How to Record an Audio Book – Narrator James Newcomb Speaks Out

This past spring, I was given the opportunity to record Matowak: Woman Who Cries by Joylene Nowell Butler.

My primary gig as it pertains to using my voice professionally is as a podcaster. I'm the host of a weekly podcast called MusicPreneur: Making Money Making Music as well as a daily podcast called Preneur Problems.

However, I decided to throw my name in the Audible ring and the publishers of Ms. Butler's book saw it fit to hire me to record it.

Recording an audiobook is very different from recording a podcast.

Recording a book requires a fairly strict observance of diction and pronunciation, not to mention understanding the nuances between the various characters - if it's a fictional book.

Being overly concerned with those things can be detractors from a podcast as audiences tend to prefer a more conversational, "warts and all" type of dialogue between the host and the guest.

My Process

Because I have a number of projects on my plate at any given moment, I chose to record Matowak in small portions.

Basically, I did one chapter per day. This includes recording the text, editing out my errors, mastering and uploading it into the Audible platform.

Over time, I developed a little system to expedite the editing process.

Anytime I made a mistake, I would make a "click" sound in my mouth. Since these sounds are distinct from my speaking voice, I'm able to see where these occur on my software. Rather than listening to the entire chapter, I'm able go directly to those spots and delete my mistakes.

Most recording software programs have features that allow you to mark where you'd like to edit. I prefer to simply make a noise with my mouth so as to not interrupt my flow while recording.

In retrospect, I believe I would have been better off recording the book in larger segments.

Recording only a chapter per day, I had to "get in the zone" every day for 30+ days. Had I arranged my schedule to allow 3-4 hour blocks of recording/editing/mastering/uploading, it could have been easier to stay in the proper frame of mind.

I also found it necessary to take breaks from recording. Focusing on correct pronunciation, diction, etc. is mentally tiresome. This is why I chose to edit/master/upload after each chapter, rather than try to record multiple chapters at once.

My equipment

It may surprise you to hear that my equipment is very minimal and inexpensive.

I recorded Matowak using my trusty ATR-2100, which you can find on Amazon for around $70. I've used the ATR-2100 in over 300 podcast episodes and consistently receive praise on the audio quality it produces.

I use Audacity recording software. It's a free download (google it) and is surprisingly user friendly. You may need a few tutorials (which I'm happy to provide if you're interested) but it is quite easy to use.

My "studio" is my master bedroom. Of course, it is carpeted and has some sound absorbing panels on the walls, but it is very minimalistic and effective.

I know of some podcasters and voice actors who record in their closets because the clothes absorb all the sound. Plus they're able to hide from their children!

What you can do to assist your voice actor

Perhaps you embrace modern technology and want to make your work available in as many mediums as possible.

Or you may believe that an audio version detracts from the intent of your book; you begrudgingly accept the need to produce an audio version because your publisher says you need to in order to keep up with the times.

Hey, I'm a musician and I work with musicians. I understand the need to preserve artistic purity and balance technology accordingly.

However, once you make the decision to make an audio version of your book, here are a few things you can do to produce a recording that honestly reflects - and even improves - your original intent with your work.

1. Have a conversation with them. Set up a phone or Skype call. Explain the "if you didn't get all that, get this" core message you desire your readers to take away. Take the time to explain the personalities and nuances of your characters. A good voice actor wants to "get it right," and channel your intentions into the recording. Investing time upfront to explain these things will reap their rewards when the final product is finished. If you don't do this, they'll have no frame of reference and will inevitably interpret your work based on their own personal paradigm.
2. Cultivate a relationship with them. This person is taking a considerable amount of time from their life and work to record your book. For example, a 12 hour audio book typically takes around 100 hours of labor to complete. If it's on a royalty share arrangement, they're doing so without a solid idea of how much they'll be compensated financially. Get to know them personally; allow them to get to know you. Open up a line of communication so that they'll feel comfortable approaching you when questions about how to interpret the book come up.
3. Regard them as a collaborator, not as an employee. This person is putting a human voice to your words. The best way to get an authentic telling of your story is for your voice actor to feel as though they are personally invested in your work. Because, guess what? They are. When you erect that barrier of "I'm the author, you're the actor;" when you communicate only via a third party such as a publisher, the actor is going to feel like it's just another gig. They're going to quickly turn their impassioned attention to something else. Should you choose this approach, don't be surprised when they fail to meet your expectations.

