To Cap or Not to Cap: That Is the Question

Photo by Chumsdock, Flickr.com

Ah, dearies, it’s so good to see you again. I must be on my way shortly to meet the girls for tea, but I do want to tell you about an experience I had over the weekend. Your Style Maven’s still shaking her head over this one.

Let’s begin at the beginning. I stopped at a bookstore to pick up a new novel by one of my favorite authors. I’ve wanted to read it ever since it came out, and it was my great fortune to acquire the last copy on the shelf. While on my way to pay for it, I stopped to peek at an enticingly-colored flyer on the bulletin board, announcing the upcoming release of a new novel by another favorite writer.

I gasped. My heart fluttered. I blinked and looked again to be sure my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me—they do that sometimes, you know. This time they saw what they saw. Above the image of the positively captivating cover, the words in the title jumped out at me, all seven of them. Now seven is a perfectly nice number, but only the title’s first word was capitalized. The other six were apparently considered too insignificant by the person who prepared the flyer to begin with a capital letter. While this sentence-style capitalization is often used in reference lists and library catalogs, I seemed to recall that book titles in most written formats should follow the rules of headline-style capitalization.

My mind began to churn. I headed for the shelf where my trusty grammar guide, the Chicago Manual of Style, sat a bit forward of the other books, as though anticipating my imminent arrival. I reached for it, hurried to a nearby table, and opened the index in the back. My practiced finger ran down the possibilities in each column, scurried to the chosen reference, and moved slowly past each line as my eyes perused the rules. Yes, yes, it was just as I remembered: all nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and some conjunctions in a book title should be capitalized.

I read the rule again. Now, mind you, my reading ability is totally intact. I just wanted to be sure that nothing had changed, but it had—more on that in a moment. Now don’t get in a dither; much is the same. You know that prepositions, unless they function as adjectives or adverbs, should normally be lower case. However, if they begin or end the title, it is appropriate to capitalize them (ex.: Of Mice and Men). Check the CMOS for other exceptions. Remember that to is lower case, also, when it appears as part of an infinitive. Similarly, as should always be lower case unless it begins the title (ex., As You Like It); so should conjunctions and, but, or, for, and nor. The list could go on, but I do want to get to that change before I must leave. If I’m even a minute late, those ever-so-punctual girls will make sure I never hear the end of it.

In the past, the recommendation has been that the second element of a hyphenated word or number be lower case. Now, however, CMOS acknowledges the functional equality of the second element and therefore notes that it, too, should be capitalized. (Think “Ninety-Nine Bottles of Beer on the Wall.")

Oh, my goodness, look at the time! If I don’t dash away this moment, I will surely be late. Ta-ta, dearies. I’ll see you again soon. Do check Chicago’s sixteenth edition if you have the slightest doubt about this change or the proper use of headline-style capitalization.

Photo courtesy of Darrick Bartholomew

When time and schedule permit, the Style Maven relaxes on her porch with a mid-morning cup of tea and her favorite book, the Chicago Manual of Style. Other times, her alter ego busies herself knitting doggie vests and sundry other pretties. Do stop by and say hello to her at The Procraftinator.

The Stigma

People don’t want to admit they hire ghostwriters. There is a stigma attached to using a ghostwriter, and we might as well admit it.

Why should this be?

Whether they can write well or not, people think they should be able to write. We are funny about writing. We think everyone can write – after all, we learned how in first grade! Reading and writing are a big part of what makes us “civilized.”

One of the correlating lessons that we learned, at the tender age of four or five, was that we must do our own work. Never, ever, copy someone else. We are all capable of learning the skill of writing.

A first grader can write a simple story. A fourth grader can write a book report. By the time we get to high school, we have learned to research and do reports on complex subjects. We have learned grammar and spelling and sentence construction. We have read some great works of Literature. We know what makes a book good.

So now we are adults and should be able to write a book of our own. If we have someone else do it for us, that means we’re cheating. Right?

Well, no. Not always.

I’m a ghostwriter. I make my living writing books for others. I believe this is a perfectly legitimate way to get thoughts, ideas, methods and stories out into the world where they can do some good. Why should only those with writing talent or the time to write be able to share their stories in written form? You can hire decorators to help you beautify your house, and mechanics to keep your car running smoothly, and gardeners to prune the roses at the right time. It’s just as okay to hire writers to help you get your thoughts and stories out into the world in a way that other people will enjoy reading about them.

