Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Fantasy Project: ENGAGE!
And... the manuscript is in the mail! My first epic fantasy novel has finally been sent off to my agent. Hopefully when I hear back from her (roughly four to six weeks) she’ll like it and have just the perfect editor/editors in mind. In the meantime, I’m working on a few short stories and a non-vampire urban fantasy novel (or two). I've also been going back over the completed sequel to STAKED (just to make sure that everything is consistent with all of our revisions) and making notes on the next two Epic Fantasy novels so that when someone buys the first one, I can provide more of a package than just the first book. (And, of course, I still have my day job...)
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Blurb!
While I'm posting about first times, I think I ought to mention my first blurb. It's from a writer that I really enjoy: Mario Acevedo, author of THE NYMPHOS OF ROCKY FLATS and X-RATED BLOODSUCKERS. Mario is a very entertaining writer and his Felix Gomez vampire private eye novels are always great to read. If you haven't read them, you should.
Mr. Acevedo described STAKED as:
"A pedal-to-the-metal demolition derby of sex and violence. Werewolves and vampires were never so much fun."
How cool is that?
I'm sure it's no surprise that quote is going right on the cover.
:)
Mr. Acevedo described STAKED as:
"A pedal-to-the-metal demolition derby of sex and violence. Werewolves and vampires were never so much fun."
How cool is that?
I'm sure it's no surprise that quote is going right on the cover.
:)
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Dragon*Con 2007
So, I just got back from Dragon*Con and it was a total blast. It was also combined with several firsts for me.
1) It was the first convention I've been to since becoming a father (six years ago!)
2) I got to meet my editor, Jennifer Heddle, in person for the first time. I can't say how cool it was to get a chance to chat with someone with whom I have worked so closely. For the record, she is exceedingly nice.
3) Before I left for the con, Jennifer emailed the cover proof for my novel. I'm not allowed to post it on the web yet, but I did get to carry it around the con with me. My wife printed out several glossy copies of the proof along with a handful of business cards. Not only did I get exactly the artist that I wanted (without ever being brave enough to mention that I wanted him), but absolutely everyone liked it. The people I met may not remember my name, but I like to think they'll remember Chris McGrath's wonderful artwork.
4) Believe it or not, it was also the first time I'd ever been to any Writer's Track Panels. It may be odd, but I decided that following the writer's track would be the best way to find out if I was doing things the "right" way. You'd think selling a book would have given me more confidence in myself, but I am ever the victim of self-doubt. Fortunately, every writer I met was very nice and most were incredibly enthusiastic and welcoming when I told them about my book. Sherrilyn Kenyon with her "That's great! Is this your cover? It's beautiful! Who's your editor? She's really good!"and Maggie Shayne with her "Welcome vampire brother!" were by far the most enthusiastic.
5) Other writers I met for the first time (all of whom were nice): Theresa Bane, Peter David, Rebecca York, David Drake, Selina Rosen, L.A. Banks, Eric Griffin, Angela Knight, Susan Kearny, Angelica Knight, Mark Weiskoff, Janny Wurt, Phillip Nutman. and I'm certain I'm leaving someone out.
6) Writers weren't the only cool people I met. Kevin Sean Michaels, the man behind Vampira the Movie, was there and I got to talk with him a bit before the From Page to Screen panel began. I also got a chance to ask Hank Reinhardt (calling him a sword and arms historian doesn't really do him justice) a few questions about the uses of military picks for a novel project I really can't say much about yet. I also met cartoonist Andy Runton, the creator of Owly. It isn't about vampires, but Owly has a simple heartwarming storyline that should appeal to any and all.
7) It's strange to drive all the way to Atlanta to meet old friends who live in Birmingham, but I ran into several.
1) It was the first convention I've been to since becoming a father (six years ago!)
2) I got to meet my editor, Jennifer Heddle, in person for the first time. I can't say how cool it was to get a chance to chat with someone with whom I have worked so closely. For the record, she is exceedingly nice.
