I bought a new computer and it arrived (kind of) mid week. Kind of, because the monitor didn’t arrive. After two days of phone calls to Dell they accepted that the two packages they sent did not include the monitor; the second package held the fancy speaker for the monitor, but not the monitor. I am not computer savvy; I am probably not savvy in anything, but by knowing that about myself, I usually avoid situations where savvy is important or necessary.
I don’t name my computer, like some writers I know do. To me the computer is basically a fancy typewriter that corrects my spelling and saves me a lot of trouble when it comes to editing. Transferring files from the old computer to the new one took all Saturday afternoon and early evening.
With nothing to do but deal with my frustration, I went to the Hog’s Breath to hear my Texas friend Clint Bullard sing. He’s at the Hog’s mid shift – 5-9 p.m. – through June 15th, so go to http://www.hogsbreath.com/ and catch him on the bar’s live video-cam.
I was sitting there, enjoying a good cigar and some Jameson on the rocks when Art, one of the managers, came over and says he doesn’t believe I don’t control what the characters I write about say and do. He got that from one of my blog posts that mentioned characters sometimes take on a life of their own.
“You’re like God, you have total control and can do what you want with them,” he said, and told Julie my drink was on him.
I love Art and Andy and Patrick and Lori – the other bar managers – when they do that.
With all the time I’ve spent in Key West bars – not to mention bars I’ve enjoyed in other cities I’ve lived in or traveled to – I would not presume to tell bar managers how to do their job. I say something like that to Art.
“Yeah, but I have a real job, you just write stories, so you don’t have bosses or rules to follow,” he replied with the innocence of one-year old.
I didn’t feel it was my responsibility to explain the reality of writing to him, because he wouldn’t have believed me. Deal with editors and agents and deadlines, I wanted to say, but didn’t.
“Let me give you one cryptic example of how characters take on a life of their own,” I said instead, as I sipped from my iced Irish whiskey and let its flavor slide down.
“Why does it have to be cryptic?”
“Because I don’t wanna give away the story,” I had another sip. “If I do, you won’t be surprised when you read it.”
I relit my cigar, because of too much talking it had gone out. “Early on in the new book.”
“What’s this one called?” he interrupted.
“Free Range Institution,” I answer him.
“Isn’t that the title of a Scott Kirby song?”
“Yes it is.”
“You’re stealing his song title?”
“Art, which topic do you want to discuss here, because the ice is melting and diluting my drink,” I chewed my cigar and blew smoke into the air.
“Go on,” he sat down, ready for a long story.
“Early on in the new book, there is a conversation about killing people . . .”
“Because you write murder mysteries,” he interrupted again.
“Yes, Art, because I write murder mysteries,” I agreed with him. “The topic is brought up between Mick Murphy, Padre Thomas . . .”
“The Jesuit, right?”
“Yes,” I sipped my Irish before it lost its taste. “And Mick’s friend Norm and Tita . . .”
“The spy and the girlfriend,” he smiled, proud of remembering my first book.
“Very good,” I chewed ice from my plastic cup. “You read the proofs.”
“Go on, I want to hear your explanation,” he rushed me.
“One of the characters mentions taking a life, for any reason has to have an affect on a person, even if that loss of life is justified . . .”
“Has to be Padre Thomas . . .”
“Art, I can’t tell you who,” I grumbled. “Let me finish.”
“Okay,” and he signaled Julie to refill my drink. Gotta love the guy!
“I wrote the conversation a few months ago, I am at least one-hundred pages more into the story when I begin to wonder about my ending. Someone has to kill the corrupt city commissioner . . .”
“Which commissioner is it?”
“It’s fiction, Art,” I tried to explain to him. “It’s not a real commissioner.”
“Yeah, but I bet I can figure out who it is when I read it.”
Everyone in Key West sees themselves or someone they know as characters in books by local writers. Just ask Tom Corcoran.
With a deep sigh and fresh drink, I went on. “I am thinking about the ending when the earlier conversation pops into my head and I think ‘what if so-and-so kills the commissioner to save Mick’s life,’ and pow, I have my ending. I have major conflict and surprise,” I puffed on the cigar and sipped the chilled Jameson, proud of myself. “That was not anywhere in my plans for the book,” I explained. “It came from a conversation I never thought would have anything to do with the ending.”
“That’s your argument?” he sounded disappointed.
“Yeah,” I mumbled, smoked and took a good swallow of my drink. “It happened without my doing it. The character popped out with something from earlier in the book. Something I never gave a thought to, until I looked for an ending.”
“You didn’t have an ending before you began?” his disappointment was growing.
“I knew how I wanted it to end, but not exactly,” I said. “I had my notes, but they're only guides that usually get lost as the pages mount up.”
“You aren’t going to be mad at me, if I write a mystery, are you?” he stood up. “I can just plot something out and write it. I wouldn’t let characters tell me what to do. That’s why it takes you so long to write a book.”
“I tell you what, I’ll trade places with you,” I suggested. “You write the book and I’ll take your shifts managing the bar.”
“No, I am not sure you could handle real work,” he began to walk away. “But thanks for the insight, it was a lot of help.”
As Art walked away I could almost see him formulating his future novel in his head. I smiled to myself and wondered if God ever had days like this.
I sipped my drink and listened to Clint sing a few of his original songs and thought maybe I should become a songwriter; it sure looked easy as he performed on the Hog's outdoor stage, people singing along and yelling for more. Hell, how many words in a song? I can write short stories and novels, how hard can it be to write a song?
Monday, June 11, 2007
Friday, June 1, 2007
Writing and drinking, it's only a myth
A friend said my recent blog sounded like I drank and wrote (she doesn’t mind the cigar). She suggested I straighten out the misconception.
She’s right. I do not drink alcohol at home and then write. I drink alcohol at home and go to sleep! My days of trying to out do Hemingway are gone, and I am surprised my liver is still hanging on. Not to say I don’t enjoy a good stout or Irish whiskey. Most Friday nights I meet friends at Finnegan’s Wake for a few pints and some of the best chicken wings on the island.
