It is both fearful and amazing when we realize this. Our lives are shaped by our actions. What we did yesterday or yesteryear is now embodied in our present. Look around the room you are in. If you didn't dust over the last week or month, it shows, doesn't it? If you didn't produce daily or weekly at the office, then your in-box is probably overflowing, right? Well, that applies to our thoughts as well.
So if you thought, I don't have time to exercise today, and repeated that thought and inaction over the last year, what are your results? A weight gain? Failing health? There is a cause-and-effect law at work here. We best honor it and take note.
For the most part, we need to see that causal link ourselves. Why is it some people see us better than we do? Shouldn't we ultimately know our own selves better? You would think. Now, on the reverse side, there are people who see us as worse than we really are. Just be able to see the difference. Respect the former, disregard the latter. But to acknowledge a flaw within ourselves is the first step to changing it. We all need such a spiritual awakening. I would prefer that internal insight over an external intervention--ha!
There is a freeing feeling to being in charge. I know that I much prefer working for myself than to be in the corporate environment. I am the boss. I am in charge. It is that satiating, driving emotion that lends itself to much efficient production in my career. We can also funnel it into our daily chores, our self-improvement program, our relationships. Once we see we are indeed in charge, we escape the victim mentality. I've always been preset to the survivor mentality so I escape the alternate mind-set.
Although we can definitely lapse into thinking that the government is in charge, that our bosses are in charge, that our spouses are in charge. To the first, I remind myself that "we the people" are in charge and we give voice to that with our votes and letters to Congress. For the second, if you are truly in a job that is worthy of you, I would think your opinion would be given great weight and full consideration by whoever is deemed in charge. If not, move on, taking your many talents with you.
As for the third, any relationship should be a mutual one, albeit friends or spouses. There should be give and take, should be an exchange of ideas and communication, should be an openness to new ideas and thoughts, as long as the foundational morals are not violated. I don't so much think of marriage as a 50-50 proposition, but more like a 110-110 partnership spending that nets a 150-150 partnership reward.
In other words, I try to be my best for the people I live with. I don't treat strangers better than the individuals I share every day with. I am also free to be fully myself. To give 110% to a marriage that would ultimately, through synergy, net me 150%. That is my theory. That is my opinion. That is my outlook. That is my goal.
Wishing you the best of careers and relationships as we come to the end of 2011 and embark on 2012.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
KDP's New Lending Library
In an earlier blog, I mentioned checking into Smashwords to access other markets, especially the iPhone and iPad markets. However, Kindle has free reading apps for those as well as downloads to your PC or Mac and your BlackBerry and Android phones. See www.amazon.com/gp/kindle/kcp. So I’ve decided to shelve the Smashwords uploads for now. Probably forever.
Plus, in the latest Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) Newsletter (see http://us.mg6.mail.yahoo.com/dc/launch?.gx=1&.rand=28jpjvdtdta07), the new Kindle Owners’ Lending Library has been born. If you, as an author/publisher, decide to enroll, you could share in the possible earnings based on the number of downloads of your e-books, but definitely in the free publicity and promo. The following is my understanding of the new Kindle offering but please check out the links herein to consult with the source--Kindle and Amazon.
With that caveat, I understand this lending library is an option available only to the U.S. Amazon Prime member (for about $79/year as of this writing) who can borrow a book free once a month with no due dates.
As the author/publisher, your works have to be exclusive to Kindle for at least ninety days. So if you the author/publisher have a new upload, just don’t upload anywhere else. If you as the author/publisher have an existing e-book for sale, take it down from Barnes & Noble and elsewhere. Once enrolled, you can opt to offer your titles for free for up to five days from every exclusive ninety-day period.
You earn royalties based on how many books are offered within the Kindle Lending Library that month and how much monies Amazon has set aside for that month. For December 2011, there is $500,000 available. If only 100,000 e-books are participating for those December 2011 dollars, then there is a $5 royalty per each lend. However, if 500,000 e-books are enrolled, the royalty drops to $1 per lend. These are my guesstimates here, folks.
Amazon states it has $6 million set aside for 2012. Divide that figure by twelve months and it averages $500,000 per month. HOWEVER, if more monies are set aside for the expected December 2012 Christmas shopping madness, then there would have to be less monies allotted among the remaining 2012 months. Just be aware of this as the newsletter did not spell out what monies are available for what month, just a yearly sum available for whatever distribution among the twelve months.
So from my perspective, this program is royalty-generating as well as another stream for promotion and publicity--getting your e-book before the select group of Amazon Prime members, who may ostensibly buy more books a year than those nonmembers. Just my opinion.
If your e-books are more expensive, selling at $7 or above, then yes, you are looking at reduced royalties from your standard offering. Still do not negate the free promotional factor involved in this latest Amazon perk.
