Relentless

As the release date for IRREPARABLE HARM approaches, I've been thinking about the process of writing it.

In ON WRITING (a fantastic book), Stephen King shares his oft-repeated advice that the second draft should equal the first draft minus 10%. Variations of this advice abound---murder your darlings, leave out the boring parts, etc.

Apparently, it is common for a writer to write a long first draft that needs to be pruned (or, in some cases, shorn). I wouldn't know.

My first draft, of anything, is short. Too short.

My husband is my first reader for everything I write. And without fail, his remarks will include something like, "good thing you're not being paid by the word" or "this is all pitch and no wind up."

With regard to the first draft of IRREPARABLE HARM, he said, "This is good. I like it. It's way too short."

I, of course, always take his comments with exceeding grace. But, this time, I did protest.

"It's a thriller."

"I know, but it's all action. Everything is driving the plot forward."

Now I'm thinking maybe he's just a wee bit stupid and I need to find a new first reader.

"It's a thriller." (I say it slower this time.)

"It's too fast-paced. It's exhausting to read it. There's no downtime."

After several more iterations of this conversation, he pulled from the bookshelf an array of thrillers by different authors and flagged the "downtime" parts for me to see what he was talking about.

And, finally, I got it. Once I did, I had to concede the point. And, the second draft more or less equaled the first draft PLUS 10%.

It occurred to me that there are probably three reasons for my lean first drafts:

1. My undergraduate creative writing concentration was in poetry. When writing poetry, you are trying to convey with a phrase, or even a word, an emotion, a description, a memory, or what have you. Poetry is spare.

2. I've spent a decade writing as a lawyer. There's almost always a page limit. In brief writing, you aim to be direct and succinct. (And when all else fails, you play around with the footnotes and margins!)

3. I wrote most of the first draft while mothering a four year old and a two year old and finished it while mothering a five year old, a three year old, and a newborn. So, I wrote in short bursts, with the goal of completing a scene before someone noticed I had disappeared. My writing sessions usually ended when I heard crying. I knew I had a small window, so I got right to the point.

My point (to the extent I have one) is that writing advice is like anything else. You have to be open to it, use what applies, and discard the rest.

And, cue the crying! So that's it for now.

The next two weeks are going to be pretty busy with the IRREPARABLE HARM release, so check back for updates and a giveaway!

On Raising Readers

Today, I interrupt my own endless fascination with my fast-approaching publication date forIRREPARABLE HARM to write about raising kids who read.

But first, a picture of our littlest "reader."

As former kids who read, my husband and I naturally filled our kids' world with books from the time the were born. We have bookcases, baskets, and bins overflowing with children's books scattered throughout the house. And a typical trip to our fantastic local library usually results in each of us leaving with an armload of books. (The boys make it a point to always pick a few for their baby sister.)

Nothing makes me happier than seeing my kids sit down and pull out a book. Now that our five year old is reading fluently, he will often read to his younger brother or sister. (Not to mention, I am far from the only writer in the house! Both boys write their own stories---either themselves or by dictating to me or my husband.)

Okay, great, right? What's my point?

As the boys are getting older, I worry that they are getting the message that reading is boring and no fun. It's a chore, but if you just suffer through it, you will be rewarded.

How? By the seemingly endless parade of reading programs aimed at kids. You know, you keep track of how many books you read or had read to you during a specific period and then you turn in your sheet for prizes. (I'm not sure what those prizes are, because we don't participate.*)

Reading is its own reward. The prize for reading is being transported to another world or learning endless facts about dinosaurs that you can spout at our mother before she's even had her morning coffee. Getting a free pizza or trinket shouldn't be the pay off.

And, it turns out, my knee-jerk, no-fun reaction is supported by the research. Here's what Alfie Kohn's thought-provoking book, PUNISHED BY REWARDS, has to say about reading incentive programs:

"What rewards do, and what they do with devastating effectiveness, is to smother people's enthusiasm for activities they might otherwise enjoy."

The full discussion is really interesting and I encourage you to read it.

So this is why I am that parent. The one who won't let her kids earn the prizes. So far, they could not care less; they just want to read for the sake of reading. Here's hoping it stays that way!

* We did participate in a Read-A-Thon to buy a new chair and ottoman for the children's section of our beloved library. The rationale was the boys themselves received nothing but a thank you note and, as heavy users of the children's section, we were in agreement that the sad, well-used chair needed to be replaced.

Read an E-book Week and My Cover

Ahh, it's already Tuesday! We are well into Read an E-book Week now, but there's still plenty of time to celebrate. You could win a free e-reader or get a whole bunch of free or discounted e-books, including DARK BLOOMS (use code RE100 at checkout and it's free through March 12).

I have to run, but not without sharing the exciting news that I now have a mockup of the cover for IRREPARABLE HARM, which will be available as both an e-book and paperback next month!

Have a peek:

Both Genders Prefer Male Protagonists?

I just came across a blog post about a study (link is to the abstract) that concludes both male and female readers prefer reading about male main characters. I find this counterintuitive (as did the researchers).

I also suspect there may have been some flaws with the study, but I am a big believer in reading original source material. So, I am going to hold off until I have read the entire study before I speculate.

I will say this, by way of example only: I loved Chris Cleave's LITTLE BEE (literary fiction, female main character) and enjoy Jamie Freveletti's thrillers featuring Emma Calridge (female). But, I also am a huge fan of Lee Child (protagonist is Jack Reacher, male) and Michael Connelly (particularly the Mickey Haller books, male).

