Writing a Series

by June Shaw

If you're writing a series, how do you know when to continue with it or conclude it?

Much of the answer lies with sales. If you write books that readers keep buying and wanting to read, the response is normally to write more of them. You'll probably also write more books in a series if your publisher wants more and will pay you a decent advance.

Another decision in writing more books in a series is the genre in which you write. Some mystery authors continue to pour out stories through numbers or all the way through the alphabet. Their readers love them, and series authors find knowing their main characters well gives them a boost. The only need to plot (okay, none of writing fiction is really easy) and create additional new characters.

Romance readers LOVE series. They snag one book, and if they enjoy it, will grab all of the rest, anxiously waiting for the next one to be written. These readers often want stories that bind the characters. Notice all those that share the name of a place. The (whatever) Brothers is also a popular hook.

Do you like to read a series of books? If so, in what genres? If you write series, have you known when it's time to step back and change directions? I'd love to hear from readers, including authors.

http://www.juneshaw.com

Interview with Jean Henry Mead

by Jackie King

Jean Henry Mead, author of both fiction and nonfiction books, says that featuring other writers on her blogs is one of her greatest pleasures. Five of Mead’s 17 books are collections of her interviews. The latest, The Mystery Writers: Interviews and Advice, is a collection of different postings that originated at her Mysterious Writers blog site. “They were so informative that I didn’t want them to disappear into cyber space after their initial appearances,” Mead says.

Jean Henry Mead

Following the example of Agatha Christie, the mystery writer icon who recycled her 20^th century short stories into novels; Jean Henry Mead is recycling her 21st century interviews into anthologies.
 

I was most interested in how such books evolved, so I asked Jean if she would answer a few questions. Much to my delight, she agreed:

JK: Jean, would you tell us how you first came up with the clever and interesting idea of interviewing celebrities and then publishing these pieces in an anthology?

JHM: I began my career as a news reporter, so the first book I wrote—and published in 1982—was a collection of interviews with well-known Wyoming residents, such as Dick Cheney, country singer Chris LeDoux, U.S. Senator Alan Simpson, attorney Gerry Spence, some governors, artists and other interesting people. The Mystery Writers is my fifth book of interviews.

 JK: How do you set up interviews with such famous mystery writers as Sue Grafton, J.A. Jance and Lawrence Block, who are included in your newly published, The Mystery Writers: Interviews and Advice.

The Mystery Writers: Interviews and Advice

JHM: I was fortunate to interview Elmore Leonard before he became so famous. (We were both members of Western Writers of America at that time.) So when I emailed other bestselling authors for interviews, I mentioned Elmore Leonard, which probably gave me some credibility. I think the fact that I was also a member of Mystery Writers of America helped as well.

JK: What was the hardest part of compiling and editing so many articles and interviews?

JHM: Compiling all those interviews was very time consuming and took me away from working on my novels. I had to send out sixty manuscripts for updates, ask each author to write a short piece on the craft of writing, and then, when everything started coming back, I felt as though I were at the bottom of an avalanche. But it all worked out eventually at 406 pages.

JK: Do you plan to do another volume of this series in the future?

JHM: I don’t plan another. The Mystery Writers is the second volume of mystery writer interviews I’ve done. The first, Mysterious Writers, was published in 2010 by Poisoned Pen Press in ebook format and is still available. I wanted to also publish a print edition, which I did with the second volume. I hope the interviews and advice are valuable tools for fledgling writers.

 JK: My final question has to be: who were your favorite mystery writer interviewees?

JHM: Carolyn Hart, Jeffrey Deaver, Lawrence Block, J.A. Jance, Sue Grafton, Elmore Leonard, Vickie Hinze and James Scott Bell, to name just a few. They were all great interviewees and I wish I’d had access to their advice, writing successes and failures, when I first began writing fiction.

JK: The entire volume has been a help to me. Like all writers, I’m forever striving to improve my skills. It’s a book I’ll keep and reread from time to time.

Thanks a million for your time and patience in answering my questions. I think your wisdom will help my readers.

Readers, Jean’s blog is Mysterious Writers.

