Writing for Boys

Remember last Friday's post on boys falling behind in reading? Author Max Elliot Anderson responded to my request for info on what and how to write for boys. He prepares:

chapter action-adventure and mystery books, for readers 8 - 13, that I would have liked as a child. My books are highly visual, with lots of humor, dialog, and plenty of heart-pounding action....my books are larger than most, the paper is bright white, and the type is larger. Sentences and paragraphs are short, the books contain a lot of dialog and humor, along with heart-pounding action and adventure, and a lot of dialog. Most chapters end in a cliffhanger.

See additional information on Anderson's books with nearly 50 pages of reviews and his Books for Boys blog. A photo, bio and bibliography of Anderson's publications are on Amazon.

Listen to this article

How to Cripple a Book

Some of my books are crippled, disabled, handicapped. Oh, sorry. I mean challenged. Others are outright banned--cut out of library circulation and/or schools. I'm so proud of my little defectives!

Banned Books Week 2010 will occur September 25 through October 2. I mention it now, because I doubt this blog will be active at that time. BBW will focus attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States. It highlights the benefits of free and open access to information--the foundation of writers everywhere, all times. (Challenges are failed attempts to ban).

See the latest list. Can you believe Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird still meets challenges - last time it was because someone thought that reading it might upset black children. Well, I should hope so. It certainly upsets me!

Listen to this article

Book Review of UNFORGIVABLE

Just noticed my review of Philippe Djian's Unforgivable is an editor's pick today on the Books page at Blogcritics.org. The review itself begins there, but the whole article starts here.  This was one of those smallish books I didn't know was going to arrive. That always irritates me, and inevitably I cannot resist peeking inside.


I must admit that European literature seldom satisfies due to the usual lack of a happy ending (which many American readers expect) and the authors' penchant for leaving loose ends dangling all over the place.  Well, what happens to the writer, Francis?  What was Jeremie going to do with the gun? And will Judith (Francis' second wife) simply carry on in her down-to-earth practical manner? Saaay ... this sounds like a good book for a book club to discuss.

Any book mentioned may have been a gift from the publisher.

Listen to this article

Novels

Creative writers need help at many points in their pursuit of success. Mainly it is a chase to get a novel published. These are some of the most helpful online resources I've retained in the drafts file for this blog. The first contains a common grammar error in its title--using the wrong word that sounds like the right one (expedite). Don't let that put you off.

Hard-Won Lessons from Artists to Expediate the Learning Curve is by Suzanne Falter-Barnes, who writes about overcoming the fears that impede creativity.  Equating writing to creating art seems quite reasonable to me. In this fairly short article for creativity coaches, she provides seven insights to the "real nitty gritty" of the creative process and persisting to completion.

While you are writing your masterpiece, undoubtedly you'll encounter specific problems.  Chances are that Australian writer/editor Marg McAlister has it covered in the Writing4Success Tipsheet Archives. I've received her newsletter for years and learned much about creative writing from it. She has also operated a private writers' club online, but in her recent newsletter (No 173), says she will open "up most of the content to everyone as a free site." She also wrote:

Opening the site to all writers is in the nature of an experiment. Since I have limited time to administer the site, I won't be adding 5-6 new articles each week as I did last year. However, I WILL welcome well-written articles from writers in all genres. If you would like to share some of your expertise, send your article to me at tipsheet.article@gmail.com for consideration.

Once you master your masterpiece, you will benefit from The Blog of Fantasy Author Paul Genesse: How do I get published? I have pointed out this piece in the past (it's three years old) and I think the advice Paul provides is still invaluable for any "real, serious writer" who intends to have a book published in the traditional manner.

Going for the gold standard may appear an Olympian feat these days, but honestly, I don't think it is truly any different from the past.  The best way to find an agent is still by referral.  The best way to have your manuscript submitted to an acquisitions editor is still by an agent talking the editors into taking a look at it.  And if you are aiming for publishers who consider unagented mss, personal contact is still holds the best chance for this to take place.

You may not yet be an Author, but you certainly are a Writer and deserve the best--the best advice, the best help, and the best publishing.

Listen to this article

More Blog to Book

Alarming trends are evolving in the digital writing world. Major publishers are using more Demand Media material.

The "Blog to Book" phenom raises it's tempting head once more, as chronicled by Iris Blasi in The New Farm System: From Blog to Book | Digital Book World. "What about getting a book deal from a blog?" Here's a summary by the Union Square Press editor:

1. Consider your category. The web is a goldmine for humor writers in particular. “If you’re funny and your voice is unique, people will come to it,” said Mulligan.

2. Pay heed to tradition even in a digital environment. The best way to catch the attention of an agent or editor? “A good, old-fashioned, well-written query,” said Lee. “There’s really no substitute for that.”

3. Think ahead. In standard publishing contracts, the burden of obtaining permissions for reprinted material falls on the author. For sites dependent upon reader submissions, do yourself a favor and have readers surrender rights to their content prior to posting, as TextsfromLastNight.com smartly does at sign-up.

4. Don’t show all your cards. Added value is essential to publishers, as they don’t want to reproduce what is already available for free online. Be mindful from the outset about holding back some add-ons that might work best for the book.

5. Show you can drive traffic. If a blog launches in the forest, does it make a sound? Great content will only get you halfway. Focus on links from other websites, as they act as a kind of endorsement and quality control, demonstrating your proven ability to promote.

Easy peasy, huh?

Listen to this article

Roundup of Book Info

Dealing with potential loss of MyBlogLog and Blogger use: a roundup of links to current book matters.  Actually, I'm trying to clear out my "Draft" posts list. Aaargh! Another loss: the ability to "Send to" my blogging account any web page or snippet from one and save it as a Draft post!

