Wordy Wednesday - Reflections from the Editor's Desk: PRIDE OF PLACE

How many of you remember Northern Exposure? That show could only have worked in a small town set in the middle of nowhere. Specifically in Cicely, in the frontier-like atmosphere of Alaska. The place limited the actions of the characters, exaggerated their quirks, and forced them all to accommodate to each other in order to survive. In other words, place acted the way a character would.

Or am I dating myself? Okay, how about Downton Abbey? Great show. What’s the first thing you think of when you picture it in your mind? Is it the lord of the manor, the servants, the lovely costumes? I’ll bet the first image is that great square pile of a house in its impeccable grounds. The entire show is driven by the needs of the house, and the family is bent, constrained, and molded by the idea of maintaining the estate. Remember that chilling line when the eldest daughter gives birth to a son who will inherit it—“Downton is safe.” Again, the place acts the way a character would, bending characters to its will. 

Where people are affects the way people act. For instance, here in New Hampshire we don’t worry a whole lot about earthquakes. The earth is pretty secure under our feet. Folks in Haiti don’t have that luxury. How does that affect the way they feel about their lives? Does it encourage a sense of fatalism? On the other hand, Haitians don’t know a thing about driving in a snowstorm. Most New Englanders have learned either to cope with it or to stay home. Does that give them courage or make them feel like cowards? Desert peoples don’t carry umbrellas; seaside peoples learn to watch the tides. Small towns are different from big cities; those who live in the mountains see the world differently than those who live on the plains; heavily industrialized places demand different attitudes than agricultural ones.

To be true to life, fiction must always take into account the way a place acts on its characters. Place is more than an accent. What impact do local weather, geography, ecology, population mix, job opportunities, and history have on the people who live there? Place can have as great an influence as upbringing does on a person’s outlook. If you don’t believe me, think about where you grew up. Now try transplanting yourself into a different place. Say you grew up in NYC; what would you be like if you were raised in the upper Midwest?

I don’t have to imagine it. I was 13 when my family moved from a working class, largely Catholic neighborhood of small houses, where a garage was a status symbol, to an upper-middle class, largely Jewish area of spacious homes each accompanied by a two-car garage. The differences in outlook between me and my younger sibs (the youngest of whom was not even born when we moved) are enormous. Religion, politics, the areas where we feel most confident--suffice it to say place has made us so different we talk about the New Jersey family and the Pennsylvania family. And those homes were only fifty miles apart.

When you take place into account in your work, you add another layer of depth that enriches the reader’s experience. It’s a powerful tool in your writer’s toolkit, so don’t be afraid to use it.

Nikki Andrews is a content editor at Champagne Books as well as a published author. Visit her at www.nikkiandrewsbooks.com or at www.scrivenersriver.blogspot.com.

Wordy Wednesday - Reflections from the Editor's Desk: How a Small Press became "The Best Place on the Web"

You’ve just written the next blockbuster hit. What now? The options these days are unlimited. You could pursue an agent and submit to the big New York publishing houses. But getting an agent is easier said than done, and once you have one, he or she still has to submit your work to editors for consideration. I’ve seen otherwise stable authors broken to bits during this process.

Or you could avoid the submission process altogether and self-publish. But there are so many doing that these days, and quality is often, though not always, an issue. You’d have to arrange for an editor, a cover artist, and formatting, and pay for all those services. Some want the absolute freedom self-publishing offers. But for the rest of us, we want the advice and guidance of known experts.

Small e-publishers like Champagne offer the best of both worlds. You’ll get cracker jack editors (she says; modestly *grins*) and cover artists that our authors rave about. And we’ll do the final formatting for you. Best of all, you can still submit directly to Champagne; no agent is required. While this doesn’t guarantee acceptance of your manuscript (we publish quality fiction only) you can still expect a courteous letter back. Possibly, if your story is good but needs too much work for our editing cycle, you may receive what we call a revise and resubmit request. That’s not offered just to be nice; it’s a statement that we see possibilities in your story, but want you to do certain things before we accept it for publication. And if we do accept you for publication right off the bat, you know you have a great story that is well presented. Once you’re in house, new submissions can be sent directly to your editor, someone who you’ll know and hopefully trust by the time you’re submitting a second manuscript.

