This question previously had details. They are now in a comment.
Kyle Phoenix, Writer and student & Instructor at Columbia University
Yes, I run my work as a publishing business so I have to consider the long-term viability of an idea from multiple perspectives: Interests, costs, layout, structure, outcome. Such detail doesn't mean I don’t publish a lot, it means I do but it's more focused. I narrow down in nonfiction the difference between a book (250 pages plus), a Special Report (under 200, but more than 131---magic number for title on spine for bookstores) or a Brief (less than 50).
In fiction I can then determine the difference between a novel, a novella and a long short story and have a book or collection of short stories book assigned to catch such work.
Internal structure, first , second, third person all at once or just one form. I also decide if it's a straight text or will there be experimentation. One book there are hypertext sections with watermarks, text boxes, centering, justification issues and possibly text on the planes of a tetrahedron. I kid you not. I'm still unsure if I possess the ability and will it destroy the book to do the entire book on page shifting planes or if I can get away with just a single section. My mentor Raymond Federman, the great experimental writer would, in a thick French accent, call me a pussy for not going all the way, reader be damned. I have done a PhotoShop tutorial to conform text so, the question is can I effectively do it for 400 pages and visually convey the assemblage?
Another fiction novel is all first person scattered across seven days. Every voice must be clear and different but their perspectives are of the same thing so they must converge, hence the end of the book is embedded in the middle because I realized that it never promised the days were consecutive. But for my time cheat to occur, it must be tight. The narrative circle must close.
A third novel is about a love triangle. It's written though as three alternate realities so that a move in one created the other but it continues on. All three though must be compelling and complete so it's like writing three books. Then I have to intersect them---3 linear chapter sections or chapter say 1.7, 2.7, 3.7 each successive switch, variation present and immediately comparable.
Another book I started as a collaboration and then the person died so now I have to not only further create the structure of the trilogy but come up with the big bad threat at the end that pushes all of society to end racism. And it has to work.
Non-fiction series include accessible videos, glossaries and hyperlinked materials, all those bells and whistles must chime when touched so I map out a book as a product networked through multiple platforms. Great in my head, tedious task in reality. Paperback, eBook, YouTube video, Sendlane landing page, additional page on my website, addition yo Amazon and Goodreads page with blurbs/video links, then blurb page on blog, updates to all the other books and catalogs of new addition with cover change/symmetry and then tracking pricing, sales and reviews.
Then there's still cover design, size decisions, whole layout, page count and about 5-6 full gallery iterations. This answer advances into publishing but I guarantee the more you approach a book as a project, the easier you'll find a publisher.
Just doing 7-10 drafts before you hand it in will win you love. Yes print it out, binder or bind it and red pen grammatical mistakes, blue pen technical and theme errors and black pen for rewrites and additions. I also do post it notes to track changes and issues. For the possible tetrahedron manuscript I did every scene on index cards. Spread out in a classroom a group walked in saw me the cards and notes on three chalkboards and politely walked back out. Lol
I then hand write new scenes and type them in. I design computer folders by stages, art, pieces, research so that it's all one bundled. I have a master binder and am constructing a mini binders of printed pages, cover and production, marketing checklist.
Six months ago I read the E Myth Revisited by Gerber and the example was a lady making and selling apple pies. The systems he teaches to setup work, even if it's just a singular product, or five books or 100. You need a way to consistently chart what, how and why you're doing what you do. I know creating a system sounds like overkill and time consuming but it allows me to write more faster because I have a map laid out of the stage I'm in so I can forgive mistakes, bumps, questions, etc..
And again when i accept others manuscripts I immediately hand them a template to clean it up, all before the first sale. The goal is good, useful, valuable work to generate royalties for a minimum of 125 years.
Or Click Below to:
No comments:
Post a Comment