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What book is everyone writing right now?

Tiktaalik said:
... I was fortunate enough to get a publisher (small, not one of the Big Six) but we've since parted ways; it's not all it's cracked up to be unless you're with one of the major houses. ....
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Interesting, so they weren't earning their keep, not moving fast enough, or? I'm curious if you don't mind sharing (or send me a PM if you prefer).
 
Tiktaalik said:
Wow, I think writing scripts looks very hard. I have no idea how to do it, myself. I'm sure part of it's a learned skill, but it still seems difficult. I congratulate you on having done that!
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Thanks! There's definitely a different style between scripts and novels. One major difference, I think, is that in scripts you have a lot of leeway in what you can describe. You only have to describe what the viewer sees, but that, in of itself, can be very challenging.

I haven't sold my first script, though I did send it to Troma Entertainment on a lark. It's my baby, so I intend to direct it myself.

You don't have to delve into the reasoning behind character actions; the director has responsibility for that. Action has to be short, sweet, and to the point. There's no room or need for flowery exposition. However, there is room to give proper description when needed. I found James Cameron's script for Aliens to actually read like a novel; he put a lot of effort into the work, but then again, he also directed it, so he had the leeway for that.

I've personally found it to be easier to write scripts than novels, given my particular writing style. For instance, the opening page of the script I'm working on now, Beyond the Darkness

FADE IN:

EXT./INT. THE MOON

At first, there is nothing but darkness. No sound can be heard, only still, dead silence. A single CRACK of LIGHT appears, just off-center. Still no sound. The crack expands, and suddenly EXPLODES forth, spilling harsh, artificial light into the CAVE. There is no dust cloud; the particles fly up and back down in the airless vacuum of the Moon.

The opening widens, and an ASTRONAUT stumbles forth, nearly dropping a DRILL that is attached to his suit via a Steadicam-esque rig. He CATCHES himself, and motions forward. The label on the front of his suit reads "T. MALONE."

MALONE
(radio static)
Duncan, bring the floodlight over here. We broke through. Looks like the probes were right.

There is movement in the background shadows. A wheeled probe rolls forward, carrying a LARGE FLOODLIGHT. A second astronaut follows right behind it, controlling it via a hand-held device. His name label reads "C. DUNCAN". The wheeled probe climbs through the rubble of the lunar rocks. The cavern is illuminated, but the far reaches are still masked in utter darkness.

The probe-controlling astronaut enters the cavern, and the two clear the pathway, casting aside lunar rocks with ease and without any sound.

Their suits are unfamiliar to us, being extremely compact compared to our current space suits. The suits look more like futuristic armor, and have a deep red coloration to them. They are decorated with very few markings - name labels, and a United States of America flag attached to the shoulder.
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One thing with scripts is their length - most are 80-120 pages. Each written page is worth about 1 minute of screen time. That blurb was just under 1 page. I became interested in writing screenplays due to all of the horrendous movies that I watch, so I figured "hey, I can do better". As such, I wrote my first script with the intention of breaking as many tropes as I could. Strong, intelligent characters; no gore; little blood; no sex or nudity.

For Beyond the Darkness, I'm writing it as a hard sci-fi/horror story. Set in the near future, with plausible advances in technology. A lunar colony has been established on the far side of the moon, including a powerful telescope, hydroponics facilities, and small, specially-designed trees. It's also got mi-gos in it, so it's essentially Lovecraftian sci-fi.

The other script is Alien 5 since, well, the series needs one more good sequel.
 
Skeptic Ginger said:
Interesting, so they weren't earning their keep, not moving fast enough, or? I'm curious if you don't mind sharing (or send me a PM if you prefer).
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No, I don't mind sharing. To be specific, my first trilogy was picked up by Malachite Quills, and by their spin-off imprint Chimera Tales. They are a small publisher that started with fantasy and sci-fi.

They did some good things for me right off the bat: got a me an editor I really like, and from whom I learned a ton, and got me cover art. They got the books posted to Amazon and Barnes & Noble. But that's about where things came to rest, and where I started having some issues.

