by Karen Ball

I don’t know about you, but I love great first lines. First lines that intrigue or challenge, that captivate and spark strong emotion or curiosity. Some writers spend hours, even days crafting that perfect first line to draw readers into the book. For others, the line is just…there.

A group of author friends loves to play the first-line game, where we share the first line from our WIPs. I like to ask people to share first lines from books that captured them. Both exercises are great fun. More than that, though, it’s fascinating to see what captures or intrigues people. It’s a great way to gain insight into your readers.

So what do you say? Wanna play?

First, let’s share first lines we loved from books we have read. Here are some of my favorites:

“It was Nathan’s fault that I became God.” 

The God Game, Andrew Greeley

“This is my favorite book in all the world, though I have never read it.”

The Princess Bride, William Goldman

“We all know something’s wrong.”

Crazy Love, Francis Chan

“Good is the enemy of great.”

Good to Great, Jim Collins

“The family trip when our nightmare began was supposed to be a celebration.”

Heaven Is For Real, Todd Burpo/Lynn Vincent

Okay, YOUR turn! 

J.A. Konrath Responds – [Warning: There is some coarse language in the post.] Konrath’s response to my blog post from yesterday.

Vetting a Freelance Editor – Victoria Strauss writes an incredible article on how to pick the best independent editor for your project.

Icons that Make No Sense to the New Generation of Readers – A tremendous article about words that could “date” your writing if you aren’t careful.

25 Ways to use Twitter the Wrong Way – Very educational for those who are casual users

Bible App Exceeds 50 Million Downloads – YouVersion Bible App from LifeChurch.TV. Link includes a video interview with the co-founder.

Songwriter Wins Lawsuit – If you plan on still being in the publishing game 30 years from now or if your heirs will need advice on your literary estate, read this article and see what a loophole in the copyright law can mean for you.

Enjoy this pretty cool video called “The Bible in 50 Words”
[tentblogger-vimeo 36765988]

by Steve Laube

Recently Ann Voss Peterson wrote of her decision to never sign another contract with Harlequin. One major statistic from the article is that she sold 170,000 copies of a book but earned only $20,000.

Multiple clients sent me Peterson’s “Harlequin Fail” article and wanted my opinion. My first thought is that this was typical “the publisher is ripping me off” fodder. But that would be a simplistic and knee-jerk reaction and unfair to both Peterson and Harlequin.

Yes, Harlequin pays a modest royalty that is less than some publishers. Since when is that news? That has always been their business model because it is the only way to create and maintain an aggressive Direct-to-Consumer and Trade publishing program. Their publishing machine is huge and they are a “for profit” company. For Profit. If they are unprofitable, they go away.

If an author is uncomfortable with the terms, then don’t sign the contract (which is Peterson’s decision going forward). I urge each of you to be careful not to sign a contract and then complain about it later. Unless you were completely hoodwinked you agreed to those terms and should abide by them.

Word Trivia

“Stewardesses” and “reverberated” are the two longest (and commonly used) words (12 letters each) that can be typed with only the left hand.

“lollipop” is the longest word typed with your right hand.

The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is uncopyrightable.

No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple.

“Dreamt” is the only English word that ends in the letters “mt”.

The sentence: “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” uses every letter of the alphabet.

The words ‘racecar,’ ‘kayak’ and ‘level’ are the same whether they are read left to right or right to left (palindromes).

There are only four words in the English language which end in “dous”: tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.

There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order: “abstemious” and “facetious.” (a e i o u)

Typewriter is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard.

A “jiffy” is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.

The only city whose name can be spelled completely with vowels is Aiea, Hawaii.

by Tamela Hancock Murray

Throughout my career I’ve seen various responses to the advice that declares “Write to market!” In other words “write what sells” because that is what is most important for a writer. Is this good advice or bad advice?

It is both.

Here is when it’s bad advice: When you’re made to feel you have to write a certain type of book just to break into the market, any market.

If you think, for instance, that any lame brain can write a romance novel, but hey, romance authors are millionaires, then the romance novel market is not where you need to be. You won’t respect your readers or give them your best.

So if writing to market means you’re slogging away writing a book you loathe in hopes of entertaining riches, then you’ve taken bad advice.

