Happy Trails

It’s like one of those light-bulb jokes: “How many suitcases does a writer take with her on vacation?” One carry-on with clothes and a computer, and an extra-large checked Pullman filled with papers and books.

At least that’s how I’ve traveled in the past, packing reading for writing projects right along side reading for pleasure. Packing professional journals along side my backlog of New Yorkers. Bringing along some fat, dry, tome of background reading as well as a paperback best seller. In the past, I’ve packed work under the misapprehension that vacation was a time to catch up. But not this time.

This time, I’m really going on vacation. I’m going far away and I’m packing light. I’m taking my smart phone but not my computer. I’m taking my eReader, but only downloading fun reads. Most notably, I’m not taking a typescript or work-in-progress to review. I’m really going on vacation to see new sights, to learn about new places, and to rest and recharge. I’m looking forward to it.

          Like most jokes, the one about a writer schlepping work with her through the national parks and parts west is only part funny – and part true. I am that writer who in the past has said she doesn’t really like vacations. Given my druthers, I’d rather stay home and write. But this time, that’s not true.

This time, I’m handing in a novel before I get on a plane, and I’m going to hike in territory unknown to me. And I’ve convinced my husband that we must not just walk eight hours a day but also plan a few hours every evening for the pleasures of reading whatever we want to, and not anything we must.

Vacations have been difficult for me, I think, because to some degree, a writer is always at work. Every new sight and experience is a potentially new story, new image, new metaphor. Traveling is nothing if not collecting new stories. All experience is grist for my mill.

And writing – the physical act of putting pen to paper – is how I negotiate the world. So while I’m not taking my computer or any current work project, I will of course keep a journal. I don’t think I can make it through a day without writing my Morning Pages – that exercise of emptying my morning mind, my writing meditation. But that’s become my spiritual practice, not work. And I’ll take that practice with me out west.

Because we’ll be hiking, I know my mind will freewheel while I walk. Typically, this results in new narrative insights, outlines, plots and characters. It’s an occupational habit, and it’s okay. I’ll probably even try to capture these ideas in my journal just as I’ll try to capture the scenery on my new camera. Again, this isn’t work, per se: I’m not going on this trip for the purpose of collecting new ideas. More accurately: while on vacation, ideas happen.

In the past few years, I’ve buckled down and been writing full time. Writing full-time means not just initiating new ideas, but honing them, editing them, placing them for publication and making author appearances. Mostly fun work – but unquestionably work. I’ve done enough of it that I’m ready for some real time off.

I could take my computer with me, or I could find a public connection at some local library or internet café. I could post a blog from somewhere in Utah, but I won’t. Instead, I’ll be back on this page in four weeks. Meanwhile – Happy Trails.

Deborah Lee Luskin is the author of the award-winning novel, Into The Wilderness, “a fiercely intelligent love story” set in Vermont in 1964. She is a regular Commentator on Vermont Public Radio and teaches for the Vermont Humanities Council. Learn more at her website: www.deborahleeluskin.com

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Your Book, Your Way

Shortly after Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, the publishing house was born: Publishers owned the presses, bought the rights to what they published, and established a network for marketing and distribution. Five hundred years later, digital technologies now allow authors to publish their own books, retaining the rights and sometimes earning money from the enterprise. In this rapidly changing industry, there’s a lot for an author to learn, and Sonja Hakala’s Your Book, Your Way: How to Choose the Best Publishing Option for Your Book, Your Wallet and Yourself is a great place to start.

            Hakala has many years’ experience in all aspects of the business, from author to book designer to publicist to publisher. She knows the industry, and she has written a guide outlining the many different methods writers now have to get their work to their audience. Audience is key: the author of a family history written for thirty to a hundred relatives has different publication needs from the author of a educational workbook, who has different needs from the author of a fast-paced thriller.

Your Book, Your Way lists and defines all the methods available to those who want to publish privately (books usually given as gifts to a small, specific, audience) or openly (books meant for sale in the marketplace), and then breaks down all the steps required to create a finished book, regardless of format. As Hakala points out: even eBooks need editing, formatting and design. She gives an overview of design elements a publisher must keep in mind for reading ease.

