conversation.
To answer that question, I have to pull out my favorite Jewish answer: it depends.
I'm willing to take constructive criticism. Some of my beta readers actually wanted more description (body type, clothing, stature, facial features) because they couldn't picture the characters otherwise. Other beta readers took the opposite stance: "Why do I care what color her hair is? Get on with the story."
I was (and am) adamant that some descriptors are important, even essential, for the reader to know. It's important for the reader to know that David (my rabbi protagonist) is clean-shaven, because there's this assumption that all (male) rabbis have beards. It's important for the reader to know that Arik looks Middle-Eastern (and in book 3, that will cause him a lot of grief).
That said, I also have learned in my growth as a writer that the old instructions to writers, imparted in sage tones by prestigious-award-winning authors, no longer apply in today's reading climate. It used to be that description, whether of character or setting, was the place where an author's prose could have free rein to explore flowery language and poetic combinations of sounds when read aloud. But now? Now readers want action. They want dialog. They want, it seems to me, something more like a script.
There's no description on TV or in the movies. What a character wears, looks like, observes in their scenery is just there. We know which cops wear suits and ties and which ones somehow manage foot chases in low-cut silk blouses and high heels because we see it. But we don't really process what we're seeing. We're too engaged in the plot and the dialog.
Some readers (and some authors) think that not describing characters allows the reader to put him/herself into the story. If the protagonist is a redhead and the reader is a brunette, it's harder for the reader to imagine herself as the hero, is the argument. Lack of description allows the reader to fill in their own.
I disagree. It's the opposite for me. Lack of any description leads (for me) to a difficulty in seeing and therefore connecting with the characters. I don't want to have to do my own casting for the story. I want to know what the author pictured. I want to be invited in, to feel like I'm there, and that's hard when all I have are faceless names on a page.
But I'm also a visual person, and not all readers are. Perhaps, then, it's simply a matter of style, or taste. I like it when authors use some description, because that draws me in. I don't like long laundry lists of description for every character (age, height, weight, hair color, eye color, distinguishing marks, corrective lenses, clothing style/color, gender expression, organ donor: yes/no, ad nauseam). I don't like laundry lists so I don't write them either.
Part of what sticks in my craw is really the application of the word amateur. So I did a little digging (in my bookcase) for other mystery/suspense/thriller novels. This is by no means an exhaustive list. It is, however, a nice sampling, and I think it supports my point that the use of description is the author's style and may not be for everyone, but doesn't make that author any less talented or skilled or experienced. Here's what I found:
Agatha Christie, Evil Under the Sun (1940), "pocket book" edition, p. 16: "Young Mrs. Redfern had taken off her rubbery cap and was shaking out her hair. She was an ash blonde and her skin was of that dead fairness that goes with that colouring. Her legs and arms were very white. With a hoarse chuckle, Major Barry said: "Looks a bit uncooked among the others, doesn't she?"
Wrapping herself in a long bath-robe, Christine Redfern came up the beach and mounted the steps towards them. She had a fair serious face, pretty in a negative way, and small dainty hands and feet."
Robert Ludlum, The Bourne Ultimatum (1990), mass market edition, p. 6: "...the driver a long-framed man, his sharp-featured face intense, the muscles of his jaw pulsating, his clear light-blue eyes furious. Beside him sat his strikingly attractive wife, the reddish glow of her auburn hair heightened by the dashboard lights. In her arms was an infant, a baby girl of eight months; in the first backseat was another child, a blond-haired boy of five..."
Note: This is a description of the protagonist, which could justify more description, and it's important to point out that the description here does not stand alone but also gives us mood and setting and the protagonist's feelings. So let's look at a non-protagonist character...
Robert Ludlum, The Bourne Ultimatum (1990), mass market edition, p. 13: "There was a brief knock on the door and the DCI called out for the visitor to enter. A medium-sized, slightly overweight man with wide eyes magnified behind steel-rimmed glasses walked into the room..."
Jonathan Kellerman, Therapy (2004), hardcover edition, p. 4: "He waited, green eyes dimmed to near brown in the miserly light of the restaurant. Under the spotted napkin was a baby blue polo shirt that really didn't work well with his pallid complexion. His acne pits were flagrant, his jowls gravid as freshly filled wineskins. Long white sideburns frizzed his big face, a pair of skunkish stripes that seemed to sprout artificially from his black hair. He's a gay policeman and my best friend."
Note: While not the protagonist, this is a major supporting character. This description does not overtly provide mood or feelings, but it does paint a clear picture, and gives us some insight into what the character thinks of himself and what others think of him, which come into play later in the book. Let's look at a minor character...
Jonathan Kellerman, Therapy (2004), hardcover edition, p. 9: "She was in her midforties, trim but wide in the hips, wore green velour sweats, glasses on a chain, and nothing on her feet. Ash-blond hair was texturized to faux carelessness. At least four shades of blond that I could make out in the light over the doorway, blended artfully. Her nails were painted silver. Her skin looked tired."
Lee Child, Bad Luck and Trouble (2007), hardcover edition, p. 16: "She hadn't changed much in the four years since had last seen her. She had to be nearer forty than thirty now, but it wasn't showing. Her hair was still long and dark and shiny. Her eyes were still dark and alive. She was still slim and lithe. Still spending serious time in the gym. That was clear. She was wearing a tight white T-shirt with tiny cap sleeves and it would have taken an electron microscope to find any body fat on her arms. Or anyplace else.
She was a little tan, which looked good with her coloring. Her nails were done. Her T-shirt looked like a quality item. Overall she looked richer than he remembered her. Comfortable, at home in her world, successful, accustomed to civilian life. For a moment he felt awkward about his own cheap clothes and his scuffed shoes and his bad barbershop haircut."
John Sandford, Gathering Prey (2015), hardcover edition, p. 32 (protagonist description): "Lucas was a tall man, dark-haired except for a streak of white threading across his temples and over his ears, dark-complected, heavy at the shoulders. He had blue eyes, a nose that had been broken a couple of times, and a scar that reached from his hairline down over one eye, not from some back-alley fight, but from a simple fishing accident. He had another scar high on his throat, where a young girl had once shot him with a piece-of-crap street gun. So his body was well lived in, and he'd just turned fifty, and didn't like it."
John Sandford, Gathering Prey (2015), hardcover edition, p. 77 (minor-character description): "Chet got out of the car and an old man came to the front door of the house, pushed the screen door open, and stepped out. He had a mustache over a three-day beard, watery blue eyes behind plastic-rimmed glasses. He was wearing overalls and rubber boots, and carrying a pump shotgun, a 12-gauge."
None of these samples are from first books for these authors, so we can't say that it was a newbie mistake and they're better now. All of these authors are award-winners. All are or have been bestsellers. All have sold a freaking lot of books and have huge fan bases.
I had to look a little harder for a book with little or no description, but I did find one...
Erin Hart, The Book of Killowen (2013), hardcover edition, p. 20 (non-protagonist description): "For three days and three nights, she had studied his face against her pillow—dark hair and eyes, flawless pale skin that had somehow retained the high color of youth, though he was probably at least forty."
Erin Hart, The Book of Killowen (2013), hardcover edition, p. 29 (protagonist description): "She let her gaze caress the back of Cormac's head, admiring, as she so often did, the curve of his skull, how pleasingly it intersected with the angle of his jaw. Whenever he turned to speak she once again remembered the meandering path those same lips had traced across her bare skin only a few short hours ago."
There is a great deal of description of setting (Ireland) and scenes ("The cottage roof was stoved in and the windows were broken, the frames peeling paint; every wall seemed invaded by damp and mold."), but almost nothing of characters.
I'm not willing to say that Erin Hart is the only professional, experienced author in the group I've just surveyed, nor am I willing to say that her books suffer from the lack of character description. (In fact, I could argue that with the detailed descriptions of scene and setting, adding descriptions of characters might be too much description, and perhaps the author was well aware of that. Or maybe her editor hated character descriptions and cut them all out. I'd have to ask.)
What I am willing, even eager to say—and say loudly—is that character description is part of the author's style and what the author wants to convey to readers. Every traditionally published book (and these all are) goes through at least one editor's hands many, many times over. If it makes it into print, it was okayed by the editor(s). If character description was a bad thing, it would be edited out by all editors, not just the ones who don't care for it.
And that's ultimately what this all comes down to: preference. Some authors use a lot of description while others don't feel they need to use any. Some readers prefer description, others can't stand it. Most readers have learned that if they dislike description, they can skim over it and quickly get back to the dialog.
But description or not, it doesn't mean the author is an amateur, it doesn't mean the book is bad, and it shouldn't be used as a weapon to beat up either author or book.
One last note: self-published books and books published through publishing services (like CreateSpace) are a mixed bag. Some are extensively edited by professional book editors, and in such cases, the use of description is the same as with a traditionally published book—author style. Others are barely edited, or edited by an English major, or not edited at all, and these may be a little more suspect, simply because they haven't been as thoroughly vetted. A professional editor might leave the character description alone, or trim it down, or remove it all together.
