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mary rosenblum
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Hello all, I hope you've had a
great week, and that you're cooler than we are!
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mary rosenblum
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Going from winter rain to
summer sizzle in one day is a BIT much!
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mary rosenblum
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This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor and we're having an Open Question
Night. I've published seven novels and more than 60 short stories and will
do my best to answer any questions you have. If you're new here, remember
that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or the 'word bubble'
next to the red question mark at the top of the screen in order to ask a
question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me! Or you can use /ask and
type your question into the regular send bar if that works better for you..
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owlybear
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Mary it's 40 F and drizzling
herre...I'm cooler than you ar... :-)
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mary rosenblum
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About what we had two days
ago, sigh. Well, I think I'd rather be warm so I'll stop whining now.
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chekat
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Did you have any formal training
before you became published?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, not in writing chekat.
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mary rosenblum
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I got a BS in biology and
worked in endocrine research for a few years before I started writing
seriously.
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mary rosenblum
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I just started writing and
sending stuff out...started in nonfiction and switched over to fiction.
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chekat
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How did you know writing was
your forte?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, chekat, I always loved
reading and storytelling and I was always good at writing in school...
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mary rosenblum
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even if I DID get in trouble
for not writing exactly what I was supposed to write for assignments, LOL.
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mary rosenblum
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And when I started writing
articles and then stories and realized that real people actually DID
this...
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mary rosenblum
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there was no turning back.
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mary rosenblum
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I often think of it as leaping
off a cliff...I didn't bother to check to make sure I was wearing a
parchute until I was already on the way down! :-)
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wingedwarrior24
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What made you want to write?
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mary rosenblum
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Other writers. :-) I was
always rewriting their endings in my head, changing the characters (there
were NEVER any cool girl characters in the books I read as a kid)...
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mary rosenblum
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and generally making up
stories when I was bored...like in school. (Got into LOTS of trouble with
teachers over THAT let me tell you).
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penandink
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Who first noticed your writing
talent?
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mary rosenblum
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Nobody, penandink.
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mary rosenblum
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I got As on my writing
assignments, but I was gently discouraged from looking at writing as a
career by more than one teacher...
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mary rosenblum
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who told me that writers were
'special' and I should do something else with my life. So much for THEIR
foresight.
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mary rosenblum
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Actually, I remember when I
first heard the word 'talented' used with my name...was in some review of
my work or other in a magazine...
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mary rosenblum
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and I thought 'wait a minute,
that's not true'.
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mary rosenblum
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Talent seemed like some golden
letter on your forehead and all I had on my forehead was sweat!
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mary rosenblum
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That review actually shocked
me.
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chekat
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So writing is something that has
to be in your blood to be a good writer.
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mary rosenblum
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Oh, not at all, chekat.
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mary rosenblum
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Beware of that 'you have to be
born with it' stuff.
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mary rosenblum
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That's not true at all. What
was I born with? Nothing particular that I know of...I just love to write
and so I do it.
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chekat
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What makes a good writer than?
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mary rosenblum
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Caring about what you do.
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mary rosenblum
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As a day job, writing isn't a
good choice. You get no benefits..no health insurance, 401K, and the money
is mediocre in nonfiction and lousy in fiction.
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mary rosenblum
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You DO get to work at home but
you work HARD at home and you don't have the security...
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mary rosenblum
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of knowing how much money will
come in next week or next month.
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mary rosenblum
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People who write do it because
we can't NOT write. Believe me I have tried to quit many times!
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mary rosenblum
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Can't do it.
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mary rosenblum
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Serious addiction.
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chekat
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But doesn't talent play into it?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, sure it does, chekat. If
you are a natural at story telling you won't have to work as hard at
writing fiction as someone who doesn't have that storytelling ability...
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mary rosenblum
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but how do you KNOW? Very few
early stories sell. Does that mean you lack talent? Nah. Means you lack
craft.
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mary rosenblum
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Stories come easier for me
than for some other writers I know, and I know writers who find stories
more easily than I do.
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wingedwarrior24
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How do you know if you have
storytelling ability?
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mary rosenblum
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Your readers will tell you.
