tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post2870772168642083639..comments2024-03-18T09:09:59.625-04:00Comments on Janet Reid, Literary Agent: A novel from spare partsJanet Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00615380335938685231noreply@blogger.comBlogger71125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-69593439761638182052016-03-30T19:14:42.260-04:002016-03-30T19:14:42.260-04:00Christina I love that idea. Hummmm, motors throbbi...Christina I love that idea. Hummmm, motors throbbing now.<br /><br />I didn't sleep too much last night as I feared I had over stepped with the woo woo. And then I got to thinking about the title JR put on this post. "Spare Parts?" Isn't that what Frankenstein's monster was built on? Who knew it could be that easy. A few rightly placed bolts, charge the paddles, trigger the electroshock treatment and, presto, a rewrite on the NYT bestsellers list.<br /><br />And for any who might wonder, no, I'm not a robot but thanks for asking.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16714778117954527535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-86681362821671378322016-03-30T15:17:10.916-04:002016-03-30T15:17:10.916-04:00I haven't - but there is a company called &quo...I haven't - but there is a company called "highpointe equestrian tours" that offers riding through a section of Romania where there are virtually no gas engines around (auto or tractor)and one of the side trips is Bran Castle - can you imagine the "fuel" for the writer's mind with a trip like that? Its on my bucket list :)<br /><br />Janice Grinyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14363741660626407979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-78229702988733033042016-03-30T13:55:37.763-04:002016-03-30T13:55:37.763-04:00Janice, have you gone to visit Vlad's old home...Janice, have you gone to visit Vlad's old homestead? I have always wanted to see that area. And I'm a wee bit jealous. Partly just because, and partly because it could make for great marketing.roadkills-r-ushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14029861300358380117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-60757392687700856512016-03-29T23:30:09.291-04:002016-03-29T23:30:09.291-04:00BJ - got it.
Heidi - once again, eloquently put!
...BJ - got it.<br /><br />Heidi - once again, eloquently put!<br /><br />Roadkills-R-Us - finding out that our Mother's familial last name is directly linked to Vlad the Impaler was an eye-opener, to say the least. No wonder we enjoyed the mockumentary "what we do in the shadows" waaay too much last year...<br /><br />Anyhow, all this conversation brought up a perplexing question from me (ima full of them) -<br /><br />Janet, can a person plagiarize themselves?! if they rewrite a self-published novel leaving certain portions untouched when presenting it for representation? Or would the contract have to specify copyright on the initial self-published novel too?Janice Grinyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14363741660626407979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-20368455211676752422016-03-29T23:16:39.776-04:002016-03-29T23:16:39.776-04:00Thanks to Panda, I'm now envisioning myself sn...Thanks to Panda, I'm now envisioning myself sneaking into people's homes and revising their copy of my novel. But my pen skills are so poor they'd know right away someone had tampered with the book. Assuming I didn't get shot, this being Texas, and me skulking around in the middle of the night like a damn fool.<br /><br />As for whoever said we are tired of vampire stories, I don'ty think that's true. I think we're tired of an endless mountain of cranked out vampire stories using vampires as a vehicle to drive sales. A good vampire story will likely aways sell.<br /><br />Just my two zorkmids.roadkills-r-ushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14029861300358380117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-84313323691872575592016-03-29T22:23:35.646-04:002016-03-29T22:23:35.646-04:00Gee, now Bethany Elizabeth has given me an idea......Gee, now Bethany Elizabeth has given me an idea....hmmm. Well, we'll see if this will turn into a story or not! It could have all sorts of twists in the application.