Of course those thoughts, ideas, methods, and stories must be those of the author – not the ghostwriter. If you want to write a book, or an article, or a blog post, about the eagle’s nesting habits, or the history of the Watergate scandal, or how to grow tomatoes, but you don’t have the time or the skill to write it yourself, then hire a ghostwriter. But you must tell your ghostwriter all you know and want to say about those eagles or tomatoes or Watergate. And then you can legitimately claim that book as yours. Because it is.

No stigma left.  

Kim Pearson is an author, ghostwriter, and owner of Primary Sources, a writing service that helps others become authors of professional and compelling books and articles. She has authored 6 books of her own, and ghostwritten more than 40 non-fiction books and memoirs. To learn more about her books or services, visit http://www.primary-sources.com/.

Social Media Marketing: Here to Stay or Gone Tomorrow?

An article I recently read caused the writer in me to ponder the future of book marketing via social media. The piece might be a downer to some or a challenge to others. Or perhaps it expresses the view of one person who tapped into a sea of stats and turned his findings into an op-ed designed to dampen the dreams of writers in search of book sales. Or it may be a well-thought-out evaluation that reflects the proverbial handwriting on the wall. For me it’s a challenge — I love challenges — but check it out for yourself here.

The book-publishing world has plunged from the ranks of standardized, regulated industries into a free-for-all. Anybody can jump into the foray and grasp at its elusive straws. Rules don't exist within its vague boundaries, logical organization has left the building, and the proverbial needle in a haystack looks like a sure find beside the unrealized hopes of myriad writers. Credibility takes a back seat to gimmicks, schemes, and outright lies. Or so the article implies to me. Social media — specifically Facebook and Twitter — as a viable vehicle for e-publishing promotion, he indicates, is doomed to slither off into extinction and leave behind disillusioned authors without that marketplace in which to showcase their wares.

Is e-pubbing through social media destined to suffer a premature death? If it does, surely something more marvelous will surface to take its place. Writers and marketers, who possess some of the world’s most innovative imaginations, will not be deterred when old dead-ends segue into new highways to success. The noted article may accurately prophesy the end of an era that has seen mind-boggling growth. On the other hand, social media as a marketing tool may evolve from its current state as an unruly adolescent into an organized, mature, and effective location where readers can stroll among virtual bookshelves without the frustration that marks today’s online pandemonium (spoken like the intimidated Internet illiterate I am, but I’m sure I have company). Perhaps some form of business media will take on e-pubbing while its social counterpart goes its separate way. Illustrator and web designer Shannon Parish, who works mostly with writers, suggested that audio books could come into their own as a new force in the industry.

Tucked beneath the article’s harsh prediction lie huge opportunities for honest, well-earned success. Even now, out of the chaos, new authors and e-published works emerge to claim a profitable place within the reading community.

How can we avoid the potential for crashing if social media marketing fails to produce sales? One answer is collaboration. Building a team of proven professionals can spell the difference between outrageous success and overwhelming disappointment. The vast majority of us can’t do it alone…but that’s a topic for next month’s article.

Have you found social media to be an effective marketing tool? If it disappears, do you believe a literary Phoenix will rise from its ashes to rekindle (no pun intended) book sales? How do you think the bookstore of the future will serve those who just want to write?

Writer and editor Linda Lane helps writers to write well. She believes the best relationships between editors and authors create a learning environment that fixes ailing stories and hones needy craft. Writing is a profession, and professional writing is a learned skill that can be sharpened through the editing process. This summer she will be adding book reviews to the list of services she offers through www.denvereditor.com. Visit her there to see how she and her team can help you realize your dream of creating a great book.

POV: 1 or 2?

In the book you're working on, do you tell the story from one Point of View or two?

One POV is usually the norm. Most of the books I read are told by one protagonist or lead character. We're inside her or his head. We know what she thinks, what he sees, what she experiences, likes, hates. S/he can't hide thoughts from the readers because we are in the head of the lead character. This is the kind of books I write.

But I'm now planning on having two lead characters. Two Points of View. The reader will be in the heads, see the thoughts, know the plans, fears, intentions, hopes of two characters. Two opposite characters.

I have the one POV version of the book written. The reader identifies with the lead character, lives in the head of that character. Now I'm going to tear the book apart, let the reader see not only the protagonist's thoughts but those of the antagonist. Two heads.

Two heads with different goals, plans, hopes. Two opposites. One will live. One will die.

Each POV must be recognizable. You can't have the reader getting lost and not being sure which character's head he's in as he's reading.

Each POV must tell the truth to the reader. You, the writer, can't hide his or her thoughts. We're in their heads so we know what they're thinking, planning, doing. And yet, you have to keep the tension ratcheted up.

