Get Short

by Jaden Terrell

Joe (J.A.) Konrath has said that short stories are the best advertising in the world for an author's novels. Readers pick them up, like what they read, and decide to try the author's books as well. I've been reading a lot of short stories lately, and while all have been written, edited, or recommended by authors whose books I've already read and enjoyed, I think Konrath is right. (No surprise, since he's the guru of book marketing gurus.)

In the last few weeks, I've read stories from Fox Five by Zoe Sharp, Tough as Leather by Jochem Van der Steen (creator of the Sons of Spade review site), and Shaken: Stories for Japan, edited by Timothy Hallinan. Sharp and Steen have written anthologies featuring the protagonists of their novels, Charlie Fox and Noah Milano, respectively. Fox is a former special forces soldier now working in the private protection business, and Sharp depicts her with a crisp, engaging style that made me want to read more. Milano is a PI struggling to live a good life despite being the son of an infamous crime boss. His past has a way of intruding on his good intentions. There are some disturbing images in Tough as Leather, so it's not for the squeamish, but there are also some touching moments, and Milano is a sympathetic hero. Van der Steen is a Dutch writer, so there are a few awkward phrases, but there are also a lot of very apt descriptions, as when a carpet is described as "a red, fuzzy sory of thing [that] looked like Elmo had been skinned" and some great characterizations. Who wouldn't love a hero who serves his clients' tea in "the good china"--a Power Puff Girls mug and a Garfield mug missing one ear?

The third anthology, Shaken: Stories for Japan, was edited by Hallinan but also has stories by Brett Battles, Cara Black, Debbi Mack, Adrian McKinty, Gary Phillips, C.J. West, I.J. Parker, Dale Furutani, Wendy Hornsby, Vicki Doudera, Dianne Emley, Stefan Hammond, Rosemary Harris, Ken Kuhlken, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Jeffrey Siger, Kelli Stanley, and Naomi Hirahara. All proceeds from Shaken go directly toward earthquake relief in Japan. You couldn't ask for a more impressive group of writers, or for a better cause. And yes, I will seek out some of these authors and read more.

Other anthologies I've read lately are Twisted and More Twisted by Jeffery Deaver, and Killer Year, edited by Lee Child. Deaver, I obviously knew about from reading his novels, but some of the authors in Killer Year were new to me.

For me, it seems that short stories can interest me enough to make me look further, but finding them requires an editor or authors I recognize or a recommendation from someone I trust.

What do you think? Authors, do short stories draw in readers for your novels? Readers, do you find new authors through short stories, and if so, what makes you pick up the short story in the first place?

Resource for Writers

By Beth Terrell

Yesterday, Mark wrote about finding gems in our backyards. Today, I'm going to share a gem I found on the Internet a few days ago.

You may be familiar with a mystery writer named Joe Konrath (J.A. Konrath). Joe is a writing machine, cranking out 4,000 (or more) words a day. He's also a marketing machine: he visited more than 500 bookstores the year his first Lt. Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels book came out. He also blogs, does speaking engagements, and engages in a multitude of other marketing strategies. Pretty effectively, I might add. It doesn't hurt that he's a darn good writer.

Joe's blog, http://www.jakonrath.com, has always been a treasure trove for writers, and he's made it even better by adding a free download of an e-book called The Newbie's Guide to Publishing. That's right, free. He compiled the book after realizing that he had compiled over 300,000 words about writing and publishing, and it was getting difficult for his readers to sift through the archives for the answers to their specific questions.

The Newbie's Guide to Publishing may be the most comprehensive book of advice for writers ever written, and as an added perk, Joe has added links to each section (post) so that you can go to the original post and read the thread of comments that goes with it. You can even add comments of your own.There are a number of other perks as well. For instance, in the post about outlining, there's a link to his outline for Bloody Mary, one of his "Jack Daniels" mysteries.

I wasn't able to download the book to my hard drive, but I have it on my "favorites" and can click to it whenever I want, which is often. Among the topics he addresses are: Avoiding Plodding Plotting. Salable Characters, How I Got My Agent and a Three-Book Deal, Six Things You Should Never Put In a Query, Bad Promotion Techniques, How to Make a Disastrous Book Signing a Success, and many, many more.

Did I mention this e-book is 751 pages long? That's a lot of good advice.

Wherever you are on the writing continuum (aspiring to bestseller), Joe's e-book has something that will help you become a better writer and a better marketer.

Many thanks, Joe.