Meet…author Zane Grey

Who is Zane Grey?

In the early 20th century, one-time dentist Zane Grey transformed the western novel from pulp fiction into a literary genre. Of his catalog of nearly 90 books, two-thirds of them are westerns. He popularized concepts like the Code of The West, the tormented gunslinger, and the strong-willed and independent women of the frontier.

Born in 1872 in the town of Zanesville, OH, which was founded by his great-grandfather, Grey and his brothers were avid outdoorsmen. Throughout his life, Grey pursued his love of fishing, hunting and horseback riding, as well as canoeing and sailing. He went to the University of Pennsylvania on a baseball scholarship, where he studied dentistry. He later played minor league baseball in New York after college.

Initially, he wrote and published articles and stories about his hobbies. His interest in the Old West began on an expedition with Colonel Charles Jesse "Buffalo" Jones, an adventurer and "plainsman" credited with helping to preserve the American Bison in the last half of the 19th century. He regaled Grey with stories of his life on the plains frontier and became the inspiration for Grey's first western novel, The Last Plainsmen, 1908.

He married Lina "Dolly" Roth in 1905 and had three children. His wife not only supported his career, tolerating is frequent and extensive absences, but she also often edited his manuscripts and helped to broker his deals with the publishers.

Did Grey only write western novels?

His first book, Betty Zane, self-published in 1904, recounted the life of his great aunt who was a heroine of the Revolutionary War. Based on stories he had heard from his grandmother, Grey wrote two books about his illustrious aunt, publishing The Spirit of the Border the next year. He also wrote novels about baseball (The Young Pitcher), nonfiction books about fishing (Tales of Swordfish and Tuna) and the South Seas (The Reef Girl published posthumously). He published various articles, essays and short stories. He also established Zane Grey Productions in 1918, which later became Paramount Pictures and directed and produced the documentary South Seas Adventures in 1932 about a deep-sea fishing trip off the coast of California.

But it was the western that made Grey a bestseller for much of the 1910s, 1920s, and 1930s. Heritage in the Desert (1910) was his breakout novel and first bestseller, but Riders of the Purple Sage (1912) put Grey on the literary map. The book was widely acclaimed by critics and the public and became the author's best-known work. It has been adapted for film and TV numerous times, the latest in 1996 starring Ed Harris and Amy Madigan.

Grey's work is said to have sparked the rise in the western genre's enormous popularity on film and TV in the 1940s and 1950s. More than 100 films (theatrical and TV) have been adapted from Grey's books or stories, according to the International Movie Database (imdb.com).

Can you still find Grey's books available?

Yes, many of Grey's books are still in print, including Riders of the Purple Sage. I found both new and older editions of several titles on Alibris.com. Several of his movies have been collected on DVD as well.

Grey was an influential and prolific writer. He wrote until his death in 1939 from heart failure, with several manuscripts published posthumously. The TV show "M*A*S*H" introduced Grey to a new generation when Colonel Sherman Potter (played by Harry Morgan), an avid Zane Grey fan, joined the show in 1975.





Sources: The Literary Network, Pegasos, Zane Grey's West Society

Picture This…Publishing Your Picture Book

How hard is it to write a picture book?

Depending on the target age, a picture book should be as short as 300 words to as long as 1200 words. The language has to be simple, but vivid and active. There are no throwaway words. Every one has to describe an action, a scene or a feeling so a child can understand. Some picture books rhyme. Not only must the story engage the child, but a picture book must also entertain the adult who will have to read it over and over.

Characters and situations must be universal enough for the child to understand and relate to them, but unique so he will be interested in what these characters are doing and what will happen next. A child will quickly abandon a predictable book, but give him one that surprises him during the first reading and he'll want to read it over and over, surprising himself or setting up different readers for surprises.

What are some "no-nos" in picture books?

Different publishers don't want different things. Editors don’t favor stories with talking animals anymore or stories about the arrival of a baby sibling. These have both been done so often that they are clichés.

Editors don't want illustrations or mock ups either unless you're an artist yourself. They usually will want to choose the illustrator themselves once they have the completed manuscript. You can inform the editor that you are an artist in your cover letter then ask if you can send samples.

Even though the word count is low, be sure you tell a complete story. Even picture books need a beginning, a middle and an end that flow together seamlessly. The characters must change and grow. There must be a problem that is solved by the end.

What should you double-check in the publishers' guidelines?

The first thing to double-check when you look at the guidelines for a children's book publisher is that the company does indeed publish picture books. Some children's book publishers do not publish picture books. I can't tell you why, but some don't. So double-check.

Next, look for the publisher's age target for picture books. Some list 4 to 8 years old, others 4 to 10. Some others say 3 to 5. The target age will influence the word count so double-check that, too.

Some publishers want only fiction. Some want nonfiction. One publisher listed below wants "fiction with non-fiction facts woven into the story." How's that for covering all the bases?

Always, no matter what kind of book you're selling, look at the publisher's market. Is it educational, Christian or general/mainstream? Which will be most receptive to your book?

Below are a dozen children's publishers that will consider unsolicited picture books. Click the publisher's name to go to the guidelines page.

