WRITERS TRICKS OF THE TRADE
Tricks of the Trade TIPS AND TECHNIQUES INDUSTRY NEWS BOOK REVIEW CONFERENCE LISTINGS AND…MUCH, MUCH MORE! A n e Z i n e f o r W r i t e r s Now on BLOG TALK RADIO, TOO ! ! !!
An eZine for Writers January-February 2015
Volume 5, Issue 1 Jan-Feb 2015
PAGE
Tips, Techniques and Tricks Chats with the Experts Industry News...and... more
JANUARY – FEBRUARY 2015
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MORGAN’S CORNER
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7
AGENDAS – HOW THEY IMPACT YOUR WORK FRED RAYWORTH MAKE THE GUYS IN YOUR NOVELS MORE ROMANTIC J. L. GREGER WRITER’S CONFERENCE LISTINGS
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LINKS TO 50 ARTICLES ABOUT WRITING TO HELP YOU IN 2015
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FROM BRIAN KLEMS “THE WRITER’S DIG” BLOG END OF A YEAR, AND PERHAPS THE END OF A STAGE OF THE EBOOK TRANSITION REPRINTED FROM “THE SHATZKIN FILES” FIRST CHAPTER PLUS
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12 13-15 16 17-18 19-20 21 22-26 27-28 29 30
FOR THE INDIE WRITERS OF AMAZON, IS IT PUBLISH OR PERISH? COMMENTARY BY MORGAN ST. JAMES WRITERS TRICKS OF THE TRADE HERE, THERE AND EVERYWHERE PUBLISHING PREDICTIONS FOR 2015 FROM THE FOUNDER OF SMASHWORDS REVIEWS BY MARTHA “ALL BECAUSE OF THE TIP OF A NEEDLE” BY PHILIP NORK JUST FOR GIGGLES AND GRINS LIFE STORIES “THE BOSS ALWAYS SITS IN THE BACK” EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK BY JON D’AMORE WHAT IN THE WORLD IS “CREATIVE NON-FICTION?” MORGAN ST. JAMES WRITERS’ TRICKS OF THE TRADE – THE BOOK PUT YOUR NAME ON THE MAILING LIST
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ABOUT WRITERS’ TRICKS OF THE TRADE Publishing industry professionals—authors, publishers, editors and others in the business—have helped Writers’ Tricks of the Trade grow and thanks to them the readership keeps increasing. Monthly issues contain helpful articles, industry news, writers’ conference listings, book reviews and reader brags or announcements and much more. These are all open to submissions.
Life Stories, is always open for submission and it’s a good opportunity to share something funny, devastating or inspirational that happened in your life. To suggest a topic or submit an article for consideration, please send your submission to WTTmagazine@gmail.com. The eZine publishes on the 15th of every month. Deadlines are the 5th of the publication month. If an issue is full, approved articles will appear in a future issue.
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Morgan’s Corner Morgan’s Corner
MORGAN ST. JAMES, EDITOR
2014 IS HISTORY Morgan St. James, Editor
ONWARD TO 2015
Editor
Cont’d nextlast page… As the of 2014 passed into history amid fireworks, celebrations, kisses, hugs and teary renditions of Alde Lang Syne, I knew I was looking forward to 2015.
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2014 was a year of good, not so good and bad, so let’s focus on the good. During 2014 the first two Silver Sisters Mysteries went back into publication after the original publisher closed their doors following the tragic death of one partner. So Goldie and Godiva are back at it again, sniffing out crime in their own MAKE THE GUYS IN YOUR NOVELS MORE ROMANTIC (CONT’D zany fashion, complete with backfires, twists, turns and finally that magic moment when they nail the bad guy, bad gal or bad group. Just one more book to go now to have the full series resurrected. Vanishing Act in Vegas is targeted to release in early 2015. My co-author/sister Phyllice Bradner and I look forward to finally being able to finish Caper #4, Diamonds in the Dumpster, which was begun before L&L Dreamspell closed. In March I participated in the Local Author Collection launch party at Paseo Verde Library in Henderson NV. Several of my books are now in their collection. I also was part of the Spring Fling at Clark County Library in Las Vegas at the end of that month. In April Bella Capo and I appeared at Barnes & Noble in Henderson with a talk and signing of La Bella Mafia to kick off a bookfair to benefit the Safe House women’s shelter. The following day, we appeared at a private event sponsored by the Ladies Making a Difference Meetup group to also benefit Safe House.
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By the beginning of June I was really ready for an R&R because I’d been going non-stop since 2013. What a way to “drop out” for a little while. Dylan the Dog and I drove to Big Bear CA and stayed in a rented cabin for a week. Whew. I think I was sent a message about relaxation. I’d forgotten my computer mouse and don’t do well with the touchpad, so I actually vegged out! Cont’d… WRITERS TRICKS OF THE TRADE
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JAN-FEB 2015
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Silver Sisters Mysteries Denise van Venr
Morgan’s Corner (Cont’d) My friends always kid me that I can’t figure out what to do with my spare 5 minutes a day. Well let me tell you, I find things to fill those, too. I’ve become active on the Board of Writers of Southern Nevada, and we have had some great events in 2014. The plans for 2015 include many unique events for writers and as well as being a committed liaison for Las Vegas area writers groups, media, resources, speakers and more.
BUY REVIEWS GREATLY APPRECIATED
Goldie
As if that wasn’t enough, at the end of September my co-author for La Bella Mafia and the upcoming Izzy and Me asked me if I would like to cohost a Writers Tricks of the Trade show on Blog Talk Radio. Being a natural ham, how could I resist? We have lined up wonderful guests, a snappy format and with 4 shows now in the archives, the 2015 shows launch on January 14 with phenomenal guest Carolyn-Howard Johnson, The Frugal Book Promoter. We will also host Jon D’Amore, author of The Boss Always Sits in the Back,” on January 28, and in February Tony Todaro, president of Greater Los Angeles Writers Society and CEO of West Coast Conferences, will be followed by Darrah Whitaker, author of My Life as a Sperm and Conference coordinator for the Las Vegas Writers Conference. The shows air live on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month, 6:00 PST/9:00 EST and immediately go into the archives for future listening. I will be presenting workshops at The Big Story Writers Conference, February 20-22, 2015 at L.A. Valley College in Van Nuys CA. With all of that having been said, I wish my readers and contributors a happy, healthy, prosperous New Year.
Morgan Godiva
DYLAN THE DOG, ASSOCIATE EDITOR BUY
JAN-FEB 2015
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WRITERS TRICKS OF THE TRADE
Dylan the Dog, Associate Editor
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AGENDAS FRED RAYWORTH I’m a heavy reader, an average of a novel a week, sometimes two. I’m lucky in that the quantity never fails to give me inspiration. This week was no exception. As I usually do, I don’t like to cite the specific book because I don’t want to give you any bias if you happen to read any of these books. I want you to either find it on your own, or interpret it your own way. Maybe you’ll see things differently. Maybe I’m too sensitive, or you haven’t learned to spot these things yet. Maybe my articles will help you do that, so your writing will improve. I recently finished a book by a very popular thriller author. This was a oneoff from his usual series. The premise was interesting with plenty to like. However… I HATE AGENDAS I’m not sure how deliberately the author pursued his plot, but the premise, though quite imaginative and off the beaten path, bordered on preaching.