Then when is writing to market a good idea?

by Karen Ball

Recently, I’ve heard a few editors comment that they don’t worry about showing things in fiction, that they think editors and writers get too caught up showing when it’s really not all that important. Telling is okay. It’s just as strong and effective as showing.

I beg to differ.

Consider this from Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, a stellar book by Renni Browne and Dave King:

“Narrative summary no longer engages readers the way it once did. Since engagement is exactly what a fiction writer wants to accomplish, you’re well advised to rely heavily on immediate scenes to put your story across. You want to draw your readers into the world you’ve created, make them feel a part of it, make them forget where they are. And you can’t do this effectively if you tell your readers about your world secondhand. You have to take them there.”

Well put. When you tell a story—relate the information in narrative summary—you don’t engage readers. But when you show…readers are captured, captivated, and drawn in. They have the vicarious, sensory experience your characters have–and they care about what’s happening. And in the caring, readers discover, learn, and are changed.

Therein lies the power of fiction.

Traditional Advertising is Truly Dead – Not sure I agree with the over the top headline, but the article does make some excellent points. A quote from the article:

“The equation used to be: money x media = business.

The new equation is: time x media = business.

In other words, every company is a media company.”

Microsoft has invested in Barnes & Noble’s Nook - But before everyone gets excited, remember that Microsoft also invested in Yahoo in 2009 (in order to enhance the Bing search engine).

Ten Rules for Writing Suspense Fiction – In 1994 John Grisham credited this article for giving him the tools he needed to write The Firm. Save this one and refer to it often!

On Fiction and Literature – a great interview with Russell Moore. A quick quote from the interview:

“…good fiction isn’t a “waste of time” for the same reason good music and good art aren’t wastes of time. They are rooted in an endlessly creative God who has chosen to be imaged by human beings who create. Culture isn’t irrelevant. It’s part of what God commanded us to do in the beginning, and that he declares to be good. When you enjoy truth and beauty, when you are blessed by gifts God has given to a human being, you are enjoying a universe that, though fallen, God delights in as “very good.”

Why Men Should Read More Fiction! – a fascinating article. What do you think? Agree or disagree?

Design the Ultimate Home Page for your Blog – an extensive article with visual examples.

4 Ways to Grow a Twitter Following that Matters – an extensive article with numerous resources. Well done.

The top 10 most read books of the last 50 years (found on the First Things blog). Take heart, the Bible by itself was read more than the other top nine books combined:

by Steve Laube

Everyone likes being appreciated. It is as simple as receiving a “thank you.” For the writer it is like a cold drink of water in the middle of a desert wasteland. The writing life is a bit like placing your words into a bottle and tossing it into an endless ocean, hoping that it doesn’t sink, and simultaneously hoping that someone somewhere will find those words and be touched by them.

Today, instead of waiting for someone else to tell you what a great writer you are, write your favorite author(s) a note of appreciation.  Because no one understands the anguish and crushing weight of the writing life better than another writer.

In Austin Kleon’s new book Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative he has a section titled “Write Fan Letters.” He writes, “The most important thing is that you show your appreciation without expecting anything in return, and that you get new work out of the appreciation.” 

Enjoy this clever three minute book trailer for the new prequel to The Godfather releasing next week (titled The Family Corleone).

No editors were harmed in the filming of this video. At least that we know of.

Watch past the credits.

by Tamela Hancock Murray

You submit a great manuscript to an agent. Then you wait. And wait. And wait.

What could she possibly be doing?

Let’s say your baby jumped most of the hurdles and is near the top of the slush pile. (See the previous post on the Mystery of the Slush Pile) Why can’t the agent make up her mind? Might I offer a few ideas:

1.) Market changes can mean a shift in priorities. An agent may receive an email at five in the afternoon on any given Friday that opens up a new market or closes an old one. The agent may need to reevaluate and reassess her strategy. This does not mean agents chase the market. What it does mean is that, for example, if markets are trending away from a certain type of novel (Remember hen lit?) the agent may realize she’d better focus on the writers she already has rather than risking taking on a new client writing that type of book, no matter how wonderful. Or if a huge market opens up, the agent might focus on that category for awhile, shunting your wonderful retelling of Genesis to the side, if only temporarily.