Bloomsbury Children's Books - send the complete manuscript for picture books, but NO e-submissions, will respond ONLY if the book is accepted.
Flashlight Press - target ages are 4 to 8 years old, word count: 1000 words, NO illustrations, send an e-query ONLY, NO attachments.
Front Street Books - Boyds Mills Press - submit complete manuscript, include a mock-up dummy if you have illustrations, NO e-submissions.
Immedium - target ages are 4 to 8 or 6 to 10, seeks a proposal package with the complete picture book manuscript, illustrations samples OK.
The Overmountain Press - seeks books focused on the Southern Appalachian area, authors must find an illustrator, OMP can provide a list but does not recommend or pay the illustrator.
Pemmican Publications - has a "mandate to publish books by Métis authors and illustrators" but does not say that is exclusive, books must be culturally relevant, NO e-queries or submissions.
Piñata Books - Arte Público Press - accepts submissions in Spanish or English, seeks books that explore US Hispanic culture and customs, NO e-submissions or queries.
Polychrome Books - seeks multicultural books set in the US, both fiction and nonfiction, illustrations only when the author is the artist, NO e-queries or submissions.
Sylvan Dell Publishing - the above-mentioned publisher, e-submissions ONLY, seeks fictional picture books with educational themes about animals, nature, the environment and science, less than 1500 words.
Tradewind Books - Canadian with offices in US and England, picture books must be sent to Canadian office, REQUIRES authors to have read at least three of their books before their work is accepted.
Walker & Company - seeks "well-pace picture book manuscripts for both pre-school and early elementary age levels," NO e-submissions or queries.
Woodbine House - seeks picture books for or about children with disabilities, word count: 1200 or less, illustration samples OK with submission packet, NO e-submissions.

Interview…with journalist/novelist Janice Harayda

"I was the book editor of The Plain Dealer (in Cleveland, OH) for a decade or so before I began thinking about writing a novel," says Janice Harayda. She began her journalism career while in college at the University of New Hampshire, where she won the Mademoiselle's Guest Editor competition, taking an editorial assistant position. She then worked at Glamour both as a writer and editor before taking the job in at The Plain Dealer.

Now she has two comedic novels - Manhattan on the Rocks and The Accidental Bride - published and has a third in the works as she continues writing freelance for magazines, such as Newsweek, P&S and New Jersey Monthly, and newspapers like The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. She also writes and edits for a book review site online.

We wanted to see how one person could work both sides of the publishing industry successfully. Fortunately, Harayda had time to tell us.

As what kind of writer does Harayda see herself?

"I am a novelist and a print and online journalist. I didn't toss aside everything I had learned about writing when I became a novelist," she says. "Instead I brought it with me."


She does, however, have a little bit of trouble balancing her freelance work and her fiction writing. Hers is a one-income household so freelance writing and magazine work, which brings in a check regularly, often commandeers time allotted for her next novel, which may not produce any income for years. She tries to strike a balance but admits she recently abandoned a memoir she had started about a summer in Scotland.

"Scott Turow wrote much of his first novel, Presumed Innocent, while riding a commuter train to his law office in Chicago from his suburban home. But I’ve always had trouble allocating my time so strictly," Harayda says. "It takes me a while to find my momentum each time I sit down to write fiction, and if I have only a few hours, I might not find it at all."

Still she sets aside weekends or vacation time and hopes nothing more pressing comes up. "I fit the fiction in around the other things, which sometimes means not at all."

Is editing a magazine much different than publishing a novel?

The primary difference in Harayda's eyes is the time span from idea to finished product. "If you’re a magazine editor with a wonderful idea for a story, you usually know right away whether you’ll be able to publish it before it gets stale," she explains. Magazine lead times are at the most months ahead, while publishing a book could take a year or more - if everything goes to plan.

"If you’re an author, you have much less certainty…so you have to look for book ideas that are fresh enough to pique an editor’s interest but not so faddish that they may have gone out of fashion if publication delays occur."

She adds that being a magazine editor helped her learn that you can't take rejection personally and you have to be persistent as a writer. She rejected many wonderful writers who just didn't have the right story idea at the right time, but some of them would keep trying until they finally had an idea that worked for the magazine. It is no different with book publishing.

How did being a book critic impact her novels?

"(Being a book critic) helped immensely. To be a good critic, you have to explain why a book works or doesn’t," she says. "And I wanted to be a good critic."

In addition to her stint as a book editor and critic in Cleveland, Harayda was the vice-president of the National Book Critics Circle from 1998-1999 and is currently the editor-in-chief of "One-Minute Book Reviews." She takes books apart, looking at how they work or don't work, studying the subtle techniques of point of view, plot and scene structure so she can support and explain her opinions to her readers.

"That has probably helped more than anything in my career," she says, adding, "except having great teachers and mentors very early on."

In journalism school she learned how to temper her inner critic. One of her professors stressed the importance of finishing projects, which included writing a first draft without looking at her notes. "I had the habit of working quickly and efficiently, then going back and revising," bringing in her inner critic at a later stage than most writers.

"You want to keep that critic on. You just want to shut it off for the first draft or two (or) you might never finish a piece of writing at all."

Her work as a book editor might have opened some doors when she began shopping her novel to agents and publishers, but she thinks that's unlikely.

