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Today, we caught up with YA author
Chris Eboch. If you dig ancient myths, you should check out her books! Her most recent novel for young people is
The Genie’s Gift, a lighthearted action fantasy set in the fifteenth-century Middle East, drawing on the mythology of
The Arabian Nights. Here's how Chris describes the book: "A shy heroine named Anise seeks the Genie Shakayak to claim the Gift of Sweet Speech. How will she get past a vicious she-ghoul, a sorceress who turns people to stone, and mysterious sea monsters, when she can’t even speak in front of strangers?"
Chris's historical novels, The Well of Sacrifice (a Mayan drama) and The Eyes of Pharaoh (a mystery in ancient Egypt) continued to be embraced by teachers and young readers. Chris has also branched out into writing romantic suspense for adults under the name Kris Bock.
Good luck with your new and future endeavors, Chris!
After our travelling around for Bologna and Hong Kong festivals and little holiday we are back on track peeking into the
Creating Spaces of some of my friends. This time we get to
Look at the Desk of my friend
Chris Eboch. Chris lives in New Mexico (USA) where she is the SCBWI Regianal Advisor. We catch up nearly every year at the SCBWI summer conferences (and the winter one too if I am there). It's always fun! Yeah!
The view from the window at Chris' desk is very different to mine!
********
Here I am at my desk. It’s morning, so I have my big insulated mug of tea, a necessity for getting through e-mail. Behind that is a rose in a vase – I like to cut flowers from the yard for a little color and aromatherapy.
On the left side of the photo, you can see my to-do pile. I have a picture book that I’m reviewing for the NY Journal of Books, a novel manuscript I’m critiquing for a client, some conference notes to type up, and several newsletters with market leads or other information requiring follow-up. This pile tends to grow faster than it shrinks.
My favorite office feature is the window. I love an office with a view! I look out at our planter boxes and the trees in our yard, then across a grassy golf course to the small mountain at the edge of town. I get to watch birds playing in the trees, lizard scuttling along the planters, and occasionally something like a fox (or neighbor’s cat) wandering past. That way I don’t feel like I’m cooped up inside so much, and when I need a break from the computer I can head out to the golf course for a long walk, carrying my digital tape recorder to make notes or dictate a chapter.
I have a microphone on my desk because I use voice recognition software, and a camera on top of the computer because I’m giving a workshop via Skype in a few days. Beyond the photo, on the right, I have bookshelves filled with writing guides, research books (heavy on ancient Egypt, the Maya, and ghost stories), photo albums, copies of my published works, and library books.
And in the middle of the photo, there’s me – hair still damp from the shower, wearing comfy clothes, ready to get to work.
********
Chris Eboch’s novels for ages nine and up include
The Eyes of Pharaoh, a mystery in ancient Egypt; The
Well of Sacrifice, a Mayan adventure; and the
Haunted series, which starts with
The Ghost on the Stairs. Her book
Advanced Plotting helps writers fine-tune their plots.
Learn more at
http://www.chriseboch.com/ or check out her writing tips at
http://chriseboch.blogspot.com/.
Chris also writes for adults under the name Kris Bock.
Rattled Launches her new romantic suspense series featuring treasure hunting adventures in the New Mexico wilderness.
Read the first three chapters at
http://www.krisbock.com/.
Chris Eboch’s novels for ages nine and up include THE EYES OF THE PHARAOH, a mystery in ancient Egypt; THE WELL OF SACRIFICE, a Mayan adventure; and the Haunted series, which starts with THE GHOST ON THE STAIRS. She is also the author of ADVANCED PLOTTING, a guide for helping writers fine-tune their plots.
The picture above was taken while she was fossil hunting with friends in New Mexico. Embedded in the rock is what is believed to be a fossilized dinosaur bone.
You might not be aware that when this blog was created, the original group of posters agreed to keep it going for 843 days exactly. We had done some pretty complicated calculations on the shelf-life of a blog about speculative fiction for teens and pre-teens, with some assistance from several persons (and a robot) who arrived from the future to warn us about impending utopian conditions.
So here we are at Day 843, feeling compelled to say goodbye so that we can enjoy the sudden utopia we have been informed is about to be created on Earth. (We’ve been told there will be free iced coffee and several Harry Potter sequels for everyone.) We’d like to thank you, blog readers, for following us for so long (two and a half years! over 500 posts!). We’ve appreciated your comments and silent visits alike. We feel this has been a great opportunity to explore our thoughts on various topics important to us science fiction- and fantasy-lovers, and to chat with people we otherwise would never had known existed.
