Hello, hitting you Wednesday instead of Friday,
How much do you know about book publishing? I don’t know much I admit and there seems so much information out there especially for self-publishers though some of it does repeat itself. I just learned today what to do with the foreign rights of your novel and releasing those rights to publishers around the world and how to do it.
It would be great to have one definitive book that would tell you everything you should know; the best direction you should take for your novel—stop dreaming right; there is no such thing. It’s like your being the only one who has to find the light switch in an unfamiliar ball room in the encompassing dark: you have to do it by yourself, you have to keep trying, getting around the obstacles the best way you can, working at it hit or miss until you find the best ways to work your book or turn on the light.
Write,
If you have any comments or suggestions I have a new e-mail address at: mathewsla@hotmail.com
Until next time, God willing.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Friday, June 20, 2008
Hello and hope you’re doing well,
A few minutes ago I got a phone call from someone who read You Don’t Know Me and she let me know she really enjoyed it and gave it to her friend who enjoyed it as well and asked when the next would come out; her phone call I can tell you, made my week and it does help with the writing.
I’m writing and listening to books on tape, the book is The Terror by Dan Simmons, very, very good and its twenty-two disks, yet I've listened to each one and I’m now re-listening to the first disks to put in context everything I’ve read—listened to. One of the interesting things about the novel is its serious detail. The Terror is the fictional story of a ship called The Terror who in 1845 as part of the Franklin Expedition, gets stuck in the Arctic Circle which is bad enough but added to this misery the crew and those of its sister ship are being slaughtered by a beast. The novel is filled with details about how the ship works and looks, how a working ship faces ice, how the ship is piloted and so on, all interesting because the writer doesn’t pommel you with the details yet its full of them, even minute ones.
Details in a novel are necessary and tricky for any writer I believe, no matter how much experience you have; if you put in too much you over shadow the story and if you don’t enter the detail just right the story becomes boring and too tedious to plow through; if you don’t put in enough the story doesn’t sound real enough or reads amateurish, so the key is to put in just enough, the right kind, to make sure the story is solid so the details run so seamlessly through it the reader doesn’t notice and if they do its complimentary; so like I said, detailing a story is a tricky business. For me to get around this “trickiness” I read some of my favorite writers and I've found that though they detail very well, they sacrifice most of it for great story and I work on doing the same.
Write and keep at it,
If you have any comments or suggestions I have a new e-mail address at: mathewsla@hotmail.com
Until next time, God willing.
A few minutes ago I got a phone call from someone who read You Don’t Know Me and she let me know she really enjoyed it and gave it to her friend who enjoyed it as well and asked when the next would come out; her phone call I can tell you, made my week and it does help with the writing.
I’m writing and listening to books on tape, the book is The Terror by Dan Simmons, very, very good and its twenty-two disks, yet I've listened to each one and I’m now re-listening to the first disks to put in context everything I’ve read—listened to. One of the interesting things about the novel is its serious detail. The Terror is the fictional story of a ship called The Terror who in 1845 as part of the Franklin Expedition, gets stuck in the Arctic Circle which is bad enough but added to this misery the crew and those of its sister ship are being slaughtered by a beast. The novel is filled with details about how the ship works and looks, how a working ship faces ice, how the ship is piloted and so on, all interesting because the writer doesn’t pommel you with the details yet its full of them, even minute ones.
Details in a novel are necessary and tricky for any writer I believe, no matter how much experience you have; if you put in too much you over shadow the story and if you don’t enter the detail just right the story becomes boring and too tedious to plow through; if you don’t put in enough the story doesn’t sound real enough or reads amateurish, so the key is to put in just enough, the right kind, to make sure the story is solid so the details run so seamlessly through it the reader doesn’t notice and if they do its complimentary; so like I said, detailing a story is a tricky business. For me to get around this “trickiness” I read some of my favorite writers and I've found that though they detail very well, they sacrifice most of it for great story and I work on doing the same.
Write and keep at it,
If you have any comments or suggestions I have a new e-mail address at: mathewsla@hotmail.com
Until next time, God willing.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Hello and Happy Friday to you,
Do you do all you have to do for your writing or to get it recognized? It could be a lot of work involved when you’re already writing all and when you can. I’m talking about submitting your work to relevant contests, applying for artistic grants, sending out press kits and information to get your work known, talking to people about your novel, holding book signings—a host of things to get people talking about your book and characters; it’s a job in itself. I try to promote my book a little each day in some form, today I’m sending a copy out to my brother-in-law, a soldier in the United States Army stationed in Afghanistan, he requested a signed book so along with it I’m also sending post cards I hope he'll give to his fellow soldiers who will want to read the book; I’m offering a free copy to anyone of them along with the free download available at Lulu.com. My local newspaper, The Plain Dealer, is doing an occasional story on local artists, writers and their Muse, I submitted an e-mail offering the story of my novel and Muse and also had friends submit for me, I’m hoping my story is chosen, it would be great publicity for the book.
