John Updike and John Grisham

American literary giant John Updike died this week. It was a sad day for anyone who loves good, thoughtful literary prose. Updike was a prolific writer with a natural talent seen rarely except a couple of times in each generation. His Rabbitt series, first published more than 50 years ago, inspired a generation of writers.

But he was not loved by everyone, which isn't surprising. Who is? A British group awarded him a lifetime achievement award for bad writing. And Normal Mailer, apparently, opined that he was an author appreciated by readers who knew nothing about writing. Well, Mr. Mailer, I hate to inform you but most readers don't know anything about writing.

But I was listening to NPR last week to an Updike interview in which he laments the decline of literary fiction in America. It's true, of course, that readers today more likely look to James Patterson than to John Updike, or Sandra Brown instead of Alice Walker. But I think in the big world of books, there is more than enough room for literary fiction and commercial fiction.

And speaking of commercial fiction, John Grisham's new book,"The Associate," came out this week, just days after Updike's death. No one would confuse Grisham with a literary author. It's not. He's a commercial fiction author. But his books are readable and fun and enjoyable. So what's wrong with that?

I read the first couple of chapters of the book on Grisham's website before it was officially published. It seemed interesting in just the sort of way I enjoy.

A friend who lives near Grisham in Virginia thinks he is a hack. But both she and her husband are snobs in so many ways. So I am sure she won't like my novels because I am far more like Grisham than Updike.

I like to write. I don't apologize for it. But I am not a deep, deep thinker. It's just not who I am. So I don't have the talent to sit with the giants of American literature. But does that mean I shouldn't write? No, I don't think that at all. A writer is one who writes. And from it all, we just have to wait for the great ones, like Updike, to emerge.

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

Sisters in Crime

I got a call yesterday from the president of my local chapter of Sisters in Crime. She said the newly elected chapter secretary was resigning for personal reasons and asked whether I'd be interested in serving in that capacity.

I had reservations that I did not express to her but on quick reflection, I agreed. The job doesn't take too much. I already attend all meetings. I will just have to take notes when I do.

Although it is not called as such, it is as reporting secretary and corresponding secretary because after I write up the minutes, I send them out to be read and do most of the correspondence of the chapter.

The Speed City chapter of Sisters in Crime is not that big, only 39 members currently, down five from last year, and six of the members are men. There is only one other black person that I have seen, although Jim, the owner of the bookstore where we meet, is a person of color. Does that count?

I am happy to serve because this organization has helped me so much in the past year. I have grown a lot as a writer and much of the credit goes to the members of the Speed City chapter of Sisters in Crime. They welcomed me with open arms and I appreciate it. I pledge to do the best I can for the chapter.

Thanks for reading and keep writing.

Blogging

I was reading an online article in Writer's Digest today on blogging. It was titled,"Is Blogging Right for you?" And while the article, which I must have missed in the print version of the magazine, was interesting and thought-provoking, it didn't answer the question.

Or at least, it didn't for me.

But it did cause me to re-evaluate the reasons that I blog. It isn't so much as to communicate with others than it is to communicate with me. Yes, I would like to have more visitors to the blog, but I don't advertise or promote it. So until I do, I can't hope for any true readership.

But there is one true reader of this blog. Me. The primary reason I write it is so that when I look back, I can see what I was thinking about writing or whatever on any given day. It is like a diary or journal for me. I have never kept a diary or journal and only can manage this in a half-assed way. But I am managing it. That's a start.

There were also some interesting statistics in the article. Apparently, there are more people blogging than people reading books. The article said data shows there are 112.8 million active blogs in the world, with another 175,000 new blogs a day. But there are only 500 books published a day, a figure that only doubles if you include self-published titles. And there are roughly 18 blog updates every second of every day.

In just a few moments I will add to that.

Though anyone is welcome to hear my rants about writing and getting published, the first reader is always me. So I will continue . . .

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

The Dispatch

I started making the change today, the change for the title of my novel, "Death at the Jungle-bunny Journal."

