eBook Piracy: Should pirates walk the plank or be set free?

The issue of ebook (and print book) piracy is being debated on JA Konrath's blog. While he is all for piracy, I am not.

Here's a bit from my most recent post:

This is my recent reply on JA Konrath's blog where piracy pros and cons are still being discussed. I am a bit concerned about new authors taking everything Joe says to heart without looking into the issue--illegal copyright theft and sharing. As much as I respect Joe for his marketing abilities, I am not sold on his argument that since we can't fight them we should embrace piracy and do nothing, turn a blind eye. I'm just not wired that way, and I'm not alone.

Read my entire post at:

http://cherylktardif.blogspot.com/2010/05/hoy-matey-should-ebook-pirates-walk.html

Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
author of The River (and more)

Progress Report #4

These past few days have been spent waiting to hear my editor’s comments on the first eleven chapters I revised. As I mentioned last week, to keep busy during the lull, I resumed work on my fourth novel Casey Holland novel. It’s been a treat to let my thoughts go in all kinds of creative direction without deadline pressures. As often happens with me though, that creative direction went off track in spots, and my critique group offered insightful comments to make me rethink a few things. Right now I’m up to chapter four and hope the momentum will keep building. Oddly enough, I’m getting my best ideas while I’m walking at work these days, so I’ve spent more than a few breaks scribbling down notes.

On Thursday I heard back from my editor about my revisions to those eleven chapters and her comments were positive, thank heaven. But she too has been in the zone with new ideas—terrific ideas—so I’m back to tweaking some of those first ten chapters and working a couple of major rewrites on the latter two. After four days of heavy focus on chapters nine through eleven, I’m ready to move onto chapter twelve. What puzzles me most about this process so far, is that after writing nine drafts of this book before I even sent it to this publisher, why didn’t I think of these ideas sooner? Sheesh. One of the many things I’ve learned from this process is the benefit of having experienced readers or editors read your book in its entirety. You’ll never know what ideas they might come up with and some of those ideas could turn your good book into a great one.

The working title, Deadly Resurrection, which I’ve been using for quite some time is too similar to another mystery my publisher released, so it’s back to the drawing board for titles. When we’ve decided on the right one (and this is a joint effort), I’ll let you know.

As always, my amateur sleuth, Vancouver-based, Alex Bellamy mysteries can be purchased at
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl
TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n

Top 10 Tips for Editing Your Book

Here is a list of the top 10 tips for editing your book, once you have completed the first draft:

