Read What Ya Write?

Do you read the kind of books that you write or do you tend to read books that are the opposite or different – and why?

From Frank

I answered a similar question to this last month in this post. But this question has a distinction, in that it is much broader -- reading habits in general, as opposed to when one is writing.

On Deck non-fiction

I like to have a few books going at once....as many as four or more. There are the bedside books, which I read at night. There's the audiobook on my phone, for listening to in the car or while doing yard work or working out. And there's the Kindle book that I read on my phone when I find myself in a place with down time (waiting in line somewhere, for instance).

The bedside books usually include a non-fiction title and a fiction title. My non-fiction title is still the biography of Augustus -- I haven't made much progress on that. But next up after that is Daniel Pink's Drive.

Came highly recommended

The fiction title isn't a title so much as a stack. Library books bump to the top of the pile due to their expiration date, and that pushes owned titles back down. So there are usually a few in progress titles, including our own James Ziskin's Ellie Stone book, which I've been pleasantly plinking away at in between the onslaught of library books coming available (Lori Radar-Day's Under a Dark Sky is the current one).

Now, to be fair, I'm writing this post well in advance of the publication date, since Kristi and I are vacationing in Ireland from July 1-12. So I'm sure that both Lori and Jim's book will be finished by the time you read this, and I'll be onto another library entry and whatever is next in my owned stack on the bedside. I'm hoping for Blake Crouch's Recursion from the library, and there are a couple of acquisitions from Left Coast Crime vying to be up next on the owned side.

Read by Fisher Stevens

Read by Titus Welliver

Audiobooks are awesome, and though they compete with podcasts for my listening pleasure, they get at least equal standing. I've listened to entire series (serie?) via audiobook only, including The Saxon Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell (the Netflix series The Last Kingdom is based on these books). I recently finished Christopher Moore's A Dirty Job (narrated by Fisher Stevens) this way (Chris came on my podcast Wrong Place, Write Crime, and was fantastic), and as of this writing, I'm digging me some Harry Bosch (Two Kinds of Truth, narrated by Titus Welliver). I don't tend to listen to non-fiction much on audio -- I guess podcasts fill that void. I listen to some history podcasts, hockey podcasts, and whatever you want to classify Malcolm Gladwell as -- journalism? History? Human Interest?  Whatever it is, I enjoy the heck out of his work.

Shades of Elmore Leonard

Kindle on the phone is opportunity-driven. I have a few dozen books on there for those times when I'm waiting around for something and don't have a book with me. I started reading Matt Phillips' Countdown this way, for example (Matt was also on the podcast recently). I have a few Joe Konrath titles, and a Joe Clifford. And you can never, ever go wrong with an Eric Beetner title. The thing about all of these titles is that I read them in fits and starts, so it's a different kind of experience than a read through with a physical book. That makes someone like Beetner perfect, because the action is generally so non-stop that it's easy to jump back into the story after being away for a while.

Looking back over this, I see that I am fiction-heavy, and that many are in my genre, or even in the sub-genres that I write in. Why is that?

I think it is two-pronged. First off, I like these kinds of books. They interest me, and a pleasure to read. Ther's probably a reason I write crime fiction beyond just my career in law enforcement. I like the scope of human drama that seems to be examined so closely in much of this genre. So I read a bunch of it. That's probably ninety percent of the reason why. The other ten percent is putting a writer's eye on what my colleagues are doing. Trying to learn from them, and admiring the work they've done. And being insanely jealous at how good they are.

Reading (or listening) outside the genre is good, too, though. It feels like a complete break. Or nearly complete. If it's a book that isn't crime fiction, there's still a part of me paying attention to the craft.  It's unavoidable. But it's easier to put that aside when the story is dissimilar from what I write.

I'm a firm believer that you should read what you like to read. Part of the reason some people never develop a love of reading is because they were forced to read things they didn't enjoy. Now, I'm all for stretching and expanding your horizons, don't get me wrong. But reading is a pleasure, and you should read what you want.

Speaking of which....

____________________________________________

Blatant self-promotion, brought to you by me:

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In it, my co-author Colin Conway and I dive into the explosive aftermath of a controversial police shooting in Spokane, Washington, where everyone has an agenda and nothing is what it seems to be.

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And make me smile -- give Charlie-316 a read.

Yummy, yummy books!

Q: Do you read the kind of books that you write or do you tend to read books that are the opposite or different – and why?

-from Susan

I’m a book omnivore. July is only a few days old but I have already read or am reading one mystery, one historical fiction, one current ecological non-fiction, one geological history non-fiction. Competing for the top spot when one opens are a police procedural set in Ireland, a police procedural set in India, a how-to book on writing crime fiction, and a non-fiction book related to the manuscript I’m working on.

