Sunday, June 29, 2008
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Who Is Surprised
This article in the Boston Globe only highlights what I've been feeling for the last three years:
http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2008/06/09/top_writers_feel_heat_from_publishers_presses/
Essentially, top selling authors are being pressured to churn out a book a year, because more and more it's becoming about putting all your publishing eggs in one basket. Many publishers are dropping authors that they don't believe can produce the mega-seller, resulting in publishers throwing all their resources at those who are proven best sellers. Which is nice if you're one of the chosen few, but it means cranking those suckers out. I should say that several authors go on record that this isn't a problem for them, while others feel that it seriously compromises the quality of their writing.
Coming at this from a reader's POV, I can see the difference. I'm reading authors that I've loved for many years and encountering plot busts and errors that are NOT characteristic of these authors. I think it would be one thing if most publishers were pushing their authors and then offering them the support vis a vis Herculean vetting of their manuscripts. But that's not happening either. True, being an author I have a built-in radar for plot busts, but my husband isn't an author, and he and I regularly discuss what we see as disconnects and out and out eyebrow-raising plot machinations to get from Point A to Point D. If an author had six months more, I think a lot of authors would have an opportunity to "clean-up" these glitches.
I also should state that my publisher is a breath of sanity in this strange new world. They believe in publishing books, not widgets. The love of words is still out there, but it's getting harder and harder to find amidst the hard sell: of widgets that happen to have words.
This article also has stats in the decline of book sales, and I wonder if it ever occurs to large publishers that maybe their sales are declining because the quality and diversity of their selection is declining. Hmmm? Possible connection? Inquiring minds want to know!
I know that I now think twice about shelling out $25.00 for a book when the previous book in this series had a serious plot bust and a tired feel to it. As in, it READS like the author had only a year to produce it.
http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2008/06/09/top_writers_feel_heat_from_publishers_presses/
Essentially, top selling authors are being pressured to churn out a book a year, because more and more it's becoming about putting all your publishing eggs in one basket. Many publishers are dropping authors that they don't believe can produce the mega-seller, resulting in publishers throwing all their resources at those who are proven best sellers. Which is nice if you're one of the chosen few, but it means cranking those suckers out. I should say that several authors go on record that this isn't a problem for them, while others feel that it seriously compromises the quality of their writing.
Coming at this from a reader's POV, I can see the difference. I'm reading authors that I've loved for many years and encountering plot busts and errors that are NOT characteristic of these authors. I think it would be one thing if most publishers were pushing their authors and then offering them the support vis a vis Herculean vetting of their manuscripts. But that's not happening either. True, being an author I have a built-in radar for plot busts, but my husband isn't an author, and he and I regularly discuss what we see as disconnects and out and out eyebrow-raising plot machinations to get from Point A to Point D. If an author had six months more, I think a lot of authors would have an opportunity to "clean-up" these glitches.
I also should state that my publisher is a breath of sanity in this strange new world. They believe in publishing books, not widgets. The love of words is still out there, but it's getting harder and harder to find amidst the hard sell: of widgets that happen to have words.
This article also has stats in the decline of book sales, and I wonder if it ever occurs to large publishers that maybe their sales are declining because the quality and diversity of their selection is declining. Hmmm? Possible connection? Inquiring minds want to know!
I know that I now think twice about shelling out $25.00 for a book when the previous book in this series had a serious plot bust and a tired feel to it. As in, it READS like the author had only a year to produce it.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Authors I Like
I'm going to start a new "series" here, listing authors that I like and why. Reading is on the decline in the United States, and while I'm assuming that most people who read this blog love books, there's always the chance that I might snag someone who was here for the recipe(s).
My favorite mystery author is James Lee Burke. There is a lyricism, a poetry, about his writing that is unusual in crime fiction. On the negative side, his women tend to be one-dimensional (except for the prostitutes and lowlifes), and he also has one plot: one man (with a little help from his friends) fighting internal and external demons. But I never let that stop me. Burke has a tremendous amount to say about institutionalized racism in the south, corruption so widespread it's almost genetic, the raping of the environment. His latest book, "The Tin Roof Blow Down," another in the Iberia Parish Sheriff's Detective Dave Robicheaux series, deals with the corruption and destruction in the wake of Katrina; it is a stunning read, a love letter to Louisiana and its citizens.
