Why Contribute to an Anthology Collection?


As our chapter releases its third short story anthology this month, I found myself talking to a new member about the benefits of taking time out from novel writing, to write short stories.
 

There are good reasons for contributing a short story to an anthology. For some, it is a chance to donate to a favorite charity. For me, it is both a chance to change my writing pace and to promote myself to (hopefully) a new audience.


How can a short story promote your other work? Some authors set their shorts within the world of the larger novel series. I did this with Men in Jeans that was included in the A Death in Texas anthology that The Final Twist released last year. I introduced new characters, but had a character from The Key make a guest visit to the story. I've also written three short stories using the characters from Do Wah Diddy Die. One of these stories has already released in Dead and Breakfast and the others will release in Ghostly Dreamspell and The Mystery of the Green Mist.


Doing these shorts gave me a chance to revist some fun characters, but without the pain of plotting a full length novel. Hopefully they will also ignite a desire to read the novel by the people who buy the anthologies. Authors live in hope a lot.


Anthology contributions can also be an introduction to your writing style. Or they can give you a chance to explore new directions and genres with your writing. For instance, my short story in A Texas Box of Chocolates is a short romance story called Getting a Clue. I also have a couple of other romance shorts releasing in The Romance of My Dreams II. It was fun to try something different, to write some fiction where no one died. **g**


For me, writing short stories was also a way to keep writing through a personal, family crisis that occupied a very long year and a half in my life. They also gave me books to promote while I have been working on my latest novel, Girl Gone Nova.

No question, switching writing gears can be interesting and sometimes challenging, but it can also be a way around a road block or writer's block and a way to hook a wider audience into your promotion net.

And if you have yet to sell your first novel, paricipating in an anthology can give your a publication credit--and a boost to your self confidence.


If you've never thought about submitting to an anthology, I'd urge you to give it some thought. Just make sure you understand the business implications of any contract you sign and that the projects you're involved in are done in a professional manner. :-)


Perilously yours,
Pauline
Perils of Pauline

When Did We Stop Boldly Going Where We Haven't Gone Before?

I've been reading and thinking a lot about the 40th anniversary of man's first walk on the moon. I was alive then. Yes, I am that old. :-) I was alive for all our adventures in space. As I look back, what shocks me most is how much we haven't done since we put that first man on the moon. When did we stop boldly wanting to go where no man has gone before and instead started settling for where we are? When did brave and bold and risk taking go out of style? When did we stop wanting to do amazing things? When did we stop looking up and wondering?

We accomplished SO much back then and with SO little. If you want to get an inkling of how amazing it was, buy or rent From Earth to the Moon. As a country and as a people, we are the beneficiaries of many amazing achievements, but you can't see all of them on video. We can see that journey to the moon and we should see it. We need to know about the good parts of our past, too. We need to be inspired, to dream big and aspire beyond the ends of our noses--or the edge of our atmosphere. We need the generations that follow us to have dreams, too. We need them to have a sense of wonder and to believe that not only is "boldly going" a good thing, but its also possible.

We need to go back to the moon and then go beyond it.

And why am I asking these questions and saying these things on a blog devoted to the business of writing?

I thought about that, too, as I mulled moon walks and blogs and being brave and aiming high. Writers may not visit the moon or outer space for real, but our stories and essays and articles are a way to reach into the hearts and minds of those around us.

We need to believe that dreams come true to start a story or novel or whatever it is we write and we need to pass that legacy on. We need inspire the generations behind us with our words and ideas. Small goals are fine and good, but when I was a little girl gazing up at the night sky, my goals weren't small. They were bold and bright and as big as that sky.

Life hits hard and fast sometimes, it can take our legs out from under us and it should take the legs out from under our characters, but we--and they--need to get up and go forward. We need to share our belief that we can do seemingly impossible things.

We learn to do from trying and failing and we learn to do it by learning from the example of men who walk on the moon and the people who helped them get there. We learn it by boldly going and by doing and by living.

And then we pass it on, because if we miss that step, the story--and the vision--dies with us.

I don't want my grandchildren to grow up in a world where no one looks up at the sky and wonders...

I want them to wonder and dream and boldly go...even if its only in their imagination.

Perilously yours,
Pauline

July has been a crazy month for me (I keep saying that, don't I? Maybe I should just say that my life is crazy and be done with it?). Some big changes in my writing career. After eleven years with Hard Shell Word Factory, my back list is moving. Still love HSWF, but felt it was time to bring the babies all together under one roof and maybe get them some new clothes (covers) and a new look. So my back list is moving into the same house as The Key and my non-fiction books at L&L Dreamspell. I'm excited that my books will also come out of the move with a more coherent look. I loved my old covers, but they didn't tie the books together in any consistent way. As a small business owner, I need to do more than love a cover, it needs to build my brand.