<br />Panda in Chiefhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14160375490647791433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-22760713246524554822016-03-29T21:22:01.824-04:002016-03-29T21:22:01.824-04:00Jearl, so glad you commented! Now to me, your stor...Jearl, so glad you commented! Now to me, your story - of being visited by Valerie's apparition and then feeling so compelled to write her true story - is really fascinating. I adore true crime. And true crime tv shows. But a true crime framed within a true ghost story? Just shut up and take my money! If you do return to that book, and I hope you do, maybe you might consider adding the (very cool) aspect of a novel writer literally haunted by the story he's telling. Christina Seinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18411040428007697691noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-8216764771448290082016-03-29T21:05:34.315-04:002016-03-29T21:05:34.315-04:00Duchess, my 50-year-plan is to live another 50 yea...Duchess, my 50-year-plan is to live another 50 years. Even longer. To be a supercentenarian like my great-great aunt. Because I have a lot of stories to tell, and it's going to take me at least that long...BJ Muntainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12977414826388000094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-78717433305109285032016-03-29T20:57:35.427-04:002016-03-29T20:57:35.427-04:00Colin, interesting you should mention the idea of ...Colin, interesting you should mention the idea of objects imbued with power. I've written an entire series where objects are able to be imbued with power, kind of like magical batteries.Her Grace, Heidi, the Duchess of Knealehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17818060864422019573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-872719347743599552016-03-29T20:57:08.635-04:002016-03-29T20:57:08.635-04:00A question every author should ask themselves: Wha...A question every author should ask themselves: What is my Fifty Year Plan?<br /><br />Sometimes we authors are plagued with impatience. I know its dark brush tars me from time to time. Sometimes we fall in love with our work and our first instinct is to share this love with the world. <br /><br />How many times have you heard someone else say, "I just wanted to get it out there."<br /><br />If one is to send one's baby out into the world, at least wash her face and put a clean pinafore on her.<br /><br />But if we wish her and all her sisters to be successful, it helps to have a long view.<br /><br />Fifty years is almost long enough.<br />Her Grace, Heidi, the Duchess of Knealehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17818060864422019573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-51338116695597237752016-03-29T20:52:41.410-04:002016-03-29T20:52:41.410-04:00Janice: Yes, editing should be done before being p...Janice: Yes, editing should be done before being published. But Jearl published prematurely. Does that mean the novel should languish? Especially if the story means something important?<br /><br />Self-publishing is a funny beast sometimes. I know of some self-published authors (who have a few-to-several self-published novels out there, not just one) who will revise after they press 'publish'. It's a lot easier to do that sort of thing, go in and fix typos, etc., with electronic formats. We're not used to that sort of thing with print publishing. Once something is published in print, it's published (until further printings, anyway).<br /><br />But neither Jearl nor I were talking about editing. We were talking about rewriting - Jearl from another POV, me from scratch. BJ Muntainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12977414826388000094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-64852041415463553632016-03-29T20:48:01.850-04:002016-03-29T20:48:01.850-04:00Rewrite it, repurpose it, improve it and pitch awa...Rewrite it, repurpose it, improve it and pitch away.<br /><br />If I am correct in reading your deepest wish, you want your novel to sell better than it has been. A quality product will help with that. A rewrite will help with that.<br /><br />But here is a secret that a lot of people don't know: Books sell better when they're not only children. If a book has siblings (or at least cousins), they sell better. Book One will have better sales if Book Five and her sisters are out there as well. There's a <a href="http://blog.karenwoodward.org/2014/07/mark-cokers-tips-on-how-to-sell-more-books.html" rel="nofollow">wee bit of research out there to support this</a>.<br /><br />So if you've got other books and you intend on wooing an agent with them and she woos and wins an editor and the other books get published, the chances of more readers seeking out your rewritten Book One increase.