FRED RAYWORTH A MAN OF MANY TALENTS
VISIT FRED’S OWN BLOG HTTP://FREDRAYWORTH.COM
I HATE PREACHING Yup, you got it. Preaching. The author never missed an opportunity to pound his message home, using thinly-disguised plot devices to bring that message to the forefront on almost every page. That could’ve brought the action to a crawl, except he kept the chapters and scenes short, which kept the pace fast. The worst part is that I got the message in the first chapter. I kept saying to myself, Okay, I got it. Now move on with the story! MAKE YOUR POINT AND MOVE ON I repeat, make your point and move on. Some agendas are not as controversial as others, while some are just downright annoying. In this case, the agenda itself wasn’t so much annoying. I agree in principal and sympathize with the author. The problem is that I didn’t want to hear it over and over again. As a result, it made me that much more critical of the other writing flaws. There were many I might not have noticed otherwise. After reading the reviews, a lot of other people felt the same way - some about the writing, some about the agenda.
Cont’d… WRITERS TRICKS OF THE TRADE
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JAN-FEB 2015
PRESS “CONTROL” THEN CLICK BUY TO PURCHASE THE BOOK CURRENT NYT BEST SELLERS 1/18/15
COMBINED PRINT & EBOOK FICTION 1. ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE, by Anthony Doerr. 2. GONE GIRL, by Gillian Flynn 3.
BIG LITTLE
LIES, by Liane Moriarty 4.
DIE AGAIN, by
Tess Gerritsen 5.
GRAY
MOUNTAIN, by John
AGENDAS (CONT’D)
When you’re a new author, just getting started, readers see the preaching and agendas and they think you always write that way. If they agree, they become fans. If they don’t, you just lost half your audience. Word gets around. All of a sudden, you’re on one side of the fence, whether you intended it or not. You may not even realize you’re going overboard with your pet political or social view. That’s where those second sets of eyes come in handy. Make sure those second sets of eyes aren’t just close friends, who tend to be of the same political and social group. You need those outsiders to look for what you can’t see. I’m not saying let it go overboard, but don’t dismiss all those out of left field comments (and I’m not talking politically, per se). Do yourself a favor and write a story everyone can enjoy in your genre, unless you’re specifically targeting a political or social group. If that’s the case, like Glenn Beck or Bill O’Reilly, for example, all bets are off. Happy writing!
Fred
Grisham Complete List »
COMBINED PRINT & E-BOOK NONFICTION 1.
UNBROKEN, by
Laura Hillenbrand 2.
AMERICAN
SNIPER, by Chris Kyle with Scott McEwen and Jim deFelice 3.
WILD, by Cheryl
Strayed 4.
THE BOYS IN
THE BOAT, by Daniel James Brown 5.
YES PLEASE, by
Amy Poehler
JAN-FEB 2015
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WRITERS TRICKS OF THE TRADE
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MAKE THE GUYS IN YOUR NOVELS MORE ROMANTIC J. L. GREGER The covers of romance novels suggest tall men with large chests and wavy hair are sexy, but that’s a cliché. No self-respecting author wants the hero in her novel to be a cliché.
J. L. GREGER AND BUGS
HOW CAN AUTHORS AVOID CLICHÉS? Look to reality, of course. Don’t tell your readers about the appearance of your male characters. Show your men in action. An article in Huff Press for Women (January 27, 2014) listed “the most attractive things that men do.” Don’t you love reading the results of all those silly surveys? I do. I turned this bit of “reality” into suggestions for developing romantic male characters in novels of any genre. 1. Show the hero at work. Let him talk about his interests and beliefs with enthusiasm and knowledge. Dumb hunks aren’t attractive to most readers anymore. The work doesn’t have to be glamorous. Sweaty biceps certainly worked for many movie “bad boys.”
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2. Make the male protagonist take time to listen to women. In contrast, a good trait for a villain would be to have him interrupt the heroine every time she speaks. 3. Describe how the hero looks at the heroine. This is especially effective if other attractive women are present and if the look connotes an emotion other than lust. 4. Demonstrate the hero being kind to pets, children, or strangers at least twice in the novel.
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5. Even in adventure novels, make your lead male character do small, thoughtful, practical acts for the heroine. A wealthy protagonist would seem more romantic if he did a load of laundry without being asked than if he bought a dozen roses. A man cooking dinner and cleaning up afterwards, even if done awkwardly, is sexy to many women. 6. Give your hero a sense of humor, especially about himself. The villain might also have a sense of humor, but have him display his playfulness through sarcastic remarks about others. Cont’d…
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PRESS “CONTROL” THEN CLICK BUY TO PURCHASE THE BOOK MAKE THE GUYS IN YOUR NOVELS MORE ROMANTIC (CONT’D) 7. Don’t make the hero perfect. Let him have a weird laugh and a crooked smile. An irrational fear of snakes made Indiana Jones more interesting. 8. Don’t create a he-man. I hesitate to use the terms – feminine and masculine personality traits, because psychologists now doubt any trait can be called totally feminine or masculine. Anyway, heroes who are sensitive, occasionally emotional, and nurturing are more attractive to many women than the classic strong, silent type.
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The next points from the survey are a bit silly, but I suspect could spice up the image of a romantic male character. 9. Have the male character hug the heroine from behind instead of kissing her. HAVE FUN DEVELOPING INTERESTING HEROES. Ultimately, if the male characters you develop are interesting to you, they probably will also be attractive and romantic to others. Check out my new thriller, Malignancy, set partially in modern Cuba and see how well I took my own advice. BUY
Men disguised as police officers shoot at Sara Almquist twice in one day. Albuquerque police suspect Jim Mazzone, a drug czar who Sara has tangled with several times, will order more hits on Sara. Thus when colleagues in the State Department invite Sara to arrange scientific exchanges between the U.S. and Cuba, she jumps at the chance to get out of town and to see the mysterious Xave Zack, who rescued her in Bolivia. Maybe, she should question their motives. Malignancy is available at Amazon http://amzn.com/1610091779 and Oak Tree Press: pressdept@oaktreebooks.com.
ABOUT J. L. GREGER As a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I honed my story-telling skills as I lectured to bleary-eyed students at 8:30 in the morning. Students remember chemical reactions better when the instructor attaches stories to the processes. Now I have two great passions – my Japanese Chin dog, Bug, and travel. I’ve included both in my novels: Coming Flu, Murder: A New Way to Lose Weight, Ignore the Pain, and Malignancy. You can learn more about me at my website: www.jlgreger.com and blog (JL Greger’s Bugs): www.jlgreger.com. I also answer question directed to: JLGreger@oaktreebooks.com.