"The editor at St. Martin’s who bought my first novel, The Accidental Bride, had edited the work of an Ohio author whom I had profiled for The Plain Dealer. So he knew my work and may have been more willing to look at my novel for that reason," she says. "But any agent will tell you: an editor has to love a book to buy it. You can do wonderful work in other media…but if a book doesn’t work on its own terms, an editor won’t buy it."



To learn more about Janice Harayda, visit her website.

Workshops & Retreats…The High Tension Workshop

This column briefly profiles writers' workshops, retreats, seminars and conferences. Inclusion in this column is not an endorsement.

What is the High Tension Workshop?

It is a brand-new workshop from Free Expression Literary Services and Seminars, featuring New York literary agent Donald Maass. Held November 6-9 in Tampa, FL, the workshop is for writers with a completed or nearly completed novel manuscript. The website description calls the workshop a "three-and-a-half day course devoted to the creation of breathtaking, page-turning fiction." It will feature discussions and exercises with your manuscript on creating, building and maintaining tension on a line-by-line basis, scene-by-scene basis, and even within your pitch or query letters.

Who is Donald Maass?

Maass is the founder and president of the Donald Maass Literary Agency. He has written more than a dozen novels using a pen name and several instructional books on novel writing, including The Career Novelist and Writing the Breakout Novel, which is the basis of his first seminar with Free Expressions. The agency has over 100 clients, including Anne Perry, Jim Butcher, Stuart Kaminsky, and Anne Bishop among others, representing dozens of genres, including science fiction, horror, romance, mainstream and more. The agency announces on its website what it is seeking as well as submission guidelines. Current needs (July and August 2008) are beach reads for summer 2009. Click here to get full details.

How much does this workshop cost?

If you have attended any Free Expressions seminar, you are classified as a "returning student." The rate is $449 before August 8 and $499 after that date. New student rates are $479 before August 8 and $529 after that date. You can register online. The seminar runs all day November 6, 7, and 8 and for a half day on November 9.

The website does not list a specific location in Tampa or give any hotel options. A call placed to Free Expressions has not been returned. When new information is received, we'll update this article.

The Details:

The High Tension Workshop with Donald Maass, November 6-9, 2008, Tampa, FL.
Tuition: Returning Students (from any Free Expressions seminar): $449 before August 8/$499 after; New Students: $479 before August 8/$529 after, register online.
Lodging/Location info not currently available.




Reminder: Bill Frederick will stop by August 5 to discuss his e-book My Virtual Book Tour Secrets. Leave questions or comments for him by August 1 - click here

Promoting Your Book…Whose Responsibility Is It?

Won't the publisher promote your book?

Yes, your publisher will promote your book if you're big name author or a celebrity with an eager and established audience and you have the media taking numbers to see who gets to interview you first. And yes, if you are an established author with a solid and growing reader base. And maybe they will, if your book is a mid-list title with a good-sized reader base.

These days marketing departments have tighter and tighter budgets, meaning authors have to play an active role in the promotion of their books. This doesn't mean just showing up for your close-up, this means creating a marketing plan as complete as the book you want to publish.

A well-conceived marketing plan will show the editor/agent that you are a professional and you're committed to the success of your book and ultimately your career. For a first-book author, the marketing plan in your proposal packet could be the deciding factor for an agent/editor. And if you go the route of self-publishing, print-on-demand or other non-traditional publishing, the promotion of your book rest entirely on you. You have to have a carefully developed and practical plan if you want to your book to succeed.

What goes into a marketing plan?

There is little difference between a book marketing plan and the marketing plan for any other product so if you know an MBA, you might want to take him out for coffee to pick his brain. Generally, a marketing plan identifies the product, establishes the goal for the promotion of the product, outlines a plan of action to achieve that goal and budgets the funds needed to complete the plan of action and obtain the goal.

"Say what?"


1) Identify the product - readers remember the author of books they like and they will seek out other books by this person. So while you think you're selling your book, in reality you're selling the package of you and your book, especially if it is your first book. Make an honest list of what features to highlight and which ones to ignore for both you and your book.

2) Establish a goal - this could mean something as simple as how many books do you want to sell? Or maybe you want to get a movie deal or maybe you want to be the top seller on this publisher's list so you can get the attention of a bigger publisher with your next book. Decide what you want, then write it down in the clearest, most concise language. Put it in your plan and tape it to your wall so you can see it every day.

3) Outline a plan of action - simply put: what are you going to do to achieve your goal. Here you need to figure out your book's demographics (who are your readers). Next list out all the ways you think you can reach these readers: bookstore appearances, newspaper, radio, TV outlets, web appearances, groups, conventions or other events. List any contacts you might have with any of these outlets. In addition to what you can set up by yourself, have a list of outlets that would most likely book you if the publisher would make the contact.

4) Set you budget - specifically, the publisher will want to know how much you will pay for and how much do you want them to pay for. For instance, if a publisher gives you an advance, are you willing to spend part of it to promote your book? Are you willing to go out of pocket if it means higher sales in the end? However, you need a realistic budget outline so you both know what it is going to cost promote this book to the extent needed to achieve your goal.

Take as much time writing your marketing plan as you do writing your synopsis or any other part of the proposal packet. It needs to be well conceived, thorough and feasible to make an agent/editor think you are a professional driven to succeed.