<br /><br />By all means, rewrite your first book. Your heart has loved it the longest. If Valerie's story is calling to you, then follow it. The cool thing about being pre-published is that you have the time and the wiggle room to indulge in this sort of thing. <br /><br />What matters most to you: this one book getting more readers, or this book making more money? While the two often go hand-in-hand with a quality product, if getting more readers is the most important thing to you, indie publishing it and setting it up as a permafree will do that.Her Grace, Heidi, the Duchess of Knealehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17818060864422019573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-83654733354468192032016-03-29T20:44:31.813-04:002016-03-29T20:44:31.813-04:00I agree with BJ and think Jearl should rewrite. It...I agree with BJ and think Jearl should rewrite. It sounds like there is something about the story he can't let go of. I find it an intriguing challenge.Theresahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18165072684559960801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-49395091496632922602016-03-29T18:25:57.621-04:002016-03-29T18:25:57.621-04:00At the risk of seeming cheeky, but asking in all s...At the risk of seeming cheeky, but asking in all seriousness, what would Valerie say? Perhaps her voice is that which should be loudest here.<br /><br />Good luck!Kae Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17392544505852857299noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-20535025126475156772016-03-29T17:19:53.353-04:002016-03-29T17:19:53.353-04:00Jearl,
It sounds like you have an interesting sto...Jearl,<br /><br />It sounds like you have an interesting story. Only you can decide what is best. So have a long talk with yourself.<br /><br /><a href="http://25kartinok.deviantart.com/art/Dragon-Writer-276492375" rel="nofollow">Three heads are better than one, by the way.</a> JulieWeathershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01361549099072091350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-13258717896387856622016-03-29T16:43:13.873-04:002016-03-29T16:43:13.873-04:00B.J. Mountain - I think editing one's work is ...B.J. Mountain - I think editing one's work is fantastic - it's meant to be done. Over and over and over and...well, you get the idea! until it is ready to be published. There are many articles and books written about identifying works that are ready to be published.<br /><br />But to edit one's work that is already published? It's kind of like remodeling a house when its only a year old. Sure, it could make it EVEN a better house, but isnt it better to get it right the first time around? <br /><br />Hence the editing when its unpublished :)Janice Grinyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14363741660626407979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-8445111579046587662016-03-29T16:36:28.754-04:002016-03-29T16:36:28.754-04:00Jearl - sounds like your Muse is telling you somet...Jearl - sounds like your Muse is telling you something! Thank you for commenting too :)<br /><br />Speaking as a reader right now, not as a writer, in my opinion (and pocketbook) once a novel is published, self or traditional, it's out there. To read a revision because a writer wasn't satisfied is not something I would purchase. As a reader, we invest time and money into stories published- I'm not interested in spending money on revisions. <br /><br />For my book budget, if I have a new novel, and another's novel's revision in hand, the revision gets reshelved, and I purchase the new novel.<br /><br />BUT I will purchase a series, a continuation if the writing improves from the first novel. The second can clarify, and build. If the second is a knock-out, then we can't wait for the third :) <br /> <br />I think my pocketbook is done speaking now; it's telling me to get back to work so we can buy more books... :DJanice Grinyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14363741660626407979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-21419778909673247182016-03-29T16:21:19.528-04:002016-03-29T16:21:19.528-04:00Jearl O.P. Rugh - you're right. You're the...Jearl O.P. Rugh - you're right. You're the only one who can answer that question. I can see why it's important to you, and I can see why you want to get as many readers as possible.<br /><br />I have a friend who's rewritten a couple older (non-published) novels to get them to his current skill level. What he does is he simply types them out again from memory and imagination, not by typing from the original or cutting and pasting. He types what he remembers - which is the story more than the actual words. If you truly want to write a new story about the same topic, why not leave the old version alone, and actually write it anew? You'll find your skill and voice come out stronger that way, less diluted by the older skill level.<br /><br />Anyway, I seem to have the unpopular view here. But I don't see what's wrong in writing a different story about the same topic. BJ Muntainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12977414826388000094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-49364482707755831752016-03-29T15:53:07.589-04:002016-03-29T15:53:07.589-04:00I've enjoyed this discussion because my curren...I've enjoyed this discussion because my current WIP is a reworking of my first not-novel, and I've asked myself if it makes sense to even call it the same book at this point.