Or I may meet friends at the Hog’s Breath and sip a Jameson on the rocks and listen to songwriters performing their music live. Over the years I have made friends with many of the singer-songwriters who play at the Hog, so when they’re in town I stop by. They are writers too, poets even.
After three beers or two Irish whiskies I’m drinking bottled water. I have too much going for me to get involved in a DUI; or worse, cause an accident that seriously hurt someone else.
What I do, sometimes, when I am sitting at the bar, or under my stilt house, with a drink and cigar, is to let my mind wander without the pressure of a blank screen staring back at me. Enjoy the drink and cigar and let my unconscious mind work for me, while consciously I am relaxing and enjoying myself, listening to live music or something from my CD collection. Of course, when people come up and talk to me, as happens in bars, my unconscious mind shuts them out and continues on with its search for the solution to my problem, while I go on being sociable. Great, ain't it?
Let’s look at this weekend. It is raining today, so maybe I get a stout at Finnegan’s, since the Hog is an open bar and heavy rain will keep the musicians off the stage and clear out the outdoor section of the restaurant. We need rain in Florida; I only wish it would take a break for a few hours.
I will get home sometime between 8 – 9 p.m. (wild life I live!) and probably read. I have Elmore Leonard’s new book and his dialogue is to kill for. I just finished Robert Gregory Browne’s book, Kiss Her Goodbye. Wanna read some intense writing that moves so fast it leaves you breathless? Check out Rob’s book or go to his Anatomy of a Book Deal blog, check my link section.
I guess this is as good a time as any to mention that writing includes a lot of reading. I read blogs, newspapers and books galore! My home office has a floor-to-ceiling bookcase made of 2-inch-by-12-inch shelving. Heavy, but I guess it’s a complex leftover from my years in earthquake prone Southern California. I made my computer desk the same way.
The shelves are full of books I’ve read and then stacked on their sides are more books I need to read; a few histories, but mostly mystery novels. In 1998 I lost about 2,000 books, mostly signed first edition when my floating home floated away in Hurricane Georges! Looking at my bookshelves now I wonder why the sucker didn’t sink from the weight of my books.
So, to me, reading is as much a part of writing as the pounding of keyboard keys. You need to read the masters, old and true (Chandler, Hammett) as well as people like Leonard for his ability at dialogue or James Lee Burke who can make you smell and taste New Orleans; Michael Connelly, who makes you step over the dirt and grit of Los Angeles and Robert Crais, whose mixture of the Hollywood Hills and tortured souls, helps you see the dirty little angels who survive there.
These writers are so damn good, I sometime want to hang up my keyboard. Of course, I can’t. As a writer I need to write, even if that’s only in my mind while trying to workout a problem in moving my story forward. I don't believe never writing has ever been an option in my life.
Think of how lucky I am, I get to roam Paradise, have a few drinks and good cigars, listen to great live music, talk to characters you would probably have to be locked up in a mental health facility to find anywhere else, go sailing and then sit down and find the words to explain it all without an alcohol haze in stories formed in my imagination.
I may never catch up to my writing heroes, but I am enjoying the hell out of the chase.
She’s right. I do not drink alcohol at home and then write. I drink alcohol at home and go to sleep! My days of trying to out do Hemingway are gone, and I am surprised my liver is still hanging on. Not to say I don’t enjoy a good stout or Irish whiskey. Most Friday nights I meet friends at Finnegan’s Wake for a few pints and some of the best chicken wings on the island.
Or I may meet friends at the Hog’s Breath and sip a Jameson on the rocks and listen to songwriters performing their music live. Over the years I have made friends with many of the singer-songwriters who play at the Hog, so when they’re in town I stop by. They are writers too, poets even.
After three beers or two Irish whiskies I’m drinking bottled water. I have too much going for me to get involved in a DUI; or worse, cause an accident that seriously hurt someone else.
What I do, sometimes, when I am sitting at the bar, or under my stilt house, with a drink and cigar, is to let my mind wander without the pressure of a blank screen staring back at me. Enjoy the drink and cigar and let my unconscious mind work for me, while consciously I am relaxing and enjoying myself, listening to live music or something from my CD collection. Of course, when people come up and talk to me, as happens in bars, my unconscious mind shuts them out and continues on with its search for the solution to my problem, while I go on being sociable. Great, ain't it?
Let’s look at this weekend. It is raining today, so maybe I get a stout at Finnegan’s, since the Hog is an open bar and heavy rain will keep the musicians off the stage and clear out the outdoor section of the restaurant. We need rain in Florida; I only wish it would take a break for a few hours.
I will get home sometime between 8 – 9 p.m. (wild life I live!) and probably read. I have Elmore Leonard’s new book and his dialogue is to kill for. I just finished Robert Gregory Browne’s book, Kiss Her Goodbye. Wanna read some intense writing that moves so fast it leaves you breathless? Check out Rob’s book or go to his Anatomy of a Book Deal blog, check my link section.
I guess this is as good a time as any to mention that writing includes a lot of reading. I read blogs, newspapers and books galore! My home office has a floor-to-ceiling bookcase made of 2-inch-by-12-inch shelving. Heavy, but I guess it’s a complex leftover from my years in earthquake prone Southern California. I made my computer desk the same way.
The shelves are full of books I’ve read and then stacked on their sides are more books I need to read; a few histories, but mostly mystery novels. In 1998 I lost about 2,000 books, mostly signed first edition when my floating home floated away in Hurricane Georges! Looking at my bookshelves now I wonder why the sucker didn’t sink from the weight of my books.
So, to me, reading is as much a part of writing as the pounding of keyboard keys. You need to read the masters, old and true (Chandler, Hammett) as well as people like Leonard for his ability at dialogue or James Lee Burke who can make you smell and taste New Orleans; Michael Connelly, who makes you step over the dirt and grit of Los Angeles and Robert Crais, whose mixture of the Hollywood Hills and tortured souls, helps you see the dirty little angels who survive there.
