Author: LDS Publisher

June Contest

I have the attention span of a flea and I’m easily bored…You know what that means. Time for a new contest.

Over on Pub Rants this week (June 4-8), she’s been talking about promotional things that authors do for their books. Some of the things her authors have done are great ideas. (I loved the alligator and the youtube examples.)

So this is the contest: Pick a book and develop a promo idea for it. It needs to be your book (existing, in the works or on a back burner) OR public domain (pre-1923). I need the title of the book, a short synopsis or teaser paragraph and ONE promo idea. You can enter multiple titles but only one promo per title. Be creative. If you have images of your book cover, promotional items, or links to websites/blogs, send those as part of the promo.

We’ll have a Reader’s Choice and Publisher’s Choice, both of which will win a cheesy prize. (Last month’s cheesy prizes were stickers and free promotional bookmarks that I swiped from my local LDS bookstore.) And I might throw in a few other categories, if the response warrants it.

E-mail submissions between now and June 30th. I will post them as they arrive. Voting will be July 1-7. I’ll post the winners the following week.

Editing Induced Dyslexia

I’ve heard people say that if you read your story backwards it makes it easier to see the mistakes. Isn’t that hard to do? I mean, reading the words backwards makes them different words, doesn’t it? Even if you start at “The End” it would read, “Dne Eth.” How can that help? Thank you. (yes, thinking up these questions is way more fun than folding laundry or cleaning boogers off the wall–please, don’t have another contest like this for a while so I can get caught up with my housework!)

Ha, ha!

Actually, reading your manuscript out of context is a great way to look for mistakes. I generally take it one line or paragraph at a time (reading the line forward) from the end of the novel.

Another help is reading it out loud. To another person. When I read out loud to just me, I tend to ignore myself.

What are some other tips?

Dizzying POVs

Do you have a POV preference? Do many authors still use omniscient POV? Is there a proper way to use multiple POVs (or is it PsOV?) so as not to confuse the reader? I’ve read a book that jumped from POV to POV, sometimes in the same paragraph or sentence, and not only did I feel dizzy, I felt schizophrenic!

The story determines the POV. Some stories need to be first person, others need to be third. If you’re not sure which your story needs to be, rewrite a couple of chapters in various POVs. Which one works? When you hit the right one, you’ll know.

Yes, there is a proper way to use multiple POVs but I don’t recommend it unless you know what you’re doing. Someone help me out with examples–the only ones I can think of right off are ones that I’m embarrassed to admit I’ve read.

You cannot change POVs within the same sentence or paragraph. If you’re going to do multiple POVs, you need to give some indication that you’re changing, like a new chapter (my preference) or a *** or even an extra paragraph return.

[POV is Point of View. If you don’t know the difference between various POVs, go to the library and find a writing book that talks about it. Study it until you can tell in the first sentence what a book is written in.)

UPDATE:
I was talking to some friends last night and they reminded me of a couple of YA titles that handle changing POV well:
Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen
My Angelica by Carol Lynch Williams
The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg

Also, you can read some discussions of changing POV here and here. If you know of others, post them in the comments section.

He Said, She Said

I’ve been told that I over-use “said” and should use other words for variation. I’ve read LDS fiction that uses various speech tags. Yet, I’ve read and heard that “said” is the best tag to use because it’s almost invisible to the reader and doesn’t break the flow (the dialogue itself should “show” the mood, etc.). What’s your opinion?

Just because other people do it, doesn’t mean it’s right.

With really good writing, you almost don’t need speech tags because you can tell who’s talking just by the words they use and how they put them together. But we use them anyway because we don’t want the reader to get lost.

You can use “asked.” You can use an occasional “yelled,” “screamed,” or “whispered.” But please, please, please do not use “whimpered,” “simpered,” “laughed,” “teased,” or any of those other types of words. Unless you’re writing a Harlequin Romance. Then I guess you can do it.

If you want to be taken seriously, use “said” as your speech tag 99% of the time and let your dialog or the movements of your characters show their emotions.

Contests with Cred

LDStorymakers recently had a First Chapter contest for conference attendees and Irreantum has a contest as well. If you enter one of these contests, or another one, and place in it, would it help to mention that in your cover letter?