What's your preference on description? Do you like it or hate it or don't care either way? What do you do when you encounter character description in a book?
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Mystical Judaism
This past weekend, Beth Jacob Congregation in Mendota Heights, MN hosted Rabbi Art Green as their scholar in residence, to teach about Jewish mysticism and Neo-Hasidism. Jewish mysticism is enjoying a resurgence in interest, due in part to the Jewish Renewal movement, as well as the yearning of younger, often unaffiliated Jews who see contemporary synagogues as legacies of their grandparents and want to know if that's all there is.
My personal interest in Jewish mysticism goes way back. There were definitely signs of my interest when I was a young child, and by my high school years, I was meditating daily, asking Big Questions, and searching for signs beyond Uri Geller's spoon bending.
Add to this the fact that I've interviewed my characters, some more than once. These interviews would be part of what I've always thought of as the "bonus material" on a DVD—the deleted scenes, interviews with the director and actors, and how-it-was-made videos. So it should come as no surprise that I have an interview (albeit brief) with my rabbi character David about mystical experiences.
When I attended Rabbi Green's talk Friday night about how he came to be a scholar on Jewish mysticism, during the Q&A I asked him the same question that I'd posed (fictionally) to David. What I found most intriguing is that Rabbi Green's answer was, in its essence, the same response.
Here's the fictional interview, from April 2006:
Hopefully, as a result of Rabbi Green's visit, and an openness to those Big Questions, we will be doing more seeking. I know I will.
Add to this the fact that I've interviewed my characters, some more than once. These interviews would be part of what I've always thought of as the "bonus material" on a DVD—the deleted scenes, interviews with the director and actors, and how-it-was-made videos. So it should come as no surprise that I have an interview (albeit brief) with my rabbi character David about mystical experiences.
When I attended Rabbi Green's talk Friday night about how he came to be a scholar on Jewish mysticism, during the Q&A I asked him the same question that I'd posed (fictionally) to David. What I found most intriguing is that Rabbi Green's answer was, in its essence, the same response.
Here's the fictional interview, from April 2006:
I knocked softly on the mostly closed door, feeling a little hesitant.
“Come in,” came the response.
I entered the small study and saw him behind his desk, a legal pad full of doodles in front of him, along with the stubby end of a roll of Tums and enough other books and papers that I feared they’d tumble down onto the floor. An immediate grin brightened his face.
“Sheyna! What a pleasant surprise! What brings you here?”
“I was wondering if you had a few minutes.”
“For you? Of course. Is this business or pleasure?”
I considered the question. “Depends on how you define them. But I suppose the short answer is a bit of business and a bit of personal.”
He set down his pen and stood up, and I was suddenly aware of how much taller than me he was. When I write, I’m seldom in the same room, and observers aren't nearly as cognizant of height. “Let’s sit down,” he said, his arm indicating the chairs across from his desk.
We sat and I knew the ball was in my court. “I’m sorry for the unexpectedness, David. Let me do some explaining. Or at least try.”
David cast a curious look at me but remained quiet.
“First of all, I have some questions for you regarding the next book. That’s simple enough. Second, I have some personal questions for you. And third, I have a confession to make.”
David raised his eyebrows. “You realize you’re in the wrong religious building for confessions?”
I smiled. “My confession is directly related to the personal questions I have for you.”
“Where do you want to start?”
“How do you feel about Jewish mysticism?”
Surprise was evident on David’s face. “That’s a question I wasn’t expecting. How do I feel about it? Well, I haven’t had much personal experience with it. But my own psychology training leaves me open to it. There’s so much we don’t know about the human brain, about the development of the personality, about where body ends and soul begins. So, do I think it’s possible to have spiritual experiences? Absolutely. Do I believe in reincarnation? I don’t know, but there’s a precedent for it, and I’m comfortable leaving it as a possibility. Do I believe in alternate realms and journeys to Pardes and conversations with Elijah?”
He let out a long breath. “I believe strongly in God – obviously, or we wouldn't be sitting here. As far as I’m concerned, alternate realms and the existence of Pardes in some form comes with the territory. As for the rest, I believe that people have encounters with the Divine all the time, usually without knowing it. And I’m sure sometimes people are quite conscious of it, though I think it takes a certain level of spiritual understanding to not just be aware but interact with what’s going on and not be psychologically injured by it.”
I nodded. “I figured you were pretty open-minded. What do you think about angels and other messengers of God?”
“I've never met one to my knowledge. But to deny their existence is to deny part of God, don’t you think? I don’t take the Torah literally; you know that. But angels and other divine messengers and helpers are so central to religious Judaism that I have to accept the possibility, if not the probability. Where are you going with this, Sheyna?”
“I’ll get there, David. I promise. If a congregant came to you and said they'd had a mystical, spiritual experience—been visited by an angel or had some encounter with God’s presence or had a conversation with an ancient Tzaddik—what would you tell them?”
“Not a congregant scenario I've anticipated, but on the spot, I’d have to evaluate it in context. I’d be very concerned, and very doubtful, if this hypothetical congregant’s life was in chaos, if there were other red flags: difficulties at work, in relationships, legal troubles, isolation, self-harm or threats to others. But if this experience somehow enriched the person’s life, led them to greater self awareness or connection with God, brought them closer to community in a healthy way, I’d take them at their word. It’s not my place to judge someone else’s experience. I've heard stories of people who, after having a profound religious experience, suddenly also experienced a resurgence in their business and a new commitment to religious observance and the needs of their community. I can’t in any way consider that a bad thing. And to reduce their experience to a skeptic’s scientific explanation might somehow take away from the good it did in their lives.
“The bottom line, if I may, is that when your life’s work centers around religion, you have to be open to all the ways in which people experience that religion, and when your primary goal is to bring people closer to God, you have to be open to all the possible ways that God might also approach those very same people. If I wasn't open, I couldn't believe that we have a covenant with God, that Torah is somehow God speaking to us, that our prayers mean something to someone other than ourselves.”
“But you have colleagues who would disagree,” I prompted.
“Of course. There are rabbis who got into the business in spite of the spiritual aspects. I personally don’t think you get to pick the pieces you like about Judaism and reject or label the rest as impossibility. Becoming a rabbi, in my opinion, means accepting the gift handed down through centuries, even if you don’t understand it all, even if you have doubts. It means committing to a lifetime of learning, and being willing—even eager—to say that God is so far beyond our understanding that we can’t possibly say that an experience of God’s presence is out of the question. We should be seeking them, not trying to explain them away.”
Hopefully, as a result of Rabbi Green's visit, and an openness to those Big Questions, we will be doing more seeking. I know I will.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Putting together the pieces
I hope that I am perhaps climbing out of this funk. I was able to get up and do a few things around the house today, though only for about an hour and now I am trembly and exhausted and overwhelmed again. But it is progress.
I have a very big week coming up. Initially I thought I would be lucky if I had any time to myself at all, and now I am realizing that I need to take time for myself. Taking a few minutes to blog might wind up saving my sanity.
See, I have a [censored] load of work to do. It's only when I'm hurting and vulnerable and unsure of myself that I really feel it. I need to finish (still) the re-writes on Strength to Stand, which I've been promising for four years will come out "soon," and then I work on other people's books instead. I need to create my new website, now that I've built the new company website and learned how to create a truly custom site. I need to create a mailing list (and a newsletter—Gaak!) and find people who might write blurbs and honestly, I need to take a little bit of my brain and really start thinking of myself as an author.
I was an author. And then I became a publisher, and the author part kept getting pushed aside. If I can integrate myself and Rivka, I can certainly integrate my publisher self and my author self into my workday. Can't I?
People have no idea what goes into being a publisher, which is something that I'll write more about on the Yotzeret blog sometime soon. I'm very much a one-woman shop. I read queries and consider possible acquisitions. I read manuscripts for possible contract offers. I negotiate contracts. I am editor (though when sales are good enough, I will contract out for editing, to free up my time to do other writerly or publisherly things). I am book designer, cover designer, web designer, publicist, pre-press editor. I will drive 200 miles one way to pick up a print run of books, schlepping them into my van, then into the (small) warehouse I rent for inventory. I pick and pack books to fulfill orders. I am office manager, shipping manager, customer relations, collections, and accountant. Among other things.
People depend on me for all of the above. Authors' royalty checks are determined in part by how well I do my job. As a somewhat-recovering people-pleaser, this is both a source of pride and stress. (Guess what the number one cause of fibromyalgia flares is? Stress! Ah, but I digress.)
I am also a mom, chef, chauffeur, house manager, gardener, repair woman, school volunteer, etc., etc. All those things that go into why an at-home mom should be paid some $113K a year.