These writers are so damn good, I sometime want to hang up my keyboard. Of course, I can’t. As a writer I need to write, even if that’s only in my mind while trying to workout a problem in moving my story forward. I don't believe never writing has ever been an option in my life.
Think of how lucky I am, I get to roam Paradise, have a few drinks and good cigars, listen to great live music, talk to characters you would probably have to be locked up in a mental health facility to find anywhere else, go sailing and then sit down and find the words to explain it all without an alcohol haze in stories formed in my imagination.
I may never catch up to my writing heroes, but I am enjoying the hell out of the chase.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Question: what is writing. Answer:
I was asked by a friend how I write when I write and for how long. A lot easier asked than answered. I have read of writers who work eight-to-10-hours a day, sometimes six-days a week, in front of the computer. Wow! If I did that, I could get a book done in three months. I am not sure how good it would be, not with my shortsighted thought process.
Like many writers, I have a job that pays the bills and then my real job, writing. So, at the end of the day I can be all juiced up and write for a few hours, or I can be exhausted and maybe read what I’ve written earlier and do a little editing.
I thought about this recently, like Memorial Day Weekend when I thought I really had a productivity rush. I wrote about 3,000 words between Saturday and Monday. And, that’s after editing it down the next day, before continuing.
First, you need to understand that writing is not sitting in front of computer and typing words onto the screen. There has to be some organization, planning, thought. Without those items all I’d get on the screen would be a mishmash of meaningless words, or maybe a few useless sentences.
So, I tried to explain to my friend that when I am sitting at the Hog’s Breath smoking a cigar and sipping a drink, I am writing in my head – sometimes. I maybe working on a solution to a problem I'm having moving a chapter forward.
Here’s an example from the book I am working on now, a sequel to “Chasin’ the Wind,” called “Free Range Institution.” I am near the end of the story and wanted to put a little action into the few chapters preceding the water chase, seaplane landing, and shootout.
It is early a.m. and most of the protagonist’s friends involved in solving the murder and keeping themselves from being victims are hiding out at a bread-and-breakfast inn in Key West. Three of them just shot up “Doctor-feel-good vitamins,” yeah amphetamines mixed with B12. They’ve been up all night and still have a long day ahead.
But, that’s another blog.
I want to take them to Harpoon Harry’s for an early breakfast, it just feels like what they should do, but the Colombians and local bad guys are looking for them. So I am thinking about it, smoking a cigar, and walking around. I think about dumping the chapter for something better. But what?
Harpoon Harry’s is on Caroline Street in Key West. It’s a small breakfast-lunch diner and the walls are glass doors that open onto the street. Service begins at 5:30 a.m. and it’s still an early dusky morning in the story, so I put them there. Something has to happen. You have to trust me on this, but because of who two of the people in the group are (one a friend of protagonist Mad Mick Murphy) there is one guy parked across the street for security.
By the time I am sipping my Jameson’s at the Hog I can almost see the action. I take out my little notebook and make notes to myself – I don’t trust my memory and keep it handy, along with a small tape recorder in the Jeep for when I am driving and can’t write things down. So what do I come up with?
If you like this let me know. The Colombians drive by, notice Murphy and just start shooting up like they’d do back home; Cocaine Cowboys, riddling Harpoon Harry’s with automatic gunfire! (I can see it happening) By the time they’ve made the turn onto Caroline Street the security guy has jumped into action, and shot up the car, causing it to crash. Now we’ve got Harpoon’s torn up, a car with some (maybe) dead Colombians and, for sure, someone’s gonna call the cops.
Hey, maybe one or two Colombians climb out of the car and there’s an additional shootout! Getting more action than I counted on.Not what the good guys wanted or what I planned on.
I hadn’t thought of that, but, the story takes on a life of its own and as a writer I have to move forward with it. Just because it’s been outlined or noted in my little blocked-out points I scribble on pads of yellow lined paper with ideas that go from common sense to way wild, doesn’t mean it’s gonna be that way. Kind of like life.
Writing is about killing and betrayal and it ain’t easy to do all that while sitting down at home in front of a blank screen – not for me anyway.When I drive around, sometimes as far as Florida City (three hours north), I often solve a problem I’ve had difficulty with in the novel or come up with some wild idea that helps improve my story. I have had these great solutions while driving and often long after a chapter has been written, so I have to go back to rewrite it. It always seems to work better.
So, to me, writing has a lot to do with thinking things through, discovering new twists and turns to what I thought I’d worked out and sometimes having to make a good guy bad or a bad guy good. It doesn't hurt to have a good cigar while doing this.
There are times I wonder who is writing the novel, me or the damn characters I’ve created.
Like many writers, I have a job that pays the bills and then my real job, writing. So, at the end of the day I can be all juiced up and write for a few hours, or I can be exhausted and maybe read what I’ve written earlier and do a little editing.
I thought about this recently, like Memorial Day Weekend when I thought I really had a productivity rush. I wrote about 3,000 words between Saturday and Monday. And, that’s after editing it down the next day, before continuing.
First, you need to understand that writing is not sitting in front of computer and typing words onto the screen. There has to be some organization, planning, thought. Without those items all I’d get on the screen would be a mishmash of meaningless words, or maybe a few useless sentences.
So, I tried to explain to my friend that when I am sitting at the Hog’s Breath smoking a cigar and sipping a drink, I am writing in my head – sometimes. I maybe working on a solution to a problem I'm having moving a chapter forward.
Here’s an example from the book I am working on now, a sequel to “Chasin’ the Wind,” called “Free Range Institution.” I am near the end of the story and wanted to put a little action into the few chapters preceding the water chase, seaplane landing, and shootout.
It is early a.m. and most of the protagonist’s friends involved in solving the murder and keeping themselves from being victims are hiding out at a bread-and-breakfast inn in Key West. Three of them just shot up “Doctor-feel-good vitamins,” yeah amphetamines mixed with B12. They’ve been up all night and still have a long day ahead.
