Writing Fiction

Pitching a novel

I had the pleasure of coffee with a Vancouver publisher yesterday, where we discussed three possible books: two nonfiction and one fiction. 

The original idea I'd proposed, a family memoir by my two brothers and me, didn't go over well on the basis of a sample chapter. But I said I'd revise in the light of his comments and get back to him.

The other nonfiction idea was a collection of my BC-related articles for The Tyee, which I've been writing for since 2003. He looked over my proposal and thought it might have possibilities. Again I said I'd give him more to consider. I estimated that the book might have 45,000 words plus another 15,000 of commentary

As for the novel, I gave him a quick plot summary and the first 30 pages of Henderson's Tenants, on which I've been working, off and on, for years. (In total, I have about 30,000 words done.) The publisher said he'd get back to me early in the new year.

So I came home and started putting together the Tyee anthology. Somewhat to my surprise, I found that in a few hours I'd put together articles totalling 50,000 words, with more still to add. This is why I'm a big proponent of writing articles on your nonfiction subject: You're making money (or at least a reputation) from them, and creating material for the eventual book as well.

If he goes for the novel as well, I'll have a deadline to shoot for, which is all I really need to finish up this long-overdue project.

Royalty on 7 novels: $32.85

That's the amount I received the other day from iUniverse for the sale of 14 copies, over the first 9 months of this year, of 7 of my novels. You can find the links to them in the left-hand column. iUniverse is a print-on-demand publisher: years ago I sent them copies of some of my novels, which they scanned and stored as computer files. When someone orders a copy, iUniverse prints it, puts a new cover on it, and mails it out. 

If you buy one or two of these novels, you'll see how I taught myself the techniques of writing fiction. You'll also provide some small amount of support for the advice and information you've found on this site. It's been a pleasure to run this blog for the last 6 years, but I'd be grateful to see a little more income than $32.85 for books that took, all told, over 20 years to write.

I can offer you stories of time-traveling derring-do, the collapse of the Antarctic ice sheet, and a tongue-in-cheek alien invasion by religious maniacs. Also Eyas, a story about family life in British Columbia ten million years from now. 

While I've got a new novel in the works, most of my writing in the past decade has been journalism and book-length nonfiction. The journalism has been mostly in a remarkable online journal: The Tyee.

So by all means visit The Tyee now and then; we love high traffic numbers, and we're proud to be the best online magazine in Canada. You don't have to be Canadian to find our articles interesting, sometimes alarming, and very well written.

You might also click through the book covers in the far-right column and buy one or more of my three latest books—the second edition of Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy, the fourth edition of Writing for the Web, and the brand-new Sell Your Nonfiction Book. The prices are reasonable, delivery is prompt, and the content is useful. I get a modest commission for every sale made through this site.

Even if you're writing in a genre other than SF or fantasy, you should find some useful ideas in the fiction book. The webwriting book is equally useful whether you're blogging, writing ad copy, or publishing your fiction online. And the nonfiction book has new material on how to do online research that everyone should find helpful.

100 Online Resources for Writers

Via Online Degree.net: 100 Online Resources That Will Make You A Better Writer. Many of the resources are clearly for fiction writers, but others should be of use to screenwriters and writers in general.