But perhaps the biggest advantage in publishing with a small house like Champagne is our support for the promotional process. Most authors I’ve encountered dread the word “promo.” Yet promo is a necessary step if you want to sell your book. In today’s world, you have to do the bulk of the promo yourself, even if you have an agent and publish with a big New York house. Most small presses offer chat rooms for their authors where you can share ideas. Champagne goes a step further, offering biweekly meetings devoted to promo and lead by our Senior Editor. Ideas are shared by all, including the editors, most of whom are also published authors. If you need help or advice to set up a website or to learn social media, it’s available through these meetings. You won’t be all alone in the vastness of cyberspace trying to publicize your book.

In case you’re wondering if Champagne’s quality equals that of the big publishers, I can assure you it does. Even well-known authors are now seeking out Champagne for their books. Support, a friendly atmosphere, quality. Our authors call Champagne “the best place on the web” for a reason.

Diane Breton

Editor

Champagne Book Group

Wordy Wednesday - Reflections from the Editor's Desk: Notes from the Slush Pile

Happy Wednesday, everyone! Celia, here. I read submissions from Champagne’s slush pile and nothing makes me happier than when I uncover a gem of a story. Maybe it will be yours.

Here are a few tips from the slushy trenches to help us discover your shiny jewel.

SLUSH PILE DOS...

* Do create a solid hook in your first chapter.
You may have heard agents and editors say this, and it holds true for slush pile submissions, too. If you start with a bang from sentence one/page one/chapter one, you’re more likely to keep your reader turning those pages.

* Do copy edit your manuscript (MS) before submitting.
If your MS is riddled with typos, missing words, grammatical errors, odd formatting, run-on sentences, etc., you risk pulling your reader out of the story. Polish, polish, then polish some more.

* Do review your GMC (goals, motivation, characterization).
Do your characters have solid goals? Clear internal and external motivation? Are they vividly drawn and unique? A strong hero and/or heroine will anchor the reader to your story.

SLUSH PILE DON’TS...

* Do not head hop.
Head hopping within a scene disorients and distracts. One head at a time, please.

* Do not info dump. A truckload of TMI -- be it in dialogue or narrative -- threatens to slow the pace of your story, risks muddying the plot if not germane to it, and just might bore the reader.

* Do not forget there are five senses (or more, if you write paranormal like I do J).
Adding scents, tastes, sounds, and more spices things up on the page and brings your world alive.

Happy writing and good luck with your submissions!


Celia Breslin

Author, Line Editor, Slush Pile Reader
Connect with Celia:
Web site: http://www.celiabreslin.com/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/celiabreslin
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CeliaBreslinAuthor
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/CeliaBreslin

Wordy Wednesday - Reflections from the Editor's Desk: Visualizing Your Prose

Today, I’d like to build on the previous blogs by Christie Caughie, Graeme Brown, and Laurie Temple, and add another tool to your writing toolbox.  Let’s consider the technique of visualizing your sentences and paragraphs as they fit into your scenes. Just as reading them aloud gives you the sense of the cadence and flow, visualizing them gives you the cinematic flow.

I attended a seminar by Blake Snyder (Save the Cat) several years ago that helped me realize how much our words provide that cinematic experience to our readers. I learned that as you ‘see’ each scene in your mind, you can structure them to enhance the reader’s ability to enjoy your story on the visual as well as emotional level. For example:

Dave stepped to the plate, with one man on base. With one out left, in the last inning, he faced a lost game. The restless crowd booed him. The pitcher threw the ball and Dave hit a homerun to win the game.  Jane stood with everyone around her to cheer the hero of the game.

Viewing this as a movie scene, it would be flat and uninteresting. And on the cutting room floor. How do you add the texture, color and sounds that make the reader feel he’s standing right there beside Jane willing our hero to succeed?

