Book Review - "Evensong"

This is the second book review I have prepared. I invite you to share your thoughts and opinions about this review.

PREMIUM PROMOTIONAL SERVICES BOOK REVIEW:

Title: EVENSONG
Author: M.L. St. Sure
ISBN: 978-1-4196-6824-1
Genre: Historical Romance
Pages: 214
Reviewed By: Brian Knight
Official Premium Promotional Services Rating: **** (4 stars)

The young life of Christina Cross is turned upside down by the unexpected death of her father. Now, with the responsibility to provide for the family resting squarely on her petite shoulders; she begins working at the El Dorado Inn. Christina’s job is to sing just the way her father taught her. Overhearing her vibrant voice, the owner of the inn, Senator Caradine, wishes to help the young girl achieve her life dreams. Quickly, the two grow closer together and Christina’s gracious appreciation turns to desire. Suddenly, she wants the Senator to love her as the daughter he lost long ago.

Christina has an opportunity to perform and both travel to New York. Here their conflicting relationship is put to the test. During their stay, her agenda is to co-hurt the Senator so he will finally see her as a woman. But this plan backfires as she feels strange sensations by the presence of the womanizing Frenchman Laurent De Gauvion Saint Cyr; a passion she knows she will never feel with the Senator. Once back at the Inn, having to provide for her younger sister, Nicolette, Christina now sees that the little town she had left for a short time, and though was the answer to her prayers, cannot provide her with the life she always dreamed of.

Desperate to provide a better life for Nicolette and herself, they courageously move to France. Unbeknownst to them, they are now in the middle of a war zone as the German army and the start of World War II quickly approaches Paris. Living with their uncle, Philippe Petain, Christina soon discovers that he is sympathetic to the Germans and has arranged for her to sing for Hitler. Defiant of his wishes, she joins the French Resistance lead by none other than…the Frenchman, Laurent De Gauvion Saint Cyr.

As members of the resistance, Christina and Nicolette take their virtuous mission of saving infants from concentration camps to heart. Casting all thoughts of danger aside, they work diligently in their efforts. All is well, until Nicolette is captured.

Now, Christina must call upon all of her resolve to rescue the one person she swore to protect, but will her strength and undying love for her younger sister be strong enough to pull her from the torturous hands of the Nazis?

Author M.L. St. Sure’s, “Evensong”, will have you entranced with her talent of descriptive writing throughout this story. St. Sure truly captures the reality of war and paints vivid pictures of a young girl on the road to adulthood. Hooked from the first page, you will immediately connect with each character and ride together on an emotional roller coaster, laughing one moment and crying the next. A war torn romance, “Evensong”, will live forever in your mind - revealing a true testament to the power of love and the strength to survive.

"Evensong" can be purchased HERE. Come back tomorrow for part I of my interview with author M.L. St. Sure.

The Next New Author Interview

This week is already busy and exciting! I would like to thank Brian for his guest article from yesterday. I think we can all agree that his article fit right in with the New Author community. There are a lot of things going on here at the New Author. Today is the deadline for the First Annual New Author Writing Contest.

As if that were not enough to build excitement I have more for you. The next New Author interview is ready to be posted. My interview with author, M.L. St. Sure will be posted on Wednesday and Thursday. I believe you will find this interview entertaining and interesting. But wait, there's more. I was recently asked by M.L. St. Sure to read and prepare a book review for her debut novel - "Evensong." That review will be posted today.

Finally, that very copy of "Evensong" will be the prize for the interview contest that will be held on Wednesday and Thursday. Are we having fun or what?

Guest Blog Your Way to More Readers and Exposure

Good morning New Author fans! I'm so excited and honored to be here with you today! Brian has invited me to be a guest author and I'm going to talk to you about the benefits of guest blogging and interviewing other authors. I'm another Brian, Brian Mongold, author of an Internet resources site I call Eazy Cheezy.

The beauty of writing is the more we practice the art, the better we get. The majority of the readers at The New Author share a common bond. Many of you are aspiring authors who want to gain more readers and exposure. Today, I want to talk about being a Guest Author/Blogger and why you should start right now!

I'd like to use my new friend Kathryn as an example of how networking, Guest Blogging and even Interviewing other authors can help you gain more exposure and expand your fan base. Kathryn is the author and editor of Tender Graces, her upcoming debut novel. She uses her blog to share her experiences as she prepares for the release of her novel.

Being strapped for time a few months back, I posted an article inviting volunteers to guest blog on my site. The plan was to choose 2 Guest Bloggers that week, but I had 3 who really stood out. The superstar lineup featured Kathryn Magendie, Marcy Gaston and the talented Brian here at The New Author. I've known Marcy and Brian and have been a follower and fan of both sites. However, I had no clue who Kathryn was at this point, but as I researched her blog, I found something quite special. The results of all 3 articles were simply amazing! Each spoke on different topics, had different personalities and writing styles and their articles were very well received.

Kathryn posted an article about her reaction when she received an e-mail from Bellebooks, which offered her a publishing contract for Tender Graces, her debut novel. In her post, she used her amazing writing skills to completely pull us into the moment. I was left wanting to learn more about Kathryn, the publishing process and Tender Graces.

Still intrigued by her post, I recently approached Kathryn for an interview. My goal was to learn more and share her experiences with my readers. The Interview was quite amazing! In preparing for the interview, I read several of her published works, examined her websites, watched her YouTube Video and read a published interview she had online. It's vital to do your homework and publish a truly unique interview. The interview led to me becoming an even bigger fan. I've since pre-ordered her book and now publish links for my readers to pre-order if they choose to do so.

The experience also benefited my site quite well. It gave me more experience interviewing, provided original and informative material to my readers and exposed my site to all the readers and followers of her website. As a nice bonus, Kathryn will be adding a link to the interview on the Rose & Thorn Newsletter. In fact, the interview has already been reviewed by one of her readers;

Eazycheezy showcases our Kat in all her Katness (not catiness). Her interview answers are original, heart-catching, loving. There's a wistfulness. There's an outreach of love. There's a quiet confidence. All of which comfort the inexperienced writer, the one with the fragile soul that's been mis-handled. This piece is a lot more than an author interview. Read and see!

