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The month in review and overcompensating

I’ve been having trouble keeping up with the blog…surprise, surprise. Ever since I started a blog many years ago, I’ve gone through spurts of white-hot intensity where I’m dropping posts 3 times a week, responding to comments, and just being That Guy. Then, the inevitable drop-off comes. I don’t have much to say. I’m distracted by a writing project. I just lose track of time. Then I happen to notice the date of my last entry and succumb to guilt akin to a dieter blacking out and waking up in a bakery, having massacred all the cupcakes. Like now.

It’s been a pretty busy month, and I’d like to catch you up on a couple of things. So, see, this is how I apologize, by overcompensating. That’s healthy, right?

My New Hangouts

Because I’m so great about timely blog entries here on my own site, it only made sense that I’d agree to write for TWO OTHER blogs as well. I’m now a regular contributor at Sleuths, Spies, and Alibis – a group of YA Adult Mystery writers who blog on all topics related to crime, literature, and kids (what a combo). I also contribute to The Lucky 13s – a group of debut YA authors across many genres who all have pub dates in 2013.

There’s a lot of good stuff at both of these blogs, so be sure to check them out.

Recent Interviews

In case you missed them, I participated in a couple of fun blogs/interviews for Aimee Salter and Daisy Whitney.

In Other News

I’ve finished a draft of a YA Urban Fantasy novel and hope to get that revised soon so I can tell you more about it. And I’m halfway through a YA Paranormal  novel (really it’s Horror, but I’ve been told the P-word in more aesthetically pleasing than the H-word nowadays). Again, more on that soon.

That’s all, folks. For now.

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Bloggers, reading, revisions

Me + HarperCollins = A HOT Summer 2013

I’ve been waiting a lot of years to say this.

It’s official! Summer 2013…look for my debut Young Adult Thriller (working title: WHISPERTOWN) in bookstores nationwide courtesy of my new publishing family, HarperCollins. It took 3 months to finalize everything and it’s been AGONIZING to not speak publicly about it all. But, I’ve just been given the green light and speak I will.

I’d like to give a special shout out to my incomparable super agent Jamie Weiss Chilton for all her hard work brokering this deal, and I’d like to say thank you to my new editor Phoebe Yeh who I can’t wait to work with. There are a ton of others I owe thanks to because this has been a long, long road, but I’m going to save all that for the acknowledgements page. 😉

Look for more news soon. In the meantime, here’s a little taste of what’s coming…

Nick Pearson is pretending to be someone he isn’t. Not high school pretending. Witness Protection pretending. And the #1 rule is “stay low-key”. But, when his sole friend Eli dies in the school’s journalism room under mysterious circumstances, and Nick stumbles upon the conspiracy Eli planned on exposing, staying low-key takes a backseat to staying alive.

Newspaper Nerd Eli had a secret, an in-the-works story codenamed “Whispertown”. And it’s got a lot of folks interested. Like corrupt cops, the town’s shady mayor, and certain high-ranking government officials. Teaming with Eli’s estranged (and gorgeous) sister, Nick sets out to unravel the mystery and still maintain his cover. He’ll have to use all the deviant skills he’s gained from his racketeering dad, assassin godfather, and their Serbian gangster boss to find the truth. However, each clue brings him closer to answers he may not want. Whispertown is bigger than he could have ever imagined, and in its shadow stands a killer…a killer Nick fears may be his own father.

I’m off to celebrate…later, gang!

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Debut, HarperCollins, L.R. Giles, publishing, Summer 2013, Whispertown, YA Thriller

Type A Lamar and the Business Card Debacle…

It’s rare that a post can be random and relevant, but that’s kind of what this is. The relevant part involves the trip I’ll be taking later this week to attend the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) 40th Anniversary conference in Los Angeles. I’ll get to rub elbows with some industry folks and attend cool and informative workshops, which is always a plus. But, more importantly, I’ll get to meet my very good writer friend Jennifer Bosworth and my Super Agent Jamie Weiss Chilton in person for the very first time (this alone is worth the price of the plane ticket).