Obviously, the best way to channel your intent as a writer in an audiobook is for you to do it yourself. ACX has many tutorials on how to DIY on a bootstrapped budget.

Should you decide you prefer a voice actor to record your book, perhaps these suggestions will help you in your endeavors!

James Newcomb 

Find James at MusicPreneur: Making Money Making Music and on Twitter



Find Mâtowak: Woman Who Cries at iTunes, Audible, and Amazon

Mason Canyon Tours

There may come a time in your professional career as a novelist when you'll wonder whether you need a literary publicist. Maybe you have a 40 hour a week job. Or you've got small children at home. Or you're in the midst of trying to sell your home, as I am. 

As the author of two published novels, I certainly understood what was needed before, during and after my novel Mâtowak: Woman Who Cries was due for release. But just thinking about it left me in a brain-fog. While I'm not great at delegating chores, nor am I good at relinquishing control, even I knew I was exhausted and needed help. They say a woman asking for help is an anomaly. I'm so glad happy I broke that cycle. 

At the end of a month long virtual book tour, I'm sitting here grinning from ear to ear because I had Mason Book Tours campaigning on my behalf. While I sat back and enjoyed the process, MBT did the work. 

Want to know what they did?

Here's just a few of the things:

1. MC produced the tour page with all the pertinent information: bio, blurb, photo, book cover, and calendar. 
2. MC created the Rafflecopter. 
3. MC designed the tour banners and graphics and promoted the event on Facebook and Twitter. 
4. MC served as a middle man between all hosts and myself, so that I had only ONE person to interact with. 
5. MC provided books for the reviewers and collected questions from the hosts. 
6. MC gathered the answers to all the questions and returned them to the designated hosts. 
7. MC put together the tour package with the essential material. 
8. MC chose the excerpts and sent them out to the right hosts in chronological order to match the calendar. 
9. MC coordinated the hosts within the calendar month, making certain they had everything they needed before their day.
10. MC updated the author's tour page each morning and sent out individual emails to those hosts. Q&A, guest posts, and excerpts. 
11. MC visited every single site, left a comment, and shared their links with her networks.
12. MC sent a final thank you to all hosts and a wrap up to me with a complete list of all host bloggers and their blog links.
13. ...

I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. Mason Canyon Tours did what would have taken me a few extra months of prep work. MC took the pressure off and made the release of my third novel a joy. 

Circumstances change and as authors we adjust and we cope. It only takes one published novel to understand that writing the book is the easy part. 

Happy Reading. 

A Writer's Legacy

You're invited to do a guest spot, or maybe you're asked to write several posts for your book tour. Instantly, doubts slaps you in the face. Your heart pounds. Your stomach lurches. Maybe not quite that dramatic but you still worry: What will I write about? I have nothing to say, nothing worth reading. I'll make a fool of myself. Or worse, I bore everyone to tears. What can I possibly say that's never been said before? Who am I to tell anyone anything about writing? Nothing--I know nothing!

Really?

You're writer. You've learned a thing or two.

Let me tell you a story...

The Prince George Regional Library invited me to do an evening reading. For two days prior, I spent my usual time in the washroom vomiting. I dragged my husband away from the NHL playoffs so I wouldn't have to face them alone. After the reading, a mother and daughter approached. I could see that the girl was nervous. Her mother kept whispering in her ear and patting her on the back until finally they were next in line.

"Hi," the teenager squeaked.

"She loved your book," the mum said.

The girl blushed. I gave her my best motherly smile.

