I Got Stopped By The Cops!

A cop pulls over a driver.  That’s something that happens every day.  No story there, right?  Well, not exactly.  The secret to uncovering the stories that are practically begging us to uncover is going beneath the surface.

Take for example, the incident of being stopped by the cops.  It becomes a little more interesting when we add that the cop was White, the driver was Black and the location was a city in one of the most conservative states in the country.  Still no story?  Let’s add that this incident occurred at 4:30 in the morning.  Think of the intrigue that is just lurking beyond the surface.  Imagine the possibilities of something going amiss and the only two people who know the truth are the police officer and the driver.

Still don’t see a story?  Trust me, it’s in there.  As a writer, it’s our job to pull it out.  Given the facts so far, it would be tempting to make this a case of police brutality.  A typical case of a White racist cop brutalizing a person only guilty of driving while Black. But is there a better story?

“Better” is relative, but I think writers of good stories are willing to take chances, to reach for the unexpected.  Suppose the issue is not of police brutality, but of sexual harassment and the accused is the driver, not the police.  Now that’s a twist!  Further raising the tension is the dilemma faced by the police officer.  Should he report the incident and risk looking like a punk or should he try to let the incident slide?

What’s the point?  Well, there are several.  First, there are stories all around us that are ripe for the pickings.  You are as eligible to create those stories as the next person.  Will you step up to that challenge?  Second, all good stories have some measure of tension or risk.  The way you manage those risks will determine the quality of the story.   Third, all good stories embrace the unexpected.  As a writer, how willing are you to take risks?

Now, in case you are wondering, my recent experience with the police officer at 5:00 AM turned out to be a non-story.  He stopped me because of a non-working headlight and he ended up giving me a warning with no points or fines.  He told me to have a good day and I went on to the gym as part of my daily workout routine.  Nope, no heart pulsing intrigue there in the facts, but that doesn’t mean that there is not enough stuff for me to create a good story.

Publisher FAQ 030910

So,  your goal is for your business to become a successful African-American oriented publishing company, right?

Actually, the answer to your question is no.  Our plans are to become a successful multi-ethnic publisher.  On occasion, I may write a book that covers an African-American topic.  But, I will also write books of interest to people of all races.  Additionally, I will publish good books by dedicated authors regardless of their ethnicity.

The Good Ole Days!!

Before the advent of the internet and email marketing and social networks, how did people sell books? My romantic side wants to believe that authors were able to go into their local bookstores and talk with the managers or store owners. After a few minutes of conversation, a hand shake followed and that store’s inventory of books just went up.
With all of the technological stuff that’s floating around these days, it is really ironic that we are all less connected today than at any point in the history of mankind. That includes authors and bookstores. Store managers no longer make decisions at the local level. The procurement manager in some fancy downtown office building in a different time zone makes those decisions. Call if you must or hit them up on Facebook. But forget about that handshake!!

I guess I might as well get with the times. Time to explore how to optimize my marketing plans with social media, email campaigns and opt-in advertising. But as I press forward into this modern day hustle of my books, I can’t help but look back wistfully on the good ole days.

Songs of Singleness Book Cover Puzzle

After solving the puzzle, hit the back button to return to the home page

SOS Cover II Jigsaw Puzzle

Down The Homestretch!

Wow!  I am making significant progress on my next book.  I may not be proceeding as quickly as I should, but I can see the finish line.  For me, writing a book is more of an art than a science.  I am not aware of any formulas that I can follow to complete a book.  I just keep writing and editing and re-writing and so on until it FEELS like its time to let my baby loose.

Even though I am heading down the homestretch, I don’t FEEL anywhere close to releasing my book.  But, I am getting close to completing the first stage of my book which is writing it.  Then comes the fun stuff of editing and obsessing over particular words, phrases, paragraphs and character development.

But it’s all good.  I can practically smell the finish line!

PS  That isn’t me on any of the horses in the photo. (smile)

Writer or Storyteller: You Choose

I read an interesting post entitled, “Are You A Writer or a Storyteller?”  If you would like to read it for yourself, here is the link: http://novelspaces.blogspot.com/2009/08/writers-vs-storytellers.html

For those of you who plan on writing a book, I wanted to share the strengths and weaknesses associated with each category.