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WRITERS CONFERENCES LISTINGS ARE FOR INFORMATION ONLY. PLEASE CHECK THEM OUT YOURSELF
2015
ADD THESE BOOKS TO YOUR LIBRARY
Feb 5-9 Florida Romance Writers “Cruise with your Muse” on Royal Caribbean, departing from Ft. Lauderdale FL. For more information: http://www.frwriters.org/fun-in-the-sun-conference Feb 11-15 10th Annual San Miguel Writers' Conference and Literary Festival, Hotel Real de Minas, San Miguel de Allende, GTO, Mexico. For more information: http://www http://sanmiguelwritersconference.org Feb 12-15 San Francisco Writers Conference, Mark Hopkins Hotel, San Francisco CA. For more information: http://sfwriters.org/wpcontent/uploads/2014/11/SFWC-Flyer-11-10-14.pdf
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Feb 13-16 29th Annual Southern California Writers Conference, Crowne Plaza Hanalea, San Diego CA. For more information: http://www. http://writersconference.com/sd Feb 20-22 The Big Story, Los Angeles Valley College, Van Nuys CA. For more information: http://www.wcwriters.com/bigstory/index.html Mar 14 Unicorn Writers Conference, Reid Castle at Manhattanville College, Purchase NY. For more information: http://www.unicornwritersconference.com Mar 22-24 PubSense Summit, Francis Marion Hotel, Charleston SC. For more information: http://www.pubsensesummit.com
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Mar 27-29 California Dreamin’ Writers Conference, Embassy Suites Brea, Brea CA. For more information: http://www.caldreaminwritersconf.orgcal Apr 23-25 Las Vegas Writers Conference, Sams Town Hotel and Gambling Hall, Las Vegas NV. For more information: http://www.lasvegaswritersconference.com Apr 24-26 Pike Peaks Writers Conference 2015, Colorado Springs Marriott, Colorado Springs CO. For more information: http://www.pikespeakwriters.com BUY
WRITERS TRICKS OF THE TRADE
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JAN-FEB 2015
PRESS “CONTROL” THEN CLICK BUY TO PURCHASE THE BOOK THERE IS SUCH A WEALTH OF INFORMATION ON THE WEB—
50 ARTICLES ABOUT WRITING
YOU JUST NEED TO KNOW WHERE TO FIND IT.
WRITERS TRICKS OF THE TRADE IS CONSTANTLY ON THE LOOKOUT FOR HELPFUL WEBSITES.
TO HELP YOU IN 2015 FROM BRIAN KLEMS “THE WRITER’S DIG” BLOG There are many wonderful articles for writers at all stages of their careers. They can be found in magazines, online, in writer’s blogs, newspapers, and the list goes on. Writers Tricks of the Trade is constantly scouring articles that will be helpful to our readers, because we can’t cover every topic in this bi-monthly eZine. Writer’s Digest is a wonderful source, and their website should be visited often. The following list of articles from Brian Klems’ blog is very helpful because the articles are listed by category. We suggest saving the list for future reference.
8 ARTICLES ON STARTING YOUR NOVEL THANK YOU BRIAN KLEMS AND “THE WRITER’S DIG” FOR THIS AMAZING COMPENDIUM OF RESOURCES.
4 Approaches for the First Chapter of Your Novel 7 Ways to Create a Killer Opening Line For Your Novel Important Writing Lessons From First-Time Novelists 7 Steps to Creating a Flexible Outline for Any Story The Keys to Good Science Fiction & Fantasy Storytelling Writing Dystopian Fiction: 7 Tips How to Destroy Your Initial Idea (& Make Your Story Better) How to Harness Creativity to Empower Your Writing
4 ARTICLES ON FINDING AN AGENT How to Write the Perfect Query Letter 8 Unexpected Lessons From Working with a Literary Agent 5 Things Writers Should Ask Potential Agents How to Be a Writer Literary Agents Want
5 ARTICLES ON NONFICTION WRITING 25 Tips To Make You a Better Nonfiction Writer 5 Lessons I Learned From Writing A Memoir 8 Ways to Prepare to Write Your Nonfiction Book in a Month Memoir or Novel? 8 Issues to Think About Before Writing Your Own Story 9 Ways to Crack Into Major Markets With Personal Essays
JAN-FEB 2015
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FAILING POINT OF VIEW (CONT’D)
9 ARTICLES ON STRUCTURE, PLOT AND CHARACTER The 7 Tools of Dialogue The 5 Essential Story Ingredients The 5 C’s of Writing a Great Thriller Novel Novel Writing: 10 Questions You Need to Ask Your Characters Write Better: 3 Ways To Introduce Your Main Character 3 Things Your Novel’s Narrator Needs to Accomplish The Pros and Cons of Writing a Novel in Present Tense When Flaws Go Too Far: Avoiding Unlikeable Characters 5 Moral Dilemmas That Make Characters (& Stories) Better
5 ARTICLES ON FREELANCE AND COPYWRITING What Magazine Editors Want (& Don’t Want) The Secret To Writing Stronger Feature Articles Copywriting: A Crash Course for Writers Looking to Break In Is a Freelancing Career in Writing Feasible? 8 Strategies to Build Your Freelance Writing Career
6 ANSWERS TO FREQUENTLY ASKED PUBLISHING QUESTIONS How Long Until You Can Follow Up on Query Letters? Do You Have What Publishers Really Want? How Book Advances Work – A Simple Explanation for Writers What Writing Expenses Are Tax Deductible? What Are the Guidelines for Formatting a Manuscript? WILL PUBLISHERS BUY A 200,000-WORD NOVEL?
2 ARTICLES ABOUT GRAMMAR
“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” ― Ernest Hemingway
RIP Maya Angelou
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” ― Maya Angelou,
“No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.” ― Robert Frost
Alright vs. All Right Are Subjects Joined by “And” Singular or Plural? – Grammar Rules
3 ARTICLES ON PUBLISHING The Pros and Cons of Publishing With a Small Publisher How to Sell Your Picture Book Is It My Writing or Is It My Editor?
WRITERS TRICKS OF THE TRADE
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JAN-FEB 2015
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5 ARTICLES ON FINISHING YOUR NOVEL (AND OTHER ADVICE)
At the
How to Finish That Novel 6 Lessons Hemingway (& Others) Can Teach Us About Being a Writer 8 Reasons Every Book Needs a Business Plan to Achieve Success 3 Writing Tips from Brat-Pack Star-Turned-Writer Andrew McCarthy 5 Writing Lessons Inspired by Famous Writers
FreeDiscountedBooks
library, you can find expert information on KDP ebook promotion and production. They also offer the FREE eBook Success Blue-print series by email. Click on the links below related to the information you want.
3 ARTICLES ON AFTER THE BOOK IS FINISHED 6 Things to Keep in Mind When Gathering Testimonials/Book Blurbs How to Make the Most of Any Writing Conference 9 Steps to an Effective Virtual Book Tour
THANKS TO HTTP://CRAFTINGCONNECTIONS.BLOGSPOT.COM FOR THIS COOL CHART
Creating a Holiday Book Marketing Plan How to Schedule KDP Free Days for an Amazon Kindle eBook How to Use Perma-Free eBooks for Selling Sites That Promote Your eBook for Free Using Twitter for eBook Marketing
JAN-FEB 2015
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WRITERS TRICKS OF THE TRADE
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TO PURCHASE THE BOOK
THE SHATZKIN FILES The Shatzkin Files is always a very interesting source of information. Here is an excerpt from the December 31 entry.