We hope that you will continue to visit us on other places on the web so that we can chat about books and hear your recommendations for what we should be reading and share thoughts about writing and publishing. You can find links to our websites here. Thanks, lovely blog readers, and Happy Reading!
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My brother just mentioned that he covered networking on his blog for screenwriters. My brother (the original writer for Sweet Home Alabama) is a pretty smart guy, so check it out.
How Not to Network.
How to Network.
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In the coming weeks, we here at the Spectacle will be interviewing… each other! It’s our chance to tell you a little bit more about ourselves and our books. Today, I’m interviewing Chris Eboch, author of a dozen books for young people, including the Haunted series, The Well of Sacrifice, and the ghost on the stairs. She writes action-packed romantic suspense for grown-ups under the name Kris Bock.
Linda Joy Singleton: The Haunted series has three books out, The Ghost on the Stairs, The Riverboat Phantom and The Knight in the Shadows. But we haven’t seen a new book in a while. Is anything new in the works?
Chris Eboch: The Haunted series got dropped by Aladdin after major upheavals that included my editor leaving. A couple of months ago, I posted on Verla Kay’s blue Boards — a discussion board for children’s book writers — that I was considering self-publishing the fourth Haunted book, which I had already written.
Last week, I got an e-mail from a new, very small press, wondering if I would be interested in working with them to release the book. We haven’t settled anything yet, but Haunted 4: The Ghost Miner’s Treasure will eventually make its way into print, one way or another. I’d like to keep writing more in the series, but that depends on whether or not I can make enough money to support myself while I write them.
The Ghost Miner’s Treasure continues Jon and Tania’s adventures in hunting — or rather helping — ghosts. This time their paranormal pal is an old miner who struck it rich in life but then couldn’t find his mine again, so he’s still looking, a century after his death. The kids get to join the Haunted ghost hunter TV show on a trek into the Superstition Mountains to hunt for the mine — but someone dangerous is tagging along, and this time it’s not the ghost.
LJS: You did a series of blog posts recently on your decision to self publish after years of traditional publishing. How is that working out?
In terms of the success of the books, it’s still too early to tell. For my first adult novel, the romantic suspense Rattled, I’ve been finding support in the community of mystery writers and fans. I’ve done guest posts on several blogs and have more lined up. It’s really hard to tell how often these things lead to sales, of course, but it helps to get the word out. I also have some great reviews on Amazon!
So far I haven’t seen a big difference in sales between Rattled and my SP middle grade mystery, The Eyes of Pharaoh. I need to contact some of the teachers who use my Mayan historical fiction, The Well of Sacrifice, in the classroom and let them know about the new book.
One of the big challenges is finding the time to promote the books properly, when I have to spend most of my time earning money by teaching, critiquing, and writing articles. But I figured it would be six months to a year before the books had a chance of reaching some kind of “tipping point” and taking off.
I’m still not convinced that self-publishing is the only way to go. I recently met an editor at a conference who is interested in seeing my next romantic suspense, and I’ll probably send it to her. It would be nice to
This week we’re talking about folktales and fairytales. I wrote an article on the subject a year or so ago and heard that folktales and fairytales aren’t selling well as picture books. But fairytales have found a new home in novels for middle grade and young adult readers. You might say that fairytales have grown up.
Reka Simonsen, now executive editor for Harcourt, said in an interview, “Fairytales and folktales for younger kids are hard to publish successfully these days. That doesn’t seem to be true of novels for young adult readers, though. There are enough books, authors, and long-term fans to have turned the novel-length fairytale into a subgenre of its own, a particular type of fantasy that’s especially popular with adolescent girls.” Most popular are versions that give the classic tales a new twist–“a different setting or a stronger female lead character, for example.”
Heather Tomlinson, author of The Swan Maiden (Henry Holt, 2007) twisted a traditional story in Toads and Diamonds (Henry Holt, 2010). “In Charles Perrault’s original tale, a fairy rewards one girl with the gift of speaking jewels and flowers, while condemning her older sister to spew toads and snakes when she talks. I wondered what would happen if the two gifts were equally valuable–and equally dangerous.”
Tomlinson points to “many successful novels and series drawing on fairytale roots. But I think writers can increase their chances of success by retelling a lesser-known story, or finding a really fresh angle on a familiar one.”