Somewhere in there, I need to reclaim myself as an author too. Because everyone needs at least three full-time jobs, right? Writing is the one thing that makes me feel fully alive. Writing is one of the key things that makes me feel Jewish. Writing helps me discover who I am, how I relate to the world, and how I relate to G-d. Writing takes me out of my body; it takes the dis out of disability. And writing is the one thing that I've been willing to give up in order to tend to all of my other jobs.
And now I realize why. Because all my other jobs, whether they benefit me tangentially or not, are primarily for other people. Writing is the only job that is just for me.
This morning I woke up to the critical voice in my head saying, "Okay, enough with all the whining all over your blog. Two posts is probably two too many. Way to alienate your readers, girl."
That's when I realized: I was no longer writing what I thought others wanted to hear. I was now writing what I wanted to write. I was writing what most needed to come out. I am writing for me.
That said, I hope you'll come along for the journey.
I have a very big week coming up. Initially I thought I would be lucky if I had any time to myself at all, and now I am realizing that I need to take time for myself. Taking a few minutes to blog might wind up saving my sanity.
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| Image: Valentin.Ottone/Flickr |
I was an author. And then I became a publisher, and the author part kept getting pushed aside. If I can integrate myself and Rivka, I can certainly integrate my publisher self and my author self into my workday. Can't I?
People have no idea what goes into being a publisher, which is something that I'll write more about on the Yotzeret blog sometime soon. I'm very much a one-woman shop. I read queries and consider possible acquisitions. I read manuscripts for possible contract offers. I negotiate contracts. I am editor (though when sales are good enough, I will contract out for editing, to free up my time to do other writerly or publisherly things). I am book designer, cover designer, web designer, publicist, pre-press editor. I will drive 200 miles one way to pick up a print run of books, schlepping them into my van, then into the (small) warehouse I rent for inventory. I pick and pack books to fulfill orders. I am office manager, shipping manager, customer relations, collections, and accountant. Among other things.
People depend on me for all of the above. Authors' royalty checks are determined in part by how well I do my job. As a somewhat-recovering people-pleaser, this is both a source of pride and stress. (Guess what the number one cause of fibromyalgia flares is? Stress! Ah, but I digress.)
I am also a mom, chef, chauffeur, house manager, gardener, repair woman, school volunteer, etc., etc. All those things that go into why an at-home mom should be paid some $113K a year.
Somewhere in there, I need to reclaim myself as an author too. Because everyone needs at least three full-time jobs, right? Writing is the one thing that makes me feel fully alive. Writing is one of the key things that makes me feel Jewish. Writing helps me discover who I am, how I relate to the world, and how I relate to G-d. Writing takes me out of my body; it takes the dis out of disability. And writing is the one thing that I've been willing to give up in order to tend to all of my other jobs.
And now I realize why. Because all my other jobs, whether they benefit me tangentially or not, are primarily for other people. Writing is the only job that is just for me.
This morning I woke up to the critical voice in my head saying, "Okay, enough with all the whining all over your blog. Two posts is probably two too many. Way to alienate your readers, girl."
That's when I realized: I was no longer writing what I thought others wanted to hear. I was now writing what I wanted to write. I was writing what most needed to come out. I am writing for me.
That said, I hope you'll come along for the journey.
Friday, June 28, 2013
Blogging on TC Jewfolk
My first blog post on TC Jewfolk is naturally about . . . writing. And vulnerability. And the impact on a writer's self-esteem. Here's how it starts:
PAPER CHILDREN
I think I was born a writer. I was not, however, born with the thick skin that any successful writer needs. “You’re too sensitive,” my parents would tell me. But shouldn't I be? Isn't sensitivity to other people and one’s environment part of what makes one a good writer?
Read the rest on TC Jewfolk.
PAPER CHILDREN
I think I was born a writer. I was not, however, born with the thick skin that any successful writer needs. “You’re too sensitive,” my parents would tell me. But shouldn't I be? Isn't sensitivity to other people and one’s environment part of what makes one a good writer?
Read the rest on TC Jewfolk.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Tips For Writing
Write the story within you. Most writers will tell you to write the book that's in you right now, the book you think about every waking minute, the book you have no choice about writing. Don't write the book your publisher wants, or the book your mother wants, or the book that's guaranteed to make the New York Times bestsellers list. If it's not the book that is kicking and screaming to get out of your head and onto paper, you'll only wind up being disappointed in it, and it probably won't please your publisher, your mother, or anyone at the New York Times. Hand in hand with that goes...
Believe in yourself. This is crucial to not only writing well, but selling the book you do write. If it's too elusive, too overwhelming, or causes you to snort derisively, please consult with a good therapist.
Keep a journal of ideas. You can keep an actual journal or book and write down story ideas, character names, plot twists, and so on. Or you can do what I do which is messier but also works: I write ideas down on slips of paper, backs of envelopes, paper napkins, or anything else I can get my hands on and then keep them all in a box that I call my Idea Box. Whenever I want an idea for a story, or I need some way to develop a plot or I need a character name, I reach into my Idea Box and pull them out. Usually one of them fits. UPDATE: I also use my iPod Touch for this, writing ideas into a memo or note and sync-ing it with my laptop. I name them all starting with "Useful Bits:" and categorize them as "Writing" so I can group them efficiently.
Don't be afraid to improve. In other words, don't expect your first writings to be perfect. They won't be. It's the nature of growing as a writer. Use each opportunity to write as a chance to develop your craft. A year from now, you'll look back on your writing and be surprised at how far you've come. That's good: it means you're growing. The scary part is when you look back at stuff you wrote years ago and it looks exactly like the stuff you wrote yesterday. That means there hasn't been enough growth. Even published writers aren't perfect writers. I was first published over twenty-five years ago and I'm still learning and growing as a writer.
Read writing books. You can find them at any local library. One of the many better ones is Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg. As a writer, you are an artist, and all artists need to learn their craft from those who have already succeeded. Books about writing will answer a lot of questions about fiction and non-fiction, synopses, characterizations, dialogue, plot, setting, description, and so forth. They are a wellspring of information, so take advantage of them.
Be a prolific reader. The more you read, the more you will see how other successful writers practice their craft, and the more you'll learn about your own.
Learn to see life from others' perspectives. Practice this in your everyday life and it will open up new worlds. Maybe you were miffed at the woman driver in the white minivan because she cut you off in the parking lot at Target and stole your space, even though you were waiting patiently with your turn signal on. But what was SHE thinking? Maybe her version went like this:
Jeez, I'm so sorry, I know you're waiting for that space, but I have to get inside and get some cough medicine for my son, who's coughing so hard, there's blood specks now. I'll be as quick as I can. I'm so sorry! I had to leave him home with his ten-year-old sister and I don't trust them home alone. Plus, the furnace repairman is coming in twenty minutes, and I can't afford another copay at the doctor's office until payday. Please forgive me for taking your space. Maybe you have a sick child at home, too. So sorry, so sorry! I'm hurrying!
Use your childhood traumas. Did you grow up in a less than idyllic setting? Many writers did. Somehow, childhood trauma and the creative arts go well together. Use it to your advantage. Parents divorced? Death in the family? Child abuse? Frequent moves and no friends? School bullies? Foster care? Family alcoholism or mental illness? If you can answer yes to any of these, first, consider therapy. Then, realize that you know firsthand what sells novels: CONFLICT. You know about betrayal and abandonment, about neglect and abuse and love as a double-edged sword. You've seen the dark side of life. Consider it research and use it in your writing. But...
Don't write your autobiography as a novel. Rarely does this work well in fiction. Creating a fictional character who shares some of the same characteristics is fine, and often successful, but make sure there's a clear boundary between that character and you.
Avoid procrastination. You can read writing books and take writing classes to improve, but you can also take it to the extreme and hinder your writing. Whether it's a fear of failure or a fear of success or just coming to the realization that learning about writing is easier than actually doing it, there comes a point where you've learned everything you need to know for now and you just need to sit down and write!
Write without editing yourself. I know this goes against what you may have learned in the classroom, but the important thing is first to get down the ideas. After you've written your first draft, then you can go back and check spelling, move words or sentences around, correct any grammatical errors, change words, cut stuff out or put new stuff in. Too often, we're trying to correct our writing before it ever makes it onto the paper, and that can stifle ideas and creativity. Instead, just write first, even if you're not sure what word to use or how to spell it. You can always mark it and check it later. Often times, I can't think of the exact word I want to use, but rather than stopping my writing and thinking about it for a long time, I'll use a >similar word< and mark it the way I just did. Then later I can go back and figure out that the word I really wanted was 'synonym.'
Learn the rules before you break them. Yes, you are occasionally allowed to break the rules in fiction. But before you begin sentences with 'but,' learn the rules. In non-fiction, journalism, and free-lance writing, good grammar is essential. In fiction, you have more leeway, but rule-breaking must always be for a good reason and not just because you can. Picture yourself with a finished manuscript, a contract with a publisher, and an editor who is a former English teacher. If you can provide a really good argument for why you broke a rule in a particular sentence or paragraph, keep it. If not, use correct grammar.