She stuttered, "I-I loved your book. I-I always wanted to be a writer, but I-I'm just a small town girl. Real writers live in big cities like Montreal and Toronto. They don't live in Prince George. Then I heard you on the radio. I read your book in two days; I loved Valerie. Now I read your blog. You explain stuff I never understood in school. And you live here! Thank you, Mrs. Butler. If you can live here and write about characters who live here, then I know I can too."

That was eight years ago. I think about that young woman often. She'd be about twenty-three. I don't know if she's still reading my blog, but sometimes I write specifically for her.

Please don't under estimate the power of your words. You may have already met the equivalent of this young woman, or maybe not. But know that even if she's never been brave enough to leave a comment, send a personal email, or show up at a reading, it doesn't mean she's not paying attention to every word you write.

Sad Mr. Adverb

Sad Mr. Adverb is so very sad

Seems he's been labelled crazy and mad 

By whom? you might ask, and rightfully too  

By Them, you'd be told, them in the blue

They say don't use him, not any ole way

He's not fit for language, requiem, or play 

Well, if that be true, then give him the boot 

For new writers know nothin,' and old writers toot moot 

[Haha, I know! Don't quit my day job and take up poetry writing.]

THEY have been telling us to cut adverbs for so long that the rule is now a norm. Why? Because too many writers use adverbs to modify the wrong word. Or they use ambiguous adverbs that tell us nothing. It's become easier to say, "Don't use them," then to illustrate their proper use. 

"And when he spoke, his words came slowly and softly." The Legend of Devil's Creek. D.C. Alexander.  

"She gave a sharp cry of realization just as hands, which she had noticed specifically for their size and strength, caught her upper arm from behind." Mean Streak, Sandra Brown.  

She had just enough time to recognize the heavy hammer she sometimes used to [...] It was in his hands [...]." Dead Wood, Dan Ames 

"When I sit up I do it slowly, blinking heavily. There is a sour taste in my mouth [...]" Follow the Crow, B.B. Griffith. 

"It was a vision of hell. A dismally foggy day over stinking heaps of refuse—" Book of Shadows, Alexandra Sokoloff.

"Reidinger's face was terribly young and unlined, but his brown eyes [...]." The Angel of Zin, Clifford Irving. 

"[...] Jack had said something else to him, too quietly for Wendy to hear, and Tom had only shaken his head sullenly [...]." The Shining, Stephen King. 

"It's difficult to come out on top when everyone is your enemy. Fortunately for us, we aren't at that point yet." Dragon of the Stars, Alex J. Cavanaugh. [Some would argue that out in this case is an adverb. I'll leave that decision for the wordsmiths]

When used correctly, adverbs convey something important and even powerful for the reader. They add rhythm to your prose. They're the reason your reader turns the page; they add something vital to the plot. They don't glob up your sentences. Learn how to use them effectively and I promise your writing will become stronger. 


By the way, @TheIWSG is now on twitter. 

*  *  *  *  *  

The Head and Heart of Your Character

In the last Gut Wrenching Deep POV post, we learned a technic of adding deep point of view by cutting dialogue tags and showing the story through the protagonist's senses. One commenter wrote: "... You have to lose yourself in the writing so that you BECOME the character." 

That's it. Show the story through the head and heart of your character.

But how do you do that exactly?

Here's a few simple technics. Give them a try. Nobody will ever know.

In Word, hunt down said, replied, asked, answered, and any other dialogue tags you're fond of. Replace them with action.

BEFORE:

She asked, "How are you?"
He snapped, "Stop being a witch, bitch."
"Bitch? she asked. "I'm being nice."
"Really?" he snarled. "Define nice."

AFTER:

"How are you?" Without an invitation, she reached up to straighten his tie.
He pushed her hands away. The last time she'd clawed him, he had to buy antibiotic cream. "Stop being a witch, bitch."
"Bitch?" Tears welled up in her eyes. She dropped her arms to her sides. "I'm being nice."
"Really? Define nice."

