The Writing Life: Top paid authors

Forbes Magazine just did an article about the world's highest paid authors, including James Patterson [over $80 million], Stephen King [$28 million] Stephanie Meyer, the Twilight series author [$21 million] and Nicholas Sparks, my nemesis--I'm sure he's worried--[$16 million].

I also got paid this past year for my writing. I received a complimentary copy of the Flash Magazine edition my story was published in [a $15 value]. Let me tell you, when I opened the mail and saw my story had been published in such a great magazine, the feeling was priceless...

G

The other writer in the room

I go to Barnes & Noble at least twice a week to write. Invariably the same guy is there. Another writer, I've decided.

How do I know? He sits in the same place every time, spreading out his work in front of him. Once every hour or two, he'll get up and wander the store--looking at books, I guess--returning to his table, where he left his computer and papers.

This is pretty much how I act. I try to sit in the same spot each time--I always buy something--a coffee at least, and I take occasional breaks to go peruse the new hardcover fiction releases, either to pick my next book, or to daydream about mine being there.

Lately, we've even begun to acknowledge each other. Shit, for all I know it's Charles Frazier [Asheville resident and author of Cold Mountain] with a beard. More likely I'm guessing, is that he's struggling like the rest of us; hoping to finish his book soon and dreaming of getting published one day.

I've never talked to him, but I wish him luck, and I think he does me. He nodded to me the other day when I showed up; pretty demonstrative for a writer.

On Writing: Never give up.

Everyone has been talking lately about The Help, especially now that it's been made into a movie. It's not really up there on my to-read list, but I'm sure I'll end up getting to it eventually. What's cool to me is how the author, Kathryn Stockett, never gave up, even after 65 rejections from agents. For a year and a half she continued to revise her book and send it out, one time even telling her husband she was going on a girl's weekend, and instead checking into a motel down the street from her house to immerse herself into her book.

I can relate.  Now that I only have four chapters left I'm stealing every chance I get to work on it...I'm so close to the end I can't stand it, and have been typing so much I think I'm getting carpe diem...or is it carpal tunnel?  Either way, who cares, there's no stopping now...

G

On writing: Building a fictional world in a real town

Shortly before my father died we were talking about my first novel, Mystic Shove. I described the concern I had with the location for my book. It is set in Mystic, Ct.--a real town [a great town!] which wasn't the problem...the problem was that I had added a marina right off the downtown waterfront where one didn't exist. Beyond that, I had the protagonist jogging to a beach a town over, where he could look out at this lighthouse, which plays a big part in the book, and the problem there was that the daily jog would probably have been about ten miles each way...Blaine is in amazing shape, but a 20 mile jog each morning wouldn't have left much time for anything else...so in the book I say it's about three miles each way.

My father listened to all of this and then smiled. "Geoff, that's the beauty of writing fiction..."

...and he was exactly right  Sure, get your facts right where you can, but if they don't work then change the map, the character or the weather, even...that's the beauty of fiction. 

1st book, 2nd book

When people ask me about my writing I tell them that I've written two books, which is true--some of you have read them both. But in the sidebar of my blog I say that I'm working on edits for my first novel.

This is confusing. But, sort of like putting a job that I didn't get on my resume, say at NASA, the publishing world doesn't count the book collecting dust in my office, and only considers a "first book" as your first published book.

So, yes, I've written two books, I'm working on edits on the second one, which if it gets published will be my first book.

Now that I've cleared that up for everyone, it's time to start happy hour.  Cheers.

On Writing: Sarah's Key

So, I'm knee deep into Sarah's Key, a book that's been on my "to read" list for a long time.  I moved it up based on feedback from Erin and Rebecca...and I'm glad I did. It reads so easy, and I can't wait to see where it goes.

Okay, that's not entirely true. Part of me is glad that I don't know what happens yet, and that I still have the rest of the book to enjoy.

Does that ever happen to you? Are there any books you love so much that you wish you hadn't read them [yet]?

Writing through the doubts

On Friday, I saw the results of a short story contest I entered. It didn't win, place or get honorable mention....and they gave honorable mention to a lot of stories [forty I think].

This came just after I got really stuck in chapter 13 of my rewrite. My writing was awful, the story was lagging...and it seemed like the protagonist was just running around doing errands. So, I'm behind at work, I have errands to run and I have my characters errands to run....

These are the times that the doubts creep in...or in this case, take over.  All of these hours/weeks/months of effort for something that no one may ever read. It's easy to start doubting what you're trying to accomplish, and wonder whether you even have what it takes to do this writing thing. [Feeling sorry for yourself is a big part of the doubts, too]

So, I took Friday off from writing, and went to a great party and concert. Saturday morning I took my son and his friend to the mall for back to school shopping; we have an unspoken agreement on these trips....stopping at the cash machine, I paid him off--he left happy not to have Dad tagging along, and I dove back into the book on the second floor of the amazing new Barnes & Noble at the mall.

An hour and a half later, they showed back up, shopping done. And me, I'd plowed through chapter 13, making some needed changes that I'm really happy with [Billy, my protagonist, decided to skip his errands]

Now I think I'm back on track. The doubts have been vanquished. [For now...]

On Writing: Beta readers

Beta readers are what they call the small group an author lets [or begs to] read their writing. Of course, like usual, I had no idea of this terminology until it was too late...

The idea is, when you're ready, that you share your work with family and friends, in order to receive positive reinforcement and constuctive criticism. The problem I had several years ago is that I would ask people to read my work before the ink was dry, expecting the reader to fall down in passionate disbelief at my great writing and instead getting scared looks after the reader tried to decipher my giberish.

Not good.

Like everything in a writer's life it seems, I learned this one the hard way....don't ask people [especially family] to read your work until you've edited it thoroughly, otherwise you're asking for trouble. I would say things like "Don't pay attention to the spelling...or the plot. Ignore the cardboard characters and suspend disbelief at the premise; but then please, please, tell me what you think....don't hold back."

The good news is my beta readers aren't the 'hold back' types...which brings me to the present, where I don't share my work until I mean it. I've lost the daily fulfilling positive feedback, but in the long run, I think my writing will be better off....and so will my beta-readers.

More on beta-readers in a future blog.

If you're enjoying the posts, please forward it on to friends with similar tastes...I've hit a roadblock in growing the site and need your help.  Thanks

Geoff

Authors respond

After posting about favorite books, I've often shot out a quick email to the author, or more likely, the author's publicist, just to let them know I blogged about their book. I didn't think much of it, more of a courtesy, really.

And then they wrote back. Almost all of them that I've reached out to have taken the time to respond. I don't know why, but I never expected a personal response.

Author Paul Watkins thanked me for my kind words and let me know that he's been writing under a pseudonym, Sam Eastland,  for several years. I immediately downloaded Eye of the Red Tsar, a historical Russian murder mystery, and I look forward to reading it next.

Author Mark Mills responded and let me know that his book House of the Hanged will be available in the US early next year. I can't wait. No, really...I'm searching the internet for it tonight.

Author Jaimy Gordon [Lord of Misrule] wished me luck in my writing and author Erik Larson [In the Garden of Beasts] took time to let me know that he's now reading a thriller, The Informationalist.

I know better than to think that I'm now on a first name basis with any of these great authors, but these are some of my literary heroes. And they are gracious. And classy. How cool is that?