It won’t hurt. These are two contests that LDS publishers would recognize. I’ve read winning submissions from both of them and they are usually a step above the average slush pile submission.

However, I’ve seen lots of first chapter winners that fall apart in chapter four.

They Want You to What?!?

Some publishers want illustrations to accompany a picture book manuscript. If I’m not a professional illustrator, where can I find one? Should I consider finding an illustrator or just submit to another publisher who doesn’t require illustrations with the text?


Who asks for that??!? It is so often NOT the case that a publisher wants you to find your own illustrations for a picture book that I’d say forget them and go with someone else. I’m thinking they just don’t want to pay the extra money to hire an illustrator themselves. You really should not have to pay for an illustrator unless you’re self-publishing.

Most publishers DO NOT want you to send illustrations with your picture book. Bad/mediocre illustrations can hurt a picture book more than bad/mediocre writing, so the publisher is going to want complete control over that. (I’ve purchased picture books with a so-so story because the pictures were gorgeous; but the only time I’ve ever purchased a good story with icky or boring pictures was Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown. I just don’t love those illustrations.)

Picture book publishers have illustrators that they use on a regular basis, someone they know will be easy to work with. They will choose the illustrator that they feel matches the style and voice of the book. Sometimes illustrators are paid by the picture and sometimes they share in the royalty with the author.

Generally, the only time a publisher will even consider looking at illustrations provided by the author is if the author is also the illustrator, or if the author/illustrator insist on working together as a package deal.

And to give you an idea of how often I like illustrations sent in by the author (whether self-done or by a “professional” illustrator the author has chosen)–I have NEVER liked them.

Read more here.

I am Totally Messed Up

Did anyone notice that I posted the Friday Funny on Thursday? Thank you for not making fun of me in the comments section.

I completely blame it on the local Board of Education, who could have chosen to let kids out of school on a Friday, instead of on a Thursday.

I also blame it on my children who think they have better things to do the last few days of school and can’t be bothered with actually attending class. They come and go at all hours of the day, making it feel like the weekend, when it’s really not.

Can you imagine my consternation when I woke up this morning, thinking it was the weekend, and realized I had to go to work?! Geez.

So okay, you got the Friday Funny on Thursday and today you’re getting…uhm…something else.

I Wish…

Another Friday Funny:

Can I tell my Bishop I consider writing as my “true calling” and therefore should not have to serve in the ward?

Actually, that has happened before. I know of two cases–both authors wrote about increasing spirituality, recovery, parenting, and other gospel topics. Their bishops felt their books were of such help to the members of the Church that they wanted them to write more, without being distracted by other service within the ward. (Other than Visiting and Home Teaching. I don’t think you can ever get out of that. Nor would we want to, right?)

But I think I’d wait for your bishop to be inspired and extend that calling to you himself, rather than asking him for it.

Do You Need Professional Editing?

Is it worth it to pay a professional editor before submitting to publishers?

It depends on how clean your skills are.

First, you always, always, always need several content readers to go through your manuscript before you send it in. These should be fellow writers, your critique group and/or others who are well read and who have no emotional investment in protecting your fragile psyche. These readers should do what we call a “content edit” to evaluate your story, characterization, flow, style, plot, etc. to help you find inconsistencies and plot holes. They’ll probably also pick up a good portion of your grammar mistakes and typos.

Second, you always, always, always need someone to do a copy/line edit of your manuscript before you send it in. If you’re highly skilled in editing yourself, then you can probably get by with a proofreader who has a strong grammar background. This could also be a fellow writer or someone in your critique group.

If however, you know you have difficulties, or you don’t know anyone with the appropriate skills who’ll read it for free, then yes, hire someone. Make sure they have credentials and experience–a high level of grammar and writing skills; an idea of what is currently selling (as in, they read a lot of popular writing, as well as the classics); and happy, repeat customers who have been published.

