What Genre R U?

Kate's Mystery Books by LenEdgerly Creative Commons


Great post on genre over at BookEnds today.

It looks like the best thing you can do is get it in the right ballpark and then tailor your query to the specific interest of the agents. So though my book is paranormal, it could be a paranormal romance because she has romantic relationships, or it could be paranormal mystery because the whole series is about finding out who killed the MC and her entire family.

Basically don't get too caught up in genre. Regardless of what you think your book is, the writing is what will get your foot in the door. And they can't see the writing if you never send that puppy out there.

Query on.

Take the Free Book Crack - You Know You Want To

Stack of Books Creative Commons

A new trend is busting out all over publishing - free books by download.

• SmartBitches reports you can get the first two books in Julia-Fleming Spencer's mystery series for free (so they can hook you and you'll be jonesing to buy the next four). Diabolical. If I like the first two, I'm much more likely to buy the remaining books in the series.

• And Tor has just started Tor.com, a sci fi website offering a free book download and wall paper every week for everyone who signs up for their newsletter. I just received my first free book, Orphans of Chaos by John Wright. Again, if I like his first book, I'll hunt up the second.

• HarperCollins is also offering large segments of their books for browsing in a try before you buy strategy.

I'm in book heaven! I But I wish I had a Kindle to read them on instead of the pdf on my laptop. Here Kindle, Kindle, Kindle.

Headline Writing Contest at Glamorati

Headline by Matt Volatile Creative Commons


Copyblogger has the scoop on a headline writing contest over at Glamorati. Winning entries get $5 per published headline and score a point. The highest point score at the end receives a $500 bonus. You must register on the website to submit entries.

My headlines based on today's stories:
Homer Simpson's Favorite Holiday
Stinkin' Jobs. Stinkin' Gas Prices. Stinkin' Economy.
You Wouldn't Like to Be a Pepper Too

What are yours?

3 Tips for Online Critique

100,000 Words of Oblivion by inkswamp


Keep these things in mind if you're giving or receiving critiques online.



1. Online critique comments can sound harsher than you mean them to.
Don’t be offended if something comes across as curt – it may not have been intended that way. Many jokes fall flat in email/text versions without voice inflections to help them along, so give your critter the benefit of the doubt. On the flip side, make comments on other people’s work carefully. Emoticons may be cutesy, but they can soften a comment that may seem harsh otherwise. Also abbreviations like IMHO (In my humble opinion) tend to soften the tone. So if you're offended by a critique, get over it :)

2. Online critique often offers time for reflection that real-time critique groups may not.
Sometimes we feel compelled to shorten our comments at a face to face critique if we are last in line to offer advice. Online critiques give us a chance to say everything fully, without editing. Use the extra online time to give a more effective critique. You may want to read your buddy’s submission once without making any comments, just to get a feel for it. Then go over it again (either immediately or a few days later) with an eye toward making suggestions. It’s also a good idea to leave an overall comment about the piece at the end.

3. Mandate how much critique should be done.
While online critique can sometimes lead to more in-depth comments, sometimes if your critique partner doesn't have to look you in the eye, he or she may skimp on critique. If you start your own online critique group or join one, have a rule that says everyone needs at least two hundred to three hundred total words of critique (this includes intext comments). That way members aren’t tempted to skimp on analysis when they’re juggling 2.5 kids, a job, and making tonight's mac and cheese. Plus it often spurs you to make more thoughtful observations about the writing.

Online Critique Groups 101

Fountain Pen and Glasses by Bright Meadow Creative Commons


Have an erratic schedule that prevents you from meeting regularly with a critique group? Having trouble finding writers specifically in your genre? Live in an area that’s too rural to meet other writers? Is your only time to work at 1 a.m. when the kids/spouse are in bed? (Hey, Benadryl works great on both).

