by Jennie Bentley
The results are in for the first part of the Flash Fiction contest, better known as The Guessing Game. The other part, where you, gentle readers, post your own 200 word stories, starting with the sentence, “If you have to die, February is the best month for it,” in the comments section of a certain post you’ll find if you look to the right of this... that’s still ongoing. At the end of February, Wilfred Bereswill is graciously giving away a copy of his book, “A Reason for Dying,” to the guest story determined to be the best of the bunch.
This time around, the prize is one of my DIY books: “Fatal Fixer-Upper,” “Spackled and Spooked,” or “Plaster and Poison,” or an advanced reader copy of “A Cutthroat Business,” first in the Savannah Martin real estate mysteries.
You know, I had no idea when we started this that it would be so hard to match stiffs to stories. I figured everyone would get at least me and Will and John Lutz matched correctly, since our work is readily available even if you’re not familiar with it already. Imagine my surprise when no one – and I do mean no one – guessed that I wrote #2.
Yes, folks, the male POV 3rd person science fiction piece is mine. I figured if I wrote first person female like I always do, you’d know right off the bat that I wrote it. So I decided to be devious. Even so, to me, it still screams in my voice, loud and clear. The sentence structure, the rhythm, the flow... Yet even Will – whom all of you; every single person – thought had written it, told me that he if he didn’t know which entry was his, he’d have thought he wrote mine.
I’m going to take that as a huge compliment, y’all. Little old girly-girl me wrote male POV well enough to fool everybody!
Here’s the actual rundown of who wrote what:
1. Will
2. Jennie
3. Joyce
4. Gina
5. John Lutz
6. Pat R.
Nobody got’em all right. A few of you got a few. The person with the most matches, interestingly enough, was someone who doesn’t know any of us: Kris the Cajun Book Lady! Congratulations, Kris. Email me or DM me with your address and your choice of reading material, and I’ll get a book in the mail to you!
Thanks for playing, everyone! And don’t forget to post your 200 word Flash Fic pieces in the appropriate place for a chance to win “A Reason for Dying.”
Showing posts with label john lutz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label john lutz. Show all posts
Monday, February 08, 2010
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Bouchercon 2009
by
Well, another Bouchercon has come and gone. And if you ask me it was a resounding success. Jim Huang and all the B'con organizers did a terrific job. The city, setting and hotels were fantastic.
I'm sure I'm not telling you anything new, but Bouchercon is not a writers conference. You don't go as a writer to learn how to write. It's a convention designed to bring fans and authors together. So why the hell did I go? I don't have a new book to promote. I wasn't on a panel. I had to place books on consignment with Mystery Mike's bookstore to have some available just in case.
So again, why did I go? I did consider bailing at the last minute. I mean I had to use the last day of vacation I have in my day job until next March. My middle daughter was coming home from college to pre-celebrate her 21st birthday. And I could come up with a dozen other reasons I shouldn't have gone. But then I remembered how much friggin' fun I had last year. I remembered how energized I was when I came back. I remembered just how great the community of Mystery Writers is.
I wasn't disappointed. I had a great time. I'me ready to pull that Work In Progress up on my screen and finish it. I'm ready to make it as good as I'm capable of making it.
Speaking of how giving the Mystery Community is, I was participating in the Continuous Conversation and that very subject came up. One author (to remain nameless) said "Mystery authors are generally not assholes. There are exceptions, but for the most part, we're pretty nice."
It didn't take long to reconnect with a number of authors that I consider friends. And some of them hit it big this year. For example:
Brett Battles
Julie Hyzy
Brett Battles won the Barry Award for best thriller (I think, I guess I shouldn't have had that last IPA Wheat Beer... or the first or second or...) Julie Hyzy won an Anthony and Lori G. Armstrong who couldn't be there, won the Shamus for her book Snow Blind.
Where it's at: The Bar and a great Wheat Beer. I had several meaningful and meaningless conversations here.
My friend, John Lutz and the Edgar Allan Poe Panel with Michael Connelly, Sue Grafton, Peter Lovesy, and Sara Paretsky
It was a Mega Panel
A Little about Tasha and Andrew. I don't think I've met two nicer people. They are both extremely talented and giving. And Andrew, if you read this, I will not sell the book you signed for me on Ebay. I'm really looking forward to reading EVEN. And, by the way, they look fabulous together.
The signing lines.