You also have to make the antagonist believable. Even the ultimate bad guy has something that keeps him "human". It could be a serial killer who talks to his pet turtle. It could be a grandma who is such a sour puss that no one in her family visits her. What they don't know is that she volunteers at a group home for orphaned children.

How do you make your characters believable and even relatable? Granted, it's not likely that your readers will relate to a serial killer, but if you know the character well enough, you will know that one little quirk he has that makes him human.

Have you written a book with two different leads? How do you make both characters "real"?

Helen Ginger is an author, blogger, and the Coordinator of Story Circle Network's Editorial Services and writing coach. She teaches public speaking as well as writing and marketing workshops. You can follow Helen on Twitter or connect with her on Facebook and LinkedIn. Helen is the author of 3 books in TSTC Publishing’s TechCareers series, Angel Sometimes, and two of her short stories can be found in the anthology, The Corner Cafe. Her next book, Dismembering the Past, is due out in 2013.

Writing Tips From the Funny Papers

I always get an extra chuckle out of a comic strip that speaks to me as a writer. Some of the messages are a little hard to take, though. Consider this first one.

From B.C. Wiley, sitting under a tree with Clumsy Clark, is opening a box and says, "A gift from my agent."

He reads a note he finds in the box, "Some writers are appreciated even more when they have passed on from this earth."

Clumsy says, "That's sweet. What's in the box?"

Wiley opens it, "A Noose."

Oops, maybe it's a good thing not to have an agent.

 Now some wacky definitions from  Wiley's Dictionary. 

• Perfect pitch: Best-selling roofing tar
• Counterrevolution: The invention of Formica

This one is from Peanuts: Charlie Brown has just finished writing a new story and is reading it to Snoopy. When he finishes, Snoopy shakes his hand. In the last panel Charlie Brown says,  "I guess he didn't like it. That was his 'good luck, you're going to need it' handshake." 

Snoopy is a tough audience.

This one from Pickles is not writing related, but it does have some fun with words:  Earl is at the kitchen table, looking up at the ceiling. Nelson walks in and asks, "What are you looking at, Grampa?"

"Nothing, I was looking at a crack in the ceiling, but now I've got a crick in my neck and I'm stuck like this. From now on I'll probably have to be fed from above like a baby bird."

Nelson then goes to Opal and says, "Grampa was looking at a crack and then he got a crick."

To which Opal relies, "That's a crock."

Be sure to check out yesterday's Pickles strip for more fun with words. 

A message from Non Sequitur: Moses is standing on the mountain with the stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments. People are gathered down below and one man says, "OK, enough with the hard news. Can we have the sports or comics section now?"

I'll second that motion. What about you? 

Maryann Miller is a novelist, editor and sometimes actress. Her most recent release is Boxes For Beds, an historical mystery available as an e-book. Stalking Season is the second book in the Seasons Mystery Series. The first book, Open Season, is available as an e-book for all devices. To check out her editing rates visit her website. When not working, Maryann likes to take her dog for a walk and work outside on her little ranch in East Texas. Sometimes she plays on stage, but she does avoid computer games as much as possible.

An Original Way to Make Any Story Plausible

To enjoy a story, we need to feel that the author's world is - within its own logic - plausible; and for a story, howsoever fantastical, to be plausible it must be grounded in the reader's world. Does that sound provocative? Let me explain.

A sci-fi tale may consist improbably of a dialogue between sentient sunbeams. But at least we're familiar with dialogue and sunbeams.

Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings is plausible (within its own logic), not solely because it's built on familiar epic myths, but because its weird characters are - arguably - human beings endowed with the properties of household pets. We know what they are.

Within a story, we have to detect aspects of our own world. We know what that is. Otherwise, we just won't understand the story.

Plausibility in fiction is the detection of familiarity.

How can we give our stories that reader-engaging tenor of plausibility - or familiarity - even if our plots or characters are very weird indeed?

Here are two proven ways:

1. Create a Big Lie - and be proud of it.

Almost every story hinges upon an implausibility. Confront it - and get it over with.

At the start of Frederick Forsyth's thriller The Cobra the protagonist Paul Devereux, a discredited secret agent, is given $2 billion by the U.S. President to destroy the world's cocaine traffic. He takes the job on one condition: that he won't tell anyone what he's doing, not even the President.

Ridiculous!

Yet the novel works. Why? Because once the reader has swallowed the Big Lie, it proceeds with a meticulous - and plausible - logic.