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mary rosenblum
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The priceless moments are when
someone comes up to you at a signing, a conference, at the post office, and
says, 'you know that story you wrote? It really made a difference in my
life'.
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mary rosenblum
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Then you realize that the lean
times, the rejections, the hard hard hard work...are worth it.
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mary rosenblum
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At least for me, that is. That
IS why I do it. :-) And it's why most of the pro writers I know do it.
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mary rosenblum
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And there is no stamp, no
test, no letter of certification, winged.
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mary rosenblum
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You operate on
faith...writing, getting rejected, writing some more, getting rejected...
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mary rosenblum
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because YOU believe that your
stories are good.
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mary rosenblum
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And then they start
selling...a trickle at first, then more often...
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mary rosenblum
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and that first person comes up
with an adoring look on their face and says 'wow, I never thought I'd
really get to meet you'...and you realize...'hey, I'm THERE.'
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chekat
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Writing is definitely an
experience in faith.
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mary rosenblum
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Oh it certainly is, chekat.
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mary rosenblum
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This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor and we're having an Open Question
Night. I've published seven novels and more than 60 short stories and will
do my best to answer any questions you have. If you're new here, remember
that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or the 'word bubble'
next to the red question mark at the top of the screen in order to ask a
question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me! Or you can use /ask and
type your question into the regular send bar if that works better for you..
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chekat
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I am bad about writing, I write
all the time.
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mary rosenblum
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That's hardly BAD, chekat!
Laughing!
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t green
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So how DO you become a great
story-teller?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, there is no standard
carved in stone, but my gut feeling is that the story has to MATTER to you.
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mary rosenblum
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It's more than just something
to sell for a few bucks, something to get published in a magazine...
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mary rosenblum
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the story itself matters.
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mary rosenblum
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We writers talk about this
sort of thing all the time, and this is a pretty general feeling.
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wingedwarrior24
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My first rejection was at
Talebones and I'm making it my lifelong goal to sell one there.
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mary rosenblum
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And you will, if you don't
quit trying, winged. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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Actually, my first rejection
was from Stan Schmidt at Analog Magazine and he YELLED at me in a scribbled
note. (Good story, LOUSY ending!).
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mary rosenblum
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I vowed at the time I'd sell
him one. :-) Then I started selling elsewhere and I never did send him
another story. Finally sent him one this year. It should be out, soon. So I
did it...finally fulfilled that vow. :-)
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chekat
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I've been told that I am very
detailed in telling things..
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chekat
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does that help in
writing?..being detailed
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mary rosenblum
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Yes, if it works in the story,
chekat. Detail helps bring the story to life, but too much of anything or
too much at the wrong place in the story isn't good.
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mary rosenblum
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There is no ONE thing that
makes your story work or not...
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mary rosenblum
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that's why you write and write
and write....slowly you begin to bring all those different aspects of
'story' together...
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mary rosenblum
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character, setting, theme,
action, etc...and that whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. But
it takes LOTS of writing to learn to do that. a
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wingedwarrior24
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I write the same two stories
over and over again for practice. Do you have any exercises that would help
with writing and if so can you give us a few?
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mary rosenblum
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Winged, I suggest that you
write wildly different things every time. Do a romance, a noir fantasy, a
hard SF piece, a horror story...
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mary rosenblum
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flex your muse's fingers,
increase your reach, try new things and fail spectacularly. Succeed
spectacularly.
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chekat
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Rejection seems to be the theme
here...looks for lots of it.
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mary rosenblum
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Well, yeah. And I still get
rejected. :-) Everyone does. Means 'no thanks'.
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wolf122
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Loaded question--how much money
does a 'typical' short story sell for?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, wolf, generally the pay
rate goes from zero to about 10 cents per word at the top of the pay scale.
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mary rosenblum
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You're not going to pay the
mortgage with short fiction, but you can...
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mary rosenblum
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continue to earn money from
your short stories.
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mary rosenblum
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You can resell rights to
anthologies over and over again.
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diane2
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Could you explain
'transitioning' from Act 1 to Act 2 etc,
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mary rosenblum
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Well, a transition between
scenes diane is just a bridge to take the reader from say, the living room
in the manor house, out to the carriage house after dinner...
