How to Make a Million Dollars Writing a Book

Inspiring Me Today: The Over-Ambitious

So, you've heard about all these people writing books? Just sit and type, and out comes a paper-bound money maker. But how do you start?

Ready to rake in the cash? Let me tell you how to make a million dollars writing a book.

1. Come up with a stellar novel idea. Vampires and Mermaids are hot right now. So are ghosts and love stories. Ok, so, a vampire mermaid falls in love with a ghost! Awesome! Step one done!
2. Now, go to a Starbucks and write the book. Get a Starbucks credit card to pay for all the mochas you buy.
3. Get an agent to fall in love with your vampermaid love story. This is the easy part.
4. Now, the agent gets a publisher to fall in love with it too. The agent sells the book for a low 5-figure advance. Hooray! The advance will almost pay off the Starbucks card!
5. By some tragic statement about the tastes of today's youth miracle, you just pay through the advance. Now, time to write Vampermaid 2!
6. Go back to Starbucks and pull that credit card back out. 
7. Sit down with your PC and piping hot mocha, and perpare to write.
8. The person next to you asks what you're doing.
9. You tell them who you're the author of VAMPERMAID, and say that you're writing book 2. Maybe they want an autograph.
10. The person says, "Hmm... Never heard of you."
11. A little irritated, you accidentally hit your cup and spill mocha all over you and your computer.
12. Sue Starbucks for medical bills, damages to your computer, and pain and suffering.
13. Win million dollar settlement with Starbucks.
14. Congratulations! You've just made a million dollars writing a novel!

So there you go. Just follow those easy steps, and you're on your way to riches!

Give and Take Part 1: How to Give a Critique

Inspiring Me Today: The Alibi by Sandra Brown

[Author's Note: Sorry about the long break. I keep saying, "I need to write a blog post," but just haven't.]

As many of you know, I've been knee-deep in revisions gearing up for DFWcon (which is SOOO soon!). As part of that, I called for beta readers, who were so awesome to read through my book and provide feedback. Thanks SO MUCH for all y'all's help!

Well, as I've gone through this process again, I was struck several times by all the awesome little things my beta readers did as they critiqued, and I wanted to share what they showed me, not about my novel, but about how to give a critique.

Now, this ISN'T a post on literary aesthetics. I trust that each of you have a sense of what's "good" and "bad" in a novel. You don't need me to tell you, and I wouldn't presume to try. No, this post is about logistics. This isn't about what to critique. This is about how to critique.

