In Illinois, October is a transitional month. The sun vies with clouds, rain, and wind for supremacy. On any given day, it's a tossup what we'll get next. Don't let it be a tossup what you offer readers. Let it always be your best. One way to do this is to ask for help if you're bogged down. Ask the Editor Free-For-All is here to provide that help. Our Editors are on hand to answer your questions about writing basics, manuscript submissions to publishers or agents, aspects of traditional and/or self-publishing, and more. It doesn't happen often, but if we don't have an answer, we'll offer suggestions where you can get one. To Submit Your Question, Follow These Steps: Leave a comment below in the comment section. Include your name and blog URL or website, so you'll get promo and we'll be assured you're a real person. (One link only, please!) Then check before you leave to make sure your comment did get added, since sometimes Blogger tests ...

How do you get rid of that inner editor—the devilish one that sits on one shoulder, whispering, “That’s not very good. What makes you think you can write? You can even spell!” Or “Doesn’t that need a comma there?” Or “Is that the right word? I don’t think so.” Freewriting or flow of consciousness is a great exercise to shake off that devilish inner editor and get yourself back into a fun, playful sense of creativity. I think Natalie Goldberg (Writing Down the Bones and Wild Mind) was one of the first who promoted this form of writing. The rule for doing this is there are no rules. Choose a topic. Set a timer for ten minutes and put pen to paper. Do not stop for any reason. Don’t worry about commas and spelling and grammar. Don’t think about what you’re writing, just write whatever comes to mind, even if it’s “I can’t think of anything to write. This is a stupid exercise.” Something will come to mind. Go from there, see where it takes you. You may end up on a topic far from the one ...

Yesterday Marian Allen discussed the new List feature on Facebook . Today she looks at the changes to the rest of the News Feed. The Middle Bit If you keep your News Feed open, the Top Stories will disappear as they're replaced with new stories. Hover over the upper right corner of a Top Story and click the little arrow that appears to mark or unmark the story as a Top Story, hide it, report it, and manage your subscription to that person’s stories. If you get an item in your News Feed that you want to know more about the next time it is discussed (Facebook changes, for example), mark it as a Top Story. Going forward, anything on that topic will be prioritized as a Top Story for you. The coolest thing about the Middle Bit of any of your Facebook pages? Click on Update Status (“What’s on your mind?” (or sometimes called “Write something”)) at the top of any page. Type in “Super secret birthday party”. Down next to the POST button, there's a button with an arrow next t...

Please welcome Marian Allen as our guest on the Blood-Red Pencil today. When I first joined Facebook, it was a confusing mess. Then I got accustomed to it, and I could use it to do what I wanted to do, within the limits of its programming. Again it changed, and it was a confusing mess. Again I got accustomed to the new way it worked. Then it changed.... You see where this is going. Facebook, like everything today, is changing more often and more suddenly than I'm completely comfortable with. It's like playing Mau--adapt to the rules and enjoy the game. The abrupt changes are part of the fun. If you don't want to be blindsided, you can always subscribe to the Facebook Blog and be that much ahead of the curve. Here are some of Facebook's changes, as they affect the News Feed, and what I love about them: Lists You can organize your "Friends" into lists--Close, Family, I Need A Laugh, Critique Partners, Editors...any way you want. The same per...

Jane Yolen and Debby Harris Today, please welcome Debby Harris. She edits for the marvelous author, Jane Yolen , who has written over 300 books in various genres, but is perhaps most famous for her award-winning children's and YA books. I asked Debby to share with us what it's like to work for such a prolific and accomplished writer, and here is what she has to say: 1.  Debby, how did you meet Jane Yolen? I first met Jane Yolen in person in London in 1989, at the 14th World Fantasy Convention. I had recently read her short story anthology, aptly named Tales of Wonder , and having been bowled over by the experience, was agog to meet the tale-spinner herself. I begged my friend and writing mentor Katherine Kurtz to introduce us, and she very kindly obliged. Ironically, Jane and I might easily have crossed paths much sooner and much closer to home. Our geographical nexus was the ancient Scottish burrough of St. Andrews, home of golf and birthplace of Scotland’s olde...

