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This article by Nathan Bransford on CNet has been making the rounds of the Intarwubz today, and I’m kinda grateful. It’s reminding everyone that the primary cost of making a book isn’t in the physical creation of the object. Especially for mass-market publishers, who are producing in bulk, the per-unit cost of printing an actual book is negligible. The primary cost is for the content — which, one would argue, is the most important part anyhow, yes? When you buy a book, you’re not paying for a physical artifact, you’re paying for the writer’s work, the editor’s, designer’s, and cover artist’s work–the creative stuff, all of which is still there in an ebook.
(For small press publishers, it’s a whole ‘nother thing, because they’re not producing in bulk, so the per-unit cost of printing a book is considerably higher. But then, most small presses reflect that difference in eBook and print copies, as witnessed in my own recent small-press efforts, where the eBook is three or four bucks, while the trade paperback is fifteen.)
So when you complain that an eBook costs only slightly less than a print book, what you’re complaining about is that the people who actually made the important part of the book shouldn’t get as much of your money for doing the exact same work they’d be doing if it was in print.
If you don’t pay enough for the book to pay the writer a decent rate for writing it, it’s the death of professionalism. As readers, trust me, you don’t want that.
Keith R.A. DeCandido took his sweet time finally writing something for this blog, given that he joined the Liars Club in January 2011. He did the editorial work for Liar Liar, and also wrote the story “Under the King’s Bridge” for that anthology. Keith’s recent and upcoming work includes Goblin Precinct, the sequel to his high fantasy police procedurals Dragon Precinct and Unicorn Precinct; the Leverage novel The Zoo Job, based on the TNT TV series; -30-, with Steven Savile, the first story in the “Viral” series of thriller novellas; and “The Ballad of Big Charlie” in V-Wars, an anthology edited by fellow Liar Jonathan Maberry. Find out less at his web site, which is the gateway to his blog, his Facebook page, his Twitter feed (@KRADeC), his various podcasts, and lots more, including links to buy his most recent books.
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1. Your main character does not have to be likable, but he or she has to have spunk. Spunk in the past or spunk in the present. Wounded spunk, subtle spunk, suppressed spunk that slowly works its way to the surface.
2. When plotting, logic is your friend. Coincidence is your enemy.
3. When describing, be concrete. Mementoes over memories. The soft hand of the sheets matters as much as the harshness of the dreams.
4. No one could ever sigh as much as women sigh in my early drafts. It’s not medically possible. Could they maybe breathe deeply once in a while, or shrug their shoulders, or shuffle their feet?
5. I tend to think of character’s back story as boring cocktail party small talk. Readers, not so much. Readers naturally wonder why characters do what they do. So clue them in now and then. Let their pasts shine through by constantly asking, “Why?”
6. Try to leave every chapter with a hook to the next. But do not let this hook be obvious, like “Jenna was about to learn how very wrong she was.” Yes, this is harder than planting potatoes in a frozen field. But do it anyway.
7. Don’t let anyone tell you differently: A little bit of “telling” is absolutely fine. IF it’s brilliantly written.
8. The title of the book has to feel like the genre and style of your writing. You may have inadvertently titled your chick lit book with a high falutin’ literary title. Or your mystery may have a title that sounds like non-fiction. It needs to match, so the reader’s expectations are properly met.
9. Make the acknowledgments at the back of the book as complicated and effusive as you like, but keep the dedication simple and humble. A too-lofty dedication can set the wrong tone.
10. Read and revise your manuscript onscreen, sure, but also print it out, and staple the chapters together. The act of reading it on paper uses different mental muscles.
11. The opening sentence is far, far, more important than the closing one.
12. That being said, if you screw up the ending no reader will ever forgive you. Think long and hard about what would be an emotionally satisfying ending. Not a happy one, necessarily, or a beautifully written one. But an emotionally satisfying one.
13. If you screw up the middle, you won’t be alone. Many writers’ books have flaws in the middle. However, yours isn’t going to be one, so put some more plot in the freaking middle, would you?
14. There are really two types of writers: those who need to be told no no no, no more of that! And those that need to be told yes, yes, yes, more more more of that! Figure out which you are, and try to act accordingly.
Kelly Simmons is the author of the Simon & Schuster novels STANDING STILL and THE BIRD HOUSE. She also blogs at kellyasimmons.blogspot.com and blathers on twitter @kellysimmons.
Oh, and always keep a journal for notes.
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On Saturday, January 14 the Liars Club will host a potluck/BYOB meet and greet for ALL of our writer friends. Doesn’t matter if you’re an absolute beginner or an experienced professional –if you write, you’re a writer…and that means you’re invited. Significant others welcome. Teens okay (but parents are responsible to make sure they only touch the soft drinks!).
The Liars Club has declared 2012 the YEAR OF THE WRITERS COMMUNITY, and we want to kick that off with this informal get-together. Bring something to share and join us! This will be a terrific networking opportunity as well as a lot of fun.
The event will be at the Park at Westminster Apartments, Abbey Building (first floor Community Room); 600 Valley Road in Warrington (at Valley and Street Roads). Look for the balloons! Click here for a map.
We kick off at 7pm!
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