By Kathie Leung

Should Aspiring Authors Maintain Websites and/or Blogs?

One of the most recent discussions we’ve been having is about the importance of blogging as an aspiring author. There are many theories out there, but the determining factor boils down to why. Why is a blog necessary?

To an unpublished author intending on going the old school way of publishing, meaning via a literary agent with the intentions of being published hard copy, there doesn’t seem to be a good enough argument for a blog. A static web page or site, yes, but a blog – no. Since this is merely a summation of the discussion, a follow-up post with the specific arguments on either side along with supporting evidence will be provided. But for the purpose of this post, we will leave it at that.

A static page or website provides a curious literary agent with a bit more insight into the author, a means for putting a face to the name should the author be bold enough to post a mugshot on the site, perhaps a sample of his/her writing. Anything more could potentially be shooting yourself in the foot. Blogging with articles about writing, thoughts, ideas, character development, politics, the grade your dearest got on a recent essay might be a bit too much information and a potential liability for the agent and/or the publishing house where your book might have been sold. Of course it depends on what specifically you say – or don’t, the points of view you offer, how liberal or conservative you happen to be; but as a general rule, a blog is iffy. If you simply must write snippets and publish them to the ‘net, why not create a blog with a screenname other than your own via any number of the free blog services out there? Just be careful not to link to them with your professional ‘net presence.

If you go with establishing an Internet presence, put some thought and consideration of what you put out there for the world to see. Once it posted, it will never ever go away. That includes Facebook, Google+,  MySpace, and Twitter. Querying an agent and seeking publication is like a job interview. Your potential employer (agent/publisher) will look and what you say and do on the Internet will be weighted accordingly. Pose a potential liability? Kiss that contract goodbye. Climb on the bandwagon thrashing an author who did this or that and what does that say about your own character? Is that a risk a publisher or an agent is willing to take if they sign you? The fact is this: we have come into an age where instant communication and public announcements made world wide is a mainstay. What might have seemed insignificant in the past, such as an erroneous web site, an unfollowed blog, a tweet made at two-thirty in the morning while three sheets to the wind, are all taken much more seriously, scrutinized, legally decided upon: Is this individual a risk we are willing to take on?

What Should Go Into A Static Website?

Your name. Your contact information that you are comfortable making public (and I mean public) such as email address (always good to have a specific account set up via Google, Yahoo! and the likes that can be disowned later on if the spam and what have you get out of control), a USPS mailing address (PO Box, preferably for the same reasons unless you really don’t mind weirdos coming to your door when they’re three sheets to the wind or better yet, off their meds), etc. The genres you write in, any publications where your work has been published (with links, of course), possibly some links to your favorite authors or agents, writing forums, etc. and then a chapter or two of your completed works that you’re in the process of actively sending out queries and pitching at conferences.

What Should NOT Go Onto A Website?

Anything personally identifiable. Don’t post pictures of your kids. Don’t post a map to your city. Don’t post your cell phone number. Don’t post your social security number, tax-id number, credit card information. Just don’t. Even if you have -1 followers, never, ever post anything personal.

What if I have no intentions of traditionally publishing my work and am moving straight into self-publishing?

The key here is selling your work, right? You want people to read your novel, more importantly to buy your novel. Blogging from a main character’s point of view is a nifty idea so long as you’re not giving your novel away for free. But blogging about the craft of writing without selling a significant number of books? Probably not such a good idea. That’s my own personal opinion.

We (The Chico Writer’s Group) have had self-published authors come through our doors in the past and I know others who have self-published as well. With one exception, there is a reason why these individuals self-published: they couldn’t take the rejection from the agents they were querying. But was their writing worthy of going into print? With one exception – hell no. Did they have a good grasp on the craft? Absolutely not. Did they provide useful advice on how to write? Nope.

It’s dangerous to be out there writing about the craft if you aren’t well versed in it. This, of course, is an argument many have in the kingdom of writing. There are some who strongly believe that unless you are a published author, meaning through the traditional process, you have no right to be giving advice about the craft. There are others who feel there is merit to talking about the craft, so it all boils down to where you personally stand on the issue. But if you are intending on using your site to promote your self-published work, my advice is to keep your thoughts, opinions, and advice regarding the craft completely separate from the promotional website/blog.

What are the Pros of Blogging?