By guest blogging, you open up to a new audience and it benefits both the host site and guest blogger. Those who read your work will get to see your writing style, talent and you'll be able to further engage with a different audience. You may attract new readers, followers and those who become interested in you and your work. I like to compare it to playing in a band. You can be a great local band playing your music in the same city at the same venue or take it to the next level by gaining more exposure and a larger fan base by playing in different states at different venues. The sky is the limit with the Internet. I highly encourage you all to branch out and guest blog, host Guest Bloggers and even consider doing an interview or two. It truly is a rewarding experience and I thoroughly enjoy the challenge and the opportunity to write for a different audience.

Brian does an amazing job in helping new authors, while also providing opportunities. Publishing this article has truly been a pleasure and I'd like to thank you all for reading! Also, a big thanks to Brian for allowing me to be a Guest Blogger. I'm a huge fan of The New Author and have been watching this site grow for the last few months and it's truly inspiring!

Brian Mongold
EazyCheezy.Net

Week End Review

What a fantastic week we had here on the New Author. I hope you had the opportunity to catch all the articles this week. However, I know we all get really busy at times so here is the week end review of all the articles.

Monday we started the week off with introductions. This week's guests were J. Thorn and Bernard Rossi. I would like to thank both J. Thorn and Bernard for taking the time too prepare these informative and entertaining articles. The articles presented views from both a writer with the goal of being published and a published author dealing with a publisher.

J. Thorn prepared and posted his first of many articles here on the New Author. As we journey with Thorn on the path to a publishing house we will learn with him and through his experiences. This first article was an introduction of sorts and provided a glimpse into his writing style. I thank all of you here in the New Author community for your comments and warm welcome to this up and coming writer. Hopefully the wait for his second article will not be long.

Wednesday was part one of - On publishing with Bernard Rossi. This article shone a light into the dark cave of the publishing world. What Bernard felt and experienced may be different from the rest of us but his lessons will provide us with valuable knowledge. Who could have thought that a book cover could be so much work?

Thursday was part two of - On publishing with Bernard Rossi. The conclusion of this informative and entertaining article included the difficulties and thought needed to complete the back cover of a book. We also saw firsthand the perfectionist that dwell in many of us. The comments received for this article, that spanned two days, were interesting and expressed the enjoyment of this article.

I may be opening Pandora's Box with these statements; however, I am going to do it anyway. A part of learning and writing is making mistakes. Should, at anytime, you find a mistake in my articles I encourage you to point them out to me. That is how I learn and improve. You can bet your last dollar that I make mistakes. I make a lot when I am rushing. Don't worry about making me angry. I enjoy learning.

Now for the REALLY GREAT NEWS; I found out today that the New Author has been awarded the - Truly Useful Site Award from Preditors and Editors. As soon as I receive the award icon I will post it. You can visit the Preditors and Editors website here. Yes, I am very excited about this.

I will close the week with a little something to think about. If you could write with one person who would it be? Why?

Have a good weekend and happy writing.

On Publishing with Bernard Rossi Part II

This is Part II of Bernard's guest article.

As it was now PDF the publisher did not want me to make the changes, I had to send them an email with the page and line number and what I wanted to be changed. Most times they agreed with my changes, but every now and then, they would suggest in a nice way that they did not agree, and I always went with their suggestion as it was not story related. Three times I went through this process until we finally decided enough was enough and we would go with it as it was. To be honest it seemed to be in good shape to me, but a couple of years down the track and with a lot of experience behind me, I dare say I would change things here and there if I could. They do not detract from the story or the book; it is just the perfectionist in me wanting to get out.

It was a tough time and for me, not a lot of fun but I have met people who loved going through that process. That was that then. All I had to do now was sit back and wait for the royalties to come rolling in. Then came the next letter from the publisher (we did talk over the phone a lot but having things written down is at times the best way to ensure no misunderstandings).

The back cover blurb. I had not realized that I would write that and in some cases, the publishers do organize that, however in this instance it was up to me. I should say here too that I have had two books published through this same publisher and things happened in a slightly different way each time, as they were when I went through the eBook process.

I wrote the blurb seven or eight times before I was happy and then only had to change it once for the publisher. At the same time wrote the dedication (isn’t that dangerous when you come from a big family) and the acknowledgments as well as providing a photo for the cover.

Then came the question of the cover art. I could submit something if I wanted to but they preferred to use their own people and were unlikely to use mine even if I did submit it, so I went with them. The good thing was I had the opportunity to give approval of the artwork (not always the case when dealing with publishers) and after several attempts (read eight), I suggested they get the artist to read the book. The covers were looking like a holiday guides to the tropics and this was a murder thriller with some very confronting concepts. We went through twelve covers before they said no more, and my youngest son Nik, and I then designed the cover that was the one used in the end. It took us half an hour with a camera and a computer. The artwork for the next book was easier, as I suggested we use an original painting from my eldest son Ben, and given the pain they had gone through with Room 22 they decided not to argue.

I received proofs of the cover, which I approved and then it really was over. Well except for organizing the launch and a few signings, and then contacting book shops…

The whole experience was a revelation and it was not what I had expected. It had some harrowing moments attached to it, however, it is a process I hope to endure many times before I retire (read die, as I will never stop writing).

Bernard J Rossi
Author & Poet

Bernard Rossi Website

Room 22

Arlington Reef

On Publishing by Bernard Rossi

Firstly, I would like to thank Brian for the opportunity to talk on his website about my experiences in going through the publishing process.

The experience of the publishing process is an interesting one, because it starts when you think you have done most of the work and it ends a long time later.

I finished writing Arlington Reef in late 2000 and Zeus published it in 2008, and I wrote Room 22 in 2001 and Zeus published it in 2007. Patience was the key!

I remember thinking when I finished each of those books that I was proud to have achieved that goal and how the hard part was behind. Sure I knew there would be a lot of miles to go into my shoes before they were in print but as far as the work I had to do was concerned, my role was almost over, right? Wrong.

The publishing world has many ways of doing things so my experience may not be your experience either now or into the future but it is worth considering what happens and being prepared for the hard yards.

After several years and a few rejection letters, I finally found my publisher. We were not in the same state so meeting to discuss my book was not practical, although I would have traveled if it was the difference between being published and not. I did not get a phone call from the publisher to say they wanted to print my book; instead, I got a contract in the mail, which I had to sign and send back. After sharing a bottle of champagne with my wife, I retrieved my favorite fountain pen from my writing desk and signed away the rights to Room 22.