Blog url: http://mysteriouspeople.blogspot.com/

Her website:

www.jeanhenrymead.com

Writer's Block

by June Shaw Do you often get what's commonly called writer's block? Just what is this thing? What causes it? Can you do anything about it? Let's take a look. A writer may feel blocked when unable to get ideas for starting a new work. What should the title be? A perfect title needs to come first, you know. And then the first sentence has to grab the reader--right? And the first paragraph. And that first page must have the reader--hopefully a top agent or editor--breathlessly flipping to the next page to see what happens next. We must keep up this tempo for the first five pages at the absolute minumum. After that, the entire first chapter must sing. Whew. You're rolling along. Now it's time to start your second chapter--Wait, should you write Chapter 2 or CHAPTER 2 or just 2 or give it a name? Who cares right now? Just write CHAPTER if you arent't sure and keep moving. Your second chapter needs to sing from the start to keep your reader going along with you. Then, of course,you'll need to keep up this tempo and keep your reader with you till the end. Your story's twists have to be perfect and take the reader in another direction. Keep surprises going. Oh, and I forgot to mention you need to make us care about your protagonist from the first word almost and he or she must have flaws. And then .... Okay, so all of these things will help make your work successful. But if you're going to stop and think about each of them from the start of every new work--and you can't get going until you've gotten them all straight.... I don't know about you, but all of this overload when I'm trying to begin any new work would make me stall or even not want to start. Sure, that might be called writer's block. It's a problem many writers face. We learn a lot about our writing craft today. But we can't stop to think about getting each work and sentence and phrase perfect. That's what rewriting is about. When you rewrite a work you can decide to throw out the first sentence or page or make the second chapter your first. You can see where your work needs a twist or surprise and discover how a different character in your book might make a better killer. Or love interest. Or needs to be thrown out. Those who are good at outlining everything and then going right to work on the book may be able to have all of the details figured out from day one. Most of us, though, need to know that our words might not be perfect, but we need to write them. We need to sit and start writing and keep things flowing. We can and should make changes later. There. That's my suggestion for today about what to do if you have writer's block. Actually, when I sat down to create a post for our blog today, I had absolutely no idea what topic I'd write about. This is probobably the longest post I've written. It must be my magic chair and my magic keyboard. I usually find that when I sit in this came chair and set my fingers on this same keyboard, words flow. They certainly aren't perfect, but then neither am I. I did, however, come up with some advice that might help someone. And that's one of the main purposes of writing (oops, I mean getting past writer's block:) Good luck with your work! I'd love to know what other suggestions you might have to pass on to others about what you do when your ideas are blocked. Thanks! June

Writing Advice for Fledgling Authors

Marilyn Meredith is guest blogging today as part of the 13-writer Mystery We Write Book Tour. She's published nearly thirty books, including her latest Rocky Bluff P.D. crime novel, Angel Lost, and the award winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series, the Invisible Path. written as F. M. Meredith. The following is her advice for fledgling writers:

Begin by reading the kind of books that you want to write. Pay attention to how the books begin, how the characters are introduced, how the suspense rises, the dialogue and what makes you like the book.

Attend writers’ conferences and read books on writing. Many people have the mistaken idea that just because they know how to “write” that they can sit down in front of a computer and write a book without learning how. There are many rules about writing a book—yes, some can be broken, but not until you know what they are.

If possible, join a writing group. It’s helpful if the members are writing in the same genre as you, but not absolutely necessary. What you mainly need are people who know about writing and will give you constructive feedback on what you’re written. Listen to what they have to say. You don’t have to take all their advice, but think about it. Frankly, I learned the most about writing from the members of my critique group—the same one I still belong to after 30 years. Develop believable characters. Keep notes about them so they don’t suddenly change eye color or the spelling of their names. Speaking of character names be careful to pick names that don’t rhyme with the other character names, or start with the same letter, or all have the same number of syllables.

Write regularly. If you can, write every day even if it’s only for a short while. The more you write, the better you’ll write.

When you think you’ve finished your novel, it’s time to start the rewriting process. Print it out and go over each page diligently. Check that you’ve been consistent through out. Make sure the dialogue sounds natural but either moves the plot along or reveals character. Are the characters three dimensional?

Don’t rely on the spell and grammar checker. You’ll need to check on the printed page. Many common words have different spellings and meanings. And if you’ve used fragments in dialogue because that’s how a character speaks, you don’t want to make the changes suggested.

When you think you’re done, the manuscript is polished, have someone take a look at it who is a professional. You never want to send something off to a publisher or agent that isn’t as close to perfect as you can make it.

Submitting to publishers is a whole other topic, but just let me say this: follow each agent’s or publisher’s guidelines exactly. They receive so many submissions they’re looking for a reason for rejection.

Never give up. With my first book I received nearly 30 rejections before it was accepted. I did a lot of rewriting in-between those rejections. I’ve had plenty of rejections since, but I never gave up. Rejections are part of being a writer. Sometimes you can learn from the rejection.