As with food, I believe in a balanced diet. Too much of any genre is like too much chocolate and, yes, Virginia, there is such a thing as too much chocolate. Some books are escapist in nature, some help me laugh at the mess the world is in, some sober me up fast about the state our world is in, and some help me make sense of it. 

I enjoy reading the work of fellow crime fiction writers, sometimes because I know the writers and sometimes because the buzz says these are outstanding novels. I may agree at times with the buzz, but not always. Some of my favorite crime fiction novels don’t seem able to crack the popularity code, but I admire them as much or more than the blockbuster winners. Wish I knew what the magic sauce was that lifts one adept book onto the New York Timesbestseller list while leaving another to languish in the weeds.

Other fiction pleases me but only when it keeps a story and character arc promise. Some current fiction seems to dribble off after I’ve read one hundred thousand words, and that drives me nuts. I retreat to nineteenth century classics when that happens, but venture back to my own time when something promises to be a real story, not just egocentric author indulgence.

Natural history and physical science topics are high on my list and books that are written well capture and hold my interest easily. But everyone’s list is going to be different and I hope to glean a few recommendations from other Criminal Minds this week. One thing I’m sure of – we’re all book junkies!

Here are a handful of books I’ve read recently:

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Winifred Watson

Straight Man, Richard Russo

The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan

The Story of a New Name, Elena Ferrante

Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?,Frans De Waal

A Necessary Evil,Abir Mukherjee

Mariana, Monica Dickens

Falter, Bill McKibben

Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf

The Devil’s Cave, Martin Walker

The Home Front and Beyond, Sarah Hartmann

We Were the Lucky Ones, Georgia Hunter

How to be Excel-lent

By Abir

What’s the most valuable business skill that you’ve used in your writing career. Can be anything from contract negotiation to typing to computer programming, like HTML and making your own website, or anything else?

That’s a tough question. My day-job was as an accountant, and it’s fair to say not all of the skills I learnt at the accounting coal-face are readily transferrable to the cloistered, hallowed world of writing. Don’t get me wrong. I wish they were. I mean, I spent a lot of time studying the likes of International Financial Reporting Standard 5: Non-current Assets held for Sale and Discontinued Operations, and International Accounting Standard 29: Financial Reporting in Hyperinflationary Economies, and would love to make more use of that knowledge, but every time I try to include them in a novel, my editor (a notorious accounting-phobe) always cuts those hundred and eight pages out.

Nevertheless I do have my revenge. I once responded to a seven page editorial letter with a thirty slide PowerPoint presentation complete with star fades and animation. (I’m not even making that up). She told me I was the first author who’d ever done that. I found this surprising as I felt it increased the efficiency of the entire editorial process by almost two per cent. Despite her subsequent protestations to the contrary, I think she was secretly in awe of my fly PowerPoint skillz.

Then there are contracts. I have many flaws but being a lawyer isn’t one of them. Still, in my time, I’ve learned to read a contract pretty thoroughly. So much so, that when I received my first draft contract from my publishers, I went back to my agent with a list of questions longer than the contract itself. The subsequent conversation with my agent went something like this:

Agent: ‘Wow, Abir. I’ve never had an author respond with so many questions on a contract before.’

Me:     ‘Well, you have told me in the past that I’m not like all the others…that I’m special…’

Agent: ‘90% of the questions were stupid.’

Me:     ‘You told me there are no stupid questions.’

Agent: ‘True. But I said nothing about stupid people.’

Me:     ‘How much do I pay you again?’

There’s also that wonderous productivity tool, that prince among software packages – Excel. 

No. I'm serious. 

You may ask what use a financial modelling software app is in the world of writing, but it’s applications are myriad: I use it to keep track of the wholesale changes which require to be made to my work during the editing process; I use it when I’m plotting out my storylines; I’m also going to use it as an integral part of the erotic novel set in the steamy world of accountancy that I one day plan to write, entitled ‘Love Between the Spreadsheets’. I think it’s a sure-fire hit, though Eddie (another committed accountancy-phobe – what is it with these people?) is skeptical. 

Most of all though, I use Excel to work out just how much of a state of penury I’ve landed in having given up accountancy and followed the bright, shiny path of writing (and let me tell you, friends, that’s not a pretty spreadsheet at all).

And yet, despite all the red numbers on my spreadsheets; despite the great swathes of knowledge on accounting standards that is going to waste; despite the huge under-appreciation of my accountancy-related talents from the likes of agent and editor, I really wouldn’t want to go back to the old day job. 

I’m not mad.

Answer the Bell

What’s the most valuable business skill that you’ve used in your writing career. Can be anything from contract negotiation to typing to computer programming, like HTML and making your own website, or anything else?

