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The First Sergeant on Mother’s Day

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In a recent Facebook exchange, one of my favorite people started talking about at what point, you should quit calling your children “kids.” There was a pretty spirited conversation, along the line of “your children will always be your kids,” but my friend, whose children are in college, felt at some point we needed to move past that. He finally ended the conversation with, “I tell ya I’m not a KID anymore!” While it was a fast-paced exchange in which we all freely abused each other, it really made me stop and think. And what I began thinking about, isn’t what you call your children – I really don’t care if you refer to them as adult children, kids, progeny, or blights on society. It’s about how I think of the people in my life.

For those who don’t know, I have no children. I openly admit to not being a baby person. Please don’t ever hand me your miniature human that screams and then leaks from every orifice. They absolutely terrify me and always have. I’d rather face a hungry grizzly bear, than have to hold a baby. I have babysat for exactly one child in my life and I’m quite frankly surprised that poor Alex wasn’t completely traumatized. As his mother was teaching him to say light and truck, I was teaching him to say b****. She took him home to visit family and Alex performed admirably. He said the b-word at every opportunity. He was an exceptionally talented child.

In truth, I didn’t want children because I never wanted to be responsible for another person. How ironic that I would eventually wind up being responsible for so many over the years.

The reality is that I never lacked for kids. I don’t remember a time growing up that my father didn’t bring home his troops or a time that my husband and I weren’t family to any number of ours. That “chosen responsibility” only grew with rank. The more stripes, the more young people. This was something all of us in the military understood. As we moved up through the ranks, we went from being the kids who the senior people looked after, to being the brothers and sisters who looked after each other, and finally to being the surrogate parents to the new crop of kids. It’s part of what makes the military a family.

When I became a First Sergeant, I frequently referred to my troops as kids. It did seem as though the bulk of the ones I was dealing with were very young. But in reality, age had nothing to do with it. It was a function of responsibility. Every enlisted person in that squadron, from the Chief down to the lowest Airman, was one of mine. It was my job to get between them, and whoever was messing with them, and fix the problem so my kid could do his job. When they messed up, regardless of rank, I stood for them with the boss. I fought for them, I protected them, and I did my best for them in whatever way I could. They were my responsibility. At some point in every relationship, the roles change. Those who I had responsibility for, stood up and accepted responsibility for me. In the unit, I was the one who would fight, protect, and do my best for them. In the field, they would have to take on that role for me.

So are they still my kids? Well… I still call them that, but I honestly don’t think of them that way. Hell, some of them are older than I am. I also doubt they think of me as their mother. At times, I have called them my guys or my men. Some of them I lovingly call, “My brother or my sister.” That particular term has real meaning to me and I hope to them – I use it sparingly. There are people I communicate with only once or twice a year, and some I abuse almost daily, but the bond between all of us is the same. I also openly admit to having given my heart away to a few of them over the years. They are the ones, who if they called for help, know I would be there. At least I hope those special ones know that. There are a few that I trust with my life; based on nothing more than what I know to be true in my heart – they are men of honor.

As for my friend on Facebook – I know you’re not a kid anymore. You never were a kid to me, any more than your closest brothers were. You, and this small group, were my men. You became my friends, and now I think of you as my brothers. When you call me “Shirt,” it has the same meaning to me as “Sister.” No matter what we call each other, it is always done with love and respect.

So finally, on Mother’s Day, I send greetings to all the mothers of my troops, and I thank you all for sharing your “kids” with me. Kids no more – it was my honor to serve with the brave men and women entrusted to my care.

Taking the next step

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Congratulations, you’ve written your novel.  Your beta-readers are done, self edit is done, and now it’s decision time.  What’s actually on your personal Bucket List?  Is it to write a novel, or is it to have a novel published?  There’s a world of difference.  We are back to the same question you had to answer honestly the first time – is it need or want?  One you do because you need to do it, and the other you do because you want to do it.  I needed to write Protecting Parker, but publishing was never on my list.  It was a very personal story, and while it was very important to me, I never thought anyone beyond my family and friends would be interested.

