How to Get Published

by John Bowers

One of the hardest things I face when writing a novel is keeping the story consistent. Writing a book-length story may take from a few weeks to a few months, and you put the story down a few hundred words at a time. Over a period of several weeks, it’s sometimes hard to keep track of what happened earlier, and consistency can suffer.

If you’re writing from a detailed outline it may be easier, but if you’re like me, outlines are too restrictive. When I start a novel I usually have a general idea of what the book is about, three or four high points I want to hit, and a couple of characters. From that starting point, the adventure begins, and I usually don’t end up where I thought I might. But the journey is fantastic-I discover the story as I go, just as the reader does later on. (more…)

by John Bowers
One of the great things about reading a good adventure book is the atmosphere in which the story takes place. If the author is good, you are transported to whatever setting he describes, and wish you were actually there as events take place. Atmosphere is critical to a good novel, but how hard is it to create?

There are many kinds of atmosphere. Initially we think of the setting, like a cool autumn day where the trees blaze with color and a delicious little wind stirs the leaves around your feet; or a sunny beach where the sun bakes you brown and the surf crashes loudly while circling seagulls screech overhead-but atmosphere can be more than that. Atmosphere can be a pall of gloom that settles over a city under siege, a joyous giddiness that infects the guests at a wedding, or a cold dread that stalks the streets where a serial killer remains at large.

You can develop an exciting plot, colorful characters, and lots of action, but without atmosphere, your novel is missing a key ingredient. (more…)

by Al Kalar
One of the pieces of advice I give writers is, “join a writing workshop”. No, not a one-day “become a best-selling author” given by Famous Writer. I’m talking about a peer-to-peer workshop that’s really a club.

Well, I do follow my own advice. I’ve been a member of an online workshop since the late 90’s and I learned a LOT. I still learn more on a regular basis, but I also dispense advice (everyone does from the day they join).

This last weekend, I critiqued a submission from one of our members. The writer is a big fan of “classic” pulp science fiction and decided to write his book in a similar style, including a rather lengthy “foreword”. I took him to task over the forward (it violated my favorite “rule”: get right into the story, explain later if at all). I also objected to the fact that he started with four separate story lines (part of the reason for the forward). (more…)

by Al Kalar

One of my jobs in this madhouse, is “gatekeeper”. I review new submissions to see if they get rejected up front or considered for publication. I hate saying “no”, but if I don’t, we’d be flooded with less than top notch material.

Lousy material takes too much time to whip into shape and often can’t be saved. Although we edit everything we publish, we’re not in the business of editing poor quality stuff to help a writer get published. There are people who do that and some are very good at it (and some are not). But, even though our editors are great, our job is publishing.

Back in May, I gave you 11 Ways to Get Rejected. Well, what about the flipside? You know, the goal of the submission process - acceptance.

Obviously, the most important thing is to not do any of those 11 deadly things.

We’re strictly an eBook publisher, so we do everything digitally. To get a novel accepted at AKW Books, you should do the following: (more…)

The New Lay of the Land -

by Jerry Simmons
On April 3, 2010 book publishing changed forever. Apple launched the iPad, a digital reading device that officially heralds the beginning of the dismantling of the big publisher model that has been dominant for more than sixty years. A new benchmark has been created and a universal platform is now established that allows every writer, publisher and business to profit without having to rely on a major publisher.

Jerry D. Simmons, a 32 year veteran of publishing, offers some very telling insights into the changes that are in store for the publishing industry.

Welcome to the new world of electronic publishing! There are three important trends in publishing today. (more…)