Simonsen said, “Some people in publishing and bookselling are getting pretty tired of fantasy of all kinds, including fairytale novelizations. I think that response is mostly from the people who never liked these kinds of books anyway. Fantasy has been the bestselling genre for the past decade and it’s still going strong, so clearly kids are not sick of it. It’s a crowded market, so it can be hard to stand out, but there is definitely a big fan base for fairytale novelizations.”
Other fairytale-inspired books of recent years include:
Sisters Red, a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood by Jackson Pearce (Little, Brown, 2010)
Devoured, a retelling of Snow White by Amanda Marrone (Simon Pulse, 2009)
A Curse Dark As Gold, a historical retelling of Rumpelstiltskin by Elizabeth Bunce (Arthur A. Levine Books, 2008)
Beastly, a modern version of Beauty and the Beast (HarperTeen, 2007) and A Kiss in Time, a Sleeping Beauty retelling, (HarperTeen, 2009) by Alex Flinn
The Thirteenth Princess, based upon The Twelve Dancing Princesses story, by Diane Zahler (HarperCollins, 2009)
Beast, with Beauty and the Beast in ancient Persia, by Donna Jo Napoli (Atheneum, 2000)
Turning Old to New
So what if you want to write a fairytale based novel? Creative thinking can help writers break into the market.
Lise Lunge-Larsen, author of the picture book The Adventures of Thor the Thunder God (Houghton Mifflin, 2007) said, “The images and the plots of the old folktales a
I’ve heard that young people like print books because it’s a social thing — you can see what other people are reading and show that you are reading the cool books. Perhaps e-book readers need an app that can “talk” to nearby devices if those e-readers contain the same books. I also wonder if some young readers will turn to e-books because of the privacy, if the books they are reading aren’t considered cool. Can you imagine new technology to fulfill the reading/social needs of young people? Or a modern version of hiding your comic book in a textbook (or vice versa)?
Chris Eboch doesn’t even have an e-reader, but she does like her smart phone.
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Joni asked: Suppose authors formed in groups of five or six or 10 and agreed to vette each other’s work prior to (self) publication?
Some authors are doing this. At the recent Left Coast Crime convention for mystery writers and fans, mystery novelist Pari Noskin Taichert mentioned that she’s part of a group of published authors who are critiquing each other and approving quality books. I’m not sure of the group’s name or the details, but she said that their goal is to have customers know that books published by the group are worthy of publication. (I’ll follow up on my blog when I get more details.)
At the convention, e-books were big buzz. A panel called “Publishing Today and Tomorrow” featured several authors who were enthused about self-publishing e-books. (I’m not sure, but I think all of these writers started with traditional publishing.) One audience member asked, “But are you actually making any money?” The panel answered with a resounding “Yes.” Several said they were making decent money for the first time in their careers. When asked about e-book piracy, most said they didn’t worry about it or even put digital protection on their books. Mystery/suspense author LJ Sellers noted that her books sell for $.99, so if someone wants to steal them, fine — maybe she’ll gain new fans.
I missed the panel of “Industry Professionals on Publishing.” I heard they had a very different view of self-publishing, as you’d expect. I did catch “Wisdom from Industry Pros” with Barbara Peters from Poison Pen Press and Keith Kahla of St. Martin’s Press. They were both very likable as they talked about trends in publishing, including mass-market fading in favor of trade paperbacks, and translations becoming more profitable. They felt that publishers are still necessary to screen manuscripts and help with the publishing process. They see e-books as part of their growing market.
I also attended a panel on “Who Wants to Be an E-Book Millionaire.” The audience contained unpublished and published writers. Some of the published writers had already dabbled in e-book publishing while others were interested, at least for their out-of-print titles. Obviously both new and established authors are curious about the potential, though many people feel intimidated by the technology. Expect to see more companies acting as middlemen. Perhaps even agents will take on some of this role?
Chris Eboch spoke at the Left Coast Crime panel, but not about e-books or self-publishing.
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0 Comments on Follow-Up on Self-Publishing/Left Coast Crime as of 3/29/2011 8:23:00 AM
So far this week I’ve covered why people might want to self publish (and when they shouldn’t), and I’ve offered a step-by-step guide to the process. One big question remains—how can you turn a self-published book into a success story?
Since I just released my books, I can’t claim success yet. If you want to follow along with my story, I’ll be reporting updates on my personal blog on Wednesdays.
