Writing can make a difference

Bestselling author by Debbie Macomber wrapped her recent story about family, forgiveness and love in Last One Home, around difficult social issues such as domestic abuse and homelessness.

Published in 2015, the book begins with a quick look back at ten-year-old Cassie playing with her two sisters. Then we move to a courtroom, where she is helping a victim of domestic abuse and begin to learn about her life of abuse until fear for her life and that of her seven-year-old daughter had her flee out the window of her home and seek assistance at a women’s shelter. There she received help and job training.

Throughout the book, we learn the difficult life Cassie lived after running off with her boyfriend when she was 18 and pregnant. As is often with people who want to control someone else, he moved her away from her family and friends. Besides losing her college scholarship and family support, gradually she lost her confidence and self-respect.

Trying to get her life back together, one of her sisters contacts Cassie about some of their parent’s furniture they had stored, if she would come get it. Thrilled to hear from her sisters and needing the furniture, she still faced the problem of picking it up with no truck and no extra money to rent one.

Living in a tiny, cheap apartment, she is thrilled when she accepted as a candidate by Habitat for Humanity. We learn about the stringent requirements as well as the need to volunteer hundreds of hours of work to be eligible for a Habitat home.

We also get glimpses into the minds of her daughter, now 12, her sisters and a possible romantic interest during her constant struggle for a better life.

For more information about the author and her books, check out DebbieMacomber.com.

On a more personal note, Maryland author B. Morrison, tells about a life that was similarly sidetracked in Innocent, Confessions of a Welfare Mother.

She was raised in a prosperous Baltimore neighborhood and a college graduate, but when her marriage failed, Morrison found herself an impoverished single mother of two small sons. She found herself “…forced to accept the handout so disdained by her parents and their world: welfare. This dramatic memoir tells how one woman finds and grasps the lifeline that ultimately enables her to become independent.” (The last two sentences are from the back cover of her book).

For more information, check out www.bmorrison.com.

Whether a true story or fiction, books such as these help us understand the need for various social programs and the people who must temporarily depend on them. I would recommend both books and congratulate the authors for tackling such difficult subjects.

Why We Write

Why We Write, I saw this book in the library and took it out, curious to find out what other writers said about why they chose this career.

I had so many other books I wanted to read that I kept putting it aside. I almost decided to return it unread, but for some reason I renewed it. I decided to read one or two of my favorite writers in the book and then return it, but once I started, I couldn’t stop.

I first read what Sue Grafton had to say. I’ve read all of her Kinsey Millhone series so far and even related books such as Kinsey and Me and G is for Grafton. One of her comments under “Wisdom for Writers” is “There are no secrets and there are no shortcuts.”

Then I decided to keep reading since next was Sara Gruen. I had enjoyed reading Water for Elephants. “Planning and plotting and research are all fine. But don’t just think about writing. Write!”

Sara Gruen said that reporting was like being the new kid in school. It’s like being a detective. “Emotionally, it put you in the place that everybody dreads. You’re the outsider.”

That hit home since I was a reporter for years, writing for both dailies and weekly newspapers. I even wrote a short story years ago, that I titled The Outsider. It was about a child, out in the cold, looking in a picture window at a family enjoying Christmas

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I felt that way a good part of my life. like I was just observing life instead of living it. Now I am doing both, hence the name of this blog josobservations.blogspot.com.

Again I thought of returning the book, but, you probably guessed from the title of this blog that I didn’t. Once I started at the beginning,. I couldn’t put it down. I read while eating breakfast, during lunch at work, in the evening when I should have been writing and even after going to bed.

As I neared the end, I thought about writing a blog to let others know about the book and share some of the bits of wisdom shared by some of the authors. Why We Write, which was edited by Meredith Maran and published in 2013, includes comments and hints from 20 acclaimed authors on how and why they do what they do. 

Joan Didion said the writing is an aggressive act. “There’s no getting around the fact that setting words on paper is the tactic of a secret bully, an invasion, an imposition of the writer’s sensibility on the reader’s most private space.”

Maran writes “As for me: I write books to answer my own questions.” The writers in her book give a wide variety of reasons for why they write. I could identify with what some of the writers said, and at least understand where others were coming from.

