Writing and Publishing News

Novelists find it interesting how other writers approach their stories. Some handle each of their books a little differently. While one story might practically write itself, the next one may take a whole new strategy.

I’m working on the fourth novel in my Klepto Cat Mystery series and notice that the process is a little different than the first three. I already have my main characters fleshed out. I only have to develop a few new ones that I’m adding to this book. While sometimes I have the entire story worked out in my head before I start writing, I’m watching this story emerge as I write. Now that’s an interesting process. I took a break yesterday to do a little photography in a nearby meadow (yes, it’s sunny and warm here in southern, CA). I couldn’t wait to get back to my office and find out what was going to happen next.

One thing I’ve done early on with all of my stories is to determine and double check the timeline. When there’s a lot going on and each event hinges on others, it’s important to keep your timeline straight. You can’t have your character out horseback riding when you’ve already established that they’re experiencing a100-year storm and he’s still recovering from a broken ankle. You can’t successfully introduce a piece of evidence as new if you’ve already talked about it a few chapters earlier.

Today I will finish the story—can’t wait to see how it ends. Got some exciting things happening.

Do you write fiction? Are there some mornings when you can’t wait to get out of bed and race to your computer? Most of my mornings are like that these days.

How do you approach your writing? What is the process you use to develop a story? Does it write itself or do you have a rigid outline?

Tomorrow I’ll talk a little about how I develop my characters.

My clients have taught me a lot about writing fiction. This might be a strange admission, but it’s true. I was editing fiction for quite a while before I started writing fiction. And I learned a lot by being subjected to the awkward passages, conflicting material, inconsistencies, incorrect punctuation, shallow dialog, lack of flow and so forth that I found in some manuscripts.

Sure you can learn a lot about writing fiction by attending classes, workshops and critique groups. You can read books on the subject. You can read a lot of fiction—especially in the genre you are writing. And I recommend all of the above.

I’m just saying that, for me, editing fiction before I started writing it served to give me a leg-up in this field and I’m grateful for that.

Tomorrow I want to talk a little about my process of writing a story. It may or may not be conventional or even helpful to other authors.

In the meantime, I’m ready to launch the third in my Klepto Cat Mystery series, Sleight of Paw and I’ve written 98 pages of Book Four, Undercover Cat. The first in the series, Catnapped, will be in print very soon. My goal is to have it available for Valentine’s Day giving.

Two books from this series are available now on Kindle at Amazon.com.

I am Patricia Fry and I’m the author of the Klepto Cat Mystery series. I’m also a book editor. If you’re ready, send me your manuscript. I’ll give you a sample edit and an estimate. Turn-around time is generally within two weeks, depending on the condition of the manuscript. PLFry620@yahoo.com

What genre are you writing in? In fact, how does one choose a genre? Do you write the book and then try to figure out what genre it fits in? Or do you consider the genre before you start writing and then try to conform to the standards of that genre.

Who decides those standards, anyway? Aren’t some of the newer genres and sub-genres the result of authors writing outside the box of traditional genres?

I’ve been told by a few that my cozy mysteries are actually “revved up cozy mysteries.” Have I stumbled over into a new sub-genre with my Klepto Cat Mystery series?

The things to consider when writing your next blockbuster novel is which genres are popular? Where are America’s readers focusing their attention? You certainly don’t want to claim a non-traditional, little-known and seldom read genre for your book. Advertise it as a meta-historical, ergodic literature or visionary fiction and you may exclude many of your potential readers.

Sure there are readers in even the most obscure genres, and a book that fits in one of them should be advertised as such. But you’ll have more freedom when it comes to promotion and you’ll most likely have a larger audience base to work with when you label your book with a genre that is known, understood and, in fact, embraced. Just make sure your book fits into this genre.

You might consider genre before you start writing your book. Some authors make changes to their stories in order to conform to a certain genre. Not a bad idea, actually, unless you want to make your mark in a certain and specific genre.

Don’t try to fool your readers, though. Don’t try to slip something past avid readers of a specific genre. Few readers of romance novels or historical novels, for example, will tolerate erotica mixed into the books they read. If you write erotica, for example, and you want to attract a larger audience for your novels, you’re going to have to tone down the sex or your book will not fly with any group except those who read erotica.

Choosing a genre can be confusing. Here are a few articles and sites that might help.

http://selfpublishingadvisor.com/2011/10/11/how-to-choose-a-genre-for-your-book

http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/06/03/how-to-choose-the-right-genre-for-your-book

http://writersrelief.com/blog/2011/07/determine-book-genre

http://www.booksandsuch.biz/blog/choosing-your-genre

I gave myself a Christmas gift yesterday. I established a Facebook fan page for my novels. Check it out here: http://www.facebook.com/kleptocatmysteries

Most writers have pet topics or themes that we write about. Of course, if you’re trying to support yourself through your writing as a freelance writer, you will have to tackle many subjects you never thought you’d be researching.