Happy Fourth of July

From Jim

Before I embarked on my writing career, I worked for many years in academia and in Hollywood post-production. Putting to one side the everyday skills one acquires in business, such as typing, pencil-sharpening, and water-cooler banter, I’d say that the most valuable thing I learned in my past career was a strong work ethic. Early on in my professional  life, I learned that honest toil, while not necessarily a guarantee, tended to pay off, both for the company and for me. Over the course of eight years with one company, I never took a sick day. Eight years. Some years there was a certificate to acknowledge perfect attendance, but most times there was nothing. It didn’t matter to me at the time. The streak became an all-consuming, self-sustaining inspiration of its own.

And that attitude has carried over to my writing career. Who cares if I call in sick now? No one but me. I answer to myself and to my own expectations. But that’s just the point. Whom better to work your butt off for than yourself? I don’t get perfect attendance certificates now, but I do get to look at my books lined up on a shelf. Each one represents a year’s work. A year of writing even when I didn’t feel up to it. A year of of doubt, but also a year of hope and determination. A year of refusing to call in sick, even when I was hung over. Or actually sick. One of my favorite mantras is that you have to answer the bell. If you want to play, you have to deal with the consequences of your actions. Never more so than when you’re your own boss.

My point here is that while writing is a creative process, it’s also a business. At least if you’re trying to make a go of it. The two are not necessarily in opposition. For me writing is the greatest job I could ever imagine doing. But at the same time, it’s hard. It’s work. It’s a job. Why do it at all unless you’re trying to produce something of value? You might just as well as watch TV. Take it easy and relax.

Speaking only for me, I’d much rather work my butt off for myself, my own career, and my own books than for some company. But I recognize that much of this work ethic was acquired through the toil and sweat that I gave to previous employers along the way. You can’t simply switch on the work ethic gene when it suits your purpose. You must be willing to to show others and yourself that showing up—every day—is the first step to success. One book at a time.

Don’t dangle your participles

What’s the most valuable business skill that you’ve used in your writing career. Can be anything from contract negotiation to typing to computer programming, like HTML and making your own website, or anything else?

by Dietrich

Financial management, people skills, sales, marketing, communication, project management, public speaking, delegation, problem solving, networking. I’m not an expert at any of those things, but I’ve learned at least a little along the way. 

When I was submitting short stories to publications some years back, a kind editor sent back a note, that while the story was pretty good, my grammar was shit. I thought about it, cursed a while, then I realized the editor was right. So, I got my hands on a tall stack of textbooks to sharpen my language skills, and I studied those texts till my eyes blurred. And now I often I break grammar rules for the sake of style — but knowing where to put the bullets, laundry marks and what-nots has sure helped in all kinds of correspondence. In this day of texts, tweets and dashed-off emails, you might think it hardly matters — and while I wouldn’t go toe to toe with my copy editor and argue the finer points of grammar, like whether I should have just used an n or m dash — I think adding some polish to a submission or business-related letter can go a long way.

“If proper usage gets in the way, it may have to go. I can’t allow what we learned in English composition to disrupt the sound and rhythm of the narrative.” — Elmore Leonard

Writing for the most part is a solo effort, and it keeps me inside my head for a good part of the day, so public speaking wasn’t something that came naturally. In fact, the first time out I was petrified, but once I got up to the microphone I really enjoyed it. And now, I look forward to any chance to take part in panels, readings and interviews. It’s a great way to network and meet with fellow authors and readers alike.

Having run a business for a long time taught me to be a good juggler, and not to procrastinate and put anything off, knowing that it would mean another potential ball in the air. And although those closest to me could argue about my organizational skills, I usually know which pile I put something in. Sometimes it just takes an extra minute to find whatever it is I’m looking for. And along the way, I learned to keep an updated calendar and organize receipts to keep tax time from becoming a total horror show.

So, basically I think I’ve got enough business skills to scrape by, at least enough for somebody who just wants to play with words.

One Hundred Words Per Minute

This week we are posting about the most valuable business skill that we’ve used in our writing career.

Here’s my take on it.

Terry

It may sound odd, but I wasn’t sure what “business skill” meant. “Business” is a vague word that can take on a lot of meanings. The word business connotes busy-ness. People “go about their business,” and it means they are doing the things they normally do, which may be nothing more than going to the grocery store or picking up the kids from school. “None of your business” means don’t get involved with other people’s lives. 

In the case of writers, our “busy-ness” is focused on writing. I looked up skills for business on the internet and found  this list of Essential Skills:

·       Financial management.

·       Marketing, Sale, and customer service

·       Communication and negotiation.

·       Leadership.

·       Project management and planning.

·       Delegation and time management.

·       Problem solving.

·       Networking.

It strikes me that the skills that help us succeed in our writing career are basically the same skills needed to succeed in everyday life. We have to manage our money, communicate, negotiate (with ourselves and others), provide leadership (leading ourselves to our desk to get to work), manage our time, solve plot problems, etc.. When we publish, we have to learn the arcane business of marketing and sales, we have to network, which involves not only marketing our own books, but supporting fellow authors in their efforts.