3) Before I left for the con, Jennifer emailed the cover proof for my novel. I'm not allowed to post it on the web yet, but I did get to carry it around the con with me. My wife printed out several glossy copies of the proof along with a handful of business cards. Not only did I get exactly the artist that I wanted (without ever being brave enough to mention that I wanted him), but absolutely everyone liked it. The people I met may not remember my name, but I like to think they'll remember Chris McGrath's wonderful artwork.
4) Believe it or not, it was also the first time I'd ever been to any Writer's Track Panels. It may be odd, but I decided that following the writer's track would be the best way to find out if I was doing things the "right" way. You'd think selling a book would have given me more confidence in myself, but I am ever the victim of self-doubt. Fortunately, every writer I met was very nice and most were incredibly enthusiastic and welcoming when I told them about my book. Sherrilyn Kenyon with her "That's great! Is this your cover? It's beautiful! Who's your editor? She's really good!"and Maggie Shayne with her "Welcome vampire brother!" were by far the most enthusiastic.
5) Other writers I met for the first time (all of whom were nice): Theresa Bane, Peter David, Rebecca York, David Drake, Selina Rosen, L.A. Banks, Eric Griffin, Angela Knight, Susan Kearny, Angelica Knight, Mark Weiskoff, Janny Wurt, Phillip Nutman. and I'm certain I'm leaving someone out.
6) Writers weren't the only cool people I met. Kevin Sean Michaels, the man behind Vampira the Movie, was there and I got to talk with him a bit before the From Page to Screen panel began. I also got a chance to ask Hank Reinhardt (calling him a sword and arms historian doesn't really do him justice) a few questions about the uses of military picks for a novel project I really can't say much about yet. I also met cartoonist Andy Runton, the creator of Owly. It isn't about vampires, but Owly has a simple heartwarming storyline that should appeal to any and all.
7) It's strange to drive all the way to Atlanta to meet old friends who live in Birmingham, but I ran into several.
Monday, August 20, 2007
YMMV – Part Two – How Long Is Forever?
I never guessed how long things took in the world of publishing, but you’d think I would have.
Before managing to “Go Pro” myself, I regularly interacted with the publishing industry only as a customer or a retailer. I worked for a local comic and game chain Lion & Unicorn (long gone now, unfortunately) for roughly eight years. For several of those years, I was in charge of ordering comics. We’d place orders roughly three or four months in advance and try to equal our invoice amount in sales by the close of business on Wednesday and double our invoice by the end of business on Saturday. By the end of my tenure there, I think the order gap had narrowed to more like two months in advance.
Being on the creative end makes that two month wait seem like a coffee break. Which isn’t a complaint, exactly, but waiting was stressful until I realized a few key facts. Publishing has a few unique rules all its own. If your agent or editor manages to get anything done for you in or around November, December, or the first half of January, they have accomplished something spectacular and rare. You should be very thankful.
Be patient with them. You are not the only iron they have in the proverbial fire.
On the other hand, if they need something from you, get it to them quickly. They are balancing many different projects and when it’s your book's time in the attention queue, you don’t want to slow things down. There is (at least for me) a great deal of “hurry up and wait” in publishing. My suggestion is that you use that time to WRITE. Writing is the one thing that you can mostly control. It also means that if *gasp* your series bombs and they want another book anyway, just not in the same vein as the one they bought first, you can say, “How about this one?” instead of “I’ll get back to you in a few months.”
At any given time, I usually have one novel that I’m seriously working on, one I’m poking around at, and a third in what I call the brain storming phase. I plan to be prolific.
[Authorial Aside: This doesn’t count all the little notes that wind up in various sections of my hard drive detailing enough of an idea so that I can go back to it and start working later. One of these notes is how I arrived at my first publishable novel, STAKED. You see originally, I was going to write about magicians. I wrote two novels about said magicians before I realized that they really weren’t up to snuff. Some of the mages were perilously one-dimensional and in the climactic throw down in book one, the people who showed up to help the main character had literally no motivation for being there at all. *I* knew why they were there, but I hadn’t shown the reader enough to give them any indication other than a) I guess those other mages really like that guy or b) I guess Jeremy wrote himself into a corner. Rather than go back and rewrite the novels from scratch (which still may happen one day) I started paging through my idea documents, examining scraps of texts and found a note I’d left myself: “Maybe the Eric idea would work better in first person… with a I don’t know what to call it… a co-tagonist. Can I include two alternating first person points of view in a narrative? Meh.” It was followed by a secondary note about how to handle Eric’s potty mouth: “Might work best if you just write it how he says it. He can be censored later.”]
