“Writers will give you writer feedback. How they would have written it. Readers give you reader feedback, how they experienced reading your book.”
“Try to get better writers than you to beta your novel.”
“Careful with how much redrafting you do, you could be washing out the good stuff.”
How much editing to do? One author says “The story stays but the words change as I pump things up.” Another says “90% of my words stay but I am a slow perfectionist writer.”
-The Art of Writing it Again Panel
“Originally the book cover was designed to sell the book to the book store, who judged solely on the cover whether to buy something for their store(s). Now, cover appeal is all about how it looks in a tiny square on Amazon.”
“If you are using a traditional publishing house, chances are your book cover will get art from the slush pile assigned to it. Few houses ask an author’s opinion on cover art until they make a name. The bigger the house, the less say you get.”
“A soulless picture on the cover is not going to connect to readers no matter how beautiful it is.”
“Europeans don’t like people on their covers. Consider a different cover for your European market.”
“Above all be true to the story and deliver what the cover promises.”
-Book Cover Hero(ines) Panel
Looks like you get an extra post this week because James Fahy nominated me for the Writer Q&A Tag. I answer ten questions of his choosing, nominate ten people of my own, and ask them ten questions they answer on their blog.
Without further ado, here are the questions James asked of me.
1. What book first made you cry, and why?
I think it might have been in the little house on the prairie series. Not the Cabin in the Big Woods but when they are moving across the plains. They leave the dog (Jack) behind at a river because it’s too wide for him to swim across and I guess they didn’t feel he should get to ride in the wagon, so they just leave him. I bawled so hard. And then when he gets across somehow and shows up at their campfire that night. Bawled again. I have this thing about dogs. They make me cry like nothing else. Seriously, World War Z, I cried during the dog army section.
2. If you could be any one of your favourite characters (your own or others you’ve read) for one day, who and why?
I can’t imagine narrowing that down to just one. There are lots of characters I wouldn’t mind being for a day but to say any one of them was so awe inspiring that I could just plunk down a name. I’d love to be Lizzy Bennett, Hercule Poirot, Lorelei (good intentions), Galatea(mine), Talon(mine), the narrator in world war z(lol), Harry Potter, Heather Wells…I’ll stop now.
3. What is your favourite opening line from a book?
The only one I could think of off the top of my head was “Tis a truth universally acknowledged that a man of good fortune must be in want of a wife.”
4. Do you have any odd writing rituals (has to be a yellow legal pad and a HB pencil for example)?
Not really. In fact I kind of make a thing about not getting into rituals. Each book is different. And certainly each day is different.
5. Have you drawn on real locations / experiences in your writing?
Absolutely. Everything I write draws heavily on actual historical events and then expands in ways history didn’t go.
6. What story scares you?
Post apocalyptic worlds usually involving a disease. Too close for comfort.
7. If you were told you could only read one book before being executed for your terrible, terrible crimes, what would you choose and why?
Something excessively long. LOL. And I would read it very very slowly. A google search tells me Artemene/Cyrus the Great is the longest book ever at a whopping 13, 095 pages or 2, 100, 000 words. That, I’d read that.
8. Have you ever met any of your literary heroes, and if so, were they amazing, disappointing or just plain awkward?
There’s nothing crueler than making heroes out of ordinary men and women.
9. Which word / phrase do you find yourself always over-using and having to edit out?
lovely. LOL. I over use it in the real world too. LOL
10. Name three people you would have at your ultimate book-club/dinner party. (living or dead…or undead.
Agatha Christie, my grandfather Henry, Jane Austen. (I think this question might have been the hardest. LOL. Three is such a small party. I kept inviting people and then disinviting them.)
So my nominees are as follows:
Now your questions:
Answer on your own blog, nominate ten more people, and write ten questions of your own. Have fun with it!
Quick side note: I have a book signing this Saturday at St. James Espresso in Kirkland 2-5P. If you’re local, stop by and say hi.
Set in post war 1940’s Britain this is an engaging and often humorous story of Molly a military nurse returning to her titled life and expectations of the English aristocracy. This though not simply another take on Downton Abbey. The author cleverly takes us through Molly’s eventful transition to script writer, the sole […]
via EDC Review: Scripting the Truth (T A Henry) — Believing Sight Unseen
“Most nos happen on the first page. The market is saturated and you only have maybe 500 words to grab readers. Have lots of people read your first page.”
“A new author cannot pitch anything to an editor. A pitch is worthless as few people can actually finish a novel. We’re only interested if you have a book done.”
“All correspondence with an editor is professional. Be clear and concise and polite. Quirky is often inappropriate.”
One editor said she only looks at the synopsis if she likes the first ten pages.
“Follow the guidelines on all the big things for submission, ie. genre, length, exclusions.” Do your homework.
“The professionalism of your indie product is the biggest attraction to a traditional publishing house.”
-Why Editors Pass Panel
-Don’t 
push your book via social media. Do make sure a google search leads them to you (your website/blog/etc) and where to buy your book.
-Don’t over stretch your social media presence. Do a few things and do them well.
-Don’t try to imitate the really big name authors. Do be yourself, work at the level you are, and grow your empire slowly.
-Don’t use a platform just because everyone else is. Do pick the one(s) that is right for you.
-Don’t let your blog/website/etc languish. Do keep it updated.
-Do NOT obsess about your stats.
-How to be an Auhor on the Internet Panel
“Don’t assume what used to work always will; change it up.”
“If you usually work to a word count, hide it temporarily and assume any progress is good progress. If you normally ignore your word count, set a reasonable amount to make each day and then stop when you hit it, so you don’t feel guilty about living life as well as writing it.”
“There’s an unwritten publishing law that you can change an editor once with no harm to foul to your career, so leave the relationship if it is not working for your career.”
-Fighting Through the 20K Slump, The Art of Rewriting it Again, and Finishing Your Fiction Panels
“When writing about guns and ammo, find an expert to take you to a gun range. Actually fire the guns you want to write about.”
“A handgun shot to the torso has an 80-95% survival rate in the USA. A rifle shot, same circumstances, 20% survival rate.”
“Any gun using compressed gas, will still be at least 110 decibels with a suppressor.” For comparison, a motorcycle is about 100 decibels, a power saw 110, and a rock concert about 115. A Girandoni air gun is actually almost entire silent. Can fire about 20 shot/minute as well.
-Writing Firearms Well Panel
My A to Z Challenge this year will be all about Norwescon, which was the last weekend of March in “sunny” Sea-tac, WA. This is a Science Fiction and Fantasy convention with a strong bent toward writers and readers. I like to attend the writer track class and take notes from the independent authors making a real go of it on their own. I will bring you a few great quotes I heard for each letter this month. I hope you enjoy the wisdom…
I’m not at cafe right now. In fact as this posts, I am flying home from Southern California, where I just spent a few days at Lego Land with the kiddo and some friends.
I kept bird dogging the weather in the weeks before our departure. I was so excited to see it was going to be mid 70’s and sunny. Yes! A few days basking in warmth was exactly what the doctor ordered. Only…yeah.
It wasn’t quite like that. LOL. Cold, windy, and reoccurring showers. Apparently I imported my local weather to Lego land.
But for all that we had a good time. The kiddo rode his first real roller coaster. Loved it!! Then I took him to Tappan for the first time. So fun introducing kids to new things.
Anyway, can’t wait to tell you all about norwescon in April a to z challenge.
T.A. Henry 