Ideas Picked Up at Left Coast Crime 2011 in Santa Fe

I picked up on a couple of possible emerging trends while attending the Left Coast Crime Conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico. By the way, the organizers this year did a bang up job and deserve copious kudos! I particularly enjoyed the Cuento channel, not just because my own presentation was a Cuento, but because I found the topics presented in that track to be the most innovative or provocative. I also appreciated being 'showcased' at the  new authors breakfast, a particularly gracious idea cooked up by our thoughtful hosts.

Now, to the trends --

A new sub genre seems to be emerging, called variously Cozy Thrillers or Thrillzies. I have seen references to this fledgling category in the blogosphere, but it was useful to hear it 'validated' at a major conference. Women authors are penning more thrillers, but their work tends to be less violent, dark and fever-paced compared to the classic thriller. I think my own mystery/triller, A POINTED DEATH, falls in this category.

I also noticed quite a few authors who are writing amateur sleuth books that feature a female protagonist from the world of science, technology or medicine. I am not talking about forensic pathologists and other science-trained individuals who work in law enforcement and detection. I mean science types who are in the private sector or the academy. This is a great trend that reflects the progress women have made and the changed face of the modern American workplace.

I've come up with a designation for this emerging sub genre, the SASSIES, for Scientific Amateur Sleuth Sisters. If you are an author who fits in the SASS grouping, drop me an email. (russellwrites@gmail.com)

To all my friends at LCC, see you next year in Sacramento CA!

The Femme Fatales on Thrillzies

Designing Winning Protagonists for Today's Mystery Market

Image via Wikipedia

This is the title of my upcoming presentation at Left Coast Crime 2011
in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which was selected as a Cuento presentation.

What do reader demographics and buying patterns tell us about what the
contemporary reader wants? How do you design characters to appeal to
big segments of the market? Can fictional characters be positive role
models for readers, especially younger readers? Let's have some fun
predicting what future 'breakthrough' protagonists will be like!

                                                     That's what I'm going to be talking about. Hope to see you there!

Kindle-ing a Love Affair with eBooks

After I returned home from the California Crime Writers Conference, where I saw editors, agents and authors toting their devices around from session to session, stealing peeks at their latest reading matter in moments of downtime, I signed on to my Amazon account and ordered my Kindle. It was time.

Earlier that week, I was in a doctor's waiting room with my mother and I watched two people reading eBooks contentedly as I fumed. I had forgotten to bring along the novel I was reading and the magazine choices in the waiting room ranged from awful to pathetic. Then there was that conversation with my cousin, who was thinking about buying a Kindle so that she could order books in bed. You know that moment at 2:00 am when you finish a great book, you are wide awake, there are no extra books on the nightstand and if you get out of bed, you'll freeze your tootsies on the cold floor or fall over the dog on the way to your bookshelf.

It was clear to me that Kindle mania was reaching critical mass and that I had arrived at that time in a new technology's market penetration when I was comfortable with being a buyer. I plunked the Kindle down into my shopping cart and headed for checkout.

A few days later, I opened the front door to rescue our newspaper from the sprinkler system and found the Amazon box waiting for me. Kindle's packaging was beautiful, functional and reasonably easy to unwrap, which is saying a lot these days, when you can send yourself to the emergency room trying to open some new products. Who are these guys who attended the Fort Knox school of package design anyway?

I bought the jacket for my Kindle. Now I'm not so sure I needed to do that. Of course, I haven't traveled with my device yet, so maybe I am speaking too soon. However, my original reason for opting for the cover was my belief that the device would feel more like a book and I would be more comfortable holding it if it had a spine and a front and back. Now I realize that was a silly assumption. Holding the naked Kindle is a very satisfying experience. I think I am channeling some atavistic persona, an ancient version of myself who remembers reading from tablets in ancient Greece or scrolls in Imperial Rome.

Reading books on Kindle gives me a new relationship with the printed word. I am discovering the physicality of words all over again just as I did when I got my first Mac in 1985 or bought the really big monitor for my new HP last year. I also recalled the experience of giving up chalk in favor of that first white board and how delicious it was to follow the smooth glide of the marker across the surface. I wonder how long it will be before this fresh perspective wears off, but for right now it is like that first rather formal handshake with an important new acquaintance, the mutual regard and the unmistakable sensation that a new journey has begun that will leave you changed for the better. The enchantment of embarking on a voyage is enhanced by the impressive portraits of favorite authors that appear like book plates when Kindle is on, but sleeping. Poe, Twain, and Dickinson invite you to pass beyond the screen into a world of endless pleasure, rendered boundless by digital wizardry.