Therefore, based on my interpretation, depending on your price setting, you could net increased revenues as well as broadening your reader numbers. Regardless, you gotta start somewhere, right? And Amazon is definitely covering the bases—free, royalty-generating, enhanced by lending—and with the differing levels of promo, this one site could be the end-all medium for advertising your work. And the social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) would remain . . . well, social.
As an aside, just from my limited reading, there may be more interest in YouTube videos, so keep that in mind as you develop your enhanced e-books. A book trailer seems to be well received. Again, this is just one woman’s musings. Take what makes sense to you and run with it. Discard the rest.
Consider me a clearinghouse of a jumble of info, distilling it down for me and then sharing it with you. I am not an expert. I am a layperson going the Indie-pubbed route and letting you see the workings of my mind for my career in my way. Best wishes to all!
To learn more about KDP Select, visit: http://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/KDPSelect.
To learn more about the Kindle Owners' Lending Library, visit: http://www.amazon.com/kindleownerslendinglibrary
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
2011 NaNoWriMo Stats
These are courtesy of the NaNo blog at http://blog.lettersandlight.org/post/13851021182, but partially recited here because I had mentioned wanting these numbers in an earlier posting of my own. Here's the pertinent scoop:
General Stats Round Up!
For NaNoWriMo main [does not include Young Writers Program]:
- 256,618 participants, up roughly 28% from 2010’s total of 200,530 writers.
- We wrote a total of 3,074,068,446 words, up 7% from 2010’s collective word count of 2,872,682,109.
- This averaged out to 11,979 words per person!
- We had 36,774 winners, giving us a 14% win rate!
Top 50 NaNoWriMo Cities (according to Google Analytics, based on number of November visits from these fine places)
- New York 77,947
- London 62,286
- Seattle 55,205
- Toronto 46,413
- Sydney 46,390
- Los Angeles 45,806
- Chicago 42,720
- Melbourne 40,588
- Portland 38,898
- Denver 37,972
- San Francisco 36,808
- Minneapolis 28,521
- Austin 28,095
- Houston 25,863
- Washington 25,812
- Brisbane 23,033
- Calgary 22,294
- Edmonton 21,618
- Ottawa 21,583
- San Diego 19,815
- Helsinki 19,793
- (not set) 19,435
- Phoenix 18,556
- Salt Lake City 18,347
- Vancouver 18,082
- Boston 17,850
- Philedelphia 17,664
- Columbus 17,558
- Tucson 17,551
- Kensington 17,262
- Ballinger 16,159
- Dublin 16,022
- Dallas 15,761
- Albuquerque 15,069
- Perth 14,949
- St Louis 14,910
- Auckland 14,873
- Edinburgh 14,575
- Montreal 14,260
- Singapore 13,993
- Colorado Springs 13,933
- Indianapolis 13,680
- Manchester 13,549
- Adelaide 13,477
- Sacramento 13,256
- San Antonio 13,170
- Atlanta 13,065
- Grand Rapids 12,939
- San Jose 12,925
- Madison 12,650
- United States 3,605,003
- United Kingdom 508,260
- Canada 385,383
- Australia 160,936
- Germany 99,752
- Netherlands 66,174
- Finland 51,164
- France 44,186
- Sweden 41,244
- New Zealand 32,109
- Norway 21,368
- Ireland 21,365
- Philippines 20,333
- Spain 18,887
- Denmark 15,888
- Japan 15,859
- Singapore 14,007
- South Africa 13,861
- Austria 13,436
- India 12,828
- Belgium 12,494
- Mexico 11,762
- (not set) 11,483
- Brazil 11,170
- Italy 10,820
- Portugal 10,261
- Poland 9,711
- South Korea 9,685
- Switzerland 8,956
- Indonesia 6,918
- Malaysia 6,618
- Israel 6,014
- Hungary 5,945
- Latvia 5,303
- China 4,665
- Romania 4,454
- Greece 4,262
- Russia 3,943
- Hong Kong 3,799
- Croatia 3,135
- Argentina 3,067
- United Arab Emirates 3,021
- Puerto Rico 2,949
- Thailand 2,719
- Estonia 2,655
- Taiwan 2,457
- Turkey 2,089
- Ukraine 1,974
- Czech Republic 1,914
- Malta 1,850
How fun was that?!? We’ll be adding top wordiest regions by total word count and by average words written per Wrimo, too.
- - -
I look forward to seeing the wordiest regions stats and will report them here when I know.
NaNo is a force. A power. A blessing. And lives on past November each year.
A Very Basic Tutorial on Uploading E-Books to Amazon and Barnes & Noble
I should have written this down while I was setting up my own account, but I didn't. However, I shared this with my budding author friend and decided to share it with others, as well. It is meant to be a shortcut, but you should go to the source and read all the Kindle/Nook literature yourself. After that, compare my listing below to the authorized site and adapt as needed. With that caveat, here goes.
