My Muse

I was at a reception and book unveiling last week for "Who's Who in Black Indianapolis" and saw my muse for "Death at the Jungle-bunny Journal." Well, in truth, Nichole is less a muse for the story than an inspiration for it.

I had decided on writing a murder mystery set in a black newspaper years before I met Nichole, who, as a physical therapist, worked on my left shoulder a number of years ago. But in talking to Nichole __ I talked a lot in therapy. It took my mind off the heavy work she had me doing during therapy __ the idea formed that was the basis for the story in Jungle-bunny.

I haven't seen Nichole in months. Periodically, we'd have lunch together. I did send her several chapters of an early version of the book, although she has never commented on them. Frankly, I'm not sure she read them. But no matter. I did my part.

For her part, Nichole reminds me of the hard work I put into the novel and of the hard work it is taking to get it published. In fact, I just noticed there is always a single person who has inspired each of my three novels.

My wife Angela inspired "Fighting Chaos" and there is a character in the book patterned after her. Nichole inspired Jungle-bunny and nominally there is a character patterned after her and in my newest offering, "The Death of Art" __ which I am still working on __ the niece of some close friends inspired the character of an early victim.

I wonder who will inpsire my next novel.

But before I get to that, I need to find an agent, take to get Jungle-bunny published and finish writing "The Death of Art." Quite a lot to do and so I am going to get on with it.

Thanks for reading and don't give up.

E-mail vs. snail mail

Agents are funny people. Well, to be truthful, people are funny people. But I just want to address agents at the moment.

Agents have all sorts of likes and dislikes and many of them are listed on their websites or on agent listings, both online and printed. And while it is rare that all of an agent's preferences will be so obvious __ and not knowing is a potential minefield __ it is always important to follow their suggestions based on their preferences.

I think it is civil to write "thank you for your time and consideration" at the bottom of a query because I really am taking up some of their time, if only marginally. But I know of an agent who expressly doesn't like that. She says she should be thanking the writer for taking the time to consider her. So, in my query letter, I didn't thank her for her time. (She rejected me anyway, but was quite nice about it.)

But the preferences that always confuse me is when an agent only wants snail mail queries or only e-mail queries. Why one and not the other? Why not accept either? Why be some funny about it?

Snail mail, of course, is more traditional, more time-consuming, costly, and less immediate. But it does give the agent something to put their hands on and allows the writer to show they can conform to the standard publishing format, i.e. margins, headings and such.

The writer doesn't know how his or her letter is going to appear on the other end if it is in an e-mail but that is balanced by its immediacy and the fact that if the writer is sending the query online then they probably have checked out the agent's preferences on their website. It will appear less of a form letter sent to the next agent on the list.

And rejections tend to come quicker, allowing the writer to emotionally move on quicker.

While I do send out snail mail queries, I prefer e-mail. Even when targeting for a specific agent, which is an absolute, e-mails are quicker to write or adapt and mistakes are easier to quickly correct.

But I always follow their preferences where they are stated. That's just basic business sense.

That's it for now. Thanks for reading and keep writing.

Query letters

After several months of working and reworking "Death at the Jungle-bunny Journal" in preparation of another assault of the publishing world, I have started to query agents again. I sent one last night and plan to step up efforts in the coming weeks at getting an agent. And while I was networking last week, I met the author of three non-fiction books who said she would help me with publishing contacts.

I hate the prospect of having to find an agent if only because the process seems so random. I have no idea what it is about my writing or query letter that isn't hitting on all cylinders. I have followed the formats and advice of numerous people on how to attract an agent and nothing seems to work. It is a frustrating exercise but, apparently, a necessary one. So I am at it again.

My query letter is short and sweet. It gets to the point quickly and asks, in only four paragraphs, that the agent consider me for representation. I don't waste their time.

I wish I was a famous writer if only because I'd have to do fewer __ of any __ query letters. I know the process of getting first and agent and then a publisher is asking someone I don't know to risk thousands of dollars in an investment on a total stranger. But it is the way the game is played.

So, I'm off to the races. The only real joy I find in it is that by the time I find an agent, my next book, "The Death of Art," should be nearing completion and I'd have one more piece of writing to use to interest both an agent and a publisher.