But, that’s another blog.
I want to take them to Harpoon Harry’s for an early breakfast, it just feels like what they should do, but the Colombians and local bad guys are looking for them. So I am thinking about it, smoking a cigar, and walking around. I think about dumping the chapter for something better. But what?
Harpoon Harry’s is on Caroline Street in Key West. It’s a small breakfast-lunch diner and the walls are glass doors that open onto the street. Service begins at 5:30 a.m. and it’s still an early dusky morning in the story, so I put them there. Something has to happen. You have to trust me on this, but because of who two of the people in the group are (one a friend of protagonist Mad Mick Murphy) there is one guy parked across the street for security.
By the time I am sipping my Jameson’s at the Hog I can almost see the action. I take out my little notebook and make notes to myself – I don’t trust my memory and keep it handy, along with a small tape recorder in the Jeep for when I am driving and can’t write things down. So what do I come up with?
If you like this let me know. The Colombians drive by, notice Murphy and just start shooting up like they’d do back home; Cocaine Cowboys, riddling Harpoon Harry’s with automatic gunfire! (I can see it happening) By the time they’ve made the turn onto Caroline Street the security guy has jumped into action, and shot up the car, causing it to crash. Now we’ve got Harpoon’s torn up, a car with some (maybe) dead Colombians and, for sure, someone’s gonna call the cops.
Hey, maybe one or two Colombians climb out of the car and there’s an additional shootout! Getting more action than I counted on.Not what the good guys wanted or what I planned on.
I hadn’t thought of that, but, the story takes on a life of its own and as a writer I have to move forward with it. Just because it’s been outlined or noted in my little blocked-out points I scribble on pads of yellow lined paper with ideas that go from common sense to way wild, doesn’t mean it’s gonna be that way. Kind of like life.
Writing is about killing and betrayal and it ain’t easy to do all that while sitting down at home in front of a blank screen – not for me anyway.When I drive around, sometimes as far as Florida City (three hours north), I often solve a problem I’ve had difficulty with in the novel or come up with some wild idea that helps improve my story. I have had these great solutions while driving and often long after a chapter has been written, so I have to go back to rewrite it. It always seems to work better.
So, to me, writing has a lot to do with thinking things through, discovering new twists and turns to what I thought I’d worked out and sometimes having to make a good guy bad or a bad guy good. It doesn't hurt to have a good cigar while doing this.
There are times I wonder who is writing the novel, me or the damn characters I’ve created.
Friday, May 11, 2007
SleuthFest - Saturday
Rain was predicted and the clouds promised it, but I was able to walk to the hotel before it came. In Key West, this type of sky often moved northeast and dumped its cargo in that direction, Marathon and points north. Hurricanes do that too. They head toward Key West, but something, the Gulf Stream or the wind shear pushes them away – usually, not always, as Wilma showed us what dangers were held in Cat 2 flooding.
9 a.m. and I have to make a choice. I enjoy Don Bruns books about music writer/critic Gideon Pike and his panel – Music in Mysteries – was scheduled at the same time as the Agent’s Panel. Since I don’t have an agent, I thought I might pick up some tips, so I took the agent panel.
What did I learn? Getting an agent took a lot of luck, some ingenuity and a little talent. The panel reinforced what I had learned on my own, with years of sending out queries and sample chapters. These days the replies are more personal than form letters, but they are still rejections. I have been told my writing is well done, but the agent didn’t feel he/she was right for the project. Then I send out more queries.
One interesting idea I did pick up was about exclusive rights agents ask writers for while deciding if they want to represent you, are often given under false pretenses by the writer. The agent wants months to get back, one said; while another said he asked for it, but didn’t really expect an anxious writer to sit and do nothing while he/she waited. Translation, send it out to as many agents as possible, promise them anything until you get the desired reply.
Another good point they made was that the first agent to accept you might not be the right agent for you. They talked a lot about what an agent does and what an agent doesn’t do. Some good points, too. Agents don’t get paid by the writer up front. They all agreed that writers should go to the web page of the Association of Author Representatives, read its guidelines for its members and use its membership list for contacting agents. It’s what I have done.
At 10 a.m., it was Violence in the Mystery, with J.A. Konrath, the self-promo guru whose Thursday program I attended and author of the Jack Daniels mystery series; J.M. Taylor, a military writer, and Linda Fairstein, the guest of honor for our luncheon and a former prosecutor in NY. She had to know about violence. She is also a bestselling author, with eight books in print. Violence is a setting in my novel; solving the violent crime is the impetus that moves the characters.
The 11 a.m. panel of my choice was The Mystery in Mysteries: Clues, Misdirection and Satisfying Endings. Panelists, Glynn Marsh Alam, author of the Luanne Fogarty mysteries; Twist Phelan (yes, that’s her real name), retired trial lawyer and author of the Pinnacle Peak mystery series, and Kate White, editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan and NY Times bestselling author of Bailey Weggins mystery series. The panelists added support to what I have been doing in my writing, so I walked away smiling.
Lunch with guest speaker, Linda Fairstein, and the always fun ‘author auction’ went from noon to 2 p.m. I sat with John Helfers and we talked shop, briefly, and watched from the top floor of the hotel as rain poured down on Miami Beach. I enjoyed Linda’s talk on her career as chief of the sex crimes prosecution unit in NYC. How she came up within the ranks of the NY County District Attorney’s Office at a time women were rarely allowed in court, was an eye opener. She still consults for the district attorney’s office.
The auction is always fun, as guest bid for numerous things, including a tour of the set of yesterday’s guest speaker René Balcer’s Law and Order: Criminal Intent set in NYC. That went for big bucks. Other guest bid for the rights to name a character in an author’s current work, or to be a character in a writer’s book.
It was 2:15 p.m. and I was in the Keeping Them Hooked: Pacing Your Novel, with Martha Powers, who is published by Oceanview Publishing and her book, Forget Me Not, will be out in 2008, and my old friend, military writer J.M. Taylor, who, I should mention, wrote Flash of Emerald and the thriller, Behind the Green Water. Nancy Cohen was the moderator.