But back to the topic at hand, the process of publishing takes a long time. A very long time. I’ve often wished for a sort of guideline giving approximate gestational periods and steps for a book. I've started such a list in one of these blogs, but won't be able to finish it for a while yet.
J
Before managing to “Go Pro” myself, I regularly interacted with the publishing industry only as a customer or a retailer. I worked for a local comic and game chain Lion & Unicorn (long gone now, unfortunately) for roughly eight years. For several of those years, I was in charge of ordering comics. We’d place orders roughly three or four months in advance and try to equal our invoice amount in sales by the close of business on Wednesday and double our invoice by the end of business on Saturday. By the end of my tenure there, I think the order gap had narrowed to more like two months in advance.
Being on the creative end makes that two month wait seem like a coffee break. Which isn’t a complaint, exactly, but waiting was stressful until I realized a few key facts. Publishing has a few unique rules all its own. If your agent or editor manages to get anything done for you in or around November, December, or the first half of January, they have accomplished something spectacular and rare. You should be very thankful.
Be patient with them. You are not the only iron they have in the proverbial fire.
On the other hand, if they need something from you, get it to them quickly. They are balancing many different projects and when it’s your book's time in the attention queue, you don’t want to slow things down. There is (at least for me) a great deal of “hurry up and wait” in publishing. My suggestion is that you use that time to WRITE. Writing is the one thing that you can mostly control. It also means that if *gasp* your series bombs and they want another book anyway, just not in the same vein as the one they bought first, you can say, “How about this one?” instead of “I’ll get back to you in a few months.”
At any given time, I usually have one novel that I’m seriously working on, one I’m poking around at, and a third in what I call the brain storming phase. I plan to be prolific.
[Authorial Aside: This doesn’t count all the little notes that wind up in various sections of my hard drive detailing enough of an idea so that I can go back to it and start working later. One of these notes is how I arrived at my first publishable novel, STAKED. You see originally, I was going to write about magicians. I wrote two novels about said magicians before I realized that they really weren’t up to snuff. Some of the mages were perilously one-dimensional and in the climactic throw down in book one, the people who showed up to help the main character had literally no motivation for being there at all. *I* knew why they were there, but I hadn’t shown the reader enough to give them any indication other than a) I guess those other mages really like that guy or b) I guess Jeremy wrote himself into a corner. Rather than go back and rewrite the novels from scratch (which still may happen one day) I started paging through my idea documents, examining scraps of texts and found a note I’d left myself: “Maybe the Eric idea would work better in first person… with a I don’t know what to call it… a co-tagonist. Can I include two alternating first person points of view in a narrative? Meh.” It was followed by a secondary note about how to handle Eric’s potty mouth: “Might work best if you just write it how he says it. He can be censored later.”]
But back to the topic at hand, the process of publishing takes a long time. A very long time. I’ve often wished for a sort of guideline giving approximate gestational periods and steps for a book. I've started such a list in one of these blogs, but won't be able to finish it for a while yet.
J
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY (YMMV)
YMMV – Part One
So... I promised to write this blog quite some time ago and then got bogged down with doing the requested revisions to STAKED (all done and accepted now), the final draft of my first fantasy novel, plus the maps and synopses for it and the two suggested sequels, and working on a different Urban Fantasy novel, this time a twist on werewolves... but I digress.
Getting an agent:
Before I even get into this, let me very briefly tell why I felt I needed an agent first, and in general why I feel most writers who want to be published by the major US publishers need an agent:
I don’t go to many conventions (most of my vacation time gets spent with family)
I don’t have a lot of time to go to conventions, make contacts, attend pitch sessions,
I don’t live in or near New York
Having said that, and assuming that you want to be represented by a literary agent, I have the following warning: I am not an expert, but I do have a literary agent, so my method has worked once. Also, before you even read the advice below or start looking at lists of agents, go to the Preditors and Editors website at: http://anotherealm.com/preditors/ and read it. This will save you time and very possibly money.