1. Give the forest and the trees. When doing a critique, you should include two things. First, open the manuscript in some sort of document that you can edit. Make comments and changes as you read, and then send this back to the author. Second, in the email, include overall comments about the book. The document you'll send is the trees. These are the specific points that you want to comment on. The email is the forest. This is where you tie those comments together into larger thoughts about the book as a whole. The author needs both, and they'll read in the reverse order of what you'll send. They'll read the overall comments, and then go to the document to see where specifically you've pointed out these issues. 
2. Have an overall impression. This is the initial reaction to the book as a whole. Taking everything else you're going to say into account, what do you think? This is more than "I like it." This is, "I think the heart of the characters and plot are good, but it needs a lot of work before you're ready to submit," or "I like this a lot, and think if you make these changes, you can submit with confidence!" This impression part is important, because otherwise, the author can be left going, "Ok, they have all these comments, but... is it any good? Is my book crap, or is it finally ready to send now?!" Either way, they need to know. What if it is crap? Well, first, don't say it like that, obviously. Use tact. But tell them. If you aren't buying the premise, then let them know. Maybe it's good but they're just not handling it right. Tell them why you aren't buying the premise. Maybe it's something they can fix. Or maybe it just isn't your thing. That's ok too. If you let them know why, they'll have a better idea of whether they should ignore you or not. 
3. Point out the good things. This goes back to the "Is my book crap?" question the author may be having. Always, always, always point out the good things in a manuscript. And yes, they're there. If you aren't seeing them, then you need to STOP READING. Take a break and come back to it. Every manuscript has something good going on, no matter how much work it needs. Even if the very premise just isn't working, the author at least has something they're doing well that they can take to the next project. This is especially true if you're loving it. Don't just say, "This book is awesome!" That is much less helpful than saying, "I really liked the part where the kid traded a corn dog for a space ship! That was hilarious!" Maybe this was a part the author was thinking of taking out. Saying you liked it will reaffirm what they need to keep, and will lessen the blow when you make other critiques. 
4. Cover plot arcs in general terms. Going back to the forest/trees metaphor, writers many times have trouble seeing the forest. We get so focused on scenes that we can't put the whole book into the right perspective. Rarely do we get the chance to just read straight through the book. That's why, as beta readers, we need to give those overall comments about the plot arcs. If a particular subplot isn't working for you, say so, and say why. They need to know if character development starts too late or if the romantic plot plateaus. They need to know if you figured out the murderer in the second act. You can give the perspective they don't have.
5. React to the manuscript with specific comments. Now, we're turning to the other side of critique. As you're reading through the manuscript, document your reactions in comments (that is, Insert Comment). This gives the author a blow-by-blow to your reactions. Note that I'm NOT telling you to point out errors. I'm telling you to give your reactions. These include, "Oh no!", "Wait, HE'S the murderer?!", "LOL!", and, yes, comments like "I don't understand what's going on here" and "You could make this better by doing such and such."  This process makes pointing out the good things a lot easier to do. It also helps the author know what's working and what isn't. Comments like "clean up this section and get rid of the adverbs" are, of course, helpful, but need to come naturally.
6. Editing doesn't need to be line editing. Remember that the most important part of beta reading is for structural corrections. Most basic line editing can be covered using Word's Style Checker. This doesn't mean you can't do "micro" edits rather than only "macro" edits. It also doesn't mean you shouldn't help point out how to cleanup language, identify overused words, etc. You should DEFINITELY do that. I'm talking about getting so absorbed in pointing out each thing that you never finish or fail to point out the more important structural changes. Pick a few key times they do that repeated offense and then move on.
7. When line editing, use track changes. This is a small thing, but it really helps. You'll inevitably be tempted to fix a punctuation or spelling error somewhere. That's fine. If it's bugging you that much, it'll bug an agent, editor, or reader. However, how do you identify it? The best way I've found is by using Track Changes. This will help the author navigate through all the corrections and not miss it. 

Ok, I hope this has been helpful. After all, it's one thing to give critiques. It's another to give helpful and meaningful critiques. 

Paying It Forward

Inspiring Me Today: S. R. Johannes (NOT  Haley Joel Osment)

No, this isn't a post about the year 2000 film with the horrible, needless ending that I absolutely loathe. Although, a post about horrible, needless endings that provide nothing but shock value would be an interesting post...

Ok, back on track.

Anyway, this post is part of S. R. Johannes's "Pay It Forward" contest. Up for grabs: a personal recommendation from Shelli (Johannes) to her agent, Alyssa Henkin at Trident Media. Awesome, right? Here are the details.

So, I'm posting an entry over there with my pitch in 4 sentences or less. Here, I have another requirement: thank someone who has helped me along the way.

This is the real reason I want to do this contest. Yes, winning would be awesome, but I love having an excuse to thank those that have been a help.

Now this is an exhaustive list or an acknowledgements page. This is just an "off-the-top-of-my-head" round-up.

• My wife, Wendy Davis. She is so incredibly supportive. She's a SAHM and awesome at it. How she does everything she does is beyond me, and I certainly couldn't do what I do without her. Of course, she's also my ghostwriter, and a lot of my best ideas come from her.
• My girls, Finley and Rowynn. They're such an encouragement to me, and make writing fun.
• My parents. They are my first and biggest supporters. They even gave me a ticket to DFWcon this year for Christmas.
• Rocky Westbrook. A fellow writer, filmmaker, friend, and former co-worker. He listened to ideas for The Dowered Three Series when it didn't even exist yet. 
• My friends Emily and Matt. They were my "control cases" as I wrote the book. I didn't tell them anything that was going to happen, and yet they read each chapter as I finished it, giving me chapter-by-chapter reactions on what they thought was going to happen, etc.
• S.A. (Sheri) Larsen. Sheri helped me form my first ever crit group, and was one of the first people outside my close circle of friends to befriend me and help me with my MS. She proved that there were nice people out there who were willing to help.
• Casey McCormick. My first contact with Casey was writing a Tip Tuesday. That was nearly a year ago. Since then, I've written several tips and guest posts on Literary Rambles, as well as emailing Casey several times with questions I had, etc. She's always been kind to give her advice and support.
• Holly Bodger. A few months ago, Holly helped me get my logline ready for Authoress's Baker's Dozen contest, giving her time to do a back-and-forth of emails as we tweaked and retweaked my logline into perfection. Then, my email didn't even get in before the spots filled. It was a great logline no one would ever see. But then, I totally pressed my luck and asked if she could help me expand it into a query. To my relief, she did! Now, I have a (hopefully) great query that I'll be using when I restart that process.
• Amanda Johnson. One of my go-to advice people, this wonder-intern for the mysterious Awesome Agent (or AA) has been a great help in the short time I've known her.
• My Beta Readers Heather Kelly, Ishta Mercurio, Dianne Salerni, and E. (Elizabeth) Arroyo. These guys all gave AMAZING tips on my novel, all coming from different perspectives. Heather gave great tips on character and tension building. Ishta gave great tips on developing my romantic plot and MC. Dianne targeted quite a few logistical fallacies for me, which bug the crap out of me in other people's novels. Liz gave some great overall flow advice and pointed out specific places I could take my writing to the next level. You all rock! Thanks!