As I was saying, I scarcely have time to blog for dealing with issues surrounding blogging! Here are some of the golden eggs I was sitting on, hoping to hatch nice posts:

*  If you are thinking about writing a book, Folio Literary Agency offers a great guide to getting published, written by Jeff Kleinman.

*  If you want to research trends in new books published, by subject, check out Bowker's IndustryStats2009.pdf. Worth noting is the last entry, "OnDemand, Short Run,and Other Unclassified" (read: self-published) with a substantial rise for the last three years reported (2002-2008).

*  When your book is published, the next big hurdle is marketing. Seth Godin tells how in Seth Godin, "10 Bestsellers: Using New Media, New Marketing, and New Thinking to Create 10 Bestselling Books video of his presentation at the O'Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing Conference.

*  If you are thinking about an e-book, you might want to review Why (and How) Apple Killed the $9.99 Ebook: "The print industry is swirling down the toilet, and apocalypse-era publishers minds' dance with hallucinations of digital salvation via iTunes for print. It's the iPod for books. What Amazon was supposed to deliver, but now maybe never will."

*  And finally, a topic so complicated that I have never tackled it here--the Google Lawsuit and Settlement. The latest I've read from Publishers Weekly:  Justice Department Says It Still Has Problems with Revised Google Settlement. The beat goes on.

If you would like to follow-up any of these leads and write up a summary, you can have a guest post spot here.

Listen to this article

The Book Haven Blog

Cynthia Haven launched "The Book Haven" a blog all about the written word last November. She's a humanities writer at Stanford University.

Every year, books pour out of Stanford University by the scores, if not by the hundreds. From biography to poetry, science and public affairs, it is a river of the written word. Yet as newspapers cut back their pages, column inches devoted to books and the literary life are the first to go – in recent years, book sections have been the canary in the mainstream media's mine.

"Given the reduced coverage on books and book news nationwide, it's only logical that book lovers change the way we cover books and book events," Haven said. She is widely published on literary topics and has written for the Times Literary Supplement, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times Book Review and others. She has a forthcoming book on Nobel Prize-winning Polish poet Czesław Miłosz.

The blog will continue to cover books, readings, lectures, book events, publishing news, library events, literacy studies – anything to do with the written word. Sort of like A Writer's Edge has done for the last 5+ years.

Listen to this article

Amazon Drops Macmillan

Another shot fired in the eBook price war! Amazon drops Macmillan's listings. The Bits Blog of NYTimes.com Technology section rounds up rumors over why Amazon Pulls Macmillan Books Over E-Book Price Disagreement.

In the short, Brad Stone wrote, "Macmillan, like other publishers, has asked Amazon to raise the price of electronic books from $9.99 to around $15." And Macmillan is one of the publishers signed up to provide iBooks for Apple's new iPad, at prices not limited to Amazon's top of $9.99 (remember my post on "Ten Buck Books"?).

I guess this answers a couple of the questions raised in Wednesday's discussion about eBooks (okay, so Apple will call them iBooks) and Amazon's response is to drop Macmillan's book stock.

More questions:  Will Amazon follow suit with the other iBook publishers? Is this related only to the Ten Buck Book war? What effects will it have on self-publishers, both independents and for the Kindle? "The Ultimate Cheapskate," Jeff Yeager, pictured right, provides one traditionally published author's response.

Listen to this article

Platform for Publishing

PLATFORM is currently one of the most confusing words in publishing. It's like POD. Both words refer to two different but related dimensions. The two dimensions of platform are (1) processes for copying and distributing information (electronic and paper media and networks) and (2) extras an author brings to enhance publishing potential. It is this second meaning that so confounds the usually unpublished writers, especially those writing fiction. Rightly so, because it is much easier for a nonfiction writer to enter publishing with a sturdy platform already in place (whether the writer knows it or not).

Try thinking of platform this way: it is all the book buying groups with which you are already connected that are interested in what you have to offer. Notice I did not say "potential" groups. It is the network that exists before you publish, built and cultivated by who you are and/or what you do (not writing a book, but the book must be closely related to this topic you all have in common).

This is why the romance writer who tells a potential agent, "And I belong to the National Association of Ding-Dong Lovers," isn't going to score any points under the "Has Platform" category.

However, the expert in any subject, one who speaks at conferences, holds an office in the top related organizations, writes articles for professional journals and/or popular consumer publications, appears on television and NPR, gets calls from journalists when that subject is newsworthy -- this is the person with a platform.

O.K. that is the extreme, but who is to say when you become an expert? Fake it 'til you make it. Yes, this seems daunting for the fiction writer, and J.D. Salinger, who died yesterday, was no poster-boy for novelists with a platform.

However, also recently deceased John Updike is a good example. He began social networking early in life, even before his career began. He moved in the circles of people who were interested in the topics he wrote about. He participated in American life through church, politics and memberships in organizations.

Listen to this article

E-Book Sales X3=iPad?

From all morning long while monitoring Apple's announcement:

I'd hoped to have leaking news of Apple's announcement for this post, but found none credible. First, I refer you to Richard Curtis' E-Reads news that November 09 E-Book Sales Triple Over 09. This seems a remarkable growth pace, even if e-book sales are only 5% of total book sales.

* FLASH: It's called iPad and sounds like a souped-up media-oriented "smart phone." But does it have telephony capability, too? Sounds like Apple's view is that no one talks to anyone anymore. We'll all text. I want a netbook phone! And what about e-books. Or i-books, if you please?

According to a PublishersMarketPlace story reported by Mike Shatzkin the other day, Apple’s disruption of the ebook market has nothing to do with the tablet (iPad). PMP's Calder said that Apple is forcing the book publishing industry to move to an "agency" model for e-book sales. It is quite complex, and PMP is a subscription service, so no link.  Shatzkin's story is long and worth readiing even though he admits it provokes even more questions. He explains:

The “agency” model is based on the idea that the publisher is selling to the consumer and, therefore, setting the price, and any “agent”, which would usually be a retailer but wouldn’t have to be, that creates that sale would get a “commission” from the publisher for doing so. Since Apple’s normal “take” at the App Store is 30% and discounts from publishers have normally been 50% off the established retail price, publishers can claw back margin even if they don’t get Apple to concede anything from the 30%.

