I'm occasionally (okay: once) accused of using guest bloggers at times when my own work constricts my blog-writing time (how could you ever think such a thing, Rick?), but today's guest blogger has nothing to do with my deadlines.

I've been watching the stormclouds gather in publishing circles over Google's recent announcement that its book search tool will let people print classics as well as other books no longer under copyright. (Up until now, onscreen delivery has been the only method for accessing said books.)

Google's book search service is part of the Books Library, a wider project to put books online in a searchable format; working with Google are Oxford University, Harvard, Stanford, the University of Michigan, the University of California, and the New York Public Library.

Project Gutenberg is already copying out-of-copyright books as text files, and has been doing for some time, without the current uproar; moreover, according to a report by BBC News, other companies are already doing what Google proposes to do – it's just the name that has writers vociferious in their opposition.Google's book searching device does not access books still under copyright. How much clearer can that be?

But there's still a great deal of panic, and as it happens, my colleague Albert Ervine gave an answer to it in an online forum that is far better than anything I'd be able to write. So I am quoting him, with permission, here:

Somehow this sounds like the reaction of the Irishman who panicked when he heard the world was going to end in ten million years and was relieved to find that it was really a hundred million. For Google's actions to present a problem, several things are necessary:

1. Write a classic, not just a best-seller. Some classics -- like "Walden"-- started life on the remaindered shelf. Some best-sellers, like most of the Victorian era "three deckers," died with their era. A "classic," for lack of a better definition, is a book that is required reading in a literature course. Used copies can usually be identified by copious underlining on the first few pages. They are in good supply because few ever read them after the end of the semester. The accompanying Cliff Notes are usually pretty tattered, though.

2. Assuming you have written a classic -- and that anyone outside of academia has noticed -- the copyright is good for fifty years or so after your death. If your opus is also a continuing bestseller, the royalties might help your great-grandchildren get through college, something most of us have difficulty providing for our immediate children. Anything beyond that verges on providing eternal security, a condition more properly addressed by religion than copyright. Just how greedy can you get if you're not a member of ASCAP?

3. Dr. Johnson said, "No one but a blockhead ever wrote except for money," a sentiment suitable for lexicographers and other "harmless drudges," but it's hard to believe that Johnson didn't enjoy the recognition his dictionary brought him. It may even have sold a few copies of "Rasselas," though it's hard to see what else would have. However, most of us blockheads would be happy enough to know that someone was still reading and enjoying our stories next year, let alone next century. The money is nice, or would be, but with inflation and all...

In any case, as someone pointed out, the Gutenberg Project has been making yesteryear's classics available online for as long as there has been a line to put them on. In addition, they offer free DVDs with the complete texts of several thousand books, including quite a few best-selling non-classics like those of Edgar Rice Burroughs and "Victor Appleton." Well worth the price.

There are also several sites that turn selected texts into more readable format than plain text, and others dedicated to single authors like John Bunyan or specialized groups like the Puritans or the "Church Fathers." The site for Victorian Women Writers has also embalmed a large number of the "three deckers" for those with antiquarian interests.

All in all, I think we should worry less about getting into "Who's Who" than about winding up in "Who's he?"

Thanks today to Albert Ervine, who is way... beyond the elements of style!


***
Jeannette Cézanne
Customline Wordware:
Custom Copy To Go!
***

Want some new story ideas? Sorry: you're out of luck. It's probably true, as they say, that every story has already been told... and retold... and retold. Like the people in marketing say, though, it's all about spin.

And you could do worse than to re-spin some of the classics.

I'm not talking Shakespeare: he's a little cliché by now. No: I'm going further back, to the fertile ground of Greek and Roman mythology. If you want stories with passion, humor, love and death, look no further.

I'll just take one example to whet your appetite: one version of the Minotaur story goes like this:

Ariadne fell in love with the Athenian hero Theseus, who had been charged with rescuing the youth of Athens held by Ariadne's father, the king of Crete; in the process, Theseus had to kill the Minotaur, a great beast held in the center of Daedalus's famous labyrinth. Ariadne helped Theseus (who in turn promised to marry her and take her with him to Athens when he left Crete) find his way through the labyrinth and kill the Minotaur by giving him two special gifts: a sword, and a string that would enable him to find his way back out. (In French, the clue to unraveling a puzzle is still known as the fil d'Ariane -- Aradne's thread.)

