Category Archives: Words of Wordcraft

update on my writing adventures, including progress (or lack thereof!) on various projects

Lookit here!

  By | | Words of Wordcraft
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The other day, one of my social media feeds shot me an article on marketing by Deborah Riley-Magnus.  It was a concise, high-level piece; nothing revolutionary. Riley-Magnus is described as an “Author Success Coach,” so it’s fair to assume that she’s saved the four-star ideas for her own practice! (since she seems so sensible, I’m being nice enough to post her a cross-link here).

Speaking to the basic situation, that regardless of who publishes your book (big press, small press or your own intrepid self), the burden of marketing falls to the authors, Riley-Magnus observes that “social networking fluff, free giveaway gimmicks, and promotional swag won’t stand out in today’s shouting throng of new authors.”

Agreed. There are just too many of us out there, all clamoring for the attention of readers like you. Riley-Magnus talks about the need to find creative ways to make a connection with you, and offers a few cogent examples of how. But it was her wrap-up that set my juices flowing: “Step away from your competition and sell books in ways and places other authors haven’t even thought to approach.”

Aha!! Now there’s nothing I like more than a whopping big creative challenge, so I’m trying to think: what HASN’T been done to market a book?

Hmmmmm…..

Dystopian Present

  By | | Duly Noted, Words of Wordcraft
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“Why?” my sister asked, standing in one of the surviving brick-and-mortar bookstores, waiting for her tweens to pick out something to read. “Why is the YA section all dystopian science fiction?” She was more annoyed than curious, concerned that her children were being limited to a narrow vision of alternative worlds. But it got me thinking…

Her theory was that this is a trend based on simple market-driven economics: the success of The Hunger Games spawning imitators. My theory goes beyond the cash to the human desires that wrest it from our hands. We (not just the kids; we’re all reading this) are drawn to the stories that help to explain our lives. Previous generations were drawn to Westerns or kitchen sink dramas. A few years ago, we were still believing that, in a magical battle between good and evil, good would ultimately win (thought to ponder: if Harry Potter had not been introduced until 2007, would he have made the same emotional connections with his public as he did by debuting ten years earlier?).

I’m wondering if dystopian futures are compelling to us today because we’re living in a dystopian present. For over 200 years, the American Dream relied on a sense of limitless possibility. But right now, nothing seems possible. Our politics are broken. Most of us live from paycheck to paycheck. The social contract has more riders than a rush-hour subway. And nothing is punished as consistently as good behavior.

Is it surprising that we’re drawn to big stories with protagonists who are imprisoned by what seem to be unshakable contraints? Look at a tiny slice of dystopias on offer: Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games, Justin Cronin’s Passsage and Hugh Howey’s Wool (the success of which makes me, dare I say it? at least 50 shades happier than other self-publishing phenoms). These are epic tales of societies born of disaster, societies which have since outgrown and perverted their initial purpose. What was refuge has become cage. Their protagonists are people of large spirit who can no longer bear such empty survival and are prepared to risk death for an hour of life.

No happy endings in these fictional worlds. Sacrifices are great. Walls come down, only to be replaced by new walls. The best we can hope for our heros is that they experience a moment of joy or love along the way, and end with the peace of having at least tried. Is that the new American Dream?

World Enough, and Time

  By | | Uncategorized, Words of Wordcraft
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I haven’t updated this blog in far too long.  Two months.

In the blog-o-sphere, where you are advised you must feed the feed almost constantly in order to cultivate an audience, that’s more like eons too long. Even with my far more modest goals (once or twice a month seems plenty to me), two months is  bit much. The problem has been, as it often is for me and for most people I know, time.

Simply stated: if I’m blogging, I’m not writing.  Yes, I know blogging is writing. But the hour I’m using on this post is an hour of not working on the novel that is already a good three months behind schedule (and I’m talking about the amended schedule at that!), the novel that will probably not, after all, be finished before I take my annual inspirational break to participate in National Novel Writing Month in November.  Every social network post and tweet eats away at the time I have to work on that novel. So does cooking and cleaning. Getting a haircut. Balancing the checkbook. So do all the little things that have to be done in support of the work that’s already out in the market. And then there are the thoroughly enjoyable and refreshing things: spending time with friends; going on vacation; taking a walk in the park.

Every hour needs bargaining.  What do I have to do? What will cause more problem to postpone than would be worth the pause to handle? When is the time lost far outweighed by the benefits—and vice versa? Which is the better value?

And so, Dear Reader, there’s been a two-month gap in this blog. I had to make a choice. And if you’ve missed having more frequent posts, let’s hope that the book that ate up that time turns out to be something that you’ll (someday) enjoy reading.