From Twitter, I said, "Oy! #iPad *IS* a phone.  Oh, I am maybe hooked. Just blogging "I want a netbook phone" has been my plea for years. Well, laptop with phone." And now from Engadget streaming report by Joshua Topolsky:

Showing reading book on the iPad. Called iBooks. Displays virtual book shelf, with new iBook store, fully integrated with iBook app. Can discover books, best seller lists. 5 publishers support at start. Penguin, Harper Collins, others. Easy to download books. Flip through books with finger. Can include video, color, black and white photos. Can change font size of the font. Also will be targeting textbooks.

Calder had said that Apple was in discussion with Big Six (Random House, HarperCollins, Hachette Book Group, Simon & Schuster, Penguin, and Macmillan.) I keep wondering what effect, if any, this will have on Amazon's recently-announced 70% commission for Kindle publication sales? (It remains 30% until June.) Or If this agency model propelled Amazon into upping the royalties?

Listen to this article

Mini- Review: Write Starts

I am such a sucker for little books!  Hal Bennett's Write Starts did not sound so interesting in the PR blurb.  However, the email came from the publisher's publicity director, and she bothered to fulfill the requests I laid out for contacts: address me by name; include book stats. It was clear the review request came from a traditional publisher (third parameter), New World Library.

The author's name rang no bell, but many of us who toil in nonfiction fields garner no recognitions at all.  The facts that Zinna has over 25 years as a writing coach, workshop facilitator, developmental editor, and is the author of more than thirty books suggested this "slim volume" on jumpstarting your creativity might hold value.
It is so much more than the subtitle promises.  Reading the thoughts of a seasoned writer was such a joy, nay, a comfort.  I saw my advice echoed on printed pages and found nothing that contradicts my experiences, freely shared.

Book provided by publisher on request.
Copyright © 2010 Georganna Hancock

Listen to this article

Amazon Ups Royalties

Have I a functioning crystal ball? Nah, just blind, dumb luck. Since I joined Amazon to publish material for the Kindle reader, the company is popping out upgrades and new advantages right and left. As soon as a question rises in a Twitter chat, I find Amazon's DTP (publishing program) evolving to address the issue. For example, last week we were kicking around how English residents could use the service. They were stymied by Amazon's requirement for a U.S. bank account and SSN, TIN or EID (for the IRS and Social Security).

On January 15, Amazon announced: Amazon Expands Kindle Digital Text Platform to Enable Authors and Publishers Worldwide to Publish English, German, and French Language Books in the Kindle Store. That is the unwieldy title for a news release that tells my overseas Internet friends they can begin using the service.

Five days later, Amazon probably pre-empted other media producers by announcing a new 70% royalty option for DTP authors and publishers. This begins on June 30, as yet only for U.S. accounts. To qualify for the 70% royalty option, books must satisfy the following set of requirements:

* The author or publisher-supplied list price must be between $2.99 and $9.99
* This list price must be at least 20 percent below the lowest physical list price for the physical book
* The title is made available for sale in all geographies for which the author or publisher has rights
* The title will be included in a broad set of features in the Kindle Store, such as text-to-speech. This list of features will grow over time as Amazon continues to add more functionality to Kindle and the Kindle Store.
* Under this royalty option, books must be offered at or below price parity with competition, including physical book prices. Amazon will provide tools to automate that process, and the 70% royalty will be calculated from the sales price.

A final warning: the 70% royalty option is for in-copyright works and is unavailable for works published before 1923 (a.k.a. public domain books). They need to tack on that kibosh because so many of the get-rich-quick, looking-for-shortcuts, tell-me-the secret writers think they can republish titles now in public domain and make a fast buck, or $.99 anyway.

As with DRM, which I wrote about the other day, I have not read all the nuances of the DTP royalty program.  I may find that it does not apply to my articles. Still, I know many readers are intensely interested in adding their books to this format and venue.

Listen to this article

"Pull" Review on BC

Early yesterday @ghauptf published my review of Pull @bcarticles (http://bit.ly/6kGI2y) after @popgadabout questioned a verb and I changed it. Editors make writers better!

Translation for the non-Twitterati: Early yesterday Gordon Hauptfleisch published my review of Pull: The Power of the Semantic Web to Transform Your Business on BlogCritics after another editor, Bill Sherman ... well, the rest was understandable, I hope. This is the "real review" as opposed to my enthusiastic recent blurb. What's the difference, some may ask. What I wrote here in A Writer's Edge was a very personal reaction to what I was reading.  The review is a more formal and, I hope, fair assessment of the book after I finished reading it.

Possibly it was also a success at avoiding the word "I."  If you find one, let me know in a comment here, and I'll send you my extra copy of the novel Girl Mary.

Writing the "blurb" was quick and easy.  It was all opinion and personal essay.  Writing the review took three hours of hard work, and it still doesn't please me.  On the other hand, when I checked something on the author's website, a sentence from my blurb (with attribution) appeared at the top of a page.  At first I didn't recognize the words.  When I realized they were mine, I thought, "Damn, I'm good!"

Non sequitur:  another notion occurred as I was writing the review: a potential use for my Google Wave account. I also mentioned using Wave in the post about blogs as communities. What I have in mind is a little research project to collect anecdotes about a particular aspect of writing.  Stay tuned!

Listen to this article

Mini-Review of PULL

Years ago but right before the Web was woven, I had a vision. I'd been meditating on solutions to the problems of homeless people here. I knew the resources existed to help them, but help was often inaccessible for those who need it the most. It was and still is uncoordinated. Thinking about what little of the Internet I knew, I saw these discrete services circling the homeless, electronically interconnected so that from one dumb terminal or a fantastic PC, someone could customize a help plan for each person in need, providing the requisite paperwork, vouchers for transportation included.