Like I said, this is certainly not an exhaustive list, but just a few of the people I really wanted to thank today. Tomorrow, it might be a different list! Lol. Of course, a huge thanks also goes to my friends, family, and anyone who follows me on the blog, twitter, or Facebook (So... you)! So many incredible people!

Thanks everyone!!

Guest Post at Literary Rambles

We stop your regularly-scheduled programming to note that I have written a guest post for Casey McCormick's Literary Rambles blog.

You can find the post here:

http://caseylmccormick.blogspot.com/2010/03/guest-blogger-s-kyle-davis-authorship.html

Howdy Partner (I'm from Texas. I can say that.)

So, Casey's post has gotten me thinking...................

(and not just about the fact that I need to get that stupid sticking period on my keyboard fixed........)

Maybe I need a critique partner. I've always heard about the benefits, but it's almost always mentioned as if its an assumed thing. Oh, of course you have a critique partner.

No, I don't, actually. Thanks for bringing it up.

Well, that's not really true. I do have my wife, who has truly excellent instincts. I say in my dedications for The Ledger Domain that she "practically wrote most of it," and it's pretty true, really. She's a great idea-maker and inspiration-generator. In fact, the entire concept for the series was generated out of a conversation with Wendy. She's wonderful at coming up with ideas and helping me overcome problems, especially with handling the romance in a way that won't alienate my female readers. My main job as an author is to make her swoon. If I can do that with my writing, I've done a good job.

Still, I'd like a critique parter. I'd like someone to read my work who could comment on phrasing, metaphor or lack thereof, and pacing of the action. These are things Wendy can't always provide, as great a reader as she is.

What I need is an author.

Unfortunately, the only professional author I vaguely know is my third-cousin, Jason Boyett, whom I've never even met. We've emailed, etc., but I wouldn't exactly say we're close. Besides, he writes (quite humorous) religious non-fiction. Not exactly an ideal reading partner. So, I can't think of what to do.

Any ideas?

Waiting Game

So, waiting for a response from an agent isn't fun. Ostensibly, I know why it takes so long. It takes time for them to read through all the slush letters, much less read the actual manuscripts. Oh, and then they have to do their actual jobs. So I get it. It isn't fun, but waiting is part of the game. Any aspiring author could tell you that.

But then, there's that pesky title. "Aspiring author." I think it identifies the whole problem with the waiting game.

First, let me get this straight once and for all. I'm NOT an aspiring author. An aspiring author is someone who says, "Man, I'd love to write a novel one day." Or else, they're someone who is currently working on a novel. I've done that. I've written a novel. By definition, I'm an author.

What I am is an aspiring professional author. Or else, I'm an amateur author. I have not published the novel (although I'd like to, if you're offering. Hint, hint).

Still, we hear that term. "Aspiring author." It's our own fault. I use the term myself. We're not really "authors" until we're published, and published by a real publishing company. Self-publishing is "vanity publishing." See how much emphasis we put on this?

Oh, don't get me wrong. I want to be published. I would love to make money doing what I love. Nevertheless, even if I'm never published, I'm still an author.

That was the whole point of my switching from writing screenplays to writing novels. I wanted to accomplish something.

And I have. I've written a novel.