The Writing Workshop

Amazon Promises Marketing for Book Reviews: Good Business or Unethical?

The New York Observer has a new piece on Amazon's way of gathering reviews for its books: offering to promote the books of the authors who help them.

In the businessworld, this is pretty much standard practice, especially in the marketing and promotions arena. You promise somebody something, you get something in return, and you work together to get everybody's stuff selling. In fact, most artists work this way (it's called building a community).

But in the book world, which used to be a gentlemen's business, with no "dirty dealing" of this type, this could potentially piss off a bunch of people (the article has a few choice quotes from one agent in particular). It's only funny, though, because blurbs basically work the same way already - you just don't go on record and say it. I mean, when somebody offers to do a blurb, could they say "oh, I hated the book" and not do it? Sure. But most people won't. They write blurbs for friends and colleagues, even if the book sucks.

I'm sure if an author said, "This book is awful.", Amazon would just say "OK. Thanks for trying." and then not promote the author's book. (You can't expect something in return if you don't give anything.) That's the way business works. So what if you get a kickback for your hard work?

Is this devaluing the art of book reviews? Yes and no, because these reviews are essentially biased but then again, all reviews are. They're biased by the publication they're publishing in, the audience they're trying to reach, or sometimes even for political or, whoops, business reasons. Amazon's way is just being more open about it. (All reviews are also impacted by a single person's taste - the reviewer's. So that's another inherent bias.)

I, frankly, think it's just another way to get an author's stuff out there. And if they have to say something nice about another person's book? I mean, unless it's crap, it's not really that hard to find something you like about it. As someone who does book reviews, trust me, I know.

And more sad news from Amazon Affiliates, though: they've ended California's Amazon Affiliates program due to a change in online retail laws that force them to collect taxes. So, Amazon ends their program (one of the most lucrative for bloggers like me) to thousands of people. I mean, I understand that the government wants their money, but do they not realize that by shutting down places like Amazon, they're actually shutting down taxable income to their state? Amazon does the I-99 forms, so California is still getting taxes paid on that income - just not sales tax.

So, let's find some happiness, shall we? Here's the best books from Amazon for 2011 (so far).

Writing Prompt: Overwrite like Hell

Overwriting isn't an issue I deal with myself. Bydefinition, overwriting is when the author simply piles on the details and writes in super long, super complex sentences that make the readers' brains hurt. Editors hate overwriting, because then they have to use their red pen to eliminate words. For myself, I generally underwrite. I have a lot of character and plot going on, but the writing is very bare-boned in the first draft.

Which is why an overwriting prompt is actually a great thing for me to practice. I know how complex sentences can be created and I know how to list every single detail of every single scene and character and nuance. And sometimes, I should actually do it.

Write a story that's completely overwritten.

Remember that when you take a style that's not your own, your goal is still tell a great story. You'd be surprised - if you're like me and underwrite, then this detail-filled prompt might actually turn out to be a perfectly fine (and sellable) story.

Now, if you overwrite, then this prompt is just your normal routine. Maybe you should try underwriting, instead, giving only the plot-needed details, no description.

Writing Craft: The Art of Not Plagiarizing

Last week, Rolling Stone was accused of plagiarism when it failed to produce the proper attributions in its article on presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann. In the submitted article, the writer apparently said where he got the information and quotes he was using, but in the published version, the editor had pulled them out to make room for pictures or something.

In publishing, that's just about one of the dumbest things you can do, because then you are committing plagiarism and there's no way around it. If, in the printed form, there is nothing to suggest that the work is not original, then the reader is supposed to assume that it is original. But if it's not, that's plagiarism and a breach of copyright law. (Here's a primer on plagiarism, allusion, and parody.)

As writers, you must never copy someone else's work - not even unintentionally.

Now, it's bound to happen at some point. You think you have this great, original story idea, or character name, or plot point. You go and write it. Two weeks letter you're reading a book review about this hot new book only to discover that your great idea was really somebody else's great idea that you had read about and forgotten and then remembered in your time of creative need.