Of course, I did some serious buying and have a nice cyber shelf or two of books to look forward to, but I also downloaded some free books, including Washington Irving's Legend of Sleepy Hollow. How delightful to read the opening pages of that tale again! Irving's observations about the contrast in pace between the bustling cities of his time and the rural valley of farm people at the center of his story seemed more modern and knowing than President Obama's guns and religion remarks.

But the really fun thing I did this morning was to load my own manuscripts and read them on the Kindle. It took me a while to realize that the Kindle power cord also is a computer UBS cord and I wasted time looking for a cable that would work with my Kindle, but once I studied the picture of the cable in the online store, I realized Amazon had given me all that I required. I needed to save my files as text documents before I dragged and dropped them into the Kindle document folder, but this only took a few moments. I wanted to read my own creative writing on my Kindle early on, before the newness of the device wears off. Voila! There were my titles nestled in the list with the bestsellers I had purchased! Wow! Wowie Wow Wow!

Once I got over the rush of publishing myself for myself, I came down out of the clouds and saw what was really powerful about doing this. Reading your own work on Kindle is not only exciting, it is as useful in its way as reading your manuscript aloud or putting your book away for a month and coming back to it fresh. It is another editing exercise that you can use to improve your writing. Seeing your paragraphs on the Kindle page forces you to compare your work to published material. The flow of the prose, the rhythm of the dialogue sections, the pacing, the chapter breaks -- you'll be looking at all of this and more with a critical eye, made more discriminating by this new technology. Now, go back to the menu and press the text-to-speech button. Wow! Wowie Wow Wow!

Related articles by Zemanta

• How the Kindle Can Compete with the Sexier iPad (fool.com)
• Kindle for Android: Basic, But Welcome (pcworld.com)
• Kindle best-sellers: Larsson leads, Patterson debuts in a top spot (independent.co.uk)

Taking Writer's Conferences to the Next Level

In a 6/22 post on In Reference to Murder (http://inreferencetomurder.typepad.com), BV Lawson offered some very interesting reflections, including links to others with something to say (Jenny Bent, Debra Webb and Barbara D'Amato), about the value of writer's conferences. With so many conferences competing in an economy that is showing few signs of vigor, organizers should be looking for ways to differentiate their product. Even if this weren't the case, I think attendees and presenters who have been traveling to these events for several years would welcome some judicious innovation.

How can we as a community take our conferences to the next level? What are some of the problems we might solve if we shook things up a little? We're all familiar with the standard fare - tracks to please writers at different stages of professional development, the learned panel of (fill in the blank with agents, editors, authors), the star-studded keynote speaker, the pitch session, the smarmy rewrite workshop, the late night reading session, the no-host cocktail party where three agents huddle together in self defense against a tidal wave of publishing wannabes. As I get to know more agents, I am developing real empathy for them in this all-too-familiar moment. It must be unsettling to face a stampede of calculating strangers threatening to pin you to the facade of the portable bar before you can snatch your glass of Chateau d'Plonk and retreat behind the nametag table.

Opportunity #1: Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could invent fresher ways for people to get to know each other? As a group we are never short on words and we know exactly what to say in dialogue, but put us in front of a stranger and we are as tongue-tied as a minister at a pole dancer convention.

Opportunity #2: Wouldn't it be great if we could deliver basic information in exciting, new formats so that even those people who have heard the same advice fifty times get something they can use? For example, agents and editors feel obligated to point out that typos in submissions are the death knell. Yet, panelists are so tired of going over this old ground, they rush ahead and fail to add anything helpful. How can there be anything new about typos, you ask? There is and I will get back to it in a minute.

Opportunity #3:Wouldn't it be great if there was more spontaneity at conferences? I know organizers try to pack in as much as possible so attendees feel they are getting their money's worth, but I don't think the problem lies with delivering value. Rather, speakers are pigeonholed into the roles they must play by virtue of their industry position and panel assignment. Besides, an agent has to play the agent role because there are competitors and prospective clients in the room. Editors are trying to maintain their brand as well. Projecting the proper image all the time, doesn't leave you much of a chance to think outside the box or be a good listener.

Opportunity #4: How can we better leverage all the talent in the room? At the California Crime Writers Conference in Pasadena, the organizers delivered a brain trust of publishing know-how, but each attendee managed exposure to only a subset of that fire power. There must be better ways to spread the wealth. I believe the same thing can be said for the writing talent among the attendees. I am willing to bet that surfing from session to session were a number of exceptional writers waiting to be plucked from obscurity. How can we make conferences into a better venue for unearthing gems?