My favorite book of his has kind of a woo-woo factor. I don't know how well it sold, but I imagine it's probably not one of his best sellers because of the ghost aspect to it. His publishers probably pulled him aside and said, "Jim, cut the supernatural shit." I recommend it highly: "In the Electric Mist of the Confederate Dead." If you're an American reading this, it says so much about the Civil War, the people who fought it, the guilt of the survivors (us), the honorable men who fought an dishonorable war, the stupidity, and the slaughter.
Writer envy meter: five stars
My favorite mystery author is James Lee Burke. There is a lyricism, a poetry, about his writing that is unusual in crime fiction. On the negative side, his women tend to be one-dimensional (except for the prostitutes and lowlifes), and he also has one plot: one man (with a little help from his friends) fighting internal and external demons. But I never let that stop me. Burke has a tremendous amount to say about institutionalized racism in the south, corruption so widespread it's almost genetic, the raping of the environment. His latest book, "The Tin Roof Blow Down," another in the Iberia Parish Sheriff's Detective Dave Robicheaux series, deals with the corruption and destruction in the wake of Katrina; it is a stunning read, a love letter to Louisiana and its citizens.
My favorite book of his has kind of a woo-woo factor. I don't know how well it sold, but I imagine it's probably not one of his best sellers because of the ghost aspect to it. His publishers probably pulled him aside and said, "Jim, cut the supernatural shit." I recommend it highly: "In the Electric Mist of the Confederate Dead." If you're an American reading this, it says so much about the Civil War, the people who fought it, the guilt of the survivors (us), the honorable men who fought an dishonorable war, the stupidity, and the slaughter.
Writer envy meter: five stars
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Whew!
Been doing the promotional dance for the last few weeks. Had a wonderful signing at M is for Mystery. That's such a wonderful store. If you're ever near San Mateo, California, stop on by and pick up a few books. They have EVERY possible mystery you could want.
Had a great evening at Janet Ruldoph's house. She is the editor of Mystery Readers Journal. She hosts author soirees (don't you love that word?) at her house for authors and readers to get together and discuss, what else, mysteries. The current issue is devoted to historical mysteries, and the next issue is set in San Francisco. I've been asked to write a snippet, so I might have to reread Dashiell Hammett's "The Maltese Falcon" and revisit the restaurants in that book. I know John's Grill features prominently, but what else? Hmmm.
I shared the evening with Jane Cleland, who is just out with her latest Josie Prescott Antiques mystery, "Deadly Appraisal." It was fun to connect again with Randal Brandt, who has compiled a bibliography that contains over 1,500 titles of mystery, detective, and crime fiction with the action, or significant parts of the action, set in San Francisco and the Bay Area. Check it out: Golden Gate Mysteries. Yours truly is included.
It's truly been a whirlwind couple of weeks. Had a WONDERFUL signing at Mrs. Dalloway's on College Avenue in Berkeley. Friends and family arrived en masse and bought lots of books. It's the sort of store that has been particularly vulnerable to the chain store onslaught, but Marion assures me they are doing well. There were several books on gardening that I was salivating over and a healthy fiction section. Drop in the next time you're on College Avenue in Berkeley and buy something!
It's stores like this and M is for Mystery that host relatively small authors like me. Please, support your independent bookseller!
When my husband and I were in college at U.C., we used to walk from our grungy college digs to Botts ice cream for gigantic ice cream cones. We'd walk through the Elmwood district, ogling all the wonderful craftsmen bungalows and wood-shingled two-stories, so endemic to that neighborhood. Without shame, we'd peep into lighted living rooms and dining rooms, hoping that one day we'd have a home in this fabulous neighborhood. Having been in exile in suburbia for a number of years, living in nothing more than a rectangle, we still haven't given up this dream, and are now plotting our final and last move back to Berkeley once the kidlets are done with high school.