1. Go to www.Amazon.com.
YOU DEFINITELY NEED TO PREVIEW THE DOWNLOAD. Here is where I spend at least two hours working out all the glitches. There will be strange indents happening and missed paragraphs or too many blank lines at different spots. You go back to your MSWord doc and play around with it, save it and then UPLOAD your document AGAIN within KDP, PREVIEW it again (and again) until it is pretty and looks like it should.
It SHOULD go without saying (but I will stress it here anyway) that your book be free from spelling snafus and grammatical errors, with no plot holes or inconsistencies and you have checked your facts.
You need a JPG cover (or maybe a TIF is allowed as well)--there are only two forms allowed. To get my JPG, I simply scan my cover into my home printer and play around with colors and text (title and author name) with the use of free art software called GIMP 2. MAKE SURE YOUR COVER LOOKS GOOD AS A THUMBNAIL--those small cover sizes you see when you peruse Amazon to buy a book.
For a cover, you can create your own, hire an artist or buy one of the royalty-free stock photos found online (like at www.istockphoto.com/). The problem I have with stock photos is that you (and anybody else) can buy the same photo and your book cover could be duplicated many many times. I like the uniqueness of having my own covers. Make sure any purchased stock photo is ROYALTY-FREE. You want just flat-rate services as you Indie-publish your e-books.
If you choose to sell your book at $2.98, you still get just the 35% royalty from that. However, if you go with the $2.99-up-to-$9.99 price ranges, you get 70% of the sales price (in the U.S.). My books are all 99 cents, with the exception of my copyediting manual, which is at $2.99. Pricing is up to you.
Check the box re Worldwide Rights, so you will be in all the countries where Amazon has an online store--right now: Italy, Spain, Germany, UK, France, U.S. There is something about "Do you want your project digitally protected from theft?" and I choose YES each time. It always confuses me but it seems to be a good thing (unless I've misunderstood it all this time).
TWO THINGS:
Three more things: (1) NO ADS are allowed in your e-book. I took that to mean even a preview of my new book and asking readers to buy it with a CLICK--although other authors seem to be doing this. HOWEVER, with an email or two to Amazon, they said it is not a contract violation for me to have a page (which I entitled OTHER BOOKS BY AUTHOR) of Amazon links to my other books. I do not want to do anything that bans me or my books from Amazon. (2) You cannot publicly share your royalties made. Weird, I know. But it is plain as day within the contract. (3) In fact, you cannot share the Amazon Contract publicly. So no postings to the WWW or even within a group forum posting or a blog.
For B&N, you go to PubIt! at http://pubit.barnesandnoble.com/pubit_app/bn?t=pi_reg_home and fill out their form. They only have a U.S. store at this point. There is a little extra step in uploading your JPG at B&N because of pixel size restrictions (750 to 2000 pixel count). I fix my Amazon cover to fit those B&N specs via GIMP 2 and make a second version of my cover to upload to B&N. B&N takes less time to upload its ebooks to LIVE status, but you still NEED TO PREVIEW your upload and fix the glitches that occur in translation.
The royalty rates are different at B&N, being 40% and 65%, respectively, compared to Amazon's.
Good luck all!
1. Go to www.Amazon.com.
2. At bottom in middle is Make Money with Us.
3. Fourth down is Independently Publish With Us. Click on that.
4. Which brings up the Self-Publish with Us page--first part is Self Publish via CreateSpace (to have your books in print) and the next down is Kindle Books (for e-books). Choose Kindle Books. You can download the free Kindle Publishing Guide or you can click Learn More to read about it, or you can click Get Started and just begin.
5. Under Get Started, it will ask you to set up your Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) Account (name, sign-in and other info, mailing address and if you want your royalties via check or via direct deposit. I did direct deposit).
6. After that, it should direct you to the BOOKSHELF area. Yours should be empty.
7. Click on Add a New Title. It will ask you for the usual stuff, the title, the publisher, that you have the rights to this work, if you have an ISBN. If you have no Publisher Name, Amazon will be your default publisher.
For e-books, it is not necessary to purchase an ISBN at this time (although there are contradictory opinions on this--if I had the money, I'd probably purchase my own block of ISBNs). Absent your own ISBNs, Amazon will assign you one of their inhouse ASIN routing numbers for free. Add in the author's name--but you can also choose to add the illustrator's name or co-author's name from the drop-down menu. You need a Synopsis, a short blurb of your work like you would see on a book jacket, so have one prepared. I think it gives you like 2400 WC to do that.
Amazon (or B&N) will take your Microsoft Word document (although there are other formats accepted, but MSWord seems to translate well) via their free software conversion process.