Confession: I rarely get excited. It’s like my brain secrets Prozac, I’m so even keel. However, this trip excites me. It’ll be my first time on the west coast, and I can’t wait to see LA for myself. I’m from Virginia and the farthest west I’ve been is Texas…all I know about LA comes from ENTOURAGE and KEEPING UP WITH THE KARDASHIANS. My only regret is that my wife can’t make this trip with me, but she’s demanded that I bring her back something “decidedly LA”. I’m thinking a jar of smog.

That was your dose for relevant, time for the random…

I’m a Type A all the way, an obsessive PLANNER. So, uncharacteristically, I made a misstep in my conference prep. See, it’s good protocol to have business cards with you when you attend these things because you meet so many people there’s no way to keep everyone straight in your head. And I have A METRIC TON of business cards already. The problem: the cards are specific to my Indie Pubbed adult paranormal novel LIVE AGAIN, which maybe doesn’t matter too much, but it’s not the impression I necessarily want to make at conference centered around books for children and young adults. This didn’t occur to me until Thursday night, exactly 1 week before I get on a westbound plane.

The Type A in me panicked. While all of my relevant contact info was on the LIVE AGAIN business cards, I’d simply be MORTIFIED to hand those out at SCBWI…it’d be like, I don’t know, wearing white after Labor Day. I needed something representative of my young adult work. Since graphic design is a hobby I’ve dabbled in for the last two years, I got the bright idea that I would DESIGN A NEW BUSINESS CARD IN ONE HOUR, so I could make a rush order with Vista Print and get new cards before I leave.

If you’re a planner, too, you probably already see what’s wrong here…

It was close to midnight when I started my ambitious design project. I’d been up since 5 AM. I discovered SLEEP-DEPRIVED DESIGNING is kind of like DRUNK DIALING YOUR EX…you wake up the next day with one thing and one thing only on your mind, “What the hell did I do?”

I completed my design, all with a snazzy, unique color palette (not the problem), and this cool little ink-in-water accent along the bottom left to highlight all my social media logos (not the problem). I even added a custom logo (problem).

The logo I’d been working on was meant to represent a character I’d created for a YA project. It’s essentially the silhouette of a guy wearing these big ’80’s style headphones because the character was really into music. I got the basic logo from istockphoto and planned to tweak it (which I never got around to) so I could throw it on some promotional stuff. Really, there’s nothing wrong with the idea on paper. The problem comes in when you consider the following (something my sleep addled mind was not able to do…at the time it seemed like the best idea ever, freaking award-worthy):

1) The character changed, and music isn’t as big a part of his makeup as it used to be. The headphones are insignificant now.

2) I can’t say too much about this project yet. And I can’t say WHY I can’t say much about this project yet.

3) Since the character changed, and I’m not supposed to discuss him too much, the logo is meaningless. It’s like painting a Pepsi logo on a prehistoric rock for the dinosaurs to stare out.

4) This is the worst part – It’s a kid wearing BIG ASS HEADPHONES. That doesn’t exactly scream WRITER. It screams DJ!!!!!

And I paid fifty bucks to get my new DJ business cards in time for my WRITER’S conference. <Insert Joke Here>.

So if you happen to be at SCBWI next week and you’re looking for me, I’ll be the guy saying, “Hi, I’m Lamar. I’m a writer…but I also do weddings.”

 

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business cards, conferences, DJ, L.R. Giles, SCBWI, Type A, Writer, Young Adult

Winter is Coming

I passed the huge displays in my local Barnes and Noble. Skipped the ads in magazines. Zoned out when friends raved about this episode or that episode. Ultimately, I shrugged the whole thing off. Game of Thrones was like NASCAR to me. Popular for reasons I just didn’t understand. Plus, I didn’t have HBO anyway.

Shrug.

Due to automobile trouble, I found myself stuck in the house this past weekend. On a lark, I called up my local cable provider and had Home Box Office added to my package (really, just to catch up on Entourage…I still wasn’t sold on GoT).

What a difference 10 hours and OnDemand can make.

I can probably count on one hand the number of times a TV viewing experience has felt transcendent to me. After this weekend, another digit just popped up. I can’t stop thinking about it, and I’m really about to buy each of George R.R. Martin’s novels because I don’t think I can wait until spring to know what happens next.

That’s it. No anaylsis. No clever observations. I just feel like a kid again, back in the days when watching The Twilight Zone and Tales from the Darkside was just as important as getting three meals in. Hell, those shows were the meal.

