Speakers Wanted--Murder In The Grove

Murder In The Grove goes "Thriller."

Our 2008 Guest of Honor is J.A. Jance, NY Times best-selling author of two well-established series, and three inter-related thrillers. Ms. Jance will also be receiving the Bloody Pen Award for her outstanding contribution to mystery fiction.

Instructing our Full-Day Master Class on Writing The Thriller is David Morrell, co-founder of the International Thriller Writers, and also a NY Times best-selling author with over 18 million books in print. Previously an English professor at the University level, Mr. Morrell's books are noted for their research, outstanding writing, and...of course...thrills.

We're expecting this conference may be our biggest yet. (The Master Class is co-sponsored by the International Thriller Writers, Inc.)

Authors and Experts--if you'd like to be a part of this "thrilling" line-up by giving a workshop or being on a panel (we offer compensation to presenters) please send us an application by going to www.murderinthegrove.com and clicking on the "Invitation to Speak" link. The deadline for applications is SEPTEMBER 30, 2007.

If you have any questions about the program or participating in it, please write to programs08@murderin thegrove. com. If you have general questions about the conference, you can write to info08@murderintheg rove.com or feel free to contact me at any time (joanne@joannepence. com).

The conference will be held in Boise, Idaho, June 6-7, 2008. Idaho is a beautiful state. If you love the outdoors at all, come and stay a while. You won't regret it. Also, if you'd like to find out a bit about the conference from those who have attended, check out www.murderinthegrov e.com/blogging. htm to see what others have written about it.

(Permission to forward this message is granted.)

Joanne Pence
www.joannepence. com
THE DA VINCI COOK, Avon, March 2007
The Angie Amalfi Mysteries

Vitual Book Tour Coming 9/1/07

October 5, 1736
They stopped her once before, but they’ll all fail the next time. . .
from Dark River: A Novel of Suspense

Find out what these cryptic words mean during the months of September and October 2007! You are cordially invited to visit with me, the author of Dark River: A Novel of Suspense. This blog kicks off a 6-week discussion leading up to the “death” of Celeste Fontaine, the “unknown” woman buried at Ste. Anne’s Catholic Church.

During this Virtual Book Tour, I will answer your questions about Dark River’s intriguing characters, including Isabelle Fontaine, Dr. Michael St. Vincent, Josie, Ned, Celeste Fontaine, Jacques, Louis and, of, course, Douglas. I will also discuss my 10 years’ work on this book. If you haven’t had a chance to read Dark River yet, you can still join in on the discussion, as I’ll also field questions on the suspense genre.

In addition to a fun discussion, there will be giveaways (free books, a “Celeste” candle, etc.) We’ll also post free excerpts. Look for photos of Dark River discussion groups. Let’s keep it easy—there are no set times for discussion online—post when you want, read when you want.

When your book club makes Dark River an official selection on your reading list, you can get discounted shipping on orders of ten books or more, as well as a free book discussion guide. Michigan book clubs are eligible for free delivery.

See you on September 1, 2007 at www.aquariuspress.blogspot.com !

What's a Publisher?

August 6, 2007

Last week this guy, Jerry, said to me, "I would think that with computer technology these days anybody could get published."

Well, yeah. I answered a little bit about POD and iUniverse, including my experience several years back with it, but really, that's not what I'm talking about today.

Just a footnote, though. A few years ago I gave a few talks about how to get published and one of the things I said was: A publisher is a person with money who wants to publish books. Period. There's no school; no license; no certification. Just money and the desire to be a publisher.

Yes, but...

I learned something important from my iUniverse experience. This was reinforced by my publication experience with High Country Publishers, a small press in North (or is it south?) Carolina, who did such a fine job of publishing DIRTY DEEDS.

Distribution is everything.

In fact, when I interviewed author David Morrell last year, he commented that the way in which publishers were doing so little promotion these days, leaving it up to the authors, and how technology was such that the actual manufacturing of the actual book was so inexpensive and easy to come by, that the only thing publishers really do is distribute. (David was making a point to me, in a musing way, how publishers were doing less and less for writers, I think).

Distribution is getting your book into bookstores. Not Amazon, but all the other bookstores, Sam's Clubs, Wal-Marts, etc.

And here's a not-so-big secret. If you're self-published, if you're published by iUniverse and other PODs, it's damned near impossible to get your book into bookstores for a number of reasons, including but not limited to "no return policy" and "no standard bookseller discount."

A discussion of both of those would go on and on today and I'm up at Higgins Lake contemplating the beach shortly, but let's just say that if you're an aspiring novelist and you don't understand what I mean, you need to do some research on how bookselling works in the United States.

