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How do I publish biography?

Saucy Intruder — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 05:42:33 -0800

How does one successfully publish biography? I'm fascinated by the life of a certain (long-since-dead) American political figure and it appears that he has not yet been given a full treatment by historians. I'm not an academic or a journalist - just a lawyer under the delusion that he can do a good job at something like this.

I need some advice about publishing my story.

Salvor Hardin — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:04:57 -0800

Hive authors: help me publish a sci-fi story! I've written a science fiction short story (hard sci-fi). I've been told that it's pretty good, so I was thinking about trying to publish it in a periodical of some kind for the fun of it. It's a little over 5000 words. I've never done this before, and I don't read sci-fi magazines very often, so I'm looking for the following:

Suggestions on where to send in the story. How many places?

Warnings, things I should know beforehand or avoid. I'm clueless about copyright, etc.

Estimates of whether or not I can get any money from this. It'd be fine if I didn't, but I'd like to know going in.

Any other advice.

Thanks!

This sounds really familiar...

amicamentis — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:56:56 -0800

How do authors ensure that they aren't copying older stories? Is there a process that authors go through when fleshing out (fictional) works? Is this the publisher's responsibility? Do they ask around?

I would imagine that an author would want to know as soon as possible whether or not the plot of his story resembled a film or book already published. And while he or she may know of many works, it's impossible to be familiar with all of them.

For example, if a writer says "I know! I'll write a book about a nerdy journalist who goes back to high school and gets a second chance at love!". Hopefully they have a friend that says, "Dude, that was Never Been Kissed. Try again". But what if they don't? Does this happen often? Is there some sort of "plot database" in existence?

I'm not referring to deliberate parody or spoofs on classic works, more of a general and unintentional similarity.

Perhaps a chair coated with glue?

BitterOldPunk — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:09:03 -0800

With NaNoWriMo looming ever nearer, I would like to hear your best tips, tricks, habits, and techniques for staying chained to the keyboard. Realizing that the point is to get 50,000 words written, I've jettisoned all illusions of producing quality, publishable prose. My only goal is to finish without having to copypaste "All work and no play makes BOP a dull boy" five thousand times. I have a (rather vague) outline, I have some preliminary character sketches, and I have every expectation that the first ten thousand words will flow fairly quickly. But. I suck at follow-through. I have the attention span of the common housefly. So, writers: how do I stick with it, fight through discouragment and ennui, and produce 50,000 reasonably coherent words?

Note: I'm not looking for tips like "prepare moar" or "work your plan". I'm looking for how to stay motivated when the fun stuff stops and the hard work begins.

Are there any authors like Cormac McCarthy?

Bacillus — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:11:26 -0800

Which author comes closest to Cormac McCarthy? I am a great fan of Cormac McCarthy. I only read one book and instantly became a fan. I read a few more and loved his style.

Can anyone suggest an author who's like him?

PS. If anyone has a hardcover good copy (1st printing would be nice) of his "Blood Meridian" (Not book club edition) they would like to sell, please let me know.

What author should I suggest my new book club read?

fyrebelley — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:10:39 -0800

I just joined a book club and our first meeting is this weekend. The club has existed for over a year, so I'm the newbie. One of our "assignments" is to bring the name of an author that has published 4 or more books we'd like the group to read. Since I only marginally know one of these women, I'm going into this blindly. So what do you say, hive mind, any suggestions? To give you some background: The group is comprised of 8 women, ages 25-45, some with kids, some without. So far, they have read the following books, with the following rating system:

++ = Very good
+ = Good
+/- = Mixed review
- = No one liked it

Fair Game, Valerie Plame Wilson +
After Long Silence, Helen Fremont ++
Destinies of Darcy Dancer, Gentleman, J.P. Donleavy +/-
The Golden Compass, Philip Pullman ++
Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen +
The Savage Garden, Mark Mills -
Reading Lolita in Tehran, Azar Nafisi +
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Lisa See +
Life of Pi, Yann Martel ++
The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz ++
The Red Tent, Anita Diamant +/-
In the Woods, Tana French +
Cry, the Beloved Country, Alan Paton ++
Home: A Memoir of My Early Years, Julie Andrews +
Double Bind, Chris Bohjalian +
Memory Keeper’s Daughter, Kim Edwards +/-
The Year of Living Biblically, A.J. Jacobs +/-
The Likeness, Tana French +
Bittersweet, Nevada Barr +
The Secret Scripture, Sebastian Barry didn’t finish
Gods Behaving Badly, Marie Phillips +
The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy, Robert Leleux ++

We are currently reading The Glass Castle.