END OF A YEAR, AND PERHAPS THE END OF A STAGE OF THE EBOOK TRANSITION The year ends with a front-page New York Times story reporting the consternation in the indie author community at the current state of their commercial lives at Amazon. The proximate cause of distress is seen to be the Amazon Kindle Unlimited subscription service, through which indie authors are receiving considerably less compensation per read than they get through a sale, combined with the apparent migration of many Kindle readers to subscription, which would also explain the simultaneous sharp decline in those authors’ single-copy sales. Indie author and author service-provider Bob Mayer is quoted in the piece describing a complete turnaround in the past six months, with authors going from what they thought were secure incomes from writing to looking for day jobs. that we’d want to know whether it is just the indie authors feeling this pain or whether publishers are seeing revenues shrink too. But that’s a very difficult comparison to make. Amazon gets the attractive books from the big non-agency publishers by just buying them for each use (paying whatever is the publisher’s wholesale price). Amazon wins that way because they don’t have to get the publisher’s permission to participate in the subscription program, but they’re paying a lot more for each subscriber read than they pay the indies. So even if the reader balance shifts from “individual purchase” to subscription read”, the publisher wouldn’t lose income. My hunch is that the indie author community has a much more serious and intractable problem. It’s called supply and demand. Nate Hoffelder at Digital Reader makes the point
SELF PUBLISHING? HAVING TROUBLE WITH FORMATTING THE KINDLE AND EPUB EDITIONS?
LET A PROFESSIONAL DO IT
I’VE USED TED RISK AT DELLASTER DESIGNS AND FIND HIM TO BE REASONABLE, QUICK AND BEST OF ALL IT LOOKS MUCH MORE PROFESSIONAL THAN LOADING A PDF OR
WORD DOC WITH THE KINDLE OR SMASHWORDS SOFTWARE. HTTP://DELLASTERDESIGN.COM/
Morgan St. James
Click HERE to read the rest of this fascinating article. With new challenges, how does the self-published author make wise decisions?
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AUTHORS AND PUBLISHERS VISIT FIRST CHAPTER PLUS ADD IT TO YOUR MARKETING CAMPAIGN
JAN-FEB 2015
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FOR THE INDIE WRITERS OF AMAZON, IS IT PUBLISH OR PERISH? DAVID STREITFELD AT HTTP://BITS.BLOGS.NYTIMES.COM WRITES “ONE BIG ARGUMENT FOR ‘ALL YOU CAN EAT’ MUSIC, VIDEO AND BOOK SERVICES IS THAT THEY ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO SAMPLE NEW ARTISTS AND ULTIMATELY DEVELOP A DEEPER RELATIONSHIP WITH A FEW OF THEM.” That seems to be the premise behind Kindle Unlimited—the theory that if you listen to songs or artists you’ve never heard before, being able to sample it free might encourage you go to a concert where you might buy a T-shirt. Or, maybe you will look for more music by that artist, who winds up being rewarded at the end of the process by giving away something in the hopes of getting sales. That’s not the way it used to be. The take by Taylor Swift, as expressed in an article in the Wall Street Journal, is that what the giveaways are teaching consumers is that culture is not worth paying for online. That means artists must earn their keep with something more than their art — those T-shirts or other items. And, if artists do not want to or cannot interact with their fans, they might be out of luck. Traditional book publishers haven’t been quick to offer or participate in reading-subscription services, most likely fueled by the fear that individual books, their authors and the editors who shape them will be devalued. Enter self-published writers, also called independent or indie writers, many of whom have just begun their careers. They are trying to move up the food chain, while established writers have been trying not to move down it, so the balance is different. Many authors who were traditionally published have moved to self-publishing, or to being hybrid author with a mix of traditional and self-published books. The good news is that these days it’s easier to get published than it has ever been. The questionable news is that indie writers, despite their name, now rely on Amazon, the big fish in the pond, either to a greater or lesser extent. And Amazon felt the need to start its own all-you-can-eat service, Kindle Unlimited, in order to remain competitive with start-ups like Oyster and Scribd. Kindle Unlimited opened in July. In the six months since then, the amount of material on it has increased to 700,000 books from 600,000 — nearly equivalent to the entire amount of material available for Kindle ereaders shortly after Amazon introduced them in 2007. Pretty amazing!
ALTERNATIVES TO KINDLE UNLIMITED
www.oysterbooks.com
FOR $9.95 A MONTH, READERS CAN ENJOY AS MANY BOOKS AS THEY WANT—EVERYTHING FROM NEW YORK
TIMES BEST SELLERS AND OPRAH’S PICKS, TO CHILDREN’S TITLES AND MORE.
OYSTER HAS HALF A MILLION TITLES AND NEW BOOKS ARRIVING EVERY DAY, SO THEY ALSO OFFER A WIDE SELECTION OF STORIES TO DIVE INTO.
READERS CAN BROWSE AND DISCOVER ON THEIR OWN, OR GET EXPERT RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE OYSTER EDITORIAL TEAM. OVER TIME, OYSTER GETS TO KNOW WHAT READERS LIKE, AND RECOMMENDS BOOKS BASED ON THEIR READING HABITS AND TASTES.
The vast majority of Kindle Unlimited books are self-published, so it can be Cont’d…
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Cont’d…
JAN-FEB 2015
PRESS “CONTROL” THEN CLICK BUY TO PURCHASE THE BOOK PUBLISH OR PERISH? (CONT’D)
www.scribd.com
SINCE SCRIBD LAUNCHED IN 2013, THEIR READERS HAVE CLOCKED MORE THAN 17 MILLION HOURS OF READING TIME ACROSS ALL GENRES.
THEY HAVE BUILT A VERY POPULAR OPEN PLATFORM FOR PUBLISHING AND SHARING DOCUMENTS OF ALL KINDS.
TO DATE, PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD HAVE SHARED MORE THAN 60 MILLION DOCUMENTS VIA SCRIBD, FROM LANDMARK COURT FILINGS TO BUSINESS PRESENTATIONS TO ACADEMIC PAPERS FROM SCHOLARS AROUND THE WORLD.