Slightly exaggerated, but what do we know that we didn't know in the BEFORE? He's afraid she's going to claw him. We have visual. And thoughts. Tags aren't needed because we know who's speaking. If it wasn't clear, we'd add a tag; particularly, in scenes where there are more than two speakers.

Another technic: write the scene in 1st person, then change to 3rd.

Here's an excerpt from my manuscript Omatiwak: Woman Who Cries:

     Blood. So much blood. Pooling on the slate tiles around his head.
     Leland—dead?
     I assumed he'd outlive me. Mean people are lucky that way. But maybe that's what's wrong. He used to be mean. After our sons died, he changed.
     With my palm firmly pressed to my chest, I still these erratic thoughts. Giddiness overwhelms me. I drop my purse and grip the edge of the countertop. Tears blur my vision. An uncomfortable heat descends upon me; similar to those hot flashes I suffered for ten years. Ohmigosh, now I'm blubbering like a fool.

Changed to 3rd person, it becomes Deep POV:

     Blood. So much blood. Pooling on the slate tiles around his head.
     Leland—dead?
     Sally assumed he'd outlive her. Mean people were lucky that way. But maybe that was what was wrong. He used to be mean. After their sons died, he changed.
     With her palm firmly pressed to her chest, she stilled her erratic thoughts. Giddiness overwhelmed her. She dropped her purse and gripped the edge of the countertop. Tears blurred her vision. An uncomfortable heat descended upon her; similar to those hot flashes she suffered for ten years. Ohmigosh, now she was blubbering like a fool.

Once you've tried these simple technics, you'll find phrases like: he thought, he saw, he came, he conquered ... unnecessary because you no longer have to tell the reader something they know.

When you write from deep inside a character, there is no author accidentally pulling the reader from the story. Every thought, description, and feeling comes from the character, making the prose richer, the scenes more compelling, the reader experience deeper.

Gut Wrenching Deep POV

Deep POV is a powerful writing technic that adds emotional depth to your stories. Can you learn the technic? Of course.

1.  Eliminate as many dialogue tags as possible.
2.  Never jerk the reader out of the protagonist's head using author intrusion.
3.  Only describe what your protagonist sees, hears, smells, tastes, and touches. 

-- ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ELSE --

Here's a direct quote you can quote me on:

 "If your protagonist don't know it, you don't write it." 

                                                                            -- Joylene Nowell Butler  

 I know what you're thinking.  If it's that easy, then why is writing in Deep POV difficult for so many writers?

Because writing in Deep POV requires a depth of emotion that scares the hell out of most of us. It makes us feel vulnerable. It's about reaching down and writing from the gut of your hero. And where are heroes born? In the minds of their authors, of course.

Despite those rejections piling up in your inbox, if you believe in your gut that your writing is good, then maybe, just maybe your writing is good. But is it gut-wrenching?

The Traveler by John Katzenbach:

She felt suddenly overcome by heat, as if one of the spotlights had singled her out, covering her with a solid beam of intense brightness. She gulped a great breath of air, then another, fighting a dizzying sensation. She remembered the moment years earlier when she'd realized that she was shot, that the warmth she felt was the lifeblood flowing from her, and she fought with the same intensity to prevent her eyes from rolling back, as if giving into the blackness of unconsciousness would be as fatal now as it would have been then. 

The Big Sky by A.B. Guthrie:

Serena turned from Boone and all at once seemed to see the hen lying forgotten on the table. She picked it up and rolled it in a rag and handed it to Boone. Her eyes wouldn't come level with his; they fixed themselves on his chest. Of a sudden he saw that she looked like a tired, sad rabbit, her eyes round and watery and her nose twitching. He felt his face twist suddenly and his throat knot and the tears about to come. He said, "Goodbye."

