The After-Reading Party

I came, I read, I answered questions.

I'm the sort of person who doesn't like crowds, especially doesn't like speaking before a crowd. I can handle a classroom of inattentive students, say, up to about 25, which is my day job. So I worried about the reading opportunity that was foisted upon me this past Tuesday. I prepared by selecting which scene from each of my three books I would read, something short yet evocative and which demonstrated in a couple pages my great craft.

My event made the campus jumbotron!

Then obstacles ensued. The largest was a faculty meeting the hour right before my reading. In fact, as faculty meetings tend to go, it could run long and thus extend into my scheduled reading. I wondered whether or not I should leave the meeting a little early to be at the appointed place at the appointed time. But then, I feared, the university vice-president, who leads these meetings, might call me out for my reading and if I were not present it could be a major faux pas.

However, everything went as the proverbial clockwork. I attended the meeting, sipping on a caffeinated beverage throughout. As the clock ticked down, the VP did indeed call me out to say a few words about my new/latest book. "Give us a couple sentences," he said. Knowing my colleagues were anxious to exit, I just gave a two sentence summary of my event and all were pleased. 

I returned to my office to grab the three books of the Stefan Szekely Trilogy, plus another trio to be used as a raffle prize. I thought to carry the box I had of other copies but thought I could sell them later, after the "show" or the next day, rather than carry the box across the campus. (In hindsight, no, I did not sell any books afterward; I believe I could've sold some if I had them there at the event - mistake number one.)

When I arrived at the student union for the event, I found everything set up for me, thanks to the English Club! I'd worried that I would be walking into an empty room and would need to announce myself and gather passers-by to form an audience. My colleague introduced me and acted as MC. First I told about my new/latest book, the third of a trilogy. That led me to explain where it started, where I got the idea (anecdotes about my daughter being hooked on Twilight, etc.), and an overview of the trilogy.

Then I read a scene from the first book, which I felt showed the style and tone of the story quite well: the first time my protagonist seeks medical help for his skin problems. I paused to explain what happens next, intending it as a lead-in to reading a scene from the second book. However, a hand went up so I called on that audience member and answered her question. That led to other questions, divided evenly between questions about my writing process (in general and for this trilogy) and the process of "getting published". The questions continued and I never got to read more in the hour-long event.

Given that the audience was mostly students, I had worried how attentive they might be at such an event. I know how they can be in my own classes. I also knew that my colleagues had offered "extra credit" for attending, so I had little expectation of an enthusiastic crowd. Their questions, however, seemed genuine and not off a script. Several were apparently very interested in writing stories and trying to publish them. I made generous offers to take a look at their work. One colleague reminded me to mention I would be teaching the Creative Writing course in the fall semester.

A Journalism professor attended and later suggested some journalism students would interview me for a feature in the campus newspaper. Great publicity! Especially for a shy guy who would rather write than speak. In any case, it was a comfortable experience. I urge anyone of similar temperament to go ahead and accept that invitation to do a reading. It will be over before you know it!

It was later than usual when I left the campus for the drive home, but I did not stop off at my neighborhood bar for a drink. I was not unnerved and in need of that stress-relief. Instead, when I arrived home, I indulged in ice cream. I could almost sense paparazzi outside my door. Almost.


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(C) Copyright 2010-2019 by Stephen M. Swartz. All Rights Reserved. No part of this blog, whether text or image, may be used without me giving you written permission, except for brief excerpts that are accompanied by a link to this entire blog. Violators shall be written into novels as characters who are killed off. Serious violators shall be identified and dealt with according to the laws of the United States of America.

A New Year Yawns

Well, it seems it's finally that time of year again. Time for the new semester to begin, for I am, as close followers of this blog may recall, one of those of the teacher persuasion. And, thus, the new semester dawns once more. Or should I say a new year yawns?

Sure, I had the holiday/slash/winter break but it is never enough to recover from a fall semester, as usual, filled with mountains of papers to grade and lessons to prepare and conduct. All part of the plan, of course. And I have accepted that plan. After all, teaching writing is the second best thing I know how to do. Writing itself would be the first best thing. However, even those marks may seem pale compared to many others' marks I have encountered in my life. Nevertheless....

I like to begin a blog year with a reintroduction. To those who know everything already, I beg your indulgence. 