Part of the documents that were sent along with the contract was an assessment of my manuscript by a professional and this explained how terrific my story was and how well written it was, and then discussed what I needed to do to get it to the polished product the publisher would require. In this instance there was no change to the story line or the flow of the book, although this can occur and it is difficult for a writer to accept at times that people who were not there when the story was conceived are going to be change it. This is a fact of writing life of course, but one I did not have to live with on this particular occasion. I have since had to remove the entire first chapter of a manuscript just to get an agent to look at it though, so I have paid my penance along the way.

The changes I had to make were grammar and wording changes. The publisher really liked my style, however…

I was in writer’s heaven for a few days and then the drudgery of going through my manuscript page-by-page, making changes to almost every line began. As I went through the manuscript using the assessment as a guide I also found pieces that I wanted to change, even though I had been through it so many times already I knew it word for word. (Later in this book’s life, I would turn Room 22 into an eBook as well. When I did that, I again made changes to suit the market but also for my own satisfaction, and when I had finished the book was over five thousand words shorter than the published version, so we as writers are never satisfied I guess, and nor should we be.)

It took me over a week of working eight hours a day on the manuscript, less coffee time, to get it right and then I sent it off, happy that I was the author of the next best seller. My publisher turned my manuscript into a PDF and sent it back to me for proof reading. I read every page as instructed and after all the work I had put in to making it perfect I still found things that needed to be changed. My naivety about what publishers would do as far as proof reading and editing was now a thing of the past and I realized that I was going to be doing all the editing work, although they were happy to give me guidance in areas where they thought I might have gotten it wrong. I began to wish I had been paying attention at school!

Tomorrow will be Part II of Bernard's Article.

J. Thorn - A Documentary Part I

I would’ve put a bullet through his head. Why didn’t she take the four million and run for the border?

These kinds of thoughts run through my head as I read fiction. I read authors, not books, and I tend to search for the ones that keep me turning the pages. Masters of my favorite genre include Stephen King, Brian Lumley, Richard Laymon, Edgar Allen Poe, and H.P. Lovecraft. Even the best cannot live up to the storyline we weave in our own imaginations. Therefore, I decided to write a story for myself, one that could combine my love of history with my passion for storytelling.

I spent most of my professional career working as a historian. At night, I find the nearest phone booth (anyone remember those?) and strap on a guitar to front a hard rock band. The craft of storytelling creates a common thread between these two worlds. The nasty things humans do to each other become historical narratives, which is why dark fantasy intrigues me. I do not enjoy tales about orcs and dragons, or the boy-turned-savior via magic sword. I love the kind of story that dangles you over the precipice of reality, making you wonder if it could really happen. I offer my apologies to the orcs and dragons that read The New Author.

I wrote editorials in the college newspaper and type more emails than I care to admit. However, that is very different from writing a novel. Read On Writing, by Stephen King. You hate him, he sells cheap thrills, and he is the Big Mac of the literary world. Fine, but the guy sold a bazillion books and he knows how to tell a story. In addition, I read Novelist’s Boot Camp by Todd Stone, and although a bit more structured than I can handle, I mined some nuggets of wisdom from his work. I put the tools in my literary toolbox, but I have a profession, a wife, kids, and a mortgage. When will I write?

The answer came in the absence of a large, plastic, and glass talk box. According to the A.C. Nielsen Co., the average American watches more than four hours of television each day. I watched two hours a day. Imagine my joy in realizing I could use half of that time to write a novel, and still be able to watch “Cities of the Underworld.”

“Write what you know” makes for boring fiction. Do you want to read about a guy cutting his grass on Saturday morning? “Write what you love to read” made more sense to me. I decided on an epic fantasy loosely based on a historical event. I spent a couple of months reading all the non-fiction I could find on this period, including major events, culture, and religion.
Adhering to the BIC (Butt in Chair) method, I typed 2000 words per day, which took anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half. I began in early July of 2008 and cranked out a manuscript in excess of 175,000 words by the end of September 2008. The word count exceeded my target, but allowed me to slash and burn through the first draft, pulling out the tangents that did not contribute to the story. In those months, I skipped my daily writing session only twice. If I struggled to 1800 words one day, I refused to leave the chair until I hit 2200 the next. The compulsion to get the story out of my head helped to keep me moving forward. I typed “The End” on September 29th, 2008 and quoted John Paul Jones.
“I have not yet begun to write.” Or something like that.

I will blog at various milestones in the journey, but I must be honest with you, dear blog stalker. I do not claim to know THE way to write. People will gladly take your money and provide you with a “recipe” for writing a novel, but you must find your own way through trial and error. I hope my journal provides you insight on your journey.

As we travel together, themes will emerge, such as:
• There is no one way to write. Break the rules.
• If you do not bring 100% of your passion to the page, the reader will lose interest.
• Less is more; hack that draft until it hurts.
• Read and write everyday, no matter what.
• Resonate and originate. Rock musicians use the same three chords for most songs, and yet new artists continue to emerge and entertain. It is fine to write like your favorite author as long as you use your own voice.

Until next time,
J. Thorn

This Weeks Guest

Today I would like to introduce you to J. Thorn and Bernard Rossi. These two gentlemen will be the guest bloggers this week here on the New Author. For the next three days we will be enjoying the articles prepared by these fine writers.

J. Thorn, who will be our first guest, is a friend of mine that I have known for some months now. He is a writer of fiction that entwines history with fantasy. Thorn has completed his manuscript and is currently midway through his revisions. Once the revisions are completed he will begin his search for an agent and publisher. Thorn presents us a great opportunity to learn. How is that? I think we all can learn from the experiences of others and that is what we will do here. As Thorn journeys down the road to publication he has agreed to document that journey for us. What does that mean? That means that, from time to time, Thorn will post an article detailing the ups and downs of editing a manuscript, preparing a synopsis and/or query letter, his research into agents and publishers, handling rejection, the joy of success, and many more topics. In my opinion this will be much like a documentary of a new author establishing his name in the publishing world. I believe this will be an insightful, informative, and entertaining journey. Tomorrow is the first installment of this documentary.

