The Pen is Mightier Than the Shift Key…Or Is It?

I met with my writer’s group this week and the subject of writing methods came up. My friend Judy said that she’s been taking the train so often lately that she’s begun carrying a notebook with her so that she could get some writing done. The only problem was that she then has to type everything up. “I hate that,” she said.

“I hate it, too,” I said. But I then went on to say that as much as I hate transcribing, I still prefer to write by hand. I seem to be more creative when writing by hand. My thoughts flow more freely. My friend Anne put it well: “There’s a different quality to writing by hand.” I’m not sure why that is, but stuff does come out differently when written on a keyboard. (If they haven’t done a study about that, they should.)

And, practically speaking, carrying a notebook around is much easier and more convenient because I do write on the train, on the bench outside at lunch, and in the waiting room at the doctor’s office. My netbook is small, light, and compact, but taking it with me every day, everywhere I go is logistically challenging. Besides, writing outdoors on any laptop is almost impossible because of glare.

Anyway, I thought I’d toss out an old writers’ favorite conversation starter: Do you prefer to write long-hand or on a keyboard, and why?

Getting Some Action

I know what you’re thinking, but I’m talking about a different kind of action

Cover up: yes, perhaps you do judge a book by its cover

Hi, kids–I have all kinds of things I’ve been wanting to toss out for discussion/info/whatever, but decided on book covers.

Sophie Masson, a writer living in Australia, did a cool blog over at Writer Unboxed about book covers, how they’ve changed in the last 150 years or so, how some countries might view them, and what they’re meant to do.

From that blog:
For a writer, that first impression readers get when they see your book is of course vitally important too. But there’s another even more important consideration: what does the cover say about your book? Not just its Pick me, Pick me qualities, but whether it expresses what you feel to be the essence of your lovingly-crafted work. There’s nothing worse than being handed a cover which clearly demonstrates that the designer has no idea what your book’s about, or its emotional tone: and if that’s the case, that’s probably because the publisher has either not briefed them properly, or worse still, has completely missed the point about your book.

and

The cover is the face your book wears to the world, after all. And here’s an interesting conundrum—no cover on earth is going to save a boring book that readers dislike, that’s for sure. But there’s no such opposite guarantee. A boring cover might sink a good book, because not only will readers not pick it up in the shop, reviewers might also not notice it. That’s why emotions run so high over the issue.

So what the heck does this have to do with Andi’s spiel? Read on!

Write or Else…

I’m always on the hunt for something to help me stay on track. I found out about this nifty software from my friend and fellow author, Rebekah Weatherspoon:

You can check out the software here.

Just STOP! Things not to do as a writer in 2012 (or ever)

Hi, friends–

I’m a fan of writer Chuck Wendig, who blogs about writing and publishing over at his site, Terrible Minds. Now, before you go over there, all eager and bright-eyed with your eyes round with the promise of new knowledge and happy unicorns and dancing elves handing out snickerdoodle cookies, be advised that those of you of the…ah…more delicate disposition will probably not like Chuck’s words of wisdom. Which are indeed wisdom-ful, and it’s too bad if your delicate disposition and case of the vapors gets in the way, because you’re missing out.

Why do I say this? Because Chuck swears. And he can be a bit raw. But he’s also irreverent while spot-on about many of the things that go on with writing and publishing. I personally do not have an issue with swearage and I indulge in it myself (horrors!). But I understand that some folks do have a hang-up about it, so just be advised that if you have that issue, Chuck’s probably not the guru for you. If you’re fine with swearage and ribald humor, then continue on.

There Is a Future for Books

Hi, everyone. I hope everyone had great holiday season and that all is well with you as we start another year.

About ten or so years ago, I began hearing rumblings about the demise of the book. Not just the paper-and-ink kind, but all books. The theory was that with information availability becoming as quick as a blink and coming at us in bytes that could be digested in between sips of coffee, people would lose their ability to focus on anything longer than a celebrity gossip column. People’s attention spans were going to diminish and book-length works would not survive the technology age.