YOU DEFINITELY NEED TO PREVIEW THE DOWNLOAD. Here is where I spend at least two hours working out all the glitches. There will be strange indents happening and missed paragraphs or too many blank lines at different spots. You go back to your MSWord doc and play around with it, save it and then UPLOAD your document AGAIN within KDP, PREVIEW it again (and again) until it is pretty and looks like it should.
It SHOULD go without saying (but I will stress it here anyway) that your book be free from spelling snafus and grammatical errors, with no plot holes or inconsistencies and you have checked your facts.
You need a JPG cover (or maybe a TIF is allowed as well)--there are only two forms allowed. To get my JPG, I simply scan my cover into my home printer and play around with colors and text (title and author name) with the use of free art software called GIMP 2. MAKE SURE YOUR COVER LOOKS GOOD AS A THUMBNAIL--those small cover sizes you see when you peruse Amazon to buy a book.
Just reduce the % within MSWord from 100% to 25% and see how the cover looks. Even if you cannot read your name, make sure your cover still is recognizable and your title is readable.
For a cover, you can create your own, hire an artist or buy one of the royalty-free stock photos found online (like at www.istockphoto.com/). The problem I have with stock photos is that you (and anybody else) can buy the same photo and your book cover could be duplicated many many times. I like the uniqueness of having my own covers. Make sure any purchased stock photo is ROYALTY-FREE. You want just flat-rate services as you Indie-publish your e-books.
You will upload your cover in a separate step from your text. Hit "Save And Continue," going on to page two. You choose a royalty. For UNDER $2.99, you get 35%, I believe. So about 34 cents of the 99-cent price (which is the lowest price, whether you are selling a one-page research article on How To Lose Weight, or a 600-page tome) is your royalty amount.
If you choose to sell your book at $2.98, you still get just the 35% royalty from that. However, if you go with the $2.99-up-to-$9.99 price ranges, you get 70% of the sales price (in the U.S.). My books are all 99 cents, with the exception of my copyediting manual, which is at $2.99. Pricing is up to you.
Check the box re Worldwide Rights, so you will be in all the countries where Amazon has an online store--right now: Italy, Spain, Germany, UK, France, U.S. There is something about "Do you want your project digitally protected from theft?" and I choose YES each time. It always confuses me but it seems to be a good thing (unless I've misunderstood it all this time).
8. Click Upload or whatever once the two pages are filled out like you want.
9. Your book will be "Under Review" for at least a day and then it becomes LIVE and will appear on both your BOOKSHELF as well as the online Amazon site.
10. You should go to Amazon Author Central and consider uploading a picture of yourself or your pet or favorite landscape or your book cover. Upload your bio (I forget how many WC you have, but it's a lot). List your website if you have one. It won't take my blog page, so I added it to the end of my bio. List all your books here too. It will have the thumbnail of your novel show up soon and you just click Yes This Is My Book, or something like that.
11. Then you can go back to the BOOKSHELF page load and up top, choose next to it REPORTS, then MONTH TO DATE UNIT SALES and it will show you if you've made any sales in the U.S. You have to scroll down to the drop-down menu and choose UK, FR, ES, DE, IT to see about sales within the other online stores in other countries. It should default to the U.S. for us here in the States.
If you make more than $10 IN ROYALTIES at the end of a month (your 35% or your 70% of sales) or at the end of two months or whatever, then you will get a royalty check/direct deposit from Amazon in sixty days. I've received three or four from Amazon to date (I first uploaded March 27, 2011) and have received one royalty check from B&N.
TWO THINGS:
12. I never could get my tabbed indents to work for my paragraphs IN THE PREVIEW UPLOAD, so mine are flush left with an empty line between paragraphs. For my upcoming novels, I will use the ruler to set auto indent and no spacing between paragraphs--like the standard e-book and paperback formats. We'll see how that works out later.
13. YOU HAVE TO USE A SPECIAL "PAGE BREAK" FUNCTION WITHIN MICROSOFT WORD TO MARK YOUR CHAPTERS--or forced page breaks--OR THE UPLOAD WILL BE MESSY. Within MSWord, go to Insert, then choose Break, and finally select Page. THAT'S THE ONLY QUIRK WITHIN THE AMAZON UPLOAD.It does take me about three hours Previewing my work to get each e-book pretty before going public with it. Of course, once you set up your KDP account, then you just need to go to the BOOKSHELF area and ADD NEW TITLE each time.
You can edit both your initial personal info and the individual book info at any time by going back to BOOKSHELF and there is an "Actions" button to the far right-hand side of each title. Click on it and it gives you the ability to Edit Profile or Edit Book Details or Edit Rights, etc. Again, there is the "In Review" process going on and in a day or so, your book again becomes Live.