Publishing on the Internet, Take Two

I was just thinking about authors’ websites and the practice of them posting the first chapter of their books on their sites (or not,) when I remembered the Baen free library. Sci fi publisher Jim Baen has encouraged “his” authors to let him take their out-of-print books(1) and put them up on his website in their entirety for anybody to read. You don’t have to pay anything or even sign up. The premise is that this is free advertising. You can read an author’s older works for free and decide if you like his or her style before buying something that is current. According to author Eric Flint, this actually works great. I was wondering if this would be a viable option in the LDS market.(2) Because I live far away from any LDS bookstores, I rely on the web to give me the information I need to help me choose the books I buy. Is there anything in the dreaded contracts that would prevent authors from putting an entire, out-of-print book up on their personal websites?(3) Better yet, is there anything stopping a publishing company from making their own free library?(4) Or is there anything stopping them from putting up as many as three chapters from each new book on their website, so that readers outside the range of brick and mortar stores can browse and make better-informed decisions?(5) (I just checked a random Baen book, new for April, and there were seven chapters free for perusal!)

Check it out at http://www.baen.com to see how it works. In my opinion, it really is the next best thing to being there.(6)

I’ve already discussed this before, here and here. But this practice is becoming more and more common, so I’m revisiting it. Also, there is a difference between a publisher and/or a published author (with their publisher’s permission) choosing to post excerpts of out-of-print books on the Internet, and non-published authors publishing works on the internet for critique.

1. If a book is out of print, there is nothing wrong with the publisher and/or author (with their publisher’s pemission) posting it in its entirety on the Internet. I think it’s a great idea, for the very reasons you listed. As a publisher, I’d also make it available as a POD title, if someone wanted to order it after reading it in electronic format. The only caveat is, make sure you plaster copyrights all over it. Many people assume that if it’s on the net, it’s public domain and they are free to re-publish and sell or distribute it as they wish. This is not true.

2. Of course it’s viable. And again, a great idea. However, it’s probably a low priority for many publishers because it won’t be a big money-maker and there will be some expense involved in setting it up. (Hmmm, I think I’ll bring this up at our next staff meeting.)

3. Depends on the publisher and their contract. If you’re an author with an out-of-print book, make sure you get permission from your publisher before doing this. And if they’re fine with it, make sure you put links to your in-print titles at the end of each chapter, something along the lines of “If you’re enjoying this book, check out the author’s other titles at…)

4. No. (See answer #2)

5. No. In fact, that’s a very good marketing idea. However, if the publisher has more than just a few titles in print, they’ll probably have their authors do it on their own websites, just because of the time and web space involved. Publishers should provide the files for the author to upload to their sites.

6. I agree.

Book with CD?

I have created a soundtrack for my book. Would it be useful to send in a CD of the soundtrack with the book? Should I list the songs and artists at the end of my book as notations for inspiration?


I thought this would make a Funny Friday question. But let’s pretend for just a minute that it’s serious.

I had to think about this for awhile. I’ve never had this happen with a submission (which is why it won the Never Heard That One Before question in last month’s question contest). I have, on occasion, talked with people who had self-published a book and a CD of original music to go with it. The concept was good, but the marketing created problems.

For a manuscript submission, my answer is: No.

If you’re talking about original music that you’ve created yourself, unless you are a professional musician with a studio, chances are your soundtrack would not be the level of quality that we’d want. If we’d even want a soundtrack with the book. So, no.

If you’re talking about songs you’ve collected that are already in existence and you’ve put them on a CD intending the reader to listen as they read, to help create the mood–sort of like a movie soundtrack–then again, no. THIS IS AGAINST COPYRIGHT LAWS!!

And no, do not put the list of songs and artists at the end of the book.

Submit your book as a stand-alone product. After it’s accepted, you can mention you have a CD (of original music) to go with it. If the publisher is interested, they’ll let you know.

Second Dates–How Soon is Too Soon?

If an author has several manuscripts ready for submission, how should they handle that? Should they send in the first one, wait until the contract has been signed, and then submit the second? Should they wait until the first book has come out? Or can they submit the second one sooner than that? Is it all right to submit #2 immediately after getting a rejection for #1?


If the books are part of a series, submit the first one and in your query, briefly mention that this is intended to be a series and book #2 is almost complete.

If the books are unrelated, wait until the contract is signed. Then tell your editor/publisher that you have a second book ready and ask when they would like you to submit it. If you’re a first time author, they’re going to want to see how the first book sells. If you’re an established author, they’re going to want you to churn them out quickly–1 to 2 per year, if possible.

Some authors are too prolific for the size of their publisher. When this is the case, you’ll want to make sure there is a clause in the contract that if they reject a title, you’re free to submit to other publishers at any time.