My next event is on June 3rd at the San Bruno Library with the wonderful Cornelia Read, whose latest book "The Crazy School" is a great read. Then we've got high school graduations and middle school graduations and someone to get on a plane to Ireland, and like, whoa. Life is busy.
Oh yeah, that next book to write. Got to get cracking on that as well.
Had a great evening at Janet Ruldoph's house. She is the editor of Mystery Readers Journal. She hosts author soirees (don't you love that word?) at her house for authors and readers to get together and discuss, what else, mysteries. The current issue is devoted to historical mysteries, and the next issue is set in San Francisco. I've been asked to write a snippet, so I might have to reread Dashiell Hammett's "The Maltese Falcon" and revisit the restaurants in that book. I know John's Grill features prominently, but what else? Hmmm.
I shared the evening with Jane Cleland, who is just out with her latest Josie Prescott Antiques mystery, "Deadly Appraisal." It was fun to connect again with Randal Brandt, who has compiled a bibliography that contains over 1,500 titles of mystery, detective, and crime fiction with the action, or significant parts of the action, set in San Francisco and the Bay Area. Check it out: Golden Gate Mysteries. Yours truly is included.
It's truly been a whirlwind couple of weeks. Had a WONDERFUL signing at Mrs. Dalloway's on College Avenue in Berkeley. Friends and family arrived en masse and bought lots of books. It's the sort of store that has been particularly vulnerable to the chain store onslaught, but Marion assures me they are doing well. There were several books on gardening that I was salivating over and a healthy fiction section. Drop in the next time you're on College Avenue in Berkeley and buy something!
It's stores like this and M is for Mystery that host relatively small authors like me. Please, support your independent bookseller!
When my husband and I were in college at U.C., we used to walk from our grungy college digs to Botts ice cream for gigantic ice cream cones. We'd walk through the Elmwood district, ogling all the wonderful craftsmen bungalows and wood-shingled two-stories, so endemic to that neighborhood. Without shame, we'd peep into lighted living rooms and dining rooms, hoping that one day we'd have a home in this fabulous neighborhood. Having been in exile in suburbia for a number of years, living in nothing more than a rectangle, we still haven't given up this dream, and are now plotting our final and last move back to Berkeley once the kidlets are done with high school.
My next event is on June 3rd at the San Bruno Library with the wonderful Cornelia Read, whose latest book "The Crazy School" is a great read. Then we've got high school graduations and middle school graduations and someone to get on a plane to Ireland, and like, whoa. Life is busy.
Oh yeah, that next book to write. Got to get cracking on that as well.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Malice Redux and Book Rec
So, attended Malice, had my little panel. Met fellow PPP authors Beverle Myers and Aileen Baron. Waved and said "hi" to Judy Clemens. Con Lehane was on my panel, so we got to chat for a little beforehand. Exchanged puzzled WTFs with Penny Warner, whose Nancy Drew Handbook is a must buy (I bought one for my daughter for Christmas and she loves it), because Penny was not on the Nancy Drew panel. Hadn't seen Marcia Talley in years so we chatted a wee bit. Meant to way lay Sujata Massey but that never happened. It was a nice Malice, although attendance seemed down to my (admittedly inexpert) eye. All in all, lots of fun, although am rethinking this free ticket Southwest thing. Sunday's trip home I was in the air or parking my butt in an airport chair for close to ten hours. FYI: Midway in Chicago does not have free WiFi, Albuquerque does.
Usually I buy a ton of books at these events, but I'm really trying to watch my spending so only bought one book. And it's great. And I'm passing on the title to you because I think it has some truly marvelous advice. Although it's geared to the mystery writer, I think the advice in this book is applicable to anyone who writes.
"Don't Murder Your Mystery," by Chris Roerden, Bella Rosa Books.
