From time to time things happen that irk us in regards to our jobs/careers/professions.  We’ve all been there, probably more times than any of us would like to count.

Sometimes we really need to blow off steam, vent our frustrations, and just get our irritation off our chests.  There are right ways and wrong ways to go about getting this release.

1.  Talk to someone who can do something about it.  It could be your editor, or if you don’t feel comfortable with that, you could choose me.   It is always best to go to the source of your problem first, then the next level up if you can’t come to an agreement.

2. Don’t talk about your issues in a public forum.  Doing so violates the other person’s right to privacy.  You could be accused of libel:  a written or oral defamatory statement or representation that conveys an unjustly unfavorable impression b (1): a statement or representation published without just cause and tending to expose another to public contempt (2): defamation of a person by written or representational means (3): the publication of blasphemous, treasonable, seditious, or obscene writings or pictures (4): the act, tort, or crime of publishing such a libel.

3. Don’t burn your bridges.

Decisions get made and to be blunt, the health of the company is the primary concern.  The health of Aspen Mountain Press affects all the authors and editors.  You may not like certain editorial decisions.  Unless you have a really strong, compelling argument why a decision is “wrong”, I am going to back the editors.  But you also know that I’ve really striven to be accommodating to the authors here.  This is unlike nearly every other book and e-Book company I’ve known.  Horror stories abound where authors have: received fifty pages of editorial “direction”;  been asked to rewrite the first hundred pages of a novel four and five times; given input in regards to covers and blurbs and then totally ignored.  This list can go on ad nauseam.

I’ve worked in schools and in corporate America.  I didn’t agree with all the the policies and procedures that those entities insisted I follow.  I had two choices…stay or leave.  In no case did I publicly state why I left one employer in favor of another or why I felt company XYZ was wrong.  I did what my heart insisted I do, but in doing so I took the high road which I recommend everyone here do in every aspect of their lives.  I never knew if there would arise a situation where I would need to contact that company or school again, or perhaps one of the individuals employed there.  In a couple cases, I actually went back to work for the company I left.  If I’d left complaining loudly and publicly about management, the way problems were handled, and other issues, I’d never be able to have a positive  relationship in the future.

I keep an eye on the loops, I’m on over 100, (it’s why I get so much email) and I make note of the things I read…especially of the negative things I read.  I already know there are authors I will never contract because of their lack of professionalism on the loops.  I know the same is true of other publishers.  I know agents and editors hang out in some of these groups and I know they watch the blogs.  I’ve been told by two influential NYC houses that they do a web search on potential authors and read what they’ve posted.

I attend publishers’ conferences, authors’ conferences, workshops, etc…and if you think the competition doesn’t talk with one another, you are sadly mistaken.

So, do yourself and your career a huge favor.  Think and speak positively.  And if something is really bothering you, follow some sage, ancient advice…If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.  In our contemporary times cultivating the positive relationships,  is simply called “networking”. 

So, is your network strong or weak? 

Shared World series are quite popular and can be really fun to read. But they can be really tricky (and frustrating) to write in.

A shared world usually starts with a concept or core idea that is built to be the background for the stories in the series. This can be a place, a person, or an event, depending on the idea and vision for the series.

Some shared world series may be limited to a certain number of stories or open ended as well.

Some shared worlds start with the story of the core idea or concept as the first story in the series. These have the benefit of having the story really laid out so authors that follow on with other stories can follow pretty closely and avoid potential collisions or breaks in the world. But for that, it sacrifices the anticipation that can be created by withholding the final resolution or revelation until interest in the series drops off.

Some publishers or authors decide to save the story that is the basis of the shared world until the very end. That actually can make it more difficult for the authors because you have a world that is more in flux. You may want to use or address an aspect that the person in charge of the series has not considered. Can you do it? Is it the right thing to do? Is your addition going to blow things for authors already partially written?

Difficult questions indeed.

Most shared worlds or series have a bible to offer to authors who might want to write in that world. Be sure you get a copy of that bible and be sure you ask for updates if you take a while between original receipt and finishing your story.

How detailed that bible is can vary greatly. I’ve seen some that are a single page of vague information. I’ve seen some that are 20 page tomes. In general, the more detailed, the more you are able to get answers for. But the more detailed, the less freedom the individual authors have to improvise.

Try to read other stories in that world and see how other authors have treated the shared elements. It will also show you how closely in line they are.

Personally, I like to have the rules laid out and not have unfortunate surprises emerge. Those can be a change in the basic workings of the world or characters, imposition of a mythos not previously present or someone being allowed to write as a shared character when the other authors were told not to. All of these can cause huge chaos in the other world stories and can even cause readers to be upset if the different authors are using different versions of that shared world.

I hate to have these mistakes, myself. Inconsistency makes me nuts and though I’ve written in shared worlds, I find myself less likely to do so after some of these have hit me. I’m very Type A.

But, you know, these things DO happen if you are writing in a shared world that YOU do not control. A lot of the time they are not conscious, they are spur of the moment decisions or ones made without thought to the consequences because they seemed fun at first glance. But they disrupt everyone.

There is also the issue that shared worlds and their characters generally belong to the publishing house that publishes them. If you leave that house or they stop the series, you may not be able to resell that work to another house. It’s something to keep in mind.

Shared worlds do come with some great benefits - a shared fan base, other authors to work with, combined promo opportunities, interesting characters and concepts to play with, etc. And they are FUN to write.