First of all, they only did ebooks at first. I wanted to be able to sell paperbacks at events, and many of my relatives don't use ereaders, given their ages. When they finally did come out with the paperbacks, the formatting was crummy (I could, and did, do better on my first try) and it was frankly embarrassing. Then, they couldn't figure out their distribution system, and at this point, I'm unable to obtain my own books from them due to this failure! They could only distribute in lots of 50, and had to have the books shipped to them first, then to me - which made no sense and increased the cost.

Second, their publicity efforts were lousy. I never was able to find any publicity they did on my behalf, although they claimed they had taken out "Google Ads". I did all the rest of the publicity myself: set up book signings, took out ads, printed posters and flyers, etc. I began to think, if I'm doing all this myself anyway, why not do it ALL myself? I also never got them to supply me with a large-scale hi-def version of my covers for publicity.

Then, of course, I had no control over the pace of publication, or whether they were going to publish the sequels to the first book at all. I felt like I was twisting their arm. I finally requested, and received, rights to the third book. They gave me verbal permission, and I had to specifically request that they write it down! They retain rights to the first two, but aren't doing any publicity.

Because I don't own the first two books, I can't do giveaways or adjust the prices myself. The only way for me to give one away is to buy it myself, then send it to someone.

Yes, there's the 'prestige' of being with a publisher, and the validation of having your book picked up by someone else. But at this point, I'm interested in trying things for myself. This has a few advantages:

1) Full control of publication dates, formatting, distribution, and publicity
2) Cheaper prices on paperbacks, and I can buy the specific number of copies I want instead of a lot of fifty
3) Not doing any more work than I was, anyway, except the formatting
4) My own choice of cover artists (and I bear the cost) & editors/alpha/beta readers
5) My formatting is frankly better and more professional looking.
6) I can take advantage of the growing number of support groups and opportunities offered to Indies but not to large publishing houses (contests, etc.)

Anyway - there's probably more - but that's my take on it at this point in time. Subject to change.
 
Thanks, I find that very helpful. I may talk to you again about that formatting issue, I'm still a ways off from that step.
 
Thanks for the info Tiktaalik. I had a similar realisation while contemplating ways to publish my own work. Most of what I have read suggests that if you're a first time author a publisher isn't going to really make much of an effort (if any) to market the book, and these days that's probably the only significant advantage a publisher offers over self-publication.

Yes, you have to fund editing and cover design etc. yourself, but the cost isn't that extravagant.

In hindsight do you think it was a mistake to sell the rights to all three books at the same time? I can't think of anything worse than having someone else own my work, but have no interest in doing anything with it. I think a reverting clause is a must for a first time author in this day and age.
 
Well, at the time it seemed like a good idea, because I assumed they wouldn't have asked for the rights if they didn't intend to publish them all. The contract runs for three years, so eventually I'll get the rights to the first two back. At that point, they'll pull their version, including art, from the sales outlets, and I'll have to re-create a second edition of my own, including different cover art (unless I can work something out with the artist). At this point, creating the interior files won't be that difficult, and I know how to link editions to take advantage of previous reviews, so it should be okay.

People wonder about the huge upswing in Indie and self-publication; well, I suspect my experience is a big factor. Yes, some folks who self-publish are inexperienced writers who can't get through the acceptance process, but I've also read a lot of really good stuff by authors who prefer to self-publish.

And despite what people think about Amazon, they have made it very easy for authors, through Createspace and KDP, to get books out. The Createspace paperbacks seem to be good quality and they are cheap to the author. Smashwords and a few others also have good set-ups. With a little effort, you can have the thing out there. Then it's just getting anybody to notice!
 
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Well, the cover artist actually decided to modify the cover a bit on his own. It has been toned down by changing the angle of the female character's head, which makes more sense. So I'm pretty happy with it. I've got it up on amazon and have ordered the print proof, so I'll get a chance to see it in print rather than on a screen for the first time.
 
I bought your book but can only read it in the cloud, stupid Kindle can't see my wifi network because it needs an updated software now that I set up Mac's Time Machine.

I have to be honest, I don't like the cover. :) Sorry.

The girl's face, fine, clothes, sort of OK, the legs, eh... I don't like the way the hips are posed.

But the other problem is the guy is too old looking for the story. He looks like the girl's father.

I love the horse though.

I think it's interesting, we have these images of people in our minds when we read. I wonder if putting people on covers is just a risky idea regardless?



