Past, Present, and Future

Happy Friday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I'm gonna talk about time. I know, I know, we don't have enough of it in a day! On one hand, I wish the days were forty-eight hours! On the other, I kinna don't. You know?

There are so many novels in the world! Where do all the ideas come from? I can't answer for everyone but a lot of my characters and stories come from people I've known and things I've heard. Some of my stories grow from things I read online: News stories, blog posts, Facebook, etc... Just snippets of things here and there, really.

But here's the thing: Your past, present, and future all shape your stories. You may think they don't; but every good character is three-dimensional and every experience you have shapes the way your mind works.

Don't run from it; embrace it.

So what if your main character has attributes of three of your friends from school? That's the way great characters are made. Always consider time because your character didn't just pop into being when you began to write their story down. Okay, they did, but you get what I'm saying.

I've started thinking about this one lady I knew when I wrote the title for today's post. She was thirty-twoish and her husband was a year or two older than she was. We'll call her Remmy. I was blown away by what a kindhearted, sweet individual she was. I could see the love for her husband when she talked about him. They'd been married almost ten years and she was happy as a pig in mud. One day, she comes to work in tears and tells us all her husband suffered a massive heart-attack and died three days before - hence the reason she wasn't at work. He just dropped dead. All I could think was: If something that horrible could happen to her, what chance do I have to be spared? Remmy's attitude didn't change, she didn't grow bitter, and she still smiled every now and then. Those actions showed me who she was down inside. I have since endeavored to be more like her.

Remmy would make a great character because of that flaw and her story. She's a character from my past.

In my present, I've already used someone I know and their story as a basis for a book. Stormy, from The Bird, isn't a character from my past; she's in my present.

When I think about the future, the past and the present shapes it. I remember things that were done to me, by me, and for me. All of the things above are from my time on the planet. I have thirty plus years of characters and experiences and stories told to me to draw from.

There's no such thing as a totally original idea. We're all inspired by something.

Next week, my posts will be inspired by Typography. Join me to learn a little about letterforms!

What have you read or written that was inspired? How did it change you?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Knights in Shining Armor

Happy Thursday, good people of the blogosphere! Today we're gonna talk about white knights on bleached chargers and what causes the little fiends to fall off. So, grab your pens and notebooks and let's get going!

Everyone loves a good hero. But what is the main quality of the heroes you remember the most? I bet it's that they have a flaw. Not a minor flaw, but a fatal one.

Shakespeare did this well. His tragic heroes all had a fatal flaw. One that led to their doom. Now, I'm not saying everyone in your novel must die, just that your hero (and heroine) must have flaws of some kind. This goes back to an earlier post I did on making your characters feel real to your reader. Aristotle wrote about tragedies in his book Poetics.

If you're a writer and you've never googled this, it's time you did. He wasn't a stupid man.

Basically, his idea says that you can't have a tragic hero unless that hero has a fatal flaw. Otherwise, nothing makes sense. But let's get off that and into non-tragedy.

If your hero is to be believable, he needs to commit some act that makes his flaw leap to the forefront. No one is infallible unless they're a saint. Let's face it, saints don't make for good fiction. You want your reader to want the girl to end up with the guy of your choosing but you can't make it easy for her. She needs to struggle with the decision a little. Every real relationship has things that must be overcome in order for it to work. If they fight like cats and dogs, use it to your advantage. If both your main characters have flaws, they can seem incompatible and you can use that to heighten tension.

Of course, a third character acting against the first two can also give your characters much needed tension. But it doesn't have to be a love-triangle scenario. That character can be a girl who doesn't want to lose her BFF or a guy who doesn't want to lose his football game buddy. It can even be a god or a ghost!

But your hero must also have some deep redeeming quality that allows him to rise above everyone else. It's a fine line to walk.

When you're writing a character bio, keep these tension points in mind. Heck, after reading Aristotle's writings, you may decide you want to pen a tragedy! For the love of all that's good, google Poetics and have a read.

Who was your favorite hero? Why?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

A Chat

Happy Wednesday, good people of the blogosphere! Just two more days until the weekend arrives! Yay! Wow, great stadium cheer! Anywho, today I'm taking a formatting and writing day. Being indie authors, we have to do so much of our own work it's crazy. I bet you all agree when I say this feels more like a real job than many others I've had throughout the years. Of course, you'll always work harder when you work for yourself!

Different from a nine-to-five job, working for yourself tends to push your hand to sixteen hour days. It's a necessary evil but when you make those sales and the numbers go up it's like no other feeling in the world (except maybe a good review coming in).

Speaking of which, if you download an indie author's book free, please take the time to read it and leave a review. I know my fellow authors agree. We love to hear from our readers! Even if you just take a moment to shoot us an e-mail that speaks your mind, it means more than you think. Having an author that knows who you are and takes the time to talk with you (we're BUSY people) is like having a golden rod in your pocket you can brag about to the world and no one can steal. So, take the time to tell your author what you think. We read our fan mail!