"Why do charities have to duplicate efforts and waste so much money?" I complained to the only group that would (pre-blogs) allow me to publish my rambling rants, the local Mensans. Without leadership, sadly, any ad hoc collection of geniuses produces more hot air than hot action.

David Siegel has shown how this type of "cloud" computing is being realized to pull in the resources needed by a client-centered plan. In Pull: The Power of the Semantic Web to Transform Your Business, Siegel explains in very approachable terms how businesses like the book industry are struggling to not only shift paradigms but transform themselves into more efficient and effective business models.

This is exciting/scary stuff! It is a clarion call for the transparency I've advocated for several years. I hate screen names and avatars as identifiers for people. Be who you are wherever you are, I've been saying. Soon it will become inevitable reality. What effect, I wonder, will it have on white collar crime that relies on computers to game any system, when the entire system becomes standardized? Only those intent of committing felonies have anything to fear from, say, RFIDs embedded in all products, pets, people.

Siegel predicts the end of dead-end jobs like cashiering at the local supermarket and predicts that large main libraries (like the one being shoved down San Diegan's throats while the homeless freeze on the sidewalk in front of the old one) will cease to exist in a few decades. At last! I cheer. Someone else who sees that libraries are for information, not physical books, which are all becoming digital anyway. He says:

Small branch libraries are the libraries of the future. They will provide a good place to sit quietly and research online , a place for kids to learn, and meeting spaces for learning-related events. They will have minimal staff and probably won't be open all day. [This is happening already with a fiscal crisis demanding cutbacks.] There may not be very many, schools will do just as well. Our monstrous downtown libraries with their stacks of books and huge staffs won't make it to the middle of the century.

I haven't finished reading the book yet, but the chapter on "Pulling Books" alone is worth the price. It provides a clear depictions of how the industry operates, which any author needs to understand. It will be available in the next couple of weeks in hardcover and for the Kindle. Pre-order at Amazon by clicking on the image at the right.

Any products reviewed on this site may have been gifts of their producers.

Listen to this article

Free Book with Gift

Buy an AWE gift certificate and receive a free holiday book. This novel is perfect for the season. Popescue's Girl Mary depicts how a maid from a wandering Hebrew tribe encountered God and married her true love, Joseph. The description of the holy land, especially mountain scenes, may jar traditional views of the setting for the Christmas story. Depiction of daily life for the people of that time is interesting to learn, and the intrusion of Roman politics may shock your view of Christian history.

To qualify for the free book, give yourself or writerly friends gifts of editorial services. You can design them with me. Here are some ideas: an hour (or less) of publishing consultation, any type of editing or a manuscript evaluation. How about a combination package for your loved one's first novel? Advice and services for self-publishing are also possibilities. Email me for details and arrangements or call 858-571-5390 for faster service. A certificate can be sent overnight and redeemed by email.

Listen to this article

Book of Tweets

Apparently TweetBookz aren't as popular as expected. The price has dropped from the announced $30 hardbound and $20 softcover to $25.50 and $17 according to the site's FAQ. To be fair, the home page says it's a "sale" until January 1, 2010.

I was disappointed to find little customization available, and the quantity is limited to the last 200 messages. I was hoping to be able to concoct "The Best of GLHancock's Tweets" or something like that. Panning through an entire RSS feed for nuggets of wisdom is daunting, to say the least. There must be a better way to search your own material, like with a feed reader and Word or Excel? There must be an app for that!

Listen to this article

The eBook Matrix

Enter the ebook matrix, a multi-dimensional space-time where format meets device, designed and updated by David McClintock, who sees himself as a word economist and sometimes writes in the third person. He overcame that to say in E-book Matrix in Progress | The Wordsupply Writers' Network:

I posted a rough matrix of e-book formats and devices, hoping folks will help me build it.

I also want to keep track of which e-book retailers sell which formats – and to help visualize which platforms are most versatile. A format war will surely heat up in the next few years.

See the chart online and help fill in the matrix with offerings to david@wordsupply.com

Listen to this article

DailyLit Now All Free

Easy reading: bites of books in your email or RSS. And now it is all free, according to the DailyLit Blog's DailyLit Announces Move to All Free:

With the support of our sponsors, we’ll do our best to continue to present series of the highest quality and will strive to continue to earn the reputation we’ve recently received as the #1 Book Website (as selected by The Sunday Times).

The service offers over 1000 classic and contemporary books that you can read in 5-minute installments on any device that receives email or RSS. DailyLit began in May 2007.

Listen to this article

Zero Cost eBooks

Electronic books seem to have negligible value? According to a writer at Kindle Review, part of ireaderreview.com, the Value Perception of eBooks is going to zero :

eBooks are going to Zero, it’s happening NOW, and it’s INEVITABLE

44 of the Top 50 Kindle Bestsellers are at $0.

The Kindle Store was the best unpolluted channel for ebooks and now it’s dying out.

When people see 44 of the top 50 ebooks free -

* They are reluctant to pay $10 for ebooks.
* They choose free first and read more free than paid books.
* The value perception of ebooks goes downhill.

They think authors who want $5 or more for an ebook are greedy.

I'm not so sure authors are all the problem in Amazon's Kindle Store. Recently I found three of my reviews on sale as digital books for $9.99 (each!). Also, I counted 15 of the top 50 Kindle books with prices. Consider J. A. Konrath's arguments for eBook self-publishing being more remunerative for authors than traditional print publishing. His most notable rant at Newbie's Guide to Publishing runs his own numbers.

Don't forget, you must have a $260-$490 electronic device and a subscription in order to read these zero-cost books. Or my ten-buck book reviews.