The nice thing about this panel was it reinforced what I have done in my writing. That is, by the way, always a great feeling!
Getting It Done: Rewriters & Revisions, began at 3:15 p.m. Panelists were Randy Rawls, author of the ACE Dallas PI series; journalist and mystery writer Susan Sussman; Shawn Reilly, editor in chief of Hillard & Harris Publishers, and Kathryn Lilley, whose first novel, Dying to be Thin, is due out this year. Well, if you write and are abnormal like most writers, rewriting and revision is hell! We all agreed on that, but it is necessary, so live with it, make it enjoyable (somehow) because you gotta do it.
The afternoon session ended with Crime Fiction Sampler, with Twist Phelan (yeah, it's still her real name), Nancy Cohen and John Bond, who writes with Roy Cooke, has six books out, including his ’07, Home Poker Handbook. There are all kinds of mysteries out there.
Obviously, with four panels offered per hour, I missed some great discussions but heard people talking about them in the hallway. How could MWA Florida offer one panel per hour, so we could take them all in? It would have to be a week-long event and I doubt any of us could afford that. I was able to attend the panels I thought would benefit me and they did, even if all they did was reinforce what I have been doing. I think I walked away with a little more knowledge than when I arrived, so it was a good event.
The agent and editors cocktail party and raffle drawing was scheduled for 6 p.m.
9 a.m. and I have to make a choice. I enjoy Don Bruns books about music writer/critic Gideon Pike and his panel – Music in Mysteries – was scheduled at the same time as the Agent’s Panel. Since I don’t have an agent, I thought I might pick up some tips, so I took the agent panel.
What did I learn? Getting an agent took a lot of luck, some ingenuity and a little talent. The panel reinforced what I had learned on my own, with years of sending out queries and sample chapters. These days the replies are more personal than form letters, but they are still rejections. I have been told my writing is well done, but the agent didn’t feel he/she was right for the project. Then I send out more queries.
One interesting idea I did pick up was about exclusive rights agents ask writers for while deciding if they want to represent you, are often given under false pretenses by the writer. The agent wants months to get back, one said; while another said he asked for it, but didn’t really expect an anxious writer to sit and do nothing while he/she waited. Translation, send it out to as many agents as possible, promise them anything until you get the desired reply.
Another good point they made was that the first agent to accept you might not be the right agent for you. They talked a lot about what an agent does and what an agent doesn’t do. Some good points, too. Agents don’t get paid by the writer up front. They all agreed that writers should go to the web page of the Association of Author Representatives, read its guidelines for its members and use its membership list for contacting agents. It’s what I have done.
At 10 a.m., it was Violence in the Mystery, with J.A. Konrath, the self-promo guru whose Thursday program I attended and author of the Jack Daniels mystery series; J.M. Taylor, a military writer, and Linda Fairstein, the guest of honor for our luncheon and a former prosecutor in NY. She had to know about violence. She is also a bestselling author, with eight books in print. Violence is a setting in my novel; solving the violent crime is the impetus that moves the characters.
The 11 a.m. panel of my choice was The Mystery in Mysteries: Clues, Misdirection and Satisfying Endings. Panelists, Glynn Marsh Alam, author of the Luanne Fogarty mysteries; Twist Phelan (yes, that’s her real name), retired trial lawyer and author of the Pinnacle Peak mystery series, and Kate White, editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan and NY Times bestselling author of Bailey Weggins mystery series. The panelists added support to what I have been doing in my writing, so I walked away smiling.
Lunch with guest speaker, Linda Fairstein, and the always fun ‘author auction’ went from noon to 2 p.m. I sat with John Helfers and we talked shop, briefly, and watched from the top floor of the hotel as rain poured down on Miami Beach. I enjoyed Linda’s talk on her career as chief of the sex crimes prosecution unit in NYC. How she came up within the ranks of the NY County District Attorney’s Office at a time women were rarely allowed in court, was an eye opener. She still consults for the district attorney’s office.
The auction is always fun, as guest bid for numerous things, including a tour of the set of yesterday’s guest speaker René Balcer’s Law and Order: Criminal Intent set in NYC. That went for big bucks. Other guest bid for the rights to name a character in an author’s current work, or to be a character in a writer’s book.
It was 2:15 p.m. and I was in the Keeping Them Hooked: Pacing Your Novel, with Martha Powers, who is published by Oceanview Publishing and her book, Forget Me Not, will be out in 2008, and my old friend, military writer J.M. Taylor, who, I should mention, wrote Flash of Emerald and the thriller, Behind the Green Water. Nancy Cohen was the moderator.
The nice thing about this panel was it reinforced what I have done in my writing. That is, by the way, always a great feeling!
Getting It Done: Rewriters & Revisions, began at 3:15 p.m. Panelists were Randy Rawls, author of the ACE Dallas PI series; journalist and mystery writer Susan Sussman; Shawn Reilly, editor in chief of Hillard & Harris Publishers, and Kathryn Lilley, whose first novel, Dying to be Thin, is due out this year. Well, if you write and are abnormal like most writers, rewriting and revision is hell! We all agreed on that, but it is necessary, so live with it, make it enjoyable (somehow) because you gotta do it.
The afternoon session ended with Crime Fiction Sampler, with Twist Phelan (yeah, it's still her real name), Nancy Cohen and John Bond, who writes with Roy Cooke, has six books out, including his ’07, Home Poker Handbook. There are all kinds of mysteries out there.
Obviously, with four panels offered per hour, I missed some great discussions but heard people talking about them in the hallway. How could MWA Florida offer one panel per hour, so we could take them all in? It would have to be a week-long event and I doubt any of us could afford that. I was able to attend the panels I thought would benefit me and they did, even if all they did was reinforce what I have been doing. I think I walked away with a little more knowledge than when I arrived, so it was a good event.
The agent and editors cocktail party and raffle drawing was scheduled for 6 p.m.
