Help Meeeee! I’m In the Success Trap . . . A Plea From Gini Koch

A Rare Glance into the Wacky World of an Up and Coming Novelist

Gini Koch is a highly esteemed member of my local Desert Rose Chapter of Romance Writers of America, and she is a dynamic and focused woman who also writes a damn fine book.

Among her many, many accolades (check out Gini’s website to read others) is this one from Pearls Cast Before a McPig, who says:

“This is a great book! It has witty humor, gorgeous aliens, a heroine I could really relate to and a fast paced story packed with lots of action.”

What more could a reader want? Well, maybe more books?.  Exactly what fans are calling form and Gini is scrambling as fast as she can,  And she desperately needs help. Read more to find out why.

Gini's Offer, Which Someone Won't Be Able to Refuse , , ,

I’m a published author. By April 5, 2011 I’ll have five books in print, with at least a sixth on the way. Awesome, right? Yeah, it truly is.

But here’s the thing -- I need an assistant, in the worst way…and I can’t pay for one.

Why not? Because I literally don’t have the money. These books are just releasing. I’ve gotten advances for the four that are in my novel series, and I’ve gotten paid for the two that are short stories in anthologies. But royalties? Um, well…maybe I’ll see a little money in October -- but my agent says it’s rare when a debut author sees royalties in the first statement.

So what, right? I mean, why should I need an assistant if the books are sold, written, etc.? Because promotion is a killer -- if you don’t do it, your book dies. If your book dies, you don’t get new contracts for more books. And promotion is a full time job, and then some.

I’m not complaining about being in this position. I’m thrilled to be in this position. But each book has to be promoted -- on Twitter, on Facebook, via blog tours, promotional items, speaking engagements, guest blogs, supporting those blogs that support you, and so on. And each book has to be promoted differently, too, dependent upon a variety of factors.

I have fans. (I have fans!) This still thrills me, every single day. But I need to stay in contact with them via my subscribers newsletter, send others requested free promo items, fulfill orders for merchandise, keep an inventory listing, keep my regular subscribers list updated, check my P.O. box, check my email and all the social media outlets regularly, run and fulfill contests, and more.

All of these activities take time and they take it away from what actually pays me -- writing and editing. But if I don’t do them, all of them, then the books will not sell well enough to ensure I continue to earn money from writing and editing.

So, what’s a girl to do? Beg for help. I’ve been told that unpaid interns are all the rage in this business. That half of the agents out there, as well as many of the publishers, are using unpaid interns. That tons of authors have at least one, maybe more, unpaid interns on staff. That people will kill for the chance to get to work with me, in my home, with my pets and husband underfoot, all for the chance to learn how a real author does it, make contacts, learn the business, and have access to my “Crack” Cokes up from Mexico.

But, I hear you ask, what will you get out of this generous use of your free time? A lot, actually.

If you’re interested in any aspect of the publishing business -- being an author, editor, agent, PR/promo/advertising person, or salesperson -- then you’ll learn about what happens and what it takes, pretty much firsthand, or as firsthand as you can get without being the novelist yourself. You’ll learn how to research markets, deal with fans, handle promotional opportunities, request and garner speaking opportunities, edit, make marketing decisions, utilize social media, and then some. You’ll see what it’s like to be on the frontlines of this business, as well as learning the realities of how authors get paid, when, and how much (by selling things, slowly, and not nearly enough, but that’s only the high-level view). And you’ll make industry contacts it could take you years to garner on your own.

Per the experts, after this sales pitch, the offers to be my unpaid intern should be pouring in, requiring another unpaid intern just to go through them all and find the right person or persons who match my particular idiom and idiosyncrasies.

Is this true? Let’s find out…if you’re in the Greater Phoenix Metro Area, and want to prove that the Myth of the Unpaid Intern is indeed a reality, send an email to gini@ginikoch.com. I promise to only cry a little if I actually find someone to help me.

Gini Koch lives in the American Southwest, works her butt off (sadly, not literally) by day, and writes by night with the rest of the beautiful people. The first book in her Alien series, Touched by an Alien, released April 6, 2010 from DAW Books, receiving a starred review from Booklist as well as other excellent reviews. Touched by an Alien has also been named by Booklist as one of the Top 10 adult SF/F novels of 2010. Alien Tango releases December 7, 2010, and Alien in the Family releases April 5, 2011, with Alien Proliferation following later in 2011.

