Several years ago, my partners and I produced an online multimedia reading experience called a Quillr®. It combined text with sound and visual effects, including videos, music, sound effects and photographs.
At the time, many scoffed at and berated us for ruining ‘reading’.
We thought it was the coolest sensory experience reading had ever offered.
We still do.
And now, Booktrack is catching on by adding music to ebooks.
Welcome to the party, Booktrack.
My good friend and fellow crime writer, Linda Wiken, kindly offered me a guest post slot over at her excellent blog: Mystery Maven Canada.
The blog offers news, reviews and schmooze by and about Canadian mystery authors.
I’m chatting about the clues to the popularity of mysteries. You may wish to discover them today at Clues to the popularity of mysteries.
Love to know the clues you have discovered in your own investigations of crime writing!
It’s a great pleasure to do a guest post here today on Nicola’s site as part of the blog tour for my new novel, The Memory of Trees.
I first crossed paths with Nicola more than two years ago and what struck me about her was how far ahead she was of so many other authors in her field. She was innovative and resourceful and already using multimedia platforms to promote her mystery novels in ebook and print mediums. It’s a rewarding labour of love to write books, but a far greater and fulfilling experience to do what Nicola does as well as writing – sharing her experience and knowledge through her workshops. That’s a gift and dedication many writers pass up on.
Today, I’d like to share with you something of my own experience of reaching publication for my novel.
The Memory of Trees novel by Mick Rooney
Sending a manuscript out on submission to publishers for the first time is a little like sending your child to school for the first time. You feel you have done all you can do to prepare ‘the child’ for what lies ahead, but schooling is like publishing – subject to intense scrutiny, assessment and judgement. The brave and talented ‘pupil’ may rise to the top of the class, but it does not come with a guarantee. The feckless, careless and average ‘pupil’ will often struggle in an intense and competitive environment.
Many are called, but few are chosen.
If you are going to attract the attention of a commercial publisher, then the previous statement holds true its message no more brutally and honestly than in today’s publishing climate. When I first began writing in the 1980’s, large publishing houses did have substantial unsolicited submission piles. Back then, publishers were still prepared to invest a great deal of time and energy sifting through those piles to unearth something exceptional or original that would fit their lists. Now, the economics of publishing and increased submission volume has consigned this approach by authors to achieve publication as something of a bygone age. The vast majority of accepted and commissioned work reaching publication through a large publisher occurs via a literary agent, or under certain circumstances, by way of recommendation of a publishing house’s established author. Read the rest of this entry »
I’m really delighted to give advance notice of an upcoming guest blogger.
Dublin-born author, Mick Rooney, will take the epubbing con on Friday. He’s a multi-published author and consultant and editor at the Independent Publishing Magazine, with a interest in the changing world of publishing. He’s written a number of interesting novels and recently produced a great non-fiction book called To Self-Publish or Not to Self-Publish.
The Memory of Trees novel by Mick Rooney
It’s a fascinating article so come back on Friday to check it out!
If you live on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada, and you’ve always wanted to write a mystery novel, then take your fingers off the keyboard and listen up.
I’m again teaching a workshop on writing mystery novels for Camosun College in lovely Victoria, BC. The workshop is based on my experiences crafting a number of published mysteries and on my little how-to primer, Youdunit Whodunit!
cover image for Youdunit Whodunit!
The workshop is offered on six consecutive Thursday evenings from from September 29 to November 3, 2011. For more details and how to register, go to Mystery Writers’ Workshop at Camosun College.
Taking a little time off to…
Enjoy your summer. You can still check out my previous posts, especially if you’re interested in:
Cheers!
Intro: I occasionally teach a writers’ workshop at our local Camosun College on how to write a mystery novel. The students eat it up, telling me that they’re learning lots of practical and usable tips and techniques, so I thought I’d offer bits and pieces of the workshop in my Friday Mystery Writing blog posts.
The information is gleaned from my little non-fiction e-book primer called Youdunit Whodunit! How to Write Mysteries and offers my tips, techniques and information suitable for crafting of all types of genre writing.
So, even if you write romance, sci-fi, fantasy or horror, please keep reading and learn with us crime writers.
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: VILLAINS (Part 19)
The last group of posts have focused on the point of view (POV) from which to tell your tale.
Most recently, we’ve moved into creating the people who populate your story. I nicknamed this step: Haven’t We Met Before?
There are three types of CHARACTERS who populate fiction: Major, Secondary and Minor.
Last post, we talked about using four personality traits to help define your main characters. This works well with villains with one caveat. Every villain has one common trait: they are amoral. The other three are up to your imagination and your efforts NOT to have clichéd baddies.
But remember, one or more of your players will be villains; however, they don’t think of themselves as scoundrels. Give them a chance to show their human side, their contradictions, challenges and conflicts. Have some fun. The bad guys and gals are often much easier to create and to carry off than heroes and heroines. Being good doesn’t always result in riveting reading.
Elmore Leonard understands this big time. Like Chili Palmer (loan shark) and Jack Foley (bank robber), his lead characters are often crooks. What’s cool is that they believe what they’re doing is right and they usually do it with staggering style.
If you found this of interest, you may wish to begin at the beginning of my How to Write a Mystery Novel posts.
…Of course, there’ll be MORE how-to write a mystery tips and techniques continued in the next Friday post as we push further to develop the three types of characters that commonly populate genre fiction in: You’re Invading My Personal Space, Part 20.
Summer’s finally here on southern Vancouver Island. The garden’s lovely, though the poppies are finished and I’m getting back on track in researching a new series and pushing out the odd blog post now and again.
I’m doing something never before attempted: researching for an historical fiction series.
I’ve got a strong setting, memorable characters in development, multiple story lines beginning to weave and an interested agent but…it’s all based in an earlier century.
Of course, being historical is one of the idea’s key assets; however, I’m finding that it’s the biggest drawback to actual writing. Can I find the voice?
I’ve created worlds before, ones involving murder, opera, golf, even the stigmata but recreating a different time, with all the inherent and fascinating elements of geography, social, family and political issues, dialogue and who know what else is proving a challenge.
I keep reminding myself of some of my past research efforts: caddying for days in the pouring rain, testing vocals (and teacher’s ears) to experience opera and surviving an apple pie-making bee.
Guess I’ve just gotta shut up and get on with it!
But…when will I find that voice?
This’s so cool.
Another epublishing student of mine has taken the self-publishing plunge.
Europa Rising
Here’s the blurb:
Commander Charles Kwetche is appointed to the elderly NASA frigate, Cabot; his mission, investigate the disappearance of the European cruiser Onbevreesd in the Jovian system. As he probes into the loss, Kwetche finds a deepening mystery involving the exobiological expedition of an industrial conglomerate; the alarming actions of a United Nations cruiser, and a mysterious signal aimed at Europa.
Sounds great! For more info, visit the Smashwords site Europa Rising.
Well done, Sean!
Just spent a dizzingly busy weekend at Canada’s mystery writers’ convention, Bloody Words in Victoria, BC.
About 200 folks, all brought together by a love of bloody words, attended a wonderfully eclectic smorgasbord of lectures, panel discussions, interviews and chitchat. Really amazing when you think we had the first warm and sunny weekend for a long time!
Highlights include:
My sincere congratulations and thanks to the amazing organizers, Kay Stewart and Lou Allin, and their fab group of hard-working volunteers, many of whom were students of mine! Also thanks to Walter and Jill of DeadWrite Books in Vancouver.
Why not sign up for Bloody Words 2012?
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