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

Managing Your Book Writing Business

November was such a personally challenging month for me that the release of our non-fiction book almost passed without my notice. But it IS official. Here's the official blurb:

Are you a writer? Have you published your work or are you seeking publication? Did you know that you are also a small business owner? This helpful handbook outlines basic and important information every author needs to know about the publishing industry and the “business” of writing. From developing a business plan to cultivating a professional reputation, award winning author Pauline Baird Jones and public relations expert and author Jamie Engle share their years of knowledge and experience. Don’t wait until it’s too late, then say “I wish I would have known…” Managing Your Book Writing Business includes helpful web links and guidelines to help you get started, and keep you from making simple but potentially costly mistakes. Save time and start out right—success comes sooner for authors who take the time to organize and plan a strategy!

It was a dream to work with Jamie to finish this book. She is a wonderful writer and very professional and knowledgeable. She pulled things from me that I didn't know I knew.

Hope you'll check it out in ebook or print!
Perilously yours,
Pauline

Today we're guesting author Jeff Rivera on the blog. He's the author of Forever My Lady, releasing today. Welcome, Jeff. :-) He's agreed to answer a few questions, so let's get started!

What would you say Forever My Lady is about to you as the writer?
For me Pauline, Forever My Lady is a cautionary tale not just to teens but also to the world about what happens when you're not willing to let your relationship go in the direction in naturally should go. Sometimes we want to hold on to things and keep things the way they are, we panic when we see the relationship evolving into something else. That's what the character Dio goes through when he sees his soul mate start to be "distracted" and he keeps holding on to the hope that she'll be there for him even though her actions are showing something else.

You have an interesting character named Louise who is in what seems like an abusive relationship. Why did you decide to give her that background?
I knew from the beginning that she was going to appear at first as sort of trailer-trashy. I saw her with missing teeth. Then, I asked myself how did she get those missing teeth. That's when the story evolved and I realized that she had them knocked out by her current husband. I have friends who are still in abusive relationships and no matter what I do to plead they get out of it, they're not ready yet and it breaks my heart to see it.

Have you ever experienced an abusive relationship?

Yes, I was in an emotionally abusive and dysfunctional relationship but I don't feel sorry for myself, I chose to stay in it and in that way I was a willing participant in the dysfunction.

Why did you decide to go against the grain with the ending in the book?
I wanted the ending to be happy in a way, and in a way it is depending on how you look at it but at the same time I wanted it to be realistic to be believable and no matter how you feel about the ending, love it or not you have to admit it is believable.

Can we get Forever My Lady on Amazon?
Yes, Amazon.com or www.JeffRivera.com or of course, bookstores all over.

Thanks so much for stopping by the blog, Jeff. We wish lots of success with the book!
Perilously yours,
Pauline

Pauline Baird Jones
www.paulinebjones.com
Pauline@paulinebjones.com
The Key; Men in Jeans: Death in Texas Anthology
Made-up Mayhem,
Adapting Your Novel for Film
Managing Your Book Writing Business

This and That....

If you missed me, well blame it on Ike. We got our hardest hurricane hit this time, though it was nothing like it could have been. There are a lot of people out there who got hit a LOT harder and longer. To read about my adventures with Ike, check out my personal blog. There are pictures, too.

While I was offline, our chapter released our latest anthology, A Death in Texas, which is way cool. You can find it online at amazon and B&N or at fictionwise as a mutliformat ebook. I downloaded my copy and have read four of the short stories and so far am very wowed. My short is in very good company!

I also got a review of The Key from Booksmugglers. It was a decent review, though I was surprised they found it political. It is a good lesson in this truism:

Where ever I take my eyes, they see things from my point of view.

Simply put, we each bring our personal experiences to the reading experience. It's not something the writer can control or even predict. You can plan to be political and still not get the response you hoped for. It's just the way things are. So it's not worth it to get huffy and bent out of shape if you get a review you don't like.

I'm fortunate that good reviews have far outnumbered bad (and the BookSmuggler's review is really nice. They liked my story and loved Sara, my main character) but I have gotten slammed. I had one reviewer not only hate the book, but she proceeded to give away each and every plot surprise in the book. My mildest "bad" review thought I was "too funny."

At no time have I written and complained about a review. If I write, I thank the reviewer for their time. If I find something interesting or a surprise, I might mention it, but never in a hostile manner. We can learn from reviews, even if that lesson is just: turn the other cheek.

If you're going to be in the this business, if you put your writing out there, someone somewhere is going to have an opinion about it and it won't always be flattering. And if you don't get reviewered ever, you need to work on your promotion and marketing.

Char's Book Reviews has an interesting discussion on her website today about even genre fiction writing can reflect our world view and become a forum of our beliefs. Guest blogger Mark Phillips writes:

"I believe that fiction, even, and perhaps especially, genre fiction is the modern democratic forum for ethical discussion. We can and should be conscious contributors to that ongoing dialogue."

And if you become a part of that dialogue, you WILL tick someone off somewhere. For the writer, the question then becomes, "Do I allow my critics to silence me? Do I slink off into a dark corner and lick my wounds? Or do I accept that everyone has their own point of view and experiences? Can I allow them their differences? Can I refuse to give them power over my words and thoughts and writing?"

You probably won't know how you're going to take criticism until it happens. It's probably a good idea to expose your work to others prior to publication. Learn to smile when someone tells you how your work would be better. And consider the fact that they may be right. Or might at least have a point.

People will analyze your work and see things you don't. Because where they take THEIR eyes, they will see things from their point of view. That's never going to change, no matter how much you might want it to be different. And if you set out to make your work didactic, you can count on ticking off people.

To toughen your hide, put on your asbestos drawers and do what you love. Words have great power--but they still only have the power You give them.
Perilously yours,
Pauline