Close your eyes and imagine yourself in that same place. What do your five senses show you? Let’s see what that might give us:

Jane squirmed on the uncomfortable metal bench seat as her butt went numb from having no opportunity to stand and cheer her team. The row she sat in behind home plate, full of fans just moments before, now lay empty of people but full of litter. Peanut shells scrunched beneath her feet, and her shoes kept sticking to the remains of a spilled soda from the crying child behind her.  The sour smell of half-eaten hot dogs and spilled beer fueled the turmoil in her gut. Adding insult to injury, it had begun to pour in thick humid sheets of rain.

Her Dave was at bat with one out left, bottom of the ninth. With the worst batting average in the league, this game was over. His career would be over too.

His teammate stood sullenly at second, his arms crossed, tapping his foot on the base. He was already thinking about a hot shower in the locker room and a stiff drink.

Breathless, Jane scanned the thinning crowd as the weight of their disappointment radiated through the entire stadium. Fathers and sons slouched their way toward the exits mumbling against the coach for putting Dave in the game.

She watched her fiancée flinch as the catcalls and boos rained down on him from the remaining die-hard fans, their faces contorted with angry jeers. Forcing her attention back to Dave, she watched hin step to the plate, set his feet, and raise his bat. The pitcher sneered as he stepped to the mound. Fierce determination blossomed on Dave’s face and hope sprang up in Jane’s heart. Maybe. Maybe he could do it.

She leaped to her feet, jumping and yelling encouragement to Dave, screaming to raise her voice over the crowd. He could do it!

And, of course, he gets to be the hero of the game. 

Being able to visualize a scene allows you to add elements that are beyond a mere description of a location or an interaction. You can see and feel the emotions of the crowd, our heroine, and our hero. You can feel and smell and hear the atmosphere in the stadium. Readers who’ve been to a baseball game will supply other details of the scene, from their own experience. They’ll remember when a drunk fan dropped a beer down their mother-in-law’s neck. Or sitting behind a whole row of Little Leaguers at their first big league game. It helps tie your reader to the scene and the emotions.

Whether you’re a pantser or a plotter, this tool will add depth and color to every scene in your book. As an editor, I love getting that cinematic experience of your story while reading it. 

Monica Britt is an editor at Champagne Books. 

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authormjbritt
Twitter: @mons1954

Wordy Wednesday: Reflections from the Editor's Desk - Cadence

On the heels of Graeme Brown’s blog last week, and adding to what Christy Caughie blogged about the week before, I thought I’d offer a few tips about sentence structure. Don’t groan. You know it’s a necessary evil if you write. :) And don’t worry. This isn’t a grammar lesson. It’s just some pointers I offer to help your story read well.

Sentence length - Cadence is defined as a “rhythmic sequence or flow” according to Merriam-Webster. How your sentences are strung together is as important as what they say. Consider this example:

Chuck went to the grocery store. There, he looked for the perfect wine. He took forever to find one. Tonight’s date was important. At the check-stand, he stopped. He’d forgotten his wallet.

If you read it out loud, it sounds stilted and, well, boring. Now, if we vary the length:

Chuck searched the wines for the right one. Tonight’s date was important and he needed everything to be perfect. Somewhere around the thirtieth bottle, he found it. A Cabernet, her favorite. He grinned and sprinted for the grocery store check-stand, reaching for his wallet. His absent wallet. Chuck froze as it hit him. He’d left his money at home.

More readable, right? So varying the sentence length, along with some more dynamic word choices, makes this more interesting. Now take a look at your paragraph and make sure you’ve done a couple more things. Is there a purpose? Have you moved the story forward? And will it intrigue the reader? Here’s another draft of the above paragraph:

Chuck searched the wines for the right one, certain he could hear his watch ticking away. Beer, now that he could figure out. But wine? That was Sandy’s department. Tonight’s date was important and he needed everything to be perfect. He glanced down at the label name written in ink on his hand. Somewhere around the thirtieth bottle, he found it. A Cabernet, her favorite. He grinned and sprinted for the grocery store check-stand, reaching for his wallet. His absent wallet. All he pulled out was the small jeweler’s box. Chuck froze as it hit him. He’d left his money at home.