You still don't understand how to write a marketing plan?

Here are a few websites that might be helpful. Some of them are self-publishing houses; some are publicity/promotions consultants; one's an author. They may offer fee-based services, but click the site names to go to free articles on writing marketing plans. In addition, WebEx.com is hosting "How to Create a Powerful Web/Media Platform" web-seminar on July 30. The presenter is Annie Jennings, president of Annie Jennings PR, which promotes authors and others in the media. I don't know if there is a cost. One spot on the main page says "free."

WebsiteMarketingPlan.com - interview with book marketing consultant Brian Jud, president of Book Marketing Works. There are lots of links to other articles on the left bar. The website seems to focus on nonfiction books, but some of the advice can be adapted to novels.
Dog Ear Publishing - article entitled "How to Write a Book Marketing Plan," this is a self-publishing firm and there other links in the left bar as well.
Ink Tree Ltd. - article entitled "Your Book Marketing Plan: Strategies and Tips," this is a book marketing firm in Calgary, Canada, founded by four women who once worked in the publishing industry.
Epstein LaRue - "Market Your Book the Right Way by Executing This Simple Marketing Plan!" this is a week-by-week strategy by a part-time author and nurse. She has five published books and three e-published books.


ED. NOTE: I am not endorsing the web-seminar or the websites listed here. I am simply presenting information I found in researching this article. Thank you to writer Jenny Stanger for inspiring this topic.

Meet…author Henry James

What should you know about Henry James?

Henry James was one of the most prolific writers in the late 19th and early 20th century. Not only did he write 20 novels and numerous volumes of literary criticism, he also published more than 100 short stories and penned a dozen stage plays.

Born in New York City in 1843, James grew up in the company of such renowned intellectuals as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, who were close friends of his father's. Many rank Henry James, Sr. along side Emerson and Thoreau as some of the most influential people of the mid-19th century.

James interest in Europe began in his youth as he travel and studied extensively abroad. He returned at age 19 to attend Harvard Law School, but he preferred literature to legal studies and published his first short story at age 21.

What was James first popular success?

Shortly after leaving Harvard, the author began publishing in the Atlantic Monthly, his family now settled in Boston, but the appeal of life abroad kept pulling at him and he returned in 1869 briefly. While there he wrote his first novel Watch and Ward, which he published in 1870 upon his return to the States. He didn't stay long this time either and returned within two years, visiting Paris and Rome. Back in Europe James began his second novel, Roderick Hudson.

Americans in Europe was a recurring theme in James' early novels as in Daisy Miller, published in 1879, where young and innocent Daisy, an American, finds her values challenged by European sophistication. The short novel proved to be his first success, garnering him literary fame on both sides of the Atlantic. It seemed to open a floodgate for the author, who wrote four major novels over the next three years - The Portrait of a Lady, The Europeans, Confidence and Washington Square. By 1886, James had written and published a 14-volume collection of novels and tales.

A life-long bachelor, James was believed by many to be a homosexual. His books are known for their sensitive portrayal of women and women's issues, which some attribute to his sexual orientation.

When did James write plays?

In the 1890s James turned to the stage, but it lasted only five years. In 1895, his play "Guy Domville" opened at the St. James Theatre in London. He was publicly jeered and so he abandoned his playwriting career permanently. His plays have rarely been revived, but they were later published in two volumes.

Firmly settled into English life and society, James returned to writing fiction, producing what some consider his best work, including the novella The Turn of the Screw, the novels The Wings of the Dove, The Ambassadors and The Golden Bowl, and others. In 1904, he returned to the United States to visit his brother in New Hampshire and to see New York City again. He spent most of 1905 lecturing, then returned to his home in England.

During World War I, James wrote for war charities and did other charitable work in hospitals and with war refugees. He became a naturalized British subject in 1915, but was struck down by a stroke five months later. He survived for a few months but died in February 1916. His ashes were returned to the States one final time for burial in the family plot in Cambridge, MA.

James honors include honorary degrees from both Harvard and Oxford, the Order of Merit from England's King George V and a Pulitzer Prize presented in 1931 for the biography of Harvard President Charles W. Eliot he wrote but was not published until 1930.



Sources: Book Rags, The Literature Network, and Pegasos

Interview…with children's author Gail Langer Karwoski

"Kids are impatient, demanding, energetic readers. You cannot indulge yourself with piles and miles of lovely words."

Gail Karwoski knows because in addition to her nine children's books published since 1999, she also taught for 13 years in the public schools and contributed to two textbooks.

Her latest, a picture book entitled: River Beds; Sleeping in the World's Rivers, is a bedtime story for young children. Released this month from Sylvan Dell Publishing, the book is the sequel to the acclaimed Water Beds; Sleeping in the Ocean. She research Water Beds for six years off and on before filtering her research down to 460 words.

"Writing for kids is lean writing, muscled writing…no flab, no junk," she says, equating editing with learning how to wield the "giant scissors."

Does children's fiction require a different research plan?

"Part of the reason that I love to write is because I love to learn," Karwoski says. The first thing she does once she has a topic is to picture the child who will read or hear her story. Once she decides on that child, she never changes her mind. She writes everything from picture books to YA nonfiction, but her research habits never vary. The first step is typing her topic into Google, then she sorts through Internet sites and scours libraries.

