For Writers

Throughout most of history, the majority of humankind were not literate. What we know of pre-history—that is, pre-recorded history—we glean from cave paintings, from bits and pieces of bone and shards of pottery in archeology digs, and from the study of modern day stone age tribes discovered in remote places.

Before the advent of villages, the cultivation of the earth for growing foods, and the appearance of cities, people were tribal, nomadic, hunters and gatherers. And we all come from tribes, whether from the tribes of the steppes, the Celts, the Mongols, the American Indian forbearers, the African plains, Goths, or any hundreds of tribal peoples, we all have tribal roots. A common history.

And from tribal peoples, the history of the tribe, the wisdom of the tribe, the heart and soul and the future of the tribe were kept by the storytellers.

I believe that for tribal people, the storytellers were the historians, the counselors, teachers, the wise men and women. They were the ones who observed the interactions of the people and chose a story to settle disputes. They were the ones to recall the famine or drought or the illness that harmed the tribe and would offer to the leaders the way the tribe survived the last time. To meet the needs of the tribe, they would find a story. That need might be a need to relocate before the game was all gone, a need to parley with another tribe. Perhaps even the need to bring in fresh blood to expand the gene pool. Though they wouldn’t know why things were needed from the scientific standpoint, I believe that storytellers used the oral tradition of storytelling to solve problems.

In the modern day, storytellers use the written word, but we carry in our genes the same drives that gripped our tribal forebears. Storytellers were the first to think about maybe going into space. To the moon. To mars. The first to conceive of computers. Remember Dick Tracey? And the little watch/TV/phone? That was the concept, the idea of a storyteller. . . . Writers are storytellers.

It is my opinion that, in all the arts, in all the creative processes to which man has access and through which he expresses himself, writing is the closest that man ever comes to the creative process of God. In the beginning. . . God said. . . . “Let there be light. . .” And a new thing came into being. A new world. A new universe. That is what writers do.

We create new worlds, new beings, give them problems to overcome, strengths with which to do it, and weaknesses that make it difficult. We give them adversaries, and antagonists, and flaws. And like God, we let them work out the solutions in their own ways. How scary is that!

They—the characters we create, often mimic the tribal archetypes that were around when storytellers first roamed the earth, part of small roving bands. And the best of the archetypes, become the best of us. The worst of them, can be no worse than the evil of history.

That is what I am. A storyteller.

Q. How does a New York publishing company handle a book’s PR?
A. Mostly – they don’t.  99% of all books, even big budget books, get much less promo than you think. When they do, it’s ads on radio or cable (for bestsellers), and in books. Mostly – it’s up to the writer.

Q. Should you hire a PR firm?
A.        A *good* PR company will charge 1,000 to 3,000 bucks per city to promote you. I don’t have that kind of money.

Q. What can the writer do as PR?
A.        In no particular order…
1. Start a website.
2. Network with other writers while writing, but *especially* after the sale but before publication. Make friends who will help spread the word about your book.
3. Attend conferences and make friends (see number 2)
4. Create a persona (or refine the one you got) that helps promote your book.
5. Send flowers and small gifts to the publishing house PR folk who do you good. Pass compliments up the line to the VIPs
6. Be unstinting with praise and shut up when you’re dissatisfied about the promo. griping makes it worse.
7. make friends with the fans. Fans will make or break me. PR is useless without you. I value ya’ll more than you can know. You spread the word. Heck – you buy books!  I love you, each and every one…
8. Learn to blurb your book in 20 seconds
9. Listen to other writers talk about what works and what dosen’t.
10. Join yahoo sites like this one and read what the writer is doing and what they are excited about. Ask questions after the sale of your own book.
11. sounds trite, but, be nice.
Faith

Q. So, just how long should a fantasy book be? I’m shooting for 65000-75000 words. Is that too short? What is the industry standard for submissions? Does it depend on the agent or publisher?
A. Yes. It does depend on the pub, and industry standards change all the time with the cost of paper and bookstore construction. Seriously.
But generally for fantasy:
If it is a YA book, 75,000 is perfect.