Hopefully, it reads quite a bit more interesting than that first draft. Keeping your reader entertained, whether your story is humorous or dark, is huge. As an editor, I love seeing the author’s excitement shine through like that in a story.

As I re-wrote the paragraph above, you’ll notice that it slowed things down. This moment is important to Chuck. It sets up a series of mishaps over the course of the evening that help Chuck realize some things about himself. But you can imagine quite a bit from this sample, can’t you?

Not every paragraph needs this amount of re-writing or slowing down. I always recommend writers read their work out loud. You’ll hear the cadence and recognize words that sound flat or need powering up. And hopefully you’ll smile. And as editors, we’ll get excited with you.


Laurie Temple is an editor at Champagne Books and writes under the pseudonym Laurie Ryan.
www.laurieryanauthor.com
Twitter: @lryanauthor
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laurie.ryan.79

Wordy Wednesday - Reflections from the Editor's Desk: A Submission Checklist

If you can write a book, that is a great achievement. You should be proud; you've done what few can do.

All the hard work that goes into getting your prose to hold together cannot be overlooked. Perhaps you have gone through several drafts; there's only so much editing you can do before deciding it's ready to go on to a publisher. Just how much editing, though? Where do you draw the line?

Here's a quick checklist to get you started:

1) Can you boil your book down to a compelling two-three page story that is just as captivating as the book? If you can't, then take some time and try to do this. Not only will it give you what you need for a synopsis that will intrigue the acquisitions editor, but you will be able to appreciate your book's structure (or lack thereof). Some writers like to plot and outline ahead of time, in which case this step might be easy for you, whereas others like to go into the first draft blindfolded, then iron out the wrinkles in subsequent drafts. If this is you, then that doesn't mean you don't still need to, at some point, break your book down into an outline. After all, you can't iron out the wrinkles from a very big blanket if you don't know how to properly spread it out.

2) Do you know your characters' motives? Even though you might have chosen one POV character in a given scene, your story is (most likely) about more than that character alone. Just because you don't tell it through these other characters' eyes doesn't mean you don't have to know what they're thinking and what drives their actions. Many weak manuscripts contain this error - the world seems to revolve around the POV characters, turning the otherwise complex people they interact with into objects. If you take the time to jot down what some characters other than the main POV characters are thinking or doing outside of your main story, this will help you spot many places where they might be doing things that make no sense or have no impact on the story.

3) You can apply the same thing with settings. Do you know the background of each scene? Have you made sure you know this but have told the readers only what is relevant? Many stories are cluttered with too much detail, often a result of writers making sure they don't miss out on important facts about the backdrop to their tale. You can clear away these cobwebs by writing those extra facts down somewhere else, then removing them from the story in parts where they don't belong.

4) Have you dealt with all the things that make you cringe? You know, those parts that you know aren't strong, but you just can't seem to get them to work? That can be anything from weak sentences, to poor word choices, rushed action, rushed dialogue, confusing plot developments, lagging scenes (i.e. the dreaded filler chapter), etc. If they make you cringe, they will make your prospective editor cringe as well. Submitting a manuscript for publication is a professional venture - no different than submitting a business proposal or a job resume. Would you submit a weak cover letter? Would you present a proposal to clients with a hastily-put-together slideshow? No! This is your pride and joy, something you've worked hard on - take it that extra mile, work out all those bugs patiently, and deliver sunshine in an envelope (or inbox).

5) Do you have reader feedback? Usually, writers find a few beta readers to give them feedback on their story. A good time to do this is once you have your draft flowing properly (but not necessarily ready for submission). You might still have some of the bugs from 4) to iron out, but want to be sure you're not second guessing yourself. Beta readers are great for that. Be careful, though: beta readers are not there to tell you what you should put in your book. Instead, think of them like reconnaissance. As the writer, you're doing the groundwork; those readers will give you different aerial views you don't get when you're bogged down by the act of writing. Pick your beta readers well: diverse, willing to give timely, constructive feedback, and be sure you distinguish work-shopping from beta reading - the former is done between writers, and is often slower, more involved, the latter is done quickly, by a reader who will read your manuscript like a book and give you reader comments ("I really liked this," "you disappointed me here," "I couldn't understand this passage," "your character, James, seems so upset here, but I don't know why, I'm intrigued...").