Monday, May 7, 2007
SleuthFest: Poolside Friday evening
By 6 p.m. some SleuthFest participants were headed to South Beach for an evening of expensive drinks and food. Others, like me, stuck around the hotel pool bar and enjoyed the company of new and old friends. Drinks at the pool bar were expesive enough.
John Helfers, from Five Star/Tekno Books, joined me. He drank something with rum in it and I had a Guinness. Not exactly tropical, but it's my preferred beer.
I asked John some questions I had, after hearing the three publishers talk. Sadly, he agreed with what they had to say, especially when it came to the sale of books. Yes, he assured me, small publishers depend heavily on writers to sell their books. He listed what Five Star does, including where the book is sent for interviews. It was an impress list. However, (ain’t there always an however?) it is up to the author to get the word out to the bookstores. Some stores may stock the book because of a good review, but don’t count on it, he said.
Five Star does send out its brochure to bookstores, but new authors can be overlooked, he said.
John also writes SiFi mysteries and is working on deadline for his book. So, he had an understanding of my concerns, sort of.
Five Star would look at the sales of “Chasin’ the Wind” before deciding on my next book. Not exactly what I wanted to hear, but at least it was an honest answer to my question.
John asked me if I had a marketing plan. I said, kinda. I hope to sell the book at a couple of bars in Key West. When you read "Chasin' the Win," you will see I tried to be faithful to the businesses in town, especially those along Duval Street. I did this because many of you are visitors to the island and I wanted it obvious that I was including the island as a character in the novel. I am also working on a booksigning tour of Florida and Southern California. I hope it works out. I expect the book will be sold at the Hog's Breath Saloon and, hopefully, on its website:www.hogsbreath.com.
John also said he was pretty sure my book would be out in early February '08. I guess that puts me out touring in March. I will remind you later about calling your local bookstore to ask them to carry the book and to invite the author in to sign it. Waiting is hell, but I am half through with the second Mad Mick Murphy Mystery in the series.
Christine Kling, whose current book, "Wreckers' Key," takes place in the Florida Keys, joined us at our table, as did Nancy Cohen, John M. Taylor, "Flash of Emerald," and a couple of other writers and fans. Please Google these writers and discover some very different authors.
John Helfers excused himself after one drink. He was on deadline, he reminded me. I stuck around for another Guinness and some shop talk.
What I had come away with, so far, is that writing "Chasin' the Wind" was the easy part, getting it published was difficult, getting copies into bookstores a lot more difficult and selling copies a real challenge.
I had more to learn on Saturday.
John Helfers, from Five Star/Tekno Books, joined me. He drank something with rum in it and I had a Guinness. Not exactly tropical, but it's my preferred beer.
I asked John some questions I had, after hearing the three publishers talk. Sadly, he agreed with what they had to say, especially when it came to the sale of books. Yes, he assured me, small publishers depend heavily on writers to sell their books. He listed what Five Star does, including where the book is sent for interviews. It was an impress list. However, (ain’t there always an however?) it is up to the author to get the word out to the bookstores. Some stores may stock the book because of a good review, but don’t count on it, he said.
Five Star does send out its brochure to bookstores, but new authors can be overlooked, he said.
John also writes SiFi mysteries and is working on deadline for his book. So, he had an understanding of my concerns, sort of.
Five Star would look at the sales of “Chasin’ the Wind” before deciding on my next book. Not exactly what I wanted to hear, but at least it was an honest answer to my question.
John asked me if I had a marketing plan. I said, kinda. I hope to sell the book at a couple of bars in Key West. When you read "Chasin' the Win," you will see I tried to be faithful to the businesses in town, especially those along Duval Street. I did this because many of you are visitors to the island and I wanted it obvious that I was including the island as a character in the novel. I am also working on a booksigning tour of Florida and Southern California. I hope it works out. I expect the book will be sold at the Hog's Breath Saloon and, hopefully, on its website:www.hogsbreath.com.
John also said he was pretty sure my book would be out in early February '08. I guess that puts me out touring in March. I will remind you later about calling your local bookstore to ask them to carry the book and to invite the author in to sign it. Waiting is hell, but I am half through with the second Mad Mick Murphy Mystery in the series.
Christine Kling, whose current book, "Wreckers' Key," takes place in the Florida Keys, joined us at our table, as did Nancy Cohen, John M. Taylor, "Flash of Emerald," and a couple of other writers and fans. Please Google these writers and discover some very different authors.
John Helfers excused himself after one drink. He was on deadline, he reminded me. I stuck around for another Guinness and some shop talk.
What I had come away with, so far, is that writing "Chasin' the Wind" was the easy part, getting it published was difficult, getting copies into bookstores a lot more difficult and selling copies a real challenge.
I had more to learn on Saturday.
Friday, April 27, 2007
SleuthFest - Friday
If the Mystery Writers of America’s Florida Chapter’s SleuthFest has a downside it’s the choices the participants have to make. Friday morning, beginning at 9, there were four 50-minute-long panels discussing everything from plot, female sleuths, the perfect pitch and death scene investigations. And on the hour, for the rest of the three-day event, new panel topics were offered and participants had to make hard choices on which one to attend, until it was over at 5 p.m. The variety of the panels was amazing. They covered everything imaginable, from technical items to mysticism, noir vs. cozies, music in mysteries, and the list went on!
How do you choose one out of so many good panels?
The 10 a.m. panel wasn’t hard to choose, because John Helfers, from Tekno Books/Five Star was on the Goldilocks & the Three Publishers panel. I had not met John, officially, so I wanted to introduce myself.
Joining John on the panel were Robert Gussin, Ocean View, and Stephen Hull, Justin, Charles & Co., all small publishing businesses outside NYC. The small publishers offer a new writer a much better chance of getting in print than the NYC publishers do. Of course, the reason for this is they pay a lot less and, in many cases, print runs are smaller. They do, often it seems, give higher royalty payments to authors.