"I do whatever it takes," she says, "When possible, I travel to the place where the story occurred…I watch documentaries. I call or email experts and ask questions."

How she applies that research does vary with the book and the potential reader. Although she is dealing with historical and/or scientific facts, she culls information that 1) would distract the reader from her story or 2) would upset the theme or tone of her story. For instance, in the bedtime story River Beds, on one page she talks about a water vole, a cute, mouse-like animal. The next page she introduces a mink and writes: "Perhaps the mink will find a cozy den that once belonged to a water vole for tomorrow's snooze."

"I selected certain information for my audience - the bedtime-storybook set - and omitted the jarring fact that a mink will often kill and eat the water vole before sleeping in the vole's den," she explains. The last thing she wants is something that will take her reader out of the book and the moment it creates.

How does the author-illustrator relationship work?

"I LOVE to see the illustrations! It's like watching my words spring to life."

The author-illustrator relationship is almost nonexistent. The author may be consulted about potential illustrators, but the publishing house makes the final decision. Once an artist is chosen the author has no direct contact with him or her until the book is finished. Everything that passes between the author and illustrator goes through the editor, but that doesn't mean that Karwoski never has input.

"Usually, I get to see the sketches that are sent…to the editor for approval," she says, adding, "If the book is historical or scientific, I'm encouraged to give feedback on the…accuracy. I'm NOT encouraged to give feedback on artistic merit."

She has had to talk with her editor on occasion about inaccuracies in the illustrations and a few such illustrations did make it into the first printing editions due to time constraints. However, they were corrected before subsequent printings. In the end Karwoski makes a practice of calling or writing the illustrators to thank them for their good work.

What draws Karwoski to children's books?

Initially it began as a challenge from a new friend who had opened a children's book literary agency. Karwoski had young daughters, ages 4 and 9 at that time, and had spent a lot of time in the children's section of the library, not to mention the years teaching.

"Truthfully, this wasn't entirely a serendipitous decision," she admits. "I really write for who I am…although I am a grownup on the surface, I still think of myself as a child."

Her mother died when she was 11 and she feels her self-image, attitudes and emotional development formed at that age. So she writes middle reader books like Quake! Disaster in San Francisco, 1906, and Surviving Jamestown: the Adventures of Young Sam Collier, for kids like her inner self, and picture books for younger kids.

She has written two nonfiction narratives the Young Adult crowd, ages 13 and older, but Karwoski hasn't wanted to tackle a YA novel yet.

"There are a few elements…that I haven’t been interested in exploring – the focus on sexuality, the obsession with self-examination, and the importance of current trends in clothing, electronics, etc."

She might try an adult novel one day, she teases: "Perhaps when I grow up."


You can read more about Gail Karwoski and her books at her website. All of her titles have coordinating materials for classroom activities and lessons.

Meet…novelist/journalist Eric Arthur Blair

Never heard of Eric Arthur Blair?

His pen name is George Orwell, who wrote one the most iconic books of the 20th century, Nineteen Eight-Four.

Born in India in 1903, he moved to England before his second birthday. He began writing in prep school and was first published while at Eton College. His resentment for authority and the English class system began to develop in school but it grew further when he followed his father into civil service becoming an officer in the Indian Imperial Police in Burma (now Myanmar).

Blair followed up Burma by moving to Paris. There he tried his hand at short fiction but had little confidence in his own talent and ended up in menial jobs that he classified as "servile and without art." He used his time in Paris, and later in London and other parts of England, to get to know the poor and "common man" in European society. The studies he made helped to move him to be a proponent of socialism and would later be the fodder for several books.

Where did Blair get the name George Orwell?

Orwell was a small river in East Anglia, a peninsula in eastern England. St. George is the patron saint of England, not to mention the name of several of her Kings. He adopted it in 1933 so as not to embarrass is family, according to some sources.

Unable to support himself with his freelance writing, Blair took a job teaching at a private school in 1932 and while there he finished his first novel Burmese Days about his days in the Imperial Police. Publisher Victor Gollancz commissioned Orwell in 1936 to write a documentary account of the unemployment among miners in northern England. The resulting book, The Road to Wigan Pier, has been considered by critics as a milestone in modern literary journalism.

In 1936, he and his wife traveled to Spain to report on the Civil War and to fight against Franco's Nationalists. Eventually, the Soviet-backed communists attacked the socialist dissenters, whom Orwell and his wife supported and with whom they fought, and the couple had to flee back to England or risk imprisonment or death. It was this experience that turned Orwell against communism, which in turn partly inspired his breakthrough novel, Animal Farm.

Did Orwell use all his experiences as fodder for his books?

Most writers are influenced by what happens to them and around them and Orwell was no different. His first published book, Down and Out in Paris and London, recounted his life among the lower classes after he resigned from the Imperial Police. Homage to Catalonia stemmed from his experiences in Spain, while Orwell took from his experience working in a secondhand bookshop when writing Keep the Aspidistra Flying.

Animal Farm, published in 1945, is a satirical look at Stalin and what Orwell believed to be the dictator's betrayal of the Russian Revolution. Publisher Faber and Faber originally rejected the book, but it is now a classic, often read in high school and college literature courses, and it has been made into a film twice. The concept "all animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal than others" has been referenced often in politics, the media and literature.

