Coffee & Conversation: How to keep your characters from being interchangeable? (1/2)

04 Monday Oct 2021

Posted by Emmi Lawrence in Coffee & Conversation

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advice, answer, author, character, characterization, essay, non-fiction, nonfiction, question, reading, writer, Writing, writing advice, writing characters

How to keep your characters from feeling interchangeable? (1/2)

I’ve talked a little bit about how to expand your writing on a sentence level by expanding your vocabulary, etc. But now, I want to discuss characters and how to practice making them unique rather than interchangeable.

There are two ways of looking at this. First, all the characters in a particular story read and feel the same and it’s difficult to tell them apart, and second, all the characters across the author’s many stories feel the same, particularly their point-of-view characters.

This second one is interesting in the romance industry because it often means that a character who was once a side character in someone else’s story becomes the lead character in their own, only, they end up feeling like a completely different person because they read like the previous main character instead of who they’d been in that previous story. (As an example, because this reads a little confusing: Paul’s story is great. Paul is friends with side character, Lyle. Lyle is beloved by fans. Author writes book about Lyle next. Only Lyle suddenly acts like Paul rather than the Lyle everyone loved.)

So I’m going to address ways in which to help out with both these situations in two different posts since they are actually different things entirely.

First, how to keep characters in the same book from all reading the same.

1) Give each character a unique physical/visible trait.

This has to do with imagery. You want a different image in each reader’s mind when you bring up a specific character in your story. A lot of people need something physical to latch on to, something that helps paint a picture in their imagination. So giving each person a particular physical trait can make all the difference.

When I say unique, I mean unique. If all the characters have brown hair, then brown hair isn’t unique. If all the characters have scars across their faces, then the scars aren’t unique. You see this often in stories where you’ll have the blond-haired one, the brown-haired one and the red-haired one as a set of three. That’s one way to do it… Continue reading →

Coffee & Conversation: The best ways to expand your vocabulary?

27 Monday Sep 2021

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What are the best ways to expand your vocabulary?

As a writer, you never want to remain stagnant because then your phrases and plots and characters will all begin to blend together. Now some of this is unavoidable because you’re you and all your writing is coming from you and you will never not be you, but there are ways of working to teach yourself new things so that your stories don’t begin to blend together in reader minds.

One way is to expand your vocabulary that you might have new sentences, new metaphors, new ways of saying the same old things.

1) Read. A lot.

This one’s the most obvious and the most valuable. The more you read, the more words become familiar. Different authors have different vocabularies. Different genres use different base words. Because you’re given the word within context, you’re also usually able to guess its meaning to some degree, and the more you see that same word in different contexts, the more refined its meaning will become in your own mind.

By continuously reading, especially when you’re stretching yourself beyond your normal books or authors, you can cement more words that become a part of your normal vocabulary.

Though this one is the number one best way to expand your vocabulary, it’s also the one that is the least targeted. You’ll slowly morph over time, but perhaps not as quickly as you’d like.

2) Subscribe to a word-a-day.

If you’re just interested in introducing yourself to new words in general, this can be a good way to go about it. Especially if you subscribe to one that also lists the etymology behind the word, as story tends to help you remember things better. This way, you’ll begin to pick up new words, especially if you consciously attempt to use them in your stories. Continue reading →

Coffee & Conversation: Your favorite place to dream?

20 Monday Sep 2021

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Your favorite place to dream?

Sometimes it’s difficult to get the words out when faced with a computer screen, no matter how many words have been put there before. Sometimes there’s a need to dream up the scene or to brainstorm it out before the actual words show themselves. For that, we all have different methods.

For me, there are a few ways that are more relaxed, allowing my mind to wander and sink into play mode, and a few ways that are more stringent, forcing my mind to come up with alternatives. I think the best methods are some combination of the two, preferably on a continuous basis.

For more relaxed methods, it’s important to let my mind free and to do that, it requires a lack of interruption. I know. Sometimes getting to a place of no interruption can be difficult, if not impossible. The best places I’ve found that tend to work is on long walks by myself or in the shower. These tend to be times when I don’t have anyone with me or anyone talking to me. These are also times when I’m far less likely to have my phone on me, giving me an easy distraction.

