Archive | October, 2008

Little Books That Could

31 Oct

Do you dream of rags-to-riches?

The Publishers Weekly book trends blog recently ran a bit about Firmin, a title that was released by Coffee House Press in 2006 and is in the process of taking the entire world by storm. This story hits all the right notes: an unsolicited manuscript by a first-time author gets published up by a small press, then garners great reviews, gets buzz at Frankfurt, sells internationally, and is finally picked up by Bantam for a splashy domestic relaunch.

First, even though I haven’t read the book, I’m very happy for the author and for Coffee House. I am not here to rain on parades. But I also cringe every time I read a story like this because it plays into the lottery mentality that plagues publishing.

My beef is that not for every remarkable success story there are countless failures. My complaint is that for every remarkable success story that are countless boring and mundane success stories that are never celebrated. Books that build their audience slowly. Books that make an impact but never crack the bestseller list. Books that modestly meet, but do not, exceed expectations. All outcomes that are perfectly acceptable.

I believe in keeping the dream alive. But I also worry that certain kinds of dreams (that your book, all by its lonesome, will take off) can lead to passivity. Sometimes the work speaks for itself. More often you need to speak for it.

A former writing teacher of mine said it was okay to fantasize about instant success, but to do it for no more than fifteen minutes a day. I would amend that to go ahead and fantasize about going from rags to riches, but to also consider the alternatives. If my work isn’t going to catch fire, what can I do to help it burn slowly?

Passing the Hat

29 Oct

Thanks to reader Dara for passing along this link to Ana Marie Cox’s Rate Card. With the demise of Radar Magazine, the author and former Wonkette blogger is asking for donations so she can continue to cover the presidential campaign. (It seems to be working.)

More signs and portents:

The Christian Science Monitor announced it plans to stay afloat in the newspaper business by ending its 100-year streak of publishing its articles on paper.

Also, Google just settled its book digitization lawsuit, thus freeing it up to delve further into the electronic publishing market.

David Carr has a nice piece in the Times today about the big picture [subscription required] but I’m more interested in hearing how this news plays on the ground. For you writers and aspiring writers out there, how do you feel about the idea of asking for donations to support your work? Would you tip a blogger, or would you pass them by like a subway busker? In the long term, does this mean that writing will become a more viable hobby than a profession? Or do you see opportunities in the chaos?

I have my own thoughts, but I’d like to hear from you first.

Competitive Works

28 Oct

A reader writes:

I have a book proposal that I’m trying to finish up. I have an intro and sample chapter (both of which I think are solid), but I’m struggling with the “about the market” and related supporting materials. How seriously do I need to take the “about the market” and “here’s how I’ll promote this” and related portions of the proposal? Is this something that an agent could potentially help me with, or do I need to have these sections pretty solid before even approaching an agent? I have a list of competing titles, but that’s pretty much all I have.

Promotion will have to wait for another post, but here are my thoughts on competitive works:

1. Avoid mistakes

When I worked for a literary agency, I was constantly amazed at how people would pitch a book that already existed. We’d get a query touting a startlingly original book about the pineapple as a symbol of hospitality and goodness. Meanwhile, there at #5 on the Times bestseller list was American Pineapple: Symbol of Hospitality and Goodness. Of course you’ll be highlighting your project’s originality, but be careful not to overstate your case.

2. Show your book’s place

Unless you’re writing about pineapples (a category that my Amazon search reveals to be tragically underrepresented) chances are there are books like yours. Don’t panic. You can take the idea that there’s nothing new under the sun as a complaint about our collective unoriginality. Or you can bright side that sh*t and realize that anything you make is part of a larger, ongoing conversation about the human experience. Even if there were hundreds of pineapple books, yours has to offer what yours has to offer. Use the marketplace to throw your contribution into relief rather than to fight what’s already out there.

3. Make connections beyond the category

You don’t want to be glib (NEVER say your book is something “meets” something else) but connecting with diverse but like-minded titles can be very effective. Here you’re not so much talking about competing works as using a popular book to create an emotional profile for your project. Warning: if you use this tactic, pick a book that’s familiar and respected, but not a blockbuster. No editor, agent or publisher wants to hear that you have the next The Tipping Point. They get enough of that already.

Final thought: Instead of looking at researching competitive works as a chore, think of it as yet another way to sharpen up. Having a firm grasp of what’s already out there will help you write, sell and promote your work. A brilliant competitive works section isn’t essential, but it’s an opportunity to shine. So shine, right?

Good luck.

Sublime is Us

26 Oct

I am not a dance guy. I am not against dance. I am not indifferent to dance. I am simply dance blind.

Then I saw this dance review in the Times [subscription required]. The show is called “Sublime is Us” and the picture alone was enough to get me all worked up:

Admittedly, I haven’t seen the show, but the core ideas behind the piece are nevertheless inspiring.

I love how simple the idea is (in short: you + dancers + mirrors), but also how suggestive it is. One look at that picture and you can immediately imagine what it’s like to be there.

I love how Luciana Achugar, the show’s creator, has radically rethought the performance space.

I love how the audience is at once an active and a passive participant.

I love how the show invites you into an aspect of the dance world (i.e. the practice space) that is traditionally kept off limits.

Tack this one up on your wall, people. If you can even approach this one in terms of conceptual awesomeness, you’ll be doing very, very well.

Awesome Writing Prompt #1

22 Oct

I’m on deadline this week, crashing out a book review/essay for my friends at Mother Jones. Posting will be irregular, if at all, but this does not stop our work from going forward.

The above image (clicks it to makes it largers) is courtesy of artist Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung. I have more to say about his awesomeness later, but for now I thought it would be fun to use this super-charged image as a writing prompt.