Okay, enough questions. How about some possible answers. (If you have a suggestions, I hope you will post below.) I like to come up with new ideas by borrowing solutions from other industries or organizations, countries or constructs. This involves trying on a new way of doing things like trying on a new outfit or hairstyle. Even if the up-do doesn't quite suit, the experience can take you in a new direction. So, I'm disclosing right here, all my suggestions are a) stolen from somewhere else, and b) put forward in the hope of stirring the pot.

Case Studies: (stolen from business school) When I was earning my MBA, about half the subjects I studied were taught by the case method. Case studies of publishing successes would make for interesting presentations at writing conferences. The author, agent and editor could talk about the book acquisition and launch, what worked, what didn't and the course corrections they implemented.

Role Play: (stolen from psychologists) It would be fun to have agents and editors act out the pitch of a recently published book. It would be even more fun when they switched roles. Or a writer and editor when the editor requests a major rewrite.

Plot Jeopardy: (stolen from improvisation theater) A panel of experienced writers is asked to develop a plot sequentially. They are given a starting premise and each author adds the next twist.

Cross-Country Rally (stolen from sports car enthusiasts) A team of randomly assigned attendees is sent on a chase for clues around the hotel with a time limit. Taking what they find, they develop a story and a query letter to sell it. A panel of agents hears the impromptu epistles.

Skunk Works (stolen from the high tech industry) A randomly assigned group of attendees and guest pros is asked to brainstorm a major industry problem and bring their suggested solutions to the entire group.

Speed Agenting (stolen from dating, or was it dialing?) Agents get five minutes to tell authors why they should represent them. Isn't it fun to turn the tables! Just think, when you get to the cocktail party, you already will have met the attendees so they won't be strangers anymore.

All of these approaches are good icebreakers. They move the spotlight off individuals and expectations and on to open dialogue and problem solving. Before I close and wait for your suggestions, I'll go back to the issue of typos. (I'll bet you thought I forgot!) Again, I'll borrow my thought from a different discipline, the world of clinical testing and statistical sampling. Specialists in these fields worry about how many times they revisit the data they are using, because every time they do they can alter or contaminate it. They don't dive into the data willy-nilly; they have a plan. Now, substitute manuscript for data. I wonder how many times I have edited a manuscript and managed to introduce more typos than I eliminated. That pesky cursor! You turn away to answer the phone, click your mouse and poof, you erase a word or letter or introduce a page break. Step awaaaaaaay from the mouse! I hope agents and editors move away from telling audiences to eliminate typos and move toward sharing their process for producing pristine manuscripts.

usfrhm7ybv

RussellWrites Blog by http://russellwrites.blogspot.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Related articles by Zemanta

• 7 Reasons I'm Going to the ACFW Conference (advancedfictionwriting.com)
• On Finding Those Pesky Critique Groups (advancedfictionwriting.com)
• Unique Paths to Publication " LM Preston Author's Blog, A YA-Sci ... (lmpreston.wordpress.com)

Twelve Actions to Take When You Return From a Writer's Conference

So you've just returned from The California Crime Writer's Conference, which was a smashing success, but how much of a success was the confab for you? Despite the fun we writers have at these get-togethers, published or not, we don't go to these meetings for our heath. Now is the time to sit down at your desk and capture the value of the investment you made in time and money and, I might add, time away from your manuscript, to attend this important gathering. Here are a dozen DO's for making sure you get everything you can out of the conference experience --

1. Run Your Pre-Conference Checklist. Of course you had a pre-conference checklist, didn't you? If you did not, you have learned your first lesson for your next conference. Your checklist should be based on a strategy built on your needs at your stage of the publishing process. I have a finished manuscript I have edited a half dozen times, a synopsis and a pithy query letter and am well into the outreach process, so I researched the agents who were attending the conference and developed a list of actions for the ones who match my project. I was following up with some people and making new contacts with others. When I reviewed my list after returning home, I saw I had accomplished all my agent-related tasks. I also had objectives about the sessions I wanted to attend and mentors with whom I wanted to catch up. I had to sacrifice one session, to interact with an agent I wanted to meet, but I thought this was a good trade-off. I caught up with an important mentor, Jerrilyn Farmer, updated her on my progress, and got some more good advice (no surprise there!). I also got her to autograph her new book with the divine Joan Rivers, Murder at the Academy Awards (Pocket Books).

2. Make a Detailed Task List and Start Executing. Before I left Pasadena, I started a list of follow-up actions and I finished the list at home the morning after the conference. There were agents who had requested partials, agents with partials who requested additional information, leads about other agents that came from authors at the conference, and a long list of web sites and blogs to check out, mentioned by various speakers and panelists. I will have completed my follow-ups within five days of the conference's close.