Write, write, write.

About Angel Lost: As plans for her perfect wedding fill her mind, Officer Stacey Wilbur is sent out to trap a flasher, the new hire realizes Rocky Bluff P.D. is not the answer to his problems, Abel Navarro’s can’t concentrate on the job because of worry about his mother, Officer Gordon Butler has his usual upsets, the sudden appearance of an angel in the window of a furniture store captures everyone’s imagination and causes problems for RBPD, and then the worst possible happens—will Stacey and Doug’s wedding take place?

Marilyn's website: http://fictionforyou.com
Blog: http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com

Writing Advice From Some of the Best

by Jean Henry Mead

Among the many writers I've interviewed, some of the best writing advice came from the following.

Pulitzer winner, A.B. Guthrie, Jr::

“I would give one piece of advice to would-be writers: if you don’t love the language, forget it! And second, study the established authors. Learn how they get their effects. Study the craft of fiction, know what it means, what it is.”

Loren D. Estleman:

“For me, a good mystery places story and character ahead of all else, yet never loses sight of the simple truth that in order to be a mystery, a question must be asked. It needn’t be a whodunit, and might be something as simple and maddening as why the murdered man had three left shoes in his closet and no mates. If the writer has done his job well, the reader will forget the questions as the story draws him in. But there had damn well better be a mystery involved if he’s going to call it one.”

Elmore Leonard:

“The worst thing a novice can do is to try to sound like a writer. The first thing you have to learn is how not to overwrite” He also said, “Write! Don’t talk about it, do it. Study the authors you like, pick one and imitate him—the way a painter learns fine art by copying the masters. I studied Hemingway, as several thousand other writers have done. I feel that I learned to write westerns by reading and rereading For Whom the Bell Tolls.

“To me, the characters are everything. I begin with them, and if a story doesn’t come out of their incarnations, I don’t have a book. I imagine a type of character in a particular setting—South Miami Beach, Atlantic City—adding other characters in a very vague idea of a plot situation and make it up as I go along. Characters audition in their opening scenes. Some, who I think at first are going to be main characters, end up playing minor roles, while a walk-on character will now and again talk his way into a part that becomes the third or fourth lead.” Every writer I interviewed agreed that novice writers must read a wide variety of literature. No writer can succeed without extensive reading.

Will Henry:

“Keep at it. That’s all. If it’s in you to write, it will come out. If it’s not, you will have a lot of fun thinking it is.” When asked how much money a young writer can earn, he said, “Not much! Not enough to keep life in the body of a single human being. You must have another source of income.”

Jeanne Williams:

“Write constantly and find a qualified writer to critique your work.” Emphasizing the importance of rewriting and revisions, she said new writers should expect to be as dedicated to their craft as a surgeon is to his. “Determination is all-important, for first-time writers do manage to sell. Write what you care about most and give it your best shot.”

Marlys Millhiser:

Strange and exotic places trigger ideas for her novels. "I’ll look at a house and think, ‘That place needs a ghost. I like to travel because new places turn me on, and once I find a place, the characters kind of wander into the opening scene. So I normally know how I’m going to begin a book, but I don’t know where I’m going from there." Millhiser has rewritten the first ten chapters of several books before finding her direction. Writing instructors tell young writers to outline their stories before they begin writing, but some of us—myself included--still sit at the computer with only a vague idea of what we’re going to write that day.

Irene Bennett Brown:

“A writer shouldn’t broadcast a story’s theme or wave it in front of a reader like a banner,” she said. “That’s too much like teaching and preaching, which readers hate. I give my characters strong goals, and tough problems. Theme isn’t something you plan, it just is. It’s what your story proves and falls into place when you’ve done everything else right.”

Chris Roerden:

The Agatha Award winning writer says: "Dialogue is a form of action, a potent technique for expressing conflict. It is the mightiest power tool on the writer's workbench for making characters come alive. Instead of your stepping in like an overbearing parent to tell us about your characters, dialogue lets you let them reveal their feelings, attitudes, and personalities through their own words." (This book is a must read for all aspiring mystery novelists.)

Louis L’Amour:

L’Amour advised fledglings to “read and write everything you can. Keep writing, putting words on paper and learn to express yourself. One difficulty I find of people who write is that they don’t read enough. And our schools aren’t giving us enough background in American literature. I think you should have a pretty good idea of what’s been done before you try to do it. And you can learn some very valuable things by writing. I really learned how to write from Robert Louis Stevenson, Anthony Trollope, and de Maupassant.”