Now about the party. Lee Child had a fantastic party at The Slippery Noodle. The Slippery Noodle is a Pre-Prohibition Blues Bar where Lee hosted his Jack Reacher Party. I was invited by Andrew Grant, Lee's brother. You can't tell so much from the pictures, but it was wildly popular. It was a great way to end the weekend.
The Band
My beautiful wife Linda and I at the Jack Reacher Party.
The crowd including Kelli Stanley and Alexandra Sokoloff
My wife Linda (I'm a lucky guy)
I'd be remiss if I failed to mention my friend, Austin Camacho. A talented author in his own right, I met Austin last year at Magna Cum Murder in Muncie, Indiana. Thanks Austin.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Life With A Small Press
by Wilfred Bereswill
I want to talk about a subject that I’ve avoided like the plague; some of the disadvantages of contracting with a small press. Now I’ll say up front that my publisher, Hilliard and Harris is a small press and they’ve been good to me. I’ll just use a phrase that I use a lot to describe the situation, “It is what it is.”
What I want to chat about are things that I did not know about before signing my contract. Would they have stopped me from signing that contract? Probably not, considering how euphoric I was that I had been accepted for publication. For the record, I did chat with a few of the H&H authors that I knew and they had good things to say. In addition, I want to be clear that I’m not picking on H&H, because a number of small presses have the same or similar policies. So here are the issues you need to consider:
Returns. Or lack of returns really. This all starts with the way our book sales work. I’m speaking in generalities here so I’m sure there are exceptions. Most large book stores basically order books with the understanding that they are returnable. But there are a number of considerations with returns. First, there’s stripping. That’s the process of the bookstore ripping off the front cover and returning just the cover to avoid excess shipping charges. They throw away the coverless books. Believe it or not, that’s the most common type of return. If the shop does return the whole book, the condition of the book upon return may render it unsalable. Also, the cost to ship, unpack, restock, etc. makes it cheaper to just go the stripping route.
Because of the cost of returns, some small presses don’t allow returns through the distributors, like H&H. By the way, H&H does take returns if the books are ordered directly from the publisher, but the big chains don't want to order from anybody but the big distributors. I honestly can’t say that I blame them, but, if you don’t conform to the industry standard, you’re screwed. So what that means to the author is that you are now in a deep rut. Chains like Barnes & Noble won’t order your book. Books-A-Million won’t bring it in either. I found that by working with Borders stores individually, you can convince them to buy a few copies, but I’m telling you, it’s a lot of work to talk to each store manager and beg. Oh, by the way, I don’t patronize Barns and Noble anymore. I let my club card lapse and I won’t buy a book there either. Call it sour grapes, but a writers group I belonged to, The St. Louis Writers Guild has meetings at B&N stores twice a month. I’ve been a regular patron at a particular store for years. When I approached the manager about a signing, she insisted she couldn’t order my book due to corporat policy. Even when I was the featured speaker for the group, they wouldn't order in any books. I was forced to sell a few copies out of the trunk of my car to the members who wanted to buy it after the talk. You reap what you sow.
Indies will shy away from non-returnable books too. Several Indies in St. Louis have copies of A Reason For Dying, but for the BIG Indie in town I had to put books there on consignment. Meaning I had to buy the books and sign a contract. If they sell in six months, then they will reimburse my cost, not a penny more and no shipping.
So, that pretty much leaves internet sales, Amazon, B&N, BAM, Borders, and a lot of others have my book on their website, but not in their stores. Then you can find it on foreign sites like Booky.fi or even this AMAZON JP. I’m fairly positive my best sales are through Amazon.
And then there’s POD. Print on demand. Many people link POD with self publishing and vanity presses. It is NOT the same. In fact there was a discussion on Sisters in Crime Yahoo Group about the subject. A lot of people ask me what my print run is. That’s when I get this sheepish look on my face and say that my book is print on demand. Of course, the next statement is usually “OH, you’re self published.” That’s not true. POD is simply a technology that allows books to be printed quickly and delivered as needed. My books are printed by Lightning Source which I believe is affiliated with Ingram, the national distributor. I’ve never had any trouble getting books delivered. Ingram always keeps a enough in stock to supply the, albeit smallish, demand.
I’m telling you that the quality of my books, both paperback and hardback are top notch. No bad bindings, no bad covers, no errors besides what was my fault, never had a complaint.
So how does this affect you as an author?
Besides the common misconception of the association of POD with self publishing, if your publisher uses POD, you are not eligible to join Mystery Writers of America or International Thriller Writers as full members. You are ineligible for awards and programs those orgainzations offer. I believe it is incredibly unfair, but that’s the way it is. Rmember... It is what it is...