When publishing became a possibility, I found myself with a boatload of questions.  How much control was I willing to give up?  Most of my friends know that I have a black belt in “control freak.” Was I willing to submit the story to a publisher who might not have the same focus I did?  We aren’t talking about making corrections to sharpen the story – we’re talking about changes to fit a publisher’s line better.  More of this or less of that, so the story feels more romantic, or more action oriented.

The reality is that a publisher’s job is to make money for the their shareholders and they do that through book sales.  They’re not only following the hot trends; a publisher is trying to project or even set future trends.  They’re buying stories that fit in their lines, and ones that they are comfortable promoting.  I’m not interested in anyone’s trends or lines.  I’m focused only on my story.

This might sound silly to some people, but a serious consideration for me was the book cover.  Was I willing to accept that someone else might see my book in a different way than I did, and could I tolerate a cover that didn’t suit my vision?  Was I desperate enough to put up with something that I felt was crappy just to get my name in print?  Well… you all know how I feel about the cover situation.

The other thing I asked myself was did I really need to see my novel in traditional print, or would I be happy with having an eBook?  Was it about pointing at the book in a store, signing copies for my friends, or simply having it out there for people to read?  Those are the questions that will determine what you do with your manuscript when the time comes.  When you look at it from this perspective, you begin to realize that finding an agent or publisher that meets your needs is in some ways harder than producing the darn novel.

I’m one of those pain-in-the-butt people that always has to do it the hard way.  I have to ask the hard questions and try to answer them honestly.  I’ll always go my own way, but I’ll do it with a clear conscious and positive attitude.  Only you can decide what is important to you.

Do You Really Want to Be a Writer?

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Are you insane?  Well, if you are, then join the crowd.  But there are a few realities that we need to discuss.  You’re going to see the word honest in this article – a lot.  If you can’t be honest with yourself, you won’t make it as a writer.  The first big question you need to answer with total honesty is whether this is something that you have to do, or you want to do?

If you have to do it, then put your butt in the chair and do it.  Quit reading about it.  Quit talking about it.  Quit thinking about it.  Quit making excuses for not doing it.  Just put the words on the page.  As my husband’s niece Heather has told me more times than I can count, “You can’t edit a blank page.”

If your answer is “I want to do it,” that means you can spend the rest of your life sitting on your butt talking, reading, and thinking about it, while you make excuses about why you aren’t actually doing it.

One of the things you need to realize is that only the actual writing is a solitary process.  Everything else requires a team effort.  When I begin a book, I have a story in mind and off I go, just as fast as I can.  I don’t worry about grammar, format, or much of anything.  I simply try to tell the story.  Once I get the story down, then it’s self-edit, self-edit, self-edit, and then do it all one more time.  Not nearly as much fun as the rush of writing.

Now comes the hard part.  Give it to a friend who has enough guts to tell you the truth.  Ask them to be honest and mean it.  If you’ve never given your work to someone to read before – it’s horrifying.  Honestly, it’s gut-wrenching every time I ask someone for a first read.  But it’s the most important thing you can do.  When they tell you what they like, thank them.  When they tell you what they don’t like, thank them more.  Don’t defend your work or dismiss their comments.  They’re entitled to their opinion, and you asked for it.  Listen and learn.  An honest beta-reader, who reads the genre you’re writing in, is worth their weight in gold.  An honest beta-reader, who doesn’t read in your genre, but is willing to put their personal choice aside to help you, is worth their weight in platinum.

Heather read my first draft of Protecting Parker, and at one point marked the page with a note that read, “Are you s***ing me?  This is all he has to say?  You so p***ed me off as a reader.  I want to slap you.”  What I heard in my head was, “I loved this story until right here.  You should fix this so I can love you again.”  Of course, I didn’t hear that until after I got over my screaming, hissy fit.  How dare she presume to challenge me?  Thank goodness she did.  It’s a better story now.  The worst beta-readers say, “I loved it.  You’re great,” but don’t tell you what they loved or why.  If that happens, find a new beta-reader!  It’s absolutely useless feedback except to stroke your ego.  Most of us have enough ego – we need someone honest and courageous enough to tell us when we didn’t get the job done.

