Writing 101: Disregarding History

Through a certain series of circumstances, I got into an argument about tobacco recently. I was involved in what we're going to loosely term a writing collaboration, and the point is that someone wanted to add tobacco to a scene that was taking place in the 1300s. So naturally, I had a complete fit about it. Tobacco wasn't brought to Europe until after the famed voyage of Columbus in 1492, and you don't even have to be a history buff (like me) to know that. I got (metaphorically) bloodied in the ensuing argument that erupted, and it got me to thinking about disregarding history...and when it's okay to do that, for the sake of the story.

What Does It Matter?

I'm a big fan of historical accuracy, and I've been known to go into a rant about Disney movies that will almost shatter windows (many are inaccurate). So I'm always going to be the person who says everything should be historically accurate to the tiniest details. If tobacco didn't exist, then no your character can't smoke a pipe. You wouldn't paint over the Mona Lisa to put an iPhone in her hand, right? 

Writing 101: The Power of a Single Scene

If you can paint a strong enough picture with just one scene, and get that important point across, you can save yourself a whole lot of writing work. Harness the power of a single scene, and make it work for you.

A Quick Word

I've made no secret of the fact that I'm deep into editing mode lately, but what I haven't mentioned is that I took a break from the book. It wasn't intentional. Work piled up on me, and I've had no time for much of anything but sleeping and working. So I ended up being away from editing for about a week, and it changed everything. I learned that there's a lot of power in a single scene...and I saved myself a lot of rewriting.

Authors Unite Against a Common Foe: Amazon

A number of authors are coming together to create Authors United, a group who wants Amazon to ends its war with Hachette. Their demand? Amazon will continue giving them standard royalty payments for their Hachette titles, and Amazon will go back to stocking Hachette titles on their website. The requests seem reasonable...and yet this war has been going on for weeks. Where do you stand on the battle lines? 

To the Mattresses

Around 1,000 authors have already signed one petition against Amazon. So far, however, attempts to get Amazon to the negotiating table have failed. The letter that Authors United sent to Amazon will be published in the New York Times in a matter of days.

Signers of the letter include Stephen King, John Grisham, James Patterson and David Baldacci. Many of these well-known authors have already donated money to the group for advertising and other purposes.

However, there are authors on the other side of the war. A petition on Change.org, essentially a letter to Hachette, has more than 7,000 author signatures on it.

Writing 101: The Evolution of Book Length

Are books getting shorter? More and more, I'm finding that the books on my reader are pretty quick reads. When I recently looked at 10 books from the top 15 Amazon bestsellers in fiction, half of them were less than 300 pages. The other 5 contained fewer than 500 pages. Not one that I saw was a thick, epic novel, like a Little Women or Clan of the Cave Bear. Should you be aiming to write shorter books, too? 

Pages and Pages
 

Have you ever gotten a good look at Gone With the Wind? The printed book can practically be used as a deadly weapon -- it's that heavy. Epic-length novels are something that people once took for granted. Big, thick heavy books were very much the fashion when Jane Austen was weaving her tales. But these days, big books are becoming harder to find...not just on the bestseller lists, but all over the book market. 

Do Exclusive Deals with Amazon Ultimately Hurt Indies?

Amazon recently unveiled yet another program designed for indie authors, and if you use Amazon services you've probably already been treated to the email blast. Kindle Unlimited is a book-sharing program that gives readers a database of books to read. It all sounds great...until you learn that, like Amazon's KDP program, it requires exclusivity. 

Going Steady

Amazon wants you to be their steady significant other...for ever. Authors who participate in Kindle Unlimited must be members of KDP Select, Amazon's exclusive program for indie authors. The authors who use KDP Select cannot sell their books on any other website, such as Barnes & Noble and Smashwords. 

One could argue that Amazon sells more ebooks than all those other websites anyway. One could also argue that Amazon has provided all the platform and marketing opportunity for self-published authors, and they clearly support indies. What about CreateSpace? 

There is a good reason that Amazon sells more ebooks than anyone else: stunts like this Kindle Unlimited arrangement.

Writing 101: A Support System

Loneliness. Stress. Fatigue. Insecurity. Insomnia. I'm not describing the symptoms of a terrible disease...I'm listing adjectives that describe the life of an indie author. This isn't me trying to make things seem dark and grim. If anything, I'm making it sound good. It's hard, probably harder than I could even describe. That's why you need a support system if you're going to write. 

Crazy

Writers, artists and musicians are generally chalked up to being creative types, and therefore somewhat eccentric. Some even seem to cross the line into craziness (Van Gogh, the ear, you know what I'm taking about). But I maintain that it takes at least a small dose of crazy to even want to become a writer. Even the sanest writers, however, can find themselves going a little crazy because it's such a tough task.

Indie News: Society of Authors Denounces Traditional Publishing as Unfair

UK's Society of Authors have crunched the numbers, and they've reached a conclusion: traditional publishing is "no longer fair or sustainable."

Looking at the Numbers

The Society of Authors has about 9,000 members. New figures released recently showed a marked drop in median income for professional authors. They're now earning less than $20,000 annually, wages that aren't "fair or sustainable," according to the chief executive for the Society.

The statement comes on the heels of a survey released recently, in which 2,500 writers answered questions about their earnings. Author income is down about 29 percent since 2005 -- a number that is truly frightening. Now, only 11.5 percent of professional authors in England earn their main income from writing. In 2005, that number was 40 percent.

Writing 101: Can You Over-Edit?

Authors have to be detail-oriented. They're misplaced comma hunters, grammar Nazis, word warriors. But that ongoing quest to write a perfect book is exhausting, time-consuming...and impossible.

Perfect

My quest for perfection has been going on for about two weeks, ever since I finished the first draft of my newest book. Almost the minute I was done, I started re-reading and editing. I finished the first read (after I corrected about forty thousand mistakes) and immediately uploaded the book to my Kindle so I could read it in a different way.

I used this to give myself about 40 more notes, some of them perhaps added in a weird insomniatic stupor. I'm saying that because some of it doesn't make any sense. I have certain words highlighted and I seriously don't even know why.