Other methods that sometimes work are during exercising, preferably monotonous times of exercise, and any job that takes your hands, but not your mind, like folding laundry or doing dishes or when you’re laying in bed about to fall asleep (all those awesome ideas that come right before you’re about to forget them all!)

If you have a way of relaxing like this each day, it can be really helpful in untangling plot holes or coming up with solutions to character arcs or twists.

Sometimes though, we don’t have enough relaxing time (unfortunately). Which means that we have to go brunt force. In order to do this, I generally do one of two things. Continue reading →

Coffee & Conversation: Contract Terms Series (Net vs Gross)

13 Monday Sep 2021

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Contract Terms Series (IANAL)

There’s a bunch of contract terms for writers that can be difficult to parse for newcomers to the genre, so I want to go over a few in a short, easy contract terms series.

(Note: I am not a lawyer. I am merely speaking from experience on the author side.)

NET vs GROSS

You know the story where super famous people don’t get paid despite the movies they star in, the songs they wrote, etc., bringing in millions? This is often a net vs. gross issue. (Hollywood bastards)

Gross is your total amount that something makes. It really shouldn’t ever be negative. Why? Because even if you only sold one copy/one ticket/one anything, well, you got a positive amount for that. (Extreme couponing aside XD)

Net, on the other hand, is your final income number. The gross number minus all expenses. So, the costs of overhead, the costs of production, marketing, etc., etc., etc.,

The way you get screwed is by having your contract be written in NET instead of GROSS. This means that the company can subtract whatever bills they want from the gross, until they’re negative perhaps… Thereby leaving them not having to pay anyone with contracts dealing with royalties based off net.

Yeah. Messed up, right? Well, big companies are sometimes greedy little buggers.

So, when looking over payment on your contracts, make DAMN SURE that it says GROSS and that the word net doesn’t appear anywhere. Publishers can pay their expenses out of their share. Not yours.

~ ~ ~ ~

This is my final post in my contract series for now. I’m not an expert on the subject. Just sharing what I do know in the hopes that it helps someone out there. If I think of something else, or if someone has a question I can answer concerning contracts in the publishing sphere, I might do a few more.

Just be aware that I’m not a lawyer, I don’t play one on TV, and if you’re ever in a situation where you’ve got a big contract with a big name publisher, you probably want to get a lawyer who specializes in such things to look it over because they will certainly catch far more than you can alone. I mean, unless you are a lawyer specializing in publisher contracts ;)

~Emmi

Coffee & Conversation: Contract Terms Series (Attribution)

06 Monday Sep 2021

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Contract Terms Series (IANAL)

There’s a bunch of contract terms for writers that can be difficult to parse for newcomers to the genre, so I want to go over a few in a short, easy contract terms series.

(Note: I am not a lawyer. I am merely speaking from experience on the author side.)

ATTRIBUTION

This is an easy one and is mostly in reference to pen names, but ultimately, anyone who wants to be attributed probably needs to have at least something written in their contract about it.

Attribution is just how you, as the author, will be attributed within/on the book. IE, your author name and your copyright on the copyright page, etc.

This is important particularly for pen names because legal documents are written up with the use of your legal name for legal reasons. Which can mean that the author’s pen name/name they want to be attributed as, isn’t anywhere on the page UNLESS some form of attribution phrasing is used somewhere in the contract.

It’s a small thing, but very important for a lot of people.

In other words, make sure they have a legal requirement to get your names right :)

~Emmi

Coffee & Conversation: Contract Terms Series (Right of First Refusal)

30 Monday Aug 2021

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Contract Terms Series (IANAL)

There’s a bunch of contract terms for writers that can be difficult to parse for newcomers to the genre, so I want to go over a few in a short, easy contract terms series.

(Note: I am not a lawyer. I am merely speaking from experience on the author side.)

RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL

This is a fun one. This is the right of the publisher to see an associated work/story before any other competitors. I say “associated” here, but in some cases that isn’t necessary.

Essentially, let’s say you are signing a contract for one book with your publisher. You want to write sequels to this book. The publisher thinks the book might do well. But no one knows the future. So, instead of buying or optioning a second/third/etc. book, the publisher adds a clause that states they get the right to see any associated books (as in, associated with the book they’re buying) first. You would not then be allowed to submit any books involving the contracted book’s characters or setting, etc. to anyone other than that publisher.

