Writers in the Storm

Natalia Sylvester

You know how some authors will tell you that their characters just speak to them, taking on a life of their own?

I cringe when I hear this. I twitch a little. I kinda, sorta want to call B.S. (but that’s probably because I’m jealous).

I have a hard time believing characters speak to writers because it’s an experience so far removed from my own. When I’m developing my characters, they start out as a mystery. They lock up when they sense me poking at them. They may as well stick their tongue out and tell me to mind my own business. Yes, they’ve got plenty of secrets...but they’re not telling.

Which makes sense, if you think about it. If we only try to discover our characters through the writing of the actual story, if we only allow ourselves to observe them in scene, then we’re putting them on the spot and only seeing one side of them—one person, in one specific time and place in their life.

Developing characters as the story unfolds often backfires because this only allows them to exist on the page. It only allows them to communicate to us through the keyboard.

So...Step Away from the Story

Ok, not the story story. But the draft. The Word doc or Scribner doc or whatever form your book exists in. Set it aside for a bit.

Grab a pen and paper. (An unlined journal is my preference.) Write this by hand. Doing so will give you the freedom to know that none of what you’re about to write has to be perfect, or will even end up on the final page. For now, this is something private, just between you and your characters.

Write a letter from your protagonist to another important character. Write the kind of letter that changes the recipient’s life in one very specific way. It may be a huge way, or a small way, but it should be specific.

(Note: Focus on the external change. An emotional change, while important, isn’t enough. An external change in a character’s life will, by its very nature, trigger an emotional change. But an emotional change by itself doesn’t always have external repercussions...and we need those to create plot.)

Now, write the letter that your protagonist writes to that other character, but never sends. What is she dying to tell this person, but ultimately can’t find the courage to? What would she write if she knew no one would ever read it? What unspoken truth is eating away at her? What secret scares her?

Explore the in-between: You now have two versions of a story, two versions of your protagonist’s big secret. What happens when you and your protagonist know more than another character? And what do these secrets—the keeping and perhaps eventually revealing of them—set into motion? Life and relationships are essentially infinite versions of a truth contained inside each one of us. Some we want to tell, others we hope to hide. What we usually have in front of us is a grey area, a half-truth. It’s a place ripe with stories.

Why letters? It’s not that I’m nostalgic or old-fashioned (maybe it is, a little). But letters have a permanence that in-person interactions, emails, phone calls, and text messages don’t. By sending one, the sender has to let go of it. What they write is never theirs again. And the recipient can either carry it with them always or discard it without a thought. In many ways letters mirror the dynamics of relationships: we give of ourselves without ever knowing what, or if, we’ll receive. Without ever knowing if we’ll make an impact.

Rinse, repeat: Try this not just with your major characters, but your secondary characters, too. Play with time; date the letters not just during the period in which your novel takes place, but in their past and future. And while you’re at it, why not try a letter from a very minor character? You might find they’ll surprise you.

About Natalia

A former magazine editor, she now works as a freelance writer in Austin, Texas. Her articles have appeared in Latina Magazine, Writer’s Digest, The Writer, and NBCLatino.com. CHASING THE SUN, partially inspired by family events, is her first novel.

Find her online at http://www.nataliasylvester.com/

Susan Spann

Spring is the time “when a young man’s fancy turns to thoughts of love,” but in autumn, writers dream of contract offers. With the summer contract season over, and many authors “on submission” with agents and publishers alike, the delights—and dangers—of publishing contracts gain an important focus at this time of year.

One of the most important, and often most confusing, segments of the publishing contract is the “Grant of Rights.” This section, which often encompasses more than a single paragraph in the contract itself, designates exactly which rights the author is licensing (or “granting”) to the publisher in the contract.

Contract language varies widely from publisher to publisher, and even from deal to deal, but let’s take a look at some of the common characteristics authors should look for (and some to avoid) in grants of rights:

1.  Primary Rights: Print, ebook.

The standard “grant of rights” in a publishing contract normally includes both print and ebook rights. Most contracts also include a laundry list of other rights, but those are generally negotiable (to one degree or another). At its core, the publishing contract normally focuses on print, ebook, and some important related rights.

If your publisher is a digital only publisher (or imprint), the publisher may or may not want print rights also. Otherwise, all publishers will generally ask for print and ebook rights, and in most cases those rights are not negotiable. Ebooks are commonplace, and it’s rare for a publisher not to want the rights to publish your book in print and electronic forms and formats.