I think I just added another helping.

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Fun, Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin, HBO, L.R. Giles, Tales from the Darkside, TV, Twilight Zone

What DON’T you have to think about today?

I happened to stumble across this amazing post from one John Scalzi and decided to link to it here. Perhaps it’s lazy posting on my part (I know I’m behind), but it doesn’t make John’s words any less fantastic. Check him out: Things I don’t have to think about.

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Controversy, diversity

Mr. Giles Goes To Washington

I’ll be attending the Go On Girl! Book Club’s Annual Awards Weekend in Washington, D.C. this weekend. The ladies of GoG have selected LIVE AGAIN as there July-December Sci-Fi/Fantasy pick and I couldn’t be happier. I can’t wait to meet them in person.

For those who can’t make it to the capital city, I’ll do my best to make you feel like you’re there by posting pics and tweeting throughout the conference as time permits. In honor of the club’s 20th anniversary, I’ll be using the hashtag: #GoG20

So, follow me on Twitter (@LRGiles) and feel free to join the 140 character conversation.

I’m out. I’ll tell Barack hi for you. 🙂

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conference, GoG, publishing, road trip, Washington DC

Diversify vs. Diversity, Part I: TV

The Preamble

This will not be a popular post. Neither will the three that follow. I plan to write similar posts on films, books, and finally, proposed solutions to what I see as problems.

Those who read this and choose to negatively criticize (as opposed to constructively criticizing) my statements will do at least two things to make their case. They will attack my motives (he wants more people to come to his blog so he decides to be all controversial), or my logic (he’s stating unproven facts, here’s 5 points refuting his claims).

As a bonus, when I get to my third post on books, because it’s the publishing industry I choose to work in, the points of attack will be my personal bitterness, work ethic, and skill. In other words, my motivation for writing such things has to do with the fact that I’ve yet to get a book deal. The real reason that I don’t have a book deal is because I don’t work hard enough, and even if I did work hard, I just don’t have the skills to turn a profit for a publisher so instead of facing THOSE facts, I’ve fallen back on the old Blame-The-Man crutch.

And it’s fine if you think that. It’s a free country, which is why I can say what I’m about to say…

If there’s been an effort to step up diversity (and for the sake of this post I’m defining diversity as the fair representation and humane depiction of America’s many non-white racial groups) across the landscape of television, films, and books, it is a weak and superficial effort at best. Here’s how I see it…

The Diversify Approach

There are several ways to define diversify, and you can easily look them up for yourself. Here, I’ll focus on one definition that I feel is most appropriate:

(v) to add different types of manufactured products, crops, etc., especially to a business.

I find this fitting for a couple of reasons. One, it refers specifically to a business, and entertainment (tv, films, books, music and even sports) is most certainly that. Two, I like the “manufactured products” part. My interest in those two words is going to be more allegorical than etymological . My argument is the corporate approach to the representation of racial groups across various media has been a Diversify Approach as opposed to a Diversity Approach. As defined here, by me, those approaches are very different, and that’s a problem.

Here’s what I admit flat out: many racial groups ARE represented in a number of televisions show. You can easily turn on your television during Primetime and see a number races/ethnicities present and accounted for. I am not denying that.

At this point, someone with an opposing view might say, “Hey, what’s your problem? If you are admitting that races/ethnicities are accounted for, what more do you want? Isn’t that good enough?”

No. It’s not good enough. If you had a child who brought home a report card full of Fs, but then worked hard and made gradual improvements to pull those Fs up to Cs, you recognize that it’s a start, but Cs still shouldn’t be good enough. Cs mean you’re doing just enough to stay in the middle of the road, not failing, but not excelling either. In 2011 I say with all the conviction that I can muster that it is not good enough, not on the report card and certainly not on our TV screens.

That’s where the problem with the Diversify Approach comes in. It’s not about excelling, it’s about being good enough. It’s about adding a product to a business for no other reason than to hedge bets and cover bases. In the realm of entertainment, criticism of diversity issues have been loud and consistent. So, to quiet critics you can count on most new shows being cast with several characters of different races in the mix. But, based on character arcs when compared with their White counterparts, it’s not unreasonable to see the Diversified Roles as the “manufactured product” mentioned above, something to add to the businesses portfolio, but no necessarily the main line of business or even a very high priority.

