authonomy

Playing with Covers

My siblings are graphically gifted, so when I needed a cover image for Authonomy, I turned to my sister.  After I finished the sequel, she decided to go a different direction for Fingerprints to mesh better with her take on Echoes.  We still have some thoughts about tweaking things.  Enjoy.

Original Fingerprints Cover

New Fingerprints Cover

Echoes Cover

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The Author’s Skin

It’s got to be thick.  I’m thinking rhinoceros-like.  Maybe even armor-plated.  Constructive criticism can sting the ego, but it’s a gift.  It gives you another perspective and forces you to make tough decisions that hopefully make your work better.

Unfortunately, some authors seem to be allergic to criticism of any kind.  They go into literary anaphylactic shock at the first hint of it.  I’ve got bad news, kids.  If you think my feedback is rough, wait ’til you come up against agents and editors that won’t even read as much as I did.

Here are some of my ideas of appropriate and inappropriate responses.  Take note – considering feedback does not necessarily mean making changes.

Feedback: “This part is confusing.”
Appropriate Reaction:  Assuming this person is within my target audience and thus has the requisite background knowledge, I’d better check that part.  Is something obvious to me because it’s in my head, but it’s not coming across clearly on the page?
Inappropriate Reaction:  This person obviously has no idea what they’re talking about.  It’s all there in black and white.  How can they miss it?

Feedback: “This formatting choice is distracting.”
Appropriate Reaction:  Uh-oh.  Last thing I want is for my readers to be distracted by something like format.  Why did I choose to use italics/bold/double-quotes/single-quotes here?  Can my purpose be served by something less obtrusive?  It’s only one person’s opinion, so I’ll keep this as a note to myself.  If others comment on it, I might want to rethink it.
Inappropriate Reaction:  This is what makes me distinctive.  I don’t want to look like every other book.  If they think my use of reverse-indentation is hard to read, then they’re just missing out on my genius.

Feedback: “I had a hard time getting into this.”
Appropriate Reaction:  Yikes.  Is this person part of my target audience?  If so, I need to figure out why I’m not drawing them in.  If not, I should still consider my hooks and pacing, because it’d be nice to have broader appeal.
Inappropriate Reaction:  How dare they attack the product of my blood, sweat, and tears?!  Everyone else who’s ever read this (i.e., all my friends and family) say it’s the greatest thing since [insert name of favorite author here].  This person is clearly just mean-spirited and jealous of my massive talent, because otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to drag themselves away from my pièce de résistance.


For the record, I’m only mildly exaggerating.

Good luck in the publishing industry, kids.  See you around.

[ETA: Eight months after I posted this, Pete Morin blogged about rhinoceros hide.  Check it out.]

  

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How I Lost My Life (or Found It …?)

Not so long ago, I thought to myself, “You have a lot of opinions about books, especially in the Young Adult market. Think you can do it better?” So I started writing a story that I would eventually title Fingerprints.

I completed several chapters before telling anyone I was even making the attempt.  After I sent the first eight or so chapters to a good friend, she got on my case to send her more.  Nothing like an impatient fan to motivate the writing process.

That friend was the first to read the “completed” story as well.  She immediately demanded I get going on the sequel.  (I have, but it’s making much slower progress while I refine Fingerprints.)  My sister and mother were the next to read.  The opinions of family and friends must naturally be taken with a grain of salt, but their enthusiasm gave me the confidence to go further – to let strangers read it.

So I posted the novel on Authonomy.  The proverbial genie was out of the bottle.  There’s a healthy dose of “reality show gaming” going on, but I’ve also gotten valuable feedback and even more confidence.

Now, free time is a thing of the past.  I’ve been through the manuscript countless times – tweaking, streamlining, expanding … and leaving some things just as they are.  Spare moments are consumed by attempts to draft a query, wrangle a synopsis, and research agents.

No more free time.

And I love it.

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