Is it now cliche to say I love Neil Gaiman?

I do, I really do.  I don't care that 50,000,000 other people love him, too.  I'm okay with that and hope he picks up more and more fans.  I'm already grooming my kids to love him.  (If you haven't read Instructions to your children, do so now.)

I follow his blog, follow his twitter and I hang on his every word as if he were speaking directly to me.  Okay, well, maybe not.  I'm delusional.  Sort of.

Jim C. Hines wrote a fantastic post about Mr. Gaiman called "20 Neil Gaiman Facts."  (I can't even bring myself to call him Neil - I'm such an idiot.)  It will have you rolling on the floor laughing, pinky swear.  He made a T-shirt, too.  I'm not sure why it's not in the zazzle store anymore, but keep checking, maybe it'll pop back up.

I haven't been able to decide on a favorite.  I think it might be number one.

New feature!

If you'll kindly look to your right, you'll see I've added a new widget.  You can now subscribe to the blog via email.  Woot woot!

Nathan Bransford's first paragraph contest

Wow.  I mean, wow.  1,515 entries.  My sympathies to agents that see this daily in their inboxes.

I don't really know what possessed me to enter the first paragraph competition since I'm not even sure that's where I'm going to start anymore but luckily, with the odds above, I'm not too worried about getting picked.

Speaking of Nathan Bransford, have you all sent in your first 250 for page critique friday?

I sent mine when he moved it to the forums and I have to say, I've edited several times.  I'm afflicted by that terrible disease - you know, the one that makes you tweak what you write a gazillion times?  Yeah, that one.  I've tweaked and tweaked until I had a page I felt was pretty darned good and tweaked and tweaked my way right out of that good page.  I haven't edited it since then and every friday I pray that my first page is not picked because I've made it my mission to not tweak anymore until I've finished my WIP.  (I'll admit that I probably should at least tweak the first 250 until I'm happy again since there's always a chance it'll be picked and I don't want to be humiliated by something I'm not happy with - I'd rather be picked apart by something I actually think is good.)

I sent it to The Knight Agency's First Impressions draw, too, wherein I'm also hoping not to get picked, especially since I can't even edit that one.  WTF was I thinking?  I sent in crap and I know it.  I think, at the time, I was riding on that high of, "I think I've got it now!"  Given a day or two, I realized the bitter truth.  At this point, I'm just praying that my critical eye on my own writing is just severe lack of confidence and that it's better than I think it is - but I really do laugh out loud at that thought.

I know that everyone has their doubts on how well they can pull off writing.  I wonder, though, how bad is it for everyone else?  I always expect to hear how much I suck - even if it's in the nicest words possible.  Is it as bad for you as it is for me?

Active vs. Passive Voice

The next in my attempt to add all those pesky things you get in your crits that you don't understand:  active vs. passive voice.

Here is a series of explanations and samples from good ol' Purdue University.  Just keep clicking "next resource" to see the next set of examples.

Grammar Girl also has some stuff to say about it and tips.

And this is from Daily Writing Tips.

Dark Angel also has some helpful things to say.

And there you have it.  Helpful examples, tips and tricks.  It's always nice to have it explained.

It should be noted that I did look for agent or published authors but as it was late, several different variations of searches and clicking through the first few pages of each of them yielded no results so I gave up so I could go to bed.  If I ever find any, I will be sure to add them.

Filter words

I read a blog post on filter words a few days ago and I've gotten so much out of it that I thought I would pass it along.

I've written for a long time.  I've always enjoyed writing and telling stories and I'm not that bad at it.  But writing a book is different from just telling a story.  There are mechanics involved.  Since I've only recently started taking writing seriously (starting a hundred chapter ones does not count as serious), I've had a lot to learn.

Fiction itself is easy.  You just make stuff up, that's why it's called fiction.  Doing it well, on the other hand, is hard.  You have to make it believable and draw the reader into the story and characters.  How you do that is just as important as the story concept.  It takes time and practice and lots of learning.

Giving and receiving critiques help you learn.  You hear a lot of comments, though that make sense on the surface but without concrete examples, it's not as easy to grasp as one would think.  There are comments on distance, on active vs. passive, showing vs. telling -- the list just goes on.  And it's like pulling teeth to get someone to actually explain it to you.  Of course, it's not their job to teach you how to write but still, it would be nice to have an explanation every once in a while.

So I think I'd like to troll the web and find all sites that are great at giving examples of all those comments you might receive but don't have a clue what it means or how to fix it.

This particular post on Write It Sideways, I thought, was a great post on filter words and gave examples that are clearly understood.  It helped me tremendously.

First One Publishing Contest, the boo-birds have spoken

Maybe you haven't been online in the last few days.  Maybe you haven't checked your tweets or your facebook.  Maybe you haven't been on AW in a while.  Or maybe you just live in a cave and only get out every third Sunday of the month.

Here's one contest you should avoid like the plague.  You might even want to wear protective clothing when reading the rules.  Yes, it's that bad.  Aside from the steep $149.00 entrance fee, it's a rights grab.  Once you submit, you no longer own your MS.

