Facebook presence.

I admit I just joined facebook world last year and I’m still learning about what people post.  My wife started her own massage therapy business last year, Bluebell Massage, LLC and I’ve encouraged her to create both her own website and facebook page.  Of course, I didn’t follow my own advice on creating a business facebook page.  I am lucky to have a publisher, Mischievous Muse Press, with a social media savvy  owner, Cat Spydell.

The staff at Mischievous Muse Press created an elegant facebook page for my debut novel, MURPHY’S TROUBLES.  You can either go to facebook and search for Murphy’s Troubles or go directly to the page at:  www.facebook.com/pages/Murphys-Troubles. 

We have a modest initial goal of 30 Likes on to help us learn the type of posts those in facebook world are interested in viewing.

Please visit the facebook site and let me know what content you want to read on facebook about Murphy’s Troubles.

In the past authors have been viewed as solitary individuals working along and not having a relationship with their readers.  I feel fortunate to live in the age of social media because with this tool I have the chance to communicate directly with readers and get to know them, even if just a little bit.

 I am interested in having discussion with readers though my website e-mail, comments on my blog or comments on both my personal facebook page and the Murphy’s Troubles facebook page.

Let’s give it a try.  

Breakthrough – Newly Jobless, writer moved ahead with a goal, a deadline and a plan B

The lengthy title above is also the title of my article in the September 2012 edition of The Writer Magazine.  I have been extremely fortunate this year in having two articles published in The Writer.  I write freelance not to make a ton of money but to add depth and variety to my writing life.  My primary focus will always be writing novels which has been compared to a symphony for a composer.  That’s why novels are often called ‘the long work.’

The first article with the writer appeared in the May edition and was only 225 words.  The editor for this piece made changes and didn’t consult me because the changes were fairly minor and amounted to cuts not changes.

My editing experience with the Breakthrough column was a different editor.  There is a limit of 750 words so I had to skip a lot of detail.  The first comment my editor made was that he wanted more detail and I shouldn’t limit myself to the 750 words.  I never expected that response.  He said after the second submission that he would sharpen the article and send it back to me for approval.  The editor created the tile which is a perfect log line for the piece.   “Sharpening” amounted to a few word changes and a few changes in sentence structure.  I learned a great deal from his editorial changes – especially in writing for print magazines.  

I have been freelance writing since January 2010 and pinch myself  to believe that, in such short time, I’ve had two articles published in the preeminent magazine for writers in America.   

Blog 8-6-12

Perspective

Recently I have had the first thorough professional edit of the galley for Murphy’s Troubles.  My publisher uses the unique process of producing a hard copy galley with artwork so that I received a faux book.

To see my manuscript look like a book is a very heady experience for a first time author like me.  I admit that the first day after I received it in the mail I just looked at it.  I knew that I had to give myself three full days before I would have the discipline and objectivity to look at the edits in the margins.

When I did look the editing was about story, consistency, point of view and believability.  I suppose I was expecting something more like copy editing.  The edits were meant to sharpen and polish not only the writing but the story.

I also received an electronic document of the galley and I decided to print it and read it front to cover with the notes from the faux book galley by my side for reference.  One comment that appeared frequently was – repetitive, readers already know this.

This comment forced me to step back and take the perspective of a first time reader and I found that the editor was right.  I have the habit of repeating material because from the character’s perspective it was part of the story.  From the reader’s perspective – once that’s there it’s there.

For example, the motivation for Ian’s joining the IRA is the death of his best friend.  I repeated that scene no less than four times in the novel with some minor variation on the reason for relating that scene.  While that approach worked within the novel, from the character’s perspective, it doesn’t work at all from the readers’ perspective.

As a result I cut about 20 pages and I think it’s a major improvement.  You would think that a writer would always have the reader in mind – I didn’t and maybe that’s part of being a novice.  Preparing a manuscript for publication is an amazing learning and creative experience.