It's taken me a while to understand this--though I've always known that I'm not the best judge of my covers. I don't shop books by their covers (though they can run me off!), but I know a lot of people do. I'm not a marketing expert, nor am I a graphic designer. In this down economy, liking my covers isn't enough. As I said, they need to be consistent, coherent in design and build my brand--my name.

One of the cool things my new home (publisher) is going to do is use my personal logo on the book covers. It will be small, a little space on the back cover, but it will tie my books together. I'm so grateful they are willing to take on my back list. Some of them have been out for over ten years! We're both hoping the new look will bring new readers.

While I can't say all my decisions have been all business, all the time, this decision is about what is best for my small business and my product. It's hard for me to have my back list unavailable for even a short time, but in the long run, I believe it is a good move.

It's interesting how there are always things to learn in this business. That's why I keep networking with other writers, even when time is tight. Many thanks to all the authors who have helped and advised and shared what they knew with me!

I have two releases coming up:

A Box of Texas Chocolates Anthology (my short is called "Getting a Clue.")
Girl Gone Nova - The next installment in my Project Enterprise/Garradian Galaxy Series.

I also have some more short stories releasing in several anthologies, but don't have release dates yet. Be sure to stop by

The Perils of Pauline

to find out what I'm up to and what's releasing when. :-)
Perilously yours,
Pauline

Now Remember: Pillage First, Then Burn

Okay, now that I've got your attention...

So I've been reading all the posts related to the RWA and the Digital Divide. I'm not going to weigh on on the actual discussion, but use it as a reminder about minding your manners when you're out and about. There's been a lot of pillaging and burning going on. As someone who's been there and burned that bridge once or twice, I'll just say: run, save yourself!

Authors are passionate, opinionated and strong-willed. We have to be those things to write. But when you are representing your small business, whether in person or online, you need to stuff passion in a closet or a trunk and protect your brand.

Authors sometimes forget that they don't just write books. If they are published, they are also a small business. If you go into the local market and the clerk is rude to you, your reaction is:

"I'm never going there again."

So why would it be different for readers who see us publicly lose control? Leave pillaging and burning to the barbarians and video games. When you're out of the house or online, keep it cool. Keep it polite. Don't engage. I'm not saying you can't have an opinion or express it. I am saying, write it down, let it sit for a while or run it by someone who won't tell you what you want to hear.

We KNOW the power of words. We KNOW how easy it is be misunderstood. If your words CAN be misunderstood, don't sent them out. Just vent and delete.

IF you engage and get misunderstood, apologize.

It doesn't matter if you're right.

Being right isn't the issue.

Protecting your brand, protecting your business IS the only issue.

Word of mouth either sells books or it stops sales of books.

You are either burning bridges or building them.

You've worked hard to write. You've worked hard to sell your work.

Why would you risk it for a flame out?

So what if you think someone has it wrong? So what if you have a brilliant argument to present? Does it help your brand?

So save the pillaging and burning for your novels. If it's making your crazy, kill the offender fictionally. Quit reading the discussion. Step back from the edge (and the computer). If you're having a bad day, don't go where you know you might have a problem. If you want to effect change, then address the person/org/people who can affect change.

If you have to engage, keep in mind that:

* Not every issue is about right and wrong. Sometimes they are just different points of view. You remember points of view, right? How peoples' POV is shaped by their life experiences?

* Where ever you take your eyes, they will always see things from your point of view. Be willing to accept premise that no one is ALL right or ALL wrong--including you. Your opinions are also shaped by your life experience. You have a POV. You get to keep yours and so does everyone else.

* Find where you DO agree and build on that.

* Agree to disagree. Be okay with agreeing to disagree. You can be brilliant and still not get agreement. (see my point on POV)

Life is short. Where and how you spend your energy and creativity should always be a choice and not a reaction, particularly the knee jerk kind.

Cultivating a professional persona is as important to your business as creating great stories and great characters.

Be the business person your writer needs you to be to make your small business a success.