As promised, she left Crete with Theseus and the rescued Athenian youth and they stopped on the island of Naxos. While Ariadne slept, however, Theseus apparently had second thoughts; he no longer needed her, and so he (and the youth he had rescued) sailed away in the night, leaving the Cretan princess alone on the island.

Theseus's karma caught up with him later, but that's another story. In the meantime, back on Naxos, the god Dionysus took a good look at Ariadne and fell in love with her himself. When she died, he took the circlet of flowers she'd worn in her hair and flung it up into the heavens, thereby creating the Corona constellation of stars.

Tell me that isn't a brilliant story! How would you update it? Which stars in the sky can you make stories to explain?

Mine some of the ancient stories for their truths and insights into humanity. Use it as a writing exerice sometime and you'll be... beyond the elements of style!


Jeannette Cézanne
Customline Wordware
Custom Copy To Go!

It's because of a car. Really.

Most of you reading this today will be far too young to remember the Ford Customline. That's okay: I'm far too young to remember the Ford Customline! But it does exist (see picture) and my husband owns one, an old car that belonged in its heyday to his late aunt.

So that's the Customline piece.

I'd been freelancing for a lot of years before I met and married Paul, but when I did, he pointed out my hopeless lack of organization and business acumen. Some years before, he had started a consulting business that he called Customline Software. So it seemed fairly obvious for me to tag along with Wordware.

I'm happy to say that Customline Wordware has grown and flourished, so much so that it has completely eclipsed its former Web-mate, Customline Software. I don't know how Paul feels about that; but he was right: whether you're a writer, an editor, or -- as I am -- both, you need to treat what you do as a business.

Whether or not you name it after a car is, of course, up to you!

Behave in a businesslike manner and you'll see that people begin to treat you that way, too. It's the only way that writers and editors will be given the respect that they deserve. And when you do, you'll be... beyond the elements of style!



Jeannette Cézanne
Customline Wordware: Custom Copy To Go!

We're still a few months off from November, but I'd like to spend a few moments this Friday giving thanks anyway.

It's been an insanely busy week here at Customline Wordware, and I've found my brain working more slowly than usual. At times like this, one really appreciates one's friends and colleagues.

So I'll talk about two of them. Those of you who listen to my radio show, The World of Publishing, have already met both these people: Susanna J. Sturgis and Dick Margulis.

Susanna J. Sturgis (Susanna's Web site) is a brilliant writer and editor, who has opened my mind to literature I would not have explored on my own and has herself pushed the envelope in helping establish a feminist presence within the science fiction genre and community. She listens to my often-snide comments and puts them in context, and has been willing to share a lot of her own hard-earned wisdom and techniques with me. She's turned me on to music I'd never heard before and her blog (Susanna's Bloggery) is filled with thoughts I wish I'd had. (Read her words. Often.) And when my world is particularly crazy, she always provides a dose of sanity and calm.

Dick Margulis (Dick's Web site) has intimidated me for as long as I've known him. This man is just too perfect. He's an editor's editor; he guides his clients with caring and aplomb through the maze of self-publishing; he always has time to answer even the most inane of questions – while making one feel that they weren't all that inane, after all. I check his blog (Words/Myth/Ampers & Virgule) regularly for updates on language and publishing (and so should you), and he's the first person I think of when I have a phrase to untangle or an elusive term to track down. When a plea for help is thrown out in an editors' forum, I think, "I'll answer that when I have time, not right now." Dick thinks, "I'll answer that right now." And his answers are invariably thoughtful and complete.

I'm immensely grateful that these two people are in my world. Take a moment and visit their Web sites and blogs. You may find that one of them is just the right fit for your next project.

They are most definitely... beyond the elements of style!


Jeannette Cézanne
Customline Wordware: Custom Copy To Go!
http://www.customline.com

Funny you should ask.

I was talking about Web sites with one of my clients recently, and I was reminded once again that people simply do not put enough thought into the design and copy of their sites. Ah, there's the rub: everyone talks about Web site design, but who spends much time thinking about the words?

"I can write," most people think. "I can write well," most authors think. Neither thought translates into good Web copy. There are niches in writing just as there are in everything else: there is absolutely no reason to believe, for example, that a successful romance author can write successful Web copy.

Apples and oranges.

Interestingly, while I write copy for a great many Web sites, I haven't written any of the copy for the Web sites that my company, Customline Wordware, designs. Why? We specialize in Web sites for writers and publishers – all of whom want to write their own copy. Which may or may not be a good idea.