 Mr. Murder by Dean Koontz:

He looked around the office, where he had passed so many solitary hours in the concoction and solution of so many mysteries, where he had put uncounted characters through enormous travail and challenged them to find their way out of mortal danger. [...] He blotted his damp palms of his jeans. Having briefly lifted from him, dread settled again in the manner of Poe's mysterious raven perching above a chamber door. Walking from the trance, perceiving danger, he had expected to find the threat outside in the street or in the form of a burglar roaming through the rooms below. But it was worse than that. The threat was not external. Somehow, the wrongness was within him. 

It starts with believing you have what it takes to be a powerhouse of a writer. Next, put yourself deep, deep, DEEP inside the body, mind, and soul of your protagonist, and write your scenes from that place.

Insecure Writer's Support Group Post Day!

It’s time for another group posting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! Time to release our fears to the world – or offer encouragement to those who are feeling neurotic. If you’d like to join us, click on the tab above and sign up. We post the first Wednesday of every month. I encourage everyone to visit at least a dozen new blogs and leave a comment. Your words might be the encouragement someone needs.

Our awesome co-hosts today are Sandra Hoover, Mark Koopmans, Doreen McGettigan, Megan Morgan, and Melodie Campbell!

Thanks again to everyone who entered the IWSG Anthology Contest! There were some amazing stories in the thirty-plus submissions. Only ten will go into the book, though. Be watching January 6, 2016 when we announce the winners.

Be sure to say a special thanks to the admins who keep this site and the Facebook Group going strong:
Lynda Young, Michelle Wallace, Susan Gourley/Kelley, L. Diane Wolfe, Joy Campbell, and Joylene Nowell Butler.

We’ve got some great stuff in store for next year, including more top-notch guests and another contest. As always, we are here to serve you. Is there a specific area where you need help or a topic that we can cover to make your journey easier?

The Answer to Everything

There isn't another person on this planet who understands what it's like to walk in your shoes. And vice versa. Each of us are unique beings who may feel out of sorts more days than we care to count. We flood our minds with doubts, negative talk, and questions we never seem to find the answers to.

What if I told you I know the answer to every single question in the world?

Bet that would grab your attention. Why? Because,  like everyone else in the world, we want to know:

Why am I here?
Why am I alone?
Why aren't I handsome or beautiful?
Why aren't I rich and successful?
Why did s/he reject me?
Why aren't I happy?
Why did this awful [thing] happen to me?

Why can't I land an agent?
Why can't I sign with a publisher?
Why isn't my book on the best sellers list?
Why are my book sales stagnant?

Why am I a failure?

The next time you hear anything even remotely similar to any of the above, ask yourself one question. Pay particular attention to the first answer that comes to mind.

What would someone who loves themselves say?

8 Steps to Visiting Your Novel's Setting Without Leaving Home

Sometimes there's a story in our hearts that won't die, a story that takes place thousands of miles from home, a place we might never have been, and likely will ever be. My current WIP is set in Vancouver BC, the city London, and the Cotswolds in United Kingdom. I've never been to the Cotswolds, but that won't stop me from writing about it.

First thing I'll do:

1.  Open up a search window.
2.  Type GET DIRECTIONS 
3.  Choose a link.  (I like GOOGLE MAPS)

4. Type COTSWOLD DISTRICT, UK. 

5.  See PHOTOS and STREET VIEW in the frames above? The PHOTOS will help with a sense of the place, but for a closer look, I'll click STREET VIEW. 

6.  Now I have the option of either using the arrows to do a virtual drive down this street in front of me, or I can use one of the other photos that best depicts the setting I need for my story. And that would be a pub with public parking and lots of beautiful shrubs, flowers... like the one below:

7.  I can also go back to the origin map, click on the DIRECTIONS icon:

8.  Type London, UK below Cotswolds. And it shows me 1 of 2 routes back into London. 

If I wanted to take a virtual trip, I'd start at the beginning, go back to STREET VIEW and drive the route virtually. But that requires more instructions and is best left for another post.  The point is, yes, do write about what you know, but don't let a little thing like "I've never been there!" stop you from writing vivid descriptions.                 