They still have the right to refuse the book, of course, at which point you are free to shop the book anywhere you like. But if you were to sell that second/third/etc. book elsewhere without your contracted publisher getting a chance to say NO first, then you would be in breach of contract.

Also of note: Even if you submit this book and even if they offer you a contract for it, you, as the author, still have full rights to say NO to whatever the contract is. So in some extreme cases, when the author knows they won’t be working with a publisher anymore, this can turn slightly toxic, with a publisher holding onto a story for a prolonged period of time. Just for funsies, I guess.

Right of First Refusal can be applied to non-associated works as well. Ergo, the first book you write next, etc., though the language there is a little more generic and I’m not entirely sure how that would work. It can also be applied to all lengths and forms, as in you write a short story tie-in and the first refusal terminology wasn’t strict enough to ignore short stories. (This can happen even if the publisher doesn’t even TAKE short stories. So can be a little silly.)

When looking at your contract, make sure that 1) the right of first refusal is specific, and 2) that there is a specific time limit they must respond to once you have proof of submission.

~Emmi

Coffee & Conversation: Contract Terms Series (Non-Compete)

23 Monday Aug 2021

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advice, answer, author, contract, essay, non-fiction, nonfiction, prose, question, terms, writer, Writing, writing advice

Contract Terms Series (IANAL)

There’s a bunch of contract terms for writers that can be difficult to parse for newcomers to the genre, so I want to go over a few in a short, easy contract terms series.

(Note: I am not a lawyer. I am merely speaking from experience on the author side.)

NON-COMPETE

This is a confusing one. Non-compete has to do with non-competition.

Now, some of this might feel like another way of saying exclusivity, so that the publisher’s version of your words/story doesn’t have to compete with another publisher’s version of your words/story. You can think about this concerning versions of books that are out of copyright, like say, a lot of classics. You can buy many, many different versions of the classics, right? Well, all those versions are competing with one another, kind of. But this isn’t quite all what non-compete clauses tend to do, though exclusivity clauses can be called non-compete clauses in some contracts.

In a lot of ways non-compete clauses can be…well…not good. At least for the author.

Publishers make money by selling many books by many different authors. Authors make money by selling fewer books/stories to many different publishers. What this means is, if an author has two novels, but a publisher only wants to publish one of them, the author then needs to shop the second novel with OTHER publishers in order to make money from its sale. Sames goes for novel three, or any number of short stories, novellas, and even non-fiction. Not every publisher wants the same kind of stories. Not every publisher wants the same length of stories. Not every publisher can take all a single writer write sometimes.

A non-compete clause can cut off that author’s capability of making a living if it’s worded nefariously.

What a non-compete clause can enforce is an author not attempting to publish anything else at the same time as the contracted ‘work’ will be published, or to work with another publisher at the same time. So you can see how this can really limit authors.

Non-compete clauses are basically a publisher’s desire not to undermine their bottom line if an author were to sell elsewhere. In theory, it’s an understandable gesture, particularly if it’s brought in from other career fields where the non-compete clause is meant to stop people from going after company clients, etc. But in the publishing sphere, stopping an author from shopping their other books can be a death knell. A not very nice one.

So when looking over your contracts, make sure you 1) read your non-compete clause closely to make sure it doesn’t handcuff you to a single publisher.

~Emmi

Coffee & Conversation: Contract Terms Series (Language)

16 Monday Aug 2021

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Contract Terms Series (IANAL)

There’s a bunch of contract terms for writers that can be difficult to parse for newcomers to the genre, so I want to go over a few in a short, easy contract terms series.

(Note: I am not a lawyer. I am merely speaking from experience on the author side.)

LANGUAGE

This is an easy one. Language rights has to do with what language the contract holder has the right to publish the words/story in. Might seem like a simple, pointless thing to think about, but it’s not.

Translation rights are impacted by language grabs. And some authors make A LOT of money on translation rights. (I’m not one of them, but maybe one day).

Please note that where you can SELL a book is not the same as LANGUAGE rights. For instance, if I wanted to sell a book in Brazil, I need the right and ownership to do so and it can be in any language I want, including English. If, on the other and, I wanted to sell a book written in Portuguese, I need Portuguese rights, and this is not impacted in any way by the right to publish in particular countries. I’m using Brazil and Portuguese as my example because of the difference in name, but the same can be said for Germany/German, Spain/Spanish, etc.