In the meantime, I can tell you my plan. First though, some comments from experts:
On the Behler Blog, Lynn Price acknowledges changes to the industry, but offers a warning to self-publishers: “The big advance money is drying up and the big guys aren’t buying the kinds of books they did years ago.… [However] It’s one thing to heed the call to the battle cry and chant ‘death to publishers!’ and quite another to actually go out and do it. And be successful.”
Self-pub superstar Amanda Hocking adds her own warning: “Traditional publishing and indie publishing aren’t all that different, and I don’t think people realize that. Some books and authors are best sellers, but most aren’t. It may be easier to self-publish than it is to traditionally publish, but in all honesty, it’s harder to be a best seller self-publishing than it is with a house.”
On the other side, Joe Konrath writes adult mysteries. He started in traditional publishing but has become totally gung ho about self-publishing. He sees no reason why anyone would want a traditional publishing contract today. On the other hand, he fully admits that success takes a big dose of luck. He often features guest authors sharing their success stories. These are primarily adult genre authors, but it’s still interesting to see what people do—and often how little difference a big publicity plan makes.
Along with luck, Joe says you need a well-written book, a great cover, a strong blurb describing it, and a good price point. He considers the e-book ideal $2.99, the lowest price at which you can get Amazon’s 70 percent royalty rate (it drops to 30 percent for cheaper books). You can judge my covers for yourself and check out the description and sample chapters of the writing at my Amazon page. Now let’s run some numbers to figure out that price point.
I can price my work as a $2.99 e-book and make $2 per book with Kindle’s 70 percent royalty rate. My traditionally published books are available on the Kindle, but at $5.99 for each of the Haunted series (the paperback price) and $8.80 for The Well of Sacrifice (hardcover price $16). I don’t get many sales that way, but many people complain that e-books are overpriced. (For an explanation of why, check out this post by former agent Nathan Bransford.) With The Eyes of Pharaoh and Rattled, people may be more likely to try the lower-priced books.
POD copies will be priced higher, because of printing costs. I can price Rattled at $7.99 which earns me $.92 for
Yesterday I explored why previously published authors might turn to self-publishing, when they’re confident in their book’s quality but are struggling in the current market. What about the unpublished writer?
I would hesitate to recommend self-publishing to most unpublished writers, because most writers are not as far along on their craft as they think they are. I’ve done well over 1000 manuscript critiques, between teaching through the Institute of Children’s Literature correspondence school, offering one-on-one critiques at conferences, working privately with writers, and exchanging manuscripts with friends. Perhaps 20 percent of those had a chance of reaching publishable quality with one or two more solid revisions and some polishing. No more than one percent were ready to send out when I saw them. Some writers realized this; many didn’t.
Author Kristen Lamb offers this warning to writers who may want to publish too quickly: “I am not against self-publishing and that is a whole other subject entirely. But, what I will say is that there are too many authors who dismiss why agents are rejecting them and run off to self-publish instead of fixing why their manuscript was rejected.”
One theory suggests that we go through four stages to become experts: unconscious incompetence, conscious incompetence, conscious competence, and unconscious competence (got all that?) The first and third stages are the danger zones. Many writers start out thinking that writing is easy. Maybe they always did well in English classes. Maybe their kids love the bedtime stories they make up. These writers don’t know how little they know. When they start to glimpse the long, hard path of publishing, some give up altogether, and some look for easier ways out—possibly leading them to self-publish that early work. (Some even assume that their work is so brilliant it’s worth tons of money, and they don’t want to share with a publisher.)
In the second stage, writers start to figure out how little they know. They work on their craft. By the third stage, they have learned many techniques and they use them, but because the knowledge isn’t completely natural yet, it’s hard to keep track of everything and make it all work together. These are good writers, but not great ones. This is where you start to get “good rejections” and other encouragement, but that first sale seems elusive. Or maybe you even sell a few things, but you’re getting mixed feedback on other work. This stage can last years, and it seems to last forever. Here’s where some writers turn to self-publishing out of frustration. But it’s important to keep working on your craft and not get caught up in the publishing business before your work is ready.
You want to wait for that final stage, unconscious competence—though that term may be misleading, because I’d argue that for writers we still have to critically analyze our work. The main difference at the final stage is you’ve gotten good at finding the flaws in your own work and understand how to fix problems that other people see. You’ve gone from “potential” to “polished.”