THEY CLAIM TO HAVE 80 MILLION READERS PER MONTH.
looked at as one of the biggest experiments in reshaping reading ever undertaken. The question now is whether Kindle Unlimited will foster a new generation of readers, as Amazon hopes, or will those readers drown in bad work? Will it put most indie authors on a treadmill of writing and promoting that only a few can hope to escape, or will it be a tool for liberation? These questions are shaking up the independent publishing community. Don’t look for it to go away any time soon. Scribd had received an additional $22 million in financing in the last week of December 2014, bringing its total funding to $48 million. Rest assured, Amazon did or will take notice. Since Scribd began its service a little more than a year ago, it says it had monthly subscriber growth of 31 percent. Historically when artists became more popular, their works got more expensive. Writers began by writing cheap paperbacks and then graduated to pricier hardcovers as the acclaim built. With Kindle Unlimited some authors are getting more popular by becoming less expensive, which makes them more popular. This seems to confirm Amazon’s argument that “lowering e-book prices will help — not hurt — the reading culture.” However, taking a closer look, Kindle Unlimited could be “a double-edged sword.” For one thing, not every writer is equipped with a huge supply of work from all years of going unpublished. Those that do are able to drop prices and, by sheer volume of sales, increase income. Authors like multi-published Kathryn Le Veque say, “Most readers like to read their favorite books over and over. I’m getting a crowd that not only borrows my book, but will then buy that same book to keep.” Also, she says, some of her books are not available in Kindle Unlimited, “so there are some they must buy in order to read.” Authors have no control over the payment for books that are borrowed in Kindle Unlimited, which changes every month. Although it started high, the amount has begun to drop. With 50 books currently in publication, Le Veque has stated that she also has to worry about the service embracing more and more work. A higher number of books in Kindle Unlimited “is not what we want to see as authors, because that drives down the royalty even more,” she said. Or so it seems. Amazon has not explained itself to the writers’ satisfaction. Cont’d…
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PRESS “CONTROL” THEN CLICK BUY TO PURCHASE THE BOOK PUBLISH OR PERISH (CONT’D)
Mark Coker, the chief executive of the e-book distributor Smashwords, said: “We’re still in the very early days of the self-publishing phenomenon. There are a vast number of potential writers out there that haven’t started writing yet.”
WRITERS TRICKS OF THE TRADE CONCLUSION Digital books have definitely gained a foothold in the market—that is no secret. For many, eBooks and Kindle editions far outsell the paperbacks. Many authors are releasing books in the digital format only. BUY
The question is whether the subscription concept will gain more and more steam, and fewer digital books will be purchased for cash. How will this affect authors and publishers? According to information from Scribd and Oyster, they ensure their authors that they compensate authors when their work is available through the subscription service. Basically, the aggregation service responsible for submitting it (either Smashwords or Book Baby) receives approximately 80% of the full price of the work! However, both Scribd and Oyster require that 30% of the book be read. Nothing is paid for previews of 10% to 15%. If entering the program through the distributor Smashwords, the author receives 60% of the price of the work. Book Baby has a sliding scale between 55% and 70% depending upon which program is chosen.
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Kindle Unlimited does not pay a fixed price, so the payment the author receives can vary from month to month. It also requires exclusivity, which Oyster and Scribd do not. However, Amazon still remains the giant in the scheme of things. Indie authors and publishers should give careful consideration to which path they choose, but these programs can provide revenue which might not have been earned otherwise. The question is how much does the author give up, or do they in fact give up anything?
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That is something that has to be answered on an individual basis, because the volume of sales and downloads will vary with each author and the amount of promotion they do. Some of this data was found on The Self Published Author by Bowker.
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WRITERS TRICKS OF THE TRADE IS HERE, THERE AND EVERYWHERE BLOG TALK RADIO Live or listen to archived shows Visit the link, Click REMINDER, and Blog Talk Radio will send you a reminder email
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Jan. 14 Jan. 28 Feb. 11 Feb. 25 Mar. 11
Carolyn Howard-Johnson “The Frugal Book Promoter” Jon D’Amore author of “The Boss Always Sits in the Back” Tony Todaro CEO West Coast Conferences, Greater Los Angeles Writers Society Darrah Whitaker Author/Conference Coordinator Las Vegas Writers Conference Editor Cindy Davis, Edit Your Way to Publication
FACEBOOK https://facebook.com/writerstricksofthetrade
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JAN-FEB 2015
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PUBLISHING PREDICTIONS FOR 2015 FROM FOUNDER OF SMASHWORDS The following is a very condensed version of Mark Coker's Publishing Predictions for 2015 that appeared in the Huffington Post. We suggest you read the whole article. It is filled with expanded descriptions and commentaries of everything below. 1. More authors will aspire to self-publish - Today the former stigma of self publishing is evaporating. The indie author movement will grow stronger in 2015. Traditionally published authors will continue to transition to indie, led by midlist authors. We'll also see more hybrid authors (authors who self-publish and traditionally publish) reorient their publishing strategy back in the direction of indieville. 2. Indie authors will capture more ebook market share - Self-published ebook authors typically earn 60-80 percent of their book's list price as their royalty. This compares with 12-17 percent for traditionally published ebook authors. As the number of self published titles increases, fueled by more and more writers becoming self-published authors, indie authors will capture increased market share. 3. Screen reading will increase, but at a slower rate Reading will continue to transition from print to digital, yet the rate of growth will slow. One bright spot for digital books will be the continued growth in screen reading in developing countries aided by the ubiquity of smart phones. 4. 2015 will be slow growth for most authors, indie and traditional alike - While some indies had a fabulous year in 2014 (look no further than the retailer bestseller lists where self published authors are hitting the top 10 each week), most authors experienced a slower growth year - especially when compared against the gogo days of exponential growth from 2008 to 2012. The causes for this slow down include a new equilibrium between print and ebook formats; immortal ebooks published by publishers and indie authors alike that will never go out of print; the continued growth of self-published titles; and myriad low-cost and free non-book alternatives competing for reader time. 5. Indie authors face increased competition from traditional publishers - For the first years of the ebook revolution, large publishers all but ceded the $4.99 and lower ebook market to indie authors. In the last year, large publishers, borrowing a page from the indie author playbook, have stepped up their price-cutting in the form of temporary promotions on titles from big-name authors. In 2015 we'll see the temporary promotions from large publishers that were so common in 2014 give way to permanent lower prices on backlist titles from big names, and faster, more aggressive discounting on recently released titles. aggressive discounting on recently released titles. 6. Large publishers step up usage of FREE - Inspired by the success of indie series writers who've had enormous success permanently pricing series starters at free (a.k.a. "permafree") , large publishers will start making increased use of this unconventional price point. (Cont’d)…
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PRESS “CONTROL” THEN CLICK BUY TO PURCHASE THE BOOK Mark Coker’s 2015 Publishing Predictions (Cont’d)
All of the new subscription services are in a race for the readers. The question is. “Will Kindle remain at the front of the pack?” Read the full version of Mark Coker’s 2015 Publishing predictions in the Huntington Post, and then draw your own conclusions. The publishing business model is definitely in constant flux these days.