Bernard Rossi, our second guest, is also a friend of mine that I have known for some months now. This Australian author has two novels and poetry on his resume of published works. Bernard will be posting an article discussing what happens after your manuscript is accepted by a publisher. This is a journey down a different road from that of J. Thorn. We will journey down memory lane as Bernard shares with us his experiences with the publishing house and getting his book produced. In my opinion, his article will shed some light on a topic that is not always thought about in depth. We will learn first hand the amount of work and dedication needed to achieve our goal of having our books published.

I hope you are ready for an informative and entertaining week here on the New Author. Now, let the journey begin.

Week End Review

We had a good time this week on the New Author. It is nearing the time when we can all go home and start the weekend. Good news, this is the first weekend of spring. I hope you all have nice warm weather. Now, did you miss an article? Never fear, the week end summary is here.

Monday got the week going on a strong not. Five lessons from Michael Crichton is an article summarizing the five lessons learned from the works of Michael Crichton. I would say that all five lessons are of value and we should learn from them as we write. It is amazing how much these five lessons capture the makings of a really good novel.

Tuesday's can my characters sue me is a brief look at the legal aspect of writing a fiction novel. It is true that we do not want to think about subjects like this but it is an important topic. This article shed some light on the aspect of historical figures or celebrities in our manuscript. The article is relatively short, as compared to the others, simply because it is not a topic to dwell on.
Give it a read and let me know what you think.

The New "green" Author is, in my opinion, the article of the week. This is the guest blog article from Small Footprints and I must say it was a joy to read. I want to thank Small Footprints for preparing this article. The article highlights the efforts that authors and publishers make or can make to save our natural resources. In this case, that resource would be wood. This article gives the perfect example of the positive impact we, as new authors, can have on our planet.

We were exposed on Thursday. This article was a look at the exposure we generate for our book and our name. The main question for this article was - Is it possible to over expose ourselves? With the growing number of networking sites this question becomes one of importance. How much exposure is too much and when do we cross that line. Another aspect of this article that was brought up in the comments was time. A lot of time can be spent generating exposure when that time could go to writing. This article, I believe, draws the conclusion that while exposure is needed we must find a balance between it and the other aspects of our life.

One thing I do want to point out is that all of these articles have really good comments associated with them. I thank all of you for sharing your thoughts. I encourage you to read the comments with their associated articles.

What are we looking forward to next week? It will be a busy week here on the New Author. I have one possibly two guest bloggers coming over. I will tell you more about them a little later. I also received an article idea from one or our community members that I will be preparing. Next week is going to be a fun, entertaining, and informative week.

Alright, here is the week end question. In what ways do you recycle or reuse your books and writing materials?

Have a good weekend and happy writing.

We are Exposed

The first question I had today in regards to the New Author was "how am I going to follow up Small Footprint's article from yesterday?" As I type this I am left with no clear answer. There have been two guest bloggers on the New Author and both hit a home run in my opinion. There will be other guest bloggers in the near future so I believe this thought will come to mind more then once.

Now, what shall we discuss today? How about exposing ourselves? No, I don't mean in the manner that will get you arrested. I mean gaining exposure for our books and for our name as an author. Can we really over expose ourselves? Is bad publicity really bad or is it a good thing? Well, while searching magazines and the Internet for more information I stumbled upon an article that tackled these questions.

The first thing I believe we need to get out in the open is the fact that another author's strategy will most likely not work for us. Why? We have different views, goals, writing styles and approaches to things such as promoting and marketing our books and name. This is much like all the diets that are on the market. How many of you have a friend that went on a diet and had great success but when you tried it there was little to no results?

What sells our books? I believe we can all agree that good content and a good story will sell our books on their own; however, it is still important to develop a platform for our name. That way the reader can connect our name with the book and thus become loyal fans. With that said, we do not need to talk about ourselves all the time; just enough to make that connection and start that grass roots campaign.

Have you ever seen on television how a celebrity will get caught up in a controversy or some kind of bad publicity when their new movie or book is about to be released? Many think that is a sure fire way to draw attention to that movie or book. I am not convinced about this practice. If a bad publicity stunt were to backfire the consequences of that could ruin a career. Approaches to gaining an audience like this should be thoroughly thought out and used with caution.

Well then what should we do when exposing ourselves? I think the majority of us are fiction writers and just like writing fiction we must show and not tell. We must allow our story to show the readers, book stores and publishing houses how good it really is. How do you do this? You let the book do all the talking. Sometimes the less we say and the more we allow others to read speaks louder then anything that can come out of our mouth.

Also, be true to who you are and listen to your inner voice. Present yourself just as honestly as you wrote your manuscript. In my opinion, people will notice if your personality or inner voice does not match the book you wrote. Take Stephen King for example; he is calm, cool, a little crass and edgy at times. Would you expect anything different from him after reading his books?

Finally, and most importantly I think, be sincere. Care about your readers because they are the ones buying your books. Care about your manuscript and take time to get it to its best. As you begin to build your platform and you are connecting with people allow your sincerity to show through your honesty and how you present yourself.

So you tell me, is to much exposure a bad thing?

For some additional reading I have included this link. Jo-Anne is a member of the New Author community and she is the focus of the article: woman-in-charge-jo-anne-vandermeulen

The New "Green" Author by Small Footprints

In Asheville, NC, the community theater staged a production of Misery. It is the story of a famous romance writer, Paul Sheldon, and his No. 1 “deranged” fan, Annie Wilkes. There is a scene in the play where Paul sits in front of a typewriter working on a new manuscript. After typing out a few words, he rips the page from the machine, balls it up and tosses it on the floor. He does this over … and over … and over. Sitting in the audience, the only thing I could think was … what a waste of paper.

Writing is, by its very nature, less than Eco-friendly. Paper is a core part of an author’s business … and that means destroying trees and endangering forests.

Consider this … if a publisher sells a million copies of an average 250-page book, it takes approximately 12,000 trees to produce the paper for this single title. Now, multiply that by the number of publishers in the U.S. According to Dan Poynter, at Para Publishing, in 2008 there were six large publishers (in New York), 300-400 medium-sized publishers, and 86,000 small/self-publishers. That’s a lot of paper … and a lot of trees, many of which were obtained through bad forestry practices where timber is illegally logged, processed, transformed and distributed.