This blog has no real rhyme or reason to it; it is more often than not the musings which come into my head and go out my fingertips willy-nilly. On occasion, I endeavor to offer some writing advice, some technique examples, discussions of grammar issues, or similar authorical esoterica. At other times, I will update blog followers on my latest writing efforts or publishing achievements. I may wax poetic on the woes of me whenever the mood strikes me down. Sometimes I will have a guest blogger or share someone else's news or book.

First, you will note the name of this blog. What could it possibly mean? The DeConstruction of the Sekuatean Empire? When I first hammered this blog from hell's own fire and brimstone, I had in mind a place to post the "back material" for THE DREAM LAND Trilogy. Because the trilogy is set in part on another world, the political entity known as the Sekuatean Empire becomes a focal point. Hence, the title of this blog would make sense: taking apart the history, geography, culture and customs of the place where much of the action of the story occurs. However, as time has progressed, other works came to the forefront which had nothing to do with Sekuate or its hard-working rebels.

North and South Sekuate, c. 1481 GP

You will also note the list of book titles with convenient hyperlinks in the upper right corner of this blog page. They are not mere decoration but serve as keys that open doors to my dementia. Experience them and be enlightened forever more! Or, at the least, be entertained. My writing strives to enfold profound truths of the human condition within pages of action and adventure, liberally marbled with sex and romance and sprinkled with pontifications and jokes best left on the cutting room floor. That sounds a lot like a warning, doesn't it? But it's all in jest. I can assure you that 99.9% of the words are spelled correctly and good grammar is always in use==except for the dialog of those characters who have not been well-educated and then only for the sake of authenticity.

To update you now, I am working (more or less) on the revision of my National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) book, a science-fiction tale of the little alien who could, working titled THE MASTERS' RIDDLE. I have no timetable for its completion but I am beginning to enjoy working on it, rather than cranking out pages to win the NaNoWriMo contest--which I did at 55,555 words. In addition, I still want to get two previously written novels up to snuff and made available this coming year: AIKO, a love story/murder mystery set in 1980s Japan, and YEAR OF THE TIGER, an action adventure tale about hunting a man-eating tiger, set in 1986.  

Furthermore, I strive to post a new entry once a week, all the better to take advantage of such Twitter hashtag threads as #MondayBlogs. I do not hold to this schedule religiously, however--as this month's fares will attest. But I try. You know how life tends to interfere with your best intentions. Doubly so for writers and teachers. Worst yet if one is both a writer and a teacher. But I'm not complaining.

In keeping with a "best practices" model of book promotion, I shall attempt to keep blatant marketing efforts to a minimum--except when something new is being launched. As always, I expect followers of this blog to read everything I produce and go forth to gather all their family members and friends, coworkers and just about everyone they encounter in their daily lives, and make them also followers of this blog, readers of these books, and all-around nice people who live to love and love to live, helping all of us enjoy this wonderful world we occupy and yet still be prepared to battle the interstellar aliens who will invade us circa 2345. Or not. The choice is yours, as always. But I have high hopes for you.

Thanks for your attention to these matters. Now carry on making the world a better place for me. And I shall return the favor!

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(C) Copyright 2010-2015 by Stephen M. Swartz. All Rights Reserved. No part of this blog, whether text or image, may be used without me giving you written permission, except for brief excerpts that are accompanied by a link to this entire blog. Violators shall be written into novels as characters who are killed off. Serious violators shall be identified and dealt with according to the laws of the United States of America.

The Mother of all Writing Processes, Pt. 2

In my previous blog-type posting, I devoted almost all of my monthly allotment of blogging chutzpah in fulfilling my assignment to write about my writing process. Being a hot topic for me (i.e., the English teacher role-playing game I'm currently winning), I waxed poetic ad nauseam on this crucial subject. 

However, I secretly know that many readers gave up reading before reaching the middle of the lecture blog post. No problem. I can give you the second half here. It's like Mother's Day all over again. Baby steps, they say. Then bigger steps.

To Recap: In the previous post I began with discussion of the Writing Process in the most general sense. Then I went on to describe in more detail how I got the particular ideas for each of my novels. I also gave my answer to the blog-tour-required question of why I write what I write.

