Aline Soules

Poet and Fiction Writer

More Mergers, Fewer Traditional Options

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I refer readers to https://bit.ly/2BYHXoh, “Centrello Details Crown Reorg,” the latest in traditional publisher mergers, this one a merger of Random House and Crown Publishing.  According to the article, “the structure, editorial direction, and imprint teams of the Random House publishing programs are unchanged,” but I wonder for how long.  

This is the business of publishing, and, fortunately, new models are springing up.  Self-publishing has been around for a while now, but it’s a tough slog for an author.  The cost is the author’s and the marketing is exhausting, time-consuming and, often, not particularly successful.  Hybrid publishing generally “shares” expenses and, sometimes, marketing between author and publisher.

While at the Kauai Writers Conference recently, I wondered about why traditional publishers continue with impractical practices.  Blockbuster authors earn out their advances, but agents only want blockbuster authors (or books) because their cut of the “advance” enables them to make a living.  For an author, a big advance might be the thrill of a lifetime, but if that author doesn’t earn it out, publishers are unlikely to consider the author’s next book.  New models of publishing offer some sort of solution to this, if the author can afford to go that way.

As a former librarian, I have some sense of the struggles publishers face.  Production costs have risen, marketing costs are impossible (major houses do less or no marketing for non-blockbusters), and profits are marginal if the book isn’t a blockbuster.  There’s a risk in taking on a new author.  As for sales, I definitely know that publishers don’t sell as many books to libraries, because library budgets have shrunk for decades.  As for general sales, I read periodically that more people read books than ever, but the latest Publisher’s Weekly article says that adult book sales were flat in October and sales of children’s books were down 6.8% (https://bit.ly/2BYt9G3). And with the new publishing models, more books than ever are available.  I’m sure everyone is hoping for bumper sales for the end-of-year holiday season.

It will be interesting to see how it all plays out, but I suspect we’re in for a bumpy ride.

Non-binary Gender Pronouns

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Lately, I’ve been considering non-binary gender pronouns and how they might infuse my writing.  First, https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34901704 (which includes the image) takes you to an article about non-binary gender pronouns.  Also, there’s a quick tip list created in collaboration with Melinda Lee, Assistant Director, Gender and Sexuality Center for Queer and Trans Life, at the University of Minnesota, at  http://writing.umn.edu/sws/quickhelp/grammar/nonbinary.html

Right now, I’m working on a historical novel, so don’t “need” non-binary gender pronouns at the moment, but this gives me time to consider them for future writing projects.  First, they are an indication of our growing awareness and, hopefully, understanding of all people.  Second, they are becoming more common in our evolving language.  

As someone who has used the English language for a long time, I find words like ze and ey unexpected, but I’m able to adjust to them more readily than the new way we use more common words like they/them/theirs.  Referring to a single person as “they are…” is hard for me.  Even harder is “they is…” which I have also read.  While I recall that “they” used to be a single pronoun centuries ago (coming from thee, thy, etc.), it has been plural in my lifetime.

I also have difficulty with sentences such as these:  “That research is theirs” (when referring to a single person) or, even harder, “They cited themself” (rather than themselves).  I suspect that we may still be in a period of flux as our usages “settle” into a more common form, but, even then, it’s difficult for me to “change my spots,” even as I am fully aware that our living language is living precisely because it adapts and changes.  

The English language is one of the most adaptable languages in the world.  I recall reading somewhere that, in the first fifty years that Britain occupied India (we’ll ignore the horrible behavior for the purposes of discussing language), the British adopted/adapted/absorbed thousands of words into English from Hindi, Urdu, and so on.  Words we take for granted, like “loot, nirvana, pyjamas, shampoo and shawl; bungalow, jungle, pundit and thug.” This list is taken from Rahul Verma’s “How India Changed the English Language” (BBC Culture article dated 22 June 2015 (see http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20150619-how-india-changed-english), which explains the spelling of pyjamas (pajamas in American language).

So what’s my problem with ey/em/eirs or co/co/co’s?  Upbringing, familiarity, habituation.  What “sounds right” in my ear.  So I struggle on and do my best and hope my non-binary friends and acquaintances will give me some understanding as I work to adjust.

Kauai Writers Conference: Main Conference

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After four days of master classes, the main conference began and the number of attendees jumped to about 300.  This expanded our networking opportunities and a number of us enjoyed meeting more new writers.  

The event schedule can still be seen at http://www.kauaiwritersconference.com/schedule/ and the presenters gave us lively perspectives on their topics.  We explored the changing world of publishing, the continuing elements of craft, and the growing need for developing platform.  I learned something from every session I attended, which I can’t say for all the conferences I’ve attended. While my primary focus at this conference was my novel, there were craft sessions on character, place, memoir, poetry, screenwriting, etc.