So unpublished authors shouldn’t rush to self-publishing as an easy shortcut. Self-publishing your work before it’s ready can only hurt your career. However, if a writer is willing to pay for a professional critique—probably several, one after each major revision to check progress—and hire other experts as needed, they may be able to make it work.
My friend and former student Jodi Stewart is self-publishing a middle grade novel, Silki: Summer of the Ancient. I’ve critiqued her manuscript (twice) so I know it’s good, but her story about a Navajo girl having adventures on the reservation didn’t resonate with New York City editors.
Jodi has studied every aspect of self-publishing and she’s hired experts at
6 Comments on First-Timers and Self-Publishing, last added: 3/16/2011
Yesterday I introduced some of the new possibilities in self-publishing, primarily e-book and print on demand. But why would anyone choose to self-publishing a great book? Isn’t it better to try for a traditional publishing deal? Assuming you can get that traditional publishing deal in a timely manner… maybe.
Self-publishing is a gamble. Many people talk about the greater money that can be made through self-publishing. Of course, it’s not quite that simple. You can make more per book, but you still have to sell a large number of books in order to make more money than you’d get with a decent advance. Plus, there’s always the temptation of taking money now (an advance!) versus waiting for possible money later as a book takes maybe a year or two to find its audience with self-publishing.
Traditional publishing is a gamble as well, but once you have that traditional publisher’s advance, you get to keep it even if the book doesn’t sell. With self-publishing, you have no guarantee that your book will ever sell and you don’t get money unless it does. So it’s no wonder that many authors who are selling their books and getting decent advances would rather stick with the traditional publishing system.
Money Can’t Buy Happiness
But money isn’t the only consideration. Sure, I’d like to make more money from each published book, but that’s not my primary motive for self-publishing. My first concern is the amount of time it takes for editors to respond to submissions—often six months to a year or more even with an agent or when I know the editor personally. And that’s just to get any response, even a “No.”
I can’t run my business this way. It takes too long to get answers, too long to get a contract, and way too long to get the book in print. When the rest of our world is speeding up, publishing seems to be slowing down. I have one friend whose editor has taken five years on her book, with up to a year for each revision letter.
With self-publishing, you can have your book available in a few weeks or months (depending on how much time you devote). This is especially an advantage if you have a timely book—one that fits current trends or relates to something in the news.
You may not get an advance up front, but you start earning money immediately. Amazon pays monthly for the previous month’s sales—compared to royalty statements every six months. Getting paid sooner means you can afford to spend time working on the next book. Check out Joe Konrath’s blog post on Time Is Money for a comparison of the math: “Every day your book isn’t being sold, is a day lost that you could have been earning money.”
The ability to control when your book is published, and to publish as many books a year as you want (and can write) are factors drawing some people to self-publishing.
Opportunities In Special Cases
I know plenty of authors who love their editors and are happy with their publishing situation. I know at least as many who have suffered from career-damaging setbacks. One of these challenges probably hits speculative fiction writers more than most: The canceled series.
The Spectacle’s own Joni Sensel has faced this. If you loved The Farwalker’s Quest and its sequel, The Timekeeper’s Moon, you may be waiting for the third book in the trilogy. Problem is, the publisher isn’t going to publish it.
Joni has finished writing the book. She has a fan base. And now she has a way to publish it herself. She may or may not have great s
If you’re paying attention to news from the writing world, you’ve probably heard self-publishing success stories, along with plenty of debate. Is self-publishing still the ghetto of publishing, filled with people who can’t write? A valid option for new writers who haven’t found a place in traditional publishing? The only sensible way for any writer to publish her book in the current market? A shortcut to fame and fortune?
And finally, while many writers still hold up traditional publishing as the Holy Grail, a growing number are quietly asking, “Could this be right for me?”
I’ve been writing for many years and have published hundreds of articles, several short stories, and 12 books, including historical fiction, contemporary paranormal, fictionalized biographies, and both fiction and nonfiction work for hire. Two years ago I would have said you shouldn’t self-publish unless you either don’t care about selling more than a handful of books, or you have a great platform and like to market.
In recent months I’ve changed my mind.
I am diving into self-publishing with not one but two books, and more planned. Two factors play into this. First, the traditional publishing industry, which was never ideal, seems more troubled than ever and writers are suffering. Second, advances in technology make it possible to produce a quality book with a low upfront investment, and to reach readers without selling books from the back of a van.
This week, I’ll be exploring the world of self-publishing with daily posts, discussing my personal journey and quoting from the experts. While my initial self-publishing offerings are not speculative fiction, I’ll also note some special challenges of the genre.