Thanks so much for any suggestions!

Book Recommendation for fans of "Life of Pi"

mizike — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:39:24 -0800

I need a book recommendation for my girlfriend; her favourite book is Yann Martel's "Life of Pi". Any ideas? Pretty self explanatory, her birthday is this Saturday so I was thinking of getting her a new book (amongst other things). I know "White Tiger" is often recommended for fans of "Life of Pi" but for some reason she didn't really like that one (sorry, I don't know exactly why it didn't work for her - I don't think she explicity disliked it, but it didn't hold her interest either).

Thanks for any suggestions!

What to do when in the presence of your personal heroes (and how to avoid the cost and wait)?

notcomputersavvy06 — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:14:05 -0800

Book festivals? National Book Festival? What to expect? I'm attending the National Book Festival in DC tomorrow. I've never been to a book festival before. For those who have, can you tell me whether I'm permitted to bring my own older copies of the books I'd like the authors to sign or do I have to buy the books new at the festival? Also, how do I stay on the right side of faithful reader/scary stalker reader? There is one author in particular whose books I greatly admire but I don't want to annoy him through effusive gushing. For those who have been to this particular festival, will I have to stand in line for each author whose signature I want or is it just one big line, and, of course, how long can I plan on waiting in said line(s)? Thanks much!

Help me remember a poem about character and leadership.

BirdD0g — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 08:09:07 -0800

I'm trying to remember a poem I read about a man's character. Or was it about leadership? This is super annoying because I can't remember anything specific about the poem. Here's what I think I remember:

- I believe it was by someone relatively well-known, but I don't think the poet was still alive
- The language used was pretty close to modern day English language, upfront, and easy to understand
- I'd guess it was about 250 words, more than a couple stanzas but not really long

As for content (and take this as a very loose description), it was about doing what you believe is right even when you have doubters and skeptics and people attacking you. Trying your best, fighting your fight, and resting confident that your tried your best.

I can try to answer any questions you have, but seeing as I can't remember a single specific line, I've got very little to offer.

Becoming a writer during my gap "year"

jeatsy — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:38:38 -0800

I have savings and, soon, no work. I want to do something interesting, write about it, and publish - ideally to kick-start a writing career. How should I go about these 3 things? I am a talented writer but have let my skills lie pretty much dormant since high school. Recently I took a fortnight's holiday and, having forgotten to take a camera with me, decided once home to write an account of my travels. It ended up many times longer than I had expected, I adored writing it, and all those who've read it seemed to really enjoy it. Hive mind: I'm hooked. I think I want to be a writer.

This desire coincides with the last few months of a research degree in computer science, about which I have become completely ambivalent and after which I have no plans other than to avoid programming for a living. (To the programmers out there: A great way to make a living. But not for me.) I have a lot of pent-up wanderlust, a desire to do something interesting in some interesting corner/s of the world, and a reasonable stash of savings with which to fund myself. I guess what I want is a worthwhile gap year, plus or minus a few months. And I want to be a writer.

So my logic is, let's go somewhere interesting, do something interesting, and write about it - ideally in order to kick-start a fruitful and enjoyable writing career, but in the worst case to have fun and to develop as a person and as a writer. That's about as specific as I get at the moment...

My question to the hive mind is: how should I go about (a) choosing what I'll do, and (b) writing about it, both with a view to getting published? Should I get talking to publishers right away? Do I approach them with an idea, or do they have ideas that they want people like (hopefully) me to work on - or a mixture of both? What kind of publishing format should I be targeting? Am I mad to even want to write for a living, in the age of blogs and tweets ten a penny?

I should add that the other genre of writing that particularly appeals to me, once I have satisfied my biting wanderlust, is popular science; and I'm 25 and based in the UK.