When querying an agent, I used the following rules:
1) Send a SASE (Self Addressed Stamped Envelope). They all want one. If you don’t have one, your query may be thrown away. Nearly every site on the internet, every book on getting and agent, and anyone who has and agent will tell you this. If it doesn’t have an SASE, your query might get thrown away unread.
2) Send them what they want. Among other things, this demonstrates your ability to follow instructions. If they don’t want you to submit manuscript material, DON’T SEND ANY. Some agents want none, others want the first five pages, an outline, the first three chapters. For the record, I submitted an email query, was then asked for the first three chapters, and then the balance of the manuscript and a synopsis. Yes, the wait is maddening, but if you don’t give it to them the way they want it, they might not even read it and again… straight into the garbage.
3) Make sure you have an idea what they are looking for. Some have only one requirement: fantastic writing. But you can have the best idea for a Werewolf Transsexual Self-Help Mystery ever and it means nothing if you submit it to an agent that is only accepting Young Adult Caterpillar Thrillers. If your potential agent has a list on a website of likes and dislikes, so much the better. Play those aspects of your submission up, but do it honestly. After all, if you pitch that Werewolf Transsexual Self-Help Mystery to the Young Adult Caterpillar Thrillers agent as the biggest, most fantastic, touching Caterpillar Thriller of them all… and it isn’t... you’ll just piss them off. That is NOT how you want to get word of mouth started.
4) Prevail. What do I mean by that? Do not send one query out, get one rejection and stop. That’s just plain lazy, though it used to be how I did things until I got serious about getting published. It’s very humbling to be sitting at home after work and realize that the reason your dream hasn’t come true yet is because you haven’t mustered enough effort to make it come true… very humbling indeed.
5) Keep your commitments. If you tell your agent you will have something to them by X date, have it to them by X date. I usually try for X-1, if at all possible.
I’m sure there is more advice I should be giving on this subject, but that’s all I have for now.
As always, your mileage may vary. Just because it worked for me, doesn’t mean it’s the “best” way. You have talents and abilities that I don’t have, a spark that makes you different. Use your strengths.
Oh and one last note:
Spell the agent’s name correctly on your query letter…
J
So... I promised to write this blog quite some time ago and then got bogged down with doing the requested revisions to STAKED (all done and accepted now), the final draft of my first fantasy novel, plus the maps and synopses for it and the two suggested sequels, and working on a different Urban Fantasy novel, this time a twist on werewolves... but I digress.
Getting an agent:
Before I even get into this, let me very briefly tell why I felt I needed an agent first, and in general why I feel most writers who want to be published by the major US publishers need an agent:
I don’t go to many conventions (most of my vacation time gets spent with family)
I don’t have a lot of time to go to conventions, make contacts, attend pitch sessions,
I don’t live in or near New York
Having said that, and assuming that you want to be represented by a literary agent, I have the following warning: I am not an expert, but I do have a literary agent, so my method has worked once. Also, before you even read the advice below or start looking at lists of agents, go to the Preditors and Editors website at: http://anotherealm.com/preditors/ and read it. This will save you time and very possibly money.
When querying an agent, I used the following rules:
1) Send a SASE (Self Addressed Stamped Envelope). They all want one. If you don’t have one, your query may be thrown away. Nearly every site on the internet, every book on getting and agent, and anyone who has and agent will tell you this. If it doesn’t have an SASE, your query might get thrown away unread.
2) Send them what they want. Among other things, this demonstrates your ability to follow instructions. If they don’t want you to submit manuscript material, DON’T SEND ANY. Some agents want none, others want the first five pages, an outline, the first three chapters. For the record, I submitted an email query, was then asked for the first three chapters, and then the balance of the manuscript and a synopsis. Yes, the wait is maddening, but if you don’t give it to them the way they want it, they might not even read it and again… straight into the garbage.