Some sources suspect that the totalitarian society depicted in Orwell's best-known novel Nineteen Eighty-Four stems from his years at the prep school St. Cyprian's. However, the author had long championed the plight of the poor and oppressed and many saw this novel as yet another protest against authority. Critically acclaimed, it also became a staple of literature classes and has been made into multiple films for theatrical release and for television. It, too, contributed words and phrases into today's lexicon, such "Big Brother," "newspeak" and "doublethink."

Of course, most of Orwell's work was banned in the Soviet Union and other communist countries, but today it has even been translated in to Chinese. Orwell did not live to see his work gain popularity and praise worldwide. Nineteen Eight-Four was published in 1949 and the author died of tuberculosis in January 1950.




Sources: BBC - Historic Figures, The Complete Works of George Orwell, The Literature Network, and Pegasos

A First Step to Published Success…12 Novel Contests

Why spend time on a contest v. submitting to a publisher?

You should take advantage of all the benefits a contest can offer your novel manuscript. First contests offer you one guarantee: your manuscript will be read. A publisher can't guarantee that. Granted, most contests only want you to submit a portion of your novel, but know that those pages will be read and considered by an industry professional - either a published author, an editor, an agent, etc.

A second benefit is that if your manuscript wins or places high in a contest, it builds history and a solid reputation. Because contests are judged by people in the industry, agents or editors will take that prize as a reference. "Editor Smith at X-House Publishing said this book was worthy of this prize. Therefore, it must be worthy of my time."

The prizes themselves are a great benefit. Many contests offer publication as their grand prize. See you met your goal after all. Others will help you set meetings with agents or editors to pitch your manuscript. And don't forget the cash. What writer can't use good ol' cash in his pocket?

What do novel contest want in terms of submissions?

There are two types of novel contests. The first and most predominant contest type wants previously unpublished novels. The International 3-Day Novel Contest (listed below) wants previously UNWRITTEN novels. The other type of contest is for books that have been published. Usually those contests seek to honor first books, often from specific demographic groups.

Novel contests vary in terms of genre. There are genre specific contests, but open genre contests are more prevalent. Some go a step further in their openness and accept not only novels, but novellas, book-length short story collections and more. For instance, Chiasmus (also listed below) seeks "innovative novels, anti-novels, novellas, graphic novels, short story collections, hybrids." I don't know what an "anti-novel" or a "hybrid" is but if you have one, Chiasmus will accept it.

Where can you find novel contests listings?

As always start with Google and search both "novel contests" and "book contests." Other resources include NewPages.com, Poets & Writers Grants and Awards Database, both of which are searchable by deadline date. FundsforWriters.com offers a contest page available through a link on the home page, and there are two newsletters you can subscribe to that include contests listings. One's free. The other is reasonably priced. Editor Hope Clark lists all kinds of contests, not just book/novel contests. Another resource is the subscription service WritersMarket.com. Again, this website lists all kind of contests but there are menus to help you narrow your research.

Finally, here's a dozen to get you started. Click the contest name to go to the website. Unless noted, all competitions are for previously unpublished manuscripts.

Chiasmus Undoing the Novel - First Book Contest - "looking for new writers at the front edge of fictional form", deadline: August 30, entry fee: $25, prize: publication plus 10 copies.
George Garrett Fiction Prize - deadline: September 15, entry fee: $20, prize: $200 plus publication by Texas Review Press.
International 3-Day Novel Contest - must write the novel between August 30 and September 1 ONLY, grand prize: publication, 2nd: $500, 3rd: $100.
Julia Ward Howe Book Awards - deadline: January 15, 2009, awards to an adult book and a children's book of any genre, books must be published in 2008, limited to writers who "live, have lived or attended college within 100 miles of Boston," prize: $1000.
Juniper Prize for Fiction - deadline: August 1-September 30, novels, novellas and book-length short story collections accepted, entry fee: $20, prize: $1500 plus publication with University of Massachusetts Press.

Mountain Plains Regional Book Award - deadline: October 1, seeks books published in 2008 that relate in some way to the Mountains and Plains areas of the western US, six award categories, entry form REQUIRED, entry fee: $50, prize: extensive press and promotion campaign for each category winner.
MVP Project 2008 - deadline: September 15- November 1, open to residents in Minnesota or New York City ONLY, entry fee: $20, entry form REQUIRED, prize: (2 to be awarded) $1000 plus a book contract with New Rivers Press.
Paradigm Novel Contest - deadline: July 31, entry fee: $20, prize: $500 plus publication by Rain Farm Press, 3 copies of the book, and feature article in Paradigm art-literary journal.
Ronald Sukenick/American Book Review Innovative Fiction Prize - deadline: August 15-November 1, seeks short story collection, one or more novellas, or novel, writers who have published with co-sponsor Fiction Collective Two are NOT eligible, entry fee: $25, prize: $1000 plus publication with Fiction Collective Two.
Ruthanne Wiley Memorial Novella Contest - deadline: August 1-October 1, entry fee: $25, prize: $1000 plus publication by Cleveland State University.
W.Y. Boyd Literary Award - deadline: December 1, seeks novels published in 2008 set during a period when the US was at war, submissions may come from authors or publishers, entry form REQUIRED, prize: $5000.
Young Lions Fiction Award - deadline: August 25, seeks novels or short story collection published in 2008 by a US citizen 35 or younger, authors and publishers may submit published copies or galley copies of books scheduled to be published in 2008, entry form REQUIRED, prize: $10,000.

