Loose Change

I like to pack light (I hate to check in luggage) but I also tend to stay as short a time as possible, too.  So what to pack?

Light, indestructible clothing that doesn’t need ironing, and since I’m miserable without cotton, that means cotton knits for shirts or dresses for me -- that tends to limit the old wardrobe.  I try to make sure all my clothes can mix and match. (M -- Crinkle Cottons are another alternative -- cause if you wrinkle it -- who cares?)

Ipod or something like it  -- because really, sometimes you need to tune out

Vaio -- not as small as all the pricey e-readers but able to let me download, edit and read with a minimum of fuss.  And it is small enough that I can usually pack it in my carryon if I need to -- with the sleeve, I swear!!

Bandaids, nail file and safety pins.  Because you never know what you might tear.

Popcorn cakes.  I love popcorn cakes.  Low cal and transportable.  Buy some water once you’re past security, too.  Because, dang, who wants to pay for water on the plane and have to wait to get it, too?

Sweater -- no matter what the temperature outside.  Because at a convention you dress for convention hall weather.

Flat, slip on shoes.  No matter what you wear later, the airport security check should go as fast as possible and who wants to be hopping up and down in a crowded hall in bare feet?

Cell phone with all the updated numbers of everyone you need or might need to call on it. AND the cell charger.  And, even more importantly, remember to take the charger home with you.  I’ve been told that’s one of the number one items people forget in hotels.

While you’re at it, make sure you have all the important email addys in your travel laptop.

Only what you absolutely must have in your wallet.  If you’re renting a car, that includes your car insurance info.  (Something I usually do forget.)

I could also talk about unpacking when you get to the convention -- I've made a study of it with my assorted hotel mates over the years and I'm sure there are fascinating psychological reasons why one has to unpack and use bureau drawers or toss clothes everywhere or have the window bed.  But that's probably a different topic entirely.

(And we won't even talk about checking your email at 4AM with every light in the room on while sharing a room with M, or the danger that represents to one's lifespan...)
 

Treva's Helpful Hints
www.TrevaHarte. com

Romances are traditionally supposed to have Happily Ever After or at least Happy For Now endings.  If they don’t they may be love stories, but genre romance they are not.

Now there are plenty who say that’s too constricting.  And yes, it is a restriction in one way.  But it’s also a challenge.   I’m fairly sure most romance readers do not read to the end wondering if the lovers will be happy at last.  In fact when they discover someone dies or the romance falls apart, they’re often shocked or feel betrayed.  In their contract between author and reader, the romance readers expect the happy end.

They’re less likely to feel shocked or betrayed if they don’t believe in the happy end – but they’re also unlikely recommend the book or buy another one from that author.  That’s the challenge.  How do you create a journey where two disparate beings (or three or four) have sufficient challenge to the relationship to make people read to the end AND create a satisfying ending where the challenges are sufficiently overcome to make readers believe these characters are going to keep their relationship going?

That is where the writer has to do the work.  A good writer  can shake readers’ faith enough to make them read faster but not destroy that faith.  They’ll stop reading if you do that.

Treva Harte

EiC

www.loose-id.com

I’ve been seeing a lot less of it lately and that’s a bad thing.  I mean in submissions, of course.  Yes, we want something sexy and hot as a premise or hook to catch reader interest.  Yes, we want sexy and hot in the story.  But that’s not all. Yes, yes, yes we want some conflict in the plot.

The characters don’t have to be slugging it out with each other or anyone else – although that’s one possibility.  They do have to have a problem that makes the reader want to keep going to find out how it is resolved.  No, the problem can’t be the characters don’t want to say “I love you” until the end…at least that can’t be the only problem.

Why don’t they want to? Because they don’t have time while they are battling all the known forces of evil in the universe?  Because one of them walked out on the other years ago and never looked back?  Because one of them stutters and is afraid to say anything because it’s so humiliating?  Give the readers (and me!) something to work with here.  “Slice of life” stories, where the two characters just naturally fall for each other in some fascinating part of the world can be lovely…but not for most readers of romance or any other genre.  They want information about the characters under pressure, they want resolution of some problem, they want to know the h/h can handle problems and stick together.