In my case, my small press did not send out ARCs (advance reader copies) for review. So, I was not able to get reviews printed in my book. I had to solicit and find authors to blurb me with only the MS Word copy of my manuscript. For me, it was uncomfortable enough asking several authors that I didn't particularly know that well to blurb my book. Add that I didn't have ARCs to send them, well, it didn't help the comfort factor. I owe the extraordinary author John Lutz my heart-felt thanks for helping a new author. John is an awesome writer and you should run out and buy one of his books. You won't regret it.
So to wrap this up, before you sign a contract with a small press, know what you’re getting into. There have been many instances of authors starting their careers with small presses and going on to sign with the big guys. There are instances where, despite self-publishing, authors have gone on to bigger and better things. Trust me, I know it’s tempting to sign that first offer, but take the time to understand the publisher and do what’s best for you and your aspirations as a writer.
I want to talk about a subject that I’ve avoided like the plague; some of the disadvantages of contracting with a small press. Now I’ll say up front that my publisher, Hilliard and Harris is a small press and they’ve been good to me. I’ll just use a phrase that I use a lot to describe the situation, “It is what it is.”
What I want to chat about are things that I did not know about before signing my contract. Would they have stopped me from signing that contract? Probably not, considering how euphoric I was that I had been accepted for publication. For the record, I did chat with a few of the H&H authors that I knew and they had good things to say. In addition, I want to be clear that I’m not picking on H&H, because a number of small presses have the same or similar policies. So here are the issues you need to consider:
Returns. Or lack of returns really. This all starts with the way our book sales work. I’m speaking in generalities here so I’m sure there are exceptions. Most large book stores basically order books with the understanding that they are returnable. But there are a number of considerations with returns. First, there’s stripping. That’s the process of the bookstore ripping off the front cover and returning just the cover to avoid excess shipping charges. They throw away the coverless books. Believe it or not, that’s the most common type of return. If the shop does return the whole book, the condition of the book upon return may render it unsalable. Also, the cost to ship, unpack, restock, etc. makes it cheaper to just go the stripping route.
Because of the cost of returns, some small presses don’t allow returns through the distributors, like H&H. By the way, H&H does take returns if the books are ordered directly from the publisher, but the big chains don't want to order from anybody but the big distributors. I honestly can’t say that I blame them, but, if you don’t conform to the industry standard, you’re screwed. So what that means to the author is that you are now in a deep rut. Chains like Barnes & Noble won’t order your book. Books-A-Million won’t bring it in either. I found that by working with Borders stores individually, you can convince them to buy a few copies, but I’m telling you, it’s a lot of work to talk to each store manager and beg. Oh, by the way, I don’t patronize Barns and Noble anymore. I let my club card lapse and I won’t buy a book there either. Call it sour grapes, but a writers group I belonged to, The St. Louis Writers Guild has meetings at B&N stores twice a month. I’ve been a regular patron at a particular store for years. When I approached the manager about a signing, she insisted she couldn’t order my book due to corporat policy. Even when I was the featured speaker for the group, they wouldn't order in any books. I was forced to sell a few copies out of the trunk of my car to the members who wanted to buy it after the talk. You reap what you sow.
Indies will shy away from non-returnable books too. Several Indies in St. Louis have copies of A Reason For Dying, but for the BIG Indie in town I had to put books there on consignment. Meaning I had to buy the books and sign a contract. If they sell in six months, then they will reimburse my cost, not a penny more and no shipping.
So, that pretty much leaves internet sales, Amazon, B&N, BAM, Borders, and a lot of others have my book on their website, but not in their stores. Then you can find it on foreign sites like Booky.fi or even this AMAZON JP. I’m fairly positive my best sales are through Amazon.
And then there’s POD. Print on demand. Many people link POD with self publishing and vanity presses. It is NOT the same. In fact there was a discussion on Sisters in Crime Yahoo Group about the subject. A lot of people ask me what my print run is. That’s when I get this sheepish look on my face and say that my book is print on demand. Of course, the next statement is usually “OH, you’re self published.” That’s not true. POD is simply a technology that allows books to be printed quickly and delivered as needed. My books are printed by Lightning Source which I believe is affiliated with Ingram, the national distributor. I’ve never had any trouble getting books delivered. Ingram always keeps a enough in stock to supply the, albeit smallish, demand.
I’m telling you that the quality of my books, both paperback and hardback are top notch. No bad bindings, no bad covers, no errors besides what was my fault, never had a complaint.