 And the same thing applies to “advanced” skills in the list below.

·       Complex problem solving.

·       Critical thinking.

·       Creativity.

·       People management.

·       Coordinating with others.

·       Emotional intelligence.

·       Judgement and decision making.

·       Service orientation.

Which of these things has been most helpful to me? None of the above. When I was in grade school, I taught myself to type. Who knows why? It was a whim. I had seen my mother type since I was a child—she was a fast, accurate typist whose skills were essential in the World War II years when she worked in a munitions plant. When my father was in college when I was a toddler, my mother typed his papers. I remember going to sleep to the sound of the typewriter. So maybe it was admiration for her that drove me. But whatever the reason I had for learning to type, I’m not sure I ever had a more useful skill. I worked my way through college typing, and in college typed all my papers. in writing it has been a key skill. I’ve always been a fast typist, so when people say that I write fast, I sometimes think that’s because I can type as fast as I think.

When I lost the use of my right hand for a time a few years ago, I wondered how I was ever going to write my next book. Turned out that if you type over 100 words per minute, typing with one hand still gets you 50 words per minute. My fifth book was written entirely with my left hand.

As I writer, of course I value creativity, time management, marketing, critical thinking, networking, and all the rest. It’s important that I have computer skills, that I am able to give talks that have substance and humor, that I can update my website, that I can navigate the internet for research, that I can participate in multiple social media sites. It’s valuable to be able to delegate jobs that I can give someone else to do, like recently hiring someone to read all my books and put together a Bible of characters. I have to be able to make a judgement about whether an idea I have for a story is going to be viable. When the times comes, I have to be able to edit effectively. I have to communicate about my books, from pitching the initial idea to my publisher to talking to readers about them.

There’s hardly a business skill that isn’t useful, but for my money, the time I took to teach myself to type all those years ago tops the list.

Terry Shames

A Risky Undertaking for Loretta Singletary

The Samuel Craddock Series

www.terryshames.com

The Business End. by Brenda Chapman

Question: What’s the most valuable business skill that you’ve used in your writing career. Can be anything from contract negotiation to typing to computer programming, like HTML and making your own website, or anything else?

Looking over all the suggestions, I realize I’m sadly lacking in business skills! Luckily, you can hire people to help with most of the nitty gritty, such as computer programming and setting up a website and taxes.

However, I have found that my background is in Communications has come in handy. For instance, I was sent on media training, which helped me to prepare and gave me confidence when speaking in front of groups or appearing on the radio or television. I learned to plan the key points I wanted to make ahead of time, to practice, and to stick to my messaging. I gained experience speaking in front of colleagues and talking to the public.

While in the government, I worked on the firearms initiative for four years and my job was to inform visitors from other countries about Canada 's laws when they wanted to bring guns across the border, mainly for hunting. Those were the early days of websites and I helped with the layout of ours and wrote fact sheets and material to be posted. Everything had to be in English and French with lawyers and subject experts involved so nothing was ever simple, but this proved a good training ground for my own site. An important lesson learned was to keep information current and the front page active. I also learned a great deal about guns, even taking the firearms safety course and firing off a few rounds at a gun range.

Of course, as with all writers, I still have needed to wrap my head around the business side of writing, particularly contracts. I had a lawyer look at my first book contract before signing, but since then, I've been on my own with the exception of an agent negotiating one early on. I won't lie and say that I've always understood  the rights and the implications of each line in the contract, but I've asked questions and had adjustments made before signing, and I'm learning by reading up and speaking with others in the industry. Still, the publishers have bottom lines and contract negotiation is by its nature adversarial with each party protecting its own interests.

The sad truth is that writers, with the exception of the top strata, are not adequately recompensed for all the hours of work and the creative energy it takes to produce a book. Everybody in the industry, from the publisher to the bookseller, needs to take a cut. The author is also expected to take on the lion's share of the publicity and marketing and to pay out of pocket for most initiatives, or this is the way of things with a medium-sized publisher in Canada. An author has to become their own advocate and this can be frustrating and often lonely. I've known many writers who've dropped out of the industry once they realize how difficult it is to write a book, and then how tough it is to make any money or to get any recognition. 

Yet, it is only in my darkest moments that I dwell on the business end, when I think about stopping too. All it takes is for me to sit at my computer and start working on a piece for me to rediscover my joy. But I will say that I'm spending more of my energies being strategic and am spending less time spinning my wheels and expecting this career to follow a straight line. If I could pass on any bit of advice, it is to treat the business side separately from the creative and to take an active interest in all aspects of both, even when the learning curve seems steep. Join with a group of writers and seek their guidance and support. My experience has always been that writers toil alone but form the most generous of  communities when it comes to helping each other out and lifting each other up.

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