You might start out writing about parenting topics and find yourself interviewing new business owners and high-profile executives, exploring the world of tropical fish, researching natural beauty aids and many other topics you’ve never considered before.

But if you write within a specific area, and you want to earn enough money to justify continuing in this field, you must grow within your niche. Keep your focus too narrow and you will just be spinning your wheels without much in monetary results.

So what is your topic? Pets and animals (a very popular one), aviation, the environment, horses (this is the subject I wrote about when I started my writing career), quilting, cooking, relationships, parenting… Do you feel as though you have exhausted all of the article/story possibilities related to this topic? If so, I have two things to say in response: I seriously doubt that you have written on your topic from all angles and perspectives. And if you absolutely have, you’ve probably been writing on this subject for a thousand years, so just start all over again—recycle those early articles. I’m going on the assumption that you have not tapped all of the ideas and resources available on your subject and I will throw out some suggestions for you to consider when formulating your next 100 articles on your favorite topic:

• Write about what you know related to your topic—your experiences with it as a participant and as an observer.
• Write about what you want to know with regard to your topic. In other words, do some research to discover aspects of it that you have wondered about.
• Interview experts as well as novices who have had experiences different than your own. Form articles around these interviews.
• Use what you discovered in the interviews to come up with new article ideas.
• Explore the many facets of your subject. If it is pets and animals, just look at the number of different types of animals you can study and write about. Multiply that by the number of issues around each of these types of animals. If your subject is quilting, just imagine how many different types of quilts there are—each with a story behind it. Likewise, how many quilters are there? Can you see how these two topics could keep a writer busy for several lifetimes?
• Consider all of the angles related to your topic: the history, the personalities, the businesses established around it, the hobbies, the organizations, the events. What about celebrities involved in this topic, the laws pertaining to it from country to country and so forth.
• Widen your horizon when it comes to placing your articles and stories. Of course, you are aware of the traditional, well-known magazines of the trade. But are you also submitting to appropriate newsletters and websites? And what about publications that are not related to the topic? Consider submitting your piece featuring an older celebrity and his pet llamas to a magazine for seniors, for example. A general interest magazine might be interested in your piece on flying as the new high for young pilots, your article on unique ways with legumes as a way to save money in these difficult economic times or one featuring quilting as a stress-reliever.

If these few suggestions didn’t give you new ideas for presenting your niche topic, you are either already practicing excellent skills as a freelance writer or you have closed your mind to the huge array of possibilities.

No I’m not talking about the supervisor in the cubical across from yours who looks like a walrus or the creepy boss who can’t keep his hands to himself. I’m referring to our pets—those sweet souls we invite into our homes and who adore us in return. For those of us with pets who write full-time at home, our world is filled with purrs, wagging tails and affection.

Sometimes sharing office space with a dog or cat can be challenging. They want to be where you are, and they mark their territory with fur, toys, chewed bones and worse. Some of them become so comfortable in your office space that they begin claiming some of the furnishings and supplies as their own.

I have cats in my life. I even write about cats, include them in my fictionalized stories and photograph them. There’s usually one on my spacious desk and one in my lap. As long as I’m in my office, they are in here, too. They sleep in here, play with things in here, bring their toys in here, eat in here and just hang out.

But they do more than that. They keep me smiling. They provide me with inspiration, ideas and material for my writing. They entertain me during those dry spells. And they bring me comfort.

They help to give me perspective when I’m faced with a frustrating technological challenge and sooth my ego when my work is rejected.

Animals in the workplace? Sure they can be distracting. They always fall asleep on the very paperwork you need to reference next. If given the opportunity, they will walk across your keyboard and delete the chapter you’ve worked on all week or they’ll spill your paperclips and scatter them across the floor. I’ve had cats type when I left the room and I’ve almost sent the article with the cat’s message. Animals in the workspace may mean that you’ll have to give up that cup of coffee you like to have at your elbow while you’re working. And you’ll soon learn never to leave important paperwork lying around where a kitty is apt to urp up a fur ball.