Janet Dailey:

“It’s not as free as it once was for new writers to break into print. Probably the greatest way for a writer to break into the business is to write in category, whether it be western, romance, mystery, or science fiction; that’s the place where the publisher has already learned there is an audience. That’s where fledglings can establish themselves and become a Stephen King, Mickey Spillane, Louis L’Amour or Agatha Christie. Excel and go beyond the so-called limits of the categories.”

Benjamin Capps:

"My own reader is like me--just about as realistic and romantic, cynical and sentimental, dumb and intelligent, simple and sophisticated, optimistic and pessimistic,” and who shares similar interests. “Do I manipulate the reader?” he said. “I sure do, for I’ve studied the fictional techniques of writers from Sophocles to Chaucer to Melville to Steinbeck for decades. However, probably no reader of mine ever felt so strongly or dropped a small tear unless I had already done so in the writing.”

Beth Franzese:

As a writer of amateur sleuth novels, I am always interested in the psychological experience of being a crime fighter. For my [work in progress], I have had the luck of being close to a detective who has constantly checked my work for authenticity. Also, questions about what death looks like, how a body falls when shot, etc. I have much martial arts experience, so I love writing my fight scenes, but I think a lot of authors need help with that, too.”

Brian Garfield:

"Make sure that you have a good command of the technicalities of the English language. I don’t care about spelling, but you’ve got to be able to write good sentences. You’ve got to be able to write them with a certain amount of grace. The main problem, I think, today is that everyone wants to be on the bestseller list without the apprenticeship first. No matter how boring, writers must learn the craft along the way, because “it does have to be learned. . .”

Bill Pronzini:

“Read as widely as possible in your chosen field, both fiction and nonfiction, then write something fresh with an unusual approach or slant. A Louis L’Amour imitation isn’t likely to launch any new writer these days . . . I learned my craft by writing stories for a score of different magazines. Today there are very few fiction magazines left—in effect, no real training ground for young writers to develop and hone their skills, which is very unfortunate.” (However, there is the internet and gratis writing gains experience as well as readership. It’s well worth the effort.)

Parris Afton Bonds:

“Talent is cheap. The difference between a professional and an amateur writer is persistence. Selling is a matter of luck, really. If one has enough money (determination) to remain at the gambling tables, the dice will eventually roll in his favor. If a fledgling writer is aiming his work toward the market in demand at the moment, then the sky is the limit—assuming that he has perfected his craft and read a great many novels of that genre.” In other words, “persistence, patience, and all the while perfecting your craft.”

John Mantley:

Mary Pickford's cousin produced the “Gunsmoke” TV series for ten years and wrote scripts for “Rawhide,” “Kraft Theatre” and many other televised programs. He said, ‘’You have to be thick-skinned to survive as a script writer, because having your work rewritten by producers is bad enough, but you also have to expect to have it rejected for the most inane reasons.”

Don Ballluck:

Balluck, who wrote scripts for a number of TV shows, including “Magnum PI,” talked about the personality traits necessary for a successful script writer. “Courtesy and a sense of humor” are paramount, he said. “We have to deal with a lot of bleeding egos and it’s just plain prudent to maintain a certain amount of equanimity. There’s strength in getting what you want without hurting or humiliating anyone.”

Writing Advice from Editor Helen Ginger

Helen Ginger is a freelance editor based in Austin, Texas. A book consultant and writer with three nonfiction books to her credit, she hosts a popular blog, Straight From Hel. She also teaches public speaking as well as writing and marketing workshops. In addition, her ezine, Doing It Write!, goes out to subscribers around the globe. It's now in its eleventh year of publication. She's also an owner/partner and the Women’s Marketing Director for Legends In Our Own Minds® as well as serving as executive director of the Writers' League of Texas from 2003-2005. Helen is currently committee chair for the Texas Book Festival, and volunteers as a gift wrapper for the Bess Whitehead Scott Scholarship fund.

Helen, what have you found to be the worst mistakes writers make, whether novice or experienced?

 A common mistake novice writers make is to start the story by settling the readers into the book’s “world.”

For example, the writer puts us into the head of John who’s in Cabo San Lucas on a fishing excursion. He’s sitting at the back of the boat, fishing pole in hand, waiting for a tuna to latch onto his bait. His best friend, Jack, stands beside him. They watch the water and talk about how long John has wanted to go on this trip and how they’ll ship the tuna back to the States. John anchors the pole and walks around the deck to loosen his tense muscles, then grabs a beer before buckling himself back into his seat. They stare out at the water frothing behind the boat and John licks his lips, tasting the salt in the air.