So, what can an author do? After all, in most cases it's the publishers who are responsible for actually making the book, right? It turns out that there are a lot of things an author can do to help the planet. Here are some ideas:

* Start with your writing habits:

• Use a computer rather than paper to draft your manuscript.
• When it is necessary to print something out, use recycled paper (100% post consumer waste recycled paper, meaning that no virgin fibers were used). And use both sides of it, front and back.
• When it’s time to submit your work for review or editing, see if a digital copy (rather than a hard copy) would suffice.

* When it’s time to choose a publisher:

• Visit The Green Press Initiative. You will find a wealth of information including a list of “green” publishers, a sample letter to encourage your current publisher to go “green” and the pros and cons of various paper, cover, ink and glue options.
• Check America’s National Green Pages for a list of “green” publishers, sellers, etc.
• Consider e-books … no paper … environmentally friendly.

I’ve heard some authors say that getting a book published, in an environmentally friendly way, is impossible. While it may be difficult, there are publishing companies out there who are walking gently on the earth. It’s up to us to educate ourselves on what “green” publishing means, ask questions and insist on earth friendly practices.

Imagine this … your book was published and got rave reviews. It’s now been made into a stage play. You’re sitting in the audience, on opening night, knowing … without a doubt … that your words cost the earth nothing. What a proud day that will be.

Small Footprints is the author of Reduce Footprints, a blog about easy ways to reduce our footprints on the earth.

Can My Characters Sue Me?

You are writing a book about aliens taking over the earth. The main UFO lands and their leader starts walking down the ramp. The leader of this alien nation is none other then Elvis. That's right, the king himself. Your book sells like hotcakes because of all the UFO and Elvis fans. You are on cloud nine until you receive a notice in the mail; you find out that Lisa Marie is suing you for part of the royalties. Can this really happen? Can she sue you because you wrote a book about her father?

Even though the idea of this book being a best seller is rather humorous being sued is not. I believe many of us have thought about writing a book with a historical figure or a celebrity as one of the characters. I am confident that we have characters in our manuscripts that closely resemble a real person. Have you ever wondered if you could be sued because you wrote about them?

Put your mind at ease and think only of your writing. Historical figures cannot sue you because they are no longer with us which means there is no invasion of privacy or defamation of character. Also, the deceased heirs cannot come after you for these reason either. What about a celebrity? They market everything from their clothes to their name; including their voice. This is called "right of publicity" which the celebrity continues to have even after death and can leave to their heirs. However; the right of publicity is centered on the voice and image of the deceased celebrity for commercial us. Now for the good news; the courts have already ruled that books are not commercial uses for right of publicity claims.

What about those characters in your manuscript that closely resemble a person you know? We, as authors, are protected by the disclaimer found in every fiction book; at least it should be in all of them. This disclaimer states that your manuscript is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

With this disclaimer in place and the existing rulings by the courts we should not fear or limit or imaginations when writing a story. Let your story flow onto the pages and if anyone ask you about a character, even if it is based on the person asking, simply answer with "I thought him/her up" and smile about the hidden truth.

Have any of you decided against writing or developing a character for fear of getting into legal trouble? I did at one time. After this discovery though I don't think we need to worry about that anymore.

On a separate note; tomorrow we will have a guest blogger. I have read the article and it is a really good one. It will be posted bright and early in the morning. The guest blogger will be by throughout the day to respond to your comments.

5 Lessons from Michael Crichton

How many of you have heard of Michael Crichton? I know, that was a silly question. Many of us have either read his books or saw the movies and television shows based on his books. Novels such as Jurassic Park and Congo are examples of this late author’s intelligent, modern storytelling.

We all know, by now, that Michael Crichton passed away on November fourth of last year. Fortunately for us, as readers, he left some memorable books and for us, as writers, he left some really good lessons to improve or skills as a storyteller. What kind of lessons? I thought you would never ask.

Challenge the reader. Have you ever thought of a topic you would like to write about but decided against it because of the complexity? Don't be afraid. Whether the topic is manipulating the genetic code or a political agenda; hit those complex topics head on. Readers love to learn new things as they journey through a novel. Stirring their curiosity is just as important as setting the hook in the first page. In my opinion, if you capture a reader's curiosity then you are on your way to a best seller and a loyal reader.

Surprise your reader. Do you remember the last time you read a novel that was predictable? Did you enjoy it? I believe it is safe to say that you did not and if you have not read one then I do not think you would. Novels should be just that...novel. We should always keep in mind the element of surprise. Plot twist and unseen problems make for exciting reading.

Keep the clock ticking. This is a hard one for us, new writers, to get the hang of. Timing, tension, momentum and pace should ebb and flow like the ocean waves against the seashore. A constant barrage that leaves the reader catching a breathe before the next wave hits. Crichton's work set the bar for heart pounding stories that kept the readers wanting more. That is what we want as an author.

Get your facts straight. I don't think anything will turn off a reader quicker, other then a load of grammatical mistakes, then not accurately depicting something. We should remember to research our topic, setting, science, history or anything that pertains to our story. If you are writing a historical novel during a certain time period make sure the dates in your book are accurate to the events of that time period. If you are describing an exotic setting research that area or island to better understand what makes it exotic. Accuracy is our friend when writing.

Play fast and loose with the facts. This seems to be a contradiction to the above lesson; however, it is not. Whereas we want to be accurate with settings, dates, locations and scientific procedures we want to maintain our story. Story is paramount to all. This is the true gift of a great story teller; to bend facts around the story to make that story believable. Take for example Jurassic Park, everyone knows that dinosaurs can't be cloned from fossilized DNA but if they could...well, that would be exciting.

I believe these are valuable lessons to keep in mind while we write. As we all know, practice makes perfect but I believe we can get there. We can get to that point where we are the ones giving lessons on how to be great storytellers. Of these five lessons which do you think is the trickiest to incorporate into your manuscript?

The above lessons I summarized today were discovered while reading the latest issue of Writer's Digest. If I stumble over something else interesting the New Author community will be the first to know.

Week End Round Up

We made it; the weekend is just around the corner and for that I am thankful. As I mentioned before, this has been a whirlwind week. This was also opening scene week on the New Author. The in depth look we took at the components involved within the opening scene was both informative and interesting. Did you miss an article? Don't worry, here is this week's summary.

