Meeting an author

A wonderful thing happened on Sunday. We had friends over for dinner and they brought a couple with them who are new in town. It's always wonderful to meet new people and it is particularly wonderful to meet a writer __ and a published writer, at that.

Her name is Alexus Rhone and she writes YA books. I visited her website and read parts of two books. They are wonderfully written, extremely readable and quite interesting, even if I am not her target audience. Both she and her husband are terrific people and I'm glad to have met them.

But what I liked best was talking to someone at my dining room table who has gone through what I am going through and then some. She is a networking and marketing dynamo. She gets her material out there and doesn't seem to let anything get in the way. She has contacts and has attended events from one coast to the other. And in that, she is a real inspiration for me.

One of the hardest things for me to do is market myself. I become self-conscious and, at times, timid. But in order to sell my books, I have to be able to sell myself, first to an agent and then to a publisher.

In marketing __ and in writing __ I am hoping Lex will be able to help me.

And on another issue . . .

I started my query letter for "Death at the Jungle-bunny Journal." I have re-worked it several times and it's a little long at the top. But I am probably at least a month away from sending it to any agents so I have time to fix things. I have to finish with the first draft of the entire novel and rewrite the first three to five chapters several times. By the time anyone requests the entire novel, the final version will be done.

But here is a look at the first two paragraphs of the query:

Courier-Times owner and publisher George Wilson was a tyrant. He was nearly as indiscreet as he was sexually promiscuous. He was a dismissive father. He was more feared than liked. But when Wilson is found dead in his office, the black newspaper’s top investigative reporter decides to find out if any of those were the reason.

Piecing the case together, reporter Jason Crown discovers the victim’s long-held family secret, a secret that threatens to destroy family relationships. But the murder goes beyond mere family business. And when Jason begins to fall for one of the sexy suspects, he must put aside his feelings for her and find the killer or risk becoming the next victim in “Death at the Jungle-bunny Journal.”

That's it for the moment. Enjoy your day but keep writing.

Death of a title

I was talking to a colleague last night whose opinion I respect and afterwards I decided I will ultimately have to pick another title for my murder mystery novel, which currently is titled, "Death at the Jungle-bunny Journal."

It's not that it isn't catchy. It is catchy. It would draw people's attention, which is necessary for the book to sell. But she pointed out something I knew but had never completed considered.

The book is a fairly standard murder mystery __ a person is killed and we follow the ups and downs of our hero as they try to figure out who did it and why __ and isn't political in any way. But the title is political. Very political.

A book with that title will likely create a public debate as to the title's appropriateness and, in a larger sense, race relations in this country. I would spend more time discussing the title than promoting the literary merits of the book itself. It would shift the focus away from what I want it to be.

All that makes me sad. I can't see why people can't just see the title, have a little chuckle, buy the book (if only out of curiosity in the title) and move on. The book is just a book __ a novel whose purpose is to entertain. It's not a book about race relations.

I have had the title for years __ about 10 years, actually __ before I started the book. I had the title before I even considered writing a book set in a Black newspaper. But now I will have to come up with another title. Nothing immediately comes to mind, although the first draft of the book is nearly complete. But a title will come in time.

I have considered keeping the title until after I start looking for an agent again, just to see what their reaction would be. But in the end, I don't want the focus of the novel to be on the title. I want it on the storytelling.

Oh well . . .

Have a good day and don't give up on writing.

It's almost time

Some six months ago I learned that writing a novel was not the hardest part of getting it published. It was just the beginning. Finding the right agent and convincing them to represent you was a much harder task.

I stopped looking for an agent for "Fighting Chaos" back in March as I focused more and more time and energy writing my new book, "Death at the Jungle-bunny Journal." Now, as I approach the completion of the first draft, I am beginning to consider a new search for an agent.

I am not particularly looking forward to it.

Granted, it doesn't have to be so hard. The mystery genre is bigger than the suspense/thriller genre. There are more agents looking for the next new author of a mystery, although there undoubtedly are more authors of the genre out there.

I wrote more of the query letter for the new novel just today. Then I re-wrote it. It has all the sexy marketing elements that were missing in "Chaos." It is a more compelling story than "Chaos" and my wife says it is written better, too.

I'm not ready to jump into the pool yet. I haven't even finished the book. But I am close. Very close. And once I have finished the first draft, I will re-write the beginning and then start sending out queries, safe in the knowledge that I can finish all the revisions before the first agent requests a complete manuscript.

So, there is the plan as of now. It's coming together. And once I have finished this novel, I will start on the next one, which I currently title as "Fall 2008 project."

Thanks for reading and keep writing.

Motivation

When I was nearing completion of "Fighting Chaos," I got to a point where I had the end in sight but wasn't motivated to get there. I had a hard time writing. I found it confusing because I would have thought my motivation and writing output would have increased instead of decreased. I wanted to finish and I was near finishing but I had a hard time getting there, over that last hump.

I seem to be at that point now with "Death at the Jungle-bunny Journal." I am more than a week away from finishing __ probably three weeks __ but clearly the end is in sight. And yet, I have a hard time writing. I know of what action comes next in the book but I am having a hard time getting there. I still write or edit everyday (or do something related to being a novelist)but I am not writing enough.

Yes, I have excuses. I have been busy this week with a new writing client. And I am working to get more clients and increasubg my paycheack. But that doesn't occupy all my time 24/7. I have the time to work on the novel, if only in the late evenings before bed or the early morning hours before the day starts.

Yesterday, for example, I touched up some of the early parts of Jungle-bunny but I didn't add any new material. And the day before that I only wrote about 500 words. What is wrong with me?

Anyway, I need to untangle a few strings and then make sure that everything I originally intended to say in the novel has been said. And then I will be done.

I asked an author colleague of mine to read the novel after it is done. Then I have to consider whether to dramatically change anything. She once suggested I switch to a first person narrative, which I am not comfortable with doing, regardless of the time it would take to convert, and she suggested I open the novel with what is currently my second chapter.

I am not sure but I will certainly consider all such suggestions.

But before that, I have to finish. Finding the motivation to finish isn't easy. But until I find the motivation to finish, I am just a guy with a dream, not a completed work. So I will just have to dig deep, find the motivation and get back to work.

Thanks for reading and keep writing.

What's Next? Part II

It struck me today. I know what to do next. As it now stands, it is going to be another murder mystery and will likely include some of the major characters from "Death at the Jungle-bunny Journal" if only as background.

It will be set in Philadelphia and, in a general way, I know what it is about. (However, I don't have a story or a plot at the moment. Some work will be to be done on that score.) And I am a firm believer in writing what you know, thus reducing the need for extensive research. But I will need to do some heavy duty research for this one. It will involve an academic area in which I have some knowledge but it is extremely limited.

I have written about this before as a reporter. Thus, I know where I will start. Next month, while I am working on the second or third draft of the Jungle-bunny Journal, I think I will drive to Philadelphia for several days. In that way, I can wander around Philadelphia, Lower Merion and perhaps even venture down to Lincoln. And through the research, perhaps the exact story and plot will come to me. (I even have a tentative title. But more on that at a much later date.)

This third book will be a great __ and timely __ project for the second half of 2008. And maybe I will finish it by Christmas. That would be good, even if I manage find an agent and sell Jungle-bunny Journal by then.

So, Jason Mitchell will live to solve another murder. But in the process, he will face a greater challenge than he has ever faced before.

I will tell you more when I start on my next book.

Thanks for reading and don't give up on writing.