I’ve had cats run off with faxes, shred $20 bills and post-its with vital contact information, vomit on a set of photos ready to go to a magazine, knock the phone off the hook when I’m waiting for an important call, erase an entire manuscript from my computer and more. Yet, like millions of others, I still invite cats into my office. Because they won’t follow rules, however—no matter what language I post them in: Siamese, Tonkinese, Himalayan, alley cat, etc., I have done some kitty-proofing. I devised a keyboard cover that I put over my ergonomic keyboard anytime I leave the office. I carry my coffee cup out of the office when I leave. They’ve taught me to never, ever leave anything I don’t want urped on, shredded or mangled where they can get to it. So far, so good—most of the time.

Now that I write novels involving cats, it is even more beneficial for me to have cats around me. As I observe them—the way they behave, move, react, sleep, interact with other cats and all—I can more accurately describe them in my stories. People tell me that they love my cat characters. They are so realistic and have such purrsonality.

If you’d like to check out my first two novels—both of them involving cats—they are Catnapped and Cat-Eye Witness from the Klepto Cat Mystery Series. They are for Kindle only–$2.99. Check them out here: http://www.matilijapress.com/Klepto-Cat-Mysteries/index.html

I finished writing another novel yesterday. I’ve spent a good part of a week, many hours each day, carefully going over and over it to make sure it rings true to my readers.

There’s truth in fiction? Oh yes. Readers want believable characters, consistency in elements of your story, true-to-life plots and a storyline that follows some sense of reality. Without these things, a reader will lose faith in you and your story. If the car is red in one scene and blue in another, you’d better write in the fact that they took the car in for a paint job. If the main character lives in an apartment at the beginning of the story and later resides in a two-story mansion, there’d better be a good explanation for that. Likewise, if the pet is a brown dog that somehow transforms into a white cat, make sure it is either because the dog ran away and they adopted a cat or witchcraft is involved.

Self-editing is an interesting process. I generally go through my completed manuscript looking for any mistakes that jump off the pages—misplaced apostrophes, repeated words and terms, misuse of words, etc. Then I read it for inconsistencies—a character’s name is Jim in the first few chapters and suddenly changes to Tim, for example.

I read it over for improbabilities. In other words, things that probably could or would not happen the way I wrote it to. Would a motorcycle reach speeds of 60 MPH within a city block? At what point would a sheriff’s deputy turn over a case to an investigator? How long would a cat stay alive without food and water?

I look at it for language, being careful to attribute phrases and terms to the characters who are most likely to use that particular language. I also check the way quotes are presented. There is a comma after “he said,” or “she raised her hand and stated,” when it precedes dialog. There is a period after phrases such as, “she laughed,” “Sondra stood and turned to face him,” and “he slumped in his chair,” when it precedes dialog.

Oh yes, there are many things to look at even after you’ve finished writing that magnificent novel. And after you’ve checked it over dozens and maybe dozens more times, you need to turn it over to a book editor. I hire a proofreader and I generally involve random readers who know fiction and have a good eye.

If you’re curious about my fiction—I just started writing it about a year and a half ago and I’ve produced 2 light mysteries involving cats for Kindle. They are, Catnapped  and Cat-Eye Witness. Both of them are part of my Klepto Cat Mystery series. Check them out here: http://www.matilijapress.com/Klepto-Cat-Mysteries/index.html

If you’d like to read my comments, resources and advice beyond this blog, sign up today to receive my bi-monthly newsletter, Publishing/Marketing News and Views. http://www.patriciafry.com

You might enjoy reading my latest interview at Dallas Woodburn’s blog this morning. http://www.dallaswoodburn.blogspot.com

Cat-Eye Witness has another new review. http://amzn.to/1bJiq0x

Did you notice today’s date? 11/12/13 is a “consecutive number” date. There will be only one more of these in this century—12/13/14. Mobs of couples get married on dates like this. Remember 11/11/11? (My mother turned 90 on that day.) And 10/11/12? There was also 12/12/12 (my granddaughter’s birthday—too bad she wasn’t 12 that year.)

How many writers out there are writing about numbers and dates today? There should be an article or two in this topic—what it all means to astrologers and psychics, how do people in other countries look at special dates, how many weddings occur on dates like this and how many of those couples divorce, what does it mean when kittens/puppies/horses are born on special dates, what world events have occurred on these dates, what does it mean on Wall Street and so forth.

If you are an author, how can you use this special date to promote your book?

What am I going to do on this special date day? Nothing out of the ordinary—a little writing, some promotion and I want to get my next enewsletter fleshed out. Any ideas you’d like to suggest for the December issue of my “Publishing/Marketing News and Views?” Are you signed up to receive this free enewsletter? Here’s where to sign up: http://www.patriciafry.com

We now have a Newsletter Archive page where you can go to view previous newsletters. The August issue is posted. I should get the October issue posted today. View this page here: http://www.matilijapress.com/publishingblog/?p-id=3081