Books for LDS Readers. Tips for LDS Writers.
I’m going on a personal vacation. I know I just took a blogging break for the LDSBA convention, but now I’m taking a real break for fun. I’ll check my e-mail and if anyone else sends me photos from the convention, I’ll post them. But as far as posts requiring thought on my part, those will start up again in about a week.
See ya then.
LDSP
Hey, folks. Not sure I’ll be able to post this week due to the LDS Booksellers event. But I promise I’ll take lots of photos again and post them here next week.
In the meantime, keep up the discussion. 🙂
I opened my LDS Publisher e-mail account this morning and. . . 43?!! Do I really have 43 messages there? In less than 48 hours? Oh. My. Gosh.
It took so long to read them that now I don’t have time to do a “real” post today. So blog readers, who have come here looking for a post, read all the comments here and here and here and here.
Then make some more comments of your own.
I do want to make some statements at this point, however.
Oh, looks like I did a real post after all.
Is LDS fiction a genre label? If not, should it be? If so, what is the genre description?
We, as humans, seem to like to categorize things. Categorizing simplifies things, it brings order and understanding, and it helps us navigate our world. Categories also save us a lot of time when trying to share our life experiences with others.
For example, if I ask you out to dinner, would you rather I say we’re going for Italian food, or spend the next 30 minutes describing each dish on the menu? When I say Italian, you have a general idea of what to expect—pasta and spices. You would be shocked to find wantons or sushi on your plate.
So, categories can be a good thing.
In literature, we use the word “genre” to designate story categories. According to dictionary.com, a genre is “a class or category of artistic endeavor having a particular form, content, technique, or the like: the genre of epic poetry.”
Again, if you ask me what I like to read, would you rather I say fantasy, or describe the plot line of the last five books I’ve read?
Literary genres are a categorizing tool. They let bookstores and libraries know where to shelve the book. Genres are also a marketing tool. A genre label helps to very quickly target those readers who will most likely enjoy and/or purchase the book.
As a writer, it’s important to know what genre your book falls in and to follow the expectations of the readers who enjoy that genre. For example, if you’re writing a western, you don’t want to spend a lot of time exploring the deep emotions of your protagonist. If you’re writing a romance, emotions are the meat of your story.
That’s not to say that you can’t bend the genre rules a bit. Bending the rules gives readers something fresh and fun and new. Bending the rules can also create a new genre or sub-genre—chick lit, for example, is a relatively new sub-genre of women’s fiction.
However, if you stray too far from the genre rules or if you mislabel your genre, you’re going to have a more difficult time selling your book, both to a publisher and in the bookstores. You’ll also find disgruntled and disappointed readers popping up all over the Internet. (ahem.)
So now that we understand what genre is and what it does, is “LDS fiction” a genre label? Does it bring with it its own rules and reader expectations? Based on the uproar over books like Angel Falling Softly, who market themselves as LDS fiction, I’m thinking LDS fiction has, indeed, become a literary genre.
Based on my experience in the industry, the majority of LDS readers who pick up a book marketed as LDS fiction, have the following expectations:
There have been successful books labeled as LDS Fiction that do not meet all of these expectations. As I said before, bending the rules can sometimes be a good thing. But it’s a fine line and what one reader calls bending the rules, another reader calls stomping the rules to smithereens.
Perhaps what Angel Falling Softly and other books that have created an uproar or have been pulled from shelves in the past are telling us is that the LDS Fiction genre has grown to the point that we need a way to label and categorize the varied expectations of the LDS reader.
I don’t know that sub-genre will work. What would we label them? Clean LDS? Edgy LDS? Perhaps a rating system like what is used in the movies? Or perhaps, word of mouth is good enough.
What do you think?
Should LDS authors who include objectionable content in their books go to H-E-Double Toothpicks? (Read original question here.)
Okay, that wasn’t the real question, but isn’t that the crux of it? And you noticed, didn’t you, that I said should, not will?