So how does this affect you as an author?
Besides the common misconception of the association of POD with self publishing, if your publisher uses POD, you are not eligible to join Mystery Writers of America or International Thriller Writers as full members. You are ineligible for awards and programs those orgainzations offer. I believe it is incredibly unfair, but that’s the way it is. Rmember... It is what it is...
In my case, my small press did not send out ARCs (advance reader copies) for review. So, I was not able to get reviews printed in my book. I had to solicit and find authors to blurb me with only the MS Word copy of my manuscript. For me, it was uncomfortable enough asking several authors that I didn't particularly know that well to blurb my book. Add that I didn't have ARCs to send them, well, it didn't help the comfort factor. I owe the extraordinary author John Lutz my heart-felt thanks for helping a new author. John is an awesome writer and you should run out and buy one of his books. You won't regret it.
So to wrap this up, before you sign a contract with a small press, know what you’re getting into. There have been many instances of authors starting their careers with small presses and going on to sign with the big guys. There are instances where, despite self-publishing, authors have gone on to bigger and better things. Trust me, I know it’s tempting to sign that first offer, but take the time to understand the publisher and do what’s best for you and your aspirations as a writer.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Looking Back and Ahead
by Wilfred Bereswill
Last time I blogged, I talked about the way the week was shaping up and how busy I would be. Well, I survived and reality is crashing back around me. Now it's time to reflect back and share some highlights.
On October 6th, authors Jo Hiestand, Paul Hornung and I presented a Community College Continuing Education class titled “How To Map A Murder.” The class was really small, but it was fun. The cool thing was when Paul, a detective, talked about the CSI effect on writing and in the courts. He also mentioned that most violent crimes are impulsive, not pre-meditated and many are crimes of passion. Something like 99% of murders are committed by somebody the victim knew which is why there is a huge push to identify the victim.
Wednesday I participated on a panel at the St. Charles County McClay Branch Library. The panel was sponsored by the St. Louis Chapter of Sisters in Crime and titled “Chill Me, Thrill Me.” With me, there was Eileen Dreyer, Eleanor Sullivan, Angie Fox and Joanna Slan. Eileen was crowned "Queen of Clues" and is always a hoot. She had plenty of stories to wow the crowd on her own. Oh, I failed to mention that this was a costumed event where the participants got prizes for guessing the characters we portrayed. I was going to be Hannibal Lecture, but I couldn’t figure out how to drive in the straight jacket. See if you can guess who I decided on.
Then came Bouchercon. Fueled by 3 hours sleep and a Starbucks' Venti Triple Caramel Macchiato I crossed the bridge from the Radisson where I had just checked in and who do I meet first? Our own lovely Annette Dashofy. She led me over to meet the equally lovely Joyce Tremel. I was off to a fabulous start. Okay, so I grab a few cups of coffee and go to a few panels to get the flavor of things all the while knowing I’ll be up on stage at 3:00 PM without REALLY knowing the types of questions that would be asked on my panel. My FIRST panel at a conference. I kept reassuring myself that this was no big deal, I’ve been in more intimidating situations. Like late last year I presented a talk on the Environment in front of 300 Chinese using simultaneous translators. But who was I kidding? This was 10 times more intimidating.
So, an hour before my panel, I ran off to the Green room to talk to our moderator and fellow panelists. No moderator! The delightful Caroline Todd had gotten diverted elsewhere. But I got to meet my partners in crime, Stuart MacBride, Yrsa Sigurdardottir, Andy Straka, and Stephen Booth.
That's me on the far right!
Last time I blogged, I talked about the way the week was shaping up and how busy I would be. Well, I survived and reality is crashing back around me. Now it's time to reflect back and share some highlights.
On October 6th, authors Jo Hiestand, Paul Hornung and I presented a Community College Continuing Education class titled “How To Map A Murder.” The class was really small, but it was fun. The cool thing was when Paul, a detective, talked about the CSI effect on writing and in the courts. He also mentioned that most violent crimes are impulsive, not pre-meditated and many are crimes of passion. Something like 99% of murders are committed by somebody the victim knew which is why there is a huge push to identify the victim.