3) Make sure you have an idea what they are looking for. Some have only one requirement: fantastic writing. But you can have the best idea for a Werewolf Transsexual Self-Help Mystery ever and it means nothing if you submit it to an agent that is only accepting Young Adult Caterpillar Thrillers. If your potential agent has a list on a website of likes and dislikes, so much the better. Play those aspects of your submission up, but do it honestly. After all, if you pitch that Werewolf Transsexual Self-Help Mystery to the Young Adult Caterpillar Thrillers agent as the biggest, most fantastic, touching Caterpillar Thriller of them all… and it isn’t... you’ll just piss them off. That is NOT how you want to get word of mouth started.
4) Prevail. What do I mean by that? Do not send one query out, get one rejection and stop. That’s just plain lazy, though it used to be how I did things until I got serious about getting published. It’s very humbling to be sitting at home after work and realize that the reason your dream hasn’t come true yet is because you haven’t mustered enough effort to make it come true… very humbling indeed.
5) Keep your commitments. If you tell your agent you will have something to them by X date, have it to them by X date. I usually try for X-1, if at all possible.
I’m sure there is more advice I should be giving on this subject, but that’s all I have for now.
As always, your mileage may vary. Just because it worked for me, doesn’t mean it’s the “best” way. You have talents and abilities that I don’t have, a spark that makes you different. Use your strengths.
Oh and one last note:
Spell the agent’s name correctly on your query letter…
J
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Edit, Revise, Repeat...
Since I last blogged, I’ve gotten the good word back from my editor that she likes most of my changes (there is still one sticking point, but it is mostly resolved) and I’m almost ready to go back through my sequel again, editing it to line up with the changes in STAKED. My much delayed fantasy novel is almost ready to go back through my local writing group for general bashing and crunching. I’ve also sent a query to Marvel Comics about a mini-series I’d like to write for them.
I’ve got a short story under consideration at COSMOS magazine. Their fiction editor wants to pick it up, but they just ran an invasion short story, so he’s waiting an issue or two before pitching it to his boss.
So what does all that have to do with you? If you want to be a writer, keep writing. Never stop. You will write things that (once you finish them) feel like a waste of time, but that doesn’t matter. Put them aside. Maybe you’ll come back to them later. And of course, as everyone says, write every day. I generally try to write for four hours a night, because I write well at night.
Chart your creative times too. Mine are in midmorning, early afternoon, another in the late afternoon, and then again early evening, and around nine o’clock. Chart yours. Most of my big times are smack in the middle of my day job, so I lose them, which means I have to squeeze all I can out of my lunch hour and the nine o’clock rush. If I’m having trouble getting started, a (no longer than) fifteen minute cat nap helps get me started again.
If I can’t get into the right mood for a scene, then I queue up music that fits the scene and sit there with my eyes closed listening to it until it feels right (but not for more than a few minutes). Once the adrenaline is pumping, and I’m all happy and cheerful, or whatever is required for the scene, I turn off the music and pour that feeling out onto the page.
What works for you? (Comments welcome!)
Jeremy F. Lewis
I’ve got a short story under consideration at COSMOS magazine. Their fiction editor wants to pick it up, but they just ran an invasion short story, so he’s waiting an issue or two before pitching it to his boss.
So what does all that have to do with you? If you want to be a writer, keep writing. Never stop. You will write things that (once you finish them) feel like a waste of time, but that doesn’t matter. Put them aside. Maybe you’ll come back to them later. And of course, as everyone says, write every day. I generally try to write for four hours a night, because I write well at night.
Chart your creative times too. Mine are in midmorning, early afternoon, another in the late afternoon, and then again early evening, and around nine o’clock. Chart yours. Most of my big times are smack in the middle of my day job, so I lose them, which means I have to squeeze all I can out of my lunch hour and the nine o’clock rush. If I’m having trouble getting started, a (no longer than) fifteen minute cat nap helps get me started again.