One way to do this is to surround the event with such a wealth of authentic minutiae that they appear, by association, to verify the Big Lie. For example:

Suppose your story depends on the implausible thesis that Queen Elizabeth II is a lizard, the head of an alien conspiracy that secretly rules the world. As everyone knows, she is very fond of corgi dogs. Why? Because she eats them! (Not many people know that.)

To make that fatuous theme credible, even in farce, we should present the Queen's curious identity as a lizard as a 'given'. It's obvious. It needs no further discussion.

Instead, the tale might focus on the plight of a kennel owner who has an exclusive contract to furnish the royal kitchen with corgis. But a rival is poisoning his dogs. Worse, his last delivery to the palace made the queen quite ill...

What can he do? His poignant drama is the story.

Populate that tale with authentic kennel lore. Reveal the tricks of top breeders, the chicanery of dog shows, the technology of breeding programs. Pack in so many true details that even a corgi expert will acknowledge: this man's world is real.

The Big Lie, that Queen Elizabeth II is a lizard, will then pass on the nod. (Well, maybe...)

2. Supply the Missing Link.

Many a story, otherwise effective, will ‘sound’ implausible because a key step in its logic has been neglected or obscured. For example, in C J Sansom’s historical novel Dissolution a young servant girl cuts off a man’s head with one stroke of a sword.

Ridiculous.

Henry VIII had to send to France for a swordsman who could decapitate Anne Boleyn with one stroke. No English axe man was deemed capable of it, still less a girl.

Result: the reader feels bemused.

Just a few lines of explanation - ‘the girl’s father was a master swordsman and had taught her all he knew’, etc - might have supplied that missing link and fixed the implausibility.

Moral: find your gross implausibilities or loose ends. Every story has at least one. Make those absurdities or missing links appear rational. Just a line or two may do it. Then, by the doctrine of the Big Lie, your reader may go on to believe every word in your story. And buy its sequel!

 Dr John Yeoman, PhD Creative Writing, judges the Writers’ Village story competition and is a tutor in creative writing at a UK university. He has been a successful commercial author for 42 years. A wealth of further ideas for writing fiction that sells can be found in his free 14-part story course at: Writers-Village.org/Academy-intro

Learning about Self through the Act of Writing

Use the creative process … to get to know yourself better. -Catie Curtis

When we discuss writing, we often talk about the preparation needed to gear us up to write; the important aspects of writing, such as character, plot, dialogue, and scene development; the need to be a good self-editor and to find an even better professional editor; the ins and outs of writing sparkling queries and synopses for agents and publishers; and the ins and outs of going the self-publishing route. In short, we focus on the writing, submitting, and publishing of stories, which is good. We need to talk about these things.

We don’t, however, talk much about what we learn about ourselves in the act of writing. And that’s just as important. We are the vessels in which stories flow. If we’re not checking on ourselves, our connection(s) to what we write; our common threads, themes that can be seen within our works; and how what we write might even change us, we may find ourselves churning out the same story with different titles, writing stories that don’t affect us, that don’t make us grow as writers.

This isn’t something I think about with every story I write. Every two, three stories, I find myself thinking about where I’ve grown as a writer. How my interests have changed… or even if they have changed. Where I see myself moving as a writer. Doing so keeps me a vital cog in this writing journey, helps me to refine my brand and platform, and helps me to see the trajectory of the journey.

I’ve learned a few things about myself through my writing, especially in projects I’m currently working on. Two big things are I care about the “broken” woman and I care about devastating things that go on in the world, those women that have a strength they haven’t found yet because the burdens of life weigh them down and those devastating things that often leave me in tears, confused about how people can be so cruel and inflict so much pain. Through my writing, I try to understand these women, to find ways in which the burdens can be lifted and the strength restored. Through my writing, I try to get into the minds of those who do devastating things or of those who have suffered so that I can find, in some way, understanding.

If I can learn something in the act of my writing, then I can use what I learn to give advice, to help people outside the pages.

What have you learned about yourself through your writing?

Shon Bacon is an author, doctoral candidate, editor, and educator. She has published both academically and creatively while also interviewing women writers on her popular blog, ChickLitGurrl: high on LATTES & WRITING. In 2012, her second mystery, Into the Web and her short story "I Wanna Get Off Here" (in the short story collection, The Corner Cafe) were published. Her latest release, Saying No to the Big O, was published in April 2013. You can learn more about Shon's writings at her website, and you can get information about her editorial services at CLG Entertainment. Currently, Shon is busy writing her dissertation ... and trying to find the time to write CREATIVELY.