Writerly Ways

Wow, I left myself nothing to say that's original. I've already spilled the beans about my big news for the week and I think I even mentioned busting through the block on Luc and Arrigo's story (and thank you to wildrider for her help with this one). I'm trying to work out the shapeshifter short story since it's due first. it's not going well.

So instead I'll just make this about what other people are doing/saying about the craft.

moschus says things about writing that I want to but can’t seem to get out right

the weekend guest speaker at circletpress has been very interesting, talking more about the technical stuff we all SHOULD know. Pop in and have a look at these.

bad contracts and worse pay scales

author platforms If you're unfamiliar with author platforms, they are in part how are YOU going to do the publisher's work for them. Any more you're expected to do all your own marketing for no pay (so what that publisher's cut of your profits is about any more, it's hard to say). This also came up on moschus's facebook page too. Some of it is easy enough, having your own facebook/myspace/journal pages. However, you're expected to have your own website, etc etc which for some of us is easy, others not so much so. In some cases you're expected to put your platform in your query letter before they'll even look at your work.

I'm not sure I like this. In the first place, I don't really give a crap about knowing that much about most authors. In a couple cases, learning more about them has made me dump them from my flists AND stop buying their books. Others I've come to embrace more closely but on the whole, I don't seek them out. I still find my books the oldfashioned way, by cover art, genre and back cover/dust jacket blurbs.

That seques well into the writing exercise for this week.

1. write a logline (that's that one-line concept summary of your novel)

2. expand the logline into a 'back cover' blurb.

3. write the opening disturbance (writers' digest describes that as the opening chapter)

there's more to this exercise but i think i'll save it for next week. I'll give you my take on this later as lightning is heading my way!