Then online critique groups might be for you. The following websites offer critiques for writers. Websites marked with an asterisk are on Writers Digest list of 101 Best Websites for Writers. They work in various ways, so read the fine print before picking your group.

Critiquecircle.com – This popular critique site makes you pay with critiques to play. You critique to gain enough credits to submit your work for comments from others. The more you critique, the more of your own work you can submit.

Pros – Your story can be critiqued by an unlimited number of people while it’s posted on the site. Members must sign in to view submissions, so it isn’t considered “published” and you can back track to anyone who viewed your work – so it would be stupid to steal from you. They also show you sample critiques and most people are friendly and helpful.

You can also submit your work by category – so people who like romance will be critiquing your submission, not people who feel obligated because they are in your critique group. Categories include: newbies, thriller/mystery/suspense, romance/women’s fiction/chicklit, science fiction/fantasy/horror, children/young adult, and general.

Cons – it can take a long time to get your story put online for critique. It’s done on a first come, first served basis. So you may wait two weeks or more before your story is critiqued. But you can form your own critique groups and ask others to join after you learn how it works. There is a small additional fee, though, for the privilege.

Critters Workshop, Critters.org – This group is for writers of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. This is another situation were you must critique unto others for the critiques to come unto you. If you can do about one critique per week, you should have enough credit to get your submission critiqued.

Pros – They have a special feature that lets you get a whole novel critiqued. You post a request for dedicated readers, and those who respond commit to giving you feedback on your whole novel. Those who sign up to help you get double the credits they would per word for a normal critique.

Cons – It still takes about a month to get something in line to be critiqued, and they only allow science fiction, fantasy, and horror.

*Critique Groups for Writers - critiquegroups.com/
Here you form your own critique group with other writers on the site.


*Edit Red
editred.com
According to Writers Digest, “Head over to Edit Red for peer critiques, publishing tips and opportunities to promote your writing and connect with publishers. The site offers a free personal webpage, and promotion and marketing tools.”

*Mike’s Writing Workshop http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mikeswritingworkshop

*My Writers Circle – mywriterscircle.com

*The MuseItUp Club Critique Group - museitupclub.tripod.com
They limit critique groups to five writers maximum, but set up multiple groups.

*The Internet Writing Workshop internetwritingworkshop.org/

Create Your Own Online Group – Gather up a group of like-minded critiquers and create a schedule. Email submissions to each other on a certain day and require a response. So everyone might email their submission on Monday and critiques could be due the following Monday – or longer if you want to critique longer selections and you have busy schedules.

Tomorrow I'll post some tips specific to online critiquing.

Interview With Queen of the Road Doreen Orion

Doreen Orion's book is Queen of the Road: The True Tale of 47 States, 22,000 Miles, 200 Shoes, 2 Cats, 1 Poodle, a Husband, and a Bus with a Will of Its Own. It debuts today, and she was kind enough to answer some questions about her mega successful publicity campaign for the book.

Doreen, you've had outstanding success getting your book out there. How did you get your book in front of Elle Magazine (as a Readers' Jury contender), Target (as a Target Breakout Book), Borders (as the June nonfiction book club selection) and Celestial Seasonings (as the June book club selection)?

I wish I could take the credit - other than, of course, writing a book people seem to be responding to :). My publisher got it in front of the right people, and... to paraphrase what the airline I'm about to take many trips on for my book tour says, "I know booksellers have many choices when they read, and on behalf of the QUEEN OF THE ROAD crew, we appreciate their picking this book." I will say that as I wrote my book, I read other memoirs and tried to figure out what I liked and didn't like about them (good writing being a given). My favorites were those that not only entertained, but provided inspiration based on some change the author went through. Particularly for travel memoirs, I not only want to be transported to another place, but another way of thinking. So, that's what I tried to do.

How much do you recommend budgeting for publicity? A certain portion of your advance?