I'm off to work on formatting my novel so all you lovely people can read it on release day! Only so many hours available and the week is almost over!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Ode to Jammies

Happy Tuesday, good people of the blogosphere! A break from the traditional helpful post, today is all about fun and flannel pajamas. Join me and have a laugh, a cry, or a sigh of nostalgia.

First, a poem:
Dear flannel jammies with feet,
To wear you feels so neat.
You warm up my bod,
make my head nod,
and turned my winter so sweet.

Then, a haiku:
Is it winter, dear?
'Tis warm warm winter now, love.
I don these jammies.

Don't forget the photo:

Now, a short story:
Maggie took her flannel jammies with feet off the hanger and admired the colorful prints. Nuzzling the soft fabric against her cheek, she sighed as she remembered winters from her childhood. Christmas mornings opening gifts around the tree, waking up and scrubbing the Sandman's remnants from her eyes, and school called off for snow days all played through her forty-two year old mind. She slid her feet into the soft interior and fell into the deep pool of warmth waiting for her like a parent with open arms.
Nicholas walked in just as she was fastening the last button. "Hey, baby, those look great!"
A smile spread over her face as she twirled in a circle; arms extended to either side. "They're so warm, and they bring back so many memories."
He moved across the room and caught her in his arms. "And they're soft - like you." His hands were touching the fabric at her back and it sent little tendrils of electricity through her that wound around her heart.
As their eyes met, she saw the love there and it made her pulse quicken its already speedy pace. "I love you, Nicky. I don't know that I ever said thank you for the last few months."
"You don't need to thank me. You're the glue that holds me together, and I'd be lost without you." Eyes boring into her soul, he continued. "As I live and breathe, you're the only thing that matters to me."
Images of the funeral ran through her memory like an eight millimeter black and white film and her eyes grew teary.
"Don't cry," he whispered.
Allowing him to pull her closer, she nuzzled into his chest. When she was finally able to catch her breath, she mumbled, "At least they're in a better place. Free from pain and worry now."
"Yes, they are. And you have your flannel jammies to remind you how wonderful they were in life." His smile infected her with its warmth and she allowed the feeling to spread through her body, helping her to forget the pain of her loss.
"Hey, let's go make popcorn and watch a movie by the fire!" At least they could do that. It would give her the chance to feel closer to them while providing a distraction at the same time.
"Perfect! I'll go make it. See you in a minute." He brushed his lips over hers before he released her.
As she walked from the room, she touched the portrait of her parents on the bureau. "I miss you both," she whispered.

Flannel pajamas with or without feet can bring back some of the best memories. Now that they're available in adult sizes, we can all remember those special moments from our childhoods even as we stay warm!

While you're here, don't forget to enter the rafflecopter drawing for your chance at some great prizes!
LINKY FOR YOU!

This concludes my ode to jammies! I hope you all enjoyed it.

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Radio Show Interview

Happy Monday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I have an interview on Ms. Sandi Tuttle's radio show. She's from the An Average Woman in a Superwoman World blog and is so much fun on the air! I invite you all to come listen, call in if you want to ask me a question, and share the lovely link with your friends.

You can listen here:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/sandi-tuttle/2013/01/28/authors-corner-with-jo-michaels

Don't forget to enter the rafflecopter giveaway for your chance at an interior book design or digital identity package designed by me, if you're an indie author, and for a copy of The Bird and a bunch of book swag if you're a reader!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Also, don't forget The Abigale Chronicles - Book Three is available for free until midnight tonight on Amazon!

Synopsis:
Abigale Fontenot is turning thirteen. Just when she thinks her birthday couldn't possibly get any worse, a new adventure takes hold. Abigale and Emmett are whisked away to a world of fantasy where knights, dragons, and princesses are the order of the day. Abigale is kidnapped by an evil prince in a nearby kingdom, and it's up to Emmett to rescue her. But Abigale finds that escape is not the most important thing; restoring the evil prince's kindness that has been locked away in a magical book by a wicked sorceress must come first. While Emmett is trying to rescue Abigale, she is trying to free the prince from his curse. Will she succeed in her quest before the evil prince kills Emmett, or will she fail and lose her new best friend? Will death matter if the whole thing is a dream, or are the adventures real and truly dangerous?




Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Hiring a Book or Cover Designer

Happy Friday! It's time for the weekend! I can hear you cheering. Today, I'm going to give you some tips on what to look for when hiring a designer for your manuscript and cover. I'll give you a list of questions you should ask, what you can expect from your designer, and what you should prepare in advance. So grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

First and foremost, you should prepare a creative brief. Your brief should include:

• Your name and pen name
• Your address and billing information
• The book's title
• Genre
• Blurb
• Any review matter you'd like included
• Cover copy (the text that appears on the back or inside flap)
• Your vision for your book
• Other books in your genre (for reference)
• Headshots, logos, or any other imagery that must be included (like awards the book has won)

Now that you have your brief, you should approach a designer. Before handing over your brief, you need to ask some questions to make sure you're hiring someone that knows their stuff. Ask things like:

• Have you ever formatted for XYZ company's specs before?
• Do you have a design degree? (While this isn't necessary, it doesn't hurt to know going in.)
• What software do you use for design?
• Can I see some of the other work you've done?
• Explain bleed to me. Bleed is the area of the image that hangs over the edge and is cut away during production.
• What is kerning? Kerning is adjusting the space between letters.
• What is tracking? Tracking is adjusting the space between a whole line of letters.
• What's the standard safety margin for live elements? Standard safety is .25" from the edge for books. Some production houses call for .125". Either answer is correct. However, CreateSpace wants .25".