Walter Mosley said that once a reviewer in Publishers Weekly said his characters weren’t even strong cardboard.  “If you keep writing what you want to write, you’re going to get a lot of rejection,” he said.

Sebastian Junger said good writing has a rhythm to the writing. If the rhythm’s off, it’s hard to read.

Like many of the writers in the book, I have been reading and writing most of my life, as well as practically driving my parents crazy with questions about everything. It was encouraging to read that the reasons for writing are so different.  Hey, maybe I need more discipline, but there are successful authors who do things the same way I do.

Michael Lewis said that maybe he made the decision to become a writer in a state of self-delusion. “When you’re trying to create a career as a writer, a little delusional thinking goes a long way.”

The 20 writers Maran chose to include in this book represent “a mix of genres, genders, ages and experiences.”

I only mention a few hints and interesting facts from the book. To learn more, you just have to buy it. A portion of the proceeds go to 826 National, an innovative youth program with a network of writing and tutoring centers.

I started reading and writing poetry when I was a kid, giving my masterpieces as gifts to relatives. I was the second page editor in high school and had already decided I wanted to write for a living.

I was lucky to get a job with a newspaper during and after college. For a while I worked in the human resources field to pay the bills, but then going back to writing for a daily paper, the Cumberland Times-News and later writing tourism articles for Garrett County, especially the Deep Creek Lake area.

As Susan Orlean said, I met people I never would have met if that wasn’t my job. I often felt “the exhilaration of stepping into an alternate universe.”

There is a part of me that continually wants to learn and then to share with others. Writing was the best way for me to do this.

If you want to share why you write, please leave a comment.

Trying to be perfect

Katherine Pickett recently spoke on"Editor’s, Who They are, What They Do and How they Can Help You" at the Carroll County Chapter of the Maryland Writers' Association. She also discussed how writers can make it easier for their editors and help smooth the road to publication.

Katherine Pickett is the owner of POP Editorial Services, so she knows what she is talking about when she talks about editing. She also is the author of Perfect Bound: How to Navigate the Book Publishing Process Like a Pro, published in 2014.

Her keys to success: educate yourself, be flexible and work only with people you trust. Everyone needs an editor, Katherine said. But a well prepared manuscript can save you time and money. She shared lots of information about what to look for when searching for an editor, such as rates, time factors and their track record. You also need to feel comfortable with them.

I enjoyed hearing about self-editing, since I am at that stage now with my YA novel. It seems I can go over it again and again and still find minor errors. To a writer, although there are different levels of problems, but no error is minor. Even after all this rereading, I was still dissatisfied. I was looking for more ideas about how to edit my work and Katherine delivered.

Katherine Pickett talks with Kerry Peresta,
 President of Carroll County Chapter MWA

She stressed that self-editing can save money and time. First take some time off, create some distance from your work. Then as you approach it again try different methods. Read it aloud and pay attention to places where you pause. Look for punctuation, spelling and grammatical errors.

Change to a larger font. It’s easier to find punctuation errors. Print your work and read it on hard copy. Run your fingers under the words as you read. Then go deeper.

Move to a new location while you review your work or try a different time of the day. Check facts, the timeline, characters and consistency. Is the tone consistent? Everything has to be in there for a reason.

Some people even edit it backwards, starting at the end and moving back to the beginning.  Approach your writing from different angles. Think of your audience. Are you speaking to your ideal reader.

Too often we see what we expect to see, not what is actually there. Question motives. Then again, question everything. The idea is to trick your brain. See what is actually there and how you might be able to make it better.

Revise, revise, revise!

Katherine explained that there are developmental and substantive editors. A substantive editor ensures appropriate and consistent tone and smooth transitions, checks for consistency in point-of-view, eliminates ambiguity, and ensures that dialog sounds natural.

More editing follows as a book is prepared for publication. A proofreader goes through a book's layout and tries to catch anything the copy-editor missed. After receiving a manuscript proof, the author should evaluate the editing, answer any queries as completely as possible, make necessary changes and return the manuscript on time.

The better you have prepared your manuscript, the less time editors will need to spend on it and the less it will cost you. The better your manuscript, the more chance it has of publication and becoming popular.