It won the 2006 Agatha Award for best Non-Fiction. I think this is a great book. It's marketed toward writers who are trying to get their submissions from getting thrown into the slush pile, but ignore that shtick. It had some damn fine advice about starting and ending chapters with a hook, how to effectively include backstory, etc. Lots and lots of shiny advice. She uses examples from mysteries so that you can see what she is talking about. Recommended. It's in paperback so it's relatively cheap.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Tip Tops
Katie's Tip Tops
During my ten years as a pastry chef, I found myself returning again and again to very simple recipes that didn't require a million steps or weren't constructed with caramel cages or chocolate doodads. In my opinion, these little pastries are what baking is all about. There are no fancy ingredients; it doesn't get more basic than butter, eggs, flour, and jam. And if strawberries are out of season, they are pretty darn delicious with just the whipped cream. These tartlets are best accompanied by a big mug of really strong, sweet tea.
The "Katie" in this recipe is the name of a good friend's Irish grandmother, who won her grandson's heart by making these lovely little tartlets for him.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Equipment: Twenty-two 2½-wide, ¾-inch tall tartlet pans.
Pastry
2 cups all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 Tbl sugar (I use C&H superfine baking sugar)
8 Tbls cold butter (1 stick)
6 Tbls cold shortening
5-6 Tbls ice water
Combine the flour, salt, and sugar together in a large bowl with a whip. Cut the butter and shortening into the flour mixture until the butter/shortening chunks are pea size. You can also do this in a Cuisinart, just don't over mix it or you will rile up the proteins in the flour, and you will end up rolling out flour cement. Bring the mixture together with your hands and on a floured board, knead into a ball. Let rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
On a floured board, roll out dough until 1/8-inch thick. Using a 3-inch round cutter, cut out 22 rounds. Fit into tartlet pans and return these to the refrigerator to chill (and relax) while making the filling.
Filling
7 Tbls all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking powder
2 eggs
6 Tbls soft, room temperature butter
7 Tbls sugar (I use C&H superfine baking sugar)
Strawberry jam
Combine the flour and baking power. Set aside. Lightly whip the eggs. Set aside.
Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Incorporate the eggs slowly until the mixture comes together. Fold in the flour mixture by hand with a whip.
Remove the tartlets from the refrigerator and fill the bottom of each one with ¼ teaspoon of strawberry jam. Then top the jam with a very rounded teaspoon of filling.
Place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
Assembling Tip Tops
¼ cup whipping cream
1 Tbl sugar (superfine please)
1 basket strawberries
Whip the cream and sugar together to soft peak. Place the whipping cream in a pastry bag and pipe a rosette on top of each tartlet, cover the top of the tartlet. Alternatively, with a spoon, dollop on a healthy mound. Slice the strawberries into quarters and place two pieces on top of each tartlets, sort of like wings.
These are truly delicious.
During my ten years as a pastry chef, I found myself returning again and again to very simple recipes that didn't require a million steps or weren't constructed with caramel cages or chocolate doodads. In my opinion, these little pastries are what baking is all about. There are no fancy ingredients; it doesn't get more basic than butter, eggs, flour, and jam. And if strawberries are out of season, they are pretty darn delicious with just the whipped cream. These tartlets are best accompanied by a big mug of really strong, sweet tea.
The "Katie" in this recipe is the name of a good friend's Irish grandmother, who won her grandson's heart by making these lovely little tartlets for him.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Equipment: Twenty-two 2½-wide, ¾-inch tall tartlet pans.
Pastry
2 cups all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 Tbl sugar (I use C&H superfine baking sugar)
8 Tbls cold butter (1 stick)
6 Tbls cold shortening
5-6 Tbls ice water
Combine the flour, salt, and sugar together in a large bowl with a whip. Cut the butter and shortening into the flour mixture until the butter/shortening chunks are pea size. You can also do this in a Cuisinart, just don't over mix it or you will rile up the proteins in the flour, and you will end up rolling out flour cement. Bring the mixture together with your hands and on a floured board, knead into a ball. Let rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
On a floured board, roll out dough until 1/8-inch thick. Using a 3-inch round cutter, cut out 22 rounds. Fit into tartlet pans and return these to the refrigerator to chill (and relax) while making the filling.
Filling
7 Tbls all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking powder
2 eggs
6 Tbls soft, room temperature butter
7 Tbls sugar (I use C&H superfine baking sugar)
Strawberry jam
Combine the flour and baking power. Set aside. Lightly whip the eggs. Set aside.
Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Incorporate the eggs slowly until the mixture comes together. Fold in the flour mixture by hand with a whip.
Remove the tartlets from the refrigerator and fill the bottom of each one with ¼ teaspoon of strawberry jam. Then top the jam with a very rounded teaspoon of filling.
Place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
Assembling Tip Tops
¼ cup whipping cream
1 Tbl sugar (superfine please)
1 basket strawberries
Whip the cream and sugar together to soft peak. Place the whipping cream in a pastry bag and pipe a rosette on top of each tartlet, cover the top of the tartlet. Alternatively, with a spoon, dollop on a healthy mound. Slice the strawberries into quarters and place two pieces on top of each tartlets, sort of like wings.
These are truly delicious.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
On Criticism
I'm going to try to articulate why I think constructive criticism is a critical tool to improving your writing. I know people who write without a critique group, and I don't know how they do it. I need someone to tell me this doesn't work, this does. My head is a pretty weird place (bet your's is too), and sometimes the bridge between the brain and page is nothing more than the-road-to-hell-is-paved-with-good-intentions scenario. My critique group has been invaluable, INVALUABLE, let me tell you. They have played an instrumental role in shaping the books that I have written, and I hope that they will play the same role for book no. three.
Anyway, I think people need to stop thinking of someone's comments on what doesn't work for them in your material as a critique. You need to stop thinking of it as someone saying, this isn't good. What you need to do is completely rewire those circuits. Because what they are saying is not, this is crap, what they are saying is, I don't understand. Yes, it's that simple. I don't understand what you're trying to say. That's what this is all about. It's about communicating what's in your brain to a piece of paper so that you can tell a whole bunch of people what you think. That's it. Writing is about communicating. It's the laptop and printer equivalent of sitting around a campfire and telling stories.
Why is a raven like a writing desk? Because writing is a frustrating and lonely process. You've got an idea that makes you squeak with joy. It's always more fun to squeak with joy with others than to squeak with joy by yourself (trust me on this one), so you want to share the squeaking and joy part. But since it's your idea, you want to maximum the squeak factor, so you write it down in a way will, hopefully, encourage as much collective squeak as possible.
If I were satisfied with only me squeaking and no one else, then I'd probably write something without pronouns and a lot of misspellings and every other word would be fuck. So, um, no, that's NOT a plan. Plus, again, squeaking with joy by yourself sucks. Back to the drawing board. Let's put down what will get us the maximum amount of collective squeak and don't forget the joy.
That's what writing is. It's about taking this lonely little idea that you have, in your brain alone, with all your baggage that you've collected over the years, the hang-up you have because you are really short-waisted (the fact that every woman in your family is similarly short-waisted doesn't mitigate the woe), the father abandonment issues, the growing up being the daughter of immigrants so you don't feel American OR European, um, where was I? Oh yeah, not that those are MY issues you understand, cough, cough, but we cart around those SORTS of issues and they affect how we tell stories. So our minds are full of this baggage and other people have baggage too (which makes it nice because baggage-less people often don't get those of us with baggage). Baggage usually differs, but the ACT of carrying baggage is the same. Storytelling is ALL about letting that dirty laundry fall out of your suitcase and having people help you pick it up and discovering, hey, I have a pair of socks JUST like that.
How I want to say what I want to say is unique to me, so unique to me that it's called voice in writing parlance. And when voice works it's marvelous, because the writer is speaking to you and I mean speaking full throttle. But when your voice doesn't connect with as many people as you want it to? Then it's just a question of learning how to communicate more effectively. That's it! Nothing more. It doesn't mean that you don't have great ideas, or that you don't have the most profound insight into the working mind of your protagonist. What it means is that you need to improve your communication skills.
That is what it boils down to: learning to speak a more universal language so that your angst, your humor, your insight, your *dream* becomes the reader's angst, humor, insight, and dream.
When I send something out for critique, I want full and complete honesty. Because for me, it's all about taking what's up here (visual, am poking at head) and putting it down here (visual, pointing at laptop screen) so that you and I can have a meaningful chat. And, hopefully, some collective squeaking with joy.