And here’s a corollary question: Am I now doomed because I dared to even refer to “the bad place” in this post? (Now here’s an idea for a future contest. How many ways can you refer to “the hot place” without actually using it’s real name??)
But let’s get serious. Today’s issue breaks down into two parts:
1) Do LDS authors have a responsibility to write books without objectionable content? and
2) should we doom them to heck when they include content that doesn’t match up with LDS teachings?
Answers:
1) Yes and no.
2) Yes and no.
The whole point of the gospel according to LDS theology is to teach people correct principles and then allow them to act according to their own agency. I believe someone important, like maybe Joseph Smith, said that. (Journal of Discourses 10:57,58)
Interpreted into this scenario, authors, LDS or otherwise, are free to write about whatever they want to write about, and readers, LDS or otherwise, are free to think and say whatever they want to think and say about what they read.
The problem occurs when someone tries to guess what others are going to find objectionable. I’ve heard of words that are on the taboo list for other publishers that I wouldn’t even think twice about. I’ve also read words in books published by DB & Covenant that I would edit out.
Even when faced with the issue of pornography, there’s disagreement. We all (hopefully) agree that pornography should not be included in books published to and for an LDS audience (or anywhere else, for that matter), but shockingly, we wouldn’t all agree on what should be labeled as pornography. I know some people who put Michelangelo’s David in this category. Some people will be offended at the mention of this statue, and highly offended that I included a link to an image of it. Other people are going to read this and think I’m making this up; that no one seriously defines this piece of sculpture as pornography. (I am not making this up. I used to regularly argue with a neighbor over this very thing.)
Bottom Line: It is impossible for me, or anyone else, to define objectionability for an entire community of readers. All I can do is define it for myself and then share that definition with others. (See yesterday’s post.)
For me, it’s not the subject matter in a book that is objectionable, but the treatment of it. Someone in the early days of the Church (I’m thinking Brigham Young, but I’d love it if someone could find me the exact quote with source and reference), said something to the effect that the evils of this world should be addressed on the stages of Zion. I believe that also applies to the pages of our books. We can learn vicariously through watching others, even if those others are completely fictional.
I believe that all authors, including LDS authors, have a responsibility to express the truth of their world view. If you are LDS, I believe you have a responsibility to write to the level of your testimony and beliefs; the overall theme and message of your stories should support what you believe to be true. As long as an author is true to what they believe, I will not condemn them. I may not read them, and I may pray for their soul, but I won’t say that they should have done it differently. That’s between them and God and none of my business.
The truth of my world is that we all struggle with issues that are sometimes dark and difficult. Exploring those struggles in fiction, using the tool of metaphor, can be very, very helpful to those still in the fight between good and bad choices. I believe that is the purpose of story—even in the fluffiest, most escapist, let’s-just-have-a-fun-read forms of fiction.
I believe the reason some stories are beloved by so many people, is the author has successfully used their metaphor to tap into a need, a dream, a desire, or a struggle that speaks to the heart of others, and that in some way, it helps the reader to resolve or to cope with that issue.
Within those guidelines, I also have a list of personal Dos and Don’ts. I have the same set of rules for LDS fiction and authors, and non-LDS fiction and authors:
This is my opinion. What is yours?
Do I have a responsibility to my blog readership to ensure that all sponsors of this blog and the LDS Fiction blog uphold what is traditionally defined as LDS standards? (Read original question here.)
The whole idea of sponsorship came about because I wanted this to be an interactive blog. I wanted you to ask questions. I wanted to answer them. And I wanted discussion.
Hard as it is for most of you to believe, just because I’m “the publisher” doesn’t mean that my opinion is always correct. Or best. Or whatever. To be healthy, a company needs to grow and evolve—we need to learn from you how to better meet your needs and expectations, while teaching you to meet our needs and expectations. That can’t happen unless there is dialog, give and take, sharing.
And you guys weren’t sharing!
So I started to provide contests and prizes to trick information out of you. And it worked. You started commenting. And your comments are generally thoughtful and often helpful to us. Your comments here have sometimes been discussed in corporate meetings and in meetings with other publishers. They have impacted company policies and procedures.