10 Reasons Why You can Cope with Rejection

No doubt about it, rejections suck the wind out of your sails. The space around you becomes void of sound, pressure builds in your ears, your head pounds. If you're a writer, (I'm guessing you wouldn't be here if you weren't) it's almost impossible not to receive a literary rejection at one point in your career. You change publishers only to reel from the sting of rejection. Or you write something outside your norm and are instantly rebuffed. If you market your work, rejections are inevitable, regardless of who you are or how many times you've been published.

But even though they can leave you devastated, what you do next speaks volumes about your character.

Here are a few famous authors who let the strength of their character speak loudly:

1.  John Grisham's A Time to Kill - rejected 28 times.

2.  Hermann Melville's Moby Dick - labelled as being old-fashioned.

3.  Hemingway's - The Sun Also Rises, was found to be tedious. He went on to make his prose such that when readers read his work, it took their breath away.

4.  J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - rejected 12 times.

5.  Joseph Heller renamed his book Catch-22 after 22 rejections.

6.  Stephen King was told that his negative utopia Carrie would never sell.

7.  Life of Pi by Yann Martel - rejected 5 times - won The Man Booker Prize.

8.  William Golding's Lord of the Flies - rejected for being boring.

9.  Little Women, author Louisa May Alcott - advised to stick to teaching.

10. Audrey Niffenegger - 25 rejections for The Time Traveler's Wife - sold 7 million copies.

There are many more, but the thing to note is that these authors had something very important in common. Tenacity. They wrote a novel, spent endless hours polishing it, and when faced with rejection, chose to keep marketing.

Here at IWSG we want you to embrace rejections as part of a writer's life. They do not measure your worth or your ability. They are given by ordinary people like you and me, their opinions based on factors and biases we can't control. When faced with rejection, take however long to recuperate, then take you and your strong character back to the keyboard.


Happy Writing

--joylene...
       who received enough rejections for Dead Witness to wallpaper her ensuite.

A to Z Challenge - X is for:

X is for X Factor 

Do you understand what separates you from every other non-writer?

Regardless of what scale you'd place your writing on, regardless of how many times you've tried to figure out why you write when so many normal people don't want to, or what you have that they don't ... it's simply the X Factor.

X Factor: noteworthy special talent or quality.

You, my dear writer, spend hours upon hours alone with a keyboard, creating characters, settings, and stories that have never been created in just that special way before. You share a piece of yourself with every scene you write.

But sometimes you forget just how special you are.

Repeat after me: I ... possess ... the ... X Factor.

Now, pat yourself on the back. Your imagination and effort has given readers more blissful moments than they could ever imagine.

A to Z Challenge - V is for:

V is for Value.

I used to believe that once I was published my life would have more value. My presence on earth would make sense. I wouldn't simply be taking up space.

Yes, I was wrong.

People have value for who they are, not for what they do.

Yet, what is our first reaction when we receive a rejection or worse a bad review? Our value diminishes before our eyes. We think we're no good. We're lousy writers. We should never have thought we could write. Our value is worthless.

Now--that's wrong.

We live to write, but how well we write, how successful we are doesn't measure our value.

Next time you hear that negative speech inside your head, remember you're not here to write. You're writing because you're here. Your value arrived before the story. 

A to Z Challenge - K is for

K is for Kindness

I know you've heard it a thousand times before: be kind to yourself. You've heard that, and maybe even rolled your eyes. You're kind to yourself. What's not to be kind about.

But are you?

Really.

As a writer, you thrive on the isolation of writing. You spend the better part of your life alone, in solitude, writing about characters that don't exist. You pass on social interactions because the need to write is so strong.

Who says you don't take care of yourself? You write, and that's a form of self-love.

But what about when things aren't so great and your career feels as if it's standing still? Are you kind to yourself then?

Think about that for a moment....

Kindness isn't a bad thing. Kindness to oneself is a privilege and an honour. Self kindness will make you a better writer.

So...

Next time you're not being so kind to yourself, ask yourself "Why?"

A to Z Challenge - G is for

G is for goal

*The goal to write, write, write*

You aren't a writer because you like things simple.