Selling your books once you actually are published.
Making your writing samples accessible to literary agents you are querying.
Establishing links with other authors, both published and aspiring, that might lead to book sales once you are published.
Possibly gaining attention from someone who might put you on the path towards publication.

What are the Cons of Blogging?

Time. It takes a lot of time to blog and keep up with the whole process of maintaining a blog. If you stop blogging for any reason, it takes a long time to reestablish yourself within the network once you return.

Promoting thoughts and ideas which others might be offended by. I know of authors, from best sellers to strictly self-published, who have spewed their personal opinions on anything from politics to religion. And I know that in several cases, their opinions were so strong that they offended their readership, enough that some of those who were offended stopped reading them altogether, both their blogs and their novels.  In one particular case, there was a call to boycott the author.

Wearing egg on your face. Blogging about things you think you know about but might come to learn later on you clearly did not could be potentially damaging. Of course, a well-thought out post that doesn’t necessarily put the thoughts out there as unarguable fact and leaves it open for dialog – and such dialog follows the golden rule of debating the thought, not attacking the thinker, would prevent this from being problematic thus moving this from a con to a pro. All depends on how you handle conveying the thoughts and the subsequent discussion.

Will Not Having a Site/Blog HURT Sales? 

I don’t know if there is a way to actually tell this. I happen to like the idea of an author establishing a presence on the Internet, but if I’m looking for a new author, I’d be more likely to tune into Amazon’s recommended reading lists, the New York Times, and up until recently, Oprah’s book club reads. Once I became familiar with the author, I might follow them on Facebook, connect with them on Google Plus, add them on Twitter (even tho I’m hardly ever there) and hunt them down on the web. Still, I’m hardly a repeat visitor but that’s just me. I know of some that are so into the characters an author builds or the style the author writes in that they become obsessed. I aspire to become one of those that can create obsessable (yes, my own word) characters and style.

More on this topic: 

Joe Konrath, author of the best selling Jack Daniels books (an obsessable character) has an excellent website for readers, authors, and those in the business of publishing.

Be careful when reading posts off a search about this topic. The date of the post is the most important thing to consider. Anything that has been discussed prior to the big push to self-publish and epublish without the use of an agent (e.g. directly via a publisher) is outdated. More information and resources to come in a few weeks.

As always, you are welcome to post your comments and thoughts on this topic!

Kathie Leung is a published author of poetry and short stories and an aspiring author of mystery/thriller/suspense novels. She is the founder, organizer, and moderator of the Chico Writer’s Group. More about Kathie can be found at www.kathieleung.com

Do your characters lack dimension? Are they flat on the page simply nodding, frowning, laughing, smiling every other line? How do you break out of that rut and create a whole, round, believable character? Here are some ideas:

1.) Glean for notes.

• Armed with a notepad and/or index cards, visit your local library and pull a collection of books off the shelves.
• Skim the books and jot down any descriptors that catch your eye.
  • Be sure to write down the bibliography for future reference. Your goal is to spark your imagination, not plagiarize.
    • Index cards work exceptionally well for this exercise, the bibliography can be written on the back (or a color code for more than one notation, done with a simple swipe of a highlighter, corresponding to the bibliography card makes it quick and easy) and once through, you can file the cards for future reference.

Helpful Hint: When filing cards, group them by the action, such as nod, frown, smile, laugh. Or emotion: sad, angry, anxious.

• Once you’ve finished gleaning for ideas, set aside the books, grab up your notepad and entertain a free-write session.
• For example, in Sandra Brown’s book, Exclusive, she uses the word term “whey-faced” instead of saying ghostly or the color drained out of her face, etc. Whey which happens to be the milky substance typically accompanying the curds in cottage cheese (eating her curds and whey ring a bell?). While this isn’t necessarily unique to Brown, as it came to use in English literature before 1822 (source), it is a very different whey, er way, of saying it in modern literature. During your free write session in this example, come up with some unique phrases that boil down to a bloodless, pale face.
• Create index cards with your own unique terms and phrases and file them accordingly.
• Refer to your unique terms when you are writing.

2.) Use a synonym reference site, such as this one: [The Emotions Thesaurus]

3.) People watch.

When people watching, change up your location as much as possible. While studying human interaction at a park is good, ask yourself how often your characters are going to be hanging out at a park in your story. Look for places that would most mirror those visited by your characters whenever possible. And no, we’re not promoting hanging out at the jail.