The Diversity Approach

As mentioned above, I’m looking at Diversity as the fair representation and humane depiction of America’s many non-white racial groups across the landscape of television, films, and books. To be clear, I understand that this is an abstract aspiration. What is fair? Certainly not life itself, so how can I expect a money machine like the entertainment industry to shoot for such a lofty ideal?

Frankly, I don’t. It would be nice if we could ever define fair in quantifiable terms, then institute fairness into as many areas as possible. I’m not foolish, though. So, I’ll shoot for awareness. I’ll make my points, give my examples, and hope that if I, and others like me, continue to bring this up then more and more industry gatekeepers will become aware (or stop claiming false unawareness) and greenlight more projects that showcase faces, cultures, and lifestyles that represent the many faces of America and not just the faces that have been most dominant.

With that in mind, I present the Diversity Approach. This is the approach that is used when various characters of differing race exist as (rough) EQUALS within a shared fictional universe. Let me restate, this is the fair and humane part of my Diversity Approach definition. The non-white characters don’t exist to provide comic relief, add street cred, advance negative stereotypes, or be stepping stones that help the white characters reach their all important goals. This is not a new idea. Spike Lee was vocal about this when he coined the term “Super Duper Magical Negro” and author Steven Barnes writes often about the de-humanization of black males in films. (For the record, I agree with both of their observations, but I’m choosing to write in terms of general non-white representation because this blog post is too condensed to get into micro-specifics.)

I hope I’ve done an acceptable job in setting up the framework in which my next few posts on this subject will exist. Now, I’ll give some examples of both approaches in practice.

The Portfolio

Disclaimer: I have not seen every TV show in the world. Therefore, the shows I mention below should not be considered as any kind of scientific sample. I KNOW they don’t represent the whole of television. However, they are shows that I’m familiar with, therefore I can observe and comment based on first-hand impressions.

Grey’s Anatomy* (ABC)

Obviously, the show’s namesake is the Meredith Gray character, who is a white female. The show is an ensemble (meaning that every character has their own story arc and can be the focus of any given episode), but I would not expect any character to ever become MORE important, or even totally equal to, Meredith. I can’t say I’ve followed the show extensively since the first few seasons (my wife is a fan and I watched with her, she has since released me from that obligation) so maybe that’s an incorrect assumption. Even if it is, that doesn’t change the fact that I’ve always considered this show to be one of the most positive examples of diversity on television. A number of races are represented, and they are written as human beings (meaning they all have real goals, and realistic emotional and sexual relationships) instead of caricatures. Within my framework, this show is a shining example of the Diversity Approach.

*It’s important to note that the show’s creator and executive producer (for us folks in the real world, that means ‘boss’) is Shonda Rimes, an African-American female. I’ll speak more about her when I write my Solutions post.

Undercovers* (NBC)

Married couple Steven and Samantha Bloom run a catering company while assisting the CIA on covert operations. This was super producer JJ Abrams attempt at reversing the formula we’ve grown so accustomed to as Americans (God bless him). Here, two non white characters were the leads while white characters existed in support roles. Strictly speaking, this fell into the Diversify Approach because the White characters were really caricatures (or cliches, really). Grumpy Boss, Goofy Sidekick, and so on…

However, the series should be applauded as an effort to showcase uncharacteristic faces in dramatic roles that we RARELY see in America. It was cancelled after airing only 11 episodes, and rightfully so since it was dull beyond belief.

*Here’s the problem with the cancellation of Undercovers…it is my belief that the assumption will be that the show didn’t catch on because of the Non-White actors as leads. Not that the show had the SAME FATE AS MOST SHOWS. Most television shows DO NOT MAKE IT, even good ones. And, in the case of Undercovers, it just wasn’t good. It wouldn’t have been good if the leads were White. Sadly, losing the show is a blow to Diversity efforts. Because it will be marked in the Non-White Leads Don’t Work column instead of Non-White Actors Can’t Get Cast In The Good Roles column.