To open a shop is easy, to keep it open is an art.
Chinese Proverbs

Managing Your Book Writing Business
Fictionwise Amazon

Pondering Paragraphs

On the Blood-red Pencil blog, Charlotte Phillips is talking paragraphs. Charlotte had this to say on the subject:

"I checked my trusted Chicago Manual of Style - which disappointed me for the first time in a very long time. Chicago was silent on paragraph rules (or I simply wasn't smart enough to locate the information). I Googled. I even cracked open several of the writing and grammar books parked on the corner of my desk. Did I find anything definitive? No."

She has some interesting comments on her paragraph questions. If you're curious about paragraphs, you should check it out.

She did get me thinking about how I decide on paragraph length, etc. As I pondered the subject, I realized I get some of my paragraphing technique from scriptwriting. Scriptwriters are always (or should always) be aware of the white space on every page. Lots of white space and shorter paragraphs are said to make the page more friendly and accessible to the reader.

Script paragraphs are generally very short, typically no more than two or three lines. Obviously that guideline is too extreme for novels. Paragraphing like that would make for very choppy fiction. Still, I realized I am aware of how my words look on the page. Does each page invite the reader in? Does it look friendly or hostile?

I do have longer paragraphs, but not excessively long. Looking at my WIP, I tend to switch to a new paragraph when a change in topic occurs, even if it's happening inside the head of a character. I'll also isolate an important conclusion and/or decision in a paragraph by itself. It's a quiet way of telling the reader: this is important.

George Smiley, in his book Playwriting: The Structure of Action points out how important it is to show a character's thought processes when they are engaging in ethical or deliberative thinking. (Excellent book, btw, on how to create characters with consistency and stature.)

Most of what I do when I'm writing is unconscious, but when I'm editing, I do look for these types of thought patterns. I look for clarity, consistency and ways to highlight the key points, so that the reader isn't surprised when a character acts.

Donald Mass, in his Writing the Breakout Novel, urges the author to figure out something that your character would never, ever do and then write a scene where they are forced to do that thing.

If you push your characters to that point--and want to take the reader along with you--then you need to have deliberative paragraphs in place, so that the reader can believe it when the character acts against their deepest convictions and does the previously unthinkable.

For me, this means not burying those moments in long paragraphs, but framing them in ways that show they are important by what goes before and after. Over time, you develop an instinct for when a break needs to occur in the flow of sentences.

This kind of choice is also integral to developing your own style. No two writers will use paragraphs in exactly the same way. You can learn from other authors, but you also need to have the confidence to be true to your own style.

When I'm going through a manuscript, if a section needs more than grammer corrections, I'll write MB in the margin. This means "make better." I keep breaking, unbreaking and rebreaking my paragraphs until I can't make it any better. Then I set my WIP aside for as long as I can and try again.

Because this business is so subjective, there will always be someone out there to tell you that you got it wrong, but if it feels right to you, then I'd say go with your gut. (And it helps to have a great editor.)

Perilously yours
Pauline

Twittering Around

I've been really enjoying exploring Twitter and the people who tweet there. I think my favorite part is that I have to write short. No more than 140 characters allowed per tweet. It seemed short at first, but now I'm amazed at what people can communicate with micro-blogging.

So if you're in the mood for a quick way to promote (or whine), check out Twitter. It's fast and easy to sigh up for and even faster to use. It will take time to build followers. The best way to do that is follow people and them show them you're reading them. Not all the time, but the occasional reply to a comment shows an interest and attention to their posts.

Like most social networking sites, you can't hit and run and hope to get attention. You have to build your network. And then you have to be interesting in 140 characters or less. :-)

Perilously yours,
Pauline

Happy New Year!

I can't believe 2008 is almost over and I really can't believe I survived it! Been a crazy year, but I'm still here. :-)

As a gift to my writing friends, I've compiled an eBook of my "best of" tips, taken from Writers Nibs: Dip into the Well, a feature on my website. I've been posting tips, sort of on a schedule, since 2006, but I've never gone back and looked at them. So this was a looking back exercise for me, too. You can download the free eBook on my website and I hope it will give you a boost to head into 2009 with more determination to succeed at your writing goals. ;-)

You can find some other, cool writing related free stuff here. I printed out the free calendar to use in 2009. I like to have a calendar on my desktop, where I can make quick notes or check dates. It's a mini-diary for me as I pass through the year. I also like the DRAW tips. I think you have to sign up to get those by email, but some great tips for jump starting the writing.

I've also been hanging around with Twitter Moms that Writer. It's a diverse group, but most interesting. Finding the right kind of support for your writing efforts can be a challenge, but with the internet, it is possible. :-)

I hope that your new year brings you the realization of your writing dreams and much happiness!
Perilously yours,
Pauline