To the person who does not know where he wants to go there is no favorable wind.

 - Seneca

Stay Tuned

Please welcome Laura Backes. She’s written a guest post for us about publishing. Thanks for contributing, Laura!

You’ve probably heard a million times that the publishing industry is dead or dying. After all, who really buys a book or a newspaper or even a magazine anymore? Why would you when you could just get it with much more ease online? With the drastic increase in technology products like Kindles, Nooks, iPads, and laptops, we have effectively eliminated any real need to buy a hard copy of anything. Because of that, we all are quick to tout that the publishing industry is rapidly dying if it’s not already dead. My response to that?

No it’s not.

Publishing, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is “the business or profession of the commercial production and issuance of literature, information, musical scores or sometimes recordings, or art”. And we are all preconditioned to typically think of publishing in the usual tangible format because that’s how we were raised thinking of it. But nowhere in that definition does it state that publishing has to be a physically printed work.

Publishing isn’t going to die.

For as long as we continue to communicate in some form or another – and I’m going to wager that we’re not cutting that out any time soon – we’re going to continue to publish stuff, whether it comes in book form, e-book form, or whatever snazzy new technology is coming next.

By nature we are creatures who like to communicate with one another in a variety of different forms. In fact, we thrive on the prospect of it. And part of communicating is writing and part of writing is publishing.

Publishing is changing.

The difference now is that anyone can “publish” something. As blogs continue to grow and gain more popularity, more people are labeling themselves writers and then publishing their own work. And that right there is one of the major reasons that publishing is still of the utmost importance – because anyone can type up a post or an article or whatever and hit “submit”. But not everyone will get paid to do so. In fact, the only people that get paid are the ones who write well and are published by others because of that talent.

Traditional publishing will survive.

On top of that, e-books and internet sites won’t completely take over the publishing industry. Traditional publishing may take a hit, but there’s something magical about having a hard copy of a book and there will always be the people who love the feel of a glossy magazine cover beneath their fingertips. There is no substitution for flagging book pages, opening a newspaper to read with your morning coffee, and the feeling of joy that accompanies inheriting a worn copy of a favorite book from someone.

So publishing is not dead, it’s not even dying. It’s just changing and evolving – something that every profession is continually doing. After all, if they didn’t evolve we’d still be walking everywhere because we wouldn’t have the wheel.

Author Bio:

This is a guest post from Laura Backes, she enjoys writing about all kinds of subjects and also topics related to internet service providers in my area. You can reach her at: laurabackes8@gmail.com.

A month or so ago I managed to get hooked on a TV series. It doesn’t happen very often because I don’t tend to park myself in front of the TV too much. And that generally goes double for PBS. I think I was caught unawares as I flipped through the channels that fateful Sunday evening. I don’t recall what scene it was that caused me pause, but that night stirred something in me and I’ve not looked back. I’m talking about the hit series on PBS, Downton Abbey.

Downton Abbey revolves around the life of Lord and Lady Grantham, their daughters and the servants of an English Manor in the early part of the 20th Century. This Edwardian period is rich with luxury, extravagance and protocol.

As I watched the show last week, it occurred to me that what attracts me are all of the elements that I find to be necessary in a good book.

Setting

The best books are those that pick us up and set us squarely in a scene that fills and entices all of our senses. We are there. While watching Downton Abbey, I feel like I am wandering the halls of this expansive manor. The wall art, sculptures, wardrobe and furniture are key to the authenticity of the series. I also think that in no small way, they are also what attracts and keeps viewers. A good fiction writer does the same thing as they create the environment for their characters. Keep this in mind as you create scenes. Details matter. Writers, do what you can to put your readers in the same room as your characters. Make it so they don’t want to leave.

Characters

There is an old song by Queen called Find Me Somebody To Love. When someone buys your book, whether they know it or not, they are telling you Find Me Somebody To Love. You do that through the creation of characters that are human. Human with all of their wonderful flaws and traits. Character development is one of the hardest things we do as writers. Flat characters will bore, irritate and turn off readers, editors and agents.

In terms of Downton Abbey, the characters are true, multi-faceted and human in every way. I’ll choose just one example. Lord Grantham is without a doubt my favorite character. As Lord of Downton you may expect a stuffy and dour curmudgeon, arrogant and unapproachable. The brilliant writers of the series have created someone just the opposite. While he is obviously proper and protocol driven, he exudes a human side that is remarkable. He makes no apology for his status. He is an admirable gentleman and inspires fierce loyalty from his family, servants and viewers. His character is one worth aspiring to. This same kind of richness of character is found in all of the players  in the series and contributes greatly to the enjoyment of the series. You need to put this kind of attention to detail into the development of all your characters. Hey, nobody said being a writer was easy.

Conflict

I remember what set my mind to writing this post. One particularly turd-headed character was getting ready to make life a bit of hell for one my fav people, Bates. I thought Man, why do they even have this person here? All they do is make life miserable for the good people! Oh, right. that would be an antagonist. The bad guy. The opposite to my good guy. A palm-slap to the forehead and an uttered, “Duh.” Regardless of your novel’s genre or story line, you need conflict. You need a  protagonist to root for and a bad guy to curse. Downton delivers this in spades. I’ve jumped out of my chair, arms raised, yelling, “YES” when Lady Grantham squashed the plotting of an underling. I’ve cursed when it looked as if a nefarious scoundrel was going to get away with something. Conflict is good. It is what a reader needs to turn pages.