And here's a little-bigger secret: even if you've got a publisher with seemingly good distribution, your book may not automatically be distributed to bookstores, chains or otherwise, and if your publisher isn't behind you in a big way, you can pretty much kiss goodbye the notion of having your book at Wal-Mart, Sam's Clubs, airport bookstores, and the book section at your local Meijer store. I've had this hit home a little harder recently when I paid some visits to very large independent bookstores hoping to sign stock. These were bookstores where I had sent flyers and postcards regarding my books, as well as them being included in my e-newsletters. The Tattered Cover in Denver and Horizon Books in Traverse City. Neither of them had my books. (In fact, in Denver, I didn't see any books by my publisher, Midnight Ink, a division of the rather large publisher, Llewellyn. I forgot to do that thorough a check in Traverse City).

The fact is, I don't know how to convince them to carry my books. If my publisher's catalogue doesn't inspire them, my postcards, newsletters, author blurbs, or reviews don't inspire them, I just don't know how to get them to carry my books.

And here's the Catch-22. The way to get them to carry my books is for there to be demand. For people to be looking for them. And for that to happen, particularly on a nationwide business, there needs to be bigger sales. And how do you get bigger sales? Well, partly by having books show up in bookstores. Ideally on end-racks, on front tables, in front windows, in local author sections, etc.

Nobody said this would be easy, did they?

Cheers,

Mark Terry

We should pay crime writers more respect

(news posted by b2b)

Posted at 6:27PM Wednesday 4th July 2007 by b2b newsdesk

The subject of book awards is a touchy one for crime scribes, many of whom have long nursed grudges against the bigger literary prizes. PD James and Ian Rankin have both complained that crime - not to mention other genre writing - is unfavourably overlooked in these matters. When he picked up his Nibby from Richard and Judy earlier this year, winning in the crime thriller category, Ian Rankin couldn't help but bring the issue up again.

Guardian Blog
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/books/2007/07/we_should_pay_crime_writers_mo.html

THE SERPENT'S KISS ESCAPES!!!!

July 2, 2007
My friend Andy Rosenbaum told me a while back that if my books were Klingons they wouldn't wait to be released, they would escape.

I think Andy has a point. And certainly, in my humble opinion, THE SERPENT'S KISS, is a Klingon type of book.

Bestselling author Tess Gerritsen said: "I can't remember the last time a thriller made my heart pound and my hands sweat, but The Serpent's Kiss did all that and more. This is a tense, high-octane read!"

The Midwest Review of Books said: "The story is a nail biting thriller that I couldn't stop reading. I loved the character of Derek Stillwater and how he cuts to the chase. I've put Mr. Terry on my list of favorite authors and look forward to reading his next novel in the series, Angels Falling. Other books by the author include The Devil's Pitchfork, Dirty Deeds and Catfish Guru."

Mark Terry says: "I agree. Thanks."

If you want to read the first chapter or so, read more blurbs or even a short story featuring Derek Stillwater, visit my website at: www.markterrybooks.com

Cheers,

Mark Terry

The Paranoid Writer

This is a subject matter most people tend to shy away from because no one really wants to admit they are in this paranoid category. However, if it is never pointed out or identified they may never reach his or her goal of becoming a published author. With that said, let’s get down to business.

The Paranoid Writer

What do you do when you complete your final draft of your manuscript? Do you immediately seek friends and family to read it to give their opinion? On the other hand, are you so confident that you hold a masterpiece in your hands that you want to submit it immediately to an agent or publisher? After several days, weeks or months, you’ve found that you’ve done absolutely nothing. Why? Because you’re afraid someone will steal your story. You’ve become so paranoid of that notion; your book is collecting dust in a desk drawer or closet.

Signs of a Paranoid Writer:

• You want to copyright it before it is read by anyone
• You join a writers group but won’t let anyone read it
• You won’t allow anyone beyond your spouse or close family member to look at it
• You start every conversation about your book with, ‘I’m hesitant to let anyone read…” or “I’m worried about someone stealing…”
• You write inside your query letter to the agent/publisher that you are worry about them stealing your work
• You avoid joining a writers group because you don’t want anyone to steal it
• You won’t even talk about the premise of your book to anyone

Questions you should ask yourself when hesitating:

• What’s the point of having a masterpiece if no one will ever see it?
• Do you really think that an agent or publisher wants to work with someone who’s going to constantly question their motives?
• Am I really so arrogant?

What can I do?

• First of all, there’s nothing wrong with a little paranoia. It’s very possible that there are people who would steal your story. Just don’t become so paranoid that your novel will never see the light of day.
• Get in your head that copyrighting the manuscript ahead of time is not only a waste of time (I’ll explain later) but may hamper your chances of getting it published; unless of course, you self publish your novel.
• A good writers group affords you the ability to do some needed editing. When self-editing, it is easy to missed minor mistakes, especially when the author has read his own manuscript half a dozen times already. Friends and family tend not to be honest with the author and keep their real opinion to themselves. A writers group can offer honesty.
• Publisher/agents will not work with authors they deem too much trouble to work with; it is neither appropriate nor condone to mention in either query letter or if you should make it that far, too say during a phone conversation.
• Lastly, if you won’t talk to anyone about what you have written, how can you test the waters to see if there is an interest in the subject matter you have written?