Communication skills. That's what it's about plain and simple. If your writing doesn't get a lot of wows, it doesn't mean you're a *bad* writer. I HATE IT when people denigrate their writing skills. Absolutely truth. Swear to God. I worked on this for years. I started seriously writing around my thirty-ninth birthday, and I'm looking at turning 52 this year. And my initial efforts (um, we are talking the first five years) were really pretty sad. But then I was learning how to "talk," yeah? So think of legitimate criticism as someone saying to you, I don't understand. It's that simple. Go back to the laptop and think, how can I say this so that people will understand what I'm trying to say.
Talk to me.
Anyway, I think people need to stop thinking of someone's comments on what doesn't work for them in your material as a critique. You need to stop thinking of it as someone saying, this isn't good. What you need to do is completely rewire those circuits. Because what they are saying is not, this is crap, what they are saying is, I don't understand. Yes, it's that simple. I don't understand what you're trying to say. That's what this is all about. It's about communicating what's in your brain to a piece of paper so that you can tell a whole bunch of people what you think. That's it. Writing is about communicating. It's the laptop and printer equivalent of sitting around a campfire and telling stories.
Why is a raven like a writing desk? Because writing is a frustrating and lonely process. You've got an idea that makes you squeak with joy. It's always more fun to squeak with joy with others than to squeak with joy by yourself (trust me on this one), so you want to share the squeaking and joy part. But since it's your idea, you want to maximum the squeak factor, so you write it down in a way will, hopefully, encourage as much collective squeak as possible.
If I were satisfied with only me squeaking and no one else, then I'd probably write something without pronouns and a lot of misspellings and every other word would be fuck. So, um, no, that's NOT a plan. Plus, again, squeaking with joy by yourself sucks. Back to the drawing board. Let's put down what will get us the maximum amount of collective squeak and don't forget the joy.
That's what writing is. It's about taking this lonely little idea that you have, in your brain alone, with all your baggage that you've collected over the years, the hang-up you have because you are really short-waisted (the fact that every woman in your family is similarly short-waisted doesn't mitigate the woe), the father abandonment issues, the growing up being the daughter of immigrants so you don't feel American OR European, um, where was I? Oh yeah, not that those are MY issues you understand, cough, cough, but we cart around those SORTS of issues and they affect how we tell stories. So our minds are full of this baggage and other people have baggage too (which makes it nice because baggage-less people often don't get those of us with baggage). Baggage usually differs, but the ACT of carrying baggage is the same. Storytelling is ALL about letting that dirty laundry fall out of your suitcase and having people help you pick it up and discovering, hey, I have a pair of socks JUST like that.
How I want to say what I want to say is unique to me, so unique to me that it's called voice in writing parlance. And when voice works it's marvelous, because the writer is speaking to you and I mean speaking full throttle. But when your voice doesn't connect with as many people as you want it to? Then it's just a question of learning how to communicate more effectively. That's it! Nothing more. It doesn't mean that you don't have great ideas, or that you don't have the most profound insight into the working mind of your protagonist. What it means is that you need to improve your communication skills.
That is what it boils down to: learning to speak a more universal language so that your angst, your humor, your insight, your *dream* becomes the reader's angst, humor, insight, and dream.
When I send something out for critique, I want full and complete honesty. Because for me, it's all about taking what's up here (visual, am poking at head) and putting it down here (visual, pointing at laptop screen) so that you and I can have a meaningful chat. And, hopefully, some collective squeaking with joy.
Communication skills. That's what it's about plain and simple. If your writing doesn't get a lot of wows, it doesn't mean you're a *bad* writer. I HATE IT when people denigrate their writing skills. Absolutely truth. Swear to God. I worked on this for years. I started seriously writing around my thirty-ninth birthday, and I'm looking at turning 52 this year. And my initial efforts (um, we are talking the first five years) were really pretty sad. But then I was learning how to "talk," yeah? So think of legitimate criticism as someone saying to you, I don't understand. It's that simple. Go back to the laptop and think, how can I say this so that people will understand what I'm trying to say.
Talk to me.
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