Glee (Fox)

When I saw the premier of Glee I couldn’t help but smile. From episode 1 I saw what this show was supposed to be, a showcase for the outcasts. If nothing else, this show would do what so many others fail at, or don’t even try. It would be a true representation of Diversity. Race, Sexuality, Social Status all depicted as varying and acceptable because America is varied, and those variances should be accepted. And, for the most part, I think it’s tried to live up to those expectations.

Except when it comes to African-Americans…

Confession, I’ve probably missed the last 4 to 5 episodes of Glee. So, please correct me if what I’m about to say is wrong, or if the evidence I present has changed.

Exhibit A: The lone African-American Male of the Glee Club (you might remember him as the Other Dancing Guy) is conspicuously absent at the start of season 2. Maybe he left by choice…I don’t know. But I immediately noticed that the Black Guy was gone. I don’t know if they even explained the character’s absence. It was like he never existed.

Exhibit B: At the time of my last viewing, EVERY MEMBER OF THE CLUB had had a significant relationship arc. They’d dated, found love, gotten their heart broken, pined for someone who didn’t notice them, etc. That is, every member except Mercedes (the African-American female with an Aretha Franklin voice). I’ve seen this character have 2 concerns during the life of the show…getting a solo (fair, it is a show about singing and the girl can sing) and having the cafeteria bring back tater tots (WTF?). This translates into caricature, unflattering stereotypes about overweight people, and pretty much a dehumanization of a single character on a show that’s supposed to be about acceptance and self-expression.

So, I have to say that, for the most part, Glee falls under the Diversity approach, but with one glaring Diversify example that I sincerely hope they correct.

The Vampire Diaries (CW)*

I’ve watched this show for a few reasons. The first being that it’s the fledgling network’s most watched show…I like to stay up on trends. The second being I love twisty stories of the supernatural, and when it comes to the writing on this show, they knock it out of the park. The third, it’s set in Virginia (though it’s really shot in Georgia) and it’s kind of neat to see what Hollywood does with my home state (mostly, they get it wrong…but whatever). That being said, I hate myself for liking those aspects of this show because when it comes to Diversity grading, this show deserves an ‘F’…and I mean a huge gasoline soaked ‘F’ drawn in the dirt so large that when you strike a match and set it on fire, it’s visible from space. But, in light of the framework, I’ll just say it subscribes to the Diversify Approach.

Let me explain. First, the protagonist is the lovelorn Elena, stuck between 2 sexy vampires. All three are White (note: someone already pointed out that Nina Dobrev, the lead actress is of Bulgarian descent. True. So let me expound on what I mean by White…she looks White. If that’s not good enough, the US Census defines the White check box as being of European, Middle Eastern, or North African descent. Bulgaria is in Europe, moving on) . This is perfectly fine. I NEVER said any show SHOULD have Non White leads, it would just be cool if more did. Where the show goes heavy into the Diversify Approach is the depiction of All Non White characters. I believe there is only one Non White regular, the Bonnie character played by actress Kat Graham. A couple of things about this character…strictly speaking, Spike Lee might say she falls into the Super Duper Magical Negro category because she’s an all-powerful witch on the series. I’m willing to give her a pass on that part because almost everyone on the show has a supernatural ability. HOWEVER, her motivations (such as a WILLINGNESS TO DIE so the Elena character lives, doesn’t make a lot of sense, which sort of puts her back in the SDMN category). So, I’ll concede and call draw on her. However, EVERY TIME I’ve seen an African-American male with a speaking role or any kind of interaction with the main cast on the show, he’s DIED HORRIBLY. EVERY. TIME. The same can be said about the lone Asian Female I recall from the show’s 2 season run.

Counterpoint: It’s a show about murderous supernatural creatures. A lot of people die.

Counter-Counterpoint: This could be excused if the perpetual victims had representation on the survivorss side of things. As it stands, when you see someone from another race pop up on this show, don’t count on them becoming a new regular.

*As a whole, the CW is terrible when it comes to diversity in their 8-10 EST primetime schedule. If you take away America’s Next Top Model, which we shouldn’t count because it’s not a scripted show, I’m willing to bet that Non-White characters/actors are outnumbered by their White counterparts by margins as high as 5-1 (if not higher). HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE IN 2011? Particularly with a network that is targeted towards the young?

