C h a z z W r i t e s . c o m

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11/24/2010 • 12:12 PM 0

Neil Gaiman and another helpful editing link

Hey everyone. I’m still in rehab for a bum shoulder but things are improving and it appears it won’t kill me through the magic of ultrasound, chiropractic, exercise and scapular manipulation. I am taking it a little easier this week since the keyboard has made the pain worse in the last week. That said, I’m still blogging through the magic of curation.

I can still read and I’ve been reading a lot, mostly with an ice pack crammed under my shoulder blade. I finally got around to reading Neil Gaiman‘s American Gods. The work impressed me. I’ve been a Gaiman fan since the Sandman comics. What’s more, the author impressed me. His artistic vision was broad (as usual) and his plot choices were bold. (Though it did leave me wondering where the Presbyterian God and Allah were on the battlefield.) I’m getting to Anansi Boys next. It’s been waiting for me, sitting on the shelf for a long time.

Finally, when I blog about editing, the topic is a sure bet to pump up the number of visitors. Yesterday’s post (immediately below) was no different. Here’s a more positive take:

Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors: 7 Tips for Editing Your Way to the Best Story on the Planet

Happy 50th Birthday, Neil Gaiman! (wired.com)
Neil Gaiman’s ‘Sandman’ Gets Optioned … Again (cinematical.com)
A Coffee Table Book and why reality is being replaced by small pieces of paper (journal.neilgaiman.com)
Book Review: American Gods by Neil Gaiman (rodolfojreregia.blogspot.com)
Neil Gaiman Says DEATH Is Dead (At Least for the Time Being) (collider.com)
Neil Gaiman talks about his love of libraries ” The Book Case (bookpage.com)
Required Reading Neil Gaiman, A Dream of a Thousand Cats. (pinkbananaworld.com)

Filed under: blogs & blogging, book reviews, Books, Editing, Editors, Useful writing links, web reviews, Writers, American Gods, Anansi Boys, editing, editors, Neil Gaiman, sandman

11/17/2010 • 8:18 PM 6

Are you closer to publishing your own books yet?

A section of the Egyptian Book of the Dead, wh...

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Ex-agent Nathan Bransford wrote a nice piece on his blog entitled Why I’m Still Optimistic about the Future of Books. That headline caught my attention because, viscerally, my reaction was, “Still?!” His post goes deeper than that, but what I noticed first was my own urge to chuckle.

No, I’m not predicting the death of books. My view is more nuanced than that. I think paper books will be published 100 years from now (assuming we aren’t all killed by nukes, bioweapons, supergerms, climate catastrophe or armies of the undead) but in small numbers and as a premium item.

Early this summer I attended a writers’ conference in which I saw the e-book future laid out. Many of the publishers and writers I met at the Canadian Authors Association conference in Victoria were already on board the train to the future. I met my first person there who doesn’t buy paper books anymore, for instance. Her bookshelves grow no heavier because her reading is now exclusively electronic.

When I came back, I shared that worldview with everyone I knew. I encountered resistance, incredulity and resignation. Personally, I’m excited about the DIY opportunities ahead of us. We still need writers and those writers still need editors. Publishers and agents are becoming optional. For some authors—especially if they already have an audience—publishers are in their rearview mirrors.

Where are you on this issue now? Has your opinion changed in the last year? Do you see e-books as another expression of rage and frustration by the talentless hacks rightly trapped in the slush pile? Or are e-books a way for independent authors to steer their own course to larger percentages and greater control of their books?

If you’re an independent writer, here’s a link to a comparison of self-publishing services you definitely need to consider:

Self-Publishing Company Comparison: Amazon CreateSpace, Lulu or Lightning Source? : Blogthority‏

If you’re a traditional publisher or are monogamous about the Gutenberg press, here’s an article about how e-books might be integrated tree book marketing:

E-books need print books, IPG hears | theBookseller.com‏

Please let me know your thoughts.

I’m staring at my comment box,

quivering in anticipation.

Christian Self Publishing Association Launched to Serve Authors and Raise the Quality of Self-Published Books (prweb.com)
An E-Book Bonanza: 12 Saramago Novels (artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com)
Bloomsbury USA Selects RoyaltyShare for eBook Sales Management (prweb.com)
Digital publishing about economics, Forrester analyst James McQuivey says (teleread.com)
Discoverability: “Metadata Really Matters for eBooks” (lib.uiowa.edu)
Lulu.com Adds Big Options for Creators this Holiday (prnewswire.com)
The Felicities of New Publishing (or Why Traditional Publishers May Someday Die) (seedlingsinstone.blogspot.com)
All About eBooks Symposium: Friday, November 12th in San Francisco (prnewswire.com)
Lightning Source expands POD to Australia (teleread.com)
Self-Publishing Expo: Panel, “Flying Solo” (teleread.com)

Filed under: Books, publishing, self-publishing, Useful writing links, web reviews, book, E-book, Independent Publishers Group, Lulu, Nathan Bransford, publishing, Publishing and Printing, self-publishing

11/17/2010 • 4:40 PM 0

Gender bias against female writers

Image by pennstatelive via Flickr

Author Tawni O’Dell has written a great piece about the bias against female writers. She writes convincingly that women aren’t taken seriously in an industry that is still (still!) very patriarchal. This is an example of WGL, or Worldview Generational Lag. The publishing industry is filled with women. Women read more books than men. Women write tons and edit tons of books every year. And yet. And yet.