Wednesday I participated on a panel at the St. Charles County McClay Branch Library. The panel was sponsored by the St. Louis Chapter of Sisters in Crime and titled “Chill Me, Thrill Me.” With me, there was Eileen Dreyer, Eleanor Sullivan, Angie Fox and Joanna Slan. Eileen was crowned "Queen of Clues" and is always a hoot. She had plenty of stories to wow the crowd on her own. Oh, I failed to mention that this was a costumed event where the participants got prizes for guessing the characters we portrayed. I was going to be Hannibal Lecture, but I couldn’t figure out how to drive in the straight jacket. See if you can guess who I decided on.
Then came Bouchercon. Fueled by 3 hours sleep and a Starbucks' Venti Triple Caramel Macchiato I crossed the bridge from the Radisson where I had just checked in and who do I meet first? Our own lovely Annette Dashofy. She led me over to meet the equally lovely Joyce Tremel. I was off to a fabulous start. Okay, so I grab a few cups of coffee and go to a few panels to get the flavor of things all the while knowing I’ll be up on stage at 3:00 PM without REALLY knowing the types of questions that would be asked on my panel. My FIRST panel at a conference. I kept reassuring myself that this was no big deal, I’ve been in more intimidating situations. Like late last year I presented a talk on the Environment in front of 300 Chinese using simultaneous translators. But who was I kidding? This was 10 times more intimidating.
So, an hour before my panel, I ran off to the Green room to talk to our moderator and fellow panelists. No moderator! The delightful Caroline Todd had gotten diverted elsewhere. But I got to meet my partners in crime, Stuart MacBride, Yrsa Sigurdardottir, Andy Straka, and Stephen Booth.
That's me on the far right!
The crowd was much bigger than I imagined; about 150 or so. I saw a few friendly faces in the crowd, (Joyce and Annette) but, as normal with me, everything became a blur and my mind went on autopilot. I remember Yrsa, who is from Iceland, saying that she is not the typical writer and the only Civil Engineer she knows that writes mysteries. Well, as fate would have it, I’m a Civil Engineer by degree. I think I managed to answer all the questions in a semi-intelligent sounding manner. I think I even got a few laughs. (I honestly can't remember. Zoned out. Or in.)
Anyway, I survived and went off to the dreaded signing room. Dreaded because that’s where it becomes abundantly clear where you are on the food chain. It is the proverbial measuring stick. I had to push my way through the crowd (were they all here for me?) to get to my station. The crowd was for Laura Lippman and Laurie King. I had been warned about this phenomena by my dear friend Laura Bradford. I think she was worried about my mental well-being. Bless her heart.
My apologies to Laura Lippman, but I did guilt a few people in your line to buy my book. They thought they might be blocking my line. I let them believe that.
I already dropped all the names of the fabulous famous authors I had a chance to chat with on my own blog, so I’ll forgo that here (Harlan Coben, Lee Child, Laura Lippman, Lawrence Block, Barry Eisler, etc.). Okay, I couldn't resist.
There was one quote during a panel that I thought was hilarious. The panel was about P.I.’s and my friend John Lutz was on the panel. The question was, Do you use 1st person or 3rd person, and why? Well the first author used 1st and explained how he was able to get more intimate and really just type from his head. The second said he used both in the same story, not unlike James Patterson.
Then it came to John. He said, “John uses 3rd person and now John will tell you why.” There was a delay as that sunk in before a rousing laugh. John went on to explain that 1st person tends to be linear and he likes the freedom of giving the reader information to build suspense that he couldn't give if using 1st person.
I had the chance to sit and chat with several agents, Janet Reid, Scott Miller and Lucienne Diver. My thanks to them for the good and honest advice.
I have to tell you, I went through a range of emotions. I talked about this on my own blog. Walking into the bookstore at Bouchercon, I had one dealer, Big Sleep Books, carrying A Reason For Dying. I was the little fish in a REALLY BIG pond. But I’ve got to say, the mystery writing community is one of a kind. They are generous and caring and I’m proud to be part of it. My thanks are heaped on the pile for Jon & Ruth Jordon and Judy Bobalik. It was an unbelievable experience.
My shout out to the following:
Murderati, The Good Girls Kill For Money Club, The First Offenders, The Graveyard Shift, The Little Blog Of Murder, Cozy Chicks , and The Outfit. I enjoyed meeting many of you and look forward to meeting the rest.
Next Friday I’m off to Magna Cum Murder, sponsored by Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. After Bouchercon, it will feel like a family gathering, which will be a nice change of pace. By the way, Jim Huang, owner of The Mystery Company in Carmel, IN is organizing Magna and will be organizing Bouchercon in Indy next year.
I’ll be out on the golf course today taking my frustrations out on a little dimpled ball. I’ll be checking in early afternoon.
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