Wide Open Spaces

By C.L. Phillips

Susan Gibson, singer songwriter, gave the world the gift of Wide Open Spaces, a song recorded by the Dixie Chicks in 1998.  In the chorus, she says,

She needs wide open spaces
Room to make her big mistakes
She needs new faces
She knows the high stakes

So my question to our published authors and pre-published writers alike is, where is your wide open space with room to make big mistakes?  Where do you go to experiment with your writing?  When you read the line "she needs new faces", what comes to mind?  New characters?  New critique partners?  Or perhaps something deeper.

In June I had the good fortune to hear Susan Gibson reminisce about this song.  She pitched the song to Lloyd Maines, music producer and father of one of the Dixie Chicks.  She said she believed that Lloyd responded to the song first as a father.  Suddenly I realized her words connected with an audience she never intended when she crafted the song. 

A song of a young woman's journey to break out on her own spoke to the heart of a father whose own daughter was searching for her path.  I was more moved by this story than the song itself, because I realized the power of truth bridges the sexes, generations, and life experiences.  There is more here than meets the ear.

How will your readers respond to your work?  Sometimes the most powerful stories are those that speak to the hearts of more than your intended audience.  Who will you unexpectedly move with your truth? 

Sometimes we need wide open spaces.  Room to make mistakes.  A place to learn and grow.  And a spark.  That's what you bring to the party.  Come on, tell us about your wide open spaces.  What about the mistake that turned into a miracle?  

Write on!
=======
C.L Phillips writes mystery novels while nestled under a hundred-year live oak tree in downtown Austin. Except in August. C.L writes about the the gap between what people want and what they actually do. Broccoli or chocolate chip cookies, anyone? Check out her web site: www.clphillips.com or find her onTwitter: @clphillips787

Zooming With Twitter

by Julie Hennrikus

This past April, Krista Davis provided a great service—a two part Twitter lesson on the Cozy Chicks blog. (Read part one here and part two here). She is also part of a Guppies team encouraging Twitter use by hosting Friday tweetups. Lists Krista has created on her Twitter page (like this list of writers) help Guppies (and others) jump in and find people to follow.

All of this helps get people started. But for many the question remains: why?

Krista Davis: Lots of reasons!

·         Twitter has the ability to reach more people than any other single promotional idea outside of extremely expensive TV or radio advertising.

·         It's free, which makes it affordable for everyone.

·         Unlike other social media, there's little expectation of interaction.

·         Tweets must be 140 characters or less, so it's not time-consuming.

·         Authors can target audiences and readers through the use of hashtags.

·         A lot of social media churns in the same circles of writers. Twitter zooms outside of those circles and reaches a broader audience.

Question: You intersect foodies and mystery readers with your tweets and your blogs (especially mysteryloverskitchen.com). Do you feel that the cross promotion helps grow your followers? And is that helpful?

KD: Absolutely. Branding is key to marketing mysteries these days. In my case, I don't have to look far to see the explosion of interest in food. When Julia Child had her show, no one would have ever expected that we would see an entire TV network devoted to food. Not all the people following Top Chef and Food Network are fascinated by mysteries, but there is a group where the interest in food intersects with enjoyment of mysteries -- that's my audience!

What is your most interesting RT*?

I once re-tweeted a tweet about storing a severed body part in the crisper of the refrigerator. We were having a Guppy chat on Twitter when I saw it, and I thought it was hilarious. That tweet was retweeted all over!

*An RT, or retweet, is a way of repeating someone else’s tweet to your followers. And it may get retweeted to others. And so on, and so on.
===================

National Bestselling author Krista Davis writes the Domestic Diva Mystery series for Berkley Prime Crime.  Her most recent release is The Diva Paints the Town.  The Diva Cooks A Goose will be in bookstores in December.  Learn more about Krista's books at her web site  and visit her on Saturdays at  the Mystery Lovers Kitchen blog , where she blogs on Saturdays. Follow her on Twitter at @KristaDavis.  She promises to follow you back!

J.A. Hennrikus is a Guppy and on the board of the NE Chapter of Sisters in Crime.

What you DIDN'T know about Mary Roberts Rinehart

By Joyce Tremel

If Sisters in Crime had been around at the turn of the 20th century, Mary Roberts Rinehart would have been an active member. Born in the North Side (then called Allegheny City) of Pittsburgh in 1876, Rinehart was the natural choice for a namesake when the Pittsburgh chapter of SinC needed a name.


Rinehart began writing after she and her physician husband lost their savings in the stock market crash of 1903. Often called the “American Agatha Christie,” she became a pioneer in the world of mystery fiction, and invented the Had-I-But-Known type of storytelling. Her novel, The Circular Staircase, the second in the Miss Cornelia Van Gorder series, propelled her to national fame. She was also a prolific short story writer and a regular contributor to the Saturday Evening Post. In true pioneer fashion, she became the first female war correspondent when she was sent to the Belgian front during World War I.

Rinehart was a pioneer in other ways, too. One of her novels, The Bat (which was made into a silent movie), featured a costumed supercriminal. Sound familiar? Although disputed in various sources, rumor has it that Bob Kane, the creator of the Batman comic, may have used the character as his inspiration for his superhero. Who would have figured a middle aged woman may have been responsible for Batman?

When Rinehart had a radical mastectomy for breast cancer, she went public with her story in an issue of Ladies Home Journal in 1947. She encouraged women to have breast exams at a time when this issue was not talked about in public. She also founded the New York publishing house Farrar & Rinehart with her sons, where she served as director.

One event in Rinehart’s life sounds like it came straight from a mystery novel. She owned a vacation home in Bar Harbor, Maine. One summer, as she sat in her library reading a book, her cook of 25 years entered the room. He walked up to her, pointed a gun at her head and pulled the trigger. The gun misfired and Rinehart ran for help. As she passed the front door to her home, a man standing there told her he was looking for work. She allegedly said, “Young man, you’ll have to come back later. There is a man here trying to kill me.” The cook then tried to attack her with knives, but was subdued by other servants. He committed suicide in jail, and the gracious Rinehart paid for his funeral.

Rinehart was awarded a Special Edgar by Mystery Writers of America in 1953 for her contribution to the field of mystery. She died in 1958 and is buried next to her husband in Arlington National Cemetery.

The Pittsburgh chapter is proud to carry on the legacy of Mary Roberts Rinehart. Please feel free to visit our web site.

WE'VE GOT A NAME -- WE'VE GOT A NAME!

For the past four years, this blog has been only known as the Sisters In Crime blog. Period.

Well, things have been changing round the blog -- as we hope you've noticed -- and if you'll look above this post, you'll see we now have a blog banner that includes our new name:  SinC into the Depths of  Mystery -- and that's what we hope will happen.  We intend to delve into the mystery genre -- the nuts and bolts, what makes a good read, introduce you to some of our members, and hopefully educate our readers about the publishing industry and the place women have in it.

So, what do you think about the name, the banner, and the changes so far?

We'd love to hear from you!

A Writer’s Journey: Say Cheese!

By Avery Aames (a.k.a. Daryl Wood Gerber)

Getting published is hard work. It takes tenacity. It takes passion. It takes friends who won’t let you give up. J.A. Konrath says: "What do you call a writer with perseverance? PUBLISHED!"

Are you just about to give up? Don’t!

Over the course of fifteen years, I wrote a number of books, both traditional mystery and suspense thrillers. I submitted these books to agent after agent and received a number of comments like, “This is so close, but it’s just not for me.” [Sound familiar?]

Two years ago, when I was ready to give up, a critique partner suggested I write to the market. ‘Cozies are selling,’ she said. With nothing to lose, I decided to give it a whirl.

But before I wrote another full book, I wanted to make sure that the cozy hook that I’d chosen was a good hook. I approached agent Jessica Faust at Bookends, whom I had met a writers’ conference. She had given me encouragement on previous work. I asked if I could submit cozy ideas to her to see if they would fly with a publisher. She agreed. I submitted professionally crafted bibles, [my bibles included sample chapters, an overview of the series, character sketches, and a basic outline], but none captured her fancy. After a few tries, we agreed that maybe we weren’t of like mind, so I asked if she’d be upset if I approached her fellow agent, Jacky Sach, who I had also met at a conference. Jessica gave her blessing.

I approached Jacky with the same request. Jacky agreed. I tried three, but she didn’t think any would appeal to a publisher, so I tried three more. Mind you, each of these took me a while to write, and mind you Jacky was such a good sport! Again, I received encouragement from Jacky, but none of the ideas were “just right.” Because I knew of people who had been “hired” to write books based on a bible created by the publisher, I asked Jacky if she would keep me in mind if she heard of an opportunity. [Note: I used to write in Hollywood. I created the format for a series on TV called “Out of this World.” I had no qualms about writing somebody else’s idea.] Jacky said she would.

I didn’t waste another moment thinking about the possibility, and I returned to what I had been writing before I changed track – a suspense thriller. Note: I was still considering giving up writing, but I hadn’t decided what I would do next with my life, and sitting on the couch day in, day out was out of the question (for me). I polished my new novel and started the quest again to find an agent who would think it was the most brilliant piece of writing ever. I received requests for full manuscripts and was feeling pretty sure that something was going to break for me this time…soon. [Perseverance requires that you see the rainbow behind the clouds!] At the same time, I took a cozy writing class and a suspense writing class. I polished new chapters and ideas through my critique group. And, yes, I had the occasional mini-pity party. [Note: Don’t let pity parties last longer than twenty-four hours. It takes grit to stop a pity-party, but you can do it.]

And then one day, out of the blue, I received an email from Jacky. She had a work-for-hire possibility. Would I be interested in auditioning for A Cheese Shop Mystery series? Of course, I would! A cheese shop sounded tasty, fun, and felt like a perfect fit for me. I loved to cook. I used to cater. I almost sold wine and The Cheese Shop, per the publisher’s bible, had a wine annex. Last but not least, the grandmother who raised the protagonist was a sassy character who managed the local theater. It just so happened that I had acted in local theaters and on television and in film.

To audition for the job, I was asked to provide three chapters. I set to work, researching, tasting, and writing. Working within the publisher’s parameters provided a freedom I’d never felt before. I was writing something that had a strong hook and was already “wanted” by the publisher. In a matter of weeks, I turned in the chapters.

But I didn’t kid myself that I would be hired. I’d been rejected before. So I returned to my regular job of writing the next book.

When I was offered a three-book deal, I just about fell off my chair. I was going to be published, writing something I truly enjoyed!

In the future, I hope to sell one of my own stories, but for now, I write as Avery Aames, author of A Cheese Shop Mystery series for Berkley Prime Crime, and I’m thrilled and proud.

My advice: If opportunity knocks on your door, open it and: Say Cheese!
========================================================
Avery Aames (aka Daryl Wood Gerber) is a long-time member of Sisters in Crime and the author of The Long Quiche Goodbye, first in the Cheese Shop Mysteries.  Avery blogs every Monday with Mystery Lovers Kitchen.  Check out her web site at www.AveryAames.com.

(This article originally appeared on the Bookends Blog.)

Gadget Magic

Here at Sisters In Crime, we love gadgets that make life easier.  And, in fact, we just installed a new gadget here on the blog that will make it easier for oure readers and members to share our blog posts.

If you look down at the bottom of the blog, on the right, you'll see a series of buttons.  Let your mouse hover over those buttons and you'll see that you can share any of our posts on your Facebook or Twitter pages.

How cool is that?

We're hoping our members and readers will make use of these cool buttons.  Go ahead -- try it now.

Pictures, Prompts and Poetry: What's your secret weapon?

By C.L. Phillips

"My name is Sara and I'm a writer. It's been 12 days since my last writer's block."

Admit it. You'd sneak into a twelve step program for writers if it banished writer's block. So what do you do when the muse goes on vacation? After you've cleaned your desk, polished the stove, eradicated every cobweb in your house? How do you bootstrap your creativity?

I've got a new book with a thousand pictures. I'm on page three. I open the book, and write a five hundred word flash fiction story using the picture as my writing prompt. If you twist my arm, I'll tell you what the pictures are about. Hint - I was inspired by a recent best seller.

A dear friend, Patricia Lee Lewis (http://www.writingretreats.org/), posts a writing prompt each week on her blog. Each prompt comes with a time limit. You pick up the pen and write like a demon, usually for twenty-five minutes. Something magical happens as my fingers sprint against the clock with each word, shoving my writer's block into the corner. I simply do not have time to mess with the resistance. Instead, I smash it on the head and press on.

Sometimes I use these prompted writings in my current project. More often, I find after the exercise that something clicked in my brain. My characters start chatting to one another, and I'm off to the races. Writer's Block vanquished.

And what do I do when pictures and prompts fail? Poetry. Yep, that's right. I *cough*gag*spew read poetry. Not that I would ever admit that to my friends. Usually Robert Frost. Something about good fences or the road less traveled. His poetry tumbles around in my brain like the scrubbing bubbles on a bathtub, taking the ring of self-doubt and confusion down the drain.

As with any secret weapon, there's one final instruction. Do it when you first arise in the morning. Before life invades. At least, that's what I've found. When I prime the creativity pump, first thing in the morning, it never runs dry. As with any personal advice, I'm sure your mileage will vary.

What's your secret weapon? What exactly do you do to keep your creativity pump spewing like an oil rig in the Gulf? Oops, maybe I could have picked a better analogy. Better yet, while you are laughing, hit that comment button and share a little of your own magic. Like all good 12 step meetings or Weight Watcher meetings, the best advice comes from those on the path.

Write on!
=======
C.L Phillips writes mystery novels while nestled under a hundred-year live oak tree in downtown Austin. Except in August. C.L writes about the the gap between what people want and what they actually do. Broccoli or chocolate chip cookies, anyone? Check out her web site: www.clphillips.com or find her onTwitter: @clphillips787

Geographically Challenged!

By Pat Remick
President of New England’s Scarlet Letters Chapter

With a Sisters In Crime chapter covering the six New England states, finding a way to stay connected is one of the biggest challenges of our “Scarlet Letters Chapter.”

Founded in 1993, our chapter has grown from about a dozen women to almost 180 women and men living in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Many of the original SinCNE members remain active in our group today.

Although most of our Sisters (and Brothers) are in Massachusetts, as are the majority of our meetings, we’re trying to broaden our geographic sweep as we work to serve both published and unpublished members with physical meetings that allow for networking and socializing, as well as online opportunities available no matter where they reside. With our northernmost member separated from our southernmost Sister by over 350 miles and 6 ½ hours of driving, sometimes cyberspace is the easiest meeting place.

On the physical side, this summer we co-sponsored an extremely well-attended “Beach Reads Recommendations” event featuring four recently published authors and myself as moderator with an independent bookstore in Portsmouth, NH, and our Connecticut Sisters hosted a crime scene expert at a library in their state. Although a three-hour drive for me, it was wonderful to join them and greet almost 30 Sisters attending along with the public.

Our Speakers Bureau, which promoted our published members at over 35 panel discussion events at libraries and bookstores last year, also brings members together with each other and the public. And our Chapter has launched a New England edition of the SinC National “We Love Libraries” lottery as we strive to strengthen connections with those who buy and sell our books.

Our Chapter serves both published and unpublished members by offering at least one half or full-day writing workshop annually, sometimes preceded by a more intimate Friday evening event especially for those who’ve booked a hotel room because they have traveled from afar to attend the Saturday class. The “Triage Your Plot” workshop by writing teacher and best-selling author Hallie Ephron in April drew members from four of our six states and the Chapter funded the workshop as a member benefit.

We also offer members at least two online craft classes annually. This year, Sylvie Kurtz talked about “How to Revise Without Getting Sick of Your Manuscript” and Mary Buckham will help us explore “the First Five Pages” in October. Our Chapter often subsidizes at least a portion of the cost.

Other 2010 events included: hosting the SinC booth at the American Library Association midwinter conference in Boston in January, a February class with Boston-based entertainment lawyer Patti Jones speaking about copyright, trademarks and other intellectual property protection; and Sisters reading their Works in Progress at a member’s home in May.

Coming up are an all-day gun workshop at a shooting range in September, a social networking class in October, co-hosting a booth at the New England Independent Booksellers Association Conference in Providence, RI; Crime Bake (see below) and our annual December holiday party.

We also publish a highly regarded newsletter at least six times a year and use our New England SINC listserv, Facebook and Twitter to keep in touch virtually. We are working on a total revamp of our Web site to supplement these efforts.

Because we are so geographically challenged, one place where we often connect with members unable to attend meetings is the New England Crime Bake for Mystery Writers and Readers held outside Boston each November, which we’ve co-sponsored with the New England Chapter of Mystery Writers of America since 2002. This year, we’re planning a “Scarlet Letters” hospitality event on the opening evening to offer members a quick tutorial on how to best do the conference, introduce them to our latest social networking efforts, and just enjoy each other’s company. The conference, which this year features Guest of Honor Charlaine Harris, also provides a healthy infusion into our treasury, allowing us to continue to expand our efforts to serve our members in our expansive region!

We hope you'll visit our web site -- and, maybe join?

Trains, Planes and Kindle

by C.L. Phillips

You have an historic front row seat to one of the biggest shake-outs in industry in the last hundred years.  Thousands of MBA students can tell you the death of the railroad industry happened when the railroad robber barons failed to understand the threat of new technology, namely the automobile and airplane.  Railroad barons thought they were in the railroad business.  Big mistake.  They were in the transportation business.  What all the Harvard MBA case studies forget to say is that the buggy whip makers laughed as they watched the railroad barons suffer at the hands of the upstarts.

Is the same thing happening in the publishing industry?  The big publishing houses are eerily similar to railroad barons.  Entrenched.  Mature.  Proven.  And like the railroad barons, they have no idea what the end game is.  In forty five years, aviation transportation progressed from the Wright Brothers first flight on the beaches at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina to the Berlin Airlift, the largest humanitarian rescue effort at that time.  No railroad could save Berlin in 1948.

Forty-five years.  Sounds like a long time, doesn't it?  Consider this - the first IBM personal computer hit the streets in August, 1981, a mere twenty nine years ago.  What do you think your personal computer will do in 2026?  Better yet, what do you think the Kindle will do?

Amazon is executing a brilliant strategy.  Gillette gives away razors and sells razor blades.  There's no confusion about what a razor does or why you need one.  Amazon will follow the same strategy with the Kindle.  People will continue to read using the format they love most.  Just as some men prefer the straight razor, others the electric razor, and others the Gillette, we will find people reading hardback, paperback, and electronic books.

Planes, trains, and automobiles.  Straight razors, electric razors, Gillette razors.  Hardback, paperback, e-books.  They are all here to stay.  The real question is who are the buggy whip makers?  Who will be left completely behind as the industry transforms?

One thing is certain.  Stories will always be told.  Doesn't matter if we are scribbling on cave walls, drawing in the dirt around the fire, or pounding our keyboards in silent desperation.  The story will survive.  And so will the storyteller.
--------------
C.L Phillips writes mystery novels while nestled under a hundred-year live oak tree in downtown Austin.  Except in August.  C.L writes about the the gap between what people want and what they actually do.  Broccoli or chocolate chip cookies, anyone?  Check out her web site:  www.clphillips.com
or find her onTwitter:  @clphillips787

Just Who Reads Mysteries?

So, just who DOES read myseries?  It's been a mystery to us . . . but not for much longer.

Sisters in Crime (SinC) is pleased to announce that they have commissioned a comprehensive study on mystery readers' buying habits. Working with Bowker’s PubTrack Consumer service and its extensive standing panel of readers, SinC had the opportunity to ask mystery buyers in-depth questions about how they learned about the mysteries they buy and what motivated them to make an actual purchase. In an age when authors are increasingly expected to promote and market their own books, SinC wants to save members from spending their time and money on strategies that don't work, in favor of efforts that definitely reach consumers. The Bowker study will provide solid, real world data to guide members’ promotional efforts.


SinC expects to announce the results of this study in the fall of 2010, first to members, and then to the industry at large.

Representatives of Sisters in Crime, Bowker and other industry professionals will present the results of the study to the public in conjunction with Bouchercon, the world mystery conference, October 14-17, in San Francisco, CA.

Bowker is the world`s leading provider of bibliographic information management solutions.

SinC Into Great Writing 2010 -- In San Francisco!

Sisters in Crime is holding their annual SinC Into Great Writing 2010! one day prior to Bouchercon By the Bay in San Francisco. Featuring -- Elizabeth Lyon -- Triple-header pre-Bouchercon workshops with teacher and freelance editor Elizabeth Lyon, author of MANUSCRIPT MAKEOVER, A WRITER’S GUIDE TO FICTION, AND THE SELL-YOUR-NOVEL TOOL KIT.

You do not need to be registered for the conference to attend this one day workshop. Sisters in Crime has discounted this workshop for its members. The cost for the entire day including dinner is $50.00. The charge for non-members is $150.00 so join Sisters in Crime and save money!