By this time, readers have fallen asleep and agents have already tossed aside the manuscript. Sure, all that lets your readers see the setting, smell the water, know John, but what good is it if they don’t continue reading? It used to be that you had the first chapter to hook your reader. Then it was the first page. Then the first paragraph. Now it’s the first sentence. Okay, I’ll give you the first page to hook us, but from the opening sentence you better give us a tingle that says, something’s going on here, keep reading. By the end of the first page, you want the reader to quickly turn the page and read on.

Writers may not like it when they turn to page 16 and find a note from me that says, This is where your book starts. But that’s better than getting a rejection from an agent that says, Not for me.

What in your background prepared you to edit other writer's work?

Like most writers, I’ve written since I was a child. In college, I double majored with Bachelor degrees in English and in Speech Communication, and a Master’s in Oral Interpretation. I also worked as a grader and assistant for my English prof, Dr. Steadman.

It’s easy to see how the English degrees factor into editing. The Speech degrees taught me how to hear the words, not just write them, to understand how sentences are put together to create a flow, a rhythm, and how to construct pictures through words.

In addition to being in many critique groups, both small and large, I started a screenwriting critique group of working screenwriters. Screenwriting is a great way to practice writing dialogue. You have to get down to the core of expressing hidden meaning and coming up with the fewest words possible to convey what you need to get across.

I’ve been editing writers for years. Most of the time working via email. I also have started doing one-on-one coaching for beginning writers.

Does anyone edit your work? And does every writer need an independent editor?

I don’t belong to a formal critique group anymore, but I do have others who edit my work. Several of my friends are willing to read for me. I don’t usually ask them until I feel it’s ready to go to an agent since most of them are published authors who have their own deadlines and projects. I can trust them to tell me what works, what doesn’t, what sucks and what sings.

In my opinion, every writer needs an independent editor. Even best-selling authors have a house editor who bleeds on their manuscripts. Don’t ever think it only happens to new writers. If what you want is someone who will say they love your manuscript and you shouldn’t change a word, you can find someone to boost your ego that way. But when your book comes out with mistakes and problems, you’re going to lose readers and sales, both with that book and future books.

Whether you’re self-publishing or working with a small or big press, you need an editor.

Which types of books do you write and do you travel to promote them?

I have three books with TSTC Publishing. All non-fiction, all in their TechCareers series. Texas State Technical College (TSTC) hires writers to produce books for each career they teach. The research for each book is intense, since the timeline is short and the information broad. Included is the outlook for the career, all the schools in the U.S. that teach that career and what classes have to be taken for the degrees, and twelve to sixteen interviews and profiles with people in those careers across the U.S. and, in some cases, other countries. For each book, I have a four-inch notebook filled with research as well as hours of tapes.

I started by contributing interviews and profiles for Biomedical Equipment Technicians, then signed on to do three on my own: Automotive Technicians, Avionics, and Computer Gaming. My name is on the books, but I receive no royalties, since these were Work for Hire books. Although I don’t travel to promote them, I’m proud to have them on my bio and website.

Advice to aspiring writers?

Three things: Write, Learn, Share.

To be a writer, you have to write. If you can do a thousand words a day, write them. If you only have time to do fifty words on the train to work, write them. If you have no time to write, turn off the TV … and write.

To be a published writer, you have to learn. You have to learn to be a better writer, through practice, advice, editing, classes, tutoring, critiques, books, reading, mistakes, and successes. You have to learn to promote yourself. That means developing a platform, before you’re published, and building an online presence through a blog, a website, and social networking sites, and expanding your bio with contest wins, or published short stories and articles, or other ways to build your credibility. You need to be filling folders on your computer with information you gather about agents and small presses, bookstores and libraries, online sites, and other bloggers who can help you when you need to put together a virtual book tour.

To be a selling writer, you have to share. Yourself. Your time. Your knowledge. You share via your blog or your comments on other blogs. It’s a win-win. You learn as you share. And those you share with learn from you and about you. The more someone knows and connects with you, the more likely they are to buy your book when it comes out. At the same time, you’re meeting new friends, people who can help you, not just by buying your book, but possibly recommending an agent or an editor, or offering to read your manuscript or write a blurb for you, or encouraging you when you’re down and having trouble writing.

Do these things now. Don’t wait until that magical day in the future when you’ll be published. Develop relationships and skills as you grow from an aspiring writer to a best-selling author.

Questions for the editor? Helen will be here all day to answer them for you.

Helen's website: Helen Ginger
Her blog: Straight From Hel