The heart of Your Book, Your Way, however, lies in the two chapters in the center of the book, one on marketing and the other on publishing math. In this digital age, it’s easy to publish; it’s much harder to sell books – no matter how they’re made available. Chapter Nine on marketing is full of advice for anyone who intends to sell their books, no matter how they’re published – including by a traditional, big house. It is these big houses that have set some of the – now archaic – standards in publishing, like the Standard Trade Discount, and other oddities of an industry whose established model is imploding.

In Chapter Ten, Hakala explains Publishing Math – including how independent publishing is likely to be more profitable for more writers than publishing with an old school publisher. Any writer intending to turn a profit would do well to learn the arithmetic Hakala explains with great clarity.

Your Book, Your Way is an essential text for anyone considering publishing their own or others’ books in today’s publishing arena. It includes a glossary of publishing terms, ample examples of parts of a book, cogent warnings against rushing unedited books into print, and a useful index. My one complaint is the sometimes hokey authorial voice, but even this is well-meant, and the clear presentation of complex information more than made up for this one stylistic tic.

Deborah Lee Luskin is the author of Into the Wilderness, winner of the 2011 Independent Publishers’ Gold Medal for Regional Fiction. Learn more at her website: www.deborahleeluskin.com

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What I Learned at Publishing School

Digital technology is revolutionizing how books are produced and delivered, and antiquated business models for acquiring and marketing books are leeching profits from booksellers. Together, the technological innovation and financial stagnation are changing the publishing industry at a breathless pace. Digital printing (also known as POD for “Print on Demand”) and the old school model of distribution and discounts have made it easy to publish books and difficult to sell them through traditional channels.

I had first-hand experience of this situation when White River Press brought out my first novel. Located in western Massachusetts, WRP prints with Lightning Source and distributes through Ingram’s. WRP created a beautiful, soft-cover edition of Into the Wilderness. According to our contract, it was up to me to market it. This, it turns out, is much harder than I could have ever imagined.

Without Advance Reading Copies or reviews in the trade review publications, bookstores had no idea my book existed, and few of them were willing to carry anything POD, even at full trade discount and returnable – the standard, archaic, terms in the book industry. Without this help from a publisher, an author is a guppy swimming against an ocean tide. I decided if I was going to work this hard, I might as well publish my books myself, so I went to Publishing School.

I attended an intensive, week-long course in Literary Publishing at Emerson College in Boston, taught by Gian Lombardo of Quale Press. There were sixteen students, ranging in age from 23 to 65; we were about evenly divided between our interest in starting literary magazines and independent book presses.

Each day, we tackled another aspect of publishing, starting with an overview of literary and independent book publishing. During the course, we covered a host of decisions a start-up publisher would have to make: for profit or 502(3)c; mission statements and editorial standards; printing and distribution methods; marketing the press and marketing the publications; fundamentals of book and magazine design and manufacture; financial management; copyright protocol; tax consequences; capitalization; and finally, legal issues.

Some of what we covered is information that pertains to running any small business, something I’d done successfully for sixteen years. But during those sixteen years, I was so engrossed in management that I had little time to write. By the end of the second day of class, I realized I didn’t really want to start my own press – I only wanted to write. But I stayed for the full week, because the information pertaining to publishing was interesting, and I figured it could only help to know better what a publisher is up against. I also loved getting to know my classmates – all passionate about the literary arts.

In addition to covering the nuts and bolts of setting up a small press, Gian Lomabardo also invited colleagues from the publishing world to speak. This was fantastic. We met Rebecca Morgan Frank, who launched memorious, which has become a highly respected literary journal in only five years; Ladette Randolph and Andrea Drygas, from Ploughshares, and Bill Pierce, from Agni, told us about editing and producing these two prestigious literary journals. Guy Petit, from Flying Object, taught us about letterpress publications and opened our eyes to a whole subculture of small-run, hand-made books that are themselves art objects as well as publications of literary art. Janaka Stuckey, founder of Black Ocean Press, explained his model of short-run offset production of beautifully designed and award-winning poetry books, and David Emblidge told us how he established and capitalized his successful press, Berkshire House, now part of Countryman Press at WW Norton.

These guest speakers made it clear that establishing and continuing a literary enterprise requires vision, passion, and money. And regardless of the format or business model of the endeavor, the return on investment would be in the satisfaction of adding to and sustaining a literary culture rather than wealth.