To Be Continued…

There’s something to start a discussion. Think about what I’ve written, and gauge your own reaction. Have you ever noticed any of this? If you have, did it bother you? Do you think I’m off base? Please respond. I’d love to hear different views on the matter.

When I broach this subject again, I plan to talk about the film industry. There are some very telling things there, too.

Until then, later gang. And Happy Mother’s Day to all who meet the criteria.

 

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Controversy, diversity, Racial

The Mockingbirds: A must read

When you’re an adult that enjoys YA a curious thing happens from time to time…you find that the reading is a bit like time traveling. Not so much in the time frames and settings that you read about, but in the emotions and memories. Quite often, I can read work by my peers and vividly recall the best and worst experiences of my high school days. I’m most attracted to books that lend to stronger recall. I want to read books about me.

Admittedly, I didn’t know if I’d get such an experience when I purchased The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney.

DISCLAIMER: Daisy is a friend. I will read and support her work no matter what. Not that she needed my help. The book had been building buzz for some time, and since its debut less than two months ago, has appeared on several ‘best of’ lists for 2010. The Mockingbirds did not require a charity read.

So I didn’t feel bad going into it with an I’ll-give-it-a-shot attitude. I know Daisy is good at what she does, and the whole “Secret Society doling out justice at a boarding school” angle sounded really cool. My apprehension came from the other part…

*(hardly a) Spoiler Alert*

…the date rape.

I never heard about that sort of thing when I was growing up. That didn’t happen where I was from. Was I going to get anything out of a book so far removed from what I knew about life as a teenager?

Silly, silly me.

Like I said, it’s all about the recall. The skilled writer can take a reader to a place of relevancy, a time when their experiences link to those of the character’s like adjoining puzzle pieces. And, I as I read about Alex, a girl who had too much to drink and was violated in the worst way, I recalled some things.

I recalled overheard conversations in the boys locker room that I wouldn’t repeat in polite company. I recalled once vibrant girls disappearing from the social landscape as if they never were. I recalled the meanness, the taking sides, the believing things that were wrong were really right because such notions were simply cooler.

I recalled that in my high school there was no real justice. Just endurance. A secret society of do-gooders would’ve been welcome.

The Mockingbirds is as good as (and possibly more important than) the hot dystopian thriller, or cute girly-girl dramedy. If this book can make me–a guy 15 years removed from his last day in a high school hallway–recall the hidden atrocities children endure, what can it do for those still in the midst of class changes and cafeteria drama?

Buy this book if you’re a teen. If you’re not a teen, buy 2 copies. One for yourself, and one for a teen you know.

Books like this have the ability to transcend from the “great story” category to “modern day parable”. They teach. And, once something is learned, it can’t be unlearned. The lesson here: Silence isn’t golden.

I wish I could recall learning it then instead of now.

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Review

First, Kindle. Next, Robot Maids

It finally arrived. My new Kindle was dropped off by my UPS guy bright and early this morning, and now that I’m off the day job, I’m able to play with my new toy for a bit. So, short post today.

There’s been so much talk about how e-books and e-readers are changing the world of publishing. Detractors of the e-book say the e-sale numbers are exaggerated. Detractors for print say paper books are already dinosaurs akin to the 8-track.

My verdict: They all make good points.

I can’t speak for THE MARKET, as that’s a job for economists, and analysts, and guys who didn’t choose their college major based on what required the least math classes (hey, sue me). I will say this, the Kindle sure makes things convenient, and I can certainly see opting for an electronic version of books I’m on the fence about. But, I will still purchase hardcovers (as long as they’re available) from my favorite authors.

That’s the thing, though…why go through the extra trouble of driving to the bookstore, using my legs to walk into the store, and paying twice the (ebook) price for a book? Aside from the fact that moving and leaving the house help me not to become a diabetic hermit, the ancient way of buying a book could very well become a collector’s novelty, like the search for classic vinyl records.

And if it does?

Some folks will bitch and moan and tell stories like, “When I was your age we read our books on dead trees…”

But the world will keep spinning and our cars will keep flying (wait…that hasn’t happened yet…I have to stop revealing the secrets I learn during my time travel adventures with my eccentric scientist friend).

Anyway, you get my point. Life will go on.