This brings us up to the Writing Process step where we actually do the writing:

Drafting

What I briefly described as the writing process I promulgate to my students (see previous blog post) holds true for any writing task. Even for fiction. However, fiction is more delicate, more fragile, and the idea of a story is subject to so many more mini-steps than some academic essay. I would need to address "my" personal writing process in light of each book, requiring about a year's worth of blogging. I've described the "getting ideas" step. The next step, drafting, usually requires me to craft scenes. I began using this approach when writing A BEAUTIFUL CHILL and have employed it ever since.

The one great thing I learned in my MFA program came from a visiting writer-in-residence one semester. David Huddle, whom I'd never heard of prior to his arrival, taught the formula which I've come to call the Aria - Recitativo structure. I forget what he called it, but we read many examples of this two-pronged attack strategy. Rather than get bogged down thinking of a whole story, focus on one scene. A scene is a moment in time, written and read in real time, moment by moment. It shows characters acting, speaking, living--which moves the story along. Between the scenes is what is called exposition. It is a compression of time and events, because they are not so interesting in themselves and they are of little consequence. We need them to get from one scene to the next, so we tell something to bridge the gap. We could say that the scene is the "showing" while the exposition is the "telling" part of the story.

So we have two parts of a story: the scenes and the exposition. In operatic terms, these are the Aria and the Recitativo. The Aria is a set-piece where the actors/singers stop the story and sing a song about how they feel or what the problem is or anything else that reveals something of the central issues of the story separate from the story line itself. Then we are into Recitativo ("recitation"), which is simply the information we need to move us on to the next Aria. People don't go to opera for the recitativo, nor do readers buy a book for the exposition passages. But they are necessary for tying aria to aria and scene to scene.

Granted, this is a simplification of both the opera structure and the structure of a novel, but if you examine contemporary novels, you are likely to see this structure. I've also heard it said that this writing style, this system in particular, has come about in parallel with the film industry. Younger writers write prose as though they are seeing the action in a movie. Readers, experienced with shorter, more succinct and set narrative patterns of television and film, seem to prefer this structure, as well.

So that is the bulk of my process of drafting. I seldom create a full outline but rough it ahead a few chapters or scenes. For example, I need a scene to show X or a scene where Protagonist realizes Y or decides Z. Often I begin in the middle of a scene and fill in what-happened-before as I go on with the scene. I try to avoid starting a scene with a setting description, at least not a long one. Knowing I have a tendency to wax poetic with wonderfully adroit metaphors, I try to keep the writing as lean as I can. Once in a while, especially where characters emotions are revealed, I allow myself a worthwhile indulgence of verbosity. Editors hate me for that, of course.

At each writing session (that is, when I have no particular schedule that would limit my efforts), I begin by reading what I previously wrote and editing as appropriate. That activity gets me into the story once more and when I have arrived at the point where I stopped previously, I am ready to charge ahead into new territory. Occasionally, I may awaken with a new scene in my head and I will write it out before determining where it should go in the story. Sometimes, I wake up and write the scene that is in my head without editing the previous section first. Sometimes, I just stare at the computer screen waiting for the muse to whisper into my ear. While waiting, I drink a lot of coffee.

I also like to play "soundtrack" music which sets the mood for the scene, or for the story in general. For example, as I write my vampire book, I dare play music from the films of Twilight, although it does not cause me to borrow anything else. The music must be without English lyrics because that distracts me from the words in my head. While writing Book III of THE DREAM LAND trilogy, a fine collection of "Epic" music, typical of video games and sci-fi films, served me well. (See a sample here.)

I have two writing sessions: morning and night. Mornings are good for editing and building on previously written text. Night is best for fresh composition--providing I can get motivated. The irony is that I must be exhausted physically and mentally before the words come easily. Mornings, I tend to trudge in zombie-like to the computer and start typing without too much "waking up"--even as the coffee is being made. I think in both cases, my filters are down and that allows unobstructed creation. My typing is better in the mornings, for some reason. The more I awaken, the sloppier my typing becomes. Those muses! Such pranksters!

Revision

When I have finished a novel, I follow the usual protocol: give it some time to settle, then read it fresh from the top. I do a thorough edit, scene by scene, chapter by chapter. Because I think a lot and mull it over for sometimes quite a while before actually typing, and because I edit as I go, I am usually pleased with the initial result. THE DREAM LAND Book III was my "dream" project because it flowed so easily and smoothly that it came out nearly perfect (in my humble opinion). I blame years of training and lots of coffee and a summer free from distraction for that miracle. Only in a few scenes did I struggle to get it right, changing the words and then later changing them back several times until I said to myself "Enough!"