Compared to other forms of communication – magazines, books, films, broadcast media – a Web site is very limited. This needs to be understood at the very beginning. A Web site needs to have one function, and then be designed around that function. For example, if your Web site is meant to sell shoes, then you don’t also want to include photos from your last anniversary party, or an article about your beekeeping hobby – or even an American flag to announce your political beliefs.

The copy needs to reinforce that function, briefly and clearly. This is not the time for long flowing sentences or clever literary quips. People visit Web sites fast -- they're in, they're out. Your copy needs to grab their attention and keep them there long enough for your site to fulfill its function.

Long before any HTML is anticipated, you need to articulate the function -- or goal -- of your Web site. It might be any of the following:

*Business site: a place to sell your product
*Information site: a place to provide data, links, etc.
*Entertainment site: a place to have fun

Once you have your goal, keep it in mind every step of the way. Doing flash graphics might be fun, but does it meet your site’s goal? Does everything that you want to place on your site work toward the site’s goal?

If it doesn’t, don’t even think of putting it there!

Here are a few suggestions for you to bear in mind when thinking about your Web site design and copy:

Ease of Use: Find out what most people accessing your site are coming there for, and make that the easiest thing to do. Alternately, think about what you want them to do, and make that the easiest thing to do. Use a big, bright button to get them to work toward your goal.

Speed: If you use a lot of graphics, your site will load slowly. If you use a lot of flash animation, your site will load slowly. If you think that people are so fascinated by what you have to say that they will wait patiently for the site to load, then go for it. Personally, I think that this isn’t a chance that you want to take.

Color: Use it for emphasis. Never use blue text, because readers will think it is a link. Do not play with colored text against a colored background. It might look good to you, but it may disappear for those with color blindness.

Background: You will probably want to make yours white. Really. Don’t use any other background color unless it’s absolutely necessary – there are too many variables out there (different browser, different video hardware, etc.) that might make it look different than you want it to. If you are using graphics, and you probably are, using a white background will make your graphic designer’s job much easier, and the end product better. Navigating a site with a dark or black background may look chic, but it’s like driving a car at night. Visibility is reduced, and you won’t see the road signs as well.

Consistency: A button should do the same thing on every page of your site. So should tabs, links, etc.

Clarity: Don’t put too many different elements on the same page. It can be confusing to a visitor, and many will give up if they cannot immediately do what they want to do, or if they do not understand the layout of your site. If the appearance of your Web site is more important than the content, it’s a sure sign of a beginner at work.

Complexity: Map out your site ahead of time. A site that’s difficult to navigate will be hard to maintain, Think about locating information easily. In general, the simpler it is, the better.

So there it is. Web site design 101. Follow these easy suggestions, and you'll have a Web site... beyond the elements of style!

Jeannette Cézanne
Customline Wordware: Custom Copy To Go!
http://www.customline.com

I need to talk some more about rejection letters, because it seems that a lot of people have been receiving them recently, and distress is the least of the emotions expressed on several lists and among writers that I know.

You don't want to hear this, but I'll say it anyway: Don't be distressed. Don't take it personally.

A rejection is never personal. How can it be? They don't know you well enough for it to be personal! A rejected manuscript didn't fit the agent's or publisher's list, interests, timing, etc. It's not about you.

Author Rebecca Coleman recently said, "Finding an agent is like dating. Would you date three guys and expect one of the three to be your soulmate and offer a proposal? I hope not!"

Good point.

Terry Burns, a guest on one of my radio shows and a Western writer, says, "A slam on our writing? No, if they reject they do it on such a small sampling of the writing, or even none at all, that it has almost nothing to do with the quality of the writing. They are looking at whether the genre, concept, or story idea -- or other factors that might make it a fit for their house -- are there. If they don't think it's a fit, they really aren't interested in how good the writing is. In fact, they'd rather not read something they aren't going to be able to buy anyway."

You are not your writing, no matter how you might feel that you are. A rejection is a stepping-stone to finding the right agent or the right publisher. It's never pleasant; but the professional takes it in stride and amasses anecdotes to discuss later... when he or she is beyond the elements of style!


Jeannette Cézanne
Customline Wordware: Custom Copy To Go!
www.customline.com

Many first-time authors find themselves in the literary equivalent of sticker shock when it comes time to send their manuscripts out to be edited. And it's never fun to be the bearer of bad tidings.