Pickett’s company provides copy-editing, proofreading, and developmental editing to authors and publishers across the country. She has been involved in the publishing industry since 1999, including five years as an in-house production editor with McGraw-Hill Professional and two years with Elsevier Inc. Although the majority of her experience lies in nonfiction trade books, she also has edited children’s, young adult, and adult fiction, memoirs and more.

Her book Perfect Bound was a silver award winner, 2015, IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards and a Finalist, 2014 Foreword Reviews' INDIEFAB Book of the Year Awards.

More information is available at popediting.net or at www.thePOPnewsletter.com.

Writing Craftsmanship

Recently I heard author Tom Glenn speak about “The Forgotten Discipline: Fiction Craftsmanship” at the Carroll County Branch of the Maryland Writers’ Association.

Craftsmanship is seldom stressed in writing classes, he said. yet it may be key to getting published, Creativity is innate and probably can’t be learned, but craftsmanship can. People think, we all learned to write as children. What else is there to learn?

Professional writers know there is so much more to learn. This program focused on the mechanics of fiction—formatting, copy editing, wording/structure, and dialogue.

He quoted Ursula K. LeGuin: “How can a reader trust a writer who seems to be ignorant of the medium she works in?”

Tom Glenn is well versed in his craft. Besides his published books, he won several writing contests, published 16 short stories and interviews authors for the Washington Independent Review of Books.

His Vietnam novel-in-stories, Friendly Casualties and novel, No Accounts are available on Amazon.com. His newest novel, The Trion Syndrome, will be published by Apprentice House this year.

Although formatting can be dull it is important to let agents and editors see that you are serious about your business and can abide by their guidelines. Agents and editors are busy people and often discard a manuscript because of minor problems. It is important for your writing to stand out. Don’t give them any reason to discard it.

Some basic copy editing rules he discussed included using 12-point serifed point, a single space at the end of sentences and flush-left alignment of text. All make it easier to read your text.

Look for repeated words and beware of adverbs. Use italics to show internal thought. Under dialogue he recommended keeping conversations clipped and brisk.

When you finish your manuscript put it away to cool, possibly for several months. Run spell check at the end, even if you ran it periodically during the writing. Read your work aloud to check for hesitations and awkward phrasing. Also, make sure you vary sentence structure using simple, compound, and complex sentences and even non-sentences, such as short phrases. Non-sentences are especially useful in tense situations.

“Get someone who doesn’t love you to critique the manuscript,” he suggested. It doesn't help that Mom, Dad or your best friend thinks you are the world's best writer. Make sure it is ready for other eyes to view.

Besides being a writer, Tom Glenn also worked as an undercover agent, musician, linguist (seven languages), cryptologist, government executive, and caregiver for the dying. With a doctorate in public administration, he toured the country lecturing on leadership and was dean of the Management Department at the National Cryptologic School.

He is available for other presentations including:

“Healing Through Writing: Survival and Craft.” Tom Glenn joins poet Shirley J. Brewer to explore the dark world of trauma: PTSI (Post Traumatic Stress Injury), accidental death, murder, violence. Healing takes place when the writer faces the trauma and orders chaos through writing. The presentation offers techniques to address personal traumatic experiences through writing.

“Uncertain Origins: The Battle of Dak To,” a lecture with slides on one of the largest battles of the Vietnam War. Glenn was there on the ground collecting intelligence. He warned U.S. military commanders of the forthcoming attack and wasn’t believed.

“Bitter Memories: The Fall of Saigon,” a lecture with slides. A speaker of Vietnamese, Chinese, and French, Glenn spent thirteen years as a National Security Agency operative trundling between the U.S. and South Vietnam, working under cover with army and Marine units on the battlefield in the collection and exploitation of North Vietnamese communications.

Readings from his Vietnam novel-in-stories, Friendly Casualties. The book relates the effects of the Vietnam war on men and women, Vietnamese and American, soldiers and civilians. Some are destroyed; others survive, however imperfectly. All are friendly casualties.

Readings from his novel published by Apprentice House of Baltimore in spring, 2014, No-Accounts. A straight college professor volunteers to take care of a gay man dying of AIDS in Washington, D.C. in the mid-1980s. The caretaker promises to be with his patient at the moment of death without knowing what lies in the dying man’s past.