3. Evaluate Your Interpersonal Interactions. While your memory of the conference is fresh, think back over your interactions with the organizers, speakers, and attendees. What worked and what didn't? Were you comfortable introducing yourself to strangers? How did you start the conversations? Writers love words, but that doesn't mean they are good at small talk. If your recollection of some of those conversations is painful, because the exchange was awkward, you might want to hone your interpersonal skills. How to Talk to Anyone by Leil Lowndes (McGraw Hill) is a wonderful, easy-to-read book that can help you buff your cocktail party banter.

4. Determine Which Activities Were Most Productive. The agent cocktail party and agent-focused panels were the most productive sessions for me, because that it where my publication journey is focused now. If you are at an earlier stage in the process, these sessions would not be as wise a use of your time as, for example, a session on the rewrite. There were people in the agent sessions who were writing the first few chapters of their novels. Of course, writers must learn all they can about the agenting process, but there is a proper time for everything.

5. Decide Which Activities Were Least Productive. The organizers of the CCWC conference did a stellar job of creating meaningful programs, but not everything, albeit juicy with content, will suit your own agenda equally well. For example, I loved the luncheon talks, but when there is a speaker, table conversation must cease, and opportunities for dialogue are lost. Long speeches also eat up the time for audience/speaker interaction and trap listeners who are uncomfortable exiting when somebody is talking.

6. Evaluate the Competitive Intelligence. Although intimate conferences are not large enough to represent the book market, even in one genre, they can afford opportunities to assess trends and spot emerging opportunities. Moreover, you might get an up-close-and-personal look at a competitor who is marketing directly in your space. Let's say you are working on an embroidery cozy and the author of a quilting series is a panelist at the meeting. How well attended is her presentation? What questions were asked? Why do people like her protagonist? How long was her line in the book signing room? If she is popular, how is your work similar to hers and how can you differentiate your project in a bold, fresh way?

7. Evaluate New Marketing Ideas. Always gather up whatever is being handed out. Look for new ideas for marketing books. Agatha winner Hank Phillippi Ryan marketed Prime Time with a clever little lip balm. Since the protagonist in my mystery series is a bit of a klutz and a destroyer of silk blouses, I thought I might try to do the same thing with a diminutive vial of spot remover.

8. Write Down Cool New Writing Tips. One thing's for sure when you spend two days in the company of over 150 writers: you're going to hear new ideas about writing. Suggestions for breaking those pesky blocks. New tools, from software to research sources. Take the time to look back over your notes and pluck a few gems out of the scrawl. It's all about moving your writing to the next level. One of my favorites from this conference came from Carolyn Howard Johnson, the Frugal Editor. Carolyn suggested repackaging, repurposing and reusing material in different venues and different timeframes. If you have spent a lot of time researching and writing a piece, you should get as much mileage as you can out of your effort!

9. Write Down New Story Ideas. When people talk about their experiences, their stories often ignite memories of your own past experiences that could prove useful in a storyline. Or when they talk about the plot of their new mystery, the poolside scene makes you remember you were tossed in a half-filled pool at a wild party and you hit your head hard enough to need stitches. You could have drowned, but you didn't. But in the new plot forming in your head the bikinied gal drowns, unleashing a legal nightmare for the pool's owner and destroying the alibi of the hunky former lifeguard who snuck away from the party to commit MURDER. Make sure you write down all the ideas you had for new books, short stories and essays.

10. Document What You Spent. Even though you may not have published yet, you are a professional writer and you must treat what you are doing as a business. Pull all those receipts from the bottom of your purse, smooth them out and total up what you spent. Not everything will be a legitimate business expense, but it is important to get control of your conference behavior. I try to set a limit to how many books I buy when attending these conferences. I usually go over my limit, but because I set a limit, I don't go over by much. I also try to control my calorie intake and I bring my exercise togs along. When your book is published and you go on those book tours, you don't want to sacrifice you figure on the altar of your success, so develop those good behaviors early!

11. Compare Conferences. Take some time to assess the conference you have just attended to others. How did CCWC stack up in terms of value? Did the content warrant the expenditure It is important to learn which programs deliver the biggest return in terms of your particular objectives. In 2010, you'll have a prioritized list of meetings. Stick to your writing career priorities and don't be swayed by an alluring venue. I am sure that for the vast majority of attendees, CCWC was a very good deal!

12. Give Yourself a Grade. Okay, now we've reached the real bottom line. How did you perform throughout this conference opportunity? Did you arrive at the conference focused like a heat-seeking missile? Did you stick to your plan? Are you making good use of the ideas and contacts you brought away from the meeting? Remember, the biggest factor in capturing value from your investment in a writer's conference is YOU!

Kudos to Sisters in Crime LA and the So Cal Chapter of Mystery Writers of America for a great program, great eats and greater fellowship. Way to go!

RussellWrites Blog by http://russellwrites.blogspot.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.