On the other hand, authors generally don't understand the combination of expertise, time, effort, and scheduling it takes for an editor to work on their manuscripts. I am reminded of the air conditioning technician who came to repair a unit and, locating the special place to aim, kicked it smartly, causing it to start up again. The homeowner was astonished when presented with a bill for two thousand dollars. "But all you did was kick it!"

"That's right," rejoined the technician. "But it's knowing just where to kick -- that's why you called me."

Editing is a little like that. Anyone can rephrase words on a page; but it's knowing which ones to change, and why; it's having knowledge about different style guides, technical issues, domain information, the world of publishing in general, and -- well, it's about knowing just where to kick.

So there are some good reasons for the cost of editing. Add to that the understanding that freelance editors pay for everything out of their income -- taxes, rent, equipment, professional memberships -- as well as the reality that some manuscripts do in fact require a great deal of work, and you'll start to have a sense of what goes into the cost of editing.

Weigh that against the advantages of having your manuscript edited, and you'll realize that in the long run, it's well worth the cost. You'll never have a second chance to make a first impression, and the same is true for your writing.

And then you'll be... beyond the elements of style!



Jeannette Cézanne
Customline Wordware: Custom Copy To Go!
www.customline.com

So what's this Nanowrimo?

You may have heard about it, here and there on the Web. The general idea is that you have a month in which to write a novel -- or a set number of words, whichever happens first. One month. November, to be exact.

You're given a lot of support. There are Internet forums set up for information, discussion, and just plain complaining. There are local groups as well: I know of one that meets every Friday afternoon during the month at a coffeehouse where they write together.

So what's the point?

Here's the thing: read Monday's blog entry, if you want to refresh your memory. Writing is about applying your derrière to the chair: it's about just getting the stuff down. What better way than to commit in public to getting it done? Like my work during my residency last June, it's not perfect. It's a draft. But I got the words on the paper, and so can you.

Just in case you think it's just me, I selected a vict-ahem, a guest blogger to tell you all about it:


"I'm Rick, and it's been eight months since my last NANOWRIMO. I wake up daily, rush to my computer, and add words to my current novel, yearning to share my progress with the world. Then I remember, NANOWRIMO occurs only in November, and we are barely into August.

"Jeannette asked me to pinch-hit for her because, well, I think she has deadlines she's been avoiding. Nevertheless, her reason to me was that I had been a participant in the National Novel Writing Month (NANOWRIMO) the past three years, and she wanted me to share some of my experiences and offer tips.

"According to the website (http://www.nanowrimo.org/ ), the "National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30." Some people scoff at the idea of writing a novel in a month. Everyone knows that writing a novel takes years of poverty and angst-ridden misfortune. Humbug. With a modicum of preparation and a few hours of disciplined writing each night, the goal is achievable. I know. I've achieved it twice in the last three years, and now have two novels ready for querying.

"The website, with its numerous forums, provides many tips for the writer that I won't duplicate here. Chris Baty, the founder of NANOWRIMO, has even written a book about the experience, "No Plot, No Problem." Each author writes to the tap of his or her own keystrokes. I find no plot to be a huge problem, so this is how I prepare.

"Starting now, the idea festers into a story. Then, I take three days prior to November 1 to focus on the story. I identify the main characters and create a bare-bones character outline for each: height, weight, eye and hair color, age, marital status, size of family, ethnicity, etc. Sketching out the first scene, the last scene, and the major turning point scenes in the novel, provides the skeleton of the story. I write a 25-word synopsis of the main plot to give the story focus. Identifying the main characters' motives helps because, as you write, the story may draw you in (good), but the direction may be lost (potentially bad).

"The sign-up for NANOWRIMO begins October 1. At that point, let your friends and family know what you are doing in November. Prepare them for the reality that you won't be around much. Remind them several times. Close the door, take the phone off the hook, and log-off the Internet while you write. Do your November chores in October: pay the bills early, pre-write birthday cards, and fill up the freezer with prepared meals. You will need the time.

"It's 1,667 words per day to meet the goal, but I usually set the target higher, because, just like in bowling, it is very hard to catch up once you fall behind.

"I'm Rick, and I'm a NANOWRIMO addict. Please join me."


I should note that my guest knows what he's talking about: Rick Bylina is the winner of the 2006 Writer's Retreat Workshop Gary Provost Scholarship. He lives and writes in angst-ridden poverty in Apex, North Carolina. His mantra? The only rule: writers write! Everything else is a guideline.

Rick is definitely a writer who is... beyond the elements of style!


Jeannette Cézanne
Customline Wordware: Custom Copy To Go!
www.customline.com