If any of the above does not help you at all, then perhaps you should consider self-publishing.

Note:

Copyrighting – There are a couple of problems with copyrighting your manuscript before it is contracted. Number one, if any type of modification occurs within the book, the author must copyright it all over again with the changes. Two, publishers/agents are reluctant to work with an author if he has already copyrighted the book. Three, as soon as the author has written anything into the manuscript, it is considered copyrighted and is legally binding in a court of law. As long as the author has proof that he possesses the original, he is protected. (Never submit your only copy of the manuscript)

8-Point Checklist For Successful Fiction

June 4, 2007
Before you start writing and definitely before you send your manuscript off to an agent or editor, think about the following eight elements of your work.

1. Is your main character proactive?
It's okay if your main character is a victim at the beginning of the novel, but they need to actually be doing something to solve their problem(s) by the end. And by the same token, the solution should come about as a result of their actions. The days of damsels in distress being rescued by the hero are over. Damsels rescue themselves. They might be hanging off a cliff by their fingernails or tied to the train tracks, but they'd damn well better be the primary reason they escape. That said, if you foreshadow a rescue properly, it's okay to have help. As those great sages, John, Paul, George and Ringo once said, we all can use a little help from our friends.

2. Are you using good verbs?
Verbs do all the heavy-lifting in our writing. Kill your adverbs and use good verbs. Your main character doesn't go get his mail. He plucks it from the mailbox, retrieves it from the post office, etc. Your car doesn't come to a stop. It rolls to a stop, lurches to a halt, or glides to rest. (And as for adverbs, your car doesn't need to roll smoothly to a stop if it can glide, does it?) You can solve at least half of your writing problems by replacing weak verbs with strong, active verbs.

3. Are you trying to entertain?
Shakespeare wanted to fill up his theater. Nobody at the Globe was saying, "Ooh, let's go catch Bill's play with all that beautiful language and the deep themes about action and inaction." Nope, they were saying, "Hey, I hear there's a great play with lots of swordfights, ghosts, murder, intrigue, sex and romance. It's called 'Hamlet.' Let's check it out." Entertain first. All that theme, message, blah, blah, blah comes second.

4. Is the length right?
If it's a first novel and it's 200,000 words in length, it's too damned long. Each category of fiction novel has an expected length. Romances tend to run short. Mysteries tend to run in the 70-90,000 word range. Thrillers overlap from the 85,000-120,000 length. There are a lot of factors here, but most beginning writers don't think too much about the fact that longer books cost your publisher more to produce. They're thinking about that when you send them a 150,000 word mystery; they're also thinking, nobody will buy it, it's too long.

5. Is there a market?
Okay, you want to be an artist and not worry about the market. I'm happy for you. Go away. You don't need to read anything about writing because you're probably going to self-publish and hand-sell books out of the trunk of your car. Original is good. Too original means the publisher's never seen it before and will probably say, 'hell, it's interesting, but who will buy it?' There are exceptions. And trends. Currently, there's a market for mixed-genre novels, those werewolf-time travel-romance novels. Go figure.

6. Did you start in the right place?
We're a short attention span group of readers. Did you start your novel in the right place? Lawrence Block often said you should flip your first and second chapters. What he meant is, if your first chapter is backstory and the action starts in the second chapter, start with the action--or in the middle of the action (in media res is the technical term) and fill in the backstory later. Many, many unpublished novelists start at the wrong place. Take a hard, cold look at your beginning and see if you've started at the right place.

7. Does your ending satisfy?
Are all the threads tied up? Does the reader come away feeling... something? Anything? Mickey Spillane once stated that the last chapter sold the next book. Believe it.

8. Is there conflict?
This is right up there with the right verbs. There are basically two types of conflict: internal and external. External are all the things that happen to your main character. That could be the murder they're trying to solve, the bad guy they're trying to stop, whatever it is that keeps the main characters from falling in love, etc. Internal conflict is whatever fears and/or problems your character must overcome to attain their goals. Ideally you have both. You can get away with just external in some sorts of fiction, but it's better if your character has to overcome something internal. I interviewed Michael Connelly (hear the name drop?) a couple years ago and I commented that one of the things I found most interesting about his main character, Harry Bosch, was he brought his own conflict with him just by the way he interacted with people. Michael said, "Have baggage, will travel. Yeah, Harry does bring his conflict with him, doesn't he?"

If you ever, ever hear an agent or publisher say, "Lacks tension," what they're probably referring to is lack of conflict (or in some cases, your verbs aren't active enough).

I hope these are helpful.

Cheers,
Mark Terry