In fact, I would venture to guess my bookshelf is about evenly split between books with male and female protagonists.

What do you think?

MYSTERIES in PARADISE: Review: DARK BLOOMS: Two Crime Fiction Shorts, Melissa F. Miller

If you like crime fiction, you've probably already visited the MYSTERIES in PARADISE blog. If you haven't, consider yourself warned: you will come away with an armload of new titles for your TBR (to be read) pile.

Today would be a particularly good day to check it out, as the review of DARK BLOOMS is up!

MYSTERIES in PARADISE: Review: DARK BLOOMS: Two Crime Fiction Shorts, Melissa F. Miller

From the review: "DARK BLOOMS is without doubt a ploy to whet the reader's appetite for more by this author."

She's right, of course. I'm an unknown author. Brown Street Books and I want readers to take a chance on me and read IRREPARABLE HARM when it comes out. What better way to do that than to offer a low-risk (in terms of both cost and use of precious free time) introduction to my work?

And, I'm happy to report, it worked! Also from the review: "Both are well crafted quirky stories with unpredictable endings, and yes, I came away hooked."

Now, that's a nice way to start a Sunday morning.

Will Print Books Really Go the Way of the Giganotosaurus?

Amazon's announcement late last month that it sold more e-books than paperbacks in the fourth quarter of 2010, coupled with the news that independent author Amanda Hocking has sold more than 450,000 books (almost all of them e-books) and that Borders has filed for bankruptcy protection, has led to great publishing industry and author hand-wringing (or maybe celebration) about the demise of traditional publishing and, with it, print (or dead tree) books.

I don't think so.

I do think most books sold will---some day soon---be in electronic format. It is just cheaper, quicker, and more convenient for everyone from author to publisher to reader.

Case in point: Yesterday, while waiting at pick up at my sons' preschool, I had fewer than five minutes to kill. I checked Twitter from my phone, saw that Marcus Sakey was offering a short story for free on Smashwords, clicked the on the bit.ly link, purchased the story, entered the coupon code, and loaded the story to my Smashwords library. (And had three minutes left to arrange a play date to the museum this weekend AND buy the tickets for said play date through a Groupon. Again, from my phone.)

Later than night, I read the story on my phone while I was up rocking the baby and posted a review (five stars, by the way).

At no point did I have to go to my computer, let alone drag three kids to a bookstore.

So, yes, I think e-books are going to predominate, but there will always be a place for print. Off the top of my head those tactile baby board books and lift the flap books; pop up books; people who read in the bathtub; and people who read on the beach will all be better served by print. And there will always be those special books (defined on purely subjective grounds) that will merit a physical space in our book collections.

But, electronic delivery is pretty cool. So, here's a free electronic copy of DARK BLOOMS, from me to you. Use code MX28B at checkout. And hurry up, code expires on Saturday.

Why Indie Publishing Is Right for Me

I just published my set of crime fiction shorts through Brown Street Books, an independent publisher, and will publish IRREPARABLE HARM the same way in April. In light of a convergence of factors----like the spectacular success of self-published Amanda Hocking, the fact that Amazon sold more ebooks than print books in the last quarter of 2010, and Borders' bankruptcy filing---independent and self publishing are a big topic right now.

Veteran authors, including JA Konrath, Kristine Kathyrn Rusch, and Dean Wesley Smith, have staked out positions suggesting that authors at least consider alternatives to traditional, or Big Six, publishing. (In the case of JA Konrath, his views are a good bit stronger than a suggestion, as he believes traditional publishing and print books are dying. But that's a topic for a later post.)

They all make valid points, but, in the end, I agree with Rusch that there is a certain personality type who is better served going the independent route.

For me, it is the right decision because I (1) lack patience (my husband will confirm this); (2) have some publishing background to draw on; and (3) have an entrepreneurial spirit.

• Impatience. While it is indisputable that I am impatient, the real issue is the glacial pace of traditional publishing. Step One is to find an agent. Many good agents have a several month response time to queries; then there is a further delay if they request either a partial or full manuscript. If an agent offers representation, said agent then needs to actually sell the book to a publishing house, which again could take awhile (or not ever happen). Then, the book will need to go through the book production process on the publisher's schedule. We're talking multiple years, here. In the case of IRREPARABLE HARM, the plot involves a smartphone application that can be used to crash a plane, which seemed pretty nifty when I came up with it. In 2009. It'll probably seem pretty lame five years from now, when we all have hover cars or whatever.

• Background. After earning my extremely practical undergrad degree in medieval literature and creative writing (poetry), I worked as an editor for three years, including a year and a half as a book production editor at a publishing house. I learned a lot about the process before going to law school. While it's true that a little bit of knowledge can be dangerous, I do feel as though I don't need anyone to hold my hand.

• Entrepreneurial spirit/control. This last one is probably the biggest factor. My husband and I quit jobs at two of the country's largest law firms to start our own. Countless lawyers said some variation of "that's really brave" or "that's risky." I beg to differ. I think the risky choice is to leave one's professional future in the hands of a management committee made up of near-strangers. In my firm, my success or failure is in my hands. This applies with equal force to publishing. By going the independent publishing route, I have more control and more responsibility, which suits me.

I do think this option is not for everyone. But, I know it's for me.