I read the Amazon contract but if you have the money, an Entertainment attorney can explain it to you probably for one hour's fee. I'm not saying you can get the terms changed, but at least you can have the boring legalese translated to you in layman's terms.
Three more things: (1) NO ADS are allowed in your e-book. I took that to mean even a preview of my new book and asking readers to buy it with a CLICK--although other authors seem to be doing this. HOWEVER, with an email or two to Amazon, they said it is not a contract violation for me to have a page (which I entitled OTHER BOOKS BY AUTHOR) of Amazon links to my other books. I do not want to do anything that bans me or my books from Amazon. (2) You cannot publicly share your royalties made. Weird, I know. But it is plain as day within the contract. (3) In fact, you cannot share the Amazon Contract publicly. So no postings to the WWW or even within a group forum posting or a blog.
That's "it" for Amazon. Ha! I know. In one initial sitting, it can be overwhelming, but you'll get through it. And then a couple months later, when your next e-book is ready for release, you will wonder if you remember how to do it. You will.
For B&N, you go to PubIt! at http://pubit.barnesandnoble.com/pubit_app/bn?t=pi_reg_home and fill out their form. They only have a U.S. store at this point. There is a little extra step in uploading your JPG at B&N because of pixel size restrictions (750 to 2000 pixel count). I fix my Amazon cover to fit those B&N specs via GIMP 2 and make a second version of my cover to upload to B&N. B&N takes less time to upload its ebooks to LIVE status, but you still NEED TO PREVIEW your upload and fix the glitches that occur in translation.
The royalty rates are different at B&N, being 40% and 65%, respectively, compared to Amazon's.
I am looking into Smashwords (another free site for e-book uploads) to access the other markets: Kobo, iPad, Sony reader, etc. Will let you know more about that when I get into it.
Good luck all!
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
The Beauty of NaNoWriMo Lives On
The benefits of NaNo are immense. I've blogged about some of them before, but NaNo still beats in my veins. It lives on.
We all have our speeds. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. As a novelist, NaNo is perfect for me. The ticking-time-bomb-in-the-bus momentum of the short-term goal (thirty days) keeps me striving for those 2K words daily. I hit my 50K mark early even with a job, a twenty-four bug confining me to bed for twenty hours and one earlier day of complete downtime, which was signaled as necessary by my low WC from the previous day.
The month-long focus on the WC keeps us honed in on the grand goal. Like a horse wearing blinders, we keep our eyes on the prize. I am guilty of multitasking, but the one-goal/one-focus has the benefits of COMPLETION. There is no procrastination involved. How cool is that?
Plus I had the wonderful side benefit of a writing buddy, an ex-coworker, who shared his NaNo project with me and I found him to be a genius storyteller. Which didn't surprise me as he is articulate whether speaking in person or via email. He has a sly humor that shows up as you listen to him or read his words. His work, his first draft mind you, is amazingly clean and resonates with intelligence and wit. Plus, he has the innate ability to juggle many characters within a short novel (just over 50,000 WC) and give them distinct personalities. Even with three characters whose names all started with N, I could easily keep them separated.
If I thought I could keep myself objective, "above the story," I'd go back to dissect and study his work-in-progress just to see how he so efficiently accomplished the 3-D embodiments of his people in his story land. Or I could just read it again for the sheer fun of it.
He also had used rhetorical devices, like foreshadowing, similes, metaphors. There were no plotting problems--no "that doesn't make sense" red flags within his draft. His FIRST draft.
The world will no doubt find a wonderful fantasy novelist within his debut novel. Whether he goes traditionally published or Indie, I cannot wait to read his finished book. I would not dare to share his name without his permission and I surely do not want to pressure this budding author. Plus he needs to decide whether to go with a pen name or not.
Do not despair. Upon publication, I will definitely give a grand shout out.
I feel a little smug in that it was me who mentioned NaNoWriMo to him--like a talent scout who hit gold in finding the next Michael Jordan, or Elvis Presley, or Elle McPherson. Hopefully he treasures his writing ability as much as I do and we'll all be sharing the gift of his tales in the near future.
So don't withhold your compliments. If they exist inside you, they should be shared. One simple encouragement could change someone's life. Even your own. After all, what goes around comes around. Keep verbalizing those good inspirations. We need to hear them.
We all have our speeds. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. As a novelist, NaNo is perfect for me. The ticking-time-bomb-in-the-bus momentum of the short-term goal (thirty days) keeps me striving for those 2K words daily. I hit my 50K mark early even with a job, a twenty-four bug confining me to bed for twenty hours and one earlier day of complete downtime, which was signaled as necessary by my low WC from the previous day.
The month-long focus on the WC keeps us honed in on the grand goal. Like a horse wearing blinders, we keep our eyes on the prize. I am guilty of multitasking, but the one-goal/one-focus has the benefits of COMPLETION. There is no procrastination involved. How cool is that?