It was great. Except I had to pay for the prizes. And my prize budget got cut. Then eliminated. So I had the bright idea, what if I sold advertising? But that sounded so crass. Ergo, the comment contest with prizes provided by authors and publishers.
And it was heaven. Until yesterday when someone pointed out a potential problem. Not that I’m saying one of this month’s sponsors is a problem. We’ll deal with that when we get to hornet’s nest #5. I’m just trying to sort and sift ideas here.
On the one hand, by accepting a sponsor, I recognize that in the minds of some readers, on some level, I am giving tacit approval or endorsement to that book. I suppose that if I knew a book were highly offensive to a majority of my audience that I wouldn’t accept it for sponsorship. For example, I don’t think I’d let George R. R. Martin sponsor this blog even if he were LDS. Not even if he offered me lots of money. However, I’d put Stephenie Meyer on here in a heartbeat. (Not that she’s asked, but one can dream.) Orson Scott Card? Gray area for me. In think many of his books are wonderful. Others are surprisingly offensive to some LDS readers.
On the other hand, can I really be expected to read and approve every offer of sponsorship? I don’t have time to do that. First, I’d have to have sponsors volunteer, then hunt down a copy of their book or ask them to send it to me (which would mean they’d have to donate TWO copies of their book to the cause), then find the time to read it, then think of every possible way someone might be offended by the book and decide if that risk too great. And I’d have to do it within a monthly deadline for this blog and a weekly deadline for the LDS Fiction blog. Honestly—sometimes I don’t have a sponsor locked until the day of the posting. I read fast, but not that fast.
Also, maybe I’d be offended by something that 99% of you wouldn’t even notice. Or vice versa. Nope. Don’t want to do that for the blogs—I have to do enough of that type of juggling in my day job. (You would not believe some of the things our pre-readers think might be offensive to the general LDS population.)
And if sponsorship of my blog equates with my endorsement, well, we’ve got a problem because I’d be more likely to turn down a sponsor for using the word “lighted” instead of “lit” than I would be to turn it down because they used the “d” word once.
So. What do I do, folks? Do I put a giant disclaimer on the sponsor page, like the radio stations do when they run an editorial, and trust you guys to have a little common sense and think for yourselves? Or do I only accept sponsorships from books I’ve read and know are squeaky clean? Or do I dump sponsorships altogether?
What does it mean to you when you see a book on my sidebar? Help me here. I need some pros and cons. Some feedback.
What do you think of prologues? Epilogues?
If they’re done well, I love them. If they’re not done, you’re better off without them.
I found a site that talks about prologues, and I agree. So go here and read it.
Also, prologues work better in some genres than others. Fantasy and suspense prologues are generally better than say, romance prologues.
Do you expect your non-fiction authors to be recognized experts on their topic?
They either need to be experts by study and profession, or experts due to life experience. Sometimes personal experience makes a better book.
What kinds of issues would you like to see explored in a novel? What kinds of non-fiction topics would you like to see?
You’re going to get slightly different answers from each publisher. But. . .
Anything that we, as people alive on this planet, have to deal with is a good topic. It’s not so much the topic, as the treatment of the topic that often gets books rejected. I think you can find books from LDS publishers that deal with just about everything, although sometimes not as honestly and straightforwardly as some of us might wish.
I’d like to see YA books dealing with peer pressure, living in the real world without succumbing to its negative influences, maintaining hope and faith despite the crushing blows that life can send your way. But they can’t be preachy or have simplistic answers, and they can’t sound like they were written by an adult as a way to teach the youth how to live a better life.
I’d also like to see some just plain old fun genre books with LDS characters, but no one trying to convert anyone else.
Do you think it’s wise to use different names for the LDS market and the national market?
There is no hard and fast rule about this. A lot of it depends on how firmly established you are in either market and how much alike or different your books for each market will be. This is something that you and your agent and/or publisher should discuss and weigh the various pros and cons, then make your decision.
Do you think blog tours help sell books?
Yes.
