cj Sez:
It seems like I haven’t posted in Lyrical Pens for a year…No, really. The
holidaze were so crazy happy, I lost track of time. Now the weather is crazy, but I have to buckle down to
work.
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| And more in some places. |
As I throw myself headfirst into 2017, I realize I need to
come up with some kind of plan to reach my goal of publishing a book or risk
abject failure. You know, organized confusion instead of confused
organization…oh wait. They’re the same thing. Anyway, here’s my attempt at
listing some things to consider on my path to publication this year. Most of them come from recommendations by prolific authors whose work I respect.
Most important: Read, Read, Read. Books, magazines, whatever I can find in
any genre. I want to read 52 books this year. That may not seem much to avid readers, but it's enormous for me.
I'll try to go to at least one conference. Conferences are some
of the best ways to keep up with the changes in the publishing industry. Ergo, advice
to writers: to get the latest inside info on new technologies, new publications,
and to network with colleagues new and old, go to as many craft-based
conferences and workshops as you can. If you have a manuscript complete or
mostly complete and the conference offers the option, pay for an editor
critique of however many pages she/he will accept. Some of my top choices:
“One of the premier mystery writers’ conferences” Annual
conference for mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
February 23-26, 2017
“Left Coast Crime is an annual mystery convention
sponsored by mystery fans, both readers and authors.”
Honolulu, Hawaii, March 16-19, 2017
“The premier conference for thriller enthusiasts”
“If Traditional Mysteries are your cup of tea”
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April 28-30, 2017 Hyatt Regency Hotel, Bethesda, MD
“The premiere forum for all genres incorporating mystery,
thriller, and suspense”
August 24-27, 2017
The international fan and writer love fest called Bouchercon
(last year in New Orleans, in Toronto in 2017) is aptly described by Lawrence
Block:
“Fill a hotel with few thousand socially-challenged introverts, folks for whom the ‘I’d rather be reading’ T-shirt was created, and force them to spend a long autumn weekend together, and what have you got? Bouchercon—and you’d be a fool to miss it.”
~Lawrence Block
“The world mystery convention”
Toronto, Canada October 12-15, 2017
“The SCWC is the
best writing conference in the nation.” —
Books and other info to have in my writer’s library (my
personal list):
Chicago Manual of
Style for all the questions writers need to ask.
Standard
Grammar texts by Random House or Prentice Hall,
Harcourt Brace (“Harbrace”)
Other Questions
about Hyphenation: Fellow
Sisters-in-Crime/Guppy member Kaye George wisely counsels writers: “Don't be
afraid to use the language your own way. English is fluid. I did an essay on
this once. The natural progression of two-word terms is from two words to
hyphenation to combined. So, from log in to log-in to login. Eventually it'll
be login everywhere. Many words are in transition, hence confusion will
probably always reign.” Here’s where to find her essay: https://allthingswriting.blogspot.com/2012_08_01_archive.html
cj ez: Scroll
down to “Blue Moon” on August 27, 2012.
Point of View
The Power of Point of
View by Alicia Rasley
Writing the Intimate
Character by Jordan Rosenfeld
Don't Sabotage Your
Submission by Chris Roerden (chapter 11)
Self-Editing for
Fiction Writers by Browne & King
Revision and
Self-Editing by James Scott Bell
How-to Books
My favorites: On Writing, a Memoir of the Craft,
Stephen King; Writing and Selling Your
Mystery Novel, Hallie Ephron; Stein
on Writing, Sol Stein; Writing the Breakout
Novel (and the 2015 Workbook),
Donald Maas
Self-publishing:
Publishing for
Beginners: What first-time authors need to know by Lourdes Venard 2014
Anthology
contracts:
In late 2015, attorney and Shinobi series author Susan Spann
wrote a series of posts for the Writers in the Storm blog. This link should get
you to all of them:
Be sure to stop back by Lyrical Pens on Jan 11 when our guest is composer/author Nupur Tustin who writes historical fiction mysteries
with Franz Joseph Haydn (wow) as the protagonist.
On Jan 12, MTW author Jennifer S. Alderson is posting a
cameo of me and my latest short story on her blog. http://jennifersalderson.com/ Look for recent
posts on the right side of her home page. Jennifer said I’ll be under the“MysteryThrillerWeek
Arts theme.” Stop by when you have a moment. I’d love to hear from you, on the
post, on Lyrical Pens, on Facebook, or by email. Wherever.
cj Sez: You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do
the same…and for 2017 and beyond, I wish you good health and many successes.
cjpetterson@gmail.com
The More than Friends bundle is available until Jan 30,…6 romance novels for 99
cents!
Thanks for the shout out! Now I'll go shout out your blog. There's a LOT of good info here!
ReplyDeletecj Sez: Thanks for stopping by, Kaye. And I very much appreciate the applause.
Delete