I’m enlightened, so ladies, when the revolution comes, don’t forget who was on your side. That’s right. I’m a sex traitor.

…Hm, that doesn’t sound right.

Okay, I’m a traitor to my sex…except that…come to think of it…all my favorite writers…OH-MY-GOD! They’re all men!

Sorry. I was one of them and I didn’t even know it! Are you one of them or us?

Wait. Now I’m confused.

Full of promise but no prizes: women playwrights suffer for their age | Alexis Soloski (guardian.co.uk)
Overlooked and Underappreciated (americanfiction.wordpress.com)
ArtsBeat: A Do-Over for the Wasserstein Playwriting Prize (artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com)
Shorties (Jay-Z, Mary Gaitskill, and more) (largeheartedboy.com)
Gender Bias Resources (feministphilosophers.wordpress.com)
Ladies, Think Twice About Who To Ask For That Letter of Recommendation (crushable.com)

Filed under: book reviews, Books, publishing, Useful writing links, web reviews, gender bias, gender boas in literature, publishing, Sexism, Tawni O'Dell, Women, Writers Resources

11/15/2010 • 1:30 PM 3

And Then There were Three: The James Frey Summary & Contract

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First it was the Cooks Source editor devaluing writers and promoting plagiarism for profit.

Then it was Gaspereau Press’s cavalier reaction to their Giller prizewinner’s lack of stock.

And then there was James Frey (again.)

What’s interesting about these stories is that the Internet isn’t letting them get away with it.

I should point out that I thought Mr. Frey got a raw deal from his publisher and from Oprah on the A Million Little Pieces controversy. Now that he’s devaluing writers’ work with crazy contracts? He’s trying my patience.

Here’s my summary of James Frey links:

Inside Full Fathom Five, James Frey’s Young-Adult-Novel Assembly Line — New York Magazine‏

Read the Brutal Contract from James Frey’s Fiction Factory — Daily Intel‏

Related Articles

Welcome to James Frey’s Young Adult Fiction Sweatshop [Books] (gawker.com)
James Frey’s new publishing model: A factory for Hollywood-friendly books [James Frey] (io9.com)
The Man in the Frey Flannel Suit (whatever.scalzi.com)
James Frey’s Writing Factory: Will It Work? (huffingtonpost.com)
James Frey, Inc.: A Million Little YA Deals (theawl.com)
NY Mag Rushed To Run James Frey Feature Only After Learning Of WSJ Scoop (mediaite.com)
James Frey Has an Arrangement, Some Have a Problem With It (observer.com)
James Frey’s Next Act (online.wsj.com)
Here’s the Part of James Frey’s New Novel That’s Based on Perez Hilton [Gawker Book Club] (gawker.com)

Filed under: blogs & blogging, Media, publishing, web reviews, bad deals for writers, James Frey, james frey contract, James Frey Controversy, james frey deal review, james frey summary

11/15/2010 • 11:04 AM 2

#@ThatKevinSmith : Feelgood Story of the Day (Week, Year…)

Image by Clintus McGintus via Flickr

Writing matters.

What you put out into the world matters.

And you never know how what you do will affect others (all the more reason to be careful.)

Last night, I got this reaction to my post on An Evening with Kevin Smith.

And the blessings and inspirations just keep on flowing.

When the good energy comes your way, run with it.

Find my original post on what I learned from Kevin Smith here.

Kevin Smith surprises me by having something more to say (onegoodminute.wordpress.com)
Which SModcast is the best kind of SModcast? Does @ThatKevinSmith agree? (onegoodminute.wordpress.com)
Kevin Smith Launches Podcast For Red State (cinemablend.com)

Filed under: getting it done, links, web reviews, Writers, An Evening with Kevin Smith, inspiration, Kevin Smith, Scott Mosier, SModcast, writing inspiration

11/05/2010 • 9:47 AM 2

Kevin Smith loved the blog post! The aftermath…

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Good morning! First off, big thanks to Kevin Smith for the bump love and encouragement. He liked yesterday’s post, twittered it to his followers and within 20 minutes my blog got 500 hits. A couple of hours later? Seven-hundred and climbing. Kevin has a huge following and every morning he must wake up, blaze up and say, “It’s good to be the king.” Because it is and he’s earned it.

Thanks, too, to all the kind tweeple who sent me such nice feedback on the blog post and shared their feelings about the event. I wasn’t the only one so impressed with the experience. I received several tweets from people from Kitchener and area who were equally effected. We went for the laughs. We got much more than we expected. I know he must inspire tons of people because, of all the feedback I got, people were kind and there wasn’t even a hater in the bunch.

I’m earnest about earning my piece, too. An Evening with Kevin Smith really was an eye-opener and course correction for me and I’m already working away on that. (I hope some of you stick around or swing by once in a while to see my progress.) I have books to write and books to edit and I’m going into overdrive to get them edited, out the door and into the marketplace.

Great people make you feel like you can be great, too. Someone famous said something like that. Kevin exemplifies it. Thanks again, sir!

Okay, a little later today, I’ve got a story about American Psycho and me wrestling with censors…who, strangely, didn’t think they were censors.

Also, some ace writing and publishing links will be posted this afternoon.

Finally, a National Novel Writing Month update will be posted this evening.

Are you making progress? That’s what it’s all about.