Posts Tagged ‘recommendations’
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Today I have the distinct pleasure of hosting my friend, Sean Hayden, as he travels the web telling all you lucky people about his upcoming release, a YA vampire story called Origins, Book 1 in his Demonkin series.
I was given the honor of being hosted by my friend, Marc Vun Kannon today. I’ve been looking forward to this particular post for a while. See, Marc and I share one trait when it comes to writing, and I figured I would expand on it for those who don’t quite understand it. The fine art of being a “Pantser”.
“What’s that,” you ask?
“Well it’s very simple really…” I settle down to explain.
“Do you write your stories without wearing any pants?”
“No that’s not it at all. See…”
“Do you wear a special pair of pants, like lucky writing pants?”
“Um, no. You see…”
“Do you wear two pairs of pants as sort of an inspiration?”
“I’m sorry, but if you would quit interrupting, I’ll explain.”
“OH, sorry. Go ahead, Sean…”
Thank you. You see, being a pantser is kind of like going into a debate without knowing the topic beforehand. I believe the best term to describe it is “Improv”. I’m sure any of my fellow authors who are reading this post just went, “Ug,” or “ick.”
Yup, being a pantser is often frowned upon. Most authors use what’s known as an (cover your children’s ears, I’m about to use a dirty word) “Outline”. I hate to admit it but a chill of fear just ran down my spine. As I type, I can feel its icy grip seizing my nervous system, causing cold sweat to ease its way through my pores, and tightening my chest making the very act of breathing difficult. Outlines scare me more than middle school cafeteria workers in hairnets. Outlines scare me more than ~looks around nervously~ , “Clowns.”
I take great pleasure in writing books and short stories. Before I started, I never had a clue how much I would enjoy it. Turning letters into words, turning words into sentences, sentences into paragraphs, and paragraphs into stories is as natural as breathing now. We write stories as we go along. From characters, plots, abilities, and even worlds flow from our fingers without the benefit of planning. That’s what makes it fun. That’s what makes us pantsers. WRITING FROM THE SEAT OF YOUR PANTS.
“Why would you do such a thing?”
I pause for a moment and try to think of a reason.
Because it’s completely natural. I couldn’t do it any other way, nor would I try. Have you ever been on vacation? Have you ever been on vacation with an “Itinerary Nazi”? Yeah. “We need to be at the museum by 9AM so we can see the early flight exhibition before it becomes too busy. We’ll have an early breakfast after that of granola and yogurt in the butterfly grotto before moving on to the science exhibit at 9:48. If all goes to plan, we should be able to wrap up the museum by 11:43, ride back to the hotel. Shower and change before heading to the planetarium by 12:38.”
Sound like fun?
Yeah, me neither. But that is exactly what writing with an outline would feel like to me. Beat me with a 2×4. Tell me I have to move to Nome, Alaska. Sprinkle me with colored sugar and call me “Cookie.” But never, never, never ask me to write with an outline, plan a story, or ask me what comes next. It Ain’t gonna happen.
Sean Hayden (that’s this guy here)
Born in the suburbs of Chicago, he moved to the frigid arctic climes of south east Florida as a small child. The son of a fireman and a proofreader (that’s what they had before spellcheck) he fell in love with reading at a young age. When he hit the age of 35 he wrote his first novel, an urban fantasy about vampires and demons entitled Origins. Unsatisfied with one novel, he penned the sequel Deceptions and both titles of the Demonkin Series will be available from Echelon Press soon.
Word of mouth and you
Posted on: June 21, 2010
This is the part that readers have to play in the great game of publishing. It sometimes gets lost, what with all the hype about Oprah, and the movies that get made, and once upon a time The NYT Book Review page. All of these groups would like you to think that they are the arbiters of taste for the book-reading public, a small and select group of people who know what’s good.
But that’s a crock.
The biggest advertising a book can get is the endorsement of those who have read it. Sales figures don’t really measure that, since they are usually jiggered by the publishers to make a book look like it sells better than it does. Sales figures are usually sales from the publisher to the store, not from the store to the reader.
I have read every book my publisher makes, even though they are not in the genre I happen to like and write in, which is fantasy. Why? Because she published me, and I definitely like my stories (Unbinding the Stone and A Warrior Made, in case you don’t already know). This leads me to think her tastes are like mine, so I read other books. Guess what? Her tastes are like mine, and her books are about characters and the things they do, not about things that get done with an occasional mention of the cardboard cutouts who did them. This is a story I will want to read, and probably will enjoy, in spite of the fact that it’s a mystery or a romance instead of a fantasy novel.
So when people come to me looking for a book recommendation, I can make one, and I always preface it with the caveat, “These are the books that I like, and this is why I like them.” I do this for a number of reasons, among which are the fact that I am a published author and want you to read my books. If I can’t get you to read my books, I would very much like you to try some of the other books I know, because I’m an extraordinarily nice person and think that these books are worth being read and am willing to talk them up to anybody who asks. I’m even willing to talk them up to people who don’t ask.
There’s the rub. Lots of people don’t ask, and most people are waiting for the request before they offer the opinion. (I don’t, but I’ve had to work at it.) It’s really quite remarkable what people will do if they are simply asked to do it. I’ve often been told that such-and-such people are very selfish, but when I go and ask them for something they are remarkably forthcoming. Then I conclude that the original opinion was given to me by someone who had never asked. It’s like there’s a rule that asking is an admission of some kind of weakness. Maybe it is, but it’s not as if NOT asking is going to make you any stronger. Ignorance is not cured by hiding it.
Fortunately, we have lots of places now that are like perpetual questions. Goodreads has quite a few groups for readers, and nearly every group had a thread on “What are you reading now?” or “What are your favorites?” Many new threads are started by people looking for recommendations who haven’t read the old threads. Amazon has reviews for the books it sells right on the page. If you read it and liked it, SAY SO.
We, the authors of the world, will thank you. And we’ll write more books just like those.
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