If your designer nails all these questions, you've got someone that most likely knows their stuff.

What you can expect from your designer:
A good designer will give you three very different choices to start with. They'll ask you to narrow it down to one and give you up to two revisions on that one design. Once you decide on a cover, the interior should compliment fonts used and look and feel of the book. Again, I'll use The Bird as an example:

Note the font on the cover of the book and the design elements around the border.

Now note the font on the chapter heading and number and the design elements around the edges of the page.











Watch out for the designers that mix two script fonts, two serif fonts, or two sans serif fonts in their design. This is a basic Typography no-no because it always comes off looking like a mistake.

Your designer should provide you with all files:

• Thumbnails
• Cover sized and formatted for digital uploads
• Cover sized and formatted for display on a website
• Entire cover for production house, formatted properly and in proper color space (CMYK ONLY)
• Cover in black & white
• List of fonts used

They won't give you the original files they built. Don't ask. This is like you writing a story and someone else wanting to tinker with it and release it with your name on it without you approving the changes.

Your contract should include:

• Statements saying the artwork is yours once the work is done and that you're free to use it in any way you see fit at no extra compensation for the designer or any third party.
• Deadlines and penalties for not meeting them.
• A guarantee clause stating all work is original and designed by them.
• A clause stating all artwork contained in the design is free from copyright by third-party entities.
• Number of revisions allowed at no extra charge.
• Payment arrangements in detail.
• Your name, their name, and all addresses associated with you both.
• Number of files you'll receive and sizes/specs.

This is protection for both you and your designer. They should never ever balk at signing a contract.

I hope this helps many indie authors get the quality and professionalism they deserve in a designer. Over on Joel Friedlander's blog today, there's an interesting post about judging a book by it's cover. I beg you to go give it a read.

Any questions? Leave a comment and I'll get back with you ASAP.

Don't forget to enter the giveaway while you're here!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Formatting Your Manuscript for Print

Happy Thursday, good people of the blogosphere! Since it's so close to Friday and Valentine's Day, I thought I'd give you all a little something to look forward to! Let's first discuss that all important thing I like to call formatting a print book then we'll get into the awesome rafflecopter prizes I have up for the winning. So, grab your pens and notebooks and let's get going!

When you format your manuscript for print, there are a lot of things you need to take into account. Just slapping some text into your book works, but it won't wow your readers and make them want to pick up your book for keeping.

In my book, The Indie Author's Guide to: Building a Great Book, I go into how to format your manuscript in MS Word. Why? Because it's a standard item on most computers. I give you the bare bones on how you can produce a legible document for print. Best of all, I made it just $2.99 on Amazon and Smashwords. But what about getting creative?

If I went into designing a book for print in InDesign, many of you would be scratching your heads. I tried to keep it simple and easy to understand. But there's a lot to be said for either hiring someone who knows InDesign to format your book or buying the program and learning how to do it yourself.

Here are a couple of examples of things that can be done using a program like InDesign to format:

 Chapter 1 Page 1 of The Bird

Chapter 1 Page 6 & 7 of Yassa













I've applied stylized formatting to the Copyright page and the front matter as well. The interior of The Bird is full bleed so the page you see there will be trimmed .125" all the way around. It'll be beautiful and give my book that little something extra.

A good book designer will know odd pages are always on the right, even pages are always on the left, and front matter gets no numbers (unless roman numerals are used - often for a forward or introduction). Ask these questions of your designer before you hire them!

I talk about all these things and SO much more in my book. I designed the print edition small so you can carry it with you or keep it on your desk and it not take up a ton of space. My first printed edition of Yassa is in a larger typeface for those who would like to read without their glasses. I've gotten a ton of thanks for that. In the Mystic series, every book looks the same. The interior is simple because the subject matter is serious. Above all else, it's consistent.

This all leads me to my point: Think long and hard about your print books. If necessary, talk to a graphic designer or reader and ask them what the most alluring covers and interiors entail. Take copious notes and implement them when designing your book.

Now, on to the giveaway! In keeping with the ideas presented in The Indie Author's Guide, I'm giving one lucky winner either a digital identity package OR a book cover design OR a book formatted for print. Another lucky winner will get an advance printed, signed copy of The Bird, a huge Mystic~Bronya cover poster, three postcards featuring Mystic and Yassa, and a Mystic bookmark.

Without further ado, here's the entry form:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
GOOD LUCK!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo