Writers—need a break from that “locked in” feeling? From old familiar faces? From long term commitments? I don’t have a cure for the pandemic, only for a change of writing pace, from long form to short form, with hints from master short story writer William Ledbetter.
He only had to tell
his audience to skip the synopsis— “it’s a short story!”—to catch the attention
of this writer struggling with that most dreaded to-do for book length works.
Then there was ability
to engage with a completely new set of characters for each short story. And of
course, the time element. Not that Ledbetter dashes out stories offhand—he
sometimes spends as much as two weeks on one—but I mentally compared this to the
months, sometimes years, lavished on novel writing. It didn’t hurt either to
hear we can skip dealing with agents and submit our short stories directly to
publishers.
(Most agents, in fact,
will not represent short story writers, although Ledbetter didn’t rebuff the
agent who offered representation after reading his Nebula-winning short story,
“The Long Fall Up.” It was an offer that later resulted in Ledbetter’s first
novel publication, Level Five.)
Still, some of
Ledbetter’s “musts” for short story publication carry over into long form
fiction. “First, read the guidelines,” he warned.
For writing
that best story, first pages are critically important. With a
short story, within the first two or three pages, you have to supply context.
(By context, he means, why should the story begin where it does and why should
the reader care.) And, have a great ending! “It’s a good idea to have
something at the beginning that ties into the ending. It’s satisfying when a
story comes full circle.”
On the other hand, “one
of the things (editors) always say is, ‘read our magazine.’ The problem is
writers may simply write clones of previously published stories with the serial
numbers filed off.”
Write the story you
want to write, Ledbetter said, then look for a publication that’s a match for
it.
To find those
publications, he suggests two major resources, Duotrope’s Digest and The Submission Grinder.
“These allow you to
track your submissions and also provide information about other markets.”
(Duotrope requires a subscription fee of $5/month or $50/year and also has a
larger data base than The Submission Grinder, which is free.)
“You can also search
by genre, like if you’re writing a Western or a romance story, as well as
providing information on contests and anthologies.”
And as always, be
persistent and patient. Not to mention thick-skinned. There will be rejections.
The first three
professional markets Ledbetter, already a well-established writer, approached
for the story that would go on to win the Nebula rejected it. The fourth one,
of course, was the charm.
***
In this time of
sheltering at home, it was a relief to hear Shayla Raquel’s online emphasis for “Your Best Book Launch Ever.”
Her must-haves for
that perfect launch:
· The best book you can possibly write
· Professionally edited
· With a professional cover
· And professional formatting
· A user-friendly, mobile-friendly website
· Author platform (social media presence,
community of influencers, email list, etc.)
· At least three months to execute the
launch
Did she say three
months? How about planning one year in advance of publication—starting
to use that website and platform to post about research, cover reveals, and
more!
 |
| Shayla Raquel |
Writers do, however, “need to have
goals so you can achieve them,” Raquel insisted, because you’ll be launching on
that “complex beast” Amazon. “Your book launch depends on
making this animal work for you, not against you.”
Make it work by researching categories, prices, and endorsers.
Think of Amazon
categories as genres, Raquel told her audience. Pick the most relevant ones,
but rather than choosing “science fiction and fantasy,” which is too broad, get
more specific with categories such as “technothriller.” Then research the
competition. “It will be hard to outsell authors in categories they dominate,”
and launching writers will strive to find categories in which their books have
a chance to become bestsellers.
And about pricing—“it’s
an art, not a science.” Check the most common prices for ebooks in the chosen category,
remembering that prices can always be changed. Raquel’s suggestions are to
launch at 99 cents the first week. “You want it to be a no-brainer for someone
to buy that book.” Later pricing can go up to $2.99 to $3.99 for ebooks and as
much as $12.99-$19.99 for paperbacks, depending on genre. (Note: for KDP,
authors must change their royalty setting to be able to sell at 99 cents.)
To find endorsers,
Raquel recommends cultivating book bloggers, as well as checking out book
promotion sites, whose prices can vary from free to “very expensive.” Both tasks
should be done prior to launch. Although she suggested several, writers may
want to check out book bloggers and promotional sites as well as contests with
possible prizes at the all-purpose Reedsy site.
***
And now, for something
else to do while sheltering at home—check out the WRiTE CLUB 2020 Twitter party
this coming Thursday, April 9, at #WRiTECLUBDFW. Fifteen slushpile readers (including
me) for DL Hammons’ annual readers’ choice contest will tweet about our wish
lists before the contest closes April 19.
And while you’re on
Twitter, don’t forget Revise & Resub’s annual #RevPit contest coming up April
18-19.
***
Sorry but not surprised to report that both Writefest Houston (originally scheduled May 4-10), and DFWCon, (originally scheduled June 12-13) have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Look for it both to return in 20121. Tickets purchased for DFWCon will be applied to the 2021 convention unless otherwise requested. See the site for details or to request refunds.