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mary rosenblum
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and it can be as simple as a
skipped line to indicate a change in time and place...
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mary rosenblum
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or it can be a transition
where you simply summarize the time that has passed without a lot of
detail.
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mary rosenblum
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Say we're in that living room
with our main character Roxanne.
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mary rosenblum
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After Chandry left, they all
went in to dinner. Roxanne had no appetite and only picked at her roast
beef, earning her a concerned look from Nana. While the men adjourned to
the...
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mary rosenblum
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library for Port, Roxane
snatched her cloak from the closet and sneaked out through the service
entry, heading straight for the stable.
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mary rosenblum
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Those few sentences would have
required pages of story if we had to sit through dinner with her and listen
to the conversations, notice what was on her plate, and so forth.
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mary rosenblum
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So you select three or four
main events and use them to bridge that gulf of boring time to the next
important event.
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chekat
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What pays big money and how much
does it pay?
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mary rosenblum
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For what kind of writing,
chekat?
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mary rosenblum
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Do you mean novels? Or short
stories?
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mary rosenblum
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This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor and we're having an Open Question
Night. I've published seven novels and more than 60 short stories and will
do my best to answer any questions you have. If you're new here, remember that
you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or the 'word bubble' next
to the red question mark at the top of the screen in order to ask a
question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me! Or you can use /ask and
type your question into the regular send bar if that works better for you..
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wingedwarrior24
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Do you rewrite the first stories
you sold that were not perfessional and sell again?
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mary rosenblum
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I haven't, for the most part. Although
I did run across a story I wrote some fifteen years ago...couldn't figure
out how to end it, didn't like the ending I had on it.
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mary rosenblum
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I read it and realized what
the ending needed to be before I got halfway through. :-) Rewrote the end
and sold it to SciFiction...
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mary rosenblum
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which is the VERY top SF
market and actually does pay a buck a word. Only one.
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mary rosenblum
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As to chekat's question...
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mary rosenblum
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there is no big money in short
fictio.
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mary rosenblum
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And if you're looking at
writing as a way to make a million dollars, it's a poor route.
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mary rosenblum
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The big...the REALLY big money
comes from reliable huge sales.
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mary rosenblum
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Say 100,000 copies of every
book you publish or more.
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mary rosenblum
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That can happen with your
first book...look at Harry Potter...
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mary rosenblum
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but usually your career builds
over several books...King's did.
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mary rosenblum
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If you have a really good
story, great setting, cool idea, you can get offered a big advance...
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mary rosenblum
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say 5 figures, for your first
book but that is very rare.
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mary rosenblum
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Most authors get under five
thousand for their first book...
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mary rosenblum
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but of course if your book
catches on, you'll make money on the royalties no matter how much you got
on your advance.
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mary rosenblum
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If your book sells well,
you'll get more next time, more after that, and so forth.
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wingedwarrior24
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Short non-fic pays more than
short fic, is this the same with books?
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mary rosenblum
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Absolutely. There is a LOT
more money in nonfiction.
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wingedwarrior24
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For the novel course mary, what
should we have before we take part in the course?
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mary rosenblum
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A basic command of English
helps. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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Actually, the course is
designed to work with both beginners and advanced writers...
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mary rosenblum
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the individual instructor will
tailor his/her responses to the assignments to the student's level of
ability.
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mary rosenblum
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Taking the Breaking into Print
course or its shorter version will help you.
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mary rosenblum
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You'll be able to focus on the
craft of novel rather than basic writing craft, but I don't think they're
going to require it.
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wolf122
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How would you pitch a fantasy
trilogy to a publisher? Should all the books be written beforehand, or
merely the first one plus an outline/story arc?
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mary rosenblum
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If you're an unpublished
writer, wolf, you'll need to have one book completed before you pitch the
series.
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mary rosenblum
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You should probably offer a
detailed synopsis and maybe a couple or three chapters of the subsequent
books if you can.
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mary rosenblum
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If you haven't really thought
beyond Book One...
