The Allure of the Big Publishing Contract

After a very lovely conversation with my favorite agent, I’ve come to the conclusion that dealing with a smaller publishing house as opposed to the top 4 giants in some case can be more beneficial to a new writer.  “HUH?” You ask?  I too was skeptical until she broke it down.

Royalties, not advances, is where most first-time authors make their money.  Giant publishing houses may give higher advances, but you have to sell through them before you can start earning royalties.  And what if you don’t sell though that initial investment?  Does that hurt your chances of selling a second book?  Absolutely – you’ve now become a liability and they are less likely to pick up another book.    

The standard royalty rate is anywhere between 8-12%.  Contrary to what I expected, the smaller publishing houses frequently offer the higher rates. They also frequently give you a larger promotional budget which is important for a first-time author with no mass following yet.   

So although we are all hoping . . . dreaming . . . praying to every known deity for a huge publishing contract, sometimes the smaller presses can work to our advantage.  So when the time comes, don’t be afraid of smaller publishing house – the higher royalty rate and increased promotional budget may outshine the initial sparkle of a big advance!

Yeah . . . Hell No!

So what do you say when on the eve of your last child's first day of preschool your bi-coastal commuting husband (yes we live in Massachusetts but his office is in Ca -- talk about some frequent flyer miles) sweetly suggests over a glass of Merlot that perhaps it is time to have another one . .  baby that is. 

Now before you answer that let me just say I already thought about coughing up my glass of Merlot all over him.  But let's be honest, all that does is create more work for me -- pre-treating, soaking, and washing his dress shirt!

Description Does Not a Character Make

Your character is so much more then the clothes he wears. They have histories, and personality, and crazy idiosyncrasies that make them who they are. It is the mixture of theses traits that draws us to your character; makes us love some and despise others. They key is figuring out how much and when to introduce these characteristics.


More often then not, I see multiple characters introduced in the first few pages of a ms. Accompanying their name is a rather detailed list of what they are wearing, the flavor of the coffee they are drinking, and the cut of their jeans. I call this visual info dump. Your novel alone should provide a great sense of place and your characters descriptions should enhance or contradict it, not be the sole source of description.


So the question is: How do you add necessary character description that doesn’t feel forced? Simple – spread it out and keep it to a minimum. An active character is one whose personality is developed and explored thorough out the entire ms. If the description has no bearing on the scene than leave it out. Remember your readers are fully capable of adding a few details and more than happy to do it. How your character feels and reacts is more important than the style of his hair – it sets up the tone of the scene and in will give the reader insight into their personality and what drives them.

So, when you finally sit down to edit you masterpiece, I urge you to pay close attention to the descriptions. I will leave you with the four commandments I use for editing myself.

1. Short and Sweet – Description should be as long as necessary, but as short as humanly possible.

2. Head out of the clouds -- Watch the poetic prose and fancy language. It usually adds little depth to your character descriptions and evokes strong, often negative feelings from your readers

3. Set the mood – focus on you characters reactions as opposed to his physical attributes

4. Write with all your senses – Use taste, sound, smell, sight, hearing to describe characters and scenes.

Omen, Karma, Signs . . . The Superstitious Side of Writing!

First let me say that I am not a big believer in signs, omens, or even karma. I’ve been known to burn a Yankees hat here and there but that’s as far as my superstitious side goes. Second of all, I DON’T CAMP! I don’t do dirt, I don’t do bugs, and I surely don’t do community showers. Now that we’ve got that squared away, try this on for size.

I did what I hate the most this weekend and went camping . . . in a three room cabin  at one of those places where the activities are scheduled for you. One last hoorah for me and the kids before the official end of summer. Anyhow, our bathroom-less cabin overlooked a non-swimmable lake so there was nothing but clear water and trees for as far as I could see. I was taking a picture when out of the next cabin comes a little 2yr old boy dressed in an engineers hat, his little hair curling up from underneath and hiking boots . . Actual hiking boots. He was the cutest thing I’d ever seen and for some reason I was captivated with him. I wanted to scoop him up and take him home,  odd because I am so done having kids!

That afternoon we were down at the lake, same two-year-old boy shows up and wants to go swimming. His mom just strips him naked and lets him swim. He jumped off the dock, dug a hole in the sand with nothing but a stick, and splashed around all while buck naked. Of course I stared at him the whole time. There was just something about him I couldn’t shake.

That night I am sitting out on the deck stewing about my books -- praying Cedar will sell and wondering if my new WIP Inside Out is even viable.  That same boy comes toddling out of his cabin and over to mine (The cabins are all connected by wrap around decks) He plops down on the bottom step and refuses to climb any further. I did what I'd been wanting to do since the first time I saw him; I picked him up. He stared right back at me; no smile, no laugh, just huge brown eyes.

His mom smiles at me then calls him back “Cedar, come on."  Kid’s name was Cedar! I must've had a dumb look on my face because she asked  if anything was wrong. I laughed, said I loved her son's name, and that I'd just written a book titled Cedar. She asked me if it was a children’s book and I said no, more of a crossover YA about a girl living in the Appalachian Mountains.  It was her turn to laugh.  Her mom, who was staying with her in the cabin, had hiked all 1800 miles of the Appalachian Trail.

Now what do you make of that?

Stormy End

Batteries -- Check

Flashlights -- Check

Water -- Check

Wine -- Check

More Wine -- Double Check

The last time I saw one of these flags flying over the dock was nearly twenty years ago.  Let's see what Hurrican Earl is made of!