Keep on writing. Use every opportunity to write, whether it's in a class or not. Lots of people are published but that doesn't make them good writers. Good writers are hard to come by, and, in an amazing defiance of logic, they don't always get published. They're still good writers. Good writing can earn scholarships, win awards, and help you get jobs and promotions. Good writing can help you succeed at whatever you want to do, whether it's writing for a living or not. Take every chance you have to write, and see it as an investment in your future. It doesn't matter what you write about. It only matters that you keep writing.
Write through writer's block. Stuck? Unmotivated? Unfocused? Set a timer for five minutes and do a free-write. Just write about anything: classes, family, friends, your social life or lack thereof. Write about not being able to write (this is my favorite). Write about how you feel, how you want to feel, or what it feels like not to feel anything. Describe your difficulty with writing in as much detail as possible. What does it look like? How does it sound? What's the physical feeling? Write a conversation between you and your writer's block and make it serious. Humorous. Melodramatic. Hint: this technique also works for research papers and dissertations.
Endings happen. Every story needs an ending, whether you plan one or just stop writing that story one day. Planned endings are better; your readers will like you for it and will feel a sense of closure with your story. I often begin writing without an ending in mind, just letting the story take me where it will. About halfway through the story, though, I start thinking about the ending. How do I want it to end? Does the good guy win or lose? Does the nice guy finish first or last? Does my main character succeed beyond her wildest dreams, or does she fail miserably? Then I think about how to get there (to the ending) from here (where I am in the story).
I may still use some obstacles to make it hard for my protagonist to succeed, but I start working toward whatever I want my ending to be. This works whether my story is one page or one thousand pages. Then, when I have an outstanding idea of something that could happen in the story that I know will mean adding many more pages to the story or changing the ending, I have to make a decision. Sometimes I throw out my old ending and use this new idea to keep the story going. More often, however, I write the idea down and put it in my Idea Box, then keep going with the planned story. This keeps me to my page limits, and allows me to use my great idea with another story. After all, there will always be another story.
Believe in yourself. This is crucial to not only writing well, but selling the book you do write. If it's too elusive, too overwhelming, or causes you to snort derisively, please consult with a good therapist.
Keep a journal of ideas. You can keep an actual journal or book and write down story ideas, character names, plot twists, and so on. Or you can do what I do which is messier but also works: I write ideas down on slips of paper, backs of envelopes, paper napkins, or anything else I can get my hands on and then keep them all in a box that I call my Idea Box. Whenever I want an idea for a story, or I need some way to develop a plot or I need a character name, I reach into my Idea Box and pull them out. Usually one of them fits. UPDATE: I also use my iPod Touch for this, writing ideas into a memo or note and sync-ing it with my laptop. I name them all starting with "Useful Bits:" and categorize them as "Writing" so I can group them efficiently.
Don't be afraid to improve. In other words, don't expect your first writings to be perfect. They won't be. It's the nature of growing as a writer. Use each opportunity to write as a chance to develop your craft. A year from now, you'll look back on your writing and be surprised at how far you've come. That's good: it means you're growing. The scary part is when you look back at stuff you wrote years ago and it looks exactly like the stuff you wrote yesterday. That means there hasn't been enough growth. Even published writers aren't perfect writers. I was first published over twenty-five years ago and I'm still learning and growing as a writer.
Read writing books. You can find them at any local library. One of the many better ones is Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg. As a writer, you are an artist, and all artists need to learn their craft from those who have already succeeded. Books about writing will answer a lot of questions about fiction and non-fiction, synopses, characterizations, dialogue, plot, setting, description, and so forth. They are a wellspring of information, so take advantage of them.
Be a prolific reader. The more you read, the more you will see how other successful writers practice their craft, and the more you'll learn about your own.
Learn to see life from others' perspectives. Practice this in your everyday life and it will open up new worlds. Maybe you were miffed at the woman driver in the white minivan because she cut you off in the parking lot at Target and stole your space, even though you were waiting patiently with your turn signal on. But what was SHE thinking? Maybe her version went like this:
Jeez, I'm so sorry, I know you're waiting for that space, but I have to get inside and get some cough medicine for my son, who's coughing so hard, there's blood specks now. I'll be as quick as I can. I'm so sorry! I had to leave him home with his ten-year-old sister and I don't trust them home alone. Plus, the furnace repairman is coming in twenty minutes, and I can't afford another copay at the doctor's office until payday. Please forgive me for taking your space. Maybe you have a sick child at home, too. So sorry, so sorry! I'm hurrying!
Use your childhood traumas. Did you grow up in a less than idyllic setting? Many writers did. Somehow, childhood trauma and the creative arts go well together. Use it to your advantage. Parents divorced? Death in the family? Child abuse? Frequent moves and no friends? School bullies? Foster care? Family alcoholism or mental illness? If you can answer yes to any of these, first, consider therapy. Then, realize that you know firsthand what sells novels: CONFLICT. You know about betrayal and abandonment, about neglect and abuse and love as a double-edged sword. You've seen the dark side of life. Consider it research and use it in your writing. But...
Don't write your autobiography as a novel. Rarely does this work well in fiction. Creating a fictional character who shares some of the same characteristics is fine, and often successful, but make sure there's a clear boundary between that character and you.
Avoid procrastination. You can read writing books and take writing classes to improve, but you can also take it to the extreme and hinder your writing. Whether it's a fear of failure or a fear of success or just coming to the realization that learning about writing is easier than actually doing it, there comes a point where you've learned everything you need to know for now and you just need to sit down and write!
Write without editing yourself. I know this goes against what you may have learned in the classroom, but the important thing is first to get down the ideas. After you've written your first draft, then you can go back and check spelling, move words or sentences around, correct any grammatical errors, change words, cut stuff out or put new stuff in. Too often, we're trying to correct our writing before it ever makes it onto the paper, and that can stifle ideas and creativity. Instead, just write first, even if you're not sure what word to use or how to spell it. You can always mark it and check it later. Often times, I can't think of the exact word I want to use, but rather than stopping my writing and thinking about it for a long time, I'll use a >similar word< and mark it the way I just did. Then later I can go back and figure out that the word I really wanted was 'synonym.'
Learn the rules before you break them. Yes, you are occasionally allowed to break the rules in fiction. But before you begin sentences with 'but,' learn the rules. In non-fiction, journalism, and free-lance writing, good grammar is essential. In fiction, you have more leeway, but rule-breaking must always be for a good reason and not just because you can. Picture yourself with a finished manuscript, a contract with a publisher, and an editor who is a former English teacher. If you can provide a really good argument for why you broke a rule in a particular sentence or paragraph, keep it. If not, use correct grammar.
Keep on writing. Use every opportunity to write, whether it's in a class or not. Lots of people are published but that doesn't make them good writers. Good writers are hard to come by, and, in an amazing defiance of logic, they don't always get published. They're still good writers. Good writing can earn scholarships, win awards, and help you get jobs and promotions. Good writing can help you succeed at whatever you want to do, whether it's writing for a living or not. Take every chance you have to write, and see it as an investment in your future. It doesn't matter what you write about. It only matters that you keep writing.
Write through writer's block. Stuck? Unmotivated? Unfocused? Set a timer for five minutes and do a free-write. Just write about anything: classes, family, friends, your social life or lack thereof. Write about not being able to write (this is my favorite). Write about how you feel, how you want to feel, or what it feels like not to feel anything. Describe your difficulty with writing in as much detail as possible. What does it look like? How does it sound? What's the physical feeling? Write a conversation between you and your writer's block and make it serious. Humorous. Melodramatic. Hint: this technique also works for research papers and dissertations.
Endings happen. Every story needs an ending, whether you plan one or just stop writing that story one day. Planned endings are better; your readers will like you for it and will feel a sense of closure with your story. I often begin writing without an ending in mind, just letting the story take me where it will. About halfway through the story, though, I start thinking about the ending. How do I want it to end? Does the good guy win or lose? Does the nice guy finish first or last? Does my main character succeed beyond her wildest dreams, or does she fail miserably? Then I think about how to get there (to the ending) from here (where I am in the story).
I may still use some obstacles to make it hard for my protagonist to succeed, but I start working toward whatever I want my ending to be. This works whether my story is one page or one thousand pages. Then, when I have an outstanding idea of something that could happen in the story that I know will mean adding many more pages to the story or changing the ending, I have to make a decision. Sometimes I throw out my old ending and use this new idea to keep the story going. More often, however, I write the idea down and put it in my Idea Box, then keep going with the planned story. This keeps me to my page limits, and allows me to use my great idea with another story. After all, there will always be another story.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Stupid Questions
Firefox no longer remembers this blog in its auto-fill history, so clearly a blog post is long overdue.
I had a kind of stupid question earlier today and, as I am a quasi-Digital Native, I searched for the answer online. Because where else is one most likely to find the answers to all of the stupid questions than online?