Interview...with novelist David L. Robbins

"I hope it is a mistake to catalog my work as anything along the lines of a genre."

David L. Robbins doesn't like classifications. Of the eight novels he has published, half features battles and events of World War II. His ninth book, due out next summer from Simon & Schuster, also takes place during WWII. Still, Robbins reluctantly accepts the idea that he is "a WWII writer."

"It is fair to say I have carved out a niche in WWII," he admits, but adds, "I use war as a cauldron to bubble away my human characters. It's a great conflict to find out what characters will do."

How does he pick his story ideas?

Robbins loves history. Even when he's not writing about WWII, he usually sets his novels back in time.

"I don't have any contemporary books in mind," he says when asked what other topics he'd like to explore. "That's being done by a lot of people. I like going back a couple decades."

Although he usually picks out the time and the place for the novel first, his emphasis is always on the characters. He "auditions" his characters to see who will tell the story. For instance, the book Liberation Road is about D-Day so Robbins needed characters that had access to every aspect of that battle. He first looked at a squad medic, but dismissed him because he was limited to his squad members. He finally found a division chaplain and a black truck driver, both of whom have the ability to move throughout the units and the battlefields.

"You have to have characters that can carry the banner of your story," he explains. "If there's a narrator on the page, you know nothing's going to happen."

How much research ends up on the page in a historical novel?

Robbins typically researches for six months. He first reads everything he can find on his topic, but never fiction. He doesn't want to be influenced or to appear to have been influenced by anyone else's creative work. He feels the reading is the most vital part of his research.

For his current novel, he broke his research in three parts. First, he studied all aspects of the Japanese military, the men, the strategies, the protocols. Next, he looked at the internment camps and the Western captives, what they ate, did, wear, the plant and animals of the area around the camp, the weather. He researched the "comfort women," the Chinese, Korean and Filipina women captured and forced into the role of sexual slaves.

"I spent most of March in the Pacific," he explains the next step in his research, "visiting Manila, Hong Kong and Australia. I was in South Korea some too." Visiting the locations is vital so you'll have a clear sense of your setting.

He then looks for living witnesses to the events, but admits these interviews aren't as important in fiction as in nonfiction. In this case, the women had been interviewed and their stories recorded years ago when the memories were fresh. "And these 45 women in this one book had stories that sounded the same as these 90 women over here in that book."

Robbins admits that only five to ten percent of his research will ever make it into his book. This is typical of historic fiction, but still the research must be done. "You have to be sure your reader is comfortable in the book, that he knows the time and the place and the lexicon."

"When I can play the film of the scene in my head and I know the trees in the ravine, the humidity in the air, the color of a Filipina woman's skin, when I know how late the sunsets and what time it rises…When I know all these things and I can inject myself into the scene and everything I need is right there, then it's time to write."

How does Robbins write?

He struggles with the opening pages during each book. His primary complaint? "That goes so slowly!" In the first 25 pages, you have to set up the "teams" of who wants what and who will work to stop them from getting it, not to mention the setting and the backstory leading up to the opening line.

"You have to be so careful and you have to be patient" as you integrate all that information so that it flows for the reader and keeps him moving forward in the book.

"Once all that's established and action, dialogue and plot take over the book, and you don't have to explain who someone is when he opens his mouth, that's when it comes so fast. That's my favorite part."

Robbins writes seven days a week from 10:00 to 1:30 or 2:00, reaching for 1000 words, but generally producing between 700 and 900. At that pace, he can finish writing in six months. He edits as he goes, covering the day's work multiple times before he moves ahead. As a result, he turns in a highly polished manuscript.

"I write a first draft. I'd never write a rough draft." He says the words with more than a little distain.

"I don't understand how anyone can put language on a page they know isn't any good, saying 'I'll get back to it later'." He gives an audible shudder. "The thought that that could exist in the world…Well, I'd be sleepless."

When he's not writing himself, Robbins likes to help other new and aspiring writers. He founded the James River Writers in Richmond and serves on its advisory board. He recently created the Podium Foundation, which will develop a literary magazine for student writers in the five area high schools.




You can learn more about David L. Robbins and his novels, including photos of his research trip to the South Pacific, at his website.

Top Books Since 1983?

Why these 25 years?

Is it just me or does the release of Entertainment Weekly's list of the top 100 books of the last 25 years seem like a case of odd timing? Twenty-five year spans fit neatly between years like 1925 and 1950, 1975 and 2000, but 1983 and 2008? Waiting two more years and doing the top 100 from the last 30 years makes more sense and is much easier math.

Actually, Entertainment Weekly does have a reason for selecting these particular 25 years. The pop culture magazine is celebrating its 1000th issue with a double-issue edition June 27/July 4. In addition to books, the magazine tackled movies, music, TV shows and more, compiling a list of the 1000 best things in pop culture.