Listen to this article

Trash Proof News Releases

Save your news release from immediate deposit in the circular file. Most of them drop directly from hand to can, you know. Some publications run them as is, some rewrite, but they are inundated with releases and use only a few.

Want to be sure yours is read by the publication's audience? Paul J. Krupin of Direct Contact PR is testing an offer of a *FREE* copy of the ebook version of his Trash Proof News Releases, available from Smashwords. He says, "The book contains 200 plus pages of strategies, tactics, psychology, and sample news releases and can help people do the right thing better than anything else I've seen in the marketplace to date." Get 'em while they're hot!

And if it's so valuable, why would the king of PR give away his secrets? Because, he explains:

My business model doesn't rely specifically on publishing income. But I will be using my writing as a calling card to drive multiple streams of income.

Now this may not fit for those who simply derive income from published works. But I highly recommend this approach to those who can do it diversify their intellectual property, their skills, abilities and knowledge and contract or package their knowledge in other small bite size service deliverable that people will buy whether it be by the page, by the hour, by the day or whatever.

Here today I offer you a two-fer: a free ebook to help you market whatever and insight into the meaning of "platform" and how self-publishing non-fiction books can work for you.

DISCLAIMER FOR THE FTC: I didn't get anything for publishing this post, and it should not be construed or used as a testimonial. I downloaded, but I did not read...yet.

Listen to this article

Selling Books on Amazon

I had the strangest Amazon.com experience last week. But first, as they say on TV, a little background. I occasionally offer Amazon books for sale in this blog. I also sell books through the Amazon Seller program--anyone can do it. Some of the books I've listed are first editions with inscriptions and autographs by the authors. These are categorized as "Collectible." Presumably the author's literal scribblings add value to the literary ones.

On November 10, Amazon sent me a notice which included:

Beginning Monday, November 16, 2009, we will remove "Collectible" book offers that have not been listed by sellers approved in the category. Once listings are removed, only collectible offers from approved sellers will be available for purchase in the Amazon.com Books store.

I thought I was already approved because I've sold in that category for a few years. I also have a hazy memory of filling out a form about it. To be safe, however, I jumped through the Amazon hoops again, and Amazon acknowledged my application. All this on the same day.

Three days later, I received a rejection notice which included the phrase "we are only qualifying sellers to list collectible books that we judge to be experienced, professional collectible booksellers." It also mentioned considering feedback and ratings and performance. I fired back a message pointing out that at no time were we ordinary sellers required to be professional collectible booksellers and cited my excellent scores on all their scales. I refrained from mentioning the lousy grammar.

The same afternoon brought an apologetic message that began with the first identification of who sent it:

Greetings from the Amazon.com Collectible Books team.

The denial message you received earlier today regarding your application to list Collectible books was sent in error. We apologize for this error on our part and regret any concern it caused you. We have reviewed your account again and want to confirm that the information below correctly represents the decision of our category management team.

Absolutely nothing about books is easy. From writing to getting rid of them, it's agony.

Listen to this article

THE HINDUS Book Review

Guilt urged me to review The Hindus: An Alternative History. I've been reading it for months, absorbing the rich, comprehensive description of the world's oldest major religion. You can read my "official" reactions on BlogCritics; it's the first such composition in which I managed to avoid using "I, me or my." This post is a more personal view of the experience of reading Wendy Doniger's opus. Her work clears up my decades-long confusion about Hinduism as a religion--it's been like the blind fondling an elephant. Every time I approached it, I encountered a different set of stimuli. No wonder! Hinduism, I now understand, is a complex mix of influences, some antithetical, but as a whole, tolerant of it's various practices.

Another benefit of Doniger's book is a correlation of world events through time. I have a much better sense of where and when Christianity and Islam developed and how they influenced the Indian cultures. I'd read Bulfinch's MYTHOLOGY since childhood, but now I see how Greek and Roman thinking fits into a more comprehensive understanding of human history. It is as if I had a set of alphabet blocks scattered about my brain, and Doniger arranged them to spell something recognizable.

I've revealed here how much I squandered my opportunities for a classic education at Northwestern University in the 1960s. It's taken me until MY 60s to self-educate a grasp of world history, human development and religious philosophy. Reading The Hindus felt like dropping in the keystone to my wobbly arch of understanding. Thank you, Dr. Doniger, especially for your very approachable writing style that kept me chuckling as well as intellectually stimulated and, of course, challenged. My readers know I'm a great fan of references and back matter--yours is the best!

The Penguin Press was kind enough to send a copy of the book last spring at my request. I appreciate the gift.

Listen to this article

APA Manual Reprinted

The Education Services News blog has a good roundup on the APA6 debacle. Apparently when the American Psychological Association printed the newest edition of its Publication Manual, no one proofread it. Ever. This is only the style guide used in most all social science disciplines. After great brouhaha, including a Facebook page campaign, the APA has agreed to reprint the manual, presumably with the typos and foofaws corrected, and send them to those who purchased flawed versions.

I've held off buying one because I finally found software that will apply the APA6 format to any document, including the dissertation I will be editing shortly soon some day. Maybe this year.

Act quickly, though, if you bought the first version. See the information in the APA PM blog. If you need a replacement, the offer will be available only until December 15.

Now I'm wondering, what will they do with all the unsold flawed copies already printed?

Listen to this article

Books for Treats

How about giving books for treats tonight?
This is obviously NOT silly Saturday at Casa Hancock.

Listen to this article

New Books Roundup

Time to catch up on my TBR pile. Catch up on mentioning them, that is. I can't review them until I read them, right? Well, maybe not fully in the case of Scott Donaldson's Fitzgerald & Hemingway: Works and Days. It is a scholarly compilation of the award-winning biographer's essays on both authors, probably less appealing to aficionados of either writer, I suspect. As the front flap blurb indicates, Donaldson has a "deep commitment to close reading." Think intricate details of each author's life traced to lines in a specific novel; positing similarities in lives to influences on works. It is an interesting glimpse into being a literary expert.