Turns out, I wasn't the only one to have asked this particular stupid question. I found it posted on Yahoo! Answers. And amazingly, I found an intelligent answer. (What, exactly, the question was is irrelevant.) And then I thought I'd head over to the Books & Authors category, just for fun.
I don't know what I was expecting—I should have been expecting stupid questions—but "fun" wasn't it. Mostly, it was a lot of people asking "What do you think of this for a story?" and then posting 17,000 sentences all in one paragraph with a notable lack of correct grammar and punctuation.
It hurt. It physically hurt. So I clicked off and decided to check Facebook and email for the one-hundredth time that hour.
Honestly, I don't want to be mean. I do support those who want to write and be creative. But let's get real. There is a lot of resource material out there (in the world, not necessarily all on the Internet, unless of course you're looking for answers to stupid questions) about writing. You don't even need to visit your local library anymore, though I do highly recommend frequent library visitations.
Don't just post a lot of blather and then ask, "Do you like my story?" I can say that 99.9% of the time, if you have to go to Yahoo! Answers to find out, the answer is NO.
So how do you get to be a better writer? Or learn to write a story? Start by reading. Read voraciously. Make that highly recommended trip to the local library (and then keep going back). And I'll post my own list (separate from Stephen King's writing techniques) shortly.
I had a kind of stupid question earlier today and, as I am a quasi-Digital Native, I searched for the answer online. Because where else is one most likely to find the answers to all of the stupid questions than online?
Turns out, I wasn't the only one to have asked this particular stupid question. I found it posted on Yahoo! Answers. And amazingly, I found an intelligent answer. (What, exactly, the question was is irrelevant.) And then I thought I'd head over to the Books & Authors category, just for fun.
I don't know what I was expecting—I should have been expecting stupid questions—but "fun" wasn't it. Mostly, it was a lot of people asking "What do you think of this for a story?" and then posting 17,000 sentences all in one paragraph with a notable lack of correct grammar and punctuation.
It hurt. It physically hurt. So I clicked off and decided to check Facebook and email for the one-hundredth time that hour.
Honestly, I don't want to be mean. I do support those who want to write and be creative. But let's get real. There is a lot of resource material out there (in the world, not necessarily all on the Internet, unless of course you're looking for answers to stupid questions) about writing. You don't even need to visit your local library anymore, though I do highly recommend frequent library visitations.
Don't just post a lot of blather and then ask, "Do you like my story?" I can say that 99.9% of the time, if you have to go to Yahoo! Answers to find out, the answer is NO.
So how do you get to be a better writer? Or learn to write a story? Start by reading. Read voraciously. Make that highly recommended trip to the local library (and then keep going back). And I'll post my own list (separate from Stephen King's writing techniques) shortly.
Sunday, July 04, 2010
Still Active...Just Not Here (except now, and in the near future)
Guess what? I'm on Facebook. Yep, me and like five billion other souls all looking to connect over pokes and tweets and catching up while raising virtual livestock and growing cartoon plants. I've been very active out there in FB-land with my own author page, publisher page, and of course my profile where I can get caught up on the lives of my friends without ever having to talk to them.
In fact, I'd love it if you'd go to my author page (http://artist.to/sheynagalyan ) and click to "like" it. That way you can stay even more in touch with the book goings on, like a delightful review left just today that has me all happy inside and ready to tackle the next round of editing on Strength to Stand.
That doesn't mean I won't be back here. Despite my occasionally lengthy absences, I do consider this blog a sort of friend, and I treasure all four regular readers out there. I have some plans for this blog, too, like how does a fiction writer, with a niche genre, go about getting a publishing contract without, 1. Spending their own money to some person or company that may not know--or care--what they're doing; 2. Spending months or years looking for an agent (who may or may not know what they're doing) who will then spend months or years shopping your manuscript around to publishers who may wonder if the author knew what he or she was doing when writing the book. How does the new world of ebooks and Kindles and Nooks and book downloads and Just-in-Time manufacturing and Ingram's new "Espresso Book Machine" affect us as writers and readers. How can we best get what we want to say to those who want to hear it?
(If you figure out the answer to that last question, let me know.)
Or topics like, What's scary about going with a small press? What's scary about going with a great big New York publisher? Is it ever okay to friend your publisher/editor/author/cover artist on Facebook? Why is the book business looking more like the music business and why does that bother a lot of book people?
It's just me and my opinions and observations, with a Jewish twist. Because that's what I do.
Write on...
In fact, I'd love it if you'd go to my author page (http://artist.to/sheynagalyan ) and click to "like" it. That way you can stay even more in touch with the book goings on, like a delightful review left just today that has me all happy inside and ready to tackle the next round of editing on Strength to Stand.
That doesn't mean I won't be back here. Despite my occasionally lengthy absences, I do consider this blog a sort of friend, and I treasure all four regular readers out there. I have some plans for this blog, too, like how does a fiction writer, with a niche genre, go about getting a publishing contract without, 1. Spending their own money to some person or company that may not know--or care--what they're doing; 2. Spending months or years looking for an agent (who may or may not know what they're doing) who will then spend months or years shopping your manuscript around to publishers who may wonder if the author knew what he or she was doing when writing the book. How does the new world of ebooks and Kindles and Nooks and book downloads and Just-in-Time manufacturing and Ingram's new "Espresso Book Machine" affect us as writers and readers. How can we best get what we want to say to those who want to hear it?
(If you figure out the answer to that last question, let me know.)
Or topics like, What's scary about going with a small press? What's scary about going with a great big New York publisher? Is it ever okay to friend your publisher/editor/author/cover artist on Facebook? Why is the book business looking more like the music business and why does that bother a lot of book people?
It's just me and my opinions and observations, with a Jewish twist. Because that's what I do.
Write on...
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Chemically Enhanced Marketing
Hi. My name is Sheyna and I'm an introvert.
Usually.
I had a bad headache today and took one of the most effective OTC headache meds for me. It has a painkiller that helps my headache. And it has caffeine, which I've discovered helps my marketing skills.
Caffeine makes me happy. It boosts my self-confidence, decreases my anxiety, and brings out the closet extrovert in me. I can accomplish, overcome, and succeed. I am the person I dream myself to be. That's the upside.
The downside is that I don't regularly "do" caffeine in any form, so when it hits my system, it's effective. It also can make me a little jittery, a little scattered. By this afternoon, I felt I should have a sign on my forehead that read, "I am not as disorganized as I appear."
So I can use it when I need it, but I have to use it sparingly. I'd like to use it every day. Who wouldn't want to wake up feeling good about herself, ready to take on the world? Especially when you've had a lot of experience not feeling that way?
Apparently for some people, the same effect is achieved with alcohol. I'd like to think that the caffeine-enhanced me has far more common sense than the alcohol-enhanced me. Actually, I know from experience that the alcohol-enhanced me is sleepy and not nearly as fun. But I would hate for anyone to think that I advocate any kind of chemical enhancement for marketing (or other) purposes.
It's a dilemma. Caffeine gives me the edge I need to really put myself out there. But it's only effective with occasional use, and marketing is a full-time job. Some day I'll figure out how to get the upside of caffeine without the downside. Until then, maybe I will have a refill on that coffee...
Usually.
I had a bad headache today and took one of the most effective OTC headache meds for me. It has a painkiller that helps my headache. And it has caffeine, which I've discovered helps my marketing skills.
Caffeine makes me happy. It boosts my self-confidence, decreases my anxiety, and brings out the closet extrovert in me. I can accomplish, overcome, and succeed. I am the person I dream myself to be. That's the upside.
The downside is that I don't regularly "do" caffeine in any form, so when it hits my system, it's effective. It also can make me a little jittery, a little scattered. By this afternoon, I felt I should have a sign on my forehead that read, "I am not as disorganized as I appear."
So I can use it when I need it, but I have to use it sparingly. I'd like to use it every day. Who wouldn't want to wake up feeling good about herself, ready to take on the world? Especially when you've had a lot of experience not feeling that way?
Apparently for some people, the same effect is achieved with alcohol. I'd like to think that the caffeine-enhanced me has far more common sense than the alcohol-enhanced me. Actually, I know from experience that the alcohol-enhanced me is sleepy and not nearly as fun. But I would hate for anyone to think that I advocate any kind of chemical enhancement for marketing (or other) purposes.
It's a dilemma. Caffeine gives me the edge I need to really put myself out there. But it's only effective with occasional use, and marketing is a full-time job. Some day I'll figure out how to get the upside of caffeine without the downside. Until then, maybe I will have a refill on that coffee...
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Strength to Stand
Todah rabah to everyone who wrote to me! The overwhelming vote was for Strength to Stand: A Rabbi David Cohen Novel.
Initial bound galleys have been sent to four beta readers with two more going out within the next week (due to their schedules). One the beta readers who graciously volunteered is the J-blogosphere's own Mother in Israel! I'm a teeny tiny bit nervous (read: I'm terrified) about this part of the process because it's the first time the book is "public." It's the first time with this book that I get criticism. But the idea is that critical comments will help me do Edit #2 so the book is even better when it gets to my book editor.