The small publishers, these panelists said, depend heavily on their authors to sell books. Where NYC publishers usually have money for promotion, the small publishers have little, if any. While this was discouraging news to many in the audience, it was something I had looked into and knew going in. I actually have already begun plans for touring to promote my book, “Chasin’ the Wind” early next year.
As the publishers said, getting into the chain bookstores is difficult, but not impossible. The independent bookstores, especially those focusing on mysteries, are not impossible to get signings at, but it takes work.
I spent many years as an MWA member in Southern California and in that time I haunted many mystery bookstores. When author Robert Crais was touring in South Florida, I met him at Murder on the Beach Bookstore, Delray Beach, and found out that many of the stores I went to were still in operation. They may have moved location, but they were in business. Since so many independent bookstores across the country are going out of business, this was good news. I will be visiting those stores, from Santa Barbara to Burbank in late June to remind the owners how much I spent in their stores.
I will have my press kit ready for my trip and, according to J.A. Konrath, the kit is important.
If you work in a bookstore in Southern California, or knows someone that does, e-mail me information and I will stop by when I’m there.
I never got to introduce myself to John, since I was the moderator at the 11 a.m. program, Knives, Guns & Other Fun Things. The guest speaker was Miami-Dade CSI crime lab expert John Mancini. As you have probably guessed, John had a good time poking fun at the TV CSI programs. He said he took the shows with a grain-of-salt and thought of them as entertainment, not fact. Though, he did admit, some on the CSI staff didn’t.
He presented a good and informative PowerPoint program on identifying weapons, including a variety of handguns and knives and various ammunitions. This was a must program for writers who like to make sure facts make it into their crime novels.
During the lunch break I finally caught up with John Helfers and we did get together afterward and for drinks at the pool after 5 p.m.
The special lunch guest speaker was René Balcer, Emmy Award winning writer/producer of “Law & Order,” as well as creator of “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.” He was an interesting speaker as he explained how the show is written and his being a stickler for facts.
John was listening to authors’ pitches after lunch, so we agreed to meet at the pool after 5 pm.
From 2:15 – 5:05 p.m., there were four panels, per hour and choosing which one to attend was difficult. I went to the PR Strategies for Selling Your Book,by NYC publicists Joannie and Nicholas Danieldies. (I am taking the spelling of names from the program, even though it is upsetting my spellchecker).
The information was good, but it all costs money and, according to the small publishers, they were not footing the bill. I can tell you firsthand, the advance from Five Star would not begin to cover the costs of PR.
My next two hours were filled with a two-part panel: Marketing Ideas: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly. Panelists changed for the second hour and my marketing plans for “Chasin’ the Wind” were supported, which made me feel good.
Coming next, drinks with the publisher!
How do you choose one out of so many good panels?
The 10 a.m. panel wasn’t hard to choose, because John Helfers, from Tekno Books/Five Star was on the Goldilocks & the Three Publishers panel. I had not met John, officially, so I wanted to introduce myself.
Joining John on the panel were Robert Gussin, Ocean View, and Stephen Hull, Justin, Charles & Co., all small publishing businesses outside NYC. The small publishers offer a new writer a much better chance of getting in print than the NYC publishers do. Of course, the reason for this is they pay a lot less and, in many cases, print runs are smaller. They do, often it seems, give higher royalty payments to authors.
The small publishers, these panelists said, depend heavily on their authors to sell books. Where NYC publishers usually have money for promotion, the small publishers have little, if any. While this was discouraging news to many in the audience, it was something I had looked into and knew going in. I actually have already begun plans for touring to promote my book, “Chasin’ the Wind” early next year.
As the publishers said, getting into the chain bookstores is difficult, but not impossible. The independent bookstores, especially those focusing on mysteries, are not impossible to get signings at, but it takes work.
I spent many years as an MWA member in Southern California and in that time I haunted many mystery bookstores. When author Robert Crais was touring in South Florida, I met him at Murder on the Beach Bookstore, Delray Beach, and found out that many of the stores I went to were still in operation. They may have moved location, but they were in business. Since so many independent bookstores across the country are going out of business, this was good news. I will be visiting those stores, from Santa Barbara to Burbank in late June to remind the owners how much I spent in their stores.
I will have my press kit ready for my trip and, according to J.A. Konrath, the kit is important.
If you work in a bookstore in Southern California, or knows someone that does, e-mail me information and I will stop by when I’m there.
I never got to introduce myself to John, since I was the moderator at the 11 a.m. program, Knives, Guns & Other Fun Things. The guest speaker was Miami-Dade CSI crime lab expert John Mancini. As you have probably guessed, John had a good time poking fun at the TV CSI programs. He said he took the shows with a grain-of-salt and thought of them as entertainment, not fact. Though, he did admit, some on the CSI staff didn’t.
He presented a good and informative PowerPoint program on identifying weapons, including a variety of handguns and knives and various ammunitions. This was a must program for writers who like to make sure facts make it into their crime novels.
During the lunch break I finally caught up with John Helfers and we did get together afterward and for drinks at the pool after 5 p.m.
The special lunch guest speaker was René Balcer, Emmy Award winning writer/producer of “Law & Order,” as well as creator of “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.” He was an interesting speaker as he explained how the show is written and his being a stickler for facts.
John was listening to authors’ pitches after lunch, so we agreed to meet at the pool after 5 pm.
From 2:15 – 5:05 p.m., there were four panels, per hour and choosing which one to attend was difficult. I went to the PR Strategies for Selling Your Book,by NYC publicists Joannie and Nicholas Danieldies. (I am taking the spelling of names from the program, even though it is upsetting my spellchecker).
The information was good, but it all costs money and, according to the small publishers, they were not footing the bill. I can tell you firsthand, the advance from Five Star would not begin to cover the costs of PR.
My next two hours were filled with a two-part panel: Marketing Ideas: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly. Panelists changed for the second hour and my marketing plans for “Chasin’ the Wind” were supported, which made me feel good.
Coming next, drinks with the publisher!