What the conflict is and how it is resolved is vital to romances since we know the ending should be HEA or HFN.  If there is no conflict or it’s not believable, the reader can’t believe in the resolution of that conflict...or worse, won’t care.

Make the reader want to read to the end.

Treva Harte
www.TrevaHarte.com

You have a story that just cries for more stories after the first one is done.  Great!  Maybe.

If your readers love your first story, very likely they’ll want to give your second one a try.  Or your third.  Your fourth??  Fifth????

I have a love/hate relationship with series…unlike my colleague at Changeling Press, who highly encourages them.  When they work, they work.  Yippee!! Fans demand more, buy more, are very happy.

But they’re equally likely not to work.  The bad part is when readers aren’t interested.  Maybe they want to wait until the whole series is done before they buy.  Maybe the first one didn’t grab them and you’ll never get their attention for the second.

Or maybe the series doesn’t work for the author.  Publishers are wary about promising multi-book contracts unless they feel sure the author will be producing those multiple books.  Things happen to even the most reliable author.  Sickness, moving, writer’s block as a series goes on.

Books in a series have to work from the start right through to the last one and we have no guarantee that will happen.  Authors usually don’t want to wait until they’ve penned their last book in the series before they sell them.

At Loose Id we tend (with a few exceptions) to keep to a three book series rule.  If nothing else, we review how the series is going after three books and we prefer each book to be a stand alone as possible.

Treva Harte
www.TrevaHarte.com
A website that lists, as you'll see, many, many, many series. Few of them cutting off at 3 books.
/M whistles innocently as she fixes Treva's formatting...

Late last week I was a Romantic Times panelist with Raelene Gorlinsky of Ellora’s Cave and Angela James of Samhain to discuss e-publishing myths and misconceptions.  It was great fun but the myths and misconceptions we discussed were almost too easy.  The questions we discussed (Can authors make money at e-publishing?  Would anyone accept you in New York print circles if you write for e-pubs?) were so last year.  Most serious authors would know the answers because they have been resolved within the last few years.  After all, one or two years can make a huge difference in e-publishing.  While that rapid a change wasn’t quite so true for print publishers previously, the economy has given a huge push to making them scramble for new ways to do things. And, like it or not, electronic publishing is right there, fueling the change.

Those New York print publishers are creating e-books and some of the ways they handle e-books are the same models that independent e-publishers have adopted already.  So, that leads me to my big question…why are authors and author organizations so resistant to e-publishing?

I'm so close to e-publishing that it’s hard for me to step back and think about the reluctance some organizations have in the writing community – romance, science fiction, mystery, etc. – toward electronic publications.  I’m sure some of it is past history.  But then, as I said, one or two years can make huge difference in e-publishing.

Some of the resistance is fear of change and technology.  But that ship has already sailed, too.  No one is going to go back easily if new ways of doing business are easier and cheaper.

Some is prejudice against erotic romance, one of the current mainstays of electronic publishing.  But it is quite possible that erotic romance is going to be swamped in the tidal wave of all genres, fiction and non-fiction, that go on-line in the next few years.

Perhaps some is from those who had to fight their way into publication by following certain rules and don’t appreciate that the rules are changing for everyone else. But if you think it’s easy discovering how to deal with a rapidly changing business where rules evolve within a very short time, let me reassure you that it’s not.

Apparently there must be some current myths and misconceptions that terrify authors and organizations and keep them from finding out what they should know to map out their future in this new electronic world.  It’s past time for those authors and organizations to clarify their thinking.

Treva Harte
www.TrevaHarte.com

Flora Harrison was furious. After years of telling her mother and sisters that she absolutely would never go on a blind date -- and they knew all about her disaster with Jason-the-Creeper that Alexa, her oldest sister had set her up with in college which culminated with Jason leaving her at the altar and running off with her best friend, Georgia Ann -- her second oldest sister Mary had just told her the bad news.