Plus I had the wonderful side benefit of a writing buddy, an ex-coworker, who shared his NaNo project with me and I found him to be a genius storyteller. Which didn't surprise me as he is articulate whether speaking in person or via email. He has a sly humor that shows up as you listen to him or read his words. His work, his first draft mind you, is amazingly clean and resonates with intelligence and wit. Plus, he has the innate ability to juggle many characters within a short novel (just over 50,000 WC) and give them distinct personalities. Even with three characters whose names all started with N, I could easily keep them separated.
If I thought I could keep myself objective, "above the story," I'd go back to dissect and study his work-in-progress just to see how he so efficiently accomplished the 3-D embodiments of his people in his story land. Or I could just read it again for the sheer fun of it.
He also had used rhetorical devices, like foreshadowing, similes, metaphors. There were no plotting problems--no "that doesn't make sense" red flags within his draft. His FIRST draft.
The world will no doubt find a wonderful fantasy novelist within his debut novel. Whether he goes traditionally published or Indie, I cannot wait to read his finished book. I would not dare to share his name without his permission and I surely do not want to pressure this budding author. Plus he needs to decide whether to go with a pen name or not.
Do not despair. Upon publication, I will definitely give a grand shout out.
I feel a little smug in that it was me who mentioned NaNoWriMo to him--like a talent scout who hit gold in finding the next Michael Jordan, or Elvis Presley, or Elle McPherson. Hopefully he treasures his writing ability as much as I do and we'll all be sharing the gift of his tales in the near future.
So don't withhold your compliments. If they exist inside you, they should be shared. One simple encouragement could change someone's life. Even your own. After all, what goes around comes around. Keep verbalizing those good inspirations. We need to hear them.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Two More Grammar Lessons
Again, these are basics addressed here, yet I see misused too often in print. So, today's grammar lessons are on (1) double versus single quotes and (2) hyphenated words versus compound words.
Double versus Single Quotes
Double quotes surround any dialogue. That's the easiest-to-remember rule. Example: "I'm going to the grocery store. Y'all want anything?" she asked.
Just remember to use them in pairs. UNLESS you have a multiple-paragraph monologue spoken by a single speaker, then start each paragraph with an opening quote for paragraph one, paragraph two, on to the ending paragraph. Which is the only paragraph that ends with a closing quote (see CMS 11.36).
Double quotes can also surround text that is not dialogue. Example: She didn't consider herself a "real" author because she had not yet sold anything.
In the above context, the quotations around the word real were used to show emphasis, just as my italicized font of the same word produces its own emphasis. Whether you use quotes or italics probably depends on what other quotes and italics are nearby, in my opinion. Keep 'em varied yet concise and clear is my mantra.
Single quotes are ONLY used within double quotes. Example: "Do you know what he said to me?" she yelled. "He said, 'You are no longer pretty to me anymore.' He told me that to my face. Can you believe it?" she railed, then fell into the chair exhausted.
That is the ONLY time you use single quotes. If I can later think of any exception to this rule, I'll let you know.
Hyphenated Words versus Compound Words
A compound word is just that: two words, equally usable alone, one word here and another word there, but with a third existence as a compound word. Examples: paperwork, homework, silverware, stemware, lovemaking. No hyphens are found within these compound words. They are not compound words if a hyphen rightfully belongs between.
I find a lot of improperly hyphenated words in my reading. It may boil down to something as simple as not being able to interpret Webster's correctly. Anyway, that is my assumption here as it can be misleading when you look up any prefix or suffix. Examples: pre-, post-, anti-, mid- for prefixes and -ful and -less for suffixes.
Even though "pre-" has its own entry within Webster's, that DOES NOT MEAN all words that start with this prefix must have the hyphen next. Wrong. The hyphenated entry highlights the prefix nature of this combination of letters. The hyphen denotes the need for this prefix to be joined with other words. The hyphen at the END of this prefix demands that any conjoining of a word must be at the back end.
Just like a suffix such as "-less" and "-ful" only allow for mating with a word at the front end. You do NOT retain the hyphen. Examples: mindless and roomful.
These prefixes and suffices are NOT WORDS. Not in their standalone hyphenated forms found in Webster's. These are simply letter groupings awaiting a word to complete them.
I have Webster's uploaded to my laptop so I can see a listing of all words combined with "pre-" that are deemed hyphenless by Webster's. If a particular word is not on that list, then, yes, it should be written to include the hyphen.
Within its many incarnations, whether online, digital or hardcopy, Webster's uses a raised dot to separate its syllables. For a TRUE hyphenated usage, there is a longer hyphen shown. I presume that is to differentiate it from the shorter hyphenlike dividers used within its pronunciation guide falling directly below or behind the syllable view of the word. To avoid confusion. Which we should all keep in mind.