Opening Problems was Monday's topic. This was an interesting look at how layering and the presentation of problems within our manuscript can add to the intrigue of the overall book. By giving a hint of a problem that leads to a much bigger problem will keep your readers guessing until the end when all is resolved. I encourage you to read this article and share your thoughts.

Tuesday was all about The Opening Setup. The opening setup is that snap shot that leads directly to the opening problem. It is meant to serve as a means for the reader to clearly understand the following scene. This lead into a look at back story and the fact that back story should be left out of the opening setup. This article received very interesting comments and I would recommend reading them along with the article itself.

The Most Important Part is an article that surprised me when I first stated writing it. How can I write an entire article about one sentence I thought? Well, the opening sentence in our book is not your average run of the mill sentence. We discovered that this sentence carries weight and deserves to be thought through for a time. This article also highlighted some guidelines that may assist us when writing our opening scene. They may even assist us with writing our entire manuscript.

You Tell Me. Hopefully you all know that comments are always welcome here on the New Author but this was a little different. I was, and still am, curious as to what is your favorite part of writing your manuscript. I can almost guarantee that one of the comments for this will surprise you. It surprised me anyway. I invite all of you to share your thoughts on this topic.

What will next week deliver to the New Author? First, we will have a guest blogger on Wednesday. I have read the article and I must say that it is a really good one. Also, I am working out the details with an author who is in the process of preparing his manuscript for an agent/publisher search. He has agreed to guest blog on a random schedule to inform us as to what he is experiencing while trying to get his book published. This is our opportunity to learn first hand what we can expect.

I also have topic ideas prepared for discussion that will be interesting, informative and entertaining. I would also like to point out that if anyone, at any time, has an idea for a topic they would like to see on the New Author feel free to let me know.

To close, I will leave you with a little something to think about at the end of the day. How do you prepare to write when you are experiencing an overwhelming week in life and you feel like you have accomplished little to nothing?

Have a good weekend and happy writing.

You Tell Me

I thought we would do something a little different today. Yes, this is the second post. The earlier article was meant for yesterday. Yesterday was a whirlwind of a day and I am glad I survived it.

Okay, back to the subject at hand. Today I would like to open up the New Author to all of us. There are many sites that do this sort of thing but it is a new idea for the New Author. Today is - You tell me - day.

We have taken an in depth look at many aspects of writing. These topics have been interesting and informative; however, all work and no play is just not healthy. So, today I would like to hear from you. What do you enjoy writing about most for your manuscript and why? Is it character development? How about all the problems you can place the characters in? Maybe you really enjoy describing the perfect scenery.

You tell me...

The Most Important Part

When you think about writing a manuscript what would you consider the most important part/aspect/component to be? Oh the list of answers could go on and on for this question. Some of you may be thinking that a good story idea or strong characters would be at the top of the list. Others may think that a really intriguing plot with many twist and unbelievable problems would be the right answers. Truth be told, you are right, these are all correct answers. There are so many components involved within the workings of a manuscript that it is hard to identify that one thing. All of these components tend to lend themselves to the next component until they all come together like a well oiled machine. At least that is what we want.

When thinking about the most important part, as mentioned above, all the answers tend to be towards writing the manuscript. As authors these are logical answers; however, what about the readers? What about gaining the readers attention? What is the most important part that will ensnare the readers within the pages of your book? True, we could give the same answers as above and we would be right. The trick is to get the readers to spend enough time reading your book that they see and understand the plot, characters and problems.

You have probably guessed since we have been talking about opening scenes this week then this topic has something to do with that. You are on the right track. The most important part of a manuscript is the opening line; the very first sentence of your manuscript. A considerable amount of time should be spent on this one sentence. How much? I can't honestly answer that question; however, it is the very first sentence a reader will see when they open the cover of your book. In my opinion, that would warrant a lot of attention.

Ideally we want an opening sentence that is going to stick with the reader. A sentence that when read, would be burned into memory. Like the opening, an opening sentence should have powerful language. We want this sentence to have a powerful delivery and give a strong impression.

How do we do that? We should craft our opening sentence (and the remainder of the opening scene) with memorable language. Memorable language is developed through word choice. We want crisp, original and strong words. To achieve that it would be best to avoid adverbs and too many adjectives, especially paired adjectives. I believe this is a mistake many of us commit, the thought that paired adjectives lend more power to the description when in fact it takes away power. The secret is using strong, original verbs with concrete nouns. One other thing that we should keep in mind is to avoid invisible words and redundant phrasing like ran quickly. After reading this I am of the opinion that the saying "keep it short and sweet" rings true.

A crisp opening sentence with a strong delivery will entice the readers to keep reading. Think of it like purchasing a new car. The appeal of that car's look and form compels you to get in for a test drive. Before you know it you are purchasing that new car and taking it home. Looking at the car is the opening sentence while getting in and test driving it is the remainder of the opening scene which compels the reader to purchase the book.

Have you been pulled into a book from the opening sentence? Have you crafted a strong opening sentence? I'm sure, with time and practice; we will craft these powerful and important sentences.

The Opening Setup

I know, this article is late but I have been busy today. Better late then never right?

Yesterday we took a closer look at the opening scene of our manuscripts. Toady we will continue that in-depth look; however, we will be discussing other components within the opening scene.

Have you ever read a book that opened directly with dialogue? I would say the majority of us have not. Have you ever wondered why? The reason being that the setup is missing unless the dialogue is crystal clear as to who is talking to whom about what. Opening dialogue tends to lead to backtracking, either actually looking back at the pages or mentally, which is not good for the readers. There are always exceptions to this but, in my opinion, we should avoid opening our manuscripts with dialogue. The funny thing about this is that my manuscript opens with dialogue; which is one thing I plan on changing.

What is a setup? A setup is exactly that; it sets up the opening scene by giving a snap shot that allows the following scene to be clear to the reader. I'm not talking about back story here. That should be saved for later in the manuscript. How about describing the setting and the characters in the opening scene? Not really, that can be saved for later as well. Remember, this is the beginning of your manuscript which means the reader will decide to invest more time reading it right here. We want the setup to be crisp; only give what is absolutely necessary. What is necessary? This is a question that each of us will have to answer; however, a small idea of the setting and a hint of a problem are typically included. For example, a man runs out of a hotel room with his clothes in his hands and blood on his shirt or a woman sits at a candlelit dinner alone staring at the clock. We want to provide the minimum that will orient the reader as well as make the following scene clear.