I’m not saying that this remarkable TV series will be every writer’s cup of tea. Do yourself a favor though, and watch at least one episode. Pay attention to the setting and the characters. You might be surprised at what you find to incorporate into your writing.

I was cruising through my Twitter feed the other day and I came across a tweet that caused me to cringe. The person was tweeting about an article that was titled something like Loosing your copyright rights. Shudder. Normally I just shake my head and move on. I was about to do just that when I realized the tweeter calls themselves a writer. You have got to be kidding me.

Glass House

I live in a glass house. I have a long term lease on the thing, I think. This means that typically I don’t throw a lot of stones because I know that I am not the world’s best grammarian. Mostly my stuff is passable but there are subtleties I’ve yet to grasp and there are times I outright ignore the rules in the name of style. I also know that typos sneak in now and then and I can live with that. I’m always working on minimizing those little buggers.

In the case noted above, I find it difficult to believe the “loosing” gaff was a typo. It falls into the pen where all the your/you’re, to/too, there/their chuckleheads are hanging out. Like I said, I’m no grammar expert but these things are the most basic and I think that any (even slightly) literate adult should have a grasp of them. Any adult who professes to be a writer has no excuse to not have a grasp.

My semi-emotional response to this gaff got me thinking about how tough writers can be on other writers. I see terms like “Grammar Nazis” and “Grammar Police” tossed about. I admit to having mixed feelings about those terms. There are times when I would count myself as one of those folks. Being one of those people also kind of goes against my easy-going nature.

I tend to be more forgiving to the average person screwing up a loose/lose proposition. Writers, however, do not get a free pass on this one. It’s like an accountant not knowing the difference between subtraction and division. It’s like a pilot not knowing the landing gear should be down for landing. And while the consequences of poor grammar cannot be equated to a pile of aluminum on the runway, in terms of professionalism and advancing a writing career the implications are the same.

In four years that I have been blogging and freelancing, I’ve run across this topic numerous times. My point is that if someone calls themselves a writer, how could they possibly have missed this conversation? Do they not engage in any of the writing arenas on the Internet? Or do they see the topic and not see themselves? It is a mystery to me.

If you are a writer, what is your take on this? How forgiving are you and does it make a difference if the perp is a writer?

A few months back I published a guest post by Author Reed Farrel Coleman. It’s a great article containing writing tips from a pro. I’d encourage you to take a minute and read it if you’ve not already done so. You can find it here.

Right around Christmas I received a review copy of one of his latest novels, Hurt Machine. I have to admit that as hard as I’ve tried, I just can’t get into Mystery/Detective novels. In fact, when I’m perusing books on Amazon, if I see “A So and So Detective Mystery” I scoot right on past. I won’t say Hurt Machine turned me into a convert, but I will say that this book is so much more than those typical of the genre.

At once, I found the writing to be engaging, true and literary. What do I mean by literary? Well, I’m not sure, but I think the best way to describe it is “higher level prose.” A sense of higher intellect brewing just below the surface. Subtle inferences that got me thinking. Please don’t translate this as meaning the novel is snooty or stuffy. I think “real” is a much better word.

I’ve never been to New York. Sure, I’ve seen hundreds of TV shows and films made there. Even so, I’ve never been to New York. Until I read Hurt Machine. The author describes neighborhoods and eateries in such a vivid fashion that I felt as if I was sitting at one of the tables at the Grotto, eating a crappy slice of pizza.

Thanks for the trip to New York, Mr. Coleman.

The basic plot of the book is a “ripped from the headlines” story of a couple of NYFD medicos who got themselves into trouble when they refused to treat a man at a restaurant. Mr. Coleman uses that foundation to build a story that is unique, hard hitting and thoughtful. At no time did I find the story line predictable. I was content to let the story take me where it would, and I’m glad I went for the ride.

If you’re looking for a story with real characters in a real setting, you owe it to yourself to give Hurt Machine a good look.

Author Bio

Reed Farrel Coleman, author of Hurt Machine, is the former executive vice president of Mystery Writers of America. He has published twelve novels — two under his pen name Tony Spinsosa — in three series, and one stand-alone with award-winning Irish author Ken Bruen. His books have been translated into seven languages.

Reed is a three-time winner of the Shamus Award for Best Detective Novel of the Year. He has also received the Macavity, Barry, and Anthony Awards, and has been twice nominated for the Edgar® Award. He was the editor of the anthology Hard Boiled Brooklyn, and his short fiction and essays have appeared in Wall Street Noir, The Darker Mask, These Guns For Hire, Brooklyn Noir 3, Damn Near Dead, and other publications.

Reed is an adjunct professor at Hofstra University, teaching writing classes in mystery fiction and the novel. He lives with his family on Long Island.

For more information please visit http://www.reedcoleman.com/, and follow the author on Facebookand Twitter