This is how creative brains are supposed to work. Most of us take everything we know, everything we've read, and distill it into our own writing. That's why trained writers and overzealous readers make the best books - the more stuff your brain can filter through your own creative processes, the more creative your writing can be. But that doesn't give you a free pass to steal someone else's ideas.

So you change it.

For fiction writers, this is pretty easy. Use the Find All tool in Word and Replace All, change the name you stole, and you're good to go. Alter the editing a little bit, and that plot point is erased. If you've managed to copy the idea for an entire book, then wait until you can get your hands on that book, read it, and make sure it's absolutely nothing like yours. If it's not, then don't worry about. Since no two writers have the same filters in their creative brains, it's unlikely that the same story idea will actually produce the same book from two different authors.

For nonfiction writers, it gets trickier. You can either scrap the idea (which I know nobody likes to do, but sometimes, you really did steal somebody else's work) or you can alter it significantly, even going so far as to change the central premise. Luckily, you can always work on the same topic, but come at the argument from a different perspective. Or, even better, you can cite the work you copied from as a source and call it a day.

When you cite something, that's saying that you know you took it from somebody else and you are using it to further your own original arguments. When you cite something, make sure you actually use it properly. Make sure it's clear when and where and how in your book you're using somebody else's stuff.

Otherwise, you're just a thief.

Burn Notice's Online Graphic Novel has 100,000 Hits in a Single Day

 "Burn Notice", one of the many spy shows on the USA cable network, recently released a graphic novel online and according to Reuters, the digital release hit 100,000 views the first day of its release. The comic was published by USA in collaboration with comic giant DC Comics (home of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman).

"Burn Notice" is a decent show, with a decent cast (nerd lovers will recognize both Sharon Gless, far left, from Cagney & Lacey and Bruce Campbell from The Evil Dead movies), and is relatively popular (six seasons worth, apparently) with fans. It does not, however, have a cult following or is truly a mainstream mega hit.

Instead, it has a bunch of fans who apparently aren't afraid of downloading an online graphic novel from Facebook, an app, or the USA website to see how a certain plot point got settled. What this tells me, as a publishing professional, is that this was a widely successful idea and execution. And that USA will probably continue to partner with DC to do this for more of its shows.

I think online graphic novels and digital comics, like ebooks, are going steadily mainstream. People aren't creeped out by reading a book on a computer anymore. The fact that a non-comic book buying audience would get this is amazing - and I hope DC can work out a deal to bring those "Burn Notice" fans into comic book stores with in-store offerings, as well.

Or even just release more digital downloads for fans. I'm sure the being free helped, but if done right, some of those 100,000 people might pay for it, as well. 100,000 is WAY above the average monthly comic book sale - and the site managed that in just 1 day. Sometimes, quantity works, especially if DC and USA sell them for cheap. 99 cent digital comics, anyone? The boom in pure sales might make all the difference you need - ask successful self-publishers.

Writing Prompt: Gay Marriage in NY is Legal

Last night (like, really, late last night like at 10:30), New York legalized marriage equality for gays and lesbians. And, apparently, David Burtka and Neil Patrick Harris got engaged during the excitement. Fun, no?

Today's prompt is all about the forbidden love and what happens when it becomes public.

Write a story about a love affair that goes public, either by choice or accident.

Of course, no good forbidden love affair can't help but be inspired by Romeo & Juliet, but try at least to be a bit original. I'm all for tragedy, though.

JK Rowling Announces Pottermore: Genius or Awful?

JK Rowling has officially announced Pottermore. Entertainment Weekly has a breakdown of what we know so far, but here's the video announcement so you can see what she says herself. (Is Rowling so British cool in this video or what?)

Basically, it's going to be a place for Rowling to sell her ebooks, give out all the inforamtion she's been hoarding about the Potter world, and build an inclusive world for fans. Rowling has always been amazing at reaching her fans, even despite her relatively few public appearances, and I think Pottermore is just another way for her to comtinue to do the same sort of thing. Entertainment Weekly also has the first screen shots, but not much more information.