Let’s start by defining some terms.
Self-publishing is a term that can be used in different ways, but my definition is quite simple—the author chooses when and how to bring his or her book to press and controls the process. This can involve e-books, print on demand, or hiring a printer to do a print run of a few thousand books. It may cost anywhere from nothing to thousands of dollars.
Until recently, if you wanted to self-publish, you essentially had to start your own company and pay at least $5000 to have boxes of books delivered to your door. Now we have more reasonable options.
Print on demand (POD) allows authors to have printed books available online. Some companies charge an upfront fee; others charge only for specific services such as cover design and proofreading. As one example, you can use Amazon’s CreateSpace to release a POD book. You upload your cover file and a PDF of the interior layout. You set the price (so long as it is above the cost of printing). You can buy copies at an author discount (under three dollars for my 160-page paperback). Amazon sells the book online and prints a copy when someone orders it. Their royalty calculator shows you how much you’ll make by offering the book for sale at various prices. I’m pricing The Eyes of Pharaoh at $6.99, which will give me over one dollar per book with standard Amazon sales.
E-books are electronic versions of books which can be read on electronic devices such as computers, e-readers, smart phones, and iPods. You can make a book available on the Kindle through Amazon, or in other formats through Barnes & Noble and other companies. You do not need an e-reader to read an e-book. You can get e-reader apps for smartphones, iPods and computers.
Some people think e-books are a trend that will go away. Oth
We have a winner for our book giveaway of Lois Ruby’s ghost story, The Secret of Laurel Oak–Jan of Maltby Intermediate School in Michigan! Jan, please contact Lois through her website to make arrangements for delivery.
In other news, we here at The Spectacle are exploring the brave new world of self-publishing through e-books and print on demand. Starting Monday, we’ll have a whole week discussing the phenomenon, how publishers have driven even established authors to this method, when you should and when you should not, and special challenges for those who write speculative fiction. Don’t miss out!
To get you started, check out these links:
The Shatzkin Files suggests that we may be at a tipping point turning toward e-books: “It is a vicious cycle — a death spiral — if you’re a bookstore…. predictions that ebook sales would achieve 50% in the next five years and that bookstore shelf space would drop by 50% in the next five years — which is what I thought would be the case — seemed pretty aggressive six months ago. They don’t seem aggressive anymore.”
A Business Insider article looks at how even unknown authors are having success with Kindle books: “Out of the top 25 best-selling indie Kindle writers, only 6 were previously affiliated with a publishing house.”
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We here at The Spectacle, like all writers, strive to create characters who will be loved and remembered for a lifetime—maybe even for generations. That can happen in any genre (think of Shakespeare’s famous heroes and villains), but perhaps speculative fiction writers have an advantage because we are creating characters who are more—or less—than human. This helps them stand out against the thousands of characters who have to depend solely on their own human skills and personalities to be memorable. (Creating a great speculative character has its own challenges and risks, but that’s not the direction I’m going with this post.)
So who is the greatest speculative character of all time? Dracula? Frankenstein’s monster? Spiderman? Harry Potter?
I’ll cast my vote for Santa. You could call him a lot of things. A historical character who has changed over the years. A metaphor for love and generosity. A commercialized distraction to the real meaning of Christmas. A bribe/threat to get kids to behave. Regardless of your sociopolitical opinion, one thing is for sure, this jolly old soul has cemented his place in the hearts and minds of children and adults around the world.
A quick web search will find dozens of books on Santa. They range from historical to sweet to comedic, with art styles from realistic to cartoony. Most if not all are targeted at younger readers, 0-8, those who still Believe. Hmm, does this indicate an opportunity for middle grade/YA writers to create the next big speculative hero, to fill the gap after all the vampires, werewolves, fairies, zombies and mermaids?
Or maybe we should just leave Santa alone, in the happy world of childhood dreams.
Chris Eboch with the Haunted series
Ho ho ho. Pass the eggnog!
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2 Comments on The Most Magical Hero of All, last added: 12/8/2010
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Oh, I hope you are on track! If you have swerved off the path, get back on track now. If you are tired, take a deep breath, center and get going again. You can do this!
Today’s hot java comes from my friend Chris Eboch. Chris is a powerhouse author of several books, most recently, her HAUNTED series. Here she is with a "Resting on a big hike" high five.