In the end, what publishing does is add value to a piece of literary art. The selectivity of the press, the editorial process, the design of the text block and cover, and marketing through established relationships between publishers, reviewers and booksellers, all add value to poetry and prose. When a book publisher or a journal follows its vision, readers are reasonably assured that these publications will deliver the kind of literary experience they’re willing to buy and eager to read.

I’m glad I went, even if it was only to learn what I don’t want to do. That in itself is an important lesson. But I also learned this: publishers will always need good content, so it’s time for me to get back to work.

Deborah Lee Luskin is author of Into the Wilderness, winner of the 2011 Independent Publisher’s Gold Medal for Regional Fiction. Learn more at www.deborahleeluskin.com

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E’s your way into being an oft-published author

Today’s post is by guest blogger Marlene Caroselli, Ed.D.

The ebook is gaining greater acceptance now that consumers are finding they actually like holding their Kindles and Nooks. If you’re a not-yet-published author, the ebook affords you a great opportunity to transition into the world of multi-book authorship. Some of the “books” can actually be booklets. They can be sold for 99 cents or even given away.

“But I won’t get rich this way!” I can hear you shouting out right now. That’s right. You won’t. But remember, the rationale behind doing a small book is not wealth. It’s credibility. You can direct readers of your blog to the book. Or, you can refer potential clients there. You can use the ebook as a giveaway to your followers. Or, link up with a charity and make the book available for fundraising purposes. And, best of all, you can list your book(s) on your resume.

VERBUM SAT SAPIENTI (A WORD TO THE WISE)

Just because it’s short, you shouldn’t give your ebook short shrift. A hastily-assembled collection of ideas can definitely taint your future if it’s filled with grammatical and typographical errors. In the world of business, they say you are only given one chance to make a lasting impression. Similarly, if your early ebooks do not reflect quality, buyers will remember and will be less likely to purchase books in the future.

HOW TO DO IT

You may wish to start with a list. You can broaden your ideas by asking friends, colleagues, and even strangers to add to your list. Then, simply expand upon each of the items. Voila. Your ebook is done.

To illustrate, you may be interested in writing for other moms. You could make a list of “Why Kids Hate Vegetables.” Brainstorm ideas and ask for input from other mothers. Then offer a love-antidote for each of the hate-reasons.

Of course, there are many other ways beyond list-making to get your book done. Once it is done, upload it to places like Booklocker, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble. (If you can’t do the requisite formatting yourself, I recommend Dan Case, the editor of Writing for DOLLARS, who is both reasonable and extremely qualified.)

WADING IN THE INCOME STREAM

You probably won’t be able to do more than get your toes wet in your new income stream–at least not at first. On the other hand, you may be able to replicate the success of Amanda Hocking, a 26-year-old author, whose 99-cent books have turned her stream into a ocean-ful of dollars. In January of this year, she sold more than 400,000 copies of her books!

Dr. Marlene Caroselli is the author of 60 business books and uncountable curricula and articles. She has served as an adjunct professor at UCLA and National University, while conducting training for Fortune 100 companies and numerous federal agencies. Her assignments have taken her all over the country and the globe as well.

Hew newest book, Jesus, Jonas, and Janus: The Leadership Triumvirate explores leadership through the prism of historical figures.

In addition to books, Dr. Caroselli writes frequently for Stephen Covey’s Executive Excellence, for the Employment Times, as well as for numerous other print and electronic publications. She also writes podcasts for Workplace English Training E-Magazine.

It may be time to “dive into” e-waters yourself.

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Unless It Moves The Human Heart

If you are like me and chose not to pursue an MFA because you think no one can really teach you to write, and that writing is something you have to learn for yourself, then Roger Rosenblatt’s Unless It Moves the Human Heart: the Craft and Art of Writing is for you.

And if you have pursued an MFA because it made more sense than pursuing a PhD in English (as I did) or training in a trade (as I was encouraged to), and you have benefited from the lessons, the workshops, and the camaraderie and are still writing – this book is also for you.

And for those who fall in neither of those categories, but who like to read a good book, especially a good book about how to live – because that’s what writing is: a way of life – then you would also be well-served to read this small gem of a book.