Update: got it to load on Kindle but I'm still not connected to my wireless network.
 
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You might be right - I might try to avoid people on covers in the future! But as far as the ages - well, Rioletta is in her late 20s and Hyphanden is in his early 50s, so the ages actually fit pretty well. I personally like the background, the cobblestone street, and the 'horse' pretty well.
 
Tiktaalik said:
You might be right - I might try to avoid people on covers in the future! But as far as the ages - well, Rioletta is in her late 20s and Hyphanden is in his early 50s, so the ages actually fit pretty well. I personally like the background, the cobblestone street, and the 'horse' pretty well.
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That makes sense then, but I didn't guess that was Hyphanden. Since Cardon was the horse drawer and close to Rioletta, I thought was Cardon or Nikal.

I'm only up to chapter 2, maybe it will be clear as I read more since I stupidly didn't get it from the title. :)



On another note, I fixed the Kindle connection, no thanks to their useless Chat help.
 
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On a more boring level, I've passed 60,000 words in a non-fiction book I hope to get out before the end of the year. I'd been jokingly saying "if I ever write that book on Lockerbie", and a couple of people had actually been urging me to do it, but I didn't think I had the material - or at least I didn't see how to organise it.

Then, quite suddenly over the Easter weekend, my subconscious jumped up and announced, the book is ready to be written and here's how it goes. Scope, length, chapter headings, the lot. My conscious mind chipped in to remind us all that the 25th anniversary of the disaster is on 21st December this year, so if I want to go anywhere with it I need to get cracking.

I had been talking to a friend who is a retired editor of non-fiction, and although she doesn't want to do any more work she had offered to farm it out among some friends to see if we could find the right editor. However, the following week I got a lot more written as I had some time off work. At that point a friend who had read some chapters came out with the bombshell. He had broached the matter with a major Scottish writer who has just published a fictional novel based on the Lockerbie case, James Robertson. And James agreed to do an editorial copy-edit on my book.

I'm now on the penultimate chapter, hoping to have finished the first draft by the end of the month. James already has the manuscript of the first eight chapters, but he's in a whirl of book-launch events right now. I don't know how successful I'll be finding a publisher, but it's going out there somehow even if I have to invest a couple of grand to self-publish.

It's a sort of anti-conspiracy theory conspiracy theory, called "Adequately Explained by Stupidity?"

Rolfe.
 
Rolfe said:
On a more boring level, I've passed 60,000 words in a non-fiction book I hope to get out before the end of the year. I'd been jokingly saying "if I ever write that book on Lockerbie", and a couple of people had actually been urging me to do it, but I didn't think I had the material - or at least I didn't see how to organise it.

Then, quite suddenly over the Easter weekend, my subconscious jumped up and announced, the book is ready to be written and here's how it goes. Scope, length, chapter headings, the lot. My conscious mind chipped in to remind us all that the 25th anniversary of the disaster is on 21st December this year, so if I want to go anywhere with it I need to get cracking.

I had been talking to a friend who is a retired editor of non-fiction, and although she doesn't want to do any more work she had offered to farm it out among some friends to see if we could find the right editor. However, the following week I got a lot more written as I had some time off work. At that point a friend who had read some chapters came out with the bombshell. He had broached the matter with a major Scottish writer who has just published a fictional novel based on the Lockerbie case, James Robertson. And James agreed to do an editorial copy-edit on my book.

I'm now on the penultimate chapter, hoping to have finished the first draft by the end of the month. James already has the manuscript of the first eight chapters, but he's in a whirl of book-launch events right now. I don't know how successful I'll be finding a publisher, but it's going out there somehow even if I have to invest a couple of grand to self-publish.

It's a sort of anti-conspiracy theory conspiracy theory, called "Adequately Explained by Stupidity?"

Rolfe.
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I think that"s great. I have a non-fiction book in the queue. When you write enough about a topic on this forum, like you have on Lockerbie, you become so knowledgeable it's no wonder the material for a book emerges. I'm not surprised you are this far along.
 