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mary rosenblum
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and it's a strong stand alone
book, just offer it and tell the editor that you could continue this as a
series.
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wolf122
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I'm also thinking of writing two
or three short-stories with the same characters as the novel, set before
the trilogy takes place. Should I try marketing those first, or the trilogy
first?
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mary rosenblum
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I did that with all my early
SF novels, wolf. If the shorts have sold, it increases the editor's
interest...you already have a readership for the book.
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forest elf
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What if you finish all three
before book one sells?
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mary rosenblum
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Then you can work on other
things while those three are making their way 'through the pipeline' and
onto the shelf, forest! Enviable position to be in!
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forest elf
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Is it easier to sell a trilogy
if all three are finished?
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mary rosenblum
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It's not a BIG point, but yes,
it will add a bit in your favor, forest.
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mary rosenblum
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Don't wait ten years to try
pitching the first book just so you can finish the other two, though!
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mary rosenblum
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But it can take a
Loooooonnnnng time to sell a book, so go ahead and be working on two and
three.
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mary rosenblum
|
This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor and we're having an Open Question
Night. I've published seven novels and more than 60 short stories and will
do my best to answer any questions you have. If you're new here, remember
that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or the 'word bubble'
next to the red question mark at the top of the screen in order to ask a
question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me! Or you can use /ask and
type your question into the regular send bar if that works better for you..
|
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writeaway
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Mary, when we're asked for
clips...exactly what is a clip?
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mary rosenblum
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Technically a clip was just
that...an article you wrote clipped from the newspaper or magazine that ran
it.
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mary rosenblum
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In nonfiction, you generally
include a copy of actual articles you have written...
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mary rosenblum
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but in fiction, you simply
mention the month and year of the magazine your story appeared in, or the
publisher and publication date of a novel.
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writeaway
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I made two cards that were
featured in a national diet magazine... clips?
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mary rosenblum
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Yep.
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mary rosenblum
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Anything you have published is
good, write!
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wingedwarrior24
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Any word on the release date of
novel course?
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mary rosenblum
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Yep. We actually have three
'guineapig students' taking the course right now...
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mary rosenblum
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they get to make sure that
everything works the way we think it should work.
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mary rosenblum
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So it's in the final
stages...should be out soon.
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owlybear
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If you have a lot of clips
should you try to pick out the better ones or ones that are closely related
to the story you're submitting....
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mary rosenblum
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Exactly, owly. A page long
single spaced list of every piece you've ever sold is going to make an
editor's eyes glaze!
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mary rosenblum
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Pick the largest and most
competitive markets and above all, mention sales of similar work...
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mary rosenblum
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In other words, if you're
subbing a SF story, your article on dog leashes is nice, but not real
applicable to a fiction submission.
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mary rosenblum
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Won't impress the editor much.
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mary rosenblum
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But a sale to Talebones or F
& SF will.
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whistlin_smithy
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How did the panel in Seattle go?
Well attended?
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mary rosenblum
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It went very well, Smithy. :-)
They had designed the conference to be a dialogue between writers, experts,
and the audience and I think they succeeded nicely.
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gwanny
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Mary, please define
"mainstream"
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mary rosenblum
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Mainstream is anything that
does not get marketed in a particular genre.
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mary rosenblum
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Bridges of Madison County is
mainstream.
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mary rosenblum
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It does not fit into mystery,
sf, romance, horror, adventure, thriller, etc.
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diane2
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Would Mainstream be more
narrative than dialogue?
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mary rosenblum
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It's not a rule, but you do
see quite a bit of narrative form in mainstream....literary as well.
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mary rosenblum
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But Lonesome Dove was really
marketed as mainstream, for example, and it is not a strongly narrative
story.
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diane2
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What type of 'inner values' make
a character compelling?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, it's not a matter of a
particular type of inner value, diane. Each reader will like or dislike
certain types of people with certain types of values.
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mary rosenblum
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What makes a character
compelling is reality.
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mary rosenblum
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If this made-up-in-your-head
character becomes a person to that reader, someone as real as many other
acquaintances in his /her life...
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mary rosenblum
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that character is compelling.