Can't remember book title/author

Anon Ymous — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 04:17:00 -0800

I'm looking for a book I read in year 6 (1995), and I loved, but can't remember much about it. I think it was "world of O", or "secret of O", or something along those lines, but searches on that don't come up with hits on Google or Amazon. I remember that on the cover, the O had a sinuous line through it (like the yin/yang symbol), and there was a bit where the guy was given special gloves and socks that allowed him to cling on to a sheer cliff face (might have been a deep hole instead, not sure). Does anyone recognise this book? Help appreciated :)

What agency is he with?

bodgy — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 12:20:13 -0800

Are authors very private about who they use for a literary agent? I am friendly with a successful, published author. I wouldn't say we are FRIENDS, but very friendly. We've known each other for three years, communicate by e-mail several times a year, he kisses me on the cheek when he sees me, etc.

I am now in the process of writing a book that is in a similar vein to his works, but nothing that I feel I'd be stepping on his toes by writing. Given the similarity of our works I was thinking his literary agent would be someone to whom I should send a query letter. (Mind you, I am not looking to send a letter of: I'm friends with X, will you look at my book. More along the lines of: I know you deal with material such as X and as such I feel my work may be of interest to you).

However my best Google-fu has not helped me to find who this man's literary agent is.

I'm seeing this author this weekend at a professional event. I am wondering if it would be a horrible faux paus to ask him for the name of his agent. If these relationships are incredibly private (as a good agent IS hard to find) then I don't want to make him feel like I'm trying to use him; however, if they are normally publicly known then I thought I would ask.

Thanks for the help, mefites!

Online Author Comparison

cell divide — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 04:41:08 -0800

Is there such thing as an online tool to compare two pieces of text and determine if they were written by the same author? If so, please link to them here and tell me about your experience using them. If not, please let me know about any offline tools or services that might be available. Thanks!

what the fuck...is this book?

arniec — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 09:51:36 -0800

Can you help me remember the name of a book I read 15 years ago which had a character repeatedly using the catchphrase "What the fuck, it's only a buck" when wasting money? Here's what I remember...I was in a college lit class, and it focused heavily on authors who lived in Illinois. It was 1994 or 1995, and this author lived in the Chicago area.

The author's first book was an acclaimed very dramatic Viet Nam story, and I believe the author himself may have been a Viet Nam vet.

For his follow-up book however the author turned to comedy and wrote a lighthearted adventure about a guy who is always down on his luck, penniless, and as we are introduced to this character he is losing money a little bit at a time because with a lotto ticket or whatever, he just says "What the fuck, it's only a buck" and spends a dollar or so.

I remember liking the novel quite a bit, but I don't remember much more about it. It's possible even some of my recollections are incorrect, but I'm between 80% and 100% on the stuff I wrote above.

Anyone know this book?

Lulu or Blurb, what's best for book with both text and pictures?

adfeb — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:52:07 -0800

I have put together a book using some old notes that a relative left for me over the years that I scanned as jpegs. In some of them the handwriting is bad so I need to put a translation, and some of them need an explanation to set the scene. I've decided to self-publish them. Blurb is very intuitive but lacks the sales options that Lulu offers. Whereas, Lulu makes it very difficult for what I'm looking to do because it's sort of a hybrid book. Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated.

What is the original source of this quote about immortality?

joe lisboa — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 11:28:09 -0800

"Millions long for immortality who don't know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon." What's the original source for this quote? I've long thought this quote was from Nietzsche, specifically The Twilight of the Idols, but my googling turns up attributions to both a Susan Ertz (author) and a D.P. Barron. Any readers of Nietzsche out there who can help me locate something in his corpus that resembles this passage?

Trying to chase down cheesy scifi story.

pointless_incessant_barking — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 12:59:03 -0800

I'm looking for the title and author of a sci-fi short story about a man who dies creating a rogue black hole, which then falls in love with the man's wife. I read this story maybe 25 years ago. As best as I can recall, the plot went thusly: a mad-scientist type creates a black hole, dying in the process. The black hole 'imprints' on him, absorbing his feelings for his wife... she temporarily escapes with the scientist's space-beast(?).