Image:  Photo taken from my hotel room at the Kauai Marriott Resort.

Having spent four days in master classes on craft, however, I chose to attend sessions that addressed other issues, especially the changing publishing scene and marketing.  I was impressed with Arielle Eckstut and David Sterry’s session on marketing, and their obvious enthusiasm about helping us to make progress with our marketing and platforms.  I bought their book, The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published.  While the publication date is 2010, which now seems a long time ago in light of the speed in which the publishing world is shifting, it offers practical advice that is likely to be of value for a long time.  It also has an effective table of contents. You can find the section you want quite easily and don’t have to read it cover to cover to find specific help.

I don’t know if I’ll be ready to attend this conference again in 2019.  I have much work to get my novel in shape and this is one of the more expensive conferences by the time you pay for registration and flights and, if you choose, a lengthy number of nights at the host resort.  Attending conferences (this or any other) requires a strategic plan.  Who will be there?  Where are you in your project?  How will the two fit together?  What is your goal for the conference?  For me, this year was worth the expense as I met top writers, agents, publishers, etc. and my project was at a point where I needed professional feedback and networking.

Now, it’s time to write.

 

Kauai Writers Conference: Master Classes

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I just came back from the Kauai Writers Conference re-energized and ready to write.  I’ve spent the week reviewing my notes and critiques, and have a lot of work to do.

One highlight was Master Classes.  I took one with Jeff Arch, the script writer for Sleepless in Seattle, among other stories.  He has a wealth of information to share and conveyed it in a free-wheeling series of anecdotes.  I came away with a renewed sense of story and the importance of eliminating anything extraneous.  We also spent time on “log lines,” which are very difficult to hone down to their essence.

The other class, with Jeff Kleinman, engaged all participants in discussion and critique. He divided our submissions (query letter, synopsis, first 10 p. of our books) into four days, each of which was devoted to a different category:  premise, character, voice, and momentum.  He has an unerring eye and his master class, devoted to making work publishable, was amazing.  He demonstrated how he reviews initial queries. He gets approx. 7,200/year and can sell maybe 4-5-6 books in that same year.  There’s no room for the smallest of errors or anything less than captivating, a salutary lesson.  

Of importance is the ability to listen to critique with an unemotional ear in order to gain the most from what we were given. Both class leaders were very generous with their time and expertise, but none of us had a novel that was “ready” for submission.  As part of the process, we were encouraged to persist, one of the most important attributes for a writer.  So, here we are: back home and writing.  

 

Next post will cover the main conference, which ran from Friday through Sunday.  

Image credit:  https://www.aiga.org/how-to-give-receive-design-critique, captured 18 Nov. 2018.

Travel Restrictions and Writing

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Travel restrictions might not sound like something that connects to writing, but our growing inability to move about our planet has a direct bearing on how we view the world and how much freedom we have to explore in words the world we observe.

A few years ago, the State of California began to list states that were “off limits” for work-related travel that would be reimbursed.  As an employee of Cal State East Bay, this list applied to us.  As the last few years have passed, the number of restricted states has grown for reasons primarily related to behaviors and beliefs with which our state does not agree.  As of August 20, 2018, the list was as follows:

 

  • Alabama
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Mississippi
  • North Carolina
  • Oklahoma
  • South Dakota
  • Tennessee
  • Texas

Image credit: https://www.citizenvox.org/2017/12/14/banking-behind-closed-doors/

If you are a historian or a mathematician, for example, and your disciplinary association holds its annual meeting/conference in Kentucky or Texas, the state won’t support you financially or in terms of “release” time to attend that conference.

While I’m all in favor of polite disagreement, I worry that this limitation encourages us connect with only those who share our beliefs and values.  There has been concern about this in the online environment, but it also applies to face-to-face connections.  If we are discouraged from inter-relating with people in states that carry policies we oppose, how will we—or they—have any hope of understanding each others’ points of view, even if we continue to disagree?

For a long time, globally, places have been “off limits.”  As a child, I remember being taken to Ephesus and, even at a young age, feeling a sense of amazement and awe, and a desire to visit again when I was older.  Today, I have reservations about traveling there for safety reasons, and many parts of the world are on a growing list of “some day, but not now” destinations.

As a writer, travel is an important element of expanding our view of the world and our beliefs about issues, regardless of our writing genre or our subject matter.  For a historical fiction writer, the need for travel is more specific.  We can read extensively about a period and a setting, but nothing is better than going there for oneself.  For a travel writer, I can only imagine what this limitation must mean.

 

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