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mary rosenblum
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It can bite you, too. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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I have friends who have killed
off or damaged characters who belonged in a series...they get HATE mail
from fans!
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mary rosenblum
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Those were real people to the
readers and they were outraged.
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mary rosenblum
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There is an aspect of writing
that involves risk taking.
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mary rosenblum
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When you write something that
really matters to you, you are saying to the world...this is the best I can
do.
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mary rosenblum
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And often, you get this form
rejection letter.
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mary rosenblum
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But you really have to do
that...throw yourself into the 'best you can do' every time.
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mary rosenblum
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That's why so many people
quit.
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mary rosenblum
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It's hard to pick yourself up
off the ground and start the next story when that 'best' just earned
another rejection.
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mary rosenblum
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There's a saying about jumping
horses...
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mary rosenblum
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when you and the horse
approach a jump, you have to throw your heart over and the horse will
follow.
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mary rosenblum
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It means you have to ride as
if the horse IS going to take that jump...
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mary rosenblum
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and if he ducks out, you fall
REALLY hard.
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mary rosenblum
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But if you brace yourself for
his duck-out...he'll feel it and duck.
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mary rosenblum
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So you have to write every
story as if it's the Pulitzer winner, believe it.
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mary rosenblum
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And pick yourself up and do it
again...and again.
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speckledorf
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I love that saying...being a
horsey person:--)
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mary rosenblum
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I've taken a couple of THOSE
falls, too. LOL...when I was younger and still bounced when I landed!
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wingedwarrior24
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Are there begginer friendly book
publishers?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, you know there are
plenty of places where it's easy to publish, but start with the top markets
and work your way down.
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mary rosenblum
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Believe in that story.
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mary rosenblum
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Keep believing in it.
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mary rosenblum
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If you merely want to hold
your published work in your hands, you can do the iUniverse route.
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mary rosenblum
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There's nothing wrong with
that.
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mary rosenblum
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There is a huge difference
between wanting to see your story/novel in print and wanting a career as a
writer.
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mary rosenblum
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The first is easy to do. The
second is a lot more work.
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wingedwarrior24
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iUniverse?
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mary rosenblum
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That's a very good Print on
Demand vanity press...
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mary rosenblum
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they're cheap, do a nice job,
are a great resource for people who want to self publish...
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mary rosenblum
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and can't come up with the
money to pay for an entire print run at a traditinal vanity press.
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mary rosenblum
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A number of my students who
had family memoirs, poetry collections, and the like have used them.
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wingedwarrior24
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Do you have to take money out of
pocket for iUniverse?
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mary rosenblum
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Oh yes, it's a for-pay
publisher. But the upfront fee is pretty small...it was under 300 last time
I checked.
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mary rosenblum
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That may have changed.
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mary rosenblum
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I did an interview with them
about a year ago...it's on the website...Surviving and Thriving: Interview
Transcripts.
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mary rosenblum
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The main thing with writing is
that the more you do it, the better you get.
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mary rosenblum
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Too many novices send out a
couple of stories and say 'I'm no good'.
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mary rosenblum
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But if you keep writing, you
will keep improving.
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mary rosenblum
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Editors will notice you in the
slush.
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mary rosenblum
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Eventually, someone will buy
that first story.
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mary rosenblum
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It's not a matter of 'are you
good or are you not'.
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mary rosenblum
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You may not be writing
publishable prose today, but six stories from now, twelve queries from
now...you may be.
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mary rosenblum
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And remember...you can always
set up a website and publish your own work.
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mary rosenblum
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The internet is a strange and
mysterious place and when things propagate, they can do so quickly.
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mary rosenblum
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It's a good way to get reader
feedback, but DO realize that published is published...
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mary rosenblum
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you can't turn around and sell
THAT story to a magazine later...
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mary rosenblum
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but if it was really popular
an editor may well have heard of you when you next submit.
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mary rosenblum
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And story set in the same
universe may sell.
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wingedwarrior24
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are you saying you can only sell
a story once?
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mary rosenblum
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Nope. I have stories that have
been published six or seven different places or more...haven't kept count.