A similar academic-type of exegesis is Francine Prose's latest, Anne Frank: The Book, The Life, The Afterlife. A top novelist, Prose may be better known to us for her New York Times bestseller, Reading Like a Writer. This new nonfiction offering opens eyes to view Frank's little book as something more and other than just a girl's diary. For instance, did you know Frank's work is published in three different versions? Not languages (dozens of those), but editions with differing material. This happened partly because Frank was of a tender age, training herself to write and rewrite her experiences as a novel. Prose proposes that Frank was already an author before her short life ended too soon.

I've been advised to hold off reading Decoding The Lost Symbol: The Unauthorized Expert Guide to the Facts Behind the Fiction until I see Dan Brown's latest semiotic chase scenes. Simon Cox must have had a preview in order to write his guide. He also wrote Cracking the DaVinci Code and Illuminating Angels & Demons. Maybe I won't wait, though. Subjecting myself to the DaVinci book was torture enough. What could it hurt to cut to the solution?

If I make a mistake, I'll turn to Zig Ziglar and Julie Norman's Embrace the Struggle: Living Life on Life's Terms. In this slim volume, the current pope of positive thinking and his daughter build on a traumatic event in Ziglar's life to convince others with similar struggles that life is still worth living, even if it's on life's terms. I probably need to read this one closely and edit that last.

Finally (until the UPS guy comes this afternoon) is The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Business Books by Bert Holtje. I couldn't resist peeking inside. I'm thinking it will have application to writing any nonfiction book. It begins with testing your idea and appears to be a comprehensive guide through all publishing stages, ending with publicizing the finished product. I am especially impressed that Holtje stresses working with a freelance editor even if your book will be published traditionally.

These new releases are gifts from their various publishers.

Listen to this article

Jack Rabbit Moon

Texas author Dorraine Darden must be the most patient author around. Surely she is thinking that I am the slowest reviewer she's encountered. Thus, I am happy to announce my review of her debut novel, Jack Rabbit Moon, appears at BlogCritics, and a blurb will be in next month's Midwest Book Review, usually available on the first of the month. This is an outstanding debut novel and one I highly recommend to everyone. Last month I interviewed Dorraine both here, here (post and comments) and on BlogCritics. She is a real, serious writer, hard at work on her second novel. Trailer.

Listen to this article

MBR Self-Publishing Help

Thinking about self-publishing? Here's a list of books on the venerable Midwest Book Review website to help you get started:

MBR: The Publisher's Bookshelf A-L and M-Z

In his monthly newsletter, Editor Emeritus, Jim Cox, usually reviews these types of books and others to help writers and publishers in general. Another informational page on the site is Advice for Writers & Publishers, articles by various professionals.

Ordinarily I'd be telling you where to find "Georganna's Bookshelf" for October 2009, but I was tardy sending in my reviews last month. A gentle tap on the noggin by Jim informed me that I once again have a deadline: the 25th of the preceding month.

I did not know this.

November's page will be awesome!

Listen to this article

FTC & Book Reviews

The new FTC guidelines about disclosure of any relationship between the subject and the writer of a "testimonial" will handicap online book reviewers unnecessarily. If the relationship includes any transfer of something "of value" from the subject to the writer, the FTC is suggesting (albeit strongly) that the writer reveal such a relationship in or with the testimonial. Further, if the subject uses that testimonial in advertising, the disclaimer must also appear.

A book is certainly of value in and of itself. It is a material object worth at least the cost to manufacture. The recipient could possibly sell it at least as waste paper (difficult, but possible).

Because the FTC did NOT exempt people who mention books in their blogs or people who write book reviews in any media, the guidelines apply to them too. At least, if the FTC considers any mention of a book that is or will be for sale as a testimonial. It does not define "testimonial" either.

This situation is quite similar to Google reducing the Page Rank of many innocent bloggers a couple of years ago in an effort to punish the Pay Per Post bloggers. Some blogs (A Writer's Edge included) never recovered from that reduction. I do not relish the thought of wasting at the least two lines of text in every review to include a disclaimer which would have the effect of raising suspicions in the mind of a reader as well a throw a more personal cast on the writing.

Here's what the EFF had to say:

Significantly, the new rules place requirements on social media from which traditional print and television media are exempt. For instance, if a blogger publishes a book review, the rules will require her to disclose whether she received a free copy of the book from the publisher. Book reviews in print media face no such restrictions. [emphasis mine]

The EFF is urging the FTC to "rethink" this move and not as yet mounting an organized attack on the specious new guidelines. I suppose that is understandable in the context of the organization's activities vis-à-vis the Patriot act and the Free Flow of Information act. Or maybe it's just too soon.

Edward Champion interviewed FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection chief Richard Cleland on this matter, specifically the case of book reviewers receiving free books. "Cleland said that a disclosure was necessary when it came to an individual blogger, particularly one who is laboring for free." AND he singled out those who link to a sales page as being especially targeted, suggesting that they return the books after reviewing them.

Listen to this article

Women of Religions

Reading Girl Mary by Petru Popescu set me pondering the books I've read in the last few years about significant women in religions. I thought it must be rather difficult to write about them, especially in light of the current tensions among different groups. Would I dare to fictionalize one, or not, because of fear of retaliation?

I asked Popescu that question, and he indicated he had no trepidations at all, but he did offer to tell us about writing this book. He has advice for approaching historical figures as novel subjects. He said to write with "passion" and that:

When you write about the mystical, you believe in it. That is the rule of thumb and the best advice I can give to writers who attempt to write about religion and its formidably puzzling characters and events.

Read all of Popescu's article.