For more information check out Tom-Tells-Tales.org. If you’d like him to speak at a gathering, email him at tomglenn3@comcast.net

Prepare for Publication

Bethany House author Dani Pettrey spoke recently at the Carroll County Chapter,  Maryland Writer’s Association on “I Finished my Manuscript. What Now?”

Pettrey is the author of the Alaskan Courage series, which so far includes: Submerged, Shattered, Stranded, Silenced, and Submerged. She described her novels as inspirational, romantic suspense. They are about strong, determined women willing to face danger to right what is wrong.

Her books have been awarded the Daphne du Maurier award, two HOLT Medallions, a Christy Award nomination, two National Readers’ Choice Awards, the Gail Wilson Award of Excellence, and Christian Retailing’s Best Award.

Dani Pettrey

She shared her experience along the road to publication, saying it was easier for her than for many writers. However, she wrote well, edited, studied her craft and was prepared when an opportunity was presented.

There is so much advice for writers out there, she said, recommending that you only take advice that resonates with you. There is so much variety and so many voices.

After fine-tuning their manuscript, most writers should start looking for an agent. You can research agents online, through writing organizations and by reading the front of books. Look for agents who are interested in your genre. Do not send a book of erotica or adult horror.to an agent who specializes in children’s books.

Also, writers should not send samples of their writing to editors and agents at the same time. Most agents have access to publishers they think may be interested in your book. However, if you already sent it to an editor and it was rejected, they cannot go back to that editor.

She agrees with the advice that attending writing conferences is helpful, not only for learning, but for meeting agents and editors. She always took to conferences a “one sheet” with a synopsis of her story and a short bio. Also, be prepared to give an elevator pitch if asked. This is a very condensed version of you book, like a movie description.

You submission package should Include a query letter, synopsis, two links and sample chapters. It helps to have your polished book (not rough copy) read by critique partners or by a freelance editor or paid critiquer.

Membership in writing organizations can be helpful. Most organizations have a newsletter or blog, provide content that can be helpful in your genre, include contact industry details and provide other benefits.

Writing can be a lonely business. Learn to enjoy the process. It helps to keep an encouragement file and reward yourself periodically.

While waiting for replies from agents or editors, begin to write your next book.

Check her out at www.danipettrey.com or on Facebook.com/danipettrey.

Tolstoy and the Purple Chair

Tolstoy and the Purple Chair, My year of Magical Reading by Tina Sankovitch was one of those memorable reads, inspiring, motivating, heart breaking and life affirming. The unusual title first caught my attention, but once I started reading, I couldn't stop.

After the death of her older sister, she (I am not being disrespectful or too familiar, but it is easier to use a first name then the last or full name), she tries to run from her sadness, both literally and by filling her life so full, she could barely think. 

When the running didn’t help, she decided to read a book a day for a year, since a love of reading was something she shared with her sister.

For 365 days, she read, often until late at night. Often sitting in her comfortable old purple chair. All the books she read from 10/28/2008 to 10/28/2009 are listed at the end of the book. She also decided to review the books online and found  a new satisfaction in books by talking about them on her blog. She’s written 1001 book reviews.

Reading how much she enjoyed discussing these books with others, inspired me to include more book reviews or discussions in my blog. I don’t have a sister, but I am lucky to have a good friend who loves reading as much as I do and we recommend books to each other. Also, this sharing is a large part of the popularity of book clubs.

Tolstoy and the Purple Chair starts with a quote from Thomas A. Kempis, “Everywhere I have sought rest and not found it, except sitting in a corner by myself with a little book.”

Sankovitch feels she has to forgive herself for living while her sister was dead. I could understand with that since I lost my oldest brother years ago, but still weep for him, want to talk with him again.  Is guilt for not being there near the end of his life part of my unwillingness to let go of my grief? I was interested to see if the books she read helped her.

“Books were my time machine, my vehicles of recovery and reignited bliss from childhood and beyond,” she wrote. She felt connections to others reading the same book in different places and times.

Reading in my beige chair

During the year after my mother died, I read 146 books. I found them to be more therapeutic than watching mindless shows on television. Sometimes we just need to escape and there is always time for reading.

As Sankovitch wrote, “My year of magical reading was proving to be a fitting ending to my overwhelming sorrow and a solid beginning to the rest of my life.”