Writer  -  Strengths  -  Great with plots, language, minute details and other stuff I call “technical” skills

Weaknesses  -  Visualizing the big picture

Storyteller  -  Strengths  -  Creating unforgettable characters and looking at the big picture

Weaknesses  -  The nuts and bolts of writing  -  some refer to this as the “craft” of writing.  Another word may be “technical”

Which is better?  I think most of us have a combination of the two.  But for anyone who wants to write interesting and enjoyable works, storytelling probably is more valuable.  Think of it this way, a writer can have all of his/her “i’s” dotted and “t’s” crossed, but have an uninteresting story.  On the other hand, a writer can have a highly enjoyable book with interesting characters but their work is full of technical errors (misspellings, incorrect punctuation and grammatical errors.

Concerning your writing goals and aspirations, which would you chose?

Three Secrets of Successful Writers

The following three tips are from one of the websites I visit regularly for writing advice.  I hope you find them helpful in your writing career.

The first secret is that successful book writers write every day. They don’t take days off, weeks off, try to do all their writing on the weekend, or write sporadically. They methodically commit themselves to writing every day. Some write in the morning, some in the evening. That’s a matter of personally choice. Many writers feel they write better at one time of the day rather than another. That’s nonsense, but if it makes them feel better, no problem. Some have a special place where they go to write. It could be an office, a spare room, in the garden, a different building.

The second secret is that you have a daily quota of words that you write. The major league book writers have quotas of several thousand words. They know they can do it, because they’ve done it time and time again. Yes, just as with the daily discipline, the writing does get easier with time. Most professional writers think 2,000 words a day a simple task. They can do it without even breaking a metaphorical sweat.

If you’re just starting, don’t aim so high right away. Start with 100 words as your daily quota. You can (and will) always increase it later as you start to realize how much you can produce and how quickly it flows.

The third secret is that you keep on writing until your writing quota for the day is met. You keep on writing until you’ve written those 100 or 1,000 or 4,000 words are created. That’s the rule. And just about everything else, short of a fire (and it had better be a fast-moving fire) must be put on hold until you finish that quota.   Some days you’ll be finished in just a handful of minutes. On other days, the quota seems like a time penalty that stretches on without end.   Regardless, you keep on writing until the quota is met and you can walk away from your writing feeling you’ve really accomplished something today, and every day.

Books Or Reading – Which Would You Choose?

A couple of Sundays ago, I heard an interesting discussion on National Public Radio (NPR).  The topic discussed was:  “Which do you like more, books or reading?”  Prior to that discussion, I never really thought of the difference.   But here it is in a nutshell.  Some people like the act of reading while others like the touch and feel of a book.

For those who like to read, the item being “read” is not as important as the activity of reading.  Like someone who enjoys swimming, the place where they swim is less important than the physical activity of swimming.  Lovers of reading may peruse the words on a computer, cell phone, kindle or maybe even listen to the book on audio tape.

For those who like books over the act of reading, they just like holding a book.  They may like the smell or the feel or they may enjoy the sound of pages being turned.

I am not sure which side of the question I fall on .  I do like to read and I am not much of a fan of audio tapes or other non “books”.  I prefer hardcover books to paperbacks.  But I relish the precious opportunities to read a good book.  So, where does that put me?

H0w about you?  Which do you prefer, books or reading?

Show Me What You Got 070809

Here is an opportunity to show off your writing skills.  The rules are simple.  Using 50 words or less, complete the thought or action being described in the paragraph below.  Be creative and let your muse guide you.  Please, no profanity or sexually explicit languages or behaviors.  You can write about sex or sexuality, but try to do so decently.  I will read your comment and give you some feedback.  And maybe we can spark a conversation with other readers of this blog.  So have fun, relax and show me what you got!

Feeling guilty about the way he spoke to his girlfriend last night, Josh decided to do something unexpected for her.  He……….

Why Write A Short Story?

Short stories are an excellent way to show your skills and initiate a relationship with a publisher.  Usually, the fee to submit a short story is minimal ($25 for entrance into our short story contest).

With Sowjourn Publishers, once we receive your short story submission, we read it with the intention of getting you published.  The obvious option is we end up including your submission in our book of short stories.  Another option is we recognize you have enough talent that we suggest further projects even though your short story did not make the cut for a book of short stories.

Once you become part of our family, all of our efforts are geared to helping you reach your writing goals.  You may eventually want to write a memoir or a historical novel or maybe you have a science fiction novel taking root in your consciousness or perhaps the great romantic novel is pulling at your heart strings.  Fiction or non-fiction may be your ultimate goal, but writing a short story is one way to get your foot in the door.

Also, when we publish your short story, you are eligible for discounts off our total publishing package for your novel or other major work.  Plus, you are also eligible for our profit sharing bonus.

So, go ahead and write that short story and submit it to us.  We will learn about you and you will learn about us.  Who knows, maybe we will produce great books together!