My saga of books on female religious figures began with The Red Tent by Anita Diamont (Jewish). The most recent were Girl Mary (Christian) and Mother of the Believers by Kamran Pasha (Islamic). I'm still reading Hinduism, which has such deep and diverse roots that no single woman or goddess stands out, though I feel drawn to Kali.

In between these book ends, as it were, are the writings based on the figure Mary Magdalene (Christian): Labyrinth by Kate Mosse, The Expected One by Kathleen McGowan and, of course, Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. These books are part of a larger literary saga I've been on, reading about strong women, many of the books set in Asia.

Now, as promised last week, I have copies of Girl Mary to send to the first five people who comment (US addresses only, please). Comments may be on this post or Popescu's article. Be sure to send me your address by email: writers.edge [AT] gmail.com (Give-away has ended.)

Listen to this article

Banned Books Week '09

It's ALA | Banned Books Week and I say burn those bras! Oops, wrong era. Burn and ban those books! Nothing makes an item more popular than prohibition. Nothing makes people want to do something more than someone else saying "No you can't."

In junior high school, Julie Weitz's mother got a copy of Lady Chatterly's Lover, smuggled into the country who knows how. Julie and I spent the night under the covers with a flashlight, giggling over all the underlined parts.

By high school, I'd graduated to finding my mother's copy of Peyton Place. I "borrowed" it, replacing the the slipcover with one from another book. Just my luck, she wanted to continue reading the scandalous exposé before I finished devouring it.

My college years introduced Lawrence Durrell's The Black Book and Alexandria Quartet and Henry Miller's Black Spring. I still have those paperbacks from the 60s.

Supposedly, I was all grown up before acquiring Lolita, but young enough to thrill to the idea of reading a forbidden pleasure. Later additions have included erotic books by Anais Nin and Pauline Reage's The Story of O (more distressing than naughty).

All of these have become practically de rigueur, and the uptight bluestockings are left with only children's books to castigate.

Simon & Schuster provides a striking image of a poem about BBW, Manifesto, by Ellen Hopkins, bestselling author of Crank and newly published Tricks. Also, the Banned Books Week website offers information and useful suggestions for how to celebrate honor events.

Listen to this article

Dorraine Darden, Author

As promised, the interview with Dorraine Darden, author of Jack Rabbit Moon, a quite good self-published novel. I asked Dorraine to share her experiences in this enterprise and if she'd do it again. She provides important tips for writers who are considering self-publishing, including a list of best resources at the end of the article. Keep in mind that this is only one set of experiences and one author's knowledge. You need to check out everything for yourself.

I especially liked her answer to the question, "What are you doing to market Jack Rabbit Moon?"

I’m a hat-wearing mama. And boots and glittery shawls. These days an author must give it all they’ve got. Besides book signings, book club appearances, library workshops, blogging, writing forums, and writing for my community newsletter, I make wide use of the internet. An author website at Dorraine Darden.com, along with twitter, face book, my space, your space, and the whole Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Right now, though I’m carving out time to write again. This is where it all begins.

Read the whole interview here and in brief at BlogCritics.org.
Still to come: a review of JACK RABBIT MOON.

Listen to this article

Why Hire Editors?

A publisher's view of editors from Brian Jud's September 21 edition of the Book Marketing Matters newsletter:

Over the next seven issues of Book Marketing Matters I will describe one of seven signposts on the road to good publishing. Here is the first.

Signpost #1: Editorial Content. You know what you want to write. But no book should be published before it has received good editorial input and direction. A seasoned editor brings objectivity and can lend clarity, coherence, and structure to what you have to say. If your book isn’t accessible, it won’t get good reviews and come to the attention of your audience.

Eric Kampmann, President, Midpoint Trade Books

Alrighty! The Big Dogs on the Twitter chat about using the Internet, specifically blogs, for marketing urge me to be more, um, assertive? So, I'm just sayin' see the Writing Services page for information about hiring me to edit your material. Oh, and a juicy bone to dear Amy Africa @amyafrica : CONTACT ME.

Listen to this article

Sneak Previews

Coming up: an interview with Dorraine Darden, author of Jack Rabbit Moon (see the nicely done book trailer featured here) about her adventures in self-publishing and plans for her next book. That's Dorraine, to the right, hiding behind, oh, maybe a cottonwood beside the Frio River? I'll be reviewing her lovely novel soon, too.

I'm not quite sure how I pulled this off, but Petru Popescu, author of Girl Mary, will prepare an essay for us on writing about famous female religious figures. About his book, Elie Wiesel said, "In this novel Petru Popescue's literary imagination will stimulate the reader's interest in religious and historical events." We will also have a few copies to give away, thanks to Simon & Schuster. Shall we have a contest? Lottery?

Listen to this article

Bibliodicks & Tricks

The publicity had me at "bibliodick." I've known a few "dicks" in my days, but never one meriting the prefix "biblio". The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Bartlett is one of the few I really could scarcely put down once I began reading. And I hope the author won't be insulted when I say I kept forgetting it is a true crime story. It reads like a novel. Enthralling. I was also enraptured and encouraged to find a veteran journo who could switch to a long form and write such a lyrical and erudite narration. Kudos! That the story is about old books is a bonus.

Not so enticing is Jill Dearman's bang the keys "Based on eternal principles that work for scribes of all stripes." I hesitate to trash the production of someone I've connected with on LinkedIn for fear she'll drop me, and I won't be able to stand the rejection. Well, let's just say that I am not persuaded by her acronymic B.A.N.G. "four steps to a lifelong writing practice." And I was totally turned off by her style--a breezy affection of a 40's noir film star channeling Tallulah Bankhead (darling!) If you're in need of prompts, the back cover promises "an armful of clever and penetrating exercises." That, there are in abundance. Oh, and lots and lots of name dropping.

Listen to this article

World Literacy Day

Heads up! Better World Books will be offering 15% off all used books available on its site today . Readers should use the code “4Literacy” at checkout in order to receive the discount.This is to celebrate International Literacy Day on Tuesday, September 8th.