The New Classics: The 100 Best Reads from 1983 to 2008 was released on the ew.com site on June 18, causing book bloggers and columnists everywhere to ponder the selections. Phil Kloer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution calls the list "preposterous. A Harry Potter Novel at No. 2, ahead of all the literature written in the last 25 years, will start that little vein throbbing in your temple."

Novelist Janice Harayda writes on her blog "One-Minute Book Reviews" that the magazine's annual list of the year's worst books is "usually right on the money. " However, this list "falls a bit wider of the mark." She goes on to name 10 books she would've put on such a list.

Bloggers Jan and Jenny of Sibling Revelry don't comment on the list, but instead throw out a challenge to each other and their readers. The duo plans to read or at least attempt to read each book. They will blog about their thoughts and feelings and invite their readers to comment as well.

What was Entertainment Weekly's measure for a book making the list?

Good question. According to the New York Times book blog "PaperCuts" (June 20), the magazine polled its staff for their favorites. I couldn't find any mention of the criterion on Entertainment Weekly's website, but I did find a commentary on ew.com called "Breaking Down the List," which offered no insight into the selection process.

Only two of the top ten New Classics made the list of "10 Books that Spent the Most Weeks on the New York Times Hardcover Best-Seller List." One book from the top ten made the "Oprah Blessed Titles" list. Of the "Five Prolific Writers," only two had a book apiece listed in the top 20. So Entertainment Weekly didn't take best-selling status or the skill and mastery of the authors or even Oprah into account. And they call these books "classic"?

Which books are on the list?

You can see the entire New Classics: The 100 Best Reads from 1983 to 2008 on Entertainment Weekly's website. Here are the top 10 books:

1. The Road, Cormac McCarthy (2006)
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000)
3. Beloved, Toni Morrison (1987)
4. The Liars’ Club, Mary Karr (1995)
5. American Pastoral, Philip Roth (1997)
6. Mystic River, Dennis Lehane (2001)
7. Maus, Art Spiegelman (1986/1991)
8. Selected Stories, Alice Munro (1996)
9. Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier (1997)
10. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami (1997)

This Just In…

Unrelated but with a deadline fast approaching, Memoirs Ink announces its annual writing contest:

"Memoirs Ink is hosting our Fifth Annual Writing Contest. For five years, we have been advancing the cause of creative nonfiction. The late deadline for our annual contest is August 15, 2008. Writers may submit personal essays, chapters of memoir, narrative journalism, and other forms of creative non-fiction. The Grand Prize is $1000 and publication online and in our upcoming anthology. (This is the last annual contest that will be included in our five-year anthology—so if you haven't entered before, this is the year.) Full guidelines are available on our website. Previous entrants get a discounted entry fee."

Meet...storyteller Aesop

Was Aesop a real person?

Famous for his many fables, Aesop is believed to have lived between 620-560 B.C., although some scholars still deny he existed beyond legend. He is mentioned in the works of Aristotle, Plato and Socrates, among others. Some facts of his life have remained constant in reference after reference. He was a slave on the Greek Island of Samos. He had a quick wit, a gift for sarcasm, which enhanced his oratory skills. He has been depicted in sculptures as having a physical deformity and there are several references to him being mute or having a speech impediment that was cured by the goddess Isis.

Aesop died in Delphi, after being accused of stealing. The sentence for the crime was to be thrown from a cliff. He maintained his innocence, even cursing the Delphians. The area suffered through pestilence, famine and war, which many attribute to Aesop's unjust death.

How many fables did Aesop write?

The number of fables attributed to Aesop varies depending on whom you ask. Some say as many as 600 while others say most of the called "Aesop's fables" actually were written in much later in the Middle Ages and collected with the other tales under Aesop's name, much like nursery rhymes were collected under the name of Mother Goose.

One reason for the dispute is the believed purpose of fables in society. Today Aesop's fables teach moral lessons to children, using animals and metaphors to relay the consequences of telling lies or being greedy or being proud. In ancient time, the primary purpose of fables was to explain natural phenomena or unusual occurrences, not moral lessons.

Another reason for doubted the fables' author is that it is unlikely that Aesop actually wrote his stories down. He was a slave so it was unlikely that he could write. Written copies of his fables didn't begin to appear for more than a century after his death. Socrates reportedly passed the time while he was in prison in the early fourth century B.C. by turning some of the fables into verse.

Later collections appear to compile other folk tales from Europe and Asia with the fables under Aesop's name. Still some titles are widely accepted as the storyteller's own fables, including "The Tortoise and the Hare," "The Ant and the Grasshopper," "The Shepherd and the Wolf" (a.k.a. "The Boy Who Cried Wolf") and "The Fox and the Crow."

What impact do the fables have today?

Still a popular collection of stories for children, Aesop's fables have been adapted into plays, films, games and more. The fables inspire contemporary writers to retell them in new settings and with new characters. The appeal stems from the simple, gentle way the life lessons are taught to both the characters within the stories and the readers.

You can find various editions of the collected Aesop's fables plus many of the individual tales on Amazon.com, Alibris.com, Barnes and Noble and other bookstores. The stories also appear as VHS and DVD films and you can also find games and toys with an Aesop theme.



Sources: BiographyBase.com, Collection of the World's Fairy Tales, and The Literature Network.