7. FREE will lose more mojo - Since 2008 Coker has encouraged authors to utilize free as a price point to turbocharge downloads, build readership and reader trust, and drive readers to priced titles. Authors who followed this advice early on reaped the most benefit. Despite the anticipated drop in effectiveness, free remains one of the most powerful merchandising tools for indie authors, especially when applied to series starters. This also means that authors who utilize free today will get much more mileage from it than authors who use it a year from now. 8. Many indies will quit in 2015 - Authorship is tough work. Discouraged by weak or slumping sales, many indie authors in 2015 will either give up on publishing or will decrease their production rates. Indie authors will be forced to take honest stock of their dreams, motivations and commitment. What drives them? Is it the joy of writing, or the necessity of putting food on the table, or both? Either reason is respectable, but if an author's family's next meal is entirely dependent upon their book sales, they're under enormous pressure. 9. Time management will separate winners from losers - If you're a writer, are you optimizing your time so you're spending more time writing and less time on the nonessentials? 10. Amazon Will Use Kindle Unlimited to Pay Authors Less - Whether you love it or hate it, Kindle Unlimited is a massive disruptor in the world of ebook publishing. Many writers are claiming it caused their sales to plummet, while others say it has helped them reach new readers. You can check out my prior analysis of KU here and here, or check out David Streitfeld's recent story on KU in the New York Times. KU will have broader impact in 2015. Unlike its ebook subscription competitors Oyster and Scribd which allow authors and publishers to set prices and receive retailerlevel margins on qualifying reads (KU pays from a shared pool, which means the author/publisher is compensated based on a book's prorated share of readership multiplied against the size of pool. The size of this shared pool is determined by Amazon the month after the book is read. It's like Amazon sells your book today but tells the author, "I'll decide what I feel like paying you in a few weeks." (This is just a fraction of what Mark Coker has to impart about KU. Read the full article for the rest.) 11. New VAT rules in Europe will put a damper on European ebook sales Indie authors will suffer a drop in earnings from European ebook sales in 2015. The cause? New European Union VAT (Value Added Tax) rules. On January 1, 2015, new VAT rules go into effect in the European Union.
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WRITERS TRICKS OF THE TRADE
REVIEWS BY MARTHA
RESIDENT REVIEWER – MARTHA CHEVES
ALL BECAUSE OF THE TIP OF A NEEDLE
RE-LA Menu
By: Philip Nork
ASIN: B0094YPA76 Publisher: CreateSpace Publication Date: October 2014 Pages: 211 Kindle and Paperback
MARTHA CHEVES AUTHOR/REVIEWER
An excerpt from the book- This last six years was a mentally draining one for me. I had everything I lived for - horse racing, my family, and my wife and kids - taken away from me. All I could do was wait and wait and wait. The lawyer told me not to talk to anyone, including my family, about what had happened. He said it would hamper our case.
Sam Newman, twenty-one years of age, became known as 'Sam-theman' at the track because he won with regularity. He was disliked by some, and apparently, hated by more. His young life was going just as he dreamed it would. Using the advice his grandfather had taught him he found the best ways to work with horses and also to make them work for you. He had learned well and it was paying off in more ways than one. Thanks to his success he was able to marry the girl of his dreams, have kids, and most importantly to him, he was winning at the tracks of his hometown, Chicago, Illinois. His special 'way' with horses allowed him to spot a rundown horse and turn him back into a winner. How did he do this? He just had a way with the equine, but if you talked to the other owners and drivers of Chicago they would tell you it was because of a needle and a drug known as Etorphine, an elephant tranquilizer also known as M-99. This drug was rumored to make the horses run, fast and straight, to the finish line.
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PHILIP NORK
Sam's longtime vet, known as Doc Brown, turned against him when Sam replaced him with another vet. After losing his temper, he made a promise to Sam's brother, Dave. His threat was "Payback is a bitch..." and apparently this threat was carried out. It wasn't long after the threat was made that officers from the Illinois Bureau of Investigations searched Sam’s barn area and discovered a hypodermic needle in his car. After supposedly testing it, it was confirmed that the needle had contained the M-99 drug. Cont’d…
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JAN-FEB 2015
PRESS “CONTROL” THEN CLICK BUY TO PURCHASE THE BOOK Philip Nork Nork was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. After moving to Henderson, Nevada and accepting a job which left him on the road way too often, he started writing. His first book, Sensitivity 101 ... the Search for Acceptance sold over 3000 copies and was picked up a publisher. They changed the cover and the title to Misguided Sensitivity. It was then that the book was awarded The Gold Standard for Literary Excellence by The Princeton Review in 2012.
BOOKS BY MARTHA
All Because of the Tip of a Needle (Cont’d)
This book is written as fiction but it based on the 'scandal' back from the 1980's between Scott Nance, the Illinois racing board, and the owners of the harness tracks in the Chicago area. From what I've read, it leads me to believe this young man was 'thrown under the train' due to revenge and greed of others. I'm a horse lover and from this man's story I feel he had a special gift in dealing with them. I find it hard to believe that with the constant testing of the horses, anyone can train and/or drive in over 2,000 races in eight states and two countries, have 300 winners with many seconds and thirds, and still be accused of drugging his horses.
Martha is our resident reviewer. Visit her websites for more reviews and recipes. http://marthaskitchenkorner.blogspot.com (A Book and a Dish) http://stirlaughrepeat.blogspot.com (Main Site) http://marthaatkitchenkorner.blogspot.com (Martha's Kitchen Korner) http://marthasrecipecabinet.blogspot.com (Martha's Recipe Cabinet) http://stirlaughrepeatcookbook.blogspot.com (Cookbook Site)
Writers Beware – Don’t overuse big words.
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JUST FOR GIGGLES AND GRINS
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WRITERS TRICKS OF THE TRADE
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Life Stories EXCERPT FROM
THE BOSS ALWAYS SITS IN THE BACK BY JON D’AMORE
Huh? JON D’AMORE
BUY JON D’AMORE TAKES US ON A PERILOUS, HYSTERICAL ADVENTURE INTO THE INNER WORKINGS AND INNER SANCTUM OF MOBSTER MENTALITY AS ONLY A FAMILY MEMBER CAN. WITH A ROLL OF THE DICE, WE’RE CAREENING ALONGWITH JON IN SUMPTUOUS 1970S VEGAS HOTEL SUITES AND AT THE CRAP TABLES. HE BREATHES TECHNICOLOR LIFE INTO CHARACTERS WHO NEVER, EVER BECOME CARICATURES.
Like all children, I was influenced by the things around me during the formative years. Some children grow up in a family of doctors, lawyers, investment bankers, owners of small and large businesses, police chiefs, insurance salesmen, stockbrokers, corporate executives, or small town and big city politicians. If something went wrong in their family they usually blamed it on families like mine...or they came to families like mine for help. In my immediate family there were no doctors, lawyers, investment bankers and so on. This is my story, based on actual events, of living on the fringe of what some people call “the Mafia.” You see, several members of my immediate family were connected. Connected simply means that through blood, honor or business...you have a direct connection to the Cosa Nostra, the Mafia, Our Thing, La Famiglia, the Mob. And those members of my family made a very comfortable living for many, many years through this affiliation. I thought about becoming more involved when I was in my early 20s, but at the time it was the mid-1970s. I was a professional musician and having too much fun living the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle. I was living every dream of most of my high school and college buddies (and at the time...that mattered!), so why would I want to cut my hair, wear dark suits and ties...and take the chance of getting whacked? Instead, I decided to watch da guys from the sidelines. I was able to enjoy the best of a few worlds. I was having my little slice of rock ‘n’ roll success, I had a great social and family life, I got to play with my connected relatives...and I also got to hang with The Boys From Hudson County. I got to be a part of the games, the hustles, the respect, the scams, the Federal investigations, the women, the stories, the parties...and the cash. I got to do some wild things...and I got to meet some very interesting and unique people. A lot of them aren’t with us anymore. Most of them are dead. A Cont’d…
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PRESS “CONTROL” THEN CLICK BUY TO PURCHASE THE BOOK THE BOSS ALWAYS SITS IN THE BACK (Cont’d) A couple of them had to leave the area and can’t/shouldn’t/don’t want to come back. Some are in State and Federal penitentiaries…and will be for years. A few of them were able to survive. I run across a couple of the survivors from time to time. And then there’s my family...