Thanks for reading and I promise to post more blog entries. Now get back to writing.

Marketing

One of the hardest things for me is marketing myself, although good marketing and promotions will determine whether I am a successful novelist. I am not comfortable at it and not good at it. And when it comes to promoting a book, I'm sure it will be expensive, exhausting, difficult and time-consuming.

But it will still need to be done.

To help in my comfort level, I am going to a session with fellow mystery writers tomorrow on using the Internet for promotion. Websites, Podcast, blogs and all manner of technical things I don't comprehend will come up.

Hopefully, I will make a final decision on a website and more forwars with that. At the very least, I will have more information for making an informed judgment.

I will have to tell you later how that goes. But for now, thanks for reading and keep writing.

Contractions

Some time ago, a fellow writer said I should use more contractions, particularly inside of quotes. She said it reads better.

Being that I greatly respect her opinions (although I don't always agree with them or always follow them) I decided to give the issue some thought. And I think she is right. Use of contractions, particularly in quotes, moves my story along.

But do I use them with nouns, either regular or proper? I decided that I do. There is nothing wrong with saying Mike's a great guy. It reads better than Mike is a great guy. (I am, by the way.) And I don't think there is a rule against it.

In the end, it is best to know a rule before you break it. In this case, there isn't a rule that applies. So, go with what feels best.

Sorry this is sort a short entry but that is all I have at the moment, other than my usual "Thanks for reading and keep writing."

The Death of Art

Last week wasn't a good week for me from a personal perspective. There were some things going on that tremendously clouded my focus and undermined my attention. One would think that work -- in this case, writing -- would help but I was too unfocused.

And then my new material was due on Friday to the members of my critique group and I had to decide what type of writer am I. Can I work when I'm totally unmotivated or not?

I wrote.

I wrote the next chapter in "The Death of Art," which, in this case, is Chpter 3. I wrote 3,300 words over about 10 hours, including the time I took to attend my youngest daughter's high school football game. (She is a cheerleader.)

The due date for the material was Friday and, unfortunately, I didn't finish before midnight. I didn't finish until about 1 in the morning. But I sent it so they would have it first thing Satuday morning.

I feel a sense of accomplishment for getting it done. It wasn't brilliant, of course. It was a first draft. But the work got done and, while not perfect, it is still pretty good.

I guess this coming Saturday I will learn how good (or bad) it is. But the most important thing is that I got it done. And that is one of the first characteristic that define a writer or a wannabe. A writer gets it done.

So that's it for the moment. Those are my thoughts. Thanks for reading and don't give up on writing.

When it's time to give up on something you've written

I was reading a blog I recently discovered and one of the topics it covered in the last couple of days was when is it time to give up on something you have written. That particularly comes to mind for me because my first book, "Fighting Chaos," is just sitting on the proverbial shelf.

In the end, the blogger said it's a difficult question and it's hard to know. However, he offered some insight.

Since I finished Chaos last December, I have grown a lot as a writer and my craft has significantly developed. Now as I look back at the novel, I have a better understanding of why it will never sell in its current form. The story is still good, I think, but the pacing is all off, there is too much backstory in too great of detail, some of the characters are wooden and stiff, and the plot doesn't propel the reader forward.

In the end, it reads like it was written by a novice, which, as it turns out, was the case.

But I am still very attached to the story. It is quite personal to me. Should I give up the ghost and drop it forever? I don't think so. I have chalked up the experience and moved on but there is still something interesting to tell in the story.

So, what do I do? Well, for now, I leave it where it is. In time, and when I have the time, I hope to get back to it. When I am stronger in my creaft, have a better understanding of the market and insight into upcoming trends, I hope to get back to the story. That, unfortunately, could -- and probably will -- take years. But the novel is on the shelf and isn't going anywhere, so why worry.

The blogger quoted (although didn't name) a famous writer, who said, "There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you."

That's not the case with Chaos. It no longer is just inside me. I would like for it to be read but, for the moment, that isn't going to be the case. But it is not an 'untold story.'

Now, on to the next . . .

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