“Print and ebook” normally also includes serial rights (the right to publish your work in serial format rather than in a single volume—though publishers don’t generally do this unless they discuss it with the author in advance) and non-dramatic reading rights (which often translates to “audiobook rights” … see more about that in a minute).

These rights also normally include the right to produce or license royalty-free “accessible editions” for the handicapped. While this is a good idea in terms of providing access to charities and handicapped persons, most publishers will add language requiring them to split any profits they do receive on such licenses (or from handicapped-accessible editions of the work) with the author … but you need to know to ask for it.

2.  “Enhanced Ebooks” and audiobooks.

“Enhanced ebooks” are ebooks which include other forms of media—for example, video clips, interactive maps, soundtracks and audio extras. They’re not too common now but may become more popular in years to come, and many publishers have started including language governing them now.

Audiobooks, in various formats, are more familiar to authors and readers, and most publishers’ standard contract forms do ask for audio rights. Many publishers will also leave these rights with the author if you ask.

3.  Subsidiary Rights: Film, TV, merchandise, apps and gaming.

Subsidiary rights are one of the most contested clauses in publishing contracts, and publishers’ responses to an author’s request to withhold them varies widely. Most large publishers recognize the author’s right to hold back these important rights, and will eliminate them from the contract upon request. Other publishers want to share in film, TV, and merchandising rights, and to have the right to license those rights on the author’s behalf.

Ultimately, the decision whether or not to license these rights is a business decision the author must make, but I advise clients to keep these rights and not to hand them over to a publisher who may or may not sell them, and may end up with a windfall if the book becomes popular enough to inspire a film or television series.

4.  Territorial rights: worldwide, North American, U.S. – the sky’s the limit.

Most publishers want (and need) worldwide ebook rights, and it makes sense to allow worldwide distribution in ebook format. Print books are another matter entirely, however, and authors should take care to ensure they grant the publisher only those rights the publisher has the capacity to fulfill in a meaningful manner. In particular, small publishers without good distribution may not have the capacity to sell or distribute books abroad. Evaluate territorial rights with care to ensure the clause you grant is reasonable under the circumstances.

5.  Languages: English only vs. translations.

Most standard publishing contracts contain “translation rights,” meaning the right to translate or license translation of the author’s work into any (and every) language. As with territorial rights, authors should make sure the publisher has the ability to exercise these rights, and a history of licensing good translations, before signing over valuable rights.

Some publishers have active translation and foreign rights departments, while others simply want to possess the rights in case of a windfall. Talk with your publisher during the negotiation process and see whether licensing translations makes sense in your particular situation. If the publisher won’t negotiate for outright elimination of translation rights from the contract, ask about reversion after a stated period of time if the publisher hasn’t utilized the translation rights within a certain period: for example, the ability to terminate and reclaim your translation rights after 36 months if the publisher hasn’t licensed or arranged for translation of the work before that time.

6.  Reservation of rights – a normal, but important, protection.

Make sure your contract has a line—somewhere—which states that “Author reserves all rights not [expressly] granted to Publisher in this Agreement.” That’s called a “reservation of rights,” and it does exactly what it seems to: it makes it clear to a court that you’ve given over only the rights the contract says that it includes.

This isn’t a comprehensive explanation, but it gives a “first impression” of the things an author should look for in a publishing contract’s grant of rights. Next month, we’ll return to the grant of rights for a look at some common rights-related pitfalls authors should avoid.

Have you ever negotiated a grant of rights? What are your biggest rights-related concerns?

About Susan

Susan Spann writes the Shinobi Mysteries, featuring ninja detective Hiro Hattori and his Portuguese Jesuit sidekick, Father Mateo. Her debut novel, CLAWS OF THE CAT (Minotaur Books, 2013), was a Library Journal Mystery Debut of the Month. The second Shinobi Mystery, BLADE OF THE SAMURAI, released on July 15, 2014. Susan is also a transactional attorney whose practice focuses on publishing law and business. When not writing or practicing law, she raises seahorses and rare corals in her marine aquarium. You can find her online at her website, http://www.SusanSpann.com, and on Twitter (@SusanSpann).

One of the first things aspiring authors hear is a laundry list of things they should be doing to ensure success. If you somehow missed those directives, here are the “right things” you should be doing:

Join a writing group.