As mentioned above, back story should be saved for later in the manuscript. This is very difficult to do. We tend to want to include the details of the setting and characters in the first few chapters. Back story is everything and anything that leads up to the inciting incident which follows the setup. Back story has a valid place in the manuscript but we should use it sparingly and carefully. When should we use back story? If a small amount of back story will make a problem or the inciting incident clearer to the reader then it should be used. Crime stories, mysteries or thrillers typically start with a crime being committed. The main character is no where near the scene. The investigation is back story until the main character solves the crime.

Back story to a manuscript is like candy to a child. If you give the child too much candy at once they are bouncing off the wall. If you give the reader too much back story at once your book may stay on the shelf. However, a good setup will keep the reader in your book until the end.

Do you have a setup in your story? When you read your manuscript are you surprised at how much back story is there?

We have covered some important aspects of an opening scene the last two days. Tomorrow we will look at the remaining few components. Don't worry; I saved some good ones for tomorrow.

Opening Problems

You sit down at your writing station, the gleam of a blank page or screen looking back at you, you take a deep breathe right before the first letter of the first word appears and your off. You write paragraph after paragraph, based on your notes. You are rolling along, amazed as the pages grow in number, and you realize four chapters of your manuscript are completed. Sounds pretty easy right?

That would depend on how you look at it. If you are looking at it from the standpoint of writing and getting your ideas on paper then yes, you get two big thumbs up. If you are looking at it from the standpoint of how good your opening is then you may need to think about it a little. A recent article I stumbled on last week opened my eyes on the importance, significance, and weight the opening scene of a manuscript truly has.

With that said, I thought it would be appropriate that we take a closer look at opening scenes and how they affect the manuscript as a whole. It is surprising how many components are involved in the opening scene. Some are more important then others but still; there are up to ten components involved! I will admit, I thought the opening scene was meant to introduce the main character(s), the setting and the initial conflict that the story revolves around. Boy was I wrong.

So what is involved in an opening scene? Let's take a look at a few of these components.

We already know that, at some point in time during the opening, something should happen to set the hook in the readers. We, for the most part, refer to this as the conflict, plot or problem but for a powerful opening scene two problems are needed. The first being the surface problem brought about by the inciting incident which foreshadows the story worthy problem.

The inciting incident is the event that creates the initial surface problem that the main character faces which leads him/her to an action and then another problem and so forth. As I said before, this is a foreshadowing of a much larger problem that must be dealt with throughout the manuscript and finally solved at the end. The trick to a really captivating opening scene is to make the reader think that solving the initial surface problem is the main goal of the book. Think of the surprise the reader will feel when they find out it is just one layer to the onion.

The story worthy problem is just that; it is the main problem that the plot and manuscript revolves around. This is the driving force for the surface problems. The inciting incident introduces this problem in a gradual process revealed throughout the manuscript. The main character(s) and the readers continually gain a better understanding of the true problem as more is revealed.

In my opinion, I would say that a layered approach to the problems involved in our manuscript would add considerable depth and intrigue to it. This component can add so many additional avenues while writing. How many of us think about the problems and situations we can place our main characters in while thinking of our story? This, I think, would be a worthwhile exercise. Layered problems are similar to story sparks in that each one that is revealed and solved will pull the reader deeper into your book. The intrigue of 'what will happen next' will propel them to the end. I believe this is one important component in writing a must read novel.

Are your problems layered within your manuscript or do you have one problem introduced in the beginning?

Tomorrow we will look at some other components involved in an opening scene.
Happy Writing

Week End Round Up

The week is coming to a close which means one thing; one week closer to spring. You thought I was going to say the weekend. That is true also but I am ready for spring and the warmer weather. We enjoyed an informative and entertaining week here on the New Author. Did you miss any of the articles? If so, here is this weeks round up.

Monday's article, Deadlines are Wonderful, was spawned from the fact that I missed my own deadline for completing my first draft. We learned that there are good and bad reasons for having deadlines. Some of those reasons are not as evident as others. We even discovered that there is a time when missing a self imposed deadline is not necessarily a bad thing. Many of you commented on this article to express both views on deadlines. I would encourage you to read those comments with the article and share your own opinions.

Unfortunately for me Tuesday's article, Beware the Internet, was brought about by a collision between me and a phishing problem on MySpace. This article was meant as a reminder that we must be save when working on the Internet. The Internet is a powerful and useful tool; however, this article and the associated comments provide advice and examples for being alert to the dangers.

Lessons learned from self was Wednesday's article. It is amazing how much we can teach ourselves if we only stop and take notice. This is very evident when you are a writer. I am still curious as to what you have taught yourself through your writing. If you are not sure then I challenge you to look back at some of your earlier writing and compare it to your most recent. The lesson will be there; perhaps more then one.

Rebecca's article, Recession Expression - A guide to writing through the fear, is a real gem. This is a well written, informative and inspiring article. If I had to recommend only one article to read this would be it. The comments for this article are justifiably good and lend greatly to the article. I am so glad that Rebecca agreed to guest blog.

What should we look forward to next week? We are going to take a deeper look at the opening scene of a manuscript. I think it is safe to say that we will be informed and entertained with this in depth look. I am happy to report that I am scheduling guest bloggers for the next two weeks. If anyone would like to guest blog on the New Author let me know. I have another project in the works but that will stay under wraps for now.

We are down to 25 days left to submit your short story or poem to the New Author Writing Contest.

Now for a little something to think about as Friday comes to a close. Does the current recession have an affect on your writing? Do you include the hard times of the economy in your writing?

Have a good weekend and happy writing.

Lessons Learned From Self

Have you ever thought about writing? Not the actual physical ability to write but writing itself. It is amazing how complex writing can be. When we first think of writing we picture pen and paper or a computer. We then see ourselves sitting down and writing. What I am learning, as I'm sure you are too, is that writing is a lot like life. How is that? The more life you live the more you learn about life. The more writing you do the more you learn about writing. I believe that each of us learns something new about writing each and every day we write. It could be something as small as learning a new word to something major like character development.