As with most English grammar rules, there are exceptions. In the preceding paragraph, I used the word hyphenlike. It is not found in Webster's whether I look up "hyphenlike" or "hyphen-like" or under just "-like." Therefore I have chosen to conjoin the noun with the suffix. You will note though that Webster's separates any occurrence of three Ls in a row by inserting a hyphen. Example: bell-like (per Webster's). That's a good rule to follow as three Ls in a row makes a red flag pop up in my mind with a misspelling alert.
Believe me, you do not want your readers stopping midsentence to question you on your spelling or grammar. You do not want confused readers either. So keep these structural basics in mind especially as we authors create our novels. However, it is just as useful in the business world or when writing a complaint letter or a love letter, for that matter.
Communication is critical. How many problems have erupted from a sheer miscommunication? So let's try to avoid all that and get our thoughts and desires eloquently and succinctly shared with our intended audience.
P.S. As I end this blog, I am reminded that some people will misinterpret what we are saying, no matter how painstakingly well said, based on their own experiences or mind-set. We have no control over that. A man who thinks all women love shopping for clothes in a mall is the victim of a generalization and, while I cannot change that oversimplification, I can choose to not be around him as his personification would irk me to no end. I hate being lumped into a grouping where I do not belong. My uniqueness is smothered, suffocated. For all my commonalities with the female sex, I am an individual and like being seen for my own attributes.
Just like the credo for authors (every reader is not your intended audience), there is a similar axiom for people (everyone will not like you or see you for who you are). That is why those rare few who see me as I see me are so precious to me.
Seek those in your life. You will be richly rewarded.
Double versus Single Quotes
Double quotes surround any dialogue. That's the easiest-to-remember rule. Example: "I'm going to the grocery store. Y'all want anything?" she asked.
Just remember to use them in pairs. UNLESS you have a multiple-paragraph monologue spoken by a single speaker, then start each paragraph with an opening quote for paragraph one, paragraph two, on to the ending paragraph. Which is the only paragraph that ends with a closing quote (see CMS 11.36).
Double quotes can also surround text that is not dialogue. Example: She didn't consider herself a "real" author because she had not yet sold anything.
In the above context, the quotations around the word real were used to show emphasis, just as my italicized font of the same word produces its own emphasis. Whether you use quotes or italics probably depends on what other quotes and italics are nearby, in my opinion. Keep 'em varied yet concise and clear is my mantra.
Single quotes are ONLY used within double quotes. Example: "Do you know what he said to me?" she yelled. "He said, 'You are no longer pretty to me anymore.' He told me that to my face. Can you believe it?" she railed, then fell into the chair exhausted.
That is the ONLY time you use single quotes. If I can later think of any exception to this rule, I'll let you know.
Hyphenated Words versus Compound Words
A compound word is just that: two words, equally usable alone, one word here and another word there, but with a third existence as a compound word. Examples: paperwork, homework, silverware, stemware, lovemaking. No hyphens are found within these compound words. They are not compound words if a hyphen rightfully belongs between.
I find a lot of improperly hyphenated words in my reading. It may boil down to something as simple as not being able to interpret Webster's correctly. Anyway, that is my assumption here as it can be misleading when you look up any prefix or suffix. Examples: pre-, post-, anti-, mid- for prefixes and -ful and -less for suffixes.
Even though "pre-" has its own entry within Webster's, that DOES NOT MEAN all words that start with this prefix must have the hyphen next. Wrong. The hyphenated entry highlights the prefix nature of this combination of letters. The hyphen denotes the need for this prefix to be joined with other words. The hyphen at the END of this prefix demands that any conjoining of a word must be at the back end.
Just like a suffix such as "-less" and "-ful" only allow for mating with a word at the front end. You do NOT retain the hyphen. Examples: mindless and roomful.
These prefixes and suffices are NOT WORDS. Not in their standalone hyphenated forms found in Webster's. These are simply letter groupings awaiting a word to complete them.
I have Webster's uploaded to my laptop so I can see a listing of all words combined with "pre-" that are deemed hyphenless by Webster's. If a particular word is not on that list, then, yes, it should be written to include the hyphen.
Within its many incarnations, whether online, digital or hardcopy, Webster's uses a raised dot to separate its syllables. For a TRUE hyphenated usage, there is a longer hyphen shown. I presume that is to differentiate it from the shorter hyphenlike dividers used within its pronunciation guide falling directly below or behind the syllable view of the word. To avoid confusion. Which we should all keep in mind.