There's been plenty said on the matter.  You can read some of it here, here, here, here and here.  And if you still want more on it, here, here, and here.  As you can see, it's everywhere so I won't be adding anything new to the pile.  But if you're wondering why so many writers are calling themselves boo-birds today, it's because of this lovely sentence from Karen Hunter in a response to criticism of the contest on AW (which is the second "here," btw):

If your goal is to be a boo-bird. Good job. If you're goal is to help change publishing, get in the game and let's play.

I'm a boo-bird.

Whatever the case may be, if you've somehow missed this, here it is:

First One Publishing Writing Contest

1. All entries must be original works, in English. Plagiarism, which includes the use of third-party poetry, song lyrics, characters or another person's universe, without written permission will result in disqualification. Excessive violence or sex, determined by the judges, will result in disqualification. Entries may not have been previously published in professional media.
2. To be eligible, entries must be works of prose. We regret that we cannot consider poetry, or works intended for children for this contest.
3. The contest is open to nonprofessional writers who are legal residents of the United States over the age of 18 as of February 1, 2011. Employees (or relatives of employees living in the same household) of First One Publishing, The Walnut Group, Blackwave Media Group, or any of its affiliates are not eligible. This contest is void in Puerto Rico, Quebec, and wherever prohibited or restricted by law.
4. FORMAT: Entries must not be more than 65,000 words long and must not have been previously published. Entries must be sent as Microsoft Word documents. The font must be Times New Roman, 12-point size. Do not justify right-side margin. Along with the cover letter, the author’s name, address, email address and phone number must appear on the first page.
5. All submissions must be in English. Entries are void if they are in whole or in part incomplete, or damaged, or if they do not conform to any of the requirements specified herein. Sponsor reserves the right, in its absolute and sole discretion, to reject any entries for any reason, including but not limited to based on sexual content, vulgarity, and/or promotion of violence.
6. Each entry may be submitted only once. Please retain a copy of your submission. You may submit more than one manuscript, but each submission must be emailed separately and paid for separately. Entries must be received by April 11, 2011.
7. FEES: There will be a $149.00 entrance fee for each submission. The fee must be paid online before the manuscript will be accepted.

8. PRIZES:

One Grand-Prize Winner will receive:

• First One Publishing contract for terrestrial and digital publication of winning book.

• Five thousand ($5,000) cash

• A complete marketing and publicity tour tied to the winning book.

• First One Publishing Library (20 books valued at $240.00)

• Grand-Prize Winner must sign the publishing contract, which contains additional terms and conditions in order to be published.

Twenty Second-Prize Winners will receive:

• A First One Publishing contract for digital publication

• A complete marketing and publicity plan to promote the digital book as well as feature placement (bio, blog, etc.) on the First One Publishing website.

• A First One Publishing Collection (10 books valued at $120)

• Second-Prize Winners must sign the publishing contract, which contains additional terms and conditions in order to be published.

No contestant can win more than one prize

BOOK THEME

We are not restricting books to any specific topic or genre, however they should embody what all First One Publishing authors encompass—they should smart, thoughtful, and edifying.

9. JUDGING

Submissions will be judged on the equally weighted criteria of (a) basis of writing ability and (b) the originality of the book. Professional judges will include editors, John Paine (The Book Doctor), Tracy Sherrod (former S&S editor), and overseen by best-selling author/publisher Karen Hunter. There will also be a slate of celebrity/author judges for the finals.

10. NOTIFICATION

Winners will be notified by email or phone on June 11, 2011. The Grand-Prize Winner must sign the publishing contract in order to be awarded the prize. All federal, local, and state taxes are the responsibility of the winner. A list of the winners will be available on June 11, 2011 on www.firstonepublishing.com.

11. PUBLICITY

Each WINNER grants to the Sponsor the right to use his or her name, likeness, and entry for any advertising, promotion, and publicity purposes without further compensation to or permission from such winner, except where prohibited by law.

12. INTERNET

If for any reason this CONTEST is not capable of running as planned due to an infection by a computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of the Sponsor, which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of the Contest, the Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any individual who tampers with the entry process, and to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the CONTEST. The sponsor assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft, or destruction, or unauthorized access to, or alteration of entries. The Sponsor is not responsible for any problems or technical malfunctions of any telephone network or telephone lines, computer on-line system servers, or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any email or entry to be received by the Sponsor due to technical problems, human error or traffic, congestion on the internet or at any website, or any combination there-of, including any injury or damage to participant’s or any other person’s computer relating to or resulting from participating in this Contest or downloading any materials in this Contest.

CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AD CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE. THE SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES OR OTHER REMEDIES FROM ANY SUCH PERSON(S) RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ATTEMPT TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. In the event of a dispute as to the identity or eligibility of a winner based on an email address, the winning entry will be declared made by the “Authorized Account Holder” of the email address submitted at time of entry. “Authorized Account Holder” is defined as the natural person 18 years of age and older who is assigned to an email address by an internet access provider, online service provider or other organization (ie. Business, education institution, etc.) that is responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted email address. Use of automated devices is not valid for entry.