Someone asked me why I call them beta readers. I use the term in the same sort of way that an initial version of computer software is called "beta" and those who use it and check for bugs and problems with the software are "beta testers." Beta readers are looking for bugs and problems with the book.
While they're reading, my job is to: 1) start Book Three in the series; 2) work with the designer on a cover - which you'll all get to see and vote on; 3) round up names for possible pre-publication blurbs, 4) work with marketing on a catchy pitch and summary, and 4) think about ways to let everyone know about the book when it hits the store shelves.
Anyone interested in hosting a blog tour next summer/fall? Okay, it's a bit early for that, but file it away somewhere because I will be asking more earnestly later!
Come to think of it, if you know a prominent author, rabbi, Jewish educator, or someone else with a nationally recognizeable name who you think might be interested in reading an advance copy of Strength to Stand and writing a short endorsement (provided they like it, which, of course, they will - I hope!) - or if you fit any of the above criteria - send me names by email or in the comments. I'll email you to get contact info on where to send the advance copy.
Onward and upward!
Initial bound galleys have been sent to four beta readers with two more going out within the next week (due to their schedules). One the beta readers who graciously volunteered is the J-blogosphere's own Mother in Israel! I'm a teeny tiny bit nervous (read: I'm terrified) about this part of the process because it's the first time the book is "public." It's the first time with this book that I get criticism. But the idea is that critical comments will help me do Edit #2 so the book is even better when it gets to my book editor.
Someone asked me why I call them beta readers. I use the term in the same sort of way that an initial version of computer software is called "beta" and those who use it and check for bugs and problems with the software are "beta testers." Beta readers are looking for bugs and problems with the book.
While they're reading, my job is to: 1) start Book Three in the series; 2) work with the designer on a cover - which you'll all get to see and vote on; 3) round up names for possible pre-publication blurbs, 4) work with marketing on a catchy pitch and summary, and 4) think about ways to let everyone know about the book when it hits the store shelves.
Anyone interested in hosting a blog tour next summer/fall? Okay, it's a bit early for that, but file it away somewhere because I will be asking more earnestly later!
Come to think of it, if you know a prominent author, rabbi, Jewish educator, or someone else with a nationally recognizeable name who you think might be interested in reading an advance copy of Strength to Stand and writing a short endorsement (provided they like it, which, of course, they will - I hope!) - or if you fit any of the above criteria - send me names by email or in the comments. I'll email you to get contact info on where to send the advance copy.
Onward and upward!
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Strength to Blog
With thanks, Haveil Havalim #149 is up at Life in Israel. Many, many thanks are also due to SoccerDad, who started HH and is handing over the reins to Jack.
Now that the important stuff is out of the way, let's get to the real reason I'm here.
I need more feedback, people!
Those who've written, thank you! Your opinions are quite valuable since I am, after all, writing for an audience. (The books, that is. Well, the blog is for an audience, too, but I'm not selling the blog. Who would want it anyway?)
With the help of those who have commented and emailed, I've been able to narrow down the choices. Here's what didn't make the cut, and why:
- Anger Avenged - nice alliteration, but negative overall; closely related to the plot but not clearly so
- Broken Pact - not as related to the story as other titles; too close to Jodi Picoult's The Pact
- For the Miracles - taken from the Chanukah liturgy and known to many Jews, it's an unclear title for non-Jewish readers and has more to do with the timing of the plot, not the story itself
- In Your Midst - taken from the beginning of the Haftarah portion read on the first Shabbat of Chanukah, it's actually very much related to the plot as well. However, not quite intriguing enough
- Payback - a great title, which explains why there are at least 20 other books out there with the same title. I'm sure I can be a little more original than that.
- Rededication - related to the meaning of Chanukah (and its definition), it's too ho-hum (as opposed to ho-ho-ho, which would be a book titled "Christmas")
- Rewards of Vengeance - again, negative sounding and perhaps not quite the value readers would go for
- Faith and Fear - too similar to other titles, sounds like "Tales from the Inquisition," still negative
- Chosen by Faith - suggested by Steve (thank you Steve!). I like the thematic connection and choice is something we all face every day. When it came down to it, though, I had to rule it out because Judaism is far more about action than faith. Plus, I don't want Barnes & Noble to shelve it in the Christian Fiction section like they did with Destined!
Now the short(er) list:
- As in Days of Old - taken from part of the Shabbat liturgy, it originally had a great deal to do with the plot, but, as often happens when a book is being written, the characters take over and go in other directions. Such is the case here and I'm not sure it targets the plot well enough; also kind of ho-hum
- Safety From Within - taken from the book text, it is both descriptive and ironic, but I'm not sure how well it really captures "suspense"
- Strength to Strength - a common Jewish phrase, a wishing of wellness, can't say it isn't "strong" but is it descriptive enough?
- Strength to Stand - also taken from the book text, it has everything to do with Chanukah, the plot, and gives an image (to me anyway) of a battled hero finding a way to continue on; probably one of the finalists
- Strength to Prevail - similar to Strength to Stand, but less alliterative, suggests the ability to win the war, not just the battle, definitely conjures up a struggle (good)
Meanwhile, as I'm being all self-absorbed with getting this book ready to launch and doing my other wifely and motherly duties and fighting off a bad case of bronchitis, many of those around me are probably not happy with my timing. A whole bunch - and I mean a really... lot of people... are having major life cycle events lately. B'nai mitzvah, births, deaths, moving, changing schools.
I'd planned this for a relatively quiet time of year (no one wants to beta-read a novel a week before Passover, for instance), and now lots of folks have lots going on. Well, lots of people have lots going on a lot of the time. I have a lot of things going on a lot of the time, which is why I'm having to make some hard choices about going to the lots of things that lots of others have going on.
So that's the update. Keep your feedback coming!
Friday, January 11, 2008
Vote for a Title
Note: Additional potential titles added 1/10, 1/11! Plus updates! See below.
Now that I've written a bit more about what Destined to Choose is about, I want to share what Book #2 is about.
I have an in-progress 25-words-or-less summary of Book #2, working title: As in Days of Old, which is:
"Minneapolis Rabbi David Cohen intervenes to help catch a violent stalker while David's wife decides to get more involved in his career."
22 words. Not a lot to play with there, but I'll keep trying.
Now for the longer version of what it's about:
It's almost Chanukah, and Rabbi Batya Zahav, a Reform rabbi, David's friend, and wife of Arik, an Israeli-born Minneapolis police sergeant, is being stalked. It begins with threatening letters but quickly escalates. No witnesses, few forensics, and no idea who the stalker is or why he's targeting Batya.
Frustrated by the lack of progress, Arik involves David in his own investigation, leading them through a chain of fundamentalism and hatred hidden beneath the city's facade of "Minnesota Nice."
Simultaneously, David's wife, Sara, decides she no longer wants to be on the sidelines of David's career, and initiates actions that could jeopardize his future as a rabbi. While balancing all of this, David is also hosting a friend from rabbinical school and his wife, who find themselves dragged into the middle of a crime scene instead of enjoying a vacation.
That's off the top of my head, so it will change (dramatically, I hope) before it gets to any sort of official print.
And here's where I can really, really, REALLY use your help. I need some feedback on potential titles. What do you like? What do you not like? Why? Do you have a better title? (Acknowledgement will be given for anyone who comes up with the published title!)
You can leave comments or email me, because I really want to hear from you!
Here's what I have:
Now that I've written a bit more about what Destined to Choose is about, I want to share what Book #2 is about.
I have an in-progress 25-words-or-less summary of Book #2, working title: As in Days of Old, which is:
"Minneapolis Rabbi David Cohen intervenes to help catch a violent stalker while David's wife decides to get more involved in his career."
22 words. Not a lot to play with there, but I'll keep trying.
Now for the longer version of what it's about:
It's almost Chanukah, and Rabbi Batya Zahav, a Reform rabbi, David's friend, and wife of Arik, an Israeli-born Minneapolis police sergeant, is being stalked. It begins with threatening letters but quickly escalates. No witnesses, few forensics, and no idea who the stalker is or why he's targeting Batya.
Frustrated by the lack of progress, Arik involves David in his own investigation, leading them through a chain of fundamentalism and hatred hidden beneath the city's facade of "Minnesota Nice."
Simultaneously, David's wife, Sara, decides she no longer wants to be on the sidelines of David's career, and initiates actions that could jeopardize his future as a rabbi. While balancing all of this, David is also hosting a friend from rabbinical school and his wife, who find themselves dragged into the middle of a crime scene instead of enjoying a vacation.
That's off the top of my head, so it will change (dramatically, I hope) before it gets to any sort of official print.
And here's where I can really, really, REALLY use your help. I need some feedback on potential titles. What do you like? What do you not like? Why? Do you have a better title? (Acknowledgement will be given for anyone who comes up with the published title!)
You can leave comments or email me, because I really want to hear from you!
