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Some of you may have seen the recent articles on Media Bistro's GalleyCat, which I have to assume were written primarily to be controversial (sample here), because regardless of conventional wisdom, sometimes there are silly questions. One is whether agents are necessary. Here are some others: Is the world suddenly going to become a shiny happy place in which advantageous contract language is handed out like free samples at the grocery store? Are contracts going to cease to exist just because works are published electronically or audiovisually or…? Oh wait, we’re all just going to publish our work directly to the web, cutting out the middleman.

Unfortunately, without the middleman, the publishers, there’s no editing, no design, no promotion…unless the authors decide to pay for these things themselves. I’ve read pre and post edited work. I’ve been on the agenting =and= the author side. I can tell you without a doubt that the edited versions are vast improvements. Editors catch so much that the authors, too close to their work, can miss. They challenge and bring out the best in writers. Many authors will tell you that they’re better writers now than when they began because of all they’ve learned from their editors and agents. Clearly, publishers do more than cut into the profits an author can make by selling directly to the consumer (assuming that without distribution they can even reach their audience). In addition to the aforementioned editing, there’s copyediting, cover design, formatting, publicity, marketing, subsidiary rights. The list goes on and on.

And as long as there are publishers, in whatever form they may exist in the future, agents will be needed to deal with contracts, interpret royalty statements, request reconciliations to print, chase payments, argue issues, mediate, critique, cultivate, network…. Our list is also endless.

I am a tired Bear. And one who is contemplating working on this book review and my Storytellers Unplugged colun today before I open the novel.

Yeah, I think I will do that.

Balancing demands is a bit tricky sometimes.

Current Mood: exhausted

Current Music: Morning Edition

That's a pretty unwieldy title for the post!

I was thumbing through the January/February Analog this morning and read Richard A. Lovett's article, "Making Unreality Ring True: Writer's Tricks for Bringing Stories to Life." I was a little surprised at it because the article is a straightforward how-to-write piece, something I don't recall seeing in Analog much in the past.

That said, it was a darned good article for fiction writers of all sorts, not just science fiction ones. With entertaining examples, Lovett explains the basis for five writing rules that will make work stronger and more believable:
 

1. Write what you know.
2. Know what it is that you know.
3. Make good use of details.
4. Look for details in experience (yours or other people's)
5. Collect information. You never know what will someday be useful.
 

Near the end of the article, he says, "The best writers observe things. Sometimes these are details about the universe. Sometimes they are grand visions that instill the sense of wonder about which science fiction fans wax lyrical. Other times, the observations take the form of details about people or the lives we live: overlooked realities that ring true as they float across the page before us."

Lovett quotes Jane Kurtz, an award winning children's book author, who said, "Writers have good powers of observation. That's more important than imagination."

I tell writers in my classes and workshops that the skills necessary to tell believable stories are exactly congruent with the skills required of a good liar. Good liars, among other things, are masters of the specific detail, the one bit of their story that rings so specific and true that you believe there's no way they could have made it up. Their story must not be lying.

The article is a good one.  If you can get a copy of the magazine, I recommend it.

Current Mood: chipper

Current Music: "Back Into Your Head," Teagan and Sara

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And now for the recent stats for the fabulous urban fantasy adventure about a neurotic vampire/thief and her wealthy blind client, now with Bonus! Cuban drag queen and military intrigue:

Project: Bloodshot
New Words Written: 2060 (meh)
Present Total Word Count: 70,032 words
Goal: 95,000 words by December 12





Things Accomplished in Fiction: Finally wrapped up that scene. It’s a good scene, and important — but it felt like it took forever to write. I’m sure I’ll get around to the revisions and decide it’s either (a). awesome, or (b). terrible and needs to be cut … but whatever. Sometimes you just have to write through these things, because there’s no pole-vaulting over them or tunneling under them.

Things Accomplished in Real Life: Day-job work; housework; important official correspondences exchanged; visited B&N forums to answer questions; did more prep for tomorrow night’s event; went to post office.

Reason for Stopping: Going to grab a bite to eat before Ellen comes over to do (yet more) prep work for tomorrow’s event. Then we’re going to jaunt out to the airport to pick up our friend Avionne and her husband Gordon, for they are flying in from Scotland to stay for a few days. In advance of having these folks in town and/or having other things eating my life, I think I’ll also try to sneak in some more day-job work, to keep my head above water.