Whether any of my efforts pan out who knows, yet I keep trying to get the word out every day, it's part of this book thing and the fact you want to give your novel and characters every chance to be heard. Yet, what really makes all your efforts worth while is the knowledge you do have a book out there you love and feel is worth promoting no matter what you have to do and while you’re doing all this; you’re writing the next.
Write always and always keep the faith,
If you have any comments or suggestions I have a new e-mail address at: mathewsla@hotmail.com
Until next time, God willing.
Do you do all you have to do for your writing or to get it recognized? It could be a lot of work involved when you’re already writing all and when you can. I’m talking about submitting your work to relevant contests, applying for artistic grants, sending out press kits and information to get your work known, talking to people about your novel, holding book signings—a host of things to get people talking about your book and characters; it’s a job in itself. I try to promote my book a little each day in some form, today I’m sending a copy out to my brother-in-law, a soldier in the United States Army stationed in Afghanistan, he requested a signed book so along with it I’m also sending post cards I hope he'll give to his fellow soldiers who will want to read the book; I’m offering a free copy to anyone of them along with the free download available at Lulu.com. My local newspaper, The Plain Dealer, is doing an occasional story on local artists, writers and their Muse, I submitted an e-mail offering the story of my novel and Muse and also had friends submit for me, I’m hoping my story is chosen, it would be great publicity for the book.
Whether any of my efforts pan out who knows, yet I keep trying to get the word out every day, it's part of this book thing and the fact you want to give your novel and characters every chance to be heard. Yet, what really makes all your efforts worth while is the knowledge you do have a book out there you love and feel is worth promoting no matter what you have to do and while you’re doing all this; you’re writing the next.
Write always and always keep the faith,
If you have any comments or suggestions I have a new e-mail address at: mathewsla@hotmail.com
Until next time, God willing.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Hello, it’s Thursday instead of Friday, like you didn’t know it,
I have solicited—doesn’t that sound awful though funny--another book review from a reviewer on Amazon.com for You Don’t Know Me. Shouldn’t I be done with getting book reviews or recommendations for that novel? I would like to say yes, but I know I never will. The one thing I’ve found about having a book in the world, you’re always building it up, getting it a stellar c.v. and will do it for the rest of your life and especially for it’s immediate future because you want millions to read it and to get them to do so, others have to have read it and pronounced it good—or bad; I’ve heard a bad review isn’t sometimes bad—prompting others to want to check it out.
I of course want a good review to add to the one I have from Mr. Lecard because as we all know, a good review is just that and I believe it does help. You have to go after them and as self-published writers; we have to go after them much harder than someone who published traditionally because self-published doesn’t have an entire publishing house helping and backing their work which is not at all a bad thing; working hard gets the writing done to your own satisfaction and you have to work just as hard on all other aspects of having a self-published novel out because for the most part; it’s you and you alone driving it toward success.
Are you reading anything while you’re writing? I just picked up a historical novel titled The Terror by Dan Simmons and it’s not bad, rather good; interesting details mixed with an intriguing storyline.
I love writing; you probably got that by now.
If you have any comments or suggestions I have a new e-mail address at: mathewsla@hotmail.com
Until next time, God willing.
I have solicited—doesn’t that sound awful though funny--another book review from a reviewer on Amazon.com for You Don’t Know Me. Shouldn’t I be done with getting book reviews or recommendations for that novel? I would like to say yes, but I know I never will. The one thing I’ve found about having a book in the world, you’re always building it up, getting it a stellar c.v. and will do it for the rest of your life and especially for it’s immediate future because you want millions to read it and to get them to do so, others have to have read it and pronounced it good—or bad; I’ve heard a bad review isn’t sometimes bad—prompting others to want to check it out.
I of course want a good review to add to the one I have from Mr. Lecard because as we all know, a good review is just that and I believe it does help. You have to go after them and as self-published writers; we have to go after them much harder than someone who published traditionally because self-published doesn’t have an entire publishing house helping and backing their work which is not at all a bad thing; working hard gets the writing done to your own satisfaction and you have to work just as hard on all other aspects of having a self-published novel out because for the most part; it’s you and you alone driving it toward success.
Are you reading anything while you’re writing? I just picked up a historical novel titled The Terror by Dan Simmons and it’s not bad, rather good; interesting details mixed with an intriguing storyline.
I love writing; you probably got that by now.
If you have any comments or suggestions I have a new e-mail address at: mathewsla@hotmail.com
Until next time, God willing.
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