Recounting a class Rosenblatt taught in the Winter of 2008 at Stony Brook University on Long Island, Unless It Moves the Human Heart is filled with lively dialogue and witty narrative as it tells two stories: the story of how his students processed the lessons he offered, and the story of his pedagogy. The book is both expository narrative and memoir; it is also profound and funny. As Rosenblatt explains in his preface, the book is a fraud: “Nobody really said what I say he said in class. But the ideas expressed here were expressed there . . . And the students themselves were just as gifted, lovable, and annoying as I have drawn them.”

This short book – it’s just over 150 pages long – follows the course of “Writing Everything,” Rosenblatt’s class in which students study short stories, essays, and poems. Rosenblatt introduces each of his students, and in each chapter he reports their reactions to the lessons at hand. He includes some of the students’ actual writing, and he refers to a wide variety of other authors’ work to emphasize the points he makes. If nothing else, a writer could cull an impressive reading list from the works Rosenblatt cites.

Even though I did not pursue an MFA, I did once long for the discipline of deadlines, the support of peers, and the access to writers, agents and editors that MFA programs offer. Now, I’m too busy living the writing life I’ve created on my own to care what I’ve missed. But when I do long for a dose of professional help or writerly companionship, I often read a writing manual or a writer’s memoir. Rosenblatt’s Unless It Moves The Human Heart is one of the best. It is less about the technical craft of writing and more about why writing matters. Rosenblatt says, “The trouble with much writing today is that is has been fertilized and nurtured in classrooms like ours, where the elements of effective writing have been isolated and studied in parts.”

Rosenblatt takes a holistic approach. “Writing,” he says, “is the cure for the disease of living. Doing it may sometimes feel like an escape from the world, but at its best moments it is an act of rescue.” He ends the book with an exhortation to his students –one that applies to all writers: “Your life matters. Now make it matter to others.”

Deborah Lee Luskin is the author of Into The Wilderness, “a fiercely intelligent love story” between two 64-year-olds, set in Vermont in 1964. Luskin is a regular Commentator on Vermont Public Radio, an editorial columnist, and a free-lance writer. In addition, Luskin teachers literature and writing in prisons, hospitals and libraries; she holds a PhD in English Literature from Columbia University. Learn more at her website: www.deborahleeluskin.com

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Writing book reviews – everyone has an opinion

A book review is part of an author’s marketing and promotion toolkit and if you’re going to write a review, to post on Amazon or any other venue, there are some items you should include in order to make it beneficial to the author and potential readers.

Let me start by saying, before writing a review, read the book. It seems an obvious point, but there are reviewers who do not do this.

After finishing the book, give yourself a day or two before starting the review. Let the story settle in your mind. It’s amazing how many ideas percolate to the surface if you give yourself some breathing room.

To craft a book review:

• Have a recommendation. Would you recommend the book to others? Yes or no.
• Open with a brief (1-3 sentence paragraph) summary that catches a reader’s eye. Don’t give away the climax. You want to entice a reader to read (or not) the book you’ve read.
• In the next paragraph, expand a bit on the storyline, include blurbs from the story if they help give a feel for the story that you might not be able to articulate. Summarize some main events in the book, but avoid giving away the spoilers.
• Include a paragraph that talks about the author’s writing style. Comment on what worked and possibly what didn’t. What you liked, or didn’t, and why. Sharing your why is what readers want to know.
• Depending on where your review will be posted, include a bit about the author’s bio in another paragraph. Mention a previous or upcoming book, and perhaps a couple of personal (non-writing) details to give the reader a feel for the person behind the words.
• Wrap up your review with your read/don’t read recommendation and a quick description of who the perfect audience for the book might be.

Everyone has an opinion, so if you read a book and have one you want to share, consider crafting a review that includes points you’d want to know if you were considering a particular title.

If you’re a reader and a writer, book reviews are a way to expand your writing experience and could generate some income.

Lisa Jackson is an editor, writer, and chocolate lover. She’s addicted to Sudoku, cafés, and words. She writes fiction as Lisa Haselton, has a blog for book reviews and author interviews, and is on the staff of The Writer’s Chatroom where she gets to network with writing professionals on a weekly basis — and you can, too! © Lisa J. Jackson, 2011

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Not buy the book? – not a chance

Why is it that I can never go to a book store without leaving with a new pile of books?

Hello my friends

You might think this is a good thing, after all after the advice to get your butt in the chair if you want to write, the second most repeated bit of advice is to read, read, read. Am I right? A good writer is a good reader.