Once my beta-readers are done abusing me, then I go back to the lonely job of rewrite.  Set it down for a few weeks and then self-edit again.  Self-edit is the hardest part of the process, in my humble opinion.  But you need to be realistic with yourself.  I can write a book fairly quickly, but I can’t finish a book as fast as I write it.  I need to set it aside and take a break between the edits.  Often, I read the story multiple times, sentence by sentence, out loud.  This is all before an editor gets involved in the process and the abuse begins anew.

Finally, it’s up to you to go back now and answer the first question with total honesty.  Is writing something that you have to do, or want to do?

I have to!

Blood Money!

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I’m a fairly busy woman, doing the things that I like to do – writing, walking the dog, and in general trying to stay out of trouble.  The last one is pretty much a full-time job.  My publisher Dean is the one who stays up on all the stuff happening in the publishing world.  He weeds through all the news and gossip, and then he takes the time to fill me in on some of the more interesting tidbits.

One of the things he’s been following recently is the discussion that has popped up concerning the payment of royalties to authors.  This really began with the April 13, 2011 blog post The Business Rusch: Royalty Statememts by Kristine Kathryn Rusch on her website.  The bottom line is that she felt her royalty statements from her publisher were not correct.  How could she have sold few eBooks, according to her publisher, when her self-published books were selling at a good pace.  She detailed her questions and her ensuing investigation.  She pointed out that there is an apparent problem in the accounting methods of some traditional publishing houses.  What she also did was point out that not all of them had problems and that she didn’t suspect them of indulging in a criminal act.  They simply don’t have a handle on the eBook market and aren’t taking care of business.  And it’s a big business.  She had over 90 comments on that one post.

Ms. Rusch provided an update post April 20 that was equally fascinating.  I’ve been impressed by the balanced and informative nature of her posts.  Ms. Rusch has pointed out that there is a huge potential for a fire in the theater without screaming Fire, or sounding like an insane conspiracy theorist.  Is there a problem with the proper reporting of royalties by major publishers?  No doubt in my mind that some of them have problems based on the information provided.  Was it done to deny the authors their due?  Doubtful, although I’m sure a few of those companies are aware there are problems and aren’t rushing to fix them.  Does it need to change and accurate accounting methods be employed?  Absolutely!

So where do I come out in all of this?  Two things.  First, I know it would be a huge undertaking, but authors should be provided screen snapshots of their sales figures.  Amazon provides the account holder (publisher) a statement so why not share it with the author.  What are they hiding?  We all know how the money works so there should be no secrets?  Pain in the butt – you bet, but what is your company integrity worth?   Secondly, authors should be prepared to defend their rights.  I like Ms. Rusch’s suggestion that authors utilize their writing associations and applying pressure for the big changes.

Me – I’m lucky in my choice of publishers.  Dean is providing me screenshots of the statements.  He had told me he was doing it long before this particular item appeared.  Of course, I’m a little more pro-active in my approach than the ones suggested by Ms. Rusch – I own a baseball bat and I know where Dean lives…

The Importance of the Cover

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Part of the reason that I went my own way on the publishing of Protecting Parker was that I couldn’t bear the idea of having anything other than a great cover that I could be proud of.  Many of the covers I see now leave me bored, cold, or even worse, horrified.  So much so, that it was something that became a large part of my decision to go my own way.   Book covers are the first impression of the story.  They have to matter.

There are a lot of online discussions about covers – one of the better ones that provides a retrospective of covers in the romance genre is Julie’s Journal.   While I’m not a huge romance reader, I have to admit the covers for this genre are usually the ones that send me over the edge.  I have to ask – what jackass thinks cartoon characters on the front of a novel sells romance?  I recently spoke to an author (I’m not giving her name because she still under contract) who complained bitterly about being stuck with one of those covers prior to publication.  She was doing a signing and young teens were trying to buy her books, and she was put in the position of politely telling their parents that the books weren’t for teens due to the sexual content.  Angry parents, unhappy teens, and a bad cover that she’s still paying for years later.   She will be going her own way as soon as she can get her rights back.