Death, Publishers, Intellectual Property Rights, and the Probate Court When the owner of a publishing firm dies, what happens to the intellectual property rights of the individual authors whose works were purchased and publish by the firm? The simple answer is they become not the property of the author, but the assets of the owner’s estate, which is subject to settlement by the Probate Court. A sole proprietorship is what anyone can have who files their income tax using the small business Schedule C form under their social security number. It requires no other official documentation. IF Publishing, owned by Irene Black, is such an entity and has existed for nearly twenty years. E-books have made this form of publishing venture attractive in recent years. The only things an individual needs to start their business are a computer and a group of ISBN numbers (10 for $250) registered with Bowker . Plus a working knowledge of the various platforms formats used in the e-world. Then y...

Today, we welcome Irene Black, who is half of the Nash Black writing partnership. I first connected with her at Murder Must Advertise during a group discussion about the legalities surrounding the death of a publisher. I invited her to share her expertise here, so today and tomorrow, she'll discuss important issues every writer should consider... before they die. The Business of Dying Mystery authors analyze death, dissect it, examine it, and explore it. What we neglect to do is prepare for it as it relates to our own lives. Death also has ugly companions–disability and dementia. It is our unalienable right to take responsibility for our own lives, which includes our demise. Make a complete inventory of personal obligations to other individuals/pets, possessions owned out-right or jointly, assets such as bank accounts, safe deposit boxes, insurance policies or pension rights with their location, business entities, and financial obligations. Each individual is different, but so a...

You'd rather be writing, but first you have to... 10.  Reach into the freezer and get something out for dinner.  WARNING: You may discover things in your freezer older than your youngest child. This has happened to me. This brings up all sorts of other issues that may further delay your writing. 9.  Organize your desk  - including all the drawers. This could take hours, if you're lucky. But don't think of it as luck, think of it as being thorough. 8.  Vacuum the cat . Yes, scratches and a certain amount of blood loss with probably be involved. However, you can use the pain and suffering to enrich the detail in your current work. 7.  Do more research.  You're not wasting time, you're getting your details correct. Keep repeating this - it helps alleviate the guilt. 6.  Have a snack.  Go to the kitchen to discover you are out of snacky foods. Go to the grocery store. Don't forget you're out of milk. And cheese. And toilet paper. 5.  R...

Thank you, Linda, for guest posting today on the Blood Red Pencil. The Laws of Physics–er, Writing by Linda Yezak He eyed her from head to toe. She hit him. He smirked. She thought he called her a name. Sounds like a scene from a novel, doesn't it? In truth, these lines are derived from different novels in which the author presented an unanswered action. “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.” This, the third of Sir Isaac Newton's laws of physics, should be the first law of writing. Whenever a character does something, there should be some sort of reaction. The examples are from novels I've read where the author left me hanging after an action was portrayed. The first one, especially, yanked me out of the story: "He eyed her from head to toe." Since we were in her POV, we should've seen her reaction (even if we weren't in her POV). Believe me, a woman reacts to being scoped, and how this one reacted could've solidified her ...

It’s great to be back on Blood-Red Pencil as a guest. For the last year as a full-time novelist, I’ve been focused on writing, publishing, and promoting. When my fiction readers started commenting about how much they enjoyed my blog and my nonfiction articles, I took notice and added a few ideas to my to-do list. After mulling it around, I decided to combine the best of my nonfiction—including all the blogs I wrote about my journey to become a full-time novelist—into a book. I thought my readers would enjoy getting to know more about me, and authors would find the writing, editing, and promotion advice helpful and inspiring. Most of the blogs I wrote for this site while I was a member were included as well. The title was easy. I named the book after my blog and personal motto, Write First, Clean Later . I adopted the slogan in early 2008 when I was laid off my editing job with an educational publisher. Since then, I’ve penned five novels and published eight, in addition to writing hu...

What’s in a Name? Naming Your Characters Have you ever read a book where the name of the main character was jarring to you, seemed inappropriate, or just wrong? Or have you mixed up two characters because their names were similar? Or said “Who’s that?” because suddenly the author started using a character’s nickname or first name, when previously all you knew was their last name? What you choose to name your characters can be the difference between annoying/confusing your readers and having the story flow naturally, with all the little details falling into place to make a seamless, believable story world. A few years ago, I did a critique of a novel in which the cruel, abusive father was named “Danny” and his eight-year-old abused son was named “John.” I definitely thought “Danny” sounded much more like a nice kid than a nasty adult, and why not give the young boy a more kid-like name, like “Johnny”? Switching the two would have worked fine, too. Here are some tips for naming your char...