Ayelet Waldman, NYT bestselling author, will be joining us as our dinner speaker. Dinner and coffee break included in $50/$150 registration fee. Check in will begin at 12:30pm in front of the workshop room. An e-mail will be sent to you with the room name at a later date. Special dietary requests will be honored. Please e-mail Beth with your request at sistersincrime@juno.com.

Spots fill up fast and we can only seat 120. Register now!

SinC Into Great Writing 2010! is sponsored by Sisters in Crime. Sisters in Crime will not be able to issue refunds.

To make reservations for Bouchercon By The Bay please go to http://www.bcon2010.com/welcome.php. You will be able to receive the conference rate for your hotel room if you need to come in a day early. All arrangements need to be made with the Hyatt Regency.

5 Myths About Being A Mystery Author

1.)  We all get six-figure advances and are as rich as Janet Evanovich. *
2.)  Our publishers send us out on fabulous, all-expenses paid book tours -- first class all the way. *
3.)  We get all the books we want for free from our publishers. *
4.)  Authors don't have to work hard to get an agent, editor or publisher.*
5.)  We're all ex-police, ex-bounty-hunters, ex-private investigators or ex-wives.*


*#1 -- Pardon me while I wipe the tears of laughter from my face.
*#2 -- Most of us pay for our own book tours.
*#3 -- Authors get a set number of "author copies" (from none to whatever her/his agent can squeeze out of the publisher).
*#4 -- Let's not even GO there!
*#5 --  No, we're all ex-bored...we write because we love it.

Can you think of any more Myths?

WEDNESDAY'S BURNING QUESTION

Ellen Hart writes:

After returning from the SinC Summit trip to visit Apple, Amazon, Smashwords and Google, my ideas have changed enormously about ebooks.  We're hoping to make the Summit report available to the membership early in August, so stay tuned. 

My question for this week is:

How do you view ebooks?  Are they the Great Industry Satan?  Something you'll never use?  Something you already use and like?  Do you think ebooks are out to ruin the printed book?  Are we about to see the death of the paper book?  Are you anxious about this change in the industry?  Excited?  Wary?  Do you think ebooks will provide you, as an author or a reader, any benefit?  Are you sick of the subject and simply want to ignore it?

What's the deal . . .?

For some reason, authors (and it seems like mystery authors in particular) LOVE chocolate?  Why do you think that is?  And how about you?  What's your favorite form of chocolate love?

To Die or Not to Die...But Definitely to Change

By Ellen Hart

Since taking over the blog in January, I've tried to provide new content and new interest.  However, the longer I've been at it, the more I see that we need far more content, and perhaps an entirely new paradigm for the SinC National blog.  What would that look like?  I have ideas, as do many members and board members.  We plan on having an in depth conversation about this during the board meeting at this year's Bouchercon. 

In the interim, between August and the convention, we're going to try something new.  And now for something completely different, as Monty Python used to say. Well, not completely.  Buy different, yes.

The blog is clearly going to need more than one person providing the content to make it viable and interesting, a go-to place for our membership.  What we need is a small, dedicated army.  For the moment, a contingent of the Guppies and a few others, under the leadership of Lorraine Bartlett, has stepped up to the plate.  This is the form it will take:

Monday:  Personal Writing Odyssey Day.  These will be blogs from writers telling their personal publishing story--how they were able to break into print.  I think most of us will find these not only fascinating, but occasionally inspirational.

Tuesday:  Realities of Modern Publishing Day.  On Tuesday we will provide links to various recent articles on some facet of publishing.  Good news or bad, we all need to keep up. 

Wednesday:  Chapter Day.  On Wednesdays we'd like to give chapters the chance to tell the entire membership what they've been up to, what programs they've offered, or speakers who have come to a meeting to talk about their expertise. Anything and everything about a specific chapter.

Thursday:  Nuts and Bolts Day.  The Guppie Army will be asking writers to deliver blogs on various writing topics. 

Friday:  Interview Day.  Each Friday, we will offer the membership an in-depth interview with a writing, publishing, science or industry professional, who we feel would be of interest to the membership. 

Obviously, this change in structure may take some time to get up and running, but please do check back to see what's going on.  And as always, if you have comments, please feel free to share them. 

Onward and upward into the brave new blogosphere!