IF the stops along the blog tour have loyal readers who trust the judgment of the reviewer and the reviewer gives you a positive, well-written review. AND if there are easy links from the blog stop to a place to purchase the book online.
Anyone done a blog tour that wants to chime in?
Related to blog tours, any type of internet promo is usually a good thing. For example, Traitor by Sandra Grey has a post over on the LDS Fiction blog. As of this posting, that book had the most positive comments about it. I bought it and put it on my Summer Book Trek Reading list for that very reason. (Although I haven’t read it yet.)
When you receive a manuscript from an author you’ve already published, does that manuscript go through the same process as unsolicited manuscripts? Do you give it special attention?
Basically the process is the same but it’s faster. I know it’s coming so when the book arrives, it goes to the top of my reading list. It doesn’t have to wait its turn in the slush pile. The manuscript still has to be read by me, by our readers, and make its way through committee and that takes a certain amount of time, but hopefully, the author has learned from early experiences with us and knows the types of things we’re going to have them change or fix. Theoretically, the editing, rewriting and committee process goes faster too. If the book is good and we accept it, we get it on the publishing schedule as soon as possible to take advantage of the previous book’s momentum.
Is it harder or easier for a writer to have a second manuscript accepted?
It really depends on how well the first book sold. If the book sold as expected, it’s easier because we know you and you’re a hot commodity. If your first book didn’t sell so well, there is a hesitancy to invest in something else by the same author unless it’s significantly better or different.
What are the most annoying things a writer does that get on the publisher’s nerves?
THE #1 most annoying thing an author can do (both before and after they’re accepted) is to disrespect my time. Examples (and yes, these have all happened multiple times with multiple people):
The second big thing that annoys me is when their actions (or lack thereof) make it more difficult to sell their books:
How old do you have to be to submit a book to a publisher?
Old enough to write a good book.
When evaluating your manuscript, we don’t care how old you are as long as both the story and the writing are good. However, once the manuscript is accepted, if your age is outside the norm (under 20 or over 80), we’ll certainly use that as a promotional factor.
Here are just a few titles written by teenagers that you might recognize:
More titles here.
What are the advantages of going with an LDS publisher vs. a national publisher?
First, if your book has LDS references in it, an LDS publisher is going to be more open to that than your average national publisher, so your chance of getting it accepted increases.
If your book is specifically targeted to an LDS audience, an LDS publisher is going to hit that target market on the head. They advertise straight to that market so every dollar spent is hitting your intended reader. A good portion of a national publisher’s marketing dollar (assuming they pick up your manuscript in the first place) would be “wasted” on uninterested readers.
There’s the reader trust factor. Readers who specifically want books with LDS content are going to look first for books published by an LDS publisher. They trust those publishers to provide content they are comfortable with, whereas a national publisher might slip in language or scenes that make them uncomfortable.
A sense of LDS community and loyalty is also a big deal. Some LDS readers will read/purchase books by LDS authors/publishers simply because they want to encourage LDS authors. I have to admit that I read Shannon Hale for the first time solely based on the fact that someone told me she was LDS.
What are some of the most common mistakes authors make when they edit themselves? What should we be watching for as we read through our work?
All authors have their own pet words and phrases that they use much to often. They are so familiar to you that you can’t see them when you read your own work. Keep a list of those words and do a find/change or find/delete before you submit.
Same with –ly words. I’m not one of those who think they should never be used but most of the time you can reword it more strongly. (ha)
As a writer, you’re describing what you see and hear in your head. You already know what is going to happen and how. As a reader, they will be taking their cues from your words. They won’t know the scene until you paint it for them. You know your character and story so well that you miss the gaps. So will people who know you, like family and close friends. This is why you need other people to read your manuscript.
Spelling and grammar. If you consistently misspell a word, or make a particular grammar error, you may not realize it’s wrong. Use your spell checker and grammar checker, if your software has one. (They may not always be correct, but chances are they’ll be right more often than wrong.)
What exactly do you mean when you say “speculative fiction”? Are science fiction and fantasy both covered under that umbrella?