Please welcome our guest blogger today, Susan Malone. She is a terrific editor and writing coach, and we are so happy to have her join us as a guest every month. Writing's Worst Monster By far the biggest pitfall I see with writers has nothing to do with style, technique, characterization, plotting, and pacing—i.e., the nuts and bolts of actual writing—although those bugaboos persist. Nor does this pervasive and killer problem have to do with talent. All of these must be present to fashion a decent book. But none comprise the dragon that guards the gate of truly good writing. Rest assured, however, this beast will slay you every time until you face it. The number-one stumbling block I see with writers, especially new ones, is getting into too big of a hurry. Rushing. Wanting to see your work in print at all costs, and most importantly, wanting to see that happen NOW. Most of the questions I get from folks just completing novels revolve around marketing and publ...

Many thanks to Terry Odell for stopping by The Blood Red Pencil to share some tips for writers. On The Cutting Edge Our language evolves, but at glacial speeds. Also, usage varies depending on where we live. I think if you're pursuing a traditional writing path (by that I mean, not trying to break ALL the rules, like omitting all punctuation or capitalization), you should consider what you put on the page. One pet peeve: The use of "alright" to mean "all right." I was taught that there's really no such word as "alright", at least in standard usage. And although I'm finding a few places that say it's becoming an "acceptable" alternative to all right, I'm not convinced it's smart to use it. Not until those glaciers show up in your neighborhood. Perhaps the confusion arises because we're used to using already as well as all ready. However, these have totally different meanings. If we have a group of people and we...

Botswana’s Copyright Law and How it’s Killing Writers By Lauri Kubuitsile I got a message from someone that a school had photocopied one of my books for their students. I called the Copyright Society of Botswana (COSBOTS) and the helpful lady there told me that they couldn’t do much for me even if they had started registering members (which they haven’t yet) because the law allows the photocopying of books for educational purposes. The copyright law in Botswana is relatively new, passed in 2000, and COSBOTS only set up last year. The part of the new law on photocopying of books for educational purposes is shockingly vague. Basically it says they can, it does not include any parameters. This is the problem. Botswana is a small country, 1.8 million people. In Botswana, there are no trade publishers. All of the publishers in Botswana are educational publishers. There are a handful of locally owned publishers who must fight it out with the big internationals. Before the establishment ...

Recently, I posted about NetGalley and today we feature Kristina Radke, Community Concierge, who sends frequent updates and information about all the latest book offerings from small and large publishers who have joined their service. I find this to be a wonderful way for book reviewers to get new titles via direct downloads and have used them myself. I asked NetGalley to answer a few questions in detail, and here are the responses: What is NetGalley? NetGalley is a service that delivers digital galleys to professional readers such as reviewers, bloggers, librarians, booksellers, media, and educators. If you read and recommend books, you can request digital galleys from over 100 publishers for free! If you’re a publisher, you can offer secure digital galleys to the NetGalley community (over 36,000 members as of today) and/or to your own list of contacts. Who started it? NetGalley was created by Rosetta Solutions, and was acquired by Firebrand Technologies (who offers various ...

Some days I don’t feel like writing, and I start to wonder why I bother. I mean, what’s the point? In a couple of billion years we’ll all be space dust anyway, right? When these thoughts grab me I try to remember that writing puts me in touch with my “Creator Spirit,” even though I can’t define what that is. Writing makes me whole, even when I write badly. (Even bad stuff needs a creator.) When I don’t write, I’m not whole or in touch. It’s a survival thing for me. Yes, I know how grandiose this sounds. Who am I to think I am an artist whose work will last for centuries? I’m not Shakespeare or Michelangelo. I should pay attention to my little life and let all those high-falutin’ (my grandfather’s term) ideas go. I don’t have time to write, anyway. Some days there are pressing concerns in my life that get in my way. (You know, like laundry or tweezing my eyebrows.) About twenty years ago, I read a book about writing. Unfortunately I can’t remember the book’s name or author. (I rea...

The Blood-Red Pencil would like to welcome guest blogger Nancy Martin, the author of some fifty popular fiction novels. If you are currently submitting manuscripts to agents and editors, pay close attention as Nancy shares rejection letter translations skills she's gained over the course of her prolific career. “Sorry, this manuscript isn’t right for us at this time.” "We will pass on this one but please send us more submissions." Have you received one of these emails after sending a manuscript or partial to an agent? This kind of rejection note generally means your writing is good, but your story idea is one that the agent can't sell. The real message? Put this manuscript in a drawer and write something fresh for us because your writing isn’t the problem. Part of the frustration of the submission process—which always comes with a disheartening amount of rejection—is trying to interpret what secret message might be contained in a gentle refusal to represent yo...