WEDNESDAY'S BURNING QUESTION

Ellen Hart writes:

Our blog has received very little traffic since we started doing the Monday blogs and the Wednesday Burning questions. How could we make this site better?  What would you like to see on the blog site that isn't there now?  

You don't scare me, Kindle!

By Guest Blogger Dana Stabenow

Kindle. eReader. EZReader. The Alex. The Que. The Nook, iRex, Plastic Logic.

Every time a new e-reader debuts, the book world hurls itself into a panic.“…[P]ublishers are distracting themselves by fretting over the price of eBooks, withholding eBook releases so as not to cannibalize hardcover book sales, and watching helplessly as their businesses erode,” Reuters quoted Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman Epps. (RedOrbit.com).

So. Is this the end of the book? Am I about to be out of a job? Man, I was just getting started here.

I’m bucking the trend. I don’t think so.

The October 25 Sunday New York Times wrote, “Amazon says Kindle owners buy 3.1 times as many books as they did before getting one. Sony says its e-book users are also inspired. “You are going to see very significant growth rates,” said Jeffrey P. Bezos, the head of Amazon.

Gen Xers were raised reading on screens, and that’s how many of them are now reading books. Further, the explosion of online social networking and personal and professional blogs is accustoming many in the baby boomer generation to the habit of reading onscreen. An e-format book is going to look more familiar and reassuring every time they log on to Facebook.

I myself recently downloaded a Great Books app to my iPhone, and guess what? If I were stuck in an airport waiting for a late plane and I’d accidentally packed my book in my checked baggage (it’s happened, and the horror), I could reread Pride and Prejudice on my iPhone just fine. It scrolls past at a speed I set in a font I choose and I’ve got over 150 public domain titles from which to pick, including all of Sherlock Holmes and The Three Musketeers plus both sequels. If I were toting all that around in book form my bag would never fit into the overhead bin. Not to mention what it would do to my back trying to get it there.

So I’m selling my Star Svensdotter and Liam Campbell novels, long out of print, on Kindle and iPhone, and as soon as I get five minutes I’m going to get tech-friendly with uploading all my out-of-print titles, including short stories, for sale on all the other e-devices as well.

As I was writing this post, I checked the iTunes App store book page. The number one free app? Kindle for iPhone. Number two? The B&N eReader. As it happens, I don’t need either one of them because my app has its own built-in reader. And it and all the books it comes with cost me the magnificent sum of $1.99. At that price, you think I won’t buy more?

Eric over at Pimp My Novel says, “These cheap books might be the death of publishing, book sharing might be the death of publishing, Stephen King is delaying his e-book because e-books are the death of publishing…is anyone else bored of this conversation?” and then links to Lit Drift’s 5 Reasons Why the Novel is Not a Dying Medium, where they channel Mark Twain in saying that the death of the novel is greatly exaggerated.

On his blog, literary agent Nathan Bransford says, “Things are changing, it’s going to be an interesting/challenging couple of years as we gradually succumb to our coming e-book overlords, but it doesn’t mean the novel is going to disappear or that we’re all going to hell in a handbasket. Things aren’t going to be worse (at least in the long term), they’re just going to be different…”

I can do different. My feeling is that the more ways you can read, the more you will read, which is only good news for me. I do not mean to make light of the real changes facing everyone at every level of the publishing industry. Change is always scary.

But change doesn’t have to be bad, and in this case, I don’t believe it is.
=========================================
Dana Stabenow was born in Anchorage and raised on 75-foot fish tender in the Gulf of Alaska. She knew there was a warmer, drier job out there somewhere and found it in writing books. Her first science fiction novel, Second Star, sank without a trace, her first crime fiction novel, A Cold Day for Murder, won an Edgar award, her first thriller, Blindfold Game, hit the New York Times bestseller list, and her twenty-seventh novel and eighteenth Kate Shugak novel, Though Not Dead, comes out in February 2011.  Visit her web site:  http://www.stabenow.com/

SINC Summit 2010, Part III

SinC Summit 2010, Part II

WEDNESDAY'S BURNING QUESTION

Ellen Hart writes:

Most writers seem to be drawn to quotations about writing. I've builtup quite a list over the twenty years I've been at it. Here are a couple of favorites:

"Writing, like life itself, is a voyage of discovery." Henry Miller.

"We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master." Ernest Hemingway.

This weeks burning question is: Do you have a favorite quotation about the craft of writing that you'd like to share?"