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I'm working on weaving a lot of chapters together but finally settled on the first chapter. And hooray, my son liked it. He would tell me if he hadn't, he's good about that, offering critiques and all. But he liked it. I'm happy. :D
 
Since I've been gone, as I've said, many things have changed. Among them, my dreams of becoming an author lie in shards. Yet I was the one who swung the sledgehammer. It happened two years ago, after receiving some less than favorable feedback from members of my writing group, including an unwarranted personal attack via email. I took it out on myself and my story.

As tempting as it was, I didn't set fire to all copies of my manuscript. Several digital copies still exist. Nor have I given up on the project completely, as I've been finding time to rework little details here and there. It remains to be seen when I'll ever get back to it, as I have a lot of things in my personal life that need to be sorted out first. I can't write because I feel as paralyzed as the Joycean characters who inspire me.

Were it not for my reservations, I would ask for advice like before. I would offer to share my writings for proofreading. I would likely attempt to reach out to other members here and form a writing circle, or two. However, the time isn't right, despite the six years I've had these ideas in my head.
 
Frozenwolf150 said:
Since I've been gone, as I've said, many things have changed. Among them, my dreams of becoming an author lie in shards. Yet I was the one who swung the sledgehammer. It happened two years ago, after receiving some less than favorable feedback from members of my writing group, including an unwarranted personal attack via email. I took it out on myself and my story.

As tempting as it was, I didn't set fire to all copies of my manuscript. Several digital copies still exist. Nor have I given up on the project completely, as I've been finding time to rework little details here and there. It remains to be seen when I'll ever get back to it, as I have a lot of things in my personal life that need to be sorted out first. I can't write because I feel as paralyzed as the Joycean characters who inspire me.

Were it not for my reservations, I would ask for advice like before. I would offer to share my writings for proofreading. I would likely attempt to reach out to other members here and form a writing circle, or two. However, the time isn't right, despite the six years I've had these ideas in my head.
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This probably won't be helpful but if you're anywhere close to where I was a year ago ...

All critiquers are not good at it. It helps to keep that in mind.

The point of critiquers is to learn and grow from their comments. It's OK if they're negative.

I think what helped me was, I felt I had a great story (still do) but didn't have any expectations I could write. So I took criticisms as valid from most people. I lucked out getting in a good critique group, because I've tried 3 now and only one has actually been productive. And I set out to learn how to write. I have also been reading numerous "how to write" books from the library. Some of them just don't work for what I needed. Orson Card's how to books are popular. But all I saw in them was the obvious.

But "Wired for Story" was so useful I bought a copy so I didn't have to keep renewing it.

I wasn't that creative imagining landscapes but I could describe them so I've been using Pinterest images, great for world building ideas.

I've been making so much progress, it didn't matter that I wasn't there when I started.

Maybe it's time for you to start again. :)
 
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After a strange conversation on facebook that involved imaginary worlds I started writing a short story that takes place in a pre-industrial world with floating islands that people have to balloon between. It's not, I guess, the most original of stories (but what is, really?) but I seem to be on track to finishing it, which is good. I think a lack of feedback makes it hard for me to really stick with a story, so I just have this catalog of partially worked ideas.

Still, good thing, I really like the name of my little fantasy world: The Burnished Sea. I think it has a nice sound.
 
That has potential, elbe. I imagine a sci-fi world where the atmosphere and inhabitants are quite different from Earth.
 
Skeptic Ginger said:
That has potential, elbe. I imagine a sci-fi world where the atmosphere and inhabitants are quite different from Earth.
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It's largely been a rather safe fantasy story, essentially normal humans moved into the clouds with a sever reduction in technology. It was just a little thing to work on in my down time.

I was doing a bit more interesting world building with an older idea (well, the world part, I never had much of a story worked out). Basically I was taking a D&D style fantasy world (elves, dwarves, dragons, etc.) and dragging into a post-industrial world. The setting would basically be a relatively modern city inhabited by humans, dwarves, and sentient dragons, and the changes and conflicts that may arise there.
 
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Twenty pages into a hundred and twenty(ish) page book. The first of a series. And it is the first time I have got that far into a project and not given up in despair.


Yeah. I take my landmarks where I can find them.
 
I've started work on my last chapter. I need to finish it, then tart up a couple of bleeding chunks hacked out of earlier chapters because they were too long and make them into appendices, and then find a publisher.

Actually, it's dynamite. I just hope I've explained it in a way that readers can understand.

Rolfe.
 
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