If I can’t get into the right mood for a scene, then I queue up music that fits the scene and sit there with my eyes closed listening to it until it feels right (but not for more than a few minutes). Once the adrenaline is pumping, and I’m all happy and cheerful, or whatever is required for the scene, I turn off the music and pour that feeling out onto the page.
What works for you? (Comments welcome!)
Jeremy F. Lewis
Friday, June 22, 2007
The Great Name Blog
The title of my novel has changed multiple times. As a reminder, the initial title was WELCOME TO THE VOID. This was unacceptable to some of the marketing folks, probably because it doesn’t exactly scream "Vampires!" The second title, BITE ME, was also changed, for reasons possibly having to do with it being a little too in your face or too close to Christopher Moore’s YOU SUCK. I am quite pleased with the new title, STAKED, and can only hope that I won’t have to come up with any more options.
In the process of title selection, my friends, family, writers' group and I made a long list of possibilities. To say the least, some of the titles were less than stellar. Having said that, here is a list of some of the worst/most amusing/most utterly unusable title ideas we came up with (in no particular order):
Bite the hand
Bite Back
Blue Collar Fang
Warning: This Book May Bite You
A Different Type of Anger
Vampires do it at Room Temperature
Anything that moves
Six Ways From Sunday
Straight From The Vein
Always Bite Strangers
Gentlemen Prefer O Negative
Eric: The Life and Times of an Undead Bastard
Undead and Unrepentant
Vampires Never Say Sorry
Voided
Welcome to the Nightmare
Cold Blooded
Enter the Void
Even Vampires Get the Blues
Deadly Dancing
Fangs for the Memories
I Love the Night Life
This Never Happened to Dracula
Idle Fangs
The @$$hole’s Guide to Being A Vampire
More Trouble Dead
101 Reasons Not to Make Your Girlfriend Immortal
Rip Me A New One
F*cking Vampires
Dead Men Tell No Tales and Dead Women Won’t Stop Talking
Death Means Never Having To Say You’re Sorry
F is for Vampire
Even Vampires Hate Mondays
Immoral Beloved
Dead men Don’t Dodge Bullets
When You Die, It Gets Worse
Dead Men Don’t Do Dishes
Suck It
When the Night Gets Old
Vampires Suck
Too Much At Stake
Thicker Than Water
The Dark Fangtastic
Fangtasia
Fangtom of the Pollux
Swallow
Ouch! (with sequels: It Still Hurts and See How You Like It)
More later!
Jeremy
In the process of title selection, my friends, family, writers' group and I made a long list of possibilities. To say the least, some of the titles were less than stellar. Having said that, here is a list of some of the worst/most amusing/most utterly unusable title ideas we came up with (in no particular order):
Bite the hand
Bite Back
Blue Collar Fang
Warning: This Book May Bite You
A Different Type of Anger
Vampires do it at Room Temperature
Anything that moves
Six Ways From Sunday
Straight From The Vein
Always Bite Strangers
Gentlemen Prefer O Negative
Eric: The Life and Times of an Undead Bastard
Undead and Unrepentant
Vampires Never Say Sorry
Voided
Welcome to the Nightmare
Cold Blooded
Enter the Void
Even Vampires Get the Blues
Deadly Dancing
Fangs for the Memories
I Love the Night Life
This Never Happened to Dracula
Idle Fangs
The @$$hole’s Guide to Being A Vampire
More Trouble Dead
101 Reasons Not to Make Your Girlfriend Immortal
Rip Me A New One
F*cking Vampires
Dead Men Tell No Tales and Dead Women Won’t Stop Talking
Death Means Never Having To Say You’re Sorry
F is for Vampire
Even Vampires Hate Mondays
Immoral Beloved
Dead men Don’t Dodge Bullets
When You Die, It Gets Worse
Dead Men Don’t Do Dishes
Suck It
When the Night Gets Old
Vampires Suck
Too Much At Stake
Thicker Than Water
The Dark Fangtastic
Fangtasia
Fangtom of the Pollux
Swallow
Ouch! (with sequels: It Still Hurts and See How You Like It)
Feel free to comment and contribute your own terrible titles.
More later!
Jeremy
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)