As with most English grammar rules, there are exceptions. In the preceding paragraph, I used the word hyphenlike. It is not found in Webster's whether I look up "hyphenlike" or "hyphen-like" or under just "-like." Therefore I have chosen to conjoin the noun with the suffix. You will note though that Webster's separates any occurrence of three Ls in a row by inserting a hyphen. Example: bell-like (per Webster's). That's a good rule to follow as three Ls in a row makes a red flag pop up in my mind with a misspelling alert.
Believe me, you do not want your readers stopping midsentence to question you on your spelling or grammar. You do not want confused readers either. So keep these structural basics in mind especially as we authors create our novels. However, it is just as useful in the business world or when writing a complaint letter or a love letter, for that matter.
Communication is critical. How many problems have erupted from a sheer miscommunication? So let's try to avoid all that and get our thoughts and desires eloquently and succinctly shared with our intended audience.
P.S. As I end this blog, I am reminded that some people will misinterpret what we are saying, no matter how painstakingly well said, based on their own experiences or mind-set. We have no control over that. A man who thinks all women love shopping for clothes in a mall is the victim of a generalization and, while I cannot change that oversimplification, I can choose to not be around him as his personification would irk me to no end. I hate being lumped into a grouping where I do not belong. My uniqueness is smothered, suffocated. For all my commonalities with the female sex, I am an individual and like being seen for my own attributes.
Just like the credo for authors (every reader is not your intended audience), there is a similar axiom for people (everyone will not like you or see you for who you are). That is why those rare few who see me as I see me are so precious to me.
Seek those in your life. You will be richly rewarded.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Hardcover Edition of Nightingale by David Farland Available Soon
The hardcover copy of Nightingale is coming out in a few days, even though the actual release date is not until March 2012. However, you can "get it now" via mail if you order online at www.Nightingalenovel.com.
Read on for the synopsis of Nightingale with some of its many reviews and more about its talented author, David Farland.
NIGHTINGALE, by David Farland, YA FANTASY THRILLER
Bron Jones was abandoned at birth, forced into foster care, and passed from home to home. At age 16, he’s alone and friendless, a complete outsider—until he gets one last chance. He's sent to live with a wondrous teacher, Olivia, who recognizes him for what he is: a "Nightingale," a creature not quite human.
Now, epic forces combine to pull Bron apart, stripping him from the only real parents, friends, and girlfriend he's ever known. Bron must risk everything to answer the mysteries: "Where did I come from? What am I? Who am I?”
“A beautifully crafted experience: stunning art, haunting music and delightfully subtle animated accents all accompany a riveting and deeply human story. There is (quite literally) nothing else like it.”
Bron Jones was abandoned at birth, forced into foster care, and passed from home to home. At age 16, he’s alone and friendless, a complete outsider—until he gets one last chance. He's sent to live with a wondrous teacher, Olivia, who recognizes him for what he is: a "Nightingale," a creature not quite human.
Now, epic forces combine to pull Bron apart, stripping him from the only real parents, friends, and girlfriend he's ever known. Bron must risk everything to answer the mysteries: "Where did I come from? What am I? Who am I?”
“A beautifully crafted experience: stunning art, haunting music and delightfully subtle animated accents all accompany a riveting and deeply human story. There is (quite literally) nothing else like it.”
- Editionals
“A thrilling ride, with plenty of twists, action, and amazing characters. I ripped through it. Highly recommended.”
- James Dashner
New York Times Bestseller
New York Times Bestseller
“Farland is simply one of the best sci-fi and fantasy writers alive.”
- Orson Scott Card
Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award Winner
Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award Winner
David Farland is the international bestselling author of nearly fifty books, including such award-winning novels as the science fiction masterpiece On My Way to Paradise (Philip K. Dick Memorial Special Award Winner, Best Novel in English Language) and the historical novel In the Company of Angels (Whitney Award Winner: Best Novel of the Year). He is best known though for his fantasy work, which includes the New York Times bestselling series The Runelords, and his lovable and wacky middle-grade fantasy series Ravenspell.
With Nightingale, Dave makes his first foray into creating his own young adult series. (Dave has written young adult novels for both the Star Wars and Mummy franchises as Dave Wolverton, but this is the first young adult universe that he's created for himself.)
In addition to writing novels, Dave has also worked in videogames on such international bestselling games as Starcraft: Brood Wars, and Xena: The Talisman of Fate.
More recently, Dave has worked in the film industry as a movie producer and a screenwriter. His screenplay for the Runelords in now in development for a major motion picture.
Throughout his career, Dave has worked extensively helping new writers through his work as coordinating judge of the Writers of the Future, as a creative writing instructor at Brigham Young University, and by teaching writing seminars. Many of his students have gone on to become some of the most successful writers of our time, including such #1 international bestsellers as Brandon Sanderson, Brandon Mull, and Stephenie Meyer.
Go to www.nightingalenovel.com/press.
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