I also changed the name of the newspaper in the novel. It was the Indianapolis Courier-Times, or C-T for short, and now is the Indianapolis Dispatch.

So the new title is, "The Dispatch." The title is now about the newspaper and about the murder of the publisher/owner of the paper.

Yesterday, I was thinking about "The Murderous Dispatch," but my wife thought that was redundant -- murder and dispatch expressing the same idea.

I like The Dispatch, although I love Jungle-bunny Journal. But it is probably best to error on the side of caution, at least for the Amazon contest.

So that's it for now.

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

Sending it out for proofing

After I finish this short post, I am going to ship my novel off to a good friend who copy edits so that she can proof the manuscript. Whenever I reread large material I have sent out, I almost always spot errors or which I had worded something differently. I don't self-edit very well.

The novel isn't quite where I wanted it to be at this point but my friend, who has a small child, only had time to read it over the weekend. So I will just have to take my chances. She is tremendous at proofing, however.

I haven't worked much on my pitch letter for the Amazon contest and I will need to finalize that in the next 10 days. It is a combination of query letter and book summary in under 300 words. They are critical words, of course, because moving to stage two of the contest is based solely on the pitch letter. None of the judges read any of the novel in the first stage, and the 3,000- to 5,000-word excerpt isn't posted on Amazon until the second or third stage, which doesn't come until in March. At the beginning, everything rides on the pitch. But then, isn't that always the case?

Thanks for reading and don't give up?

What's in a name, part III

It's coming down to the wire on a final decision to change the name of my novel,"Death at the Jungle-bunny Journal." Actually, the decision has been made. For at least the Amazon contest and for my first pitch session with an editor in March, I will change the name. The decision left, then, is what to change the name to.

Just like Jungle-bunny, I want a name that stands out, that is memorable. But perhaps I am, and have been, too close to this project for too long. So over the weekend, I asked Angela for some suggestions because the names I was coming up with were not shaking me to my socks.

Since then we have come up with several possible choices, including some quite good. But I still don't have a great choice. I even last night considered changing the name of the newspaper in the novel from the Courier-Times to the Dispatch so I could use the word dispatch in the title.

Nothing yet.

So I will continue with whipping the novel into shape for the Amazon contest. And perhaps a little later a title will sinpsire me. I hope so.

Until then, thanks for reading and keep writing.

Something bold II

More than a monthy ago on Dec.10, I mentioned that I was trying something bold for the 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel contest. I was changing my novel, "Death at the Jungle-bunny Journal," from a third-person narrative to a first-person narrative. I said it would be hard but challenging and certainly bold.

When I started, I immediately cut out the scenes that didn't include my hero, Jason Crown. That in itself shortened the novel from 78,000 words to 45,000, 5,000 short of the minimum for the contest. But I still have to somehow cover some of the material from the scenes Jason wasn't it, in many places having to add him to a scene that he wasn't in originally or somehow having him around to learn of the crucial elements.

I never finished re-writing the first-person novel, realizing after weeks of work that it wasn't going to work. It was a good experiment that I don't regret doing except that it took time away from me preparing the third-person narrative for the Amazon contest.

So it was a bold experiment that failed. It's not for this novel nor the next one, "The Death of Art." but I haven't given up the idea of writing something in first-person.

Perhaps it will work for my Fall 2009 novel. I decided yesterday on what that novel should be. I will have to give this idea some thought.

Until then, thanks for reading and don't give up on writing.

Pitching a book

This is going to be an issue I will come back to -- pitching a book.

I am scheduled to do my first pitch during a conference I am attending in March. I am nervous about it and plan to mention pitching a book when my critique group gets together later this month. I asked a published colleague and she said it is hard and that she isn't good at it. But I need to start with a short, concise compelling summary of the book and to be prepared to go into more details if the person asks. And that I should practice, practice, practice the pitch at house several times before I go to the conference.

The person is an acquring editor at a large publishing house. There will be an agent there, too, but she doesn't represent the sort of material that I write. Her interests are YA, romance and some chick lit. The editor, however, is at least interested in general fiction, a broad and nebulous area that could mean anything and nothing at the same time. So, I'm just helping.