My current project, A DRY PATCH OF SKIN, flowed well from the start but bogged down when I had to pause to do research. Then I got it flowing again but once more had to pause to do research. I finally decided to just write it straight through to the end and go back later to add in researched information, in this case, medical data. Each project has its own writing process, obviously, and each kind of story may also have its own method of creation. I try not to judge, but go with the flow. My muses seem to know what's best, although they often trick me and laugh at the results.

I know some of my quirks in writing, the set phrases I seem to use over and over. I know I tend to overuse certain words. Therefore, as a final step, I usually run a check of those particular words and phrases and edit each one personally, according to the situation in the scene. It is a laborious process, but I am old-school and do not trust technology to do everything for me exactly as I wish it. I have been tricked before. So I take the time to look with my own eyes at every instance of imperfection and fix it myself. Yes, I do suffer for my art. It's also why I wear glasses.

So that is something about how my writing process works. In short, it's a rough process at best, and the devil is somewhere between the details, waiting for opportunities to thwart my good intentions. The other side of the writing process, as all writers know, is that without the writing we nearly cease to exist. I cannot go very long without having a project to work on, either writing something new or working on an existing or older project preparing it for publication, no matter how long that takes. Otherwise, I wither and die. Nothing keeps me alive like the desire to know what happens next. And I won't know until I write it.

I was supposed to introduce the next bloggers on this blog tour but none has yet come forth to carry the standard. We shall remain ready to bear them forward should such a standard-bearer be found! 

Should there be no one found for this bloggish endeavor, I shall be forced to compile a blog post featuring the cutest bunny pictures I have encountered during the preceding year.

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 (C) Copyright 2010-2014 by Stephen M. Swartz. All Rights Reserved. No part of this blog, whether text or image, may be used without me giving you written permission, except for brief excerpts that are accompanied by a link to this entire blog. Violators shall be written into novels as characters who are killed off. Serious violators shall be identified and dealt with according to the laws of the United States of America.

What would you pay for a good Ebook?

Many of us think nothing of spending $10 to $15 per ticket to enjoy a movie for a couple hours. 

How about spending that amount on a book which will likely entertain you for many more hours?

As a discussion topic among authors, the pricing of ebooks is near the top of the list.

How much to sell an ebook for? After all, it has no paper, no physical materials that need to be considered in the cost. It's just text - mere words on a screen. Words don't cost anything, after all. Unless you put them into a book made of paper, such as a dictionary - or a novel. So the actual cost to a reader is only whatever time and skills were needed to put all those many words into a certain arrangement to tell a story or present other kinds of information.

So what is that time and skill set worth?

Time is, of course, worth at least "minimum wage" - currently $7.25 per hour. How many hours does it take to write, say, a 300 page novel? First rough draft? A thorough going-over of a subsequent draft? A full edit? The skill set necessary to write a book may be innate, may be pure talent from God, or it may be the result of years of training, probably at the cost of classes, tuition, and craft books read. More likely a combination. How do you put a price on that?

Some people may argue that the quality of the writing should determine the price. Or the length of the book. Both are true. Who would pay more for a book full of editing and formatting problems? (But what if the story is still compelling despite its technical issues?) It makes sense that if a 200-page book sells for $1.99 then a 400-page book should sell for $3.99 - unless the second 200 pages is not very interesting, of course. Or is that latter portion of pages simply a risk the buyer must take?

How about a children's book then? The text may be rather rudimentary, nothing demanding a high level of education, no fancy $20 words. The writing may not be very sophisticated or require any research. It may, however, include graphics - which would bring an artist into the cost/price equation. However, even a true "chapter book" (and most adult books, as well) has certain elements which must be considered in pricing, such as:

The plot. Where does a story come from? How does a writer invent such things? How does a writer arrange the telling of the story to create suspense, conflict, humor, tension, resolution, denouement? It's all imagination, right? And imagination is like ...air: it's free to everyone. So why pay someone for his or her imagination? Thanks, author, but it's not like you really did any work, no heavy lifting; you just thought for a while.

Characterization. Every story is told not by an author but by an invented person. Such characters may be based on real people or totally made-up, or be a combination. Does the real person who originated a fictional character get any share of the price? If a character is based on a real person then it's not actually invented, hence, it should be free. Right?