Round 1 Christ, I hate flying! Especially after all the time I spent in the air since the early 1970s. It was Friday, October 9, 1998. It would have been John Lennon’s fiftyeighth birthday. There I was, sitting alone in the back of a nine passenger stretch, clad in jeans, a pair of sneakers and a knitted sweater that I picked up in Laguna Beach a few weeks earlier. I opened a rear window, slid on my sunglasses, looked outside and lit a joint as the limo headed down New Jersey’s Garden State Parkway to get me to Newark International Airport for my 9:35AM flight. I was never very good with alcohol, so an occasional joint always took off the edge when I was on my way to an airport. Besides, it was only eight in the morning. Much too early for a martini. And as part of my job, I had to fly. A lot. At the time, I was working for a very large New York insurance company. When I was hired, they wanted someone to work with a market that most corporations and conglomerates have problems relating to: Unions. This particular trip was to oversee the company’s presence at the largest Public Employee Benefits convention in the country. Over 6,000 representatives were attending, and I, as one of the guest speakers, would be spouting about the need that ultimately would be filled by using my company’s program. I was very good in front of large groups. I had lots of practice at that. My other function on this trip was to host an extravagant hospitality bash in my hotel suite for several officials from large national unions. I had lots of practice with that, too. --Cont’d…
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JON D’AMORE will share tips and discuss writing his book when he is the guest on the WRITERS TRICKS OF THE TRADE show on BLOG TALK RADIO on January 28 – 6:00PM PST/9:00 EST—or listen to the archived program at your convenience. LINK:http://bitly.com/ WTTshow5 Visit the site now and click REMINDER. Blog Talk Radio will send you an email reminder.
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO WRITE A COMPELLING MEMOIR?
Something like “THE BOSS ALWAYS SITS IN THE BACK?” You don’t have to come from a family with Mob connections, but you do need to focus on the incidents that will grab the reader and keep them turning the pages. In addition to creating fully dimensional characters and good dialogue, there are many other elements.
JAN-FEB 2015
PRESS “CONTROL” THEN CLICK BUY TO PURCHASE THE BOOK Do you have a
Life
Story you would like to see published in Writers’ Tricks of the Trade? See the submission guidelines at the front of the eZine.
We are looking for stories with humor, or nostalgia, or drama Just about everyone has something they have experienced and would like to share with readers. Check the
Life Story Feature in past issues by visiting the Writers Tricks of the Trade blog archives.
JAN-FEB 2015
THE BOSS ALWAYS SITS IN THE BACK (Cont’d) By the time the limo arrived at the airport and the driver opened my door, I was buzzed. I handed the redcap ten bucks as he took my bags from the trunk. Even stoned, I had the robotics down. He asked to see my ticket and picture ID, and then he hit me with the standard security questions, to which I gave the standard passenger responses. “Yes, I packed my own bags,” “No, no one known or unknown to me gave me anything to carry,” and “Yes, they’ve been in my possession since I packed them.” Then I headed into Terminal C. It made me recall a time before America worried about terrorists, when we could show up twenty minutes before a flight and not have to show ID or pass through metal detectors in order to board a plane. I was good for more than twenty trips a year, but this particular one had me thinking. It had me thinking a lot. As I took my first class seat aboard Continental’s flight 1679, it really began to sink in that it had been twenty-one years since I was in Las Vegas. Vegas. Twenty-one years. Right down to the month. Throughout the nearly five hour flight I opened my laptop and did some work, read a couple of magazines, drank three Bloody Marys and socialized with the flight attendants...who used to be called stewardesses. I did anything to avoid thinking about Vegas. As the pilot brought the plane down low so we could see the Grand Canyon, it all started to come back to me. When we passed over Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam I knew it was less than a half hour before I’d be hearing those high-pitched bells of the slot machines in the airport. My cousin and Godfather, Gerald, better known as Jerry, along with his wife and mother, moved here about three years ago after almost 20 years in Palm Springs, and I wanted to spend some time with them. If there was anyone that I’d want to be with in Vegas...it would be with Jerry. As the plane circled, I looked out the window and saw a skyline and landscape that was dramatically different from the first time I was here on my own in late August of 1975. Back then...there was nothing. There were small patches of civilization here and there, but it was desolate until you actually got within a mile of The Strip. Now, there are miles of hotels, casinos, homes, highways, shopping centers, golf courses and housing developments. Cont’d…
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PRESS “CONTROL” THEN CLICK BUY TO PURCHASE THE BOOK MORE MOB MEMOIRS
THE BOSS ALWAYS SITS IN THE BACK (Cont’d) There doesn’t seem to be one square foot of unused property in this old desert oasis. Over the years I had read the articles and seen the TV specials about how Las Vegas had grown and how it now resembled a family theme park with rides and circus acts for the kids, shops and pools for the wives, and casinos and hookers for the dads. But the allure of the decadence; of the wild nights with Frank, Dean and Sammy; the rare Elvis and Howard Hughes sightings; the coolness; the glitz; the excitement...that was all gone. Inside, I never really cared about what the town had become because as far as I was concerned I was never coming back here anyway. When the plane touched down, everyone applauded. I slowly shook my head and smiled. The applause triggered a flood of memories as the plane taxied to the terminal and the canopy approached us. This surely wasn’t the same McCarran Airport I had flown into 22 times over twenty-six months during the mid ‘70s. It used to take 10 minutes to get through this airport. Now it took more than thirty. But eventually, I found my luggage and was in the Hertz van headed to my rented Lincoln. I checked into a $1,900-a-night penthouse suite at The Mirage, and as soon as the bellman left the room I picked up a phone to make the call. “Jerry. I’m here.” “Whatcha think, Juan?” After all these years, he still called me Juan. “It’s changed since the last time you saw it, huh?” he asked as I opened the remotecontrolled curtains to look out over The Strip. I let out a small nervous laugh. Only Jerry knew what that laugh meant. Vegas, for me, existed in a previous lifetime. --It was October of 1977. My last memory of this town was the morning two towering, well-dressed muscle-men and their equally well-dressed boss, introduced to me simply as “Mr. Smith,” escorted me into a waiting limousine. As I slid into the rear seat I saw another guy sitting there. He looked nervous and appeared to have been punched around a bit. He didn’t speak when I nodded to him. He just turned and looked out the side window. Mr. Smith sat in the front with the driver. His men sat facing me and the other guy. No one was smiling. Cont’d… WRITERS TRICKS OF THE TRADE
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THE BOSS ALWAYS SITS IN THE BACK (Cont’d) We only drove for about fifteen or twenty minutes before we were surrounded by sand and brush. The car pulled off the paved road and continued on the sand for about a half mile before stopping. The odd part was that the low skyline of The Strip wasn’t that far away. Mr. Smith got out and opened the passenger side rear door. The driver stayed in the car as Mr. Smith, his guys, the quiet passenger and I stood in the morning sun. Mr. Smith looked directly at me and asked, “Any idea why I brought the two of you here?” I looked at the other guy. He started to weep. I looked at Mr. Smith and replied, “Nope. No idea.” Mr. Smith pointed to the guy and said, “See this piece of shit? He tried scamming one of the casinos, too.” With that, one of Smith’s men pulled out a pistol and shot the guy in the head. I jumped at the sound, then froze at the sight of the guy falling to the ground…motionless, with blood spurting from the hole in his skull. It all happened within a second. Mr. Smith, now flanked by the steroid twins, came close to me and pushed his finger deeper into my chest with each word as he told me to “...get your fucking ass out of Vegas and go back to Jersey on the next fuckin’ plane! ‘Cause if you’re not outta your room and outta Vegas by noon, your body’ll be in a fuckin’ hole in this desert by tonight, and they’ll never find you! And tell Casiano to keep Tommy Dolan, that Irish cocksucker, outta this town! How long did he think we were gonna let ya’s take our money? Now walk your guinea-ass back to the hotel, pack your shit and disappear!” Then he signaled his men. One grabbed me from behind. The other punched me in the stomach. I collapsed against the limo and slid to the ground as Mr. Smith turned and slid into the back seat. His boys stared at me as if they were taking a mental picture…and then one at a time they followed their boss. The limo pulled away leaving me in a cloud of dust…and next to a dead guy. --Now...Vegas is a place to bring your family. In front of my hotel there was a man-made volcano with scheduled eruptions. Bugsy Siegel never would have believed this.