There are quite a few organizations out there to help writers at every stage in their career. Whether you’re looking for a genre-specific association or a broad-reach group, writing associations are extremely worthwhile. Look for organizations that offer a sense of community, workshops, networking opportunities, industry insight, etc. [Note: we ran a post last year discussing writing associations that included quite a few links. Though not an exhaustive list, it might be helpful if you're just starting out]

Then get involved. Just paying dues to say you’re part of a group won’t get you far. It’s like sleeping with a textbook under your pillow. Read the newsletters, contribute to discussions, volunteer, get to know fellow writers.

Caution: Now that I've encouraged you to get involved and volunteer, I’m going to wave a caution flag. You should do only as much as you can. Emphasis on “can.” Your word count shouldn’t be made up of all the emails you responded to. If you have limited time to write, spending those hours on volunteer work probably isn’t the best way to writing success.

Get into a critique group.

A solid critique group will not only strengthen your writing, they’ll also save your sanity. Let’s face it, writing a novel is lonely (despite the many “people” occupying your brain) and nerve-wrecking. Having trusted readers who will tell you what’s working and what isn’t, means submitting a manuscript that’s polished and ready for outside eyes.

Caution: Not all critique groups are a good fit and not everyone is a good fit for a critique group. Don’t be afraid to walk away from a group that isn’t working for you. If you don’t like the idea of sharing early drafts with readers, then maybe a crit group isn’t right for you. Consider accountability/writing buddies and a few trusted beta readers instead.

Enter contests.

Contests are a great way to get feedback from readers other than your critique partners and beloved friends and family. Plus having contest placements in a query letter is a great way to show agents that your work is being recognized.

Caution: Don’t jump on the feedback you receive and immediately make changes. And don’t keep changing those first pages in order to enter more contests. Use the feedback to gauge whether you’re moving in the right direction then finish the manuscript. What good are all those placements if you don’t have a fully polished manuscript to submit when the final round judge asks to see the full?

Develop a social media presence.

Blogs. Twitter. Facebook. Pinterest. Instagram. Google+. And that’s by no means a complete list of social media options available to writers these days. Social media is not only a great place to connect with other writers, agents, editors, and readers, it’s also an amazing place to learn about what’s going on.

Caution: Don’t try to spread yourself across all social media avenues. Try a couple and see what fits your style best. Set limits. It’s very easy to get sucked into Pinterest boards or Facebook posts and discover that you’ve just spent two of the three hours you have for writing that day on social media.

Read.

We read because we love to read. We wouldn’t be writers if we didn’t. We read books in the genre we write to know what’s selling. We read the books our friends are publishing to support them. We read craft books to learn. We read for fun.

Caution: And sometimes we read to avoid writing. (Oh don’t look at me like you’re shocked at that!) When you’ve made such a tangle of your plot points or you’re staring at an emotionally frightening scene, the idea of “reading to see how favorite author so-and-so does it is a welcome excuse. And 300 pages later, you’ve read an awesome book. But you haven’t unraveled your plot points or conquered the emotional scene.

So, do you want to be a successful writer? Are you doing all of the above? Are you overwhelmed by keeping up with all of the above?

Are you sitting down?

It’s not enough. What’s the one thing that’s not on that list? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

Write the damn book.

Oh yeah!

Doing all the “right things” is great but not at the expense of your writing. We’ve all done it. Writing is hard, querying is scary, rejection bites. The happy world of reading or supporting other writer friends or posting funny cat videos on Facebook can be so much more fun.

But really, it doesn’t matter how many followers you have on Twitter or how many contest kudos you have or how many organizations you belong to. If that novel that’s getting the contest kudos isn’t complete, you can’t query it. If you don’t query it, you can’t get the sale. And at the end of the day, isn't the goal to make the sale?

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be doing any of the other things. You absolutely should. But make sure those “other things” don’t get in the way of your writing.

Now I want to hear from you - what of the above steps are you doing? Where could you do more? Where could you do less?

About Orly

After years of pushing the creativity boundary in corporate communications, Orly decided it was time for a new challenge. Three women’s fiction manuscripts later (plus a handful of picture books), it’s safe to say she’s found her creative outlet.  When she’s not talking to her imaginary friends, she’s reading or at least trying to ignore everyone around her long enough to finish “just one more paragraph.” Orly is the founding president of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association.

You can find her on Twitter at @OrlyKonigLopez or on her website, www.orlykoniglopez.com.