I, for one, am all about it. It's not surprising that the author with so little to lose (unless Rowling murders someone in cold blood, I'm pretty sure the love for Harry Potter won't be going away anytime soon) would be one of the first to venture into the new, interactive online experience territory. Her world was deep and complex and she has claimed to have hundreds of notebooks filled with information about the Potter world that she's willing to share. (Like that "Dumbledore is gay" tidbit she dropped a while ago.) This interactive, social media network would be a great place to share that sort of information.

The Guardian is singing Rowling's praises today, stating their belief that Rowling is a marketing genius and that the Potter ebooks will be the fasting selling ebooks this year. Wired Magazine is even going so far as to say that Pottermore will be book publishing's Radiohead moment. In other words, Pottermore will be when the book publishing world embraces the digital experience and never looks back. Everything will be changed forever. (I'm not going to disagree with them, because it could be true. Also, notice that it's definitely an author doing this - not her publishers.)

The great thing, I think, is that Rowling will be paying reverse royalties, according to most sources, to Scholastic and Bloomsbury (her American and British publishers, respectively) for the ebooks. It's almost a shame, though, because I thought it would have been great if Rowling had been able to retain the e-rights for herself, without having to pay the publishers anything. That would have been great.

Now, as usual, there are some distractors. Apparently a few of the British booksellers are angry with Rowling (whose praises they normally sing), because she's stolen some of their revenues by taking her ebooks into her own marketplace. It's an amazing move, and while I can see the booksellers' point, especially since traditional bookstores are having such a hard go of it, I still think having Pottermore be an interactive world is enough of a trade-off for me. All in all, I just can't wait for a chance to try it out.

Get Published!: What is a Bestseller? (But Not How to Write One)

I teach an SAT prep course on Sundays, and on the first day, I always ask my students what major they're going to have at college and why. This last time around, one of my students surprised me by saying he was going to major in English, so that he could be an author and be rich. I had to turn my face away from him so he wouldn't see me smile.

While I don't begrudge my student his dream of being an author, I sincerely doubt that getting rich is going to happen. As any writer will tell you, getting published is hard enough. Selling is even worse.

Which is why I love this new article at Bookforum by Ruth Franklin, author of A Thousand Darknesses: Lies and Truth in Holocaust Fiction (pictured). In it, Franklin discusses just what makes a bestseller and the history behind the thinking of bestsellers.

She tells two great stories that really stuck with me: a consultant who tells an editorial board that if they only published bestsellers, their company would be rich and that bestsellers can only be characterized by one quality: selling best.

In other words, no one knows why something becomes a bestseller. It often has something to do with the author, whether it be a celebrity (Snooki is an NYT bestseller) or a beloved author. Often, it's a book in a series that has been a bestseller before (hello, Sookie Stackhouse, Anita Blake, and Harry Dresden) or even a popular character written by someone else. Sometimes, popular culture trends can cause a big enough surge to cause a bestseller, or a well-timed marketing blitz can raise a book to bestseller status (at least for a week).

So what is it you tell a high school student who wants to be a writer because he wants to be rich? I said nothing, mostly because I believe in dreaming big. Maybe I can admit to myself that perhaps I even still dream of doing what my student wants to do.

But I know enough now to realize that you can never tell what will be a bestseller before it happens. You can guess, but there's no identifying marker. It's just the way the world works - and unless the publishing industry suddenly finds a way to get the focus and testing groups that Hollywood uses, I'm pretty we won't ever know a bestseller for sure until it hits the open market.

And that's because good books don't make bestsellers. Sometimes, really horrible books become bestsellers (I'm looking at you, Twilight). So, as writers, what do you do? Well, in my mind, you keep writing. And maybe dream just a little.

Writing Prompt: Onion-Like Headlines

Who doesn't love The Onion, that wonderfully absurd satire of journalism and news? (Not to mention its AV Club, which often has some of the best articles available on entertainment.) Sometimes, though, as Oscar Wilde put it, art imitates life. So today's prompt will be using the wonderful Tumblr site, Onion-Like Headlines in Real Life, which takes headlines from real newspapers.

Write a story based on one of the headlines at Onion-Like Headlines in Real Life.

This is a fun one, people, so go crazy! The more adventurous you are, the better!