Gini speaks frequently on what it takes to become a successful author and other aspects of writing and the publishing business. You can reach her via her website, www.ginikoch.com or via email, gini@ginikoch

I expect someone out there will be putting together a win/win deal with Gini and meanwhile, back at the ranch,  check in at the Bootcamp.  Coming Up is Sparkling Dialogue and Cathi McDavid's Killer Synopsis Spotlight.

Until then,
Connie Flynn
Co-Founder, Bootcamp for Novelists Online
How do we teach writing?  Step by step!

So You Want to be a Pro . . . ?

Not in the world’s oldest profession way, of course, but as in professional writer . . . one who produces books regularly and - gasp - even gets paid for them.  The question always is, how do you get from rank beginner to a place where others will pay you for your work?

It’s a simple path, although seldom easy or a one step follows the other process, but those who succeed almost always have these qualities.

Ten Steps for Getting Published. 

1.    Read, read, read.  Everything. Novels you love, novels you hate. Nonfiction in subject you love and those that bore you to death.  Newspapers, magazines, blogs.  Learn to recognize good writing and bad writing.

2.    By the time you get serious, choose a genre.  There are dozens. Way too many to cover here, but you need to know about them and if this is a foggy topic to you, start here. The topic is actually more complex than this article suggests, but it’s a good beginning.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genre_fiction. 

3.    Make sure the genre you choose to write is something you love reading or you’ll eventually hate your books. But if publication is your ultimate goal – and since you’re reading this blog, I suspect it is – it’s a good practice to write what is currently selling.

4.    When you’re educated about the marketplace, start getting familiar with the internal structure of a novel.  Just because you read them and have neat descriptions about theme and character building doesn’t mean you yet have the tools to do this yourself.

5.    Learn how to write a synopsis.  Boy of boy, do writers hate those, but unless you self- publish – where, let’s face it, the publisher can read your mind – you’ll need to tell influential people about your book, clearly and with an entertaining voice.

6.    Write your book.  Set a disciplined schedule.  If possible, do something on your book every day.

7    Finish your book.  Unless you have unusually good connections, your chances of selling an unfinished novel are nil.  So finish the baby.

8.    Revise your book, proofread it, then proofread it again.  The competition is so stiff these days you can’t afford to send out a sloppy manuscript.

9.    Bounce back from rejections.  You will get them. You will want to roll into a fetal position. Don’t indulge this urge more than a few days.  Submit again and keep submitting.

10.    There are six secret rules published authors never violate:  Write, write, write.  Submit, submit, submit.  Do this and you will get published. You haven’t failed until you quit.

Hope this helps, Connie
Co-Founder, Bootcamp for Novelists Online

How to Write Dialogue in Fiction

Writing dialogue that actually sounds like two people really talking is very difficult for many writers.  Yet nothing endears readers to your story more than dialogue that sounds natural while at the same time relating what the story is about.

DIALOGUE, THE PARADOX

What makes good dialogue hard to produce is that it must read like real people talk and also not read like real people talk. Good dialogue simply creates the illusion of being natural while performing the function of telling your story.  It often takes years to develop an ear that translates to good dialogue.  Here are a few tips on how to get a head start and what to avoid and on writing like real people talk. 

AVOID BAD DIALOGUE

1. Don’t use formal language or strictly adhere to the rules of grammar.   Nobody talks that way. Think about it.
2. Don’t forget contractions. Exceptions might be made if English is the speaker’s second language, but mostly in normal conversation people run their words together as in “we’re agonna go to the concert tonit’” Okay, so you’d never say that, but I wanted to get your attention.
3. Don’t have characters address each other by name all the time.  In reality, people don’t use each other’s names very often – usually only to get the person’s attention or when they’re angry. Remember your mother when you’d done something wrong, well there you go. Most of the she called you by a sibling’s name, right?   