You can find virtually anything on the Internet and my colleague found something on pitching a book.

Below are tips for a great editor interview taken from some website :

Preparation pays off! With a little advance planning, you'll be able to walk into that interview with confidence and walk out with a request to submit your manuscript.

1. Think of your editor appointment as you would a job interview. You are selling yourself as well as your book. Dress professionally.

2. Smile, introduce yourself, shake hands, and if you have a card, offer it to the editor. (Some writers list the book they are pitching on the back side.)

3. If you have time for brief chit-chat that could break the ice, go for it. "I attended your workshop, it was great..."

4. Tell the editor what type of book you've written (contemp/hist/paranormal), the title and length. Also mention the targeted line. A finished book carries more weight than an unfinished book, so if it's done, say so. If you've completed several, also say so, but pitch only one book unless the editor asks about others. If the editor says your book isn't right for her house, pitch another, or be prepared to ask lots of questions.

5. Go for the hook. Tell the editor whether it's a secret baby, amnesia, marriage of convenience, woman in jeopardy book and indicate the tone — light, dark, dramatic, comedic, etc. Tell the editor what makes your secret baby book different than the rest.

6. Give a brief one paragraph synopsis of the book that contains the main character's goal, motivation, conflict and resolution. Practice this at home before the interview. Don't give too many details. For practice at home, start with the basics—the external conflict. Eloise wants (goal)_____, because (motivation)______, but (conflict)_____. The conflict is resolved when_____. Then expand on this with a character tag. (A cynical cop wants_____.) The character tags can identify potential internal conflict/differences.

7. The editor may ask questions. Be prepared to answer. Don't go on so long you forget the time. If you can fit it in, give a little information about yourself and what makes you qualified to write this book. For example: If you're writing about law enforcement and you're an undercover cop, say so. If you're finished before your time is up, be prepared to ask a few questions of your own.

8. If the editor hasn't already asked to see the ms or a partial, close out the interview by asking if the editor would like to see yours.

9. Offer a friendly goodbye handshake and a smile.

10. Send the editor a thank you note within a few days.

All the tips made sense, particularly the first two. I plan to use the tips as a guide. By the second week in March, I will let you know how it goes.

Thanks for reading and keep writing.

Chaos

I know I have mentioned this before but right now I am doing something I love to do -- write amidst the chaos of my unfolding family life.

I am at the counter between the family room and the kitchen. The television is on, Angela is cooking dinner and the dog is barking at one of the kids as both my daugthers argue with each other. It's the Family Circle.

And yet, despite it all, I can focus on writing. I am writing the scenes leading up to the police discovering the man who killed the victim in my next novel, "The Death of Art." I have on earphones, which mutes much of the noise, but I am still aware of it.

The ability to write despite everthing going on around you is one of the things I appreciate most about having worked for years in a newsroom. There is always noise and distractions in a busy newsroom, and you are still expected to get your work done.

So as I sit here, getting ready to have dinner before returning to a blank computer screen with its demands, I am grateful for my training. Now, if only I could require inspiration to show up on demand I'd be all set.

I will now follow my own advice and keep writing.

Resolutions

I was reading the blog for the Newbie's Guide to Publishing today and was reminded yet again not to sweat the stuff I can not control, which, unfortunately, can be a lot. But it also encouraged me to reexamine my goals for 2009 and do the things I can control.

All of the goals I have for the year are obtainable solely by me, except one -- finding an agent. I can put myself in a position to get an agent through query letters, contacts with other writers, attending conferences and the like. But I can't control whether I get one.

So I am changing my agent goal to the number of queries I send out and am specifying my blog writing to 12 a month, which was the original goal.

If you do what you can control you can skip the excuses for not getting it done. But you also can totally accept the success of accomplishing what you set out to do. It doesn't mean there won't be disappointments. But it will end the blame game.

Thanks for reading and keep writing.