6) After 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 are done, have you taken the time to go through the whole thing and search for any little typos or places where you can strengthen the prose? Would you be happy if the manuscript you send out went to print as it is?

If your answer is no, then it's not ready.

If your answer is yes, though, then this DOES NOT mean your manuscript is ready to go to print as is. What is DOES mean is that you are presenting your writing craft at its strongest, with the hopes of entering into a publishing contract where you will work with an editor to make it even stronger, a product that reflects the publisher's standards. When an editor has to spend time correcting you on things that are your job, as the writer, to have in place, that means the final product is less likely to be as good possible. An acquisition editor has this in mind when he or she is reviewing your manuscript, whether you are a first time author or a multi-published author; at Champagne Books, our goal is to present fiction at its finest, so as you can imagine we are not going to accept manuscripts we don't feel will reflect these standards by the end of the production process.

An editor is elated to receive a manuscript from a writer who has put all the right work into presenting his or her story with pride. So, for those of you who have written a book, who want to be published, be patient, do all that hard work. There's nothing more rewarding, for editor and author alike, than turning a manuscript that shines with potential into a book.


Happy writing!

Graeme Brown
Junior Editor
http://www.graemebrownart.com/the_pact.html

Wordy Wednesday - Reflections from the Editor's Desk: And then…

During my days as a high school and middle school English teacher, I used to get a lot of narrative essay first drafts that included an overuse of “then” or “and then…” to link together the various parts of the story. First we did this, then we did that, then we did that other thing, and then it all got resolved. It was a bit like reading a series of police reports. Their essays were often just a list of actions to get their story from point A to point B, with very little narrative artistry in between. But we all lack a bit of literary polish when we first begin writing, and I enjoyed teaching them how to enliven those series of actions.

The manuscripts I edit now are much more polished, often beautifully written, and yet I find a lot of writers still struggle with the word “then.” They depend on it. They overuse it. And, more often than not, they use it incorrectly.

In fact, one of the most commonly misused or erroneously punctuated words I see when editing is the word “then.” I most often see it used as a coordinating conjunction, a joiner word, but that’s not its grammatical role.
Here’s an example: Steve spent the evening reading then went to bed.

That sentence sort of reads all right. It looks like it would work. But it’s grammatically incorrect.

Grammar’s coordinating conjunctions, words that can be used to join up clauses and different parts of a sentence, even have their own mnemonic to help you remember them. The FANBOYS are for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so.

So, how could we fix the sentence about Steve? We could add a coordinating conjunction.

Steve spent the evening reading and then went to bed.

We could also add a coordinating conjunction and separate the sentence into two independent clauses. To make the second half independent, we’ll need to add a subject pronoun too.

Steve spent the evening reading, and then he went to bed.

Or we could get rid of “then” entirely and draw out these actions, painting them in more vivid, tangible colors for our readers. Let’s face it, if you, as an author, need to tell your reader about your character’s actions in a blow-by-blow way, you need to make it worth their while.

Steve spent the evening reading the same book he’d been half-heartedly skimming all week. The black letters blurred to grey on the white page after about thirty minutes, and he found himself reading the same paragraph over and over, its meaning obscure by the time he reached the final line. Only the L stood out on the page, his eye drawn like a magnet to its sharp angle. He snapped the book shut, turned out the lights, and made his way to bed—an empty bed. He still slept on the left side. The right side would always belong to Lucy.

Do you find yourself using “then” a lot in your writing? If you’re using it, are you using it correctly? Are there other words you use too often and could remove to make your writing stronger?



Christy Caughie is an editor and book cover designer at Champagne Books.
www.gildedheartdesign.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/author.christycarlyle
Twitter: @writerchristy
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/christycarlyle/