The story ends with the woman and the black hole being transformed into sentient stars.

Recommendation for a book on putting together a memoir?

adfeb — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 21:34:14 -0800

I need a recommendation for an instructional book on putting together a memoir. I already have a good portion of it written. The area I need help with is what to do with the various experiences that I've written about. Right now it's a bunch of stories with a central theme. I need to pull it together and make it a book in other words.

Stumped on contact for interview

arniec — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 09:10:10 -0800

I need help finding contact information for author Matthew Stover. My Google-fu has failed...is your Shaolin google-fu better than my Dragon Claw? I am trying to contact Matthew Woodring Stover, author of Star Wars novels as well as many others, to request an interview. This is not some fan-crazy stalking, I have interviewed over 20 authors for a podcast I run (link not provided lest it be seen as advertising but MeFi Mail me if you want a link).

I know Stover has a blog at Blogspot but I see no way to contact him through there.

Anyone able to find a link for e-mail or some other publicly available contact info that I cannot?

A male author entranced by women's "Little Things".

Tufa — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 17:00:31 -0800

A male writer wrote about his appreciation of "Little Things", all the small and entrancingly feminine knickknacks and accouterments women have that men do not. Things he had no idea what to do with, like, perhaps, an eyelash curler. Do you know who this is? I am trying to find the author and source.

Old sci-fi stumpers. Can you identify the writer/story?

darkpony — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:09:28 -0800

Old sci-fi stumpers. Can you identify the writer/story? [more inside] 1. Humans don't have sex together but have recreational sex with flowers,
which collect semen and inseminate women

2. Arachnoid aliens arrive on the earth, looking for something - because
they have exhausted their local supplies of mammalian creatures in whom
to deposit their eggs

They are definitely from before 1980. Thanks!

To Rely on the Editor

captainsohler — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 17:56:47 -0800

Looking for examples in literature where the author had to rely on his/her editor rather heavily. I'm thinking of instances where the authors were capable of spinning a good yarn, yet they had trouble with grammar, structure, punctuation, etc. Any and all related examples would be great. And, thank you.

What is the name of this story about waiting? "Godot" isn't in the title.

grumblebee — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:24:33 -0800

ID That Story: novel (novella? short story?) in which a man is standing in line. Pretty much the entire story is his experience while waiting in line. It's a future/dystopia story. The man is waiting in line to make a complaint. He falls in love with the girl in front of him, though she's not allowed to turn and look at him. It's a parable about overpopulation. It was probably written in the 60s or 70s. That's all I remember.

Are there successful multi-genre authors?

wackybrit — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 02:31:28 -0800

Are there any reasonably well-known (or even famous) writers who are truly multi-genre? It's very easy to find authors whose writing is predominantly in a single genre - horror (King, Koontz), fantasy (Tolkien, Rowling), crime (Crumley, Christie), romance, and the like. But are there any famous (or at least semi-known) authors who jump between genres regularly?

Variety doesn't seem to be a remarkable attribute in musicians (Sting, for example), but while I can think of writers who straddle or work with two distinct genres (Ballard, Dahl), I cannot think of any who have produced significant works in, say, all of horror, crime, romance, and sci-fi - and I would like to look into the works of any who have.

Name this author/adventurer/fearmonger

kaydo — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 02:02:28 -0800

Looking for an adventurer and author who was noted for confronting specific fears and paying people to ensure he had no option but to follow through. I may be remembering this completely incorrectly, when I was half way up a mountain and considering turning back my guide told me a story of an adventurer he greatly admired.

He said that this dude would identify a specific fear (e.g. being on boats) and then he would find something epic that would force him to dive right in (e.g. major ocean voyage). He'd then pay folks to ensure he followed through with it, it was never going to be about his personal drive to confront it, but it would be about his inability to avoid it. So he had folks on the boat that he would have paid in advance to make sure he wouldnt bail out.

End of adventure, he writes it all down for people like me to enjoy.

Naturally I just wanted the talking and climbing to stop, so I either ignored the name or just forgot it in a cloud of exhaustion.

Any ideas for the author name?