Better World Books is a for-profit social enterprise that collects and sells books online with each sale generating funds for literacy initiatives in the U.S. and around the world. With more than three million new and used titles in stock, Better World Books is a self-sustaining company that balances the social, economic and environmental values of its stakeholders. Better World Books diverts books from landfills by conducting book drives on 1,800 college campuses, and by collecting discards from over 1,800 libraries.

Since its founding in 2003, the Atlanta-based company has raised $7 million for its non-profit literacy, library and college partners; donated over 1.3 million college textbooks; diverted more than 25 million pounds of books from landfills; and achieved over 9,000 tons of carbon offsets through carbon-neutral shipping.

Listen to this article

NY Times Book Reviews

Best Sunday morning reading: NY Times book reviews. I knew there must be a good reason why I look to the NY Times Sunday book reviews as role models. I just never knew how picky they are! Book Publishing News: The New York Times Book Review Selection Process Revealed by Scott Lorenz:

Gewen says The Book Review does not print the names of its editors except when they write articles. Furthermore, he stated that there are only about 17 people on the Review roster including support staff.

Listen to this article

Twitter Writers Directories

More reasons to join Twitter: A Directory of Authors on Twitter. If you write, you'll want your name in this directory. To be added, a book author must supply three pieces of information: Twitter ID, name, and genre or category. Please see this post for more details on being added to the directory.

If you're looking for a writer for a certain project, you can review the directory by categories, some of which are linked directly to the grouping. It is divided into Nonfiction, Fiction, Children and Poetry.

Also of interest might be Highspot's Directory of Book Trade People on Twitter. Those categories includes:

Book Publishers - Company Accounts | Book Publishers - Individual Accounts | Literary Agents | Bookstores & Booksellers - United States | Bookstores & Booksellers - Canada | Bookstores & Booksellers - Europe & Australia | Bookstores & Booksellers - Online | Libraries | Book Industry Publications | Book Industry Groups & Associations | Book Festivals & Conferences | Book Prizes | Publishing Education Programs | Book Industry Suppliers & Tools | Author & Publisher Services | Book Publicity & Marketing Services | Book Printers & Paper Suppliers | Subsidy Publishers | Book Reviewers | Bloggers on Books & Publishing | Book Discussion 2.0

I see I'll be busy soon signing up in several areas. The lists appear to be frequently updated, but I cannot vouch for validity or comprehensiveness. Twitter users probably come and go like bloggers. Why is knowing someone's Twitter account important? I've found tweeting is the quickest way to make contact, both with individuals and companies. The listings can also lead you to websites and also provide contact through hidden email addresses.

Listen to this article

Book Trailer Promotion

Here's one of the best book trailers I've seen. I wouldn't highlight it if I didn't think the book is fine, too. Complex subplots masterfully woven into a tale that is not spooky like I had imagined, but well worth reading.

The almost flawless execution of the trailer mirrors the book's writing. Dorraine Darden is OTW (One to Watch)! Also, watch this space for an interview with the up and coming author.

Listen to this article

Week of Contest Nominations

What a week this has been for A Writer's Edge! First, nominated to the 4th Annual Top 10 Blogs for Writers Contest -- more noms (votes) needed. Don't forget to include the URL: http://www.writers-edge.info/Blog.html and a reason--thanksabunch!

Now comes a message from Michelle at The BBAW Awards Committee of the Book Blogger Appreciation Week competition:

Dear Writer's Edge,

I am so thrilled to inform you that you have been nominated for a Book Blogger Appreciation Week Award in the category Best General Review Blog.

This year it takes place September 14-18. If you haven't heard about this contest, that may be because it is fairly new. The site explains:

Book Blogger Appreciation was started by Amy Riley of My Friend Amy in an effort to recognize the hard work and contribution of book bloggers to the promotion and preservation of a literate culture actively engaged in discussing books, authors, and a lifestyle of reading.

The first Book Blogger Appreciation was observed in the fall of 2008 and occurs every September. The week spotlights and celebrates the work of active book bloggers through guest posts, awards, giveaways, and community activities. Book Bloggers are encouraged to register their participation for inclusion in a database of book bloggers.

If anyone practices promotion and preservation of a literate culture actively engaged in discussing books, authors, and a lifestyle of reading that would be me with this blog, reviewing books, and wrangling the Tierrasanta Book Club in real life. Next step: hook it all up with a literacy program encouraging book reading by upcoming generations.

Listen to this article

Summer Reading Report

I took Wendy Doniger's 780 page opus The Hindus: An Alternative History with me to the hospital. I had time to fill between an appointment to rearrange the rocks in my head and another for making muzzy photos of my boobs. When I signed in early at Radiology, I plunked the book down on the reception area.

"My that's a big book," the girl exclaimed, "but you're halfway through." She'd spotted my mother's tasseled bookmark sticking out from page 287. Halfway, indeed!

"Yes, and I've been reading it all summer." She just made big eyes at that, probably thinking I'm a really slow reader. What I didn't explain is that I get interrupted by surprise deliveries of little treats that divert me for a day or two. One such was Nicholson Baker's The Anthologist, which at first I mistook for one of those little Hallmark gift books. It's not that small in size, but does provoke the phrase "slim volume", pretty apt because it is a novel about a poet. Poets are always producing slim volumes. The only big books of poetry I've ever seen are, well, anthologies. More aptness.

The cover graphic is a ripe plum, and once I'd bit into the juicy treat that is The Anthologist, another cliché came to mind: I couldn't put it down. Fortunately the Baker book is just like a fresh, ripe plum--delicious but gone in a few bites. Leaves you wanting another. Doniger's book is more an Indian curry dinner with a table full of savories to sample. In the case of The Hindus, however, the extras are the meal, and it takes a long time to enjoy and finish the dish.

Listen to this article