"I know you don't like blind dates but I think it's time you got over the one bad experience you had years ago. If we don't set you up with blind dates, you don't have any dates at all. Mother and I have talked about this and we agreed that Roger would be perfect for you since he's a perfectionist and you are, too. The fact he has two small children and is the stay-at-home dad for them is just the icing on the cake since you love children but can't have any of your own," Mary said.

This is an example of the dreaded "Tell" syndrome that can afflict any writer, though it's a particular problem for new authors. I just condensed about 2-3 pages of careful back-and-forth dialogue and action into 2 paragraphs. So efficient! There's only one problem. I don't think anyone wants to hear any more about Flora, Jason, Alexa, Georgia Ann, Mary or Roger after those two paragraphs -- certainly not any more than a teen wants to hear Mom spout good advice about everything you should or shouldn't do.

A reader wants to learn about the characters through the characters' thoughts and actions and make up his or her mind about the characters through what the characters reveal, almost accidentally, as the story unfolds. And no, you can't cheat and dump all the information in a conversation and pretend it's a real conversation.

Here is a start on how to change the beginning of our rather stereotypical romance:

"I'm not going on a blind date, Mary. You know why." Flora refused to look at her sister after Mary made the big announcement but she began to hum tunelessly under her teeth. Mary knew as well as she did what it meant when Flora began humming.

"I do understand and I know you're upset at the idea. But this guy is different."

"That's what Alexa said about Jason when she set us up. Remember him? The man who left our wedding with my best friend on his arm and never returned?"

"Our big sister can be an idiot. And Jason was definitely an idiot. But Roger is different. If you give me a chance, I can explain why."

"I don't care if Roger is a Martian with the secret sex formula all Earthling women are dying for! I'm not going there again. Ever."

As you can see, this could take a lot longer but it is (at least marginally) more entertaining for the reader. With any luck they'll want to read more pages to find out why these characters are doing what they do rather than having it all fed to them in the first page.

How do you create a show not tell manuscript? Some tips would be to use images, be specific in your language, show the character doing things rather than saying things and when the characters do say things, make the conversations work the way a real conversation might.

As a quick example, how furious was Flora? Well, maybe not too furious. She's willing to talk despite the humming. What if she was furious enough to punch a hole in the wall/ call 9-1-1/ curse/ walk out the door and never return? Given what her sister had just done, that might be an overreaction. But if she did that, the reader may well want to know why - is Flora a psycho or did Mary really do the unforgiveable? -- and keep reading. You've created interest and moved the story along. The reader is ready to invest his or her time into unfolding the mystery of Flora and crew now.

Treav Harte

www.TrevaHarte.com

To understand what head hopping is, you need to understand point of view.  Point of view is easy to get in theory. When you “see” the story from a character’s viewpoint, hear his or her observations, emotions, thoughts, that is x’s point of view.  The more a reader can identify with a character’s point of view, the more the reader invests in the story and that character.  And yes, it is possible to tell a story using several characters’ point of view or even that of an omniscient narrator (although the omniscient narrator isn’t done as much nowadays – it’s hard to get up close and personal with characters if you are distanced by the narration.)

Head hopping is jumping from character to character’s head (or point of view) without warning the reader or letting them make a natural connection, which interferes with a reader’s identification with the character. Often it’s unintentional – how can one character tell the thoughts of the person he or she is speaking with?  Unfortunately we see this a lot in submissions from beginning authors.

Gradual, deliberate shifts in point of view can be used successfully to build up a romantic, dramatic, or comedic effect – but there has to be a way for the reader to know the shift has occurred.  Changing POV every other sentence or paragraph is not a gradual shift.

Really boring example:

Melissa’s breath caught. “Sometimes I think you don’t care about me at all.”  And she loved him so much!

“I do love you, darling,” Peter said to Melissa.  Stupid idiot!  Why does she keep demanding something we both know is a lie?

“I suppose I’m being a jealous fool.”  She caught herself before she began to cry.  Really, she was making such a fuss over nothing.  Peter had always been totally honest with her.  She’d drive him away if she didn’t stop acting this way.  Of course when he wasn’t with her and he was talking with all his friends, he sometimes sounded uncaring, but she just didn’t understand how men spoke with their friends.  It didn’t mean anything.