That is what we, as new writers, are suppose to do right? Learn how to write in order to reach our goal of being published. I am of the opinion now, though, that the learning will never stop. I don't think any of us want the learning to stop but I am curious if the appeal of learning wanes the more you write. I can't answer that question now; however, some of us in the New Author community can probably give an opinion on it. How many of you get excited when you learn something new about your writing? For example, the first time your characters went in a totally different direction and you learned that you don't really have control of them as you write the story.

I believe we have learned a lot through the writing of others. Things like articles, books, and blogs can teach us a wealth of things that impact our writing. Be careful though or you could miss an opportunity to learn from another source; your own writing. Your own writing contains a wealth of lessons, ideas and examples you can learn from. Previous articles may dictate what to look for but your writing will supply the example and reality of those lessons. For example, a fellow author recently wrote about a character in his book; a small character that he wanted to write more about. He sat down and wrote a few thousand words about this character. At the end of the night he was in tears because the character went down an unexpected road and was killed. His own writing gave a stark lesson on character development and the emotion that development can have on the reader. Another example comes from my own writing. I have been unhappy with the first half of my manuscript. It felt like something was missing. I realized that I needed to restructure the first half the same way I did a short story I wrote earlier.

The things we learn from our own writing, as compared to things learned from others, can have a deeper impact on our future writing projects. We grow more when we learn from our own example. I think this is a great aspect about writing. It is very close to learning who we are in life but instead we are learning who we are as an author. The point of this article is to keep learning about your passion. In the process of learning don't forget to listen to the lessons you teach yourself. Just as you learn in life you can also learn in writing.

What have you learned from your writing?

Tomorrow we will be reading an article from a guest blogger. R.W. is preparing an article about writing on a budget. This, I believe, will be an interesting topic.

Beware The Internet

I had full intentions of writing about a different topic today but alas, life demanded a different topic. We have discussed many various topics here on the New Author. I apologize for not discussing this particular topic before now but as they say "hind sight is 20/20."

As authors, we want to gain as much exposure as possible for our name and our book. That's how we develop a platform. What better way to do that then on the Internet. We have, available to us, a multitude of outlets such as: social networking sites like Twitter, MySpace, and Facebook. We have websites and blogs along with forums and groups. There are so many avenues out there for us to gain exposure. That's why the Internet is so great. That's also why the Internet can be dangerous.

How can this type of networking and promoting be dangerous? Unfortunately there are people in the world that either enjoy and/or get paid to send out computer viruses and malware; along with hacking into computers. How do the viruses, malware and hackers get on your computer when you have password protection? They wait for you to log into your account, be it Facebook or MySpace, then they send you something disguised as a friend or invitation. All of these accounts, once signed in, come back to your computer. How many of you have fallen prey to a hacker, virus or malware? I'm sure at some point in time we have experienced the pleasure of dealing with one or more of these things. This is exactly what happened to me this morning.

Many of you may have heard about the viruses and the malware circulating around Facebook but my problems came from Myspace. This morning I was attempting to contact a friend when I noticed that my account was frozen because it had been phished. Someone actually had my log in name and password to my page on MySpace. After I reset the password, which took awhile, an investigation was conducted to see if anything was out of sorts. Five minutes into my investigation my account was frozen yet again because it had been phished a second time. I believe it is safe to say that many of you can share my frustration at this point. At this time I felt as if my personal space had been invaded. I lost confidence and trust with MySpace and therefore I canceled my account.

Why am I sharing this with you? We, at the New Author, are a community and I thought this is something that we should all be reminded of. The Internet is a wonderful thing that can and will open many doors for many of us. It's use is limitless but we must remember that there are two sides to every coin. As writers we should use the Internet for all its wonderful capabilities but we should also be mindful of the pitfalls.

Do you limit your use of the Internet for worry of a virus or malware or something else?

Deadlines Are Wonderful

Be honest, how many looked at that title and instantly thought "I don't think so?" Maybe I should clarify that title a little. Hard deadlines set by others are not wonderful by any means until they are behind us. I am talking about deadlines we set for ourselves.

How many of you set deadlines for yourself? I'm sure most of you do. I think it would be safe to say that many people use deadlines as a motivator. That is exactly what I did except I really did not need any motivation. I set my deadline because I was getting very anxious and that was the only way to calm myself down. It may sound weird but it worked. Allow me too explain. As most of you know I am writing my first novel. I am so close to finishing my first draft that I could feel myself rushing to the finish line. To combat this I set a deadline. The deadline to finish my first draft was the end of February.

Well, as we all know, this is now March. Did I meet my deadline? No. Am I upset that I missed my deadline? No. What a minute. Why not? You are supposed to meet the deadlines you set. It is important to meet your deadlines. What happens if you have a request for your manuscript and you can't meet the deadline? Let’s take a moment and look at this. Before I get to the remainder of the article I will say that it is very important to meet deadlines set by others; especially if your manuscript and/or livelihood depends on it. However, we must remember that these deadlines I write about are the deadlines we set for ourselves.

I had full intentions of meeting my deadline. I was on pace to do just that; however, a really good thing happened on the way to the end of February. By setting that deadline I was able to convince myself to relax because I had plenty of time to finish. Once I relaxed my thoughts turned from the finish line back to the story. This is where the magic happened; as I was thinking about the story more and more ideas came to me. I started writing all of them down and soon they were building on themselves. I missed my deadline because I had so many fresh ideas to insert into the story. In my opinion that is a great reason to miss a deadline you set for yourself. Actually, my ideas gave so much to the story that it impacted the ending. I never thought all this would happen from setting and missing a deadline.

The good news in this is that I am very confident that I will complete my first draft tonight. This brings me to my next thought; is it necessary to allow a manuscript to cool? I think we, as authors, should make this decision based on our personal thoughts. As for me, I am not sure yet. I originally thought about letting the first draft rest for about three weeks but now I am not sure that will be allowed. I have been reading some really good articles lately and the more I read the more ideas I get for my manuscript. Have you ever read or thought about something that caused you to actually picture your manuscript and how that thought would impact it? That has been happening a lot lately. Should I let my manuscript cool and risk losing these thoughts and ideas or should I jump in now and make notes?

Has a missed deadline ever been a benefit for you? I know I have a lot of questions today and I'm not sure if I answered any or most of them. I am very interested, as I always am, with your thoughts about this.