I don't think there's a set amount. What I do very strongly advocate is that the author look at her advance as an investment in her book. I kept my day job (not that my advance would have allowed me to quit, anyway), so didn't need to rely on the advance to live on while I wrote. As a result, I never really looked at it as "my" money. It was my book's money, so it was easy for me to spend a portion of it on things like a killer website and fabulous outside publicist to complement the great in-house team at Broadway Books. (Look, for all they've done for me, I had to plug my publisher, OK?)

Where do you think you get the most bang for your buck when it comes to publicity?

First and foremost, an author needs a fabulous website. In my view, that is the foundation upon which all other aspects of publicity are built. Then, it all works together, but the website is the hub of the wheel. (Sorry, you can take the gal out of the bus, but I guess you can't take the bus out of the gal.) Publicity is also not just about the bucks. Authors have to be extremely proactive for their books and not assume that everything is going to be done for them. In fact, when an author puts a lot of effort and energy into publicizing her book, that gets the publisher even more excited about it - always a good thing.

What would you tell a new author about publicizing his or her book?

I really should talk to her about getting a kickback, as I've referred so many authors, but as soon as you get a contract, chill the champagne and (before you imbimb, please! You want your email to be coherent - plenty of time for celebration later and besides... warm champagne?) contact Bella Stander - author consultant extraordinaire. Every author I've referred has thanked me again and again. She can not only suggest website designers and publicists in your budget that are good fits for your book, but is one of the most creative people I know. She came up with a wealth of (very inexpensive/free) ideas for publicizing QUEEN OF THE ROAD that I would never have thought of on my own. I only hired her for a total of 1.5 hours and that saved me so much in terms of money (she's also great at figuring out what you don't need), time and work.

Thanks for the interview and congrats on your newest book's debut.

You're very welcome. Soon, I'm going to be adding a link to my website specifically for writers about the publishing process as it can be a very challenging, winding road and although I normally have no sense of direction (just ask my long-suffering bus driver... er, husband), I hope to provide some insights.

Essay Market - Skirt Magazine

Vintage skirt by tajai Creative Commons

Looking for a home for your 800-1200 word essay? Try Skirt Magazine. They publish fourteen estrogen-rich essays per month (although they say "women and women's interests shouldn't limit your choice of topic.")

Monthly themes for 2008 as quoted from their website:

AUGUST: The Detour Issue

Simplifying your life; downsizing your life; organizing your home, becoming less of a pack rat, taking a different path, moving on, being in nature, cutting ties, less is more, moments of zen, running away.

SEPTEMBER: The Rules Issue

Making them, breaking them, bending them, women rule, the exception that proves the rule, conquering, rules for living, playing by the rules (or not), power, dominance, influence.

OCTOBER: Wonder Women

Women who inspire, what you aspire to, women who do it all, heroic women, icons, rule-breakers, your political involvement, situations with female politicians, why women don’t run, why women should run for office, women who lead the pack, leadership, going out on a limb.

NOVEMBER: The Delicious Issue

Dish, cravings, good taste, junk food, comfort food, having your cake and eating it too, the good life, heavenly, mouth-watering, appetites, drop-dead gorgeous, nourishment for the body and the mind, fit for the goddesses, pleasure, delighting the senses (all six of them).

DECEMBER: Fresh Starts

Resolutions you kept, resolutions you broke, why we make resolutions or why we shouldn’t, turning around a tough situation; working through hard times, starting over, clean slate, new beginnings, epiphanies.

*These are suggestions only intended to inspire writers interested in submitting for a particular month. We recognize that you may have ideas for other variations on theme of the month and look forward to reading your submissions.

Essays are due on the first of the month prior to the issue you're shooting for. So if you want your essay in August's Detour issue, submit it by July 1, 2008.

Read some their current essays to get a feel for what they're looking for. I love Amy Henry's essay "Dancing in my Kitchen" about how she stopped pining for the promises her husband had made. She cranks up the tunes and dances into the next phase of her life. Excellent choice of music too. Rock on.