Problem?  Unless she's psychic, Melissa can only know what she's thinking, not what Peter is thinking. The writer has swapped from Melissa's POV to Peter's POV and then back to Melissa's POV.

Melissa’s breath caught. “Sometimes I think you don’t care about me at all.”  And she loved him so much! (Melissa's POV)

“I do love you, darling,” Peter said to Melissa.  Stupid idiot!  Why does she keep demanding something we both know is a lie? (Peter's POV)

“I suppose I’m being a jealous fool.”  She caught herself before she began to cry.  Really, she was making such a fuss over nothing.  Peter had always been totally honest with her.  She’d drive him away if she didn’t stop acting this way.  (Melissa's POV) Of course when he wasn’t with her and he was talking with all his friends, he sometimes sounded uncaring, (Information Melissa can't know -- if she's not there, how does she know what he sounds like?) but she just didn’t understand how men spoke with their friends.  It didn’t mean anything.

Change POV like this, back and forth with every other paragraph or sentence, or have the person think something they couldn’t possibly know, and soon you have a reader who wants to kill you and never wants to hear about Melissa or Peter again. If the story is compelling enough and you identify with all the characters, you may be able to get by without too many angry reader complaints.  But that’s counting on your amazing storytelling alone. Understanding and mastering POV will add some stronger writer’s skills to your tool box.
So how would you fix this? (Besdies starting over) -- simple. Eliminate the information Melissa can't know.

Melissa’s breath caught. “Sometimes I think you don’t care about me at all.”  And she loved him so much!

“I do love you, darling,” Peter assured her.

Most new authors have no idea what to expect entering into their first edit. From my bird's eye view as Editor-in-Chief I often get excited by the potential in a manuscript -- this story needs some minor changes and we could use it. From my view in the trenches as an occasional content editor, however, I realize potential isn't enough. A new author may be thrown by the author/editor dynamics.

An editor is, at best, collaborating with an author to produce the best possible version of this particular manuscript. But even when an editor can see precisely what changes need to be made -- and that doesn't always happen -- the editing process still may fail, because good editing hinges on great communication. An editor can suggest changes that will polish a story and make it better, but when push comes to shove, unless the author can grasp what the editor is asking for, the potential improvements won't happen.

I've often joked about matching up my editors and authors, saying it's like a marriage. Sometimes I'm a good matchmaker and sometimes I'm not. It's all about the chemistry. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it just... doesn't. All is not yet lost if the author doesn't quite perfect the book. Sometimes stories come out rough but have the ability to keep you reading despite the flaws. That's better than stories that come out perfectly polished, but lack the inner heart that keeps the reader glues to the page. An author who can keep you interested and has the capacity for growth in writing is well worth a smart editor's initial investment of time and energy.

Editor Judith David:

I'd like to think that in a good author-editor relationship, we each make the other better at our respective jobs. Bless newbie authors who have faith in editors. I suspect that manuscripts are never more precious to authors than when those authors are new. Those authors take an awful risk putting their first stories into the hands of complete strangers. That bravery deserves respect for the author and a special duty of care to the work. I always try to start from the strength.

Author and editor as a marriage? It's a trust relationship, but I don't know about calling it marriage. The point of marriage is seldom to deliberately tease out weakness (at least I hope that's not a function of marriage). And, I don't want a marriage in which anyone changes because of systematic presentation of weaknesses.

Editor Georgia Woods:

With new authors, they can only learn so quickly -- I try to focus on one big issue with each book. That doesn't mean their stories aren't good, it just means they are still learning their craft, which goes on for years. Even Nora's first books were not as good as her books today. But each book should be better and better, the issues fewer and fewer, but no, no one is going to instantly go from new author to experienced pro overnight, and any reviewer who expects them to doesn't know anything about the craft, in my opinion. But that's just me...

* * *

So yes, what an editor and author do in a good working relationship is, as Judith says, "make the other better" at their jobs. Not perfect. But always working on it.

By the time that editor had to leave Loose Id for another job, the author was very unhappy to see her go. She'd come to rely on the editor to point out weaknesses she didn't have the perspective to spot. And really, isn't that what we all look for in an editor?