Language/= right to sell in particular country.

If you sell First English Rights for Paperback, Exclusive for Three years, you are selling the right for the publisher to be the first place and only place (for three years) to publish and sell your book in the paperback format in the English language. They would not have the right to publish a German translation in any country, whether first or not.

Language is important! There are A LOT of languages out there. If your book explodes, for instance, and you don’t specific ENGLISH (or whatever your first/selling language is), then your publisher has the RIGHT to translate your book in however many languages they want. They still have to pay your royalties based on your contract wording on how much you get per format sale, but you would lose the opportunity to negotiate your own translation deals for possibly better royalty rates.

When looking at language in your contract, make sure that 1) the contract specifies the exact language(s) that the publisher will be using. Otherwise, they can grab all those languages and argue that the wording of your contract allows it.

~Emmi

Coffee & Conversation: Contract Terms Series (Formats)

02 Monday Aug 2021

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answer, contract, essay, non-fiction, nonfiction, question, terms, writer, Writing

Contract Terms Series (IANAL)

There’s a bunch of contract terms for writers that can be difficult to parse for newcomers to the genre, so I want to go over a few in a short, easy contract terms series.

(Note: I am not a lawyer. I am merely speaking from experience on the author side.)

FORMATS

When it comes to contracts, generally the more specific the better on the author’s side. Formats is one really good example of this, as often times contracts can make grabs for many formats without the publisher having any intention of using them.

Formats include all the different ways words can be published. Such as: paperback, hardback, audio, eBook, etc. These can be even more specific, for instance: mass market paperback vs trade paperback. And they can be incredibly generalized, for instance: multiple formats or any and all formats.

Most of the time when in contract negotiations, there is a specific type of format that the publisher wants. This could be an electronic format, for example; eEbook publication is generally the cheapest method of publication, taking the least out of a publishers finances. However, in case of a book doing particularly well, the publisher might want an option clause of some sort that claims other formats. For instance, they might request paperback rights for a particular period of time after they exercise their eBook format right in order to take advantage of a well-selling book.

Sometimes publisher contracts will request a dual format, with online and audio. This is often in the case of free online magazines.

Sometimes publisher contracts will request online rights with a limited time option for audio. Sometimes the publisher contracts could request eBook/electronic format, with an option to include the words/story in an end-of-year or best-of collection.

Please be careful signing anything that doesn’t give you any sort of compensation for extra formats if the option for them to be published in those formats is in the contract.

Also please be careful signing anything that vaguely gives away “multiple formats” in the contract. Seriously, who knows what they mean by that. And if the place specifies “first rights” in those “multiple formats” it can tie your hands up a lot in regards to future ways to sell the words. Even if the contract merely is reprint/non-exclusive rights for those “multiple formats,” this can cause problems for you if you try to sell first rights of a particular format elsewhere only to have the previous publisher decide they want to do it first. They have the right to do that because you signed that right to them (probably without compensation), and you will end up in breach of contract with the second publication.

So try to get your contracts to 1) be specific in what kind of formats they plan on publishing, and 2) explain the situation when extra formats will be published, and 3) document what your compensation will be if the option to publish in those extra formats are exercised.

~Emmi

Coffee & Conversation: Contract Terms Series (First Rights)

26 Monday Jul 2021

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Contract Terms Series (IANAL)

There’s a bunch of contract terms for writers that can be difficult to parse for newcomers to the genre, so I want to go over a few in a short, easy contract terms series.

(Note: I am not a lawyer. I am merely speaking from experience on the author side.)

FIRST RIGHTS

First rights are essentially the right to first publication. This means that the words being licensed have never been published before in the specific way they are being sold. In other words: The words are not being reprinted. They are original.

There are many kinds of first rights, which is why it’s important to know and understand them. First rights also tend to be worth more than reprint rights, which is another reason they matter so much.

For instance: You can have first audio rights, which are different from first paperback rights. You can have first English rights, which is different than first Spanish rights. You can have first anthology rights, first eBook rights, first audio, etc.

Any contract that attempts to claim ALL first rights, particularly without actually having any intention of using all those first rights, should be contested and requested to have a rewording.

By allowing a particular contract access to all first rights without them having clauses giving those rights back to you, you can end up with a story that can never be published in certain formats. Which is not cool.

~Emmi