She found something meaningful in every book she read, both fiction and non-fiction. In mysteries, the sense of satisfaction is huge when a solution is found. We want our world to have order and mysteries often provide this. However, sometimes it is important to accept that there may be no real solution.

Some books we breeze through, but others have us searching for more. Sankovitch quoted author Elizabeth Maguire -  “Have you ever been heartbroken to finish a book? Has a writer kept whispering in your ear long after the last page is turned?” Yes. Some books we can't forget.

I enjoyed reading this book and loved the ending, “So many books waiting to be read, so much happiness to be found, so much wonder to be revealed.”

She had a new book published by Simon & Schuster in 2014, Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Celebrating the Joys of Letterwriting. I think I’ll read that one soon. I have so many books on my “to read" list, but I still would welcome hearing about books that you enjoyed.

Check out more about her at www.readallday.org/blog

Pitching, Querying and Proposing

Award-winning editor Ally E. Machate recommended attending writing conferences and online events to make contacts in the publishing world, as well as for learning and meeting other writers, as she spoke on Pitching, Querying and Proposing.

Ally E. Machate

As well as attending conferences to learn and meet other writers, they offer a great way to make connections, she said, especially those with one-on- one meetings. This is a chance to sit down with an agent or editor. Later you can mention this meeting in a query letter, such as “I met you at…and you said…Here is...”

Ally worked with ex-Navy Commander Mark Divine, A SEAL for 20 years, to write The Way of the SEAL, a practical guide to defining and focusing on your goals and how to think like a SEAL.

Having worked in the publishing business for years, Ally was able to explain what your book goes through if it gets past the slush pile or gatekeepers, the decision makers.

For medium to large publishers, you need an agent, someone who knows the houses that publish your type of book. Search for agents who may be interested in your type of writing. Then find out what publishers they’ve sold to and what connections they have.

Lists of agents and editors are helpful, but they often use a generic email address. You may find a better source through networking with others. Find people who may be interested in your type of writing, with sources such as LinkedIn. Research magazines, literary journals and other online sites.

Try to learn a little about the agents or publications you are considering. Then you can write “I read your interview in …” or “I learned you were looking for a….”

Be sure to follow submission guidelines and make sure you get their name and gender correct. Propose one project at a time, although can mention if you have others.

She recommended giving the agent ammunition with a good synopsis. They can use it to sell your book and if they are successful, the publishing house can use it in audio pitches for their salespeople.

Do not send out queries if you are not quite finished your book. If they are interested and ask you to send a copy right away and you still need to finish writing and editing the story, you may lose this opportunity.

Ally and writer Mike Crowl

Ally explained that platform is industry language for anything that can be used to sell your book. This may include awards, publishing credits, a blog or social media column, credentials, ties to large organizations, or connections.  Planks are what you stand on to stand above the crowd.

Agents and editors will search your name, so it helps if you have a footprint online: a website, blog, Facebook or Twitter account. 

For fiction, authors should send a query letter and a synopsis. Fiction and memoir are treated the same. For non-fiction, a detailed book proposal is necessary. A proposal may be more than 20 pages of detail.

Start your query letter with some kind of hook, a personal connection or catchy plot line, she said. Next you want a description of the project. Think of this like writing marketing strategy or cover copy. Then tell who are you and why you are you proposing this book. Give them your credentials. By the end of your query, you want them to ask to see your complete work.

A synopsis is usually three to five pages double-spaced, a complete recap of your entire story – start to finish. Focus on main stuff. Give them a flavor of the book.

Novels are generally 60,000  to 80,000 words.  Non-fiction usually runs 50,000 to 70,000 words.

Ally is a bestselling book collaborator and expert publishing consultant. Since 1999, she has assisted, guided, and supported would-be authors on their publishing journey and takes pride in serving as their books' best ally. You can learn more about Ally at www.thewritersally.com and www.allymachate.com.

Remember:

If you don’t get that first book published it doesn’t mean you are not good, it just means you might not be good enough right now. Keep writing. Also, it is important to get to know your craft. This is a business.

CCMWA President Kerry Peresta
and Ally Machate

Take your business seriously.

This event was sponsored by the Carroll County Chapter of the Maryland Writers Association. For more information, check out www.marylandwriters.org or www.carrollcountymwa.org.