• library
• school drop-off zone (just be careful that you’re not seen as someone those soccer moms are wary of)
• shopping mall
• food court at a shopping mall
• bar/restaurant
• play/movies/theater
• business meeting
• hotel lobby
• auto dealership (this is often fun)
• car repair shop
• coffee house
• pizza parlor
• college campus
• the list is endless

Better yet, eavesdrop. Can you tell from a distance whether two people deeply engaged in a conversation are angry, impassioned, head over heels in love, discussing their autistic child? Compare and contrast what you observe from a distance to what you overhear as you move in to eavesdrop. What clues were accurate? Why? What was deceiving? How was a clue misinterpreted?

For anyone who writes using red herrings, looking for those differences in perception versus reality are vital, by observing these seemingly minor idiosyncrasies you as a writer can use them to your full advantage by leaving clues for your reader that might lead them on a wild goose chase, then bring it around full circle for the explosive gotcha moment in your novel.

Be sure to come armed with your writing tools whether that would be a camera, camcorder, tape recorder or simple notepad and pen. Take time to write down bits of conversation, everything you observe so that when you are working a similar scene into your novel, you can recall the scene down to those subtle nuances you’ve observed and work them in.

4.) Subscribe to a word of the day/week site and have new words delivered directly to your inbox. Even UrbanDictionary.com is a excellent site to add to your repertoire! As new words come in, learn them, the correct way to use them, and practice them until it becomes rote. You will most likely find these new words flow easily once you become familiar enough with them, thus incorporating a new style, a new zest (think lemon pepper) into your writing.

Note: It’s easy to fall back on using a Thesaurus for finding alternative words to plug in. Use caution as while some words don’t always have the same implied meaning. Become well practiced with the proper usage of any new or different word.

5.) Engage in writing exercises regularly using specific writing prompts and exercises that are created expressly to help the writer hone the craft of creating a three-dimensional character, one that is trusted and believable by your reader.

6.) Name that emotion exercises are great. Take any grade school beginning writer handout (here’s one you can use: [PDF file - opens in new window] ) and write for fifteen minutes describing that particular emotion. It doesn’t have to be perfect, in fact it can be pure unadulterated crap. But stick with it. Your goal is to write so descriptively that someone who is visually impaired could picture the emotion in their head.

7.) Picture search. Hit up an online repository of searchable tagged images, such as Flickr. Type in the emotion you are wanting to describe, such as anger. Sift through the pictures and look for the one that you’d most like your reader to see. Now set your timer and write and see what comes of the exercise.

EXAMPLES: [From Flickr]

8.) Gesturing is another aspect of describing an underlying emotion, of setting a scene, developing character, and character interaction. Does your main character shrug his shoulders too much? Does your heroine purse her lips frequently, maybe chew on her lower lip until your reader is setting aside the book and hunting down some Chapstick? Again, as you’re looking for descriptors that best convey to your reader a hidden emotion, be sure to include gestures, nervous habits, a touch that might help draw not just your characters together, but pull your reader into the moment.

Practice makes perfect, so as always, write on!

The Chico Writers Group on Facebook

Back in November we announced a contest [Like Us and Win!]. While we had a notable increase in fans on Facebook, we didn’t come anywhere close to the targeted mark. And then on Facebook, we posted a question: should we try with another contest in 2011. Aside from one jubilant response, it was whisper quiet. Crickets chirped.

Perhaps everyone was too busy with the holidays and the aftershock of NaNoWriMo to be bothered. That’s the best we could come up with, surely it couldn’t have been the prizes!

So come February 2011 we’ll announce a different contest. But because we didn’t reach the goal of 1,000 fans, sadly that contest is over, there were no winners.

Perhaps we can have a writing contest where entrants must post to the fan page on Facebook. We’ll leave that idea out there and see what you have to say about that idea.

Until then, write on! And Happy Holidays, too.

Your friends at the Chico Writers Group.

PROMPT – Use the sentence “What fresh hell is this?” in your piece. This is a quote attributed to Dorothy Parker, who is said to have uttered this when the phone rang in the middle of a writing session.

According to “Word of the Day” at Dictionary.com, parsimonious \par-suh-MOH-nee-uhs\, is an adjective and means:

Sparing in expenditure; frugal to excess.