I’m interested in openings, endings, scenes, snatches of dialogue, description, whatever. Embrace the image or reject it. Be literal. Be figurative. And if you’re feeling shy about the awesome fruits of your awesome labors, feel free to post anonymously. You cannot fail.

Eat, Drink & Get Published

21 Oct

Thanks to everyone who showed up last night for my talk at Eat, Drink & Get Published. I had a lot of fun depressing you. [Wink!]

Also, if you thought of that perfect question to ask me, but didn’t think of it until you were already halfway home, please ask it through this site. My e-mail address is on the Contact page, and not only would I be happy to answer the question because you’re you and you’re wonderful, but you would also be doing me a favor by providing fodder for this blog.

Finally, if you’re interested in learning more about my book, HEAD CASE, I will be doing a show at the Bakken Museum on November 8th. Deets l8r.

Finally-finally, here are three links to three articles that are worth reading:

Have We Reached the End of Book Publishing As We Know It?

Free! Why $0.00 Is the Future of Business

Snack Attack!

Awesome Introversion Shyness Machine!

20 Oct

Thanks to reader JES for sending along this link to An Introvert’s Bill of Rights, which appears on Shrinking Violet Promotions, a blog dedicated to providing book marketing ideas for introverts. It’s too early to say whether or not the execution of the IBR will match the concept, but idea-wise I give this an A+.

Typically, book marketing advice is geared toward either teaching you how to follow the rules of the system, or, in some cases, how to game the system.

For example, because Amazon sales rankings are based on the rate of book sales, some people will tell you to have everybody you know buy your book at the same time, thus catapulting your title up the charts (even if it’s only for a moment). That’s gaming the system.

As for following the rules of the system, you know what that looks like:

Join Toastmasters and learn how to be a public speaker! If you have an upcoming television appearance, practice in front of a mirror! Take an acting class! Try beta blockers! Practice mindful meditation! Do everything humanly possible to become someone you’re not!

What I like about the IBR is that they’re saying to hell with all that. In the world they’re creating, introversion is a virtue, a badge of honor, a strength. Introverts need to band together, articulate their shared experience, and stand up for themselves (albeit introvertedly). Why change when you can organize?

I am usually on the side of adaptation, but in some cases the play is to bend people to your will rather than submit to theirs. It’s not easy, but the long-term rewards can be great.

As Jack Nicholson’s character says during his opening monologue in The Departed, “I don’t want to be a product of my environment; I want my environment to be a product of me.” (Never mind that he gets killed at the end; he had a great run.)

Five Thoughts from a Short-short Fiction Contest Judge

17 Oct

My friend and fellow author Geoff Herbach was kind enough to ask me to be one of the judges for this cycle of the miniStories short-short fiction contest. Twenty-nine stories to read and assess and mull over equals long walks, lost sleep, the studied avoidance of shaving, more lost sleep, and still more mulling.

As to be expected, there was some good work, some not-so-good work and some work that barely meets the definition of work. Here are some notes for those of you who didn’t make the “maybe” pile:

1. ‘Tis true that you need to grab the reader’s attention in the first few lines, but you should not hurt the reader in the grabbing. Scream “look out for that falling piano!” in real life and you’re performing a public service. Do it on the page and you risk sounding melodramatic.

2. On a related note, while the beginning of a story needs to get the reader’s attention, your open also has to part of the whole. As a reader, I might forgive you for screaming about falling pianos in a story about large instruments and head trauma, but not in a story about the memories conjured by the site of your grandmother’s hands. No one likes to feel duped.

3. You can’t go wrong by opening with an interesting fact, such as “Albert had an unusually large head.” You can do even better by opening with an interesting fact filtered through the lens of belief. Write something like “Henrietta had never trusted men with unusually large heads” and I’ll be with you for at least another few lines.

4. Even in a short-short (I believe the limit was 500 words) the reader will regularly clear their cache of goodwill. In other words, while I appreciated the bit about Henrietta’s large-heads trust issues, you better have something as good or better in the next paragraph. No matter how good of a writer you are, there is always something better to read.

5. Finally, please go easy on your endings. Like beginnings, endings can be quiet, evasive, silly, odd, murky, jarring, etc. It’s nice when they’re sublime, but I can tell when you’re trying to make the angels sing, and believe you me, nothing shuts them up like too much effort.

Bonus thought for Minneapolis/St. Paul-area writers:

The miniStories contest is a regular program run by mnartists.org. The contest is a snap to enter, and the winners are celebrated at readings that are open to the public. It’s a great way to get out of the house, meet other writers and build your community. Do it.

Will We Ever Tire of “Meta”?

16 Oct

Take On Me: Literal Video Version says no:

ManBabies and Taking it “Furthur”

15 Oct

ManBabies.com - Dad?
GET MORE AT ManBabies.com!

Thanks to Tom Wolfe’s THE ELECTRIC KOOL-AID ACID TEST, when I was in high school I thought Ken Kesey and Merry Pranksters were pretty out there, man. I mean, “tootling the multitudes” in a psychedelic bus named Furthur? How did they come up with that stuff?

Today, if that iconic bus rolled through my neighborhood with its waving hippies and blaring tape loops, I doubt I would give it a second look. I’d think, “Yeah, that’s far out. But it’s no ManBabies.”

Perhaps I’m jaded and numb. Or maybe I live in a world of pastiche and collage and mashup, where every culture is a subculture, and where cognitive dissonance isn’t the problem, but what makes the game worth playing.

So if you’re working on something right now and you feel it’s middling, let ManBabies give you permission to blow it out.

And if you’re working on something right now that feels too weird, fleeting or inconsequential, relax. You’re in good company.

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