I have yet to get over what I considered to be a bad cover choice on a recent book by one of my favorite authors.  A primary element in her novel was the unique amethyst colored eyes and Mohawk haircut of the lead character.  So what’s on the cover?  Golden brown eyes and flowing hair.  Are you kidding me?  Who the hell made that decision?  I find it hard to believe the author was happy with that representation.

Even more appalling to me is the stock artwork that gets sold and apparently resold.  I was recently in my local chain bookstore and wandering aisles when  I came to a complete stop and could do nothing more than point in shock.   A romance novel on the top shelf depicted a man and woman in the classic pre-kiss clutch – and two shelves below – was the same cover from a different publisher.  Only the names and clothing color had changed.  I’d be incredibly offended if I finally had my book published and then had the same artwork as someone else.

Do you need a little levity in your day?  Stop and look at the Harlequin rack.  The range of covers is amazing and appalling at the same time.  I must admit that I’ve spent more than a little time standing there giggling.  While I’m pretty sure that’s not the reaction they want – it’s the one I usually have.  I just don’t know what they are trying to sell with those covers, but they aren’t making me feel romantic.  One of their lines has covers that look like the covers of the Bobbsey Twin books that I read as a child.  Really?  Just what the heck does this happy 1950s fuzzy look have to do with romance?

And don’t for a minute think the problem is just in romance.   Barry Eisler has spent a lot of time on the New York Times Best Sellers List, but recently was so frustrated with a cover choice that he wrote an open letter to his publisher.  He’d tried everything else to get their attention and finally had to resort to public criticism.  The letter and discussion can be found at Dear Author and makes for some interesting reading.   If he can’t get a publisher to listen to him, just what hope does a first time author have?  Now you know why Barry has also gone his own way and left his publisher.

Someone else thinks having a great book cover matters.  This is from a review of Protecting Parker:  “First of all, the cover design and book description drew me in.  Dog tags and a strong yet vulnerable female hero!”   Thank you for saying so Chopin Gal – you made my point beautifully!  The cover matters.

 

Who’s my Publisher?

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Have you met Dean Newman from Liquid Reality Studios?  I don’t know how to explain Dean.  He’s an incredibly talented graphic designer and technological wizard, and he’s also a guy that gets me – don’t hold that against him!  He’s one of those rare people who understands what I’m talking about, even when I don’t.  Which according to Dean is most of the time.  Dean generally just lets me babble away over coffee, and then he does whatever he wants anyway.  Maybe it’s the caffeine, but I’m always happy with what he creates.  He’s been listening to me spout off about Protecting Parker for awhile now.  I made him re-read the emails from the executive editor to see if I’d misread anything – and for once, I hadn’t.  At some point it became obvious to both of us that he was going to be my publisher.   I quit playing around, begged Marcia to be my editor, and got serious about finishing the book.

When we were in final edits it was time to talk about the cover.  Dean and I have talked about book covers for years.  We read a lot of the same things and both of us complain bitterly about the stock characters and poor design that we’ve seen.  We were standing in Barnes and Noble one night laughing about two different authors one shelf away from each other having the same stock character cover.  Only the hair and dress color were different.  One morning Dean asked me what I had in mind for Parker, and I gave him the big duffus look that he’s come to expect from me before my second cup of coffee.  Okay, he pretty much expects that look all the time, but he’s gotten really good at not showing it.  Anyway, what I was able to tell him was that I wanted a desert motif, but no people.  Simple, simple, simple.  About an hour later he sent me the first draft of this cover.  My total input was asking him to rotate the dog tags.  The cover was done.  Yes, Dean – I know you had to do a bunch of other stuff for it to meet your standards, but from the minute I saw that cover – I was in love with it.  It was perfect!

Now, I would like to tell you that I had a clear vision of what I wanted, but it’s simply not true.  I rarely know what I want unless it has to do with dessert.  But Dean always seems to know what I want and produce it.  Yes, he’s that good.

Bounce over to his site at www.liquidrealitystudios.com and have a look. Hit the about page and you’ll see all the stuff Liquid Reality Studios can do.  Oh, and while you’re at it, check out his blog and read his take on eBooks and ePublishing.