You aren't a writer because you love rejections.

You're a writer because no matter how tough it gets, you've got a goal.  The goal to write that book inside your head, the one driving you. Why? Because your goal is what you live for.

Even if your current WIP is tougher to write than you thought, and taking a lot longer to finish than you expected, you and I both know, you were born to write. It's why you feel most alive when you're writing. 

Sure you love your family and friends. But you're a writer, and as a writer, you don't have to explain to the rest of us (writers) what writing feels like. You don't have to explain how painful that last rejection letter was. Or that 2 star review. All you have to do is keeping working on your goal. 

Write.

The stuff life throws at you in between is what Insecure Writer's Support Group on the first Wednesday of every month is for.

Happy Writing!

A Simply Novice Mistake

In 1992 I wrote a political thriller called Kiss of the Assassin. One of its subplot centres around the Soviet Union's involvement in the Vietnam War and later the union's eventual collapse.

After months of research, years of editing, six workshops, revisions, and help with my query letter, I submitted to every agent/publisher in my genre. The response back was the same, “Sorry, no one's interested in Vietnam.”

This year, because of a renewed interested in the War, I pulled Kiss from the shelf and subbed a few chapters to my online writer's group.

Footnote: In the 90s if you told me what company you served with in Vietnam, I could estimate where you were and what major incidents you may have encountered during your tour. 

Twenty years has passed since I began Kiss, fifteen years since I set it aside. Why couldn’t I, considering the initial response of my writer’s group, do a quick proofread and start querying?

Because...

One of my beta readers read an article recently first published in 2006 by a Russian defector on the killing methods of the KGB. While my research on the Soviet Union was thorough in the 90s, that article alone proved I no longer had command of my subject matter.

Information revealed in the article stated that the KGB assassins used undetectable radioactive compounds that mimicked cancer and killed within days. My assassin in Kiss of the Assassin uses an empty syringe. This is not a huge blunder by itself, but coupled with the two other inconsistencies he found would have shattered my credibility as a writer.

After two published novels, a collaboration, a silver medal for my 2nd novel, I know I can write. But had I sent out this manuscript without fixing the inaccuracies, I would have either ruined my chances of finding a publisher or proven I was an unreliable storyteller.

Before assuming your edited, critiqued, revised manuscript (no matter how young) is ready to submit, always, always, always seek the help of beta readers you trust; or better, if you can afford it, hire a professional fiction editor.

Don't allow even the smallest of novice mistakes to ruin your chances. Never submit your manuscript too soon. 

Happy Writing!

Does Outstanding Cute Count?

If you're like me, you've struggled over the right headshot for your blog or your novel. You may have excluded a picture altogether or chosen instead a symbol that best illustrates who you are as an author.

We all struggle with this issue, an issue seldom spoken of. 

For a long time, although my hair is white, I opted for a younger face staring back at me on my profiles.

You're probably thinking: Easy for you, Joylene, but I'm not photogenic.

Trust me, I’m not either.

The publisher chose not to have my headshot on the back of my second novel, Broken But Not Dead in 2011. I never asked why.

Before Dead Witness was published in 2008, I almost had them use my initials instead of my name for the same reason I used Photoshop on my photo. My books have dark themes about war, child abuse, and the complexities of the parent/child relationship. I wanted the face on the back cover to reflect the seriousness of my subject matter.

My point?

One day I asked myself: When was the last time you judged a book by the author’s photo?

By all means, clean up. Put on your best duds. Use PhotoShop if you must. Your novel will be around for a very long time. Look your best. But know that readers, the intelligent beings that they are, could care less if your hair’s grey or you’ve got red botches around your nose or chin; or whether there’s a huge ZIT on your forehead. Okay, depends on how large the zit is. But honestly, in the end it’s about the story.

To have a headshot or not to have a headshot?

Doesn’t matter. I promise if you want to write and publish good fiction, you start by loving yourself. Start with that, and everything else will work out just fine. Maybe even outstanding.