13. LEGAL Information

All submissions become sole property of Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned. By submitting an entry, all entrants grant Sponsor the absolute and unconditional right and authority to copy, edit, publish, promote, broadcast, or otherwise use, in whole or in part, their entries, in perpetuity, in any manner without further permission, notice or compensation. Entries that contain copyrighted material must include a release from the copyright holder. Prizes are nontransferable. No substitutions or cash redemptions, except by Sponsor in the event of prize unavailability. Sponsor reserves the right to its sole discretion to not publish the winning entry for any reason whatsoever.

In the event that there is an insufficient number of entries received that meet the minimum standards determined by the judges, all prizes will not be awarded. Winners will be required to complete and return an affidavit of eligibility and liability/publicity release, within 15 days of winning notification, or an alternate winner will be selected, in the event any winner is considered a minor in his/her state of residence, such winner’s parent/legal guardian will be required to sign and return all necessary paperwork.

By entering, entrants release judges and Sponsor(s), and its parent company, subsidiaries, production, and promotion agencies from any and all liability for any loss, harm, damages, costs, or expenses, including without limitation properly damages, personal injury, and/or death arising out of participation in this contest, the acceptance, possession, use or misuse of any prize, claims based on publicity rights, defamation or invasion of privacy, merchandise delivery, or the violation of any intellectual property rights, including but not limited to copyright infringement and/or trademark infringement.

Don't hate me for saying this...

 I know, I'm blogging a bit about self-publishing vs. traditional publishing a bit much but it's been an obsession of mine for the last few days.  I honestly find the whole debate fascinating.  Which way will it go?  Will publishers drop like flies?  Is self-publishing viable? And so on and so forth.

In all of this, there is one thing that has stood out to me.  Multi-level marketing.  Now, I don't know about you, but I've been suckered into going to these meetings or parties or whatever they are calling themselves nowadays, more than once.  It usually stems from having a friend that's doing it and I don't want to be rude by saying no.  Yes, I torture myself.

They all have one thing in common:  Enthusiasm.  But it's not just a nice amount of enthusiasm, it's a truck-load and they run you over with it.  They try to get you to get so hyped up about it that you'll join up with dreams of being super rich and going on these company vacations on yachts in the Bahamas where only the top sellers can attend.  Or a pink car.  They also like to pull out copies of other people's insanely huge checks and tell you, "this could be your name!"

When I read about all these success stories in self-pubbing, that's kind of how I feel.  Not because I don't believe in their success or that I'm not happy for them.  I do and I am.  But go to enough of these MLM meetings and you quickly become a skeptic on anything that remotely stinks of it.  I'm being bombarded with all these stories of the now wealthy authors that it's kind of gotten to that point.  The excitement has gotten so hyped and huge and I see people getting carried away on that wave of dollar signs that I can't help but feel that way.

I understand that self-pubbing isn't MLM and I'm not actually comparing to MLM.  It's the feeling and tone I'm comparing it to.  This whole campaign for self-pubbing sure is starting to sound like the same sales pitch.  The enthusiasm has gotten to such heights that I simply can't bring myself to not imagine the MLM marketing pitches or the Shady Preacher/Healer on the Pulpit scenarios.  With shouts of "I'm a believer!" coming out of the woodwork, how can I not?

Let me also say that it has not affected my decision-making process and I most definitely don't blame anyone for their excitement.  I would be excited, too and I would probably be shouting it from the rooftops with them.  So don't think I'm judging anyone.  I still don't know what I plan to do when I'm done with my wip.

I believe that many people are doing very well with self-pubbing.  I also believe that many aren't.  There are plenty of factors that determine why a self-pubber can or will do well.  The most important thing, and I think this holds true for self or trad published, is the writing.  Right now, I'm just hoping I'm good enough to do well whichever way I choose.

I hope all self-pubbers do well. Who knows, I might be one of them someday. I also want to be able to support myself comfortably as a writer -- what writer doesn't?  But are writers riding that wave into a cliffside?  Is it just too early to know what kind of long term success anyone will have?  I'm sure if you asked the successful ones they'd tell you, "Well, at least I made money while it lasted which is more than what someone that didn't do it got."  Which would be true, of course.  Maybe these aren't even viable questions.

I think it's all this talk about money that is affecting my delicate senses.  Writers want to earn a nice living because it frees us up to write more and it's great to know there is hope for that, but have we lost some semblance of propriety in the process?  Hard to say since money is an important aspect of life.  We all gotta pay the bills.  And it's not like I'm not interested in knowing the details of how well they are doing.

I guess it's just one of those things where you want to know but feel like it's an incredible intrusion in someone's private matters.  We've always been taught that it's impolite to ask.  Now we are faced with a lot of people just offering it up and we're taking it all in and then rifling through their underwear drawer.  When inappropriate suddenly becomes appropriate, I have a hard time switching gears.