Here's what I have:
- As in Days of Old (working title)
- Anger Avenged
- Broken Pact
- For the Miracles (modified)
- In Your Midst
- Payback
- Rededication
- Rewards of Vengeance
- Faith and Fear (new)
- Safety From Within (new)
- Strength to Strength (new) (also a common Jewish phrase)
- Strength to Stand (new)
- Strength to Prevail (new)
The published title might be one of these, or might be none of these. I'm too close to it and have been calling it one thing for too long. So knowing what you now know about the book (ask questions here if you need something more - except the ending, which I won't give away), what's your vote? (You may vote for more than one.)
Update: As of Thursday, 1/10, I've had quite a few responses both in the comments below and through email. THANK YOU! The general consensus is that title prospects 1-8 are likely not high in the running, but based on various suggestions, five more (9-13) have been added. I will note that I have a new favorite for lots of reasons, but I'd like to hear what you think first.
Update #2: Having just answered the comments I've received on the blog so far, I realized that I wrote something rather key:
"this book is less about choice than it is about standing up for what you believe in, especially when that belief is threatened."
While Judaism is certainly more than just a set of beliefs, the above statement really is the heart of the book.
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Setbacks Are Just Alternatives to Success
Today was the deadline to have the manuscript ready for beta readers, having allegedly gone through the out loud reading I mentioned earlier.
Minor setback: I got sick and this is the second day I've had no voice. (I only wish I could say it was all that new year's cheering, but alas, I was in bed early due to aforementioned illness.)
Wanting to press on, however, I found an alternative. I couldn't read anything aloud, but Husby could! And, it turns out, this may well turn out to be an even better way of checking the ms for understandability, word use, and so forth.
And so we read on...
Minor setback: I got sick and this is the second day I've had no voice. (I only wish I could say it was all that new year's cheering, but alas, I was in bed early due to aforementioned illness.)
Wanting to press on, however, I found an alternative. I couldn't read anything aloud, but Husby could! And, it turns out, this may well turn out to be an even better way of checking the ms for understandability, word use, and so forth.
And so we read on...
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Why It's Good to Read a Book Aloud
Most readers aren't aware of everything that goes into a manuscript after it's written but before it can be prepared for publication. But you aren't most readers because you're here and I'm going to share with you all the fun (sort of) ups and downs.
So, I finished writing the manuscript (shorthand: ms) last Wednesday. But before I can print out half a dozen copies and give them to my beta readers (more on that in a moment), it needs a read-through.
Out loud.
What may look good on paper and even sound fine when you're reading silently can be downright nasty when spoken aloud. That's not good. Downright nasty doesn't belong in a published book. I did this with Destined and it was amazing how many things I caught:
So, I finished writing the manuscript (shorthand: ms) last Wednesday. But before I can print out half a dozen copies and give them to my beta readers (more on that in a moment), it needs a read-through.
Out loud.
What may look good on paper and even sound fine when you're reading silently can be downright nasty when spoken aloud. That's not good. Downright nasty doesn't belong in a published book. I did this with Destined and it was amazing how many things I caught:
- How many times do characters begin their dialog with "Well,"?
- Do two or more characters use the same idiosyncratic speech pattern?
- Is the point-of-view (POV) consistent, or is there "head jumping"?
- Just how many times do you just use the word "just"?
Oh, there is so much to find, so much to correct. And it doesn't work quite as well when you're reading it aloud to yourself. Because, after all, you wrote it.
So we look for an audient. (I figure if many people in attendance is an audience, then a single person listening is an audient.) In my case, Husby is quite convenient.
Consequently, over the last few days (excepting Shabbat, of course), I've been reading the ms to him out loud. Lemme tell ya, my voice is starting to fade, and we're only to chapter 13. But it is already making a difference in what I'm able to catch both in basic errors and in structure and word choice.
Since Tuesday is a holiday (we did our New Year thing back in September; this one we celebrate pretty much simply by buying a new calendar), on Wednesday, the plan is to print and bind about half a dozen copies of the ms and give them, with a complimentary red pen, to my beta readers.
What are beta readers? They're people I've specifically requested read the ms and mark it up. I trust them to tell me the honest truth. If there's something that needs fixing, I want to know about it so I can fix it! Anything they love, hate, don't understand, anything that needs clarification, isn't accurate, or is a must-keep - they mark it and I use it to do Edit #2.
A few people who were beta readers for Destined have volunteered to read this one. And my favorite, to be honest, was a reader who wrote not only comments to me for purposes of the next edit, but also comments to the characters! I'm looking forward to her comments on this ms.
So that's the latest update. Husby gets to hear a bunch more chapters read aloud to him and then I'll move on to the beta readers. And all this before it gets to my editor, who will I hope, edit it within an inch of its life so that it can be the best book possible.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Chapter and Terse
88,197 words
2,920 paragraphs
403 pages
33 chapters
20 major characters
6 beta readers
3 book editors
1 novel
2,920 paragraphs
403 pages
33 chapters
20 major characters
6 beta readers
3 book editors
1 novel
DONE!
Yes, the first major edit of the completed manuscript of the second in the Rabbi David Cohen series is DONE!
Today's assignment is to break it into chapters. I don't write chapters as I'm actively working on the ms so much as I write sections. Later some will become chapters and others will remain sections within a chapter.
I need to look at how the story flows and where a good breaking point for a chapter would be (with an eye always toward cliffhangers and other nefarious means of keeping readers from putting down the book), and then also look at how many pages are in each chapter, to achieve some balance throughout the book.
Next up, making printed copies for my beta readers, who will have something to curl up with and mark up with red pen in January. Then it's on to my primary editor and advance copies to go out to pre-publication reviewers.
In addition to asking for your help with the pitch, you all are also de facto part of my focus group (isn't that cool?) so I'll be asking your opinions on a bunch of stuff, including your votes for the published title (rather than the working title I've had), votes for your favorite cover, and so forth.
You can help determine the future of Jewish literature!
Today's assignment is to break it into chapters. I don't write chapters as I'm actively working on the ms so much as I write sections. Later some will become chapters and others will remain sections within a chapter.
I need to look at how the story flows and where a good breaking point for a chapter would be (with an eye always toward cliffhangers and other nefarious means of keeping readers from putting down the book), and then also look at how many pages are in each chapter, to achieve some balance throughout the book.
Next up, making printed copies for my beta readers, who will have something to curl up with and mark up with red pen in January. Then it's on to my primary editor and advance copies to go out to pre-publication reviewers.
In addition to asking for your help with the pitch, you all are also de facto part of my focus group (isn't that cool?) so I'll be asking your opinions on a bunch of stuff, including your votes for the published title (rather than the working title I've had), votes for your favorite cover, and so forth.
You can help determine the future of Jewish literature!
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Help Write a Book Pitch! Be Involved from the Very Beginning!
From 12/24/07:
No carolers tonight, but there is a good shot at my finishing the first major edit of As in Days of Old tomorrow. Since there's so much else to do on December 25th. [snicker]
Okay, so I need y'alls help here. I need a good elevator pitch. An astounding one. A 25-words-or-less pitch for the book that will cause everyone who hears it to run to their nearest retail outlet (online or off) and buy it.
I wrote in detail about what a formal elevator pitch (EP) is on the MIPA blog, if you want to know details about it and how to develop your own. For everyone else, let's just say I need to come up with a 10-second (I wasn't kidding about the 25-words-or-less) riveting, compelling, highly provocative sentence to describe the book without giving away the ending.
So... what is the book about? It's the second in the Rabbi David Cohen suspense series, a sequel to Destined to Choose, and, if I may be so bold, much, much better. It takes place six months after Destined ends, during the weeks leading up to and during Chanukah. In it...
"Minneapolis Rabbi David Cohen intervenes to catch a violent stalker while his wife tries to become more involved in his career."
That's what I have so far. There's so much more I could say. That's the problem as the author, you get so caught up in the characters' lives and the story and all the details that it all seems important.
Like, I could tell you that Arik (Israeli-born Minneapolis cop) has a major role in this book, as does Batya (Arik's wife/Reform rabbi).
We get to see the story partly from Batya's point of view, as well as Sara's (David's wife).
Eli, who was briefly introduced in Destined, and his wife come out for a visit during Chanukah, and wind up in the middle of a crime scene.
We meet Shimon, an Orthodox rabbi, for the first time and get a glimpse into his and David's friendship (yes, a Conservative and an Orthodox rabbi can be friends).
And we get to meet members of the larger non-Jewish community as well.
Will you help? I'm thinkin' there might be something in it for you, too (mention in the acknowledgments, a free advance copy...) My publisher's marketing advisor, my editor, and others will have some say, too, but I've been asked for a pitch with the finished manuscript. I'd love your help!
Leave your comments (they get emailed to me so I'll be sure to get them) and we'll continue the dialog. Thanks!
Back tomorrow with updates.