<br />I've changed the world inspiration, the villain's backstory and motivation, the order of the first half, the ending, more the ending, all the family relationships, and the climax. <br />I've kept about 5 or 6 characters, but two have been dramatically altered. The title is the same, but the meaning of it is different.<br />I kept the MC's journey, her wish, her quest, her choice. That I couldn't let go. <br />My first attempt was like when you learn to knit, and you end up with a shapeless, holey, whatever-it-is. But most of the time you can frog it and reknit the yarn into what it was meant to be.<br />I do have a lot of other ideas. One is fun, one is dark, one is a sequel, one is another world. <br />I made myself a schedule, both for the first draft and the editing. If it's not good enough for beta readers by May, I'm trunking it. If it's not ready (or really close) for querying by October, I'm trunking it. <br />If life is measured in stories, I have many threads to spin. <br />But it's not the story's fault that it was my first attempt. Her journey deserves more. RachelErinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09510327163701754950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-24795746957952695622016-03-29T15:51:39.173-04:002016-03-29T15:51:39.173-04:00OP says, "Thanks to all for your widely varie...OP says, "Thanks to all for your widely varied counsel and to JR for her always poignant revisions of the original question."<br /><br />Yes, I have other novels in me, one of which is in the query process now (thus the enhancements (or at least sharpening of the blades) in my toolbox, if I may borrow from King). <br /><br />So, the question I must answer is: does the motive to rewrite come from laziness (plot, characters, over 90,000 words just needing some polish and new backstory)or from my muse (the true crime's actual victim who was murdered in 1980 and whose apparition appeared at the same moment, yet separately, to my wife and I some 20 years later). No, as a general rule I don't see dead people. Odd Thomas I am not. But there is a compulsion burning in my heart which suggests a wider audience should know about Valerie's tragedy, even if it's only referenced in the author's preface. <br /><br />Thanks againAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16714778117954527535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-38108409657302920622016-03-29T15:17:40.756-04:002016-03-29T15:17:40.756-04:00Christina: BRILLIANT.Christina: BRILLIANT.Brigidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13768090206152536761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-53228535871503382092016-03-29T14:57:27.339-04:002016-03-29T14:57:27.339-04:00Adele,
She's saving that edit for the third e...Adele,<br /><br />She's saving that edit for the third edition, due out 2036. One-trick Karen, they're gonna call her on her tombstone.John Frainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01702305890462479118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-23024167797898017902016-03-29T14:53:28.209-04:002016-03-29T14:53:28.209-04:00Joe,
The only thing I've ever written 49 time...Joe,<br /><br />The only thing I've ever written 49 times were the checks to the mortgage company.-- hahaha<br /><br />Oh heaven help me I've rewritten something fifty times. I'm not sure what that says about me. I am reminded of the definition of insanity. I can't think about it now. It's nap time at the asylum and all the rain crows are coming in to roost.JulieWeathershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01361549099072091350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-39605963923512382132016-03-29T14:32:35.004-04:002016-03-29T14:32:35.004-04:00~Weez ~weez. Guys, nothing is working, I told them...~Weez ~weez. Guys, nothing is working, I told them how their glitter looked like pixie dust from the 80's and they just bared their fangs at me and kept coming. <br /><br />Then, well you know me, I started singing opera to them, and that seemed to slow them down for awhile; but when I got winded they hissed and started chasing me again. <br /><br />Look guys, I could really use your help, I am not a marathon runner, and I am not sure how long I can keep this up. I am going to be the first Carkoonian to die on Carkoon from being drained by a bunch of pixie-dust coated, bad hair having, gentle blood sucking vampires.<br /><br />Colin that vampire your talking about, the one who is love sick, he keeps singing Frank Sinatra.<br /><br />Help.......Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-67474919504983222502016-03-29T14:26:46.527-04:002016-03-29T14:26:46.527-04:00Adele, I like the cut of your jib...
Adele, I like the cut of your jib...<br /><br />Janice Grinyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14363741660626407979noreply@blogger.com