Well, ten years down the road, I’m happy to see that “they” were wrong. End-of-year stats are in (well, some) and books are doing just fine, thank you. Of course, they way we read books has changed drastically, but the important thing is that we are still reading (and writing) them. Here are some really good pieces of news:

Christmas Day “biggest ever” for Kindle (The Bookseller.com)

Strong Finish to a Tough Year (PublishersWeekly.com)

HC Christmas Day Downloads top 100,000 (The Bookseller.com) (for U.K. sales)

Mind you, much of this jump in sales has to do with the holidays, as opposed to year-long growth, but the point is that books—in its various formats—are alive and well. Perhaps not as healthy as they were, say, 20, 40, 60 years ago, but they’re still kicking. And I think that’s a great way for us writers to begin 2012. It’s just the kick in the pants and the boost in confidence that many of us need.

Happy New Year to all, and may 2012 be a successful, prosperous, and healthy year. And for all the times you may feel discouraged, think about these words from Franklin D. Roosevelt:

Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.

Everything’s Better with Palm Trees

Greetings! A nasty head cold has me blogging instead of vlogging today. It’s been cold and rainy here in Dallas which has me looking forward to the sixth annual Bold Strokes Books LGBTQ Book Festival in sunny Palm Springs, California, March 1-4, 2012. Readings, signings, panels, and lots of time to mingle with authors and readers. When you’re not sitting by the pool enjoying all the book fun, there’s plenty of other fun activities – Joshua Tree, San Jacinto Mountains, the Palm Springs aerial Tram, casinos and more!

It’s the perfect time to get your plans in order – I hope to see you there!

Click here for more info.

Trapeze

Friday Fun Stuff

Hi, kids–

Hope things are groovy with you and yours. So I found some cool links for readers and writers that I thought I’d pass along to you and yours. Some deal with the craft of writing, some with the business of publishing/writing, and some are interesting things for both readers and writers. Okay. Here!

1) The top ten blogs for writers. These were nominated by readers, and Write to Done took over 2100 nominations. Here’s the list of the top 10. I’m a fan of the blog Terrible Minds, which was one of the winners. Chuck Wendig is the wordmaster over there. So I was checking out some of the other blogs (and yes, I signed up for just about all of them because I’m crazy that way) and discovered over at Creative Penn…

2) this great post about websites, and why it’s important for authors to a) have one and b) have a good one. Examples are provided in the post. I can’t stress enough how important it is for authors to have a website that is easy for readers to find and navigate. Posts like this make me go immediately to my own site and look at it critically so I can figure out how to make it better or, possibly, hire someone else to make it better.

3) How about talking pricing? What does the $.99 ebook do for authors and readers? Check it here. I see the pros and cons of pricing an ebook at $.99. But I’m also thinking that pricing a shorter novelette at that price seems okay to me. Here’s a blog about what constitutes “shorter” ebook fiction. And here’s the New York Times on what shorter fiction might or might not do. This article is from last year, but it seems relevant.

4) Darcie Chan, a self-published author, finds some pretty groovy success with a book that several traditional publishers just wouldn’t pick up.

5) Possible trends in publishing. I tend to agree with most of this — authors, pay attention to the “emerging skill set” section. As an author, your job is not just writing the material. It’s also about learning the industry. Those of you who are working on becoming authors (whether published or self-published), read this piece.

6) Something I’ve been noticing is the emergence and “mainstreaming” of Scandinavian crime fiction (Steig Larsson is part of this). And lo and behold, here’s an article about that.

7) Here’s something that kinda sticks in my craw, and it’s pointed out by Sisters in Crime. Book review guy Lev Grossman and the books he’s looking forward to in 2012. Notice something missing from this list? Mmm hmmm. No women. Which is not to suggest I’m quibbling with his choices. I’ve read those authors, and I agree with his assessment (note–Paolo Bacigalupi’s work is super provocative. The guy’s ultra-talented). However, are there no women authors he’s looking forward to? REALLY, Mr. Grossman? REALLY?

There you go. Some food for thought, one hopes.

Thanks to Sisters in Crime for providing a few of these links and setting me on the trail of others.

Happy reading, happy writing, and happy Friday!

Donovan Picks a Winner

Thanks for all the great comments about Women of the Mean Streets. If you aren’t the lucky winner, you can still pick up a copy of this great collection of lesbian noir at boldstrokesbooks.com.

And the winner of Women of the Mean Streets, an anthology of lesbian noir is…