1. Run the manuscript through your computer's spell check and grammar check. Use spell and grammar check, but DO NOT RELY ON THEM to catch everything. That is NOT the end of your editing. It's only the beginning.
2. Read your work and edit it, chapter by chapter. Start from the beginning and edit each chapter, looking for issues with plot, characters, continuity, typos, grammar and more. This is your first main edit.
3. Do a synonym check. Go through the manuscript and look for synonym errors (too/two/to, your/you’re, their/there/they're, rode/road, where/wear, its/it's, etc). If you’re using Microsoft Word, you can use the Find button to help you search for these terms. As you come across synonym errors, make a list for future use of the ones that seem to catch you up most frequently.
4. Do a tense check. What tense are you writing in? No matter what tense you use, make sure it's consistent throughout the book. “Look especially for tense errors in dialogue tags,” I said. “I will,” she says.
5. Do a ‘was--ing’ check. 'She was walking down the road...' should be changed to 'She walked down the road...' or 'She strode down the road...' We want the action NOW. There are some exceptions. If something else happens as a result, then you can use ‘was--ing’, such as in ‘She was walking down the road when a car appeared out of nowhere, heading straight for her.’
6. Format your manuscript like a published book. Copy your file and title it "final edit". Format it so it looks like a book you'd find in a bookstore, one of similar genre. Single spaced. Sized according to trade paperback (5.5 x 8.5 or 6 x 9). 1/4 to 1/2 inch margins. Then print it out. Seeing your work resemble an actual book is the first stage of your final edits. You need to see how it physically looks. After you’ve completed ALL editing, you can reformat the layout and size.
7. Look at the whitespace/text ratio on the printed copy. Whitespace is where the reader's eyes take a quick break, where they absorb what they've read. Our eyes instinctively search out whitespace. Being able to recognize a good balance is almost an art form. When in doubt, find a book you really enjoyed reading and examine the balance. You want a flowing mix of both whitespace and dark text. Too much whitespace on a page means too much dialogue or one-liners and not enough "meat" or description or information. Too much dark text means many readers will start skimming. Paragraphs should be broken into manageable chunks. Keep individual paragraphs to less than 1/3 of a book page and make them random in length.
8. Mix up the chapters and edit again. Take out individual chapters at random and edit them without the benefit of the preceding or following chapters. This helps you focus on the actual writing. You can also pull random pages and edit them out of order. This gives you a bit of a break from the story, so you can focus on technical issues.
9. Read your book aloud. Reading your work aloud, chapter by chapter, helps you focus on the rhythm of your words, not just the words themselves. Think of it like music. A well written book has a natural flow. If you find yourself hesitating, that usually is an indication of a problem area. Mark it with a highlighted dot so you can return to it after you've read the entire chapter. Edit all highlighted areas, then review it (aloud or silently) again.
10. Find at least 2 editors who know HOW to edit and 2 readers to evaluate your work from a reader’s perspective. Have the editors edit your work, preferably people who know HOW to edit. Professional editors and English teachers/professors/majors are your best choice. Once they’ve gone through your book, really weigh their suggestions. If what they say improves the book, make the changes. The trick is to be able to remove yourself from the personal attachment of your work so you can recognize when someone else’s suggestions will make it better. Sometimes you’ll need to think on their feedback for a day. Once they’ve given you their feedback, make changes and go through the manuscript one final time.

If you’ve done all of the above, your work should be quite polished by this point. There are, of course, numerous things to watch for when editing a book, but this tip list will at least point you in the right direction and get you off to a good start. While editing is work, it can also be inspiring. This is the time when you see your work pulling together into a creation that will be more marketable and more acceptable. There are no shortcuts with editing. Not if you want a career in writing books. Happy editing!

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Cheryl Kaye Tardif is a bestselling suspense author and book marketing coach living in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She has been featured on TV, radio, in newspapers and magazines. Cheryl has presented at writers' conferences on the topics of book marketing. Her next release is Lancelot's Lady, her debut romantic suspense written under the pen name of Cherish D'Angelo. http://www.cherylktardif.com/

Promote My Novel: What is an avatar and how should you use one to promote your novel?

http://www.GumboWriters.com is an online service that helps writers http://www.PromoteMyNovel.com

Out of the Zone, For Now

On Thursday, I finished editing the first eleven chapters of my mystery and sent them to the editor for review. It’s the first lull in the editing process in a month, and while I spoke about being in the zone last week, my mind seems to be in rest mode for the moment, at least when it comes to this book.

But I like to keep busy, so rather than sitting around waiting for the next chapters to edit, I’ve begun working on my fourth Casey novel. Actually, I started it a few weeks ago, then had to put it aside because the edits had begun. It’s been interesting because first drafts definitely require the creative part of the brain and I’ve been so immersed in analytical, critical thinking lately that the switch has been quite a change.

Perhaps one of the most challenging things for writers is to go from creative to analytical thinking. After all, fiction writers do what they do because they’re creative people, but this doesn’t mean all of us are terribly analytical, especially when it comes to our own work. Still, critical analysis is a terrific skill to develop and if you can’t do it, then find a good critique group or experienced readers in your genre with great analytical skills. It will definitely help you in the long run.

As always, my amateur sleuth, Vancouver-based, Alex Bellamy mysteries can be purchased at
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl
TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n

A Publisher Shares Tips on Marketing at a Minimum

Publisher Jerry D. Simmons, who worked for Warner Books for over two decades before branching out to form his own publishing company, shares his insights on marketing books with some easy to follow tips.

"Selling books without a minimum marketing effort will result in poor sales. Here are the basics every author should follow when marketing their book..."

Read Jerry's tips on marketing at Shameless Promoter.