Action and dialog. Fist fights and car chases, the stuff of excitement, of entertainment. We can see them for free on television anyway. And in the greater scheme of writing, dialog is also considered action, just as much as a fist fight or a car chase. If the author overhears two people talking, say, at a Starbucks one afternoon, and writes that conversation as part of the story, do those speakers get a well-deserved portion of the price? What if the author changes some of that original conversation?

Setting. Sometimes it's the first, sometimes the last thing we think of in a story. Surely some stories would not exist if they were placed in a different setting, a different time and place. If the author went to such a place and looked around to get a feel for the landscape, the mood of the city, to see the way the cliffs actually crumbled down into the sea that our fictional hero must dive into - is that part of the cost? Is it the same, cost-wise, as attending a professional conference to perhaps hear what other authors have to say about writing?

Editing. Finally, we have something a bit more tangible in regard to the pricing of an ebook. Someone is actually hired to read and fix whatever problems may exist in the text, whether large such as organization or continuity, or small such as correcting typos or a grammar glitch. It's nothing against the author when something needs to be corrected - unless the author is also acting as editor. However, when a second person is employed, there is a real cost to be factored into the pricing of the book, even an ebook.

Artwork. Children's books rely on art but so do adult books, even ebooks. They all have a cover and most have cover art. It seems the cover does provide value to the story itself. People do judge a book by its cover. Many a book has been purchased, I would guess, because of the attractive cover. Therefore, authors have always been advised to pay well for competent artists to create enticing images to attract readers. More costs to factor in!

In the final analysis, we can easily see that there are actual costs for the editor and the artist which must be accounted for in what the author spends on producing the book. The author is due something, as well. The publishing venue, such as Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing, may also have criteria the author must follow when determining the price of an ebook. But how much? In the marketing business, selling a high volume of a product will usually cause its price to be reduced. Cost savings. Simple supply and demand, right? However, in the book business, well-known authors begin with high prices. Lesser known authors begin with lower prices. And some ebook sites will actually raise the price if there is more demand for a book, completely defeating the principles I learned in Economics 101.

Questions still abound.

How much do you think an ebook should cost? Does it matter what genre it is? How about the length? Does the first few pages (usually available for preview) determine the price for the whole book? Should the use of graphics in the book (number and quality of images) affect the price?

What if the author used an expensive marketing service? Would that warrant a higher price? Would you accept a higher price if you knew the author employed an editor, artist, and a marketing service? Does the cover art matter for ebooks? for the price of ebooks?

Would you pay more for a well-known author’s ebook? Should the price of an ebook correlate to the day of the week, the month, or the holiday season in which it is launched? What is the highest price you have paid for an ebook? What is the highest price you are willing to pay for an ebook, and what conditions would be necessary for you to pay that higher price?

Authors want to know. We want to provide the best value for your dollar but we also want to feed our children. (Sure, most authors have day jobs for feeding the children but the principle still applies.) There is a fair price in there somewhere. 

Please share your thoughts.

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 (C) Copyright 2010-2014 by Stephen M. Swartz. All Rights Reserved. No part of this blog, whether text or image, may be used without me giving you written permission, except for brief excerpts that are accompanied by a link to this entire blog. Violators shall be written into novels as characters who are killed off. Serious violators shall be identified and dealt with according to the laws of the United States of America.

Announcing the Myrddin Publishing Giveaway!

My publishing house
 Myrddin Publishing
is having a Giveaway! 

That's where we give away something...probably a book (or two). 

I confess I don't know all the details, 

but I encourage all of my dear readers and followers to 

check it out.

Click the BLUE Giveaway button under the banner to the right...I said RIGHT!

You could win something! 

Maybe one of my books--or a book from one of my writer buddies: 

paranormal, sci-fi, fantasy, romance, poetry, literary high-brow brain-shredding adventure tales of lust and betrayal...

(well, that last one's my book)!

Anything is possible in fiction! 

Remember that! 

& Tweet that! 

& Face that!

& Link that!

& Pin that!

"Be the Fiction you Want to Read!"

[Peace Out]

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(C) Copyright 2010-2013 by Stephen M. Swartz. All Rights Reserved. No part of this blog, whether text or image, may be used without me giving you written permission, except for brief excerpts that are accompanied by a link to this entire blog. Violators shall be written into novels as characters who are killed off. Serious violators shall be identified and dealt with according to the laws of the United States of America.