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WHAT IN THE WORLD IS “CREATIVE NON-FICTION”
EXAMPLES OF CREATIVE NONFICTION BOOKS
Morgan St. James
Many people are a bit flummoxed when they hear this and want to know “what in the world is creative nonfiction?” Well, the genre of creative nonfiction is enjoying a renaissance of sorts these days. I’ve even written one myself—a book entitled Confessions of a Cougar. The title should give you a pretty good idea of what it's about, so we won’t go there today, but it is a very “interesting” read. WHAT TYPE OF BOOKS QUALIFY AS CREATIVE NON-FICTION? The range is wide. There is fertile ground for creative non-fiction because so many out-of-the-ordinary things happen in real life. It can be anything from life as a spy for Churchill to the child of a parent who was one of America’s Most Wanted to a romantic romp. Maybe this genre is enjoying resurgence because reports of crisis or bizarre experiences spew from every newscast, tabloid, radio talk show and more. Reality shows demonstrate the degree of humiliation or challenge a human being is willing to endure for money and publicity. Some stories are fascinating, some make the heart go atwitter, and some cause revulsion. Defining creative nonfiction as “not fiction” is almost like calling classical music “non-rock.”
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IT ACTUALLY STARTED CENTURIES AGO Back in the days of yore, literature was mostly non-fiction—it just wasn’t called that. Books recounted actual events in a storytelling style. Myths were basically the fiction of the day. It is natural for people to tell stories about events in their life, and that said, I must be the poster child for over-the-top stories. If anything, I almost have too many of my own stories. Sometimes I have to heed a mental “T-Sign” and slow it down, so for the most part they turn up as scenes in my fiction books or as short stories.
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EXAMPLE OF A CREATIVE NON-FICTION STORY One of the award-wining stories in The MAFIA FUNERAL and Other Short Stories collection is The Second Time Around—a hilarious, over-the-top story about a woman who remarried her first husband thirty-six years after getting divorced. When Husband #4 died at the race track with a winning ticket in his hand, she decided to find Husband #1, the dashing tango dancer of her youthful memories. Although he turned out to be an aging, potbellied little man with a sprinkling of thin gray hair across his pate and a Desi Arnaz accent, to her he was Antionio Banderas. Who was the woman? My former mother-in-law. It’s a great story and a terrific example of creative non-fiction. 95% of it is true. Cont’d… WRITERS TRICKS OF THE TRADE
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WHAT IN THE WORLD IS “CREATIVE NON-FICTION?” (CONT’D)
Most people have stories about what happened at the office, how we met our spouse, a hilarious misunderstanding and on and on ad infinitum. When telling these stories, we often embellish the facts for the shock or humor value by adding details that didn’t actually happen and exaggerating or eliminating some that did. What does a story like that become? Creative non-fiction. Facts mixed with fictional details. MANIPULATING THE STORY WHILE BEING "SORT OF" TRUE TO FACTS Think about it. Often the tendency is to leave out details that might make us look bad, stupid or gullible. When we are talking about someone we don’t like, they might be depicted as a real ogre when in fact they are only someone with bad habits. But it is more entertaining to give them extras that make them loathsome. Let’s not call these lies. They are they dance around a clear and truthful account of a situation. Adding controversy or being deliberately ambiguous or misleading, doesn’t qualify as a bald-faced out-and-out lie. At least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
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WHAT MAKES THE STORY CHANGE? Depending upon the point-of-view we choose, the story changes. Are we telling only what we can see (first person)? What someone else has seen and is now telling the reader (third person)? Perhaps a God-like knows all/sees all point-of-view that includes knowing thoughts of various people (omniscent). Or, a combination of any of the above. We determine who is important to the story, who will be most likeable, what events will trigger the reader’s emotion, etc. This might not be the way it really happened, but it makes for a better read. We are being creative with factual information plus some manipulation and prevarication thrown in for good measure. In the end, however, if you want it to stay creative non-fiction, you are stuck with what really happened. Otherwise it becomes a creation of your imagination or pure fiction. Ripoff, written with co-author Caroline Rowe, is a government embezzlement story that happens in the Federal prison system, a division of the Department of Justice. The story is fiction but the inspiration was from first-hand knowledge of furniture manufacturing in the Federal prison system. In other words, the scam didn’t actually happen, but from our experience we knew it would be possible. As for the humor, well, that’s a bonus. Whichever path you choose, it’s your story—you can play with the endings. Real stories don’t always turn out the way you want them if you are holding to reality, so that’s where the creative part comes in to save the day. Writer or not, I’ll bet you have some great stories. Why not try your hand at turning real events into a captivating combination of dialogue and narrative with a little help from your imagination. Even if it doesn’t get published it should be an interesting jaunt down Memory Lane.
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WRITERS TRICKS OF THE TRADE
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The Writers’ Tricks of the Trade book was inspired by Morgan St. James’ more than 600 published articles about the craft and business of writing It is not a dry, techie type of a book! Told in a light prose, with experiences, backfires and successes thrown in, every chapter has actionable information. Writers Tricks of the trade is a ready reference about many things the fiction writer must deal with on a day-to-day basis.. For more in-depth information on a particular topic, the bibliography in the back contains a list of books the author used and continues to refer to. AMAZON BARNES & NOBLE “As an author myself, I have found her book useful for filling in gaps in my knowledge.” ~Maralys Wills. Author, "Damn the Rejections, Full Speed ahead." “Morgan St. James has written a terrific book that every writer should own. This is a modern, street-smart, working handbook from an author after my own heart. Get smart. Get inspired. Get this book.” ~Tony N. Todaro, Author, President and Co-founder of the Greater Los Angeles Writers Society.
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