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mary rosenblum
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BUT...you can only sell First
Rights once, and the top markets only want First Rights...they want to
publish first.
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mary rosenblum
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You can sell second rights
(reprint rights) or anthology rights over and over and over again.
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writeaway
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But you can write it as a short
story and write it into a novel and sell that?
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mary rosenblum
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You bet, write!
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mary rosenblum
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And guess what...amazon.com
just thought of that.
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mary rosenblum
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They're going to start a new
project...if you have a book up on amazon.com...
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mary rosenblum
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you can offer short stories
for download so that readers can get a taste of what you write...
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mary rosenblum
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and see if they want to buy
the book.
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mary rosenblum
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You can do that yourself...
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mary rosenblum
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Actually, you could use it as
a sales tool, too.
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mary rosenblum
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Say you have a fantasy novel.
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mary rosenblum
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You write a couple of short
stories set in your fantasy universe and post them on a website...
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mary rosenblum
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and you get TONS of feedback
and hits. Everyone loves 'em.
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mary rosenblum
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When you pitch the book to an
editor or agent, you give them the numbers...
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mary rosenblum
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I got these emails, this many
hits.
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mary rosenblum
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Now you can of course fake
these, so they're not going to treat them as gospel...
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mary rosenblum
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but editors and agents are
sharp and if they think your attention is real, they'll be impressed.
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owlybear
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What's the difference between
First NA rights and First NA Serial rights... one of the mags I want to
submit to ask for the Serial rights...
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mary rosenblum
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Serial just means magazine,
owly.
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mary rosenblum
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Same thing.
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mary rosenblum
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A lot of mags have simply
dropped the 'serial'.
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wingedwarrior24
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Do you need an agent to submit
to iUniverse?
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mary rosenblum
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No winged. You are paying them
to publish your book for a fee and they're quite reputable.
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mary rosenblum
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They do have a contract...you
can't publish elsewhere while you are publishing it with them...and they
pay royalties on books sold...
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mary rosenblum
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but it's very straightforward.
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mary rosenblum
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And no, it is not likely that
a big NY publisher will publish it after it has been published by iUniverse
unless your sales are VERY good...
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mary rosenblum
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like in the nature of several
thousand copies in the first 6 months.
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info
|
Can you clarify the contract
thing? Do they mean that particular book or all books?
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mary rosenblum
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Just that particular book,
info.
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mary rosenblum
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Sorry. I was unclear.
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wingedwarrior24
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Does even the worst of sales
make money?
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mary rosenblum
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No, winged. Publishing DOES
cost someone money! Even at iUniverse, you have to earn back the money you
spent to publish the book...we'll say 200 before you make any.
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mary rosenblum
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Say your book sells for 15.00
and you get 10 percent royalties...
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mary rosenblum
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for every book you sell, you
get 1.50.
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mary rosenblum
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You can do the math. :-)
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mary rosenblum
|
Once you have sold that 200
worth of books, you'll make money on any books you sell from then on.
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mary rosenblum
|
Hi, Kate!
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mary rosenblum
|
Kate Daniels, our guest for
Thursday, has just joined us for a practice run here.
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mary rosenblum
|
Yep, you're here. :-)
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writeaway
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Hi, Kate.
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mary rosenblum
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Kate writes YA mystery and is
a fellow SFWA member...Science Fiction Writers of America.
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gwanny
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Hi Kate,,,,welcome
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marty
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Welcome Kate
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ashton
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Howdy, Kate!
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mary rosenblum
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I hope you all join us on
Thursday when I chat with Kate.
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mary rosenblum
|
Daniel. I will spell her name
correctly this time !
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mary rosenblum
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You can find a link to her
website on the calendar page on the LR website.
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mary rosenblum
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Thanks for coming tonight, and
we'll see you all on Thursday! Have a good weekend!
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chekat
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Hi Kate! Welcome.
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writeaway
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Nite, Mary and Kate. Have a good
and safe Memorial week-end.
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guestspeaker
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thanks for the welcomes,
everyone. :) I'll practice before Thursday so I won't be so slow.
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mary rosenblum
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thanks, Write! You too, and
all of you have a safe weekend!
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