If book #1 is rejected, no, don’t immediately (as in the next day) send #2. If the publisher has given an indication of the reasons for rejection, evaluate book #2 within those guidelines. If their reasons have to do with genre, market, or other things specific to the publisher, you’ll need to determine if #2 is a better fit for them. If not, submit elsewhere.

If they’ve talked about structure, technique, plot, characterization, etc., you’ll want to rewrite book #2 to clean it up based upon their suggestions before submitting it.

If they’ve said, “We love this, but it’s not right for us. Send us something else ASAP!” then you can send #2 right away.

Can I Just Rant?

Every once in awhile I get so frustrated I just have to blow off some steam!! And since I can’t take it out on the person causing the frustration, you guys get to hear about it.

This is for all authors, especially those writing non-fiction and using quotes:

It is NOT my job to teach you how to quote and do the citations correctly!

It is YOUR job to MAKE SURE you are doing it correctly BEFORE you send me your manuscript!

Here are just a few basics for quoting someone, especially from a published source:

1. You must have permission. I want hard copy, signed forms for my files. (Do not send the permission forms with the submission; I will ask for them upon acceptance.)

2. You must quote correctly–every word, every comma, every italics must be in the right place.

3. If you delete words from the quote, insert ellipses (…).

4. If you add your own words or commentary to the quote, put it in brackets [].

5. If you add italics to the quote, put “italics added” at the end of the citation.

6. Do some research and use one of the standard methods of citation for your quotes. Be consistent. Do every quote the same way.

7. Put citations within parentheses ().

8. Before you submit to me, have someone with experience in editing and in citations go through your mss and make sure your quotes are correct. Have them check each quotation against the original. (You should have photocopies of every quote from its original source and photocopies of the title page AND the copyright page of every book you quoted from. You should have them organized in a way that you can find that original within minutes of my asking to see it.)

9. If a book has been revised, make sure you quote the most current edition.

Everyone makes a mistake occasionally. That is fine. But when I find consistent mishandling of citations and when I spot check quote correctness I find missing or wrong words or punctuation, it’s three strikes and you’re out. My thought process is that if you can’t do the research to learn how to cite correctly and you’re not careful enough with the details to make sure your quotes are actually quoted correctly, then there are probably a lot more mistakes in the mss and it will take WAY TOO MUCH of my time to get it print ready.

Okay, I’m done ranting. We’ll go back to our regularly scheduled posting tomorrow.

Review Copies

Realistically, how many copies of a book does a publisher give away for possible reviews? Does the author have any say or input in these decisions?


And the definitive answer is: it depends.

It depends on the type of book (fiction vs non-fiction), the genre, the initial buzz and excitement about the book, the budget, how many copies we printed in the first print run, the number of reviewers we have a positive relationship with, the number and size of papers/local magazines in the authors home town, when the book is released (near Christmas or other related holidays or events), how much energy the author is going to put into promoting the book, what kind of mood the marketing department is in, whether it’s raining outside,…

The author may or may not have a say in it. We make up our list and if the author wants us to add to it, they have to make a good argument for it. For example, let’s say the author lives in Kaysville, UT. We would send review copies to the Salt Lake City papers. If the author wanted us to send a review copy to his/her local Kaysville paper, we’d probably decline, UNLESS a bookstore in Kaysville was going to do a launch party/signing for the author and the paper was agreed to do a timely and positive review in connection with that launch.

Another issue we have with review copies is when authors want us to send them to bloggers. (I’m not talking about online reviewers, such as Jennie Hansen at Meridian. I’m talking about non-professional bloggers.) We only consider this if the blog is targeted to our audience (LDS readers) AND if they get a respectable number of hits per day AND if we get pre-approval/kill vote on the post.

If an author wants to send the book to more reviewers than we’re willing to send to, they’re always free to do so using their own comp copies.

If You Call a Rose an Onion, It Will Stink

I worked for an LDS publisher who claimed you had seven words or less (preferably less) to grab a reader’s attention. The title was one of the key reasons buyers picked up a new book and we spent hours retitling purchased manuscripts.

Now I wonder–how important is a title during the submission process? Does a title ever grab your attention and cause you to lift a manuscript out of the ‘slush pile’? How do you feel about those manuscripts which are submitted simply as “Untitled”?