Update 12/25/07: About 20 pages to go and the ms is DONE (with Edit #1) and ready to go to beta readers for their comments, which will result in Edit #2. [Then it goes to my editor for what will result in Edit #3.] I would not be surprised if the ms goes through as many as 5-6 edits all told before publication, but the first three are the big ones.
Already the first chapter has been rewritten and several scenes have been either rearranged or pulled entirely. You know what books need? We need a "special bonus features" thing like on DVDs, where the author can provide commentary during the book and there can be a section for a gag reel and deleted scenes. I wonder if there's a market for that sort of thing...
I am a little sad. It's always sad, finishing and having to say goodbye for now. I expect to be done by tomorrow morning, at which time I will need to - without a pause - write a compelling scene from Book #3, the third in the series (and mostly plotted out already). I really hope to get to the point of writing a book a year. This 4-5 years between books is so not okay. (But then I did give birth to children in the intervening years. That's my excuse and I'm stickin' with it.)
Wish me luck - tomorrow I'm looking forward to posting a DONE post!
No carolers tonight, but there is a good shot at my finishing the first major edit of As in Days of Old tomorrow. Since there's so much else to do on December 25th. [snicker]
Okay, so I need y'alls help here. I need a good elevator pitch. An astounding one. A 25-words-or-less pitch for the book that will cause everyone who hears it to run to their nearest retail outlet (online or off) and buy it.
I wrote in detail about what a formal elevator pitch (EP) is on the MIPA blog, if you want to know details about it and how to develop your own. For everyone else, let's just say I need to come up with a 10-second (I wasn't kidding about the 25-words-or-less) riveting, compelling, highly provocative sentence to describe the book without giving away the ending.
So... what is the book about? It's the second in the Rabbi David Cohen suspense series, a sequel to Destined to Choose, and, if I may be so bold, much, much better. It takes place six months after Destined ends, during the weeks leading up to and during Chanukah. In it...
"Minneapolis Rabbi David Cohen intervenes to catch a violent stalker while his wife tries to become more involved in his career."
That's what I have so far. There's so much more I could say. That's the problem as the author, you get so caught up in the characters' lives and the story and all the details that it all seems important.
Like, I could tell you that Arik (Israeli-born Minneapolis cop) has a major role in this book, as does Batya (Arik's wife/Reform rabbi).
We get to see the story partly from Batya's point of view, as well as Sara's (David's wife).
Eli, who was briefly introduced in Destined, and his wife come out for a visit during Chanukah, and wind up in the middle of a crime scene.
We meet Shimon, an Orthodox rabbi, for the first time and get a glimpse into his and David's friendship (yes, a Conservative and an Orthodox rabbi can be friends).
And we get to meet members of the larger non-Jewish community as well.
Will you help? I'm thinkin' there might be something in it for you, too (mention in the acknowledgments, a free advance copy...) My publisher's marketing advisor, my editor, and others will have some say, too, but I've been asked for a pitch with the finished manuscript. I'd love your help!
Leave your comments (they get emailed to me so I'll be sure to get them) and we'll continue the dialog. Thanks!
Back tomorrow with updates.
Update 12/25/07: About 20 pages to go and the ms is DONE (with Edit #1) and ready to go to beta readers for their comments, which will result in Edit #2. [Then it goes to my editor for what will result in Edit #3.] I would not be surprised if the ms goes through as many as 5-6 edits all told before publication, but the first three are the big ones.
Already the first chapter has been rewritten and several scenes have been either rearranged or pulled entirely. You know what books need? We need a "special bonus features" thing like on DVDs, where the author can provide commentary during the book and there can be a section for a gag reel and deleted scenes. I wonder if there's a market for that sort of thing...
I am a little sad. It's always sad, finishing and having to say goodbye for now. I expect to be done by tomorrow morning, at which time I will need to - without a pause - write a compelling scene from Book #3, the third in the series (and mostly plotted out already). I really hope to get to the point of writing a book a year. This 4-5 years between books is so not okay. (But then I did give birth to children in the intervening years. That's my excuse and I'm stickin' with it.)
Wish me luck - tomorrow I'm looking forward to posting a DONE post!
Sunday, December 16, 2007
The Moving Finger Writes, and Having Writ, Moves On
aka "Yay! No More Rosh Hashana Video!"
I am buried in books, folks. I've got quite a few I'm wading through for reviews (coming soon), an author interview with Tsvi Bisk (coming very soon), and stuff even I wrote (what a novel concept).
Spent Motzei Shabbat last night as the featured/guest author for a synagogue book group. I love audiences like this - warm, generous, genuinely interested. I was a little surprised when they said, "Okay, enough about the book. We're going to buy the book. We want to know more about you!"
My life is just so... well... my life. But some people find it interesting, which I find interesting. Maybe there's a book in there somewhere.
So what IS going on in my life? Some of the usual: kids, Husby, house, pets, vehicular challenges, winter in Minnesota (we're entering a warming trend, they said on the news: temperatures might get [up] close to freezing).
I moved my office from upstairs to dowstairs, which is actually a move up in the figurative sense though down in the literal sense. I have windows now and space. And boxes full of... uh... stuff, yeah, stuff from the former office, which is now a child's bedroom.
As for the writin', As in Days of Old is going through the first major editing and the cover art is starting to take shape. Beta readers ought to be getting their copies within a week or two. I'm hoping for a summer release; we'll see!
Some of you might remember my (very) short story "Saturdays," which was published on Elster's Storytellers blog a [ahem] year ago August. I've decided to give protagonist Coby his own book. Maybe not a series; I'm not sure. But I've got the perfect stand alone novel for him, and yes, folks, this one's a real honest-to-goodness murder mystery. Jewish perspective, yes, but not religiously so. If you've read "Saturdays," it's Coby post-police academy but without the encounter with Mike and Dan. (I have to take some writer's license, right?)
Meanwhile, I've been writing articles and shorter pieces (though obviously not blogging recently. Sorry about that!). One well-researched piece that I'm particularly fond of on the mitzvah of welcoming guests will be published in early January 2008; I should be able to either reprint it here or put in the link as soon as it's out.
I gave a 1-hour multi-media lecture last month on electronic marketing, or as I like to call it, "Book Marketing for Introverts." Due to responses to the lecture, I'm compiling my info along with other resources I've found for a small book. No release date for certain yet, but those who've read my articles on e-marketing (see my many posts on the MIPA blog) have said if the book were out now, they'd buy it sight unseen.
Pretty cool. I like hearing that.
I hope everyone had a meaningful and heroic Chanuka (or at least a nice time), and I'll be back soon. (Bug me if you don't hear from me at least once a week!)
I am buried in books, folks. I've got quite a few I'm wading through for reviews (coming soon), an author interview with Tsvi Bisk (coming very soon), and stuff even I wrote (what a novel concept).
Spent Motzei Shabbat last night as the featured/guest author for a synagogue book group. I love audiences like this - warm, generous, genuinely interested. I was a little surprised when they said, "Okay, enough about the book. We're going to buy the book. We want to know more about you!"
My life is just so... well... my life. But some people find it interesting, which I find interesting. Maybe there's a book in there somewhere.
So what IS going on in my life? Some of the usual: kids, Husby, house, pets, vehicular challenges, winter in Minnesota (we're entering a warming trend, they said on the news: temperatures might get [up] close to freezing).
I moved my office from upstairs to dowstairs, which is actually a move up in the figurative sense though down in the literal sense. I have windows now and space. And boxes full of... uh... stuff, yeah, stuff from the former office, which is now a child's bedroom.
As for the writin', As in Days of Old is going through the first major editing and the cover art is starting to take shape. Beta readers ought to be getting their copies within a week or two. I'm hoping for a summer release; we'll see!
Some of you might remember my (very) short story "Saturdays," which was published on Elster's Storytellers blog a [ahem] year ago August. I've decided to give protagonist Coby his own book. Maybe not a series; I'm not sure. But I've got the perfect stand alone novel for him, and yes, folks, this one's a real honest-to-goodness murder mystery. Jewish perspective, yes, but not religiously so. If you've read "Saturdays," it's Coby post-police academy but without the encounter with Mike and Dan. (I have to take some writer's license, right?)
Meanwhile, I've been writing articles and shorter pieces (though obviously not blogging recently. Sorry about that!). One well-researched piece that I'm particularly fond of on the mitzvah of welcoming guests will be published in early January 2008; I should be able to either reprint it here or put in the link as soon as it's out.
I gave a 1-hour multi-media lecture last month on electronic marketing, or as I like to call it, "Book Marketing for Introverts." Due to responses to the lecture, I'm compiling my info along with other resources I've found for a small book. No release date for certain yet, but those who've read my articles on e-marketing (see my many posts on the MIPA blog) have said if the book were out now, they'd buy it sight unseen.
Pretty cool. I like hearing that.
I hope everyone had a meaningful and heroic Chanuka (or at least a nice time), and I'll be back soon. (Bug me if you don't hear from me at least once a week!)
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