At least until the Robot Maid Revolt of 2087…

Anyone got any hot Kindle recommendations for me? If so, leave ’em in the comments. Later…

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The Difference: Writing Stuff vs Writing-Part 2

True story: An Accomplished Writer who has sold and published nearly a dozen novels attends a conference. While having a drink, a New Writer takes the bar stool next to her and strikes up a conversation. They chat about the industry, how the conference has been, what they’ve read lately. Finally, they get to the subject of self-promotion.

The Accomplished Writer is impressed with the New Writer’s use of social networking, web radio, conference hopping and mail campaigns to promote their project. The Newbie is way ahead of where the Accomplished Writer was at a similar point in her career. The New Writer even has a fancy t-shirt featuring their new book’s cover.

Totally willing to support this New Writer, the accomplished writer asks, “Do you have any copies of your book on you? I’d like to buy one.”

To which the New Writer responds, “Oh, I haven’t written it yet.”

Don’t be THAT guy…

In my previous post we talked a bit about “Writing Stuff”, or the activities that writers engage in to reach more people. It involves everything that relates to your writing but isn’t your writing. Now, I want to talk about the writing itself.

Believe it or not, your craft should be your top priority, though it’s easy to see how it can fall into the 2, 3, or 4 spot behind all the other stuff that’s a part of the 21st Century Writer’s life. Put it in perspective, let’s say you’re a great marketer. You Tweet like nobody’s business. You’ve got 5,000 friends on Facebook. Everyone who knows you knows your book is coming. They’re excited. Then, they get the book…

…and it sucks.

Or, it’s never finished.

Or, it’s never even started (though having t-shirts printed does show initiative).

Never forget that writers write. No matter what.

Writing is Writing

Not having enough time is NOT an excuse.

I’ve often heard that writers should write everyday. I guess that’s a good thing, but it’s not something I’ve been able to stick to. I do write at least 5 out of every 7 days, and I focus on one project until it’s completed (unless someone pays me to do something else).

This is one of those areas where you have to keep the schedule that works for you. My schedule works for me (I’ve sold work, have a great agent, one of my novels is going on submission in 2 weeks) and I’m still able to hit the gym. However it breaks down, you have time to write. You may currently call it Desperate Housewives time, or Madden 2010 time, but you can easily re-allocate that time to your writing.

If you’re not willing to manage your time in a way that incorporates your writing, you don’t really want the job.

Oh, and just to clarify, writing means putting new words on the page. AdviceToWriters.Com has an interesting quote from E.L. Doctorow that sums it up nicely, “Planning to write is not writing. Outlining, researching, talking to people about what you’re doing, none of that is writing. Writing is writing.”

Quality Control

Steven Barnes says, “Perfectionism Is Procrastination Masquerading As Quality Control”

That means you can’t revise forever. Yes, writing means re-writing. And if you’re just writing for yourself with no further aspirations, feel free to tweak and tinker to your heart’s content. But if you’re serious and want the job, here’s where I give you a hard and fast rule to follow.

1 Draft -> 1 Revision -> Get quality feedback from someone (other than yourself) -> repeat as necessary

If you know anything about Quality Control, then you know the QC Evaluation is never conducted by the product’s creator. There’s only so much you can do given the emotional investment you have in your manuscript. And stalling the revision is just a way to avoid taking your lumps.

Guess what, after all that solo revising, it’s still going to suck.

Boom! We just got that out of the way, so there’s no need to be scared. It can’t get worse than that. Just know every time you get some new, crucial piece of feedback your manuscript will suck less and less until it’s just unsucky enough to get you where you want to go.

It can’t do anything for you sitting on your hard drive while you swap out commas.

On to the Next One

Congrats!! You’ve completed your project. You’ve done what writers do despite the Writing Stuff and everything else life throws in your way.

Now do it again.

There’s nothing wrong with getting your queries and proposals together. If you get a few rejections then go back, tweak some things and try again (that’s what landed me my agent).

Keep writing, keep putting new words on the page. Sound daunting? Think about this, if you get the job you say you want, you’re going to have to come up with new stuff all the time. Might as well get some practice in now.

And when you’re doing all that Writing Stuff, you’ll have plenty to talk about…

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