His mother became increasingly parsimonious over the years, and
even if there were a good doctor around she did not like to pay
one.
– Willard Sterne Randall, George Washington: A Life

Lehmann was famously parsimonious, and used postwar shortages as
a cover for his economies.
– John Richardson, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

He was extremely parsimonious with his words, parceling them out
softly in a deliberate monotone as if each were a precious gem
never to be squandered.
– Michael Riordan and Lillian Hoddeson, Crystal Fire

——————————————————————-

Parsimonious is the adjective form of parsimony, from Latin
parsimonia, “thrift, parsimony,” from parsus, past participle of
parcere, “to spare, to be sparing, to economize.”

Many people mistake “spendthrift” for being “parsimonious”

Here are the rules:

• Only available to persons living in the continental United States, void where prohibited.
• Entrants must have a Facebook account, be 18 years of age or older, a human being (sorry, pets, cartoon characters, and other non-human entities are not eligible) and “like” us (http://www.facebook.com/ChicoWritersGroup). 
• When we hit 1,000 total fans in the month of November, we will draw a name and that person will receive the two books.

That’s it!

And coming in December, we’ll run another contest, so stay tuned for more information.

Additional rules and restrictions:

• In the event the person whose name is drawn is not a resident in the continental United States, another individual will be chosen.
• We will notify the winner via Facebook private message.
  • The member has 14 calendar days to respond to the message, providing us with their USPS mailing address and phone number (never shared with anyone).
  • Should the winning member fail to respond within the specified period of time, another member’s name will be drawn.
• The books will be mailed via PaperbackSwap.com, standard rate media mail service with delivery confirmation. Recipient need not be a member of PaperbackSwap.com.
• In the event the total fans does not reach 1,000 by midnight Pacific Coast Time, November 30, 2010, this contest will be null and void.
• The administrator of the group, the “Chico Writers Group” on Facebook, reserves the right to block and/or remove any individual from the group should the individual appear to be spamming or otherwise attempting to interfere with the group’s members and or goals.

Contact: For further information, clarification, and questions, please contact us via Facebook or write to us at TheChicoWritersGroup@gmail.com and include “FACEBOOK” in the subject line.

Good luck!

• Cordon off your work area.

• If need be, stop off at your local animal shelter, offer to house a dog, the meaner the better (or perhaps the more loyal to it’s caretaker) for the month and set up a kennel just at the door/opening to your work area to keep visitors at bay.
• Post Do No Disturb signs liberally about your work area.
• Offer to water potted cacti for the local nursery for the month on the condition you can take the cacti with you, then set it about your work area. This is something most anyone, even those with the blackest of thumbs can do, seeing that much like camels, cacti don’t require a whole lot of watering.

• A word to the wise, do not offer to host Thanksgiving dinner at your house. Only an insane person (yours truly) would even contemplate such a ridiculous thing.
• On that note, also don’t be tempted to hit the stores, shopping centers, malls or any other commercial wasteland of consumerism. Yes, there are incredible Black Friday deals, but you were going to run over to that POD (publish on demand) site online and have your novel printed and bound as a gift for each and every one of holiday “shop for” list, weren’t you?

• Unabridged dictionary
• Rand McNally Global Color Maps
• 2008, 2009, 2010 Writer’s Market Editions (preferably the deluxe edition)
• Thesaurus
• And/or several Encyclopedia Britannica volumes

Be sure to get plenty of exercise as that keeps the blood circulating in your cranium and fingers. Remember that dog? Grab up a rubber ball and toss it around. That’ll do it. Now get back to writing!

Cheers and the best of luck! Let us know how your venture is going by leaving a comment. Care to pick up a few supporters along the way? Leave your NaNoWriMo screenname with your post and let the real fun begin.

New Policy Changes – effectively immediately

The Chico Writers Group was founded in January of 2008 and has been going strong ever since. We’ve changed quite a bit since we first started and are presently in the process of changing our format to meet the needs and wishes of the current membership. This is an incredible, bold move and yet one that we are greatly excited about. For the time being, until we iron out the kinks, make sure that our plans for changes work as well in application as they did in conception, we won’t be entertaining any new members.  Come January 2011 we will decide on whether the revisions need more time and work or if we will begin accepting new members. Look for more news and information here in the future regarding the outcome.

[Revised Wednesday, October 6, 2010]

Our upcoming meetings are:

• Saturday, May 15, 2010 from 2:30 – 4:30 pm [RSVP here]

• Chat Topic: Genres

• Chat Topic: To Be Determined