Happy New Year!

Let's see ... is this the year you'll finish your novel? It could well be!

Short of entering into NaNoWriMo in November (see a previous blog entry by Rick Bylina for a description of this event/experience), what you can do is carve out time and set yourself some rasonable deadlines to get them accomplished.

For many people, procrastination is New Year's resolutions' worst enemy. It’s such a popular one that it’s made the news: an MIT professor found that when he allowed his students to give themselves their own homework deadlines, they would artificially restrict themselves to counter procrastination – though they did not set deadlines for optimal effectiveness. The professor’s comments and the study itself can be found here.

So set yourself deadlines that you actually can meet, and you'll find, perhaps, that 2007 is your year! And then you'll be ... beyond the elements of style!



Jeannette Cézanne
Customline Wordware, Inc.

So… not to ignite or continue any Mac versus PC wars, but as the year nears its end I think about how grateful I am for Macintosh applications making my life a lot easier.

I’ve been a Mac girl for almost as long as I’ve been using a computer.

I started with a PC (actually, no, I lie: I started with a cp/m machine a very long time ago), but eventually saw that, whereas I was spending hours and hours in Computer Hell every time I wanted to do anything, my friends with Macs never spent more than minutes there. Sometimes seconds. Then I got a job teaching, and that was the final bit of persuasion that I needed. I switched, and I’ve never looked back.

These days, I write and edit for a living. And the best thing that ever happened to my writing – at least in terms of tools – is OSX’s introduction of the Dock. It was great in Jaguar and it’s getting even better with each successive jungle cat.

Not only do I have immediate access to all of the applications I need, easily reached through really colorful and easily identifiable icons, but I also have immediate access to all of my current works in progress, just a click away, without taking up valuable screen space. I use a MacBook, so believe me, screen space is at a premium here!

I’m a very visual person, so whenever I start writing or editing a new project – novel, short story, article, etc. – I do a Google images search to help me find a suitable image that I transform (literally within a minute) into an icon that represents the new project’s folder. That’s what then goes into the Dock for me to click and open. So I have a colorful, creative lineup of projects and applications that’s uniquely mine. Moreover, it’s tailored to my specific needs. Never before has using a computer felt less like computing.

My husband is a Macintosh developer, and I can hear him swearing, sometimes, from his office down the hallway from mine. The reality is that it’s harder to code for a Mac than it is for a pc –- for the exact reason that I’m so happy with my Dock. Mac programmers make sure that the end-user doesn’t have to deal with playing computer.

I’m grateful to them all. They help me get… beyond the elements of style!




Jeannette Cézanne
Customline Wordware, Inc.

What is it that publishers are looking for? Are they waiting for the next Dick Francis, the next Stephen King, the next Danielle Steel? Does the nonfiction proposal you craft have to be about whatever happens to be popular – next year? Or do you have a chance of getting out of the slush pile and published, even if your book doesn't fit into any of those stereotypes?

The answer is, yes. You have a chance. But you need to play by their rules in order to get there.

The first thing that agents, editors, and publishers are looking for, before any other consideration, is marketing. They want an author who can promote his or her book. Wait a minute -- isn't that like putting the cart in front of the horse? Shouldn't the book, first and foremost, be brilliant and original before worrying about marketing?

You'd think so. But that would mean that you're not playing by the rules. And the first rule in publishing is Market Thyself.

Like it or not, a sale is much more likely if you are an expert writing about your subject of expertise, whether in fiction or nonfiction. Look at all of the novels about forensics experts written by forensics experts, the novels about lawyers written by lawyers. Editors and publishers want to know that you know what you're talking about. If you're an expert, then they assume you do, and can promote you that way. If you're not an expert, think about taking one on as co-author.

And that is just the beginning. You need to make it clear from the start that you will do what it takes to advertise your book. That you're ready and willing to construct and maintain a Web site, that you're ready for book tours, that you'll break down doors to get reviews and interviews. Show yourself to be creative, energetic, and perseverant, and you've come a long way toward winning your editor's heart.

The second thing that you need to project is professionalism. Take the time to learn what is expected of you, and do it. If the publication wants submissions between October and June only, submit between October and June only. Show in your query letters that you are not broadcasting them randomly (even if you are) but know something about the publishing house to which you're addressing yourself.

Don't call the editor unless she or he invites you to do so. Don't ever send anything that is hand-written. Don't ever mention that your mother likes your work.

If you want to be treated as a professional, act like one!

Finally, be able to encapsulate your concept or idea in as few words as possible. If you can't articulate it, no one will buy it. Try what is called an "elevator conversation" -- describe your book in the time it would take you to tell someone about it on an elevator. Can't do it? Then you're not ready to try and get a publisher's attention.

If you don't know what you're doing, it will show. This is your job now, treat it the same way you'd treat any new job: by playing by the rules, being flexible and professional, and by using every opportunity to press your concept home.

It can be done, but not unless you're willing to do your homework -- first! And then you'll be ... beyond the elements of style!


Jeannette Cézanne
Customline Wordware, Inc.

Labels: editors, getting published, publishers, publishing, submissions

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. We spend so much of our lives immersed in our professions that in many ways our work has become our life. We may not like that fact; we may do what we can to convince ourselves that “real life” is what we do outside of work; but the reality is that the number of hours spent earning a living does, in fact, add up to that living itself.

So it makes sense that at some point, most people need to examine what their work entails, and if it is, indeed, how they want to spend their time, energy, and creativity.

Does this mean that you should quit your job, go volunteer to work in a shelter kitchen or start a new company? Of course not. We all have obligations. My husband, for example, cannot currently leave a well-paying job that is becoming more and more frustrating to him – his child support payments are based on that salary, and the way family courts work, should he take a lower-paying but more fulfilling job, his support payments would not be reduced: they're based on potential rather than real earnings. Other people have education debts, mortgage or rent payments, financial obligations that require a certain level of income. So changing jobs, finding fulfilling work, is never as simple as it seems.

But it's still a topic that merits thought, even if it means starting planning now for something that might not happen for a few (or quite a few!) years.

What would make your work-life more meaningful?

Is there something that you can do now that would take it in a more meaningful direction? What about going back to school to study something you've always wanted to do? What about using the education that you have now to try something different – what if you were to think creatively about the different things that you could do with your present education and experience?

How does your work reflect your values? Is there something that you could do differently so that it is more aligned with who you feel yourself to be? Does that mean starting your own company, or joining one that is already doing what you think you should be doing?

There are no easy answers to any of these questions. But life without change and growth will eventually stagnate, and your work-life is no different from any other part of your life. Start taking some small steps now to feel better about how you spend your time, your training, and your energy, and you may find when it's time to retire that you don't really want to, after all!

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



Jeannette Cézanne
Customline Wordware, Inc.

I was walking downtown yesterday (heading to the local independent bookseller, of course) when I saw a pair of crutches leaning against the side of a building.

They were still there an hour and a half later.

My stepdaughter Anastasia is starting to write, and I’ve bought her a few books that she uses for exercises – one of them timed exercises! – but frankly, I couldn’t come up with anything better than this: the image of those crutches leaning against the brick wall of a building on a downtown street. For hours.

What were they doing there? Why were they left? To whom did they belong?

I’m sending them along to her as an exercise. You might want to try it, too _ and then you'll be beyond the elements of style!



Jeannette Cézanne
Customline Wordware, Inc.