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
SleuthFest '07
Are you a mystery fan or a writer? Not that it matters, but there was a good mixture of both at the Florida Chapter of Mystery Writers of America’s SleuthFest in Miami Beach.
As you probably know, I live in Key West and leaving the island by anything but boat is a traumatic experience. Really, it is. There’s a little less than 10-miles of four-lane road as you exit Key West on US1, that maybe you can drive 60 mph safely. After that most of the speed limit is 45-55 mph on a two-lane road.
My anxiety doesn’t set in until the Florida Turnpike entrance in Florida City. The speed limit is 60-65 mph on the Turnpike, but anyone that has driven it knows 80 mph is the norm, with a little slowing down in the construction areas; the area around the Miami International Airport is always under construction – I think there is a city or county ordinance requiring it.
From the Turnpike to I-95 I can not have the radio on and I must smoke a cigar to quiet my nerves. I am expecting some whacked-out Miamian to ram their speeding vehicle into my Jeep. When I-95 turned into I-195, I was on the causeway to Miami Beach, a whole other world of high-rises and expensive boutiques and restaurants.
My hotel was a 15-minute walk from the hotel hosting SleuthFest and the room was about half the cost. Hell, it cost $20 to park at either hotel, so I figured paying $40 a day was stupid, so I walked. The exercise was probably good for me (probably?).
I showed up Thursday because I wanted to attend the talk by author J.A. Konrath. Joe is an expert on self promotion and since “Chasin’ the Wind” is my first book, and I need to self promote it, I thought it would be a good idea. It was. Joe is knowledgeable and funny. I have figured out that if you want to be a writer, you need a good sense of humor or the job could break you!
Joe was packed full with advice, gimmicks and laughs. Google him, his site is full of advice and booklets that I copied and have enjoyed. After I told him some of the things I had planned for promoting my book, he said I was going in the right direction and tossed in a few ideas of his own.
I also wanted to take the Thursday short-story workshop by writer Elaine Viets, but, sadly, Elaine had a stroke a few days prior to the festival. The good news is, she is recouping and should be home soon.
Since the cover design for “Chasin’ the Wind” hadn't been delivered, my friend Bill Lane, from Fastlane Advertising in Key West, put together a business card with my photo from the book jacket, my name (dah!), the name of the book, publisher, and my website address. I left a lot of these on the various self promotion tables around the festival and people actually took some.
Joe is a big believer of giving things away on his website, so I checked with my publisher (more about him later on another post) and he said I could post my short story, “Murder in Key West,” on the site and suggested I also post a few chapters from “Chasin’ the Wind.”
“Murder in Key West” is currently on my site and will give you a brief look at some of the characters in my novel. My plan is that “Chasin’ the Wind” is the first in a series, “A Mad Mick Murphy Mystery.” The next book is half written and I hope to know if it will be accepted by Five Star by the end of summer.
The first of May, chapter one from “Chasin’ the Wind” will appear on my site and then for the next few months I will add another chapter per month. Obviously, the idea is to get you to read it and buy the book to see how it comes out.
I would like your feedback on the short story, so let me hear from you.
More on SleuthFest to come.
As you probably know, I live in Key West and leaving the island by anything but boat is a traumatic experience. Really, it is. There’s a little less than 10-miles of four-lane road as you exit Key West on US1, that maybe you can drive 60 mph safely. After that most of the speed limit is 45-55 mph on a two-lane road.
My anxiety doesn’t set in until the Florida Turnpike entrance in Florida City. The speed limit is 60-65 mph on the Turnpike, but anyone that has driven it knows 80 mph is the norm, with a little slowing down in the construction areas; the area around the Miami International Airport is always under construction – I think there is a city or county ordinance requiring it.
From the Turnpike to I-95 I can not have the radio on and I must smoke a cigar to quiet my nerves. I am expecting some whacked-out Miamian to ram their speeding vehicle into my Jeep. When I-95 turned into I-195, I was on the causeway to Miami Beach, a whole other world of high-rises and expensive boutiques and restaurants.
My hotel was a 15-minute walk from the hotel hosting SleuthFest and the room was about half the cost. Hell, it cost $20 to park at either hotel, so I figured paying $40 a day was stupid, so I walked. The exercise was probably good for me (probably?).
I showed up Thursday because I wanted to attend the talk by author J.A. Konrath. Joe is an expert on self promotion and since “Chasin’ the Wind” is my first book, and I need to self promote it, I thought it would be a good idea. It was. Joe is knowledgeable and funny. I have figured out that if you want to be a writer, you need a good sense of humor or the job could break you!
Joe was packed full with advice, gimmicks and laughs. Google him, his site is full of advice and booklets that I copied and have enjoyed. After I told him some of the things I had planned for promoting my book, he said I was going in the right direction and tossed in a few ideas of his own.
I also wanted to take the Thursday short-story workshop by writer Elaine Viets, but, sadly, Elaine had a stroke a few days prior to the festival. The good news is, she is recouping and should be home soon.
Since the cover design for “Chasin’ the Wind” hadn't been delivered, my friend Bill Lane, from Fastlane Advertising in Key West, put together a business card with my photo from the book jacket, my name (dah!), the name of the book, publisher, and my website address. I left a lot of these on the various self promotion tables around the festival and people actually took some.
Joe is a big believer of giving things away on his website, so I checked with my publisher (more about him later on another post) and he said I could post my short story, “Murder in Key West,” on the site and suggested I also post a few chapters from “Chasin’ the Wind.”
“Murder in Key West” is currently on my site and will give you a brief look at some of the characters in my novel. My plan is that “Chasin’ the Wind” is the first in a series, “A Mad Mick Murphy Mystery.” The next book is half written and I hope to know if it will be accepted by Five Star by the end of summer.
The first of May, chapter one from “Chasin’ the Wind” will appear on my site and then for the next few months I will add another chapter per month. Obviously, the idea is to get you to read it and buy the book to see how it comes out.
I would like your feedback on the short story, so let me hear from you.
More on SleuthFest to come.
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