TO WRITE GOOD DIALOGUE

1. Keep it short.  Most of the time we speak in incomplete sentences to get our ideas across and there’s a back and forth thing going on.  However, we do know people who open their mouth and go on and on and on . . . and (yawn) on.  You might even have one of them in your book.  This where you present an illusion rather than the real thing.  Give that gabby character a few run-on sentences, have the other character try to get a word in edgewise then have a thought about how this character hogs the conversation.  That’s pretty much all it takes.  When the first character shows up again, provide the reader with a light reminder, maybe give that character an extra line or two more than the others in the scene. Next thing you know when that character comes on scene, readers will already know they’re tiresome gabbers.  They all know people like that and it will make them sympathize with your focal character. 
2. Have characters give indirect answers.  Dialogue that is too direct is called on-the-nose and tends to be predictable and therefore boring. Character one asks character two if they are attending a meeting that night.  The obvious answer is yes or no, with perhaps an excuse. To make the dialogue indirect, have character two say something that leaves the question partly unanswered.  For instance, “What time is it?” or “Where’s it at?” Or even, farther afield, “Is Becky going?” Which actually isn’t so far afield because we’ve all done something like that, and that’s why this techniques makes dialogue real.
3. Try to provide two to three clever lines per scene –- cliches turned on their heels are good, Or   an unexpected insight. Or a reply that’s so far from what’s expected that the reader is jarred or amused. It doesn’t have to be funny, although it can be, but it does have to be unexpected and off-the nose. The reason I suggest only two or three lines is that if all the dialogue is clever, none of it is.  So save these lines for important moments in your scene, which the lines will make memorable.

SPARKLING DIALOGUE AND THE KILLER SYNOPSIS

I’ll be covering dialogue in a lot more depth in the Sparkling Dialogue course that begins on September 5.  September is a hot month at the Bootcamp.  Besides me, my good friend Cathy McDavid will offer a Bootcamp Clinic on Writing the Killer Synopsis. To top off the month, my partner Linda Style will be teaching an advanced plotting course called Subplots and Layers.  Visit our website for more information:  Bootcamp for Novelists

Connie Flynn                               

  Co-founder                                 

Bootcamp for Novelists.com      

How to Launch a Blog . . . I think

Have you always dreamed of writing a novel, but didn't quite know where to start? Have you started a novel and found you couldn't get beyond the first three chapters...or finished one but it keeps getting rejected? Are you an experienced writer and want to take your writing to the next level?

If so, we at BOOTCAMP for Novelists are here to help you. Between us, we have over twenty years experience teaching novel writing and have written over twenty-five novels. How did we do it?

Step by step.

That's how a book is written — step by step, that's how your skills are built. Step by step, that's how we'll teach you those skills. BOOTCAMP for Novelists Online's step-by-step program takes you from the beginning of your novel to the end.

If you're a beginner, you'll start with the BASIC TRACK (Level I) taught by Connie Flynn. If you've been writing a while, start with the POLISH TRACK (Level II) taught by Linda Style.

But you aren't limited to one track. Beginners might want to polish a basic skill before mastering a new one. Experienced writers may want to jump into a basic program to beef up a weak skill. Either way, if you follow our step by step program and do the work, you'll have the tools to write your novel and get it published.

Check out our curriculum and see what it's about. And if you think the program is a little too
nose-to-the-grindstone, no worries. Lurkers are welcome and participation is voluntary.

---

These words greet the eager and the curious as they venture into the Bootcamp world and, despite the fact that I've written hundreds of thousands (perhaps millions) or words, I couldn't think of a single word to begin my (and the Bootcamp's) first-ever blog.

I've talked to dozens of authors, aspiring authors, and non-authors about this and have discovered it's a very familiar problem. I am not alone. The trouble is that few among us have an answer and those that do blog (and very well, I might add) look at me with a sad little smile as if to say, "It's not a big deal."

And there, I (hope) discover is the solution to the problem -- remembering that it's not a big deal. If this blog is stupid or boring or absolutely makes no sense at all, you might vow never to visit my Bootcamp site unless I pay you. You might even tell a few friends. But I won't die and tomorrow's blog might even be better and, down the road, someone might suggest you give us another try. And there you go.

At least it's up and I've started. Today is Thursday and I think this will be my blog day. So each Thursday sometime before midnight (hey, I don't like to be pinned down) I'll post an update. Some days I'll have tips. Some days I might talk about a book I read. Some days I might invite a friend to blog. Some days I'll discuss writing problems. I'll do my best to mix it us, so that when you pop in you'll find something that suits you, at least now and then.

In the meantime, I'm now out of the Bloggers closet. Amazing adventures await me . . . I'm sure.

http://bootcampfornovelists.com/

posted by Connie Flynn, novelists, teacher, intrepid adventurer