And yet, as I look at the piles and piles of unread books I have in my house, I think even if I read one a day it would take me years to get through them. I have too many books.

And yet I buy more.

I imagine it is the same sort of obsession as some women have for shoes (of which I have about 4 working pairs) you never know when you are going to need that little red strappy number.

I justify my obsession by reminding myself that you never know when you might need to reference a memoir by a Mormon living in New York City ( The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance).

Or that because I own so many of them, I should read the newest Young Adult stories on the market (Matched, Delirium – but NOT Twilight) so that I can talk fluently with my kids and know what kinds of social pressures they might be under.

The whole household has gone on a gluten free diet, surely I need to possess the information and recipe books needed for that. What would happen if dinner time rolled around and I was clueless as to what to feed my family?

And lastly, what if I find myself alone, the kids are out of the house, my work is caught up, the weather is warm enough to take a stroll into a sunny field. Who then would keep me company if no one else came along? Thank god for the book always carried in my bag.

Books are knowledge, company, and friends. As far as obsessions and drugs of choice go, I suppose I could do worse. But still, why is it that even with the leaning towers of unread tomes I currently have, the compulsion is so constantly strong to own more and more and more?

 

Wendy Thomas is an award winning journalist, columnist, and blogger who believes that taking challenges in life will always lead to goodness. She is the mother of 6 funny and creative kids and it is her goal to teach them through stories and lessons. Wendy’s current project involves writing about her family’s experiences with chickens (yes, chickens).

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Friday Fun #1 – July 9th, 2010

Friday Fun is a group post from the writers of the NHWN blog. Each week, we’ll pose and answer a different, writing-related question. We hope you’ll join in by providing your answer in the comments.

QUESTION: What is your favorite inspirational (vs. instructional) book on writing?

ANSWERS:

From Jamie: This is such a tough decision! I have about half-a-dozen beloved and dog-eared books that inspire me to be free, creative, honest, and confident  in my writing. Because her book is the one currently within reach, I’ll go with Brenda Ueland‘s classic, If You Want to Write - A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit. Much more than a pep talk for writers, this book is a manifesto for releasing the creative spirit that lives inside each of us. Though it was originally published in 1938, it is as relevant today as ever.

From chapter 2, “I want to assure you with all earnestness, that no writing is a waste of time, – no creative work where the feelings, the imagination, the intelligence must work. With every sentence you write, you have learned something. It has done you good. It has stretched your understanding. I know that. Even if I knew for certain that I would never have anything published again, and would never make another cent from it. I would still keep on writing.”
 
From Lee: There are a many excellent choices in this category, but the one the burst into my mind first was Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. Although not exclusively for writers, The Artist’s Way, is a method for reconnecting with the creative streak inside all of us. Sometimes in the course of day-to-day life, drafts, deadlines and rewrites, we can lose touch with our muse, we can forget why we do what we do.  The Artist’s Way is a series of readings and creative activities designed to put you back in touch with the creative well that resides in all of us.

It is a rare book that I can reread, cover to cover, but this is one of them.  Every time I pick it up, I glean something new. I have a clearer understanding of my current circumstances and a renewed desire to go put fingers to keyboard and give life to the stories in my head.

 

From Lisa: The Artist’s Way is at the top of my list, too. But the most dog-eared writing book I love is Outwitting Writer’s Block and Other Problems of the Pen by Jenna Glatzer. It’s superb for motivation and brainstorming, keeping yourself at the keyboard, and moving forward with writing on a daily basis.

The book is full of exercises, inspiration, referrals to writing sites and contest sites, and relates to all types of writing. It’s very writer friendly no matter what your experience or longevity in the writing world.

 

From Wendy: My all time favorite inspirational book? – The Princess Bride by William Goldman. I probably have a dozen copies of it (including one in French). I’ve read it out loud to my babies, I even have a copy of it on my Kindle. Where I go, the Princess goes.

The first time I read this book was in 1973 when it came out (alas, I no longer have that first edition). I remember thinking, Hey wait a minute, you’re allowed to do this in writing? The brilliance and narrative naturalness of the writing, the ease with which the plot turned back on itself again and again, the subtle humor as well as the outright belly laugh humor, and the insight into human relationships, along with one of the best feel-good endings ever led the way for me to expand my writing from the formulaic tried and true into something that held a tiny bit of my soul in each word. “As you wish.”

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