Crime Fiction Dossier (Old)

Latest Overnight Success? stories

Three new stories just went up on the Overnight Success? website:

Chris Grabenstein, Sean Doolittle and Brian Freeman

The more of these stories I read, the more my belief is confirmed that there are no short cuts to becoming a published author. It's hard, it's frustrating and it usually takes a long time, but for those who finally make it, it's worth it.

You can't get around it just by writing a check.

Slightly Sarcastic Rules for Writers

Over on the Lipstick Chronicles, author Susan McBride offers her Slightly Sarcastic Rules for Writers, which include some light-hearted tips on word counts and margins, but also some gospel truth about not paying to be published and never paying an agent reading fees.

This is advice that a lot of aspiring writers don't want to hear, but McBride is right on. There is no substitute for the traditional way of doing things, and no shortcut to getting it done.

Publishing can be an awful, frustrating business, but talent, persistence and a little bit of luck can still bring success. You can't get around that by writing a check.

(Thanks to Lee for the tip.)

Barry Eisler's thoughts on marketing

Barry Eisler, one of my favorite writers and a very bright guy, shares his thoughts on writing and marketing over at M.J. Rose's blog. There are 3 posts in all, so scroll down to the first one ("Guest Blogger - Bestselling author Barry Eisler") and read up from there.

This is must-read stuff for anyone who is or wants to be a writer.

He also recently posted some great information for writers on his website.

In this corner, coming in at #17, is Tess Gerritsen

Tess Gerritsen touched off a mini-controversy recently by expressing on her blog her disappointment with how her most recent book is doing in paperback:

So what's the latest in the writing life? To start off, I'm sorry to report that I didn't [celebrate] on Wednesday night. Alas, the first partial week's paperback sales of Body Double only got it to #17 on the NYT list. Sigh.

Her remarks struck me as honest and perfectly reasonable. Everyone wants to do well, no matter how successful they are, and performing below your expectations is disappointing. Of course, for obvious reasons, I would urge writers not to make statements like this, because it has the tendency to prompt negative reactions.

To wit, Lee Goldberg, among others, took exception to her remarks:

Gee, life is tough.  I guess when you reach a certain level of success, you lose all perspective. Having a book reach #17 on the NY Times bestseller list may put Tess  in the doldrums...but for the vast  majority of published authors, cracking the list at all would be cause for celebration. Surely, she knows that, right?

Tess then posted a response to the controversy:

It seems that writers who reach a certain level of success aren't allowed to have any insecurities, any doubts about our careers. We shouldn't be allowed to wonder if our sales are in a death spiral, whether we've lost "it". We should simply smile and wave and feel like, well, the untouchable queen of England.

To his credit, Lee later rethought his position and, proving that he's a stand-up guy, apologized:

Why didn't I see it that way from the get-go? Tess wasn't at fault, it was me. I was way out of line. Tess, I owe you a sincere apology.

Considering the state of publishing today, concerns like only making #17 on the bestseller charts are very real and justified.

I know of one author, a New York Times bestseller with what I can only assume is a huge following, who is currently without a publisher for his popular series and is meeting with a chorus of "ho hums" from New York. Why? Because his most recent publisher did a crappy job of promoting his last couple books and they only sold 100,000 copies instead of 200,000.

When you're a writer, the fear and the pressure never stop, no matter how big you get, no matter how much success you have. Everyone is only one contract away from being finished.

Missing in Action: out-of-print books

Frank Wilson (my editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer) recently wrote a blog post about out-of-print books and neglected authors that inspired me. He wrote:

It has been estimated that 99 percent of all the books ever published are out of print. Certainly, enough people want to read out-of-print books to make for a thriving second-hand book business.

A couple of Sundays ago I wrote about a book that's out of print: John O'Hara's Sermons and Soda-Water. I was surprised at how many people sent me emails about O'Hara and what I had to say about him...

The response to my column about O'Hara encourages me to continue writing from time to time about books no longer in print, and about neglected authors. Aficionados of used-book stores are just the sort of people to have favorite neglected writers. So if any of you read this, let me know about them.

Again, I am convinced that the literary blogosphere can bring about a seismic change in critical outlook. We just have to get the conversation going.

I have decided to do something similar of my own. Thus, I will soon launch a new series called "Missing in Action," where I will write about favorite books of mine that have gone out of print. (Feel free to share some of your favorites as well.)

What effect the blogosphere can have at resurrecting these lost titles, I have no idea. I suspect it's probably small. But at least we'll have tried.

Look for the first entry in this series soon: Robert Ward's Red Baker.

Two new Overnight Success? stories

Over on the Overnight Success? website, I just posted two new author stories, from Margaret Coel and Clea Simon. I think you'll find both of them interesting.

Check 'em out!

Wanted posters: update

I wrote last week about a pair of "Wanted" posters that I received from Harper Collins advertising the availability of their authors at Bouchercon for interviews. Since then, I've been getting one a day, and they're apparently continuing for a while to come (according to the publisher).

So, in addition to the previously mentioned Dennis "The Mystic" Lehane and Laura "Closed Door" Lippman, I've also got ones for T. Jefferson "Break-out Artist" Parker, Susan "The Runaway" McBride, Robin "The Outlaw" Burcell and Jonathan "The Con Artist" Santlofer. I've gotta hand it to HC, this is a pretty cool idea.

I can see about taking a picture and posting it, if there's any interest.

Wanted: Laura Lippman

I got another Wanted poster today (like the one I wrote about yesterday with Dennis Lehane). This time the subject is Laura Lippman. So I guess Dennis isn't the only one who's special.

I should definitely interview Laura, right? Of course, then I'd have to buy the drinks. Hmmm...

It's good to be Dennis Lehane

The UPS man just brought me a unique promotional item: a Wanted poster for Dennis Lehane, advertising his availability for interviews at Bouchercon. Most authors can't get their publishers to spend a dime on them, but Harper Collins printed up colorful posters and sent 'em out just to let people know Lehane would talk to them.

Clearly, Dennis has something on the folks at Morrow. I'd interview him, but I don't know what I'd ask... "So, you ever gonna finish that book about the Oklahoma race riots and the Boston police strike you've been talking about for the past 3 years?"

(See, this is why writers shouldn't talk about works in progress. It just leads smart ass critics to make snarky comments.)

I've been misquoted!

I was at the bookstore today looking over the new paperbacks to check for any blurbs from my reviews. (Yes, I do that. Gotta stroke the ego somehow, right?) I found one on the first page of the mass market edition of Jack Kerley's The Hundreth Man.

"A cracking debut." --Chicago Sun-Times

Okay, cool. Always nice to see my words in print. Only problem is, I didn't write that. What I actually wrote was "The Hundredth Man is a crackling debut."

Crackling. Not cracking. I was saying that the story is "lively, energetic, intense." It's a good thing. If you're a Brit, saying something is "cracking" is likewise a compliment. I'm not British, though, nor do I flavor my reviews with English slang. I am not, after all, an affected ponce.

You'd think the publisher would have someone who checks on stuff like that. Of course, maybe it was just a typo. I don't know which would be worse.

Whether it's "crackling" or "cracking," though, The Hundredth Man is a good book, so I recommend it to you either way.