Seven words, huh? That sounds about right. And you’re right, a good title piques interest and will get a buyer to take the book off the shelf. I’ve toyed with the idea of hiring someone solely to generate titles. That would be nice. But in reality, it’s a group effort. We often run a list of titles by our readers and employees and see which one appeals to the most people.

As to how important your title is to the submission process–not very. Yes, sometimes an interesting title will invite me to read that mss first, but it’s the story and the writing that make the final decision. It’s a somewhat different skill set required for creating titles and for writing stories. Kind of like the difference between writing a novel and writing poetry. I never turn down a book based on its title. And I always reserve the right to change the title–it’s in my contract.

I have used author’s original titles before. Some of them are great. Sometimes I’ve tweaked them a little, or used them to start the brainstorming process. Sometimes they’re really, really bad–but a bad title is better than no title.

I really hate mss submitted as “Untitled.” A title brings focus to a story. A story without a title says to me that you don’t know enough about your story (bad news) or that you’re too lazy or that you’re expecting me to do all the work. My experience tells me that Untitled manuscripts are going to need lots of editing in other places as well.

So–brainstorm titles. Test them out on your friends and family. Pick one. Put it on your manuscript and submit. Keep your list of brainstormed titles so that you can offer other suggestions when the publisher asks for them. (Sometimes they will, sometimes they won’t.)

LDS Fiction Market

Spring Creek announced it no longer accepts fiction submissions and will only consider nonfiction. Millennial Press also only accepts nonfiction. Statistics seem to favor nonfiction publication over fiction. Do you think the LDS fiction market will continue to grow and new writers still have a chance at publication or do you think the nonfiction market is pushing out the fiction?

Non-fiction sells better than fiction. By a long shot. If you’re a small publisher, like Spring Creek and Millennial and several others, you have to make every penny count.

If you publish in the traditional way, you’re looking at an investment of $8,000—10,000 per title, or more. If your fiction titles aren’t selling fast enough, then your resources get tied up in inventory. If enough of your resources get bogged down in slow moving traffic, then you go out of business. It’s not always a question of what we would prefer to publish, it’s what we can afford to publish.

Having said that, YES, I think the LDS fiction market will continue to grow. The larger publishers seem committed to producing LDS fiction.

And YES, new writers have every chance in the world. Write a good book. It will get noticed.

LDS Children’s Books

What do you think is the outlook for children’s writers in the LDS market? Any hope of publishing picture books, early readers, chapter books, or MG novels? Lisa Peck seems to be doing well with the CTR series. Do you think there’s room for more series books for kids?

Do publishers shy away from children’s books because of the cost production factor or because the market is simply too small?

Do you think there’s a way to create more desire for children’s books in the LDS market?


I always grimace a little when I read questions like this because there is no easy or good answer. I wish I could say that the LDS children’s market was in an upswing but I’m not seeing it.

Yes, publishers have to look at the cost of production vs expected sales levels when considering any book. It is the rare children’s book that balances out. They cost a lot to produce. The market is simply too small. The bigger publishers can afford the risk. The smaller ones are going to have to really have their socks blown off to take the chance. Children’s books do not sell as well as adult books. Fiction does not sell as well as non-fiction. A fiction children’s book has several strikes against it even before the envelope hits the slush pile.

But don’t despair. Please don’t let the market as it is stop you from writing your children’s books. We NEED good, solid, LDS children’s books–especially at the middle reader level.

As for series books, if you take a look at DBs online popularity rating of middle readers, you’ll notice that there are several LDS series books in the top 100. And as a publisher, I’d much rather take a chance on a children’s book that was part of, or could be made into, a series, than a stand-alone.

How do you create a desire for the LDS children’s market? Same as for any market. You need a fantastic manuscript, a brave publisher and an enthused marketing department.

FanFic Commentary

Hey, how did it get to be Wednesday already? I promised my comments on the fanfic stories, and then on Monday, I forgot. I’m sorry. It’s that same old end of the school year stuff clouding my brain.

First let me say that there was a word limitation on this. It’s very difficult to do an entire story in the number of words I gave you. You have to choose between action/dialogue and description/characterization. Both authors assumed that we’d be familiar enough with the settings, mood, characters, and other background stuff, and chose to focus on the action/dialogue. That was a good choice.

