How to Get Published

By Al Kalar

All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened and after you are finished reading one you will feel that all that happened to you and afterwards it all belongs to you; the good and the bad, the ecstasy, the remorse and sorrow, the people and the places and how the weather was. If you can get so that you can give that to people, then you are a writer. -Ernest Hemingway

If your publisher handles all packaging decisions, you can skip this section. However, if you will be called on to be part of the final publication process, you might get some ideas here.

Formats:

Books have many sections, which vary depending upon the type of book and often by books within a type. A book consists of one or more of the following: Read the rest of this entry »

By Al Kalar

Writers write

Copyrights aren’t just one thing; they’re a bundle of rights. Examples:

• First North American rights
• First World rights
• First hard cover rights
• Electronic rights
• Movie rights
• Television rights
• Exclusive rights for a period of time
• Non-competition rights (no sales to another magazine for instance)
• and so on.

You’ve found a publisher. Now, which rights do you sell to them? Read the rest of this entry »

By Al Kalar

If you wouldn’t write it and sign it, don’t say it.

Your book is cleaned up. You’ve created a masterpiece that will appeal to a targeted segment of readers (or who knows, a blockbuster best seller?). The first paragraph of your book “sings” and will hook the reader into a ride that won’t let him/her go until the last sentence.

So, how do you go about finding a publisher? Read the rest of this entry »

By Al Kalar

Three hints for making a speech:
Be sincere.
Be brief.
Be seated.

The battle is over and the dust is settling. The girl says, “yes”. The bad guy is busted by the cops. The rescuers break through to the survivors. The scam succeeds. So, now what happens?

If it happened to me, I’d be talking about it to anyone who’d listen for the next couple of years. I’d bore them to death.

Don’t. Read the rest of this entry »

By Al Kalar

Make your characters grow

The arc, or climax, in a story is the place where most of your accumulated problems come together. It’s the rescue, the big battle, the proposal where the girl says “yes”, landing the big job, getting away with the heist or getting caught. It’s usually the most dramatic scene (with the possible exception of the start) in the book.

For a non-fiction work, it may be where you tie all your lines of logic together, the proposal, or exposition of the consequences of what happened before in a history work. It’s the point towards which you were going with the front portion of your book. Read the rest of this entry »

By Al Kalar

Plot development originally takes place when you outline your book. Sometimes the characters take over and alter your plans, but don’t let that stop you from at least trying to control the situation.

So, work within your plot plan when you can.

Develop the situation

The main reason for the middle of your yarn is to develop the situation(s) being faced by your main character(s). Everything here eventually leads to the climax (arc) of the story. Read the rest of this entry »

by Al Kalar

“The writer is a man who is paid per piece or per word or perhaps.”

Robert Benchley

Dialog

Many a good story dies because of poorly written dialog. It’s all the fault of your English teacher, so blame it on him/her if it makes you feel better.

People don’t speak the way we were taught to write (with a few exceptions). We use contractions, slang, and made-up words that would get an “F” on an English term paper. Read the rest of this entry »

By BARB STEGEMANN, Author of The 7 Virtues of a Philosopher Queen

WHENEVER I give a talk, I make a point of asking how many people in the audience wish they could write a book. Nearly every hand goes up. It puzzles me that more people don’t put their thoughts on paper. I believe if you have knowledge on some topic, it is your responsibility to get over any fears you might have and write. Read the rest of this entry »

by Al Kalar

A poet who reads his verse in public may have other nasty habits. -Lazarus Long

Setting

Every story takes place somewhere and some-when.

If you’re dealing with real places and real periods in the present or history, you’d best know everything you can about the topography, plant life, seasons, maps, and what is/was going on at that place/time. Research can be boring, but if you stumble here, hundreds of readers will take great delight in correcting you for your blunder.

Harry Turtledove is a history major and the publisher of several fine alternate history novels. He researches his stories meticulously. In spite of that, every now and then, his fans enjoy pointing out some small error he made in a book. Since he’s so careful, these incidents are not common, but they do happen.

Now, if Turtledove has this problem in spite of the fact that this is his area of expertise, how much more will you suffer if you mess up? You will, but do your best to create as few errors as possible. Read the rest of this entry »

by Al Kalar

“The bad guy is never a villain in his own eyes.”

There were some other things I wanted to address before we got here, but I noticed that we haven’t gotten into any of the “fun” stuff. So, I’ll skip a few things (we’ll get back to them) and get into the actual writing.

Every story needs to start somewhere. So does a report or a textbook.

Reports and textbooks should probably start out with the “tell ‘em what you’re gonna tell ‘em” (especially the report). However, if you can start out with a story, even if it’s just an anecdote, you’ll get more interest; especially from a bored student.

Unless you have a loyal following of fans, your start is going to help to sell your book or kill a sale. Remember, we’re learning how to write a “salable” book. If it won’t sell, you may as well go to a vanity press, have a few copies printed and give them to your friends and relatives. If you want to be a real-live “author” your stuff needs to sell. Read the rest of this entry »