Only individual authors can decide if the potential benefits and drawbacks of wrting in a shared world are worth it. Don’t shrug them off without a second thought, but always approach with caution and a bit of “forewarned is forearmed.”

(All opinions and statements in this post are my own opinions and do not necessarily reflect those of Aspen Mountain Press. Yell at me, if you wish.)

I keep hearing a statement from aspiring authors that absolutely makes me shudder. There seems to be a belief that spelling and grammar issues are solely the job of editors and don’t need to be worried about by the authors.

It’s true that, when the rubber hits the road, we editors are responsible for correcting spelling and grammar issues. But failure to make your work the cleanest and best it can be possible before you submit it may mean you never reach that point. The editor (or agent) may never even request a full because their appreciation of your story may not be enough to balance the costs and resources needed to get it through the publication process.

The first thing aspiring authors have to understand is that your submission – be it synopsis, partial or full – is your interview for a contract. It’s what you will be judged on. Why would you choose to make less than the best impression you possibly could? Would you show up to interview for a modeling shot with grimy hair and say that’s the hairdresser’s job? Shooting yourself in the foot is not a great start to any venture.

Now, keep in mind that almost every submission contains some errors, that’s normal and expected. But a plethora of easy to find and fix ones tells me (accurately or not) that the author doesn’t care enough to do the very best job possible. That it’s not important to the author. Are they lazy? Are they going to be difficult to work with?

Another thing it tells me is that if I contract this work, it will cost my house more money to get it in shape for publishing than it would an equivalent story that is cleaned up and corrected. The longer I have to spend on it, the longer my line editors or proofers have to spend on it, the more it costs. Publishing is still a business and it’s part of my job to make the best use of my house’s resources as I can.

It also directly affects my ability to appreciate and enjoy the story. Like it or not, each time I see an error, it drags me out of the story and breaks my immersion. Too many times and I can’t follow the story very well and end up not liking it as much as I possibly could have. You don’t want to let mechanical errors get in the way of the story.

I want to strongly encourage anyone who submits a work for publication to utilize the marvels of spellcheck and the eagle eyes of a test reader or critique partner. Make your submission as clean and correct as you possibly can before you submit it and you will increase your chances of acceptance.

The last several manuscripts I’ve edited have suffered from what I call the “Laundry List Syndrome” so I thought I’d take a moment to mention it here.

A laundry list is when an author tries to mention a whole lot of things at once instead of dribbling them in a little at a time. In some cases it appears as part of an info-dump but sometimes it just appears out of the blue.

As an example, here’s a laundry list:

The stranger turned around and she couldn’t believe her eyes: black hair, blue eyes, a strong chin, a nose with a slight crook to the side and tanned cheeks dusted with a dark five o’clock shadow.

The author in this laundry list is merely dumping out facts. It’s dry and the reader tends to just skim over it.

It would be much more effective to give each of these facts individual emphasis. It makes it more enjoyable to read and more memorable as well.

Try this in contrast:

The dark haired stranger turned around and she couldn’t believe her eyes. His glossy black hair curled around his tanned face in waves that made her fingers itch to smooth it back. Piercing cobalt eyes were framed by lush black lashes, the darkness echoed in the hint of razor stubble dusting his strong chin. Only the slight bump and crooked slant of a long-ago broken nose saved his face from being too pretty.

I’d usually space it out more than that and I realize it’s not the best paragraph ever, but look how much more memorable it is than the laundry list?

One magic clue to an imminent laundry list is using a colon… If you find yourself using a colon, ask yourself why and if there is a better way to present the information you are about to list.

This is the first in an intermittent series of posts I hope will be useful to the authors and prospective authors out there but also an interesting insight into the things editors (or at least THIS editor) notices in manuscripts and submissions.

Today I’d like to talk about the order in which events happen. The main mantra of any series of events is Action THEN Reaction.

In order to jump away from a threat, the threat has to exist. It doesn’t make much sense for a person to leap backward first, then for the speeding car to turn the corner and veer toward where they had been. (Well, not for anything other than a paranormal story, perhaps).

Readers notice these issues. Sometimes consciously but sometimes all they will be able to tell you is the scene seemed odd or mixed up.

But there’s a deeper sequence within reaction. Some reactions normally happen faster than others. Sub-conscious or instinctive reactions will always take precedence over conscious reactions.

Think about what happens when:

Action:
- Put your hand down on a hot stove.

Reactions:
- Snatch hand back
- Clutch or wave hand to try to stop the pain
- Yell “OUCH” (or bad words of choice)
- Put hand under cold water

So if you look at what the reactions are, you can see the most instinctive reaction is first — the reaction to a pain stimulus. Then an only slightly less deep-seated reaction to ease the pain. Then comes the more conscious ones, ending with the most conscious one which is to remember what to do about the pain as far as first aid.

A trick to figuring out if you have events in the correct order is to sort of picture the scene in your mind and walk through what would happen, sort the reactions in order of instinct, then write it that way.

If a character hits the wall hard enough to lose his breath, you shouldn’t have the character impact the wall, then the character say something (other than “oof”), then say he has his breath knocked out of him and grunts. If you impact the wall, the first instinctive reaction and one that is out of the character’s control is to lose his breath. A conscious thought to say something wouldn’t be able to happen in there.

It’s also important to remember that readers like to have discrete actions in sequence rather than many actions happening at once. I’ll talk more about that later, though.

Action THEN Reaction in the correct order will help readers to follow your story the way you intended.

Feedback is welcome and feel free to suggest things you’d like to see in this blog series.