Yes. Anything that is not realistic, as in, it couldn’t happen in this world. It includes science fiction, fantasy, horror, magic, supernatural, super heroes, alternate histories, etc.
Also, if someone wrote an adult speculative fiction book for the general market, would an LDS publisher even consider publishing it? (I’m thinking kind of along the lines of Fablehaven and Leven Thumps, where the books were published by an LDS publisher, but are still known nationally.)
Yes. At least, I’d hope they would.
With so many people in the world having different tastes, how do cover designers arrive at covers that they feel will appeal to the most people?
Art and design, like genre trends, go in and out of fashion. A good designer keeps current on what is hot and what is not, and hopefully creates a cover that is on the leading edge of coolness. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn’t.
A publishing house will generally have a designer do several mock-ups in varying styles, then run those mock-ups by a group of employees—the idea being that the cover with the most appeal to the staff will also have the most appeal to the general public. Again, sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn’t.
Hard back, trade paper, and audio book seem to be the options for a new title (I’m assuming ebooks are straightforward to produce once the text is ready for publication). While there may be historic (or policy) reasons for favoring one format over the others, in an ideal world without up-front production costs you would presumably make a new title available in all three formats to give more readers what they want. Since the world isn’t ideal, I’m interested in the trade-offs between formats and how you weigh them for a new title. I can understand if you’re reluctant to discuss concrete numbers, but perhaps you could compare and contrast formats in relative terms.
Well, yes. If there were no up-front production costs, we’d offer every title in hardback, trade paperback, mass market paperback, and large print. But no one has invented a replicator yet, so that’s not feasible.
Forget the mass market format (4×6), unless it’s a children’s book. We don’t print enough copies at a time to justify this size for most books. Generally, we go with trade paper (6×9) if we expect fewer to average sales, hard cover if we expect better than average sales. The bigger companies offer audio formats right off; smaller companies only do audio for really good sellers.
You can read about these trade-offs in more depth here.
I read a lot of books for my work. I don’t suppose I could just put Manuscript #1, Manuscript #2, etc. on my list, could I? No. I suppose not.
Since I’m involved in several projects right now that are leaving me little time for reading for fun, I’m only going to list 3 titles. If I can get to more, I will. They are:
1. Freefall by Traci Hunter Abramson (because someone just gave me this book as a gift)
2. Traitor by Sandra Grey (because it has the most comments over on the LDS Fiction blog)
3. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (because everyone else will be reading it and I want to be in the loop)
My associate, who gets overly excited about lots of things, decided to host a summer reading challenge over on the LDS Fiction blog.
I hope ALL of you will go over there and join in on the fun. I plan to participate, but I’m going to have to take a day or two to select my reading list.
For details, start here.
Don’t have a blog? Not a problem. She’s made arrangements for you to use hers.
This week’s new titles over on the LDS Fiction blog:
With Every Breath by Lynn Kurland
Did we miss any? If we did, let me know.
We’ve also posted the next contest and the winner of last week’s contest.
Can you define “fluffy” or “sappy” LDS fiction? Is there a market for this kind of fiction?
Like beauty, fluffy and sappy are found in the eyes of the beholder.
I define fluffy as a pleasant story with no real meat. The opposite of fluffy would be what we call literary fiction, which is intended to change the life of the reader, or at the very least, make the reader think. Fluffy fiction is usually a fast read, intended as entertainment and generally quickly forgotten. Fluff occurs on a sliding scale, with a sweet romance being on one end and a fast-paced thriller on the other. Most currently published LDS fiction is fluffy. Yes, there’s a market for it. Fluffy fiction is not a derogatory term in my vocabulary. It fills a need for many readers.
Sappy, however, is a negative (imho). Sappy fiction manipulates the emotions of the reader in a heavy-handed way. It tells us how we’re supposed to feel, when we’re supposed to cry, rather than letting us find our on way through the story. It feels contrived. Is there a market for sap? There shouldn’t be, but apparently there is because I still find it more often than I’d like to in this market.