Here's a note from Chris: Here I am in the Grand Canyon last June. The hike in was 14 miles, during a heat wave, with temps over 100°. Here, we are 3 miles from the top during the 10-mile, 5000 feet-elevation gain hike out. Do I look tired? I was beyond exhausted. Kind of like how you feel during your umteenth revision, when you know in theory you're getting closer but the end still seems too far to reach. And the key to success is the same with writing and with hiking. Take a break if you need one. Give yourself plenty of fuel. Give and receive encouragement to others slogging along the path.
Best advice ever, and I hop you listen to it. You are going to reach your goals. Keep going. I know what it is like to be weary, too. Be kind to yourself. Come back refreshed and ready for more piping hot java.
And a last thought to ponder as you go forward today.
Life always gets harder toward the summit - the cold increases, the responsibility increases. Friedrich Nietzsche
A few weeks ago, the first book in my Haunted series, The Ghost on the Stairs, was listed in the online article “Five Spooky Kids Authors You Need To Know About,” in The Children’s Book Review. It’s always nice to see publicity about your work, but what made it special was the company I was keeping: Mary Downing Hahn (Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story), Alvin Schwartz (Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark), Ray Bradbury (Something Wicked This Way Comes), and a personal favorite, James Howe (the “Bunnicula” series. It was an online form of rubbing elbows with the successful and famous!
It’s also another nice reminder that if we are writers, even “pre-published” ones, we are part of the same writing family. When I first started going to writing conferences, I felt awed by the big names. They were so successful, with dozens or even hundreds of books out. They had won major awards. They were household names — some of them I had read as a child. They were part of another world.
As time went on, I sold more books, and while I’m far from famous, I have established my place in the world of children’s books. I now frequently give workshops at conferences, including the big SCBWI Summer Conference in Los Angeles. Because of mutual writing friends, I’ve had dinner with Bruce Coville, walked on the beach with Gail Carson Levine, and slept on the floor of Ellen Hopkins’s hotel room. I realized that it’s not a matter of me way down here and them way up there. Rather, we’re all on the same continuum. Some people may be farther along, and some may be moving faster. But we’re all on the same path. It’s a nice feeling.
Chris Eboch with the Haunted series
Chris Eboch thinks children’s book writers and illustrators are the nicest people.
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Personally, I love a good cliffhanger — those chapter endings that practically force you to turn the page to find out what happens next. So it always surprises me how often I see even published authors miss cliffhanger opportunities.
It isn’t something that comes naturally. I started exploring the power of cliffhangers after ghost writing a mystery novel. The editor likened the chapter endings to the point in a horror movie where the character is slowly opening a door. The music builds, and you just know something horrible is going to happen!
This is the difference between suspense and surprise. Surprise is startling, because it’s not set up–but there’s no tension leading up to it. If you’re cheerfully walking down the street and something falls on your head, you’re surprised. There is no suspense, however, because you’re dealing with the aftereffects almost before you realize what happened.
To write suspenseful chapter endings, you have to give clues that something is about to happen. Often this means expanding the scene by using more sensory details and more emotional thoughts, expressions or actions.
As an example, here’s an early version of a chapter ending in The Ghost on the Stairs. Jon is starting to believe that Tania really sees ghosts, and they are trying to find out if they can communicate with one.
“All right,” I said. “Let’s go back in now. We can just stand near the bottom of the stairs, and pretend that we’re talking to each other and watching the filming.”
Tania nodded. She took a deep breath and led the way inside.
Here’s my revised version, as published, with more detail to hopefully build suspense.
“All right,” I said. “Let’s go back in now. We can just stand near the bottom of the stairs, and pretend that we’re talking to each other and watching the filming.”
Tania nodded. She looked down, then back up, and spoke softly. “Do you think she could be dangerous?”
I shrugged. I wasn’t sure she was anything. But that got me wondering. Could a ghost do anything to you? Did it matter if you could see it or not?
I watched Tania as she stepped toward the door. Maybe we were going to find out.
One of the oddities of writing is that you actually slow down when you want the pace to feel fast. You focus on moment by moment detail, rather than summary. You make the reader wait to find out what’s going to happen. This builds anticipation and keeps the reader turning the page.
Writers, check out my personal blog for a series of posts with more information on building strong cliffhangers.
Chris Eboch with the Haunted series
Chris Eboch is going to … (cue dramatic music!)
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3 Comments on The Magical History Tour, last added: 7/20/2010
Nice to see Chris in her native environment :-) And working...