Portrait of a Jedi:
You created a complete story. That was good for the purposes of this exercise. If it were the end of a chapter, you would want to follow up with something that would entice the reader to continue on, sort of a mini-cliffhanger. I thought having Obi-Wan feel what the droejan felt was cool. (Gross, but cool.) I would have liked to see just a bit more intensity of emotion–why was the boy important; was Obi-Wan afraid he would fail and was he sad or angry about that; was he afraid he would die, that finally he’d done something so reckless that he was doomed; and maybe some relief when Qui-Gon showed up. The sort of placid, matter-of-fact tone doesn’t let us connect with Obi-Wan as a real person.

Final Word: Good start; add more emotion.

Supernatural:
I’ve never seen this show, but I could clearly understand what was going on. That was good. I liked the way you started right in the middle of the action/conflict. Good choice. I liked the salt pellets. There was a lot of dialogue but it worked. I might add a little internal dialogue, so we know how the boy’s are interpreting what they’re seeing. Are they afraid? Or is this old hat to them? If this were a book, you’d need to add more description (which you left out due to limited word count). Having the old man “crackle” was distracting. Use “said” then you could say something like Sam could hear his bones crackle when he stood, or something like that. I like the ending. It provides the motivation for the boys’ conflict and also sets up that there will be future conflict between them.

Final Word: Good job. Makes me want to watch the show.

Quoting Church Leaders

This does not apply to most LDS fiction writers, but non-fiction writers–HEADS UP!

The Church is tightening up their copyright permission policies. Actually, they’re not really changing their policies, rather, they’re tightening up enforcement of the policies that have been in existence for years. The number of books and other products that are using copyrighted, intellectual property without permission is off the charts. It’s been a long time coming, but I personally think it’s an appropriate step for the Church to take–even if it makes my job a little harder.

Each project requesting permission to use copyrighted materials will be evaluated on its own terms, but here are a few general tips.

  • Fair use laws apply when quoting commercially published materials (ex: book written by a General Authority). Each publisher will have their own interpretation of fair use, so contact them for permission.
  • You must have permission to quote living General Authorities. This includes articles in the Ensign and Conference talks, as well as quotes from their published books. As Church leaders are often traveling, it may take as long as two months for a response.
  • Deceased General Authorities and other Church leaders may be quoted according to existing copyright laws. (You probably need permission for anything published after 1923.)
  • Guidelines for quoting Church Handbooks are generally included in the handbook itself.
  • Art, music, and other works have specific guidelines and need permission to be used.
  • Scriptures may be used without permission, with the exception of the headings, footnotes, Topical Guide and Bible Dictionary, which are copyrighted.
  • Generally, the Church does not give permission for compilations and quote books to use the words of General Authorities and other Church leaders, although the individual may be willing to do so.
  • Permission must be given in writing. You may submit your requests or ask questions via email at cor-intellectualproperty[at]ldschurch[dot]org. (Sorry, I can’t get the link to work.) Give specifics about your project.
  • As might be imagined, the Church’s permissions department has been swamped with requests, so it may take some time for a response. Some items will get a quick response in a matter of days, but longer projects (like books) may take up to two months to receive a response.

It is your responsibility as the author of the book to get written permission for quotes BEFORE you submit your manuscript to a publisher. If you’re having trouble getting those permissions, your publisher may be willing to help you, but be prepared to rewrite if the answer is no.

Too Funny Not to Post

Normally, I do not post on Saturdays. I like to pretend I have a life. But the truth is, I eat, breathe and sleep books and publishing. So, I was surfing today and found this link on Miss Snark’s blog. It is dated 5.11.07 and titled Slushpile. (You might be able to go directly to it by clicking here.)

(And before you tell me how to link directly to that post, it doesn’t work on Miss Snark’s site.)

Six of One…

If you had to choose between a manuscript that had a great story but was poorly written (needed a lot of editing) and a manuscript that was written beautifully but the story was mediocre, which would you choose?


Neither. Because I wouldn’t be able to sell either one (as is) and it would be stupid for me to invest the time, energy and thousands of dollars into something that would not be profitable for me.

However, if it was a really good story, I might give them notes and ask them to work on it–but that isn’t usually enough to bring it to publishable standards. (See yesterday’s post about rewriting.)