Books, editors, and publishing in a man's world

Update: In the Land of Men is now available.

In previous posts, I mentioned that several times a year I read books about writing, the publishing industry, or literary criticism. My next will be In the Land of Men by Adrienne Miller. (Publication February 11, available for pre-order) Adrienne Miller was the literary and fiction editor of Esquire from 1997-2006. This "fiercely personal" memoir tells us about her experiences as the often lone female editor in a male dominated industry.

A rich, dazzling story of power, ambition, and identity

The New York Times named In The Land of Men as one of 14 New Books to Watch For in February, The Washington Post includes it in their Top Ten Books to Read in February, and it’s Parade’s February Must-Read. The book is also on major “Most Anticipated Books of 2020” lists, including Vogue, Esquire, Parade, Maclean’s, Bitch, and has received amazing early endorsements from authors Jonathan Lethem, John Hodgman, Meghan Daum, Gary Shteyngart, Eleanor Henderson, among others. Early reviews appear in the latest print issues of Vogue and InStyle.

No Peace is one step closer to publication.

I have used the same editor for eleven books, and once again, I'm beholden to her for saving me embarrassment. I always think I've submitted a perfect manuscript, only to discover a prodigious amount of red ink on every page. Contrary to popular belief, novels are not entirely a solitary task. Beta readers, editors, book designers, and cover graphic designers all play a major part in bringing piece of fiction to market. I am grateful for them all.

Yeah, this skit has it about right.

Many years ago, in what seems like a prior life, I wrote a nonfiction book on enterprise computing. At the time, I was a Chief Technology Officer for a Fortune 50 company. Since nonfiction is all about credentials, I had no trouble finding an agent and publisher. I was pretty happy. I had a Boston agent and Wiley & Sons as a publisher. This was going to be good.

I wanted to title my book Dinosaurs and Whippersnappers. I thought that would be a catchy title for a book about managing computer professionals. Unfortunately, my editor disagreed. In fact she disagreed with everything I wanted to write. She insisted that focus groups had determined that books with the word Digital in the title were in high demand. Against my wishes, she re-titled the book The Digital Organization. She also wanted the book to be about corporate America, insisting that I leverage my familiarity with a celebrity CEO. I also couldn't criticize any inane technology fad because Wiley had surely already published a book that claimed the craze would blow away all prior technology, reduce the corporate labor force by half, and eliminate childhood illness. 


None of this was good advice. By the time the book was eventually published, technologists were sick and tired of books with Digital in the title, my celebrity CEO had lost his luster, and all of my technology advice and references were woefully out of date. Business leaders, however, still had to manage computer professionals and my chapter on this subject kept the book alive in some MBA programs.

What brought all of this ancient history to mind? A hilarious skit by Mitchell and Webb. Way too close to my personal experience. Take a gander. 



The irony of all of this is that Wiley is still marketing The Digital Organization. Traditional publishing moves at a glacial pace, so this technology book was already obsolete by the time it hit bookshelves in 1997. Yet Wiley continues to offer a Kindle version for $49.95. Not many authors recommend against buying one of their own books, but I suggest you give this one a pass.

By the way, this experience taught me a lesson. Never write a book that has a shelf-life of six nanoseconds. This is a big reason why I write historical novels. They last forever. Even the contemporaneous books of Mark Twain, Jane Austen, Raymond Chandler, and Louisa May Alcott are now read as historical novels. I may not be of their caliber, but I sure want to write in their genre.

Can a manuscript ever be perfect?

Orgainc? Now that's embarrassing. 

A couple weeks ago, I went through the galley proof for The Return and found over twenty changes. Bummer. When I received the corrected galley proof, I found two more errors. Double bummer. The book is now in proofreading and if experience is any guide, a dozen or more errors and typos will be discovered. Makes you wonder if it's possible to write 75,000 flawless words. 

It's embarrassing when reviewers point out grammar or spelling mistakes. Yet, it invariably happens. My first book, published by Wiley, had three line-editors. That was standard practice fifteen years ago. Now, even the big houses have cut back to a single line editor. That's why you're seeing more mistakes in big-name author books. It's not the cost of editing as much as the time. Time is money, and when you have a potential bestseller waiting in the wings, publishers are in a rush to get it to market. 

Anyway, I'm rambling because I'm at a bit of a loss about what to do. The cartoon below explains my mood exactly, except I've finished writing my latest book. It's always been hard for me to start the writing process on a new book while my last novel is in the final stages. I know I'll get engrossed in new story and resent the inevitable interruptions that come form finalizing and promoting my prior book. I only allow myself to read books I've collected as reference material for my next novel. Besides, I need to let the plot percolate for a while before laying down the first word.

I think I'll head off to Pacific Beach and get in a little summer surfing. Reading and surfing ... that should fill my days nicely.

Featured Author on Wordpreneur

Wordpreneur has a regular feature called Peeps. These are short pieces about indie-authors and they were gracious enough to do an article about me.

“Many people claim traditional publishing’s marketing prowess is a huge advantage, but they never mention that the big houses do very little for unknown authors who haven’t committed a high-profile felony. When it comes to marketing, you’re on your own whether you traditionally publish or self-publish.”

You can read the full article here.

I Hate Punctuation

I love editors. The reason I love editors is they save me from embarrassment. I make errors and typos with punctuation and seem to miss them when I self-edit. This is especially true for commas. I just can’t seem to get them right. I think I have them figured out, but when I get my edited manuscript back, I learn that some savant surreptitiously changed the rules ... again. Or at least I prefer to think the rules changed, rather than I remain befuddled.

The Oatmeal does punctuation here.

Many people think punctuation is boring … but not The Oatmeal. They even sell posters suitable for framing about different aspects of grammar. Maybe you can even get your teenager to replace their Janelle Monáe poster with one about how to properly use an apostrophe. Good luck with that.

It all depends on how you look at it—Point of View

I’m reading a thriller from a big name author. It’s a bestseller published under a Simon & Schuster imprint. Yeah, I found a few typos and stray words, but they didn’t bother me. I miss some mistakes myself, so I’m pretty charitable. What I found discombobulating were the sudden shifts in point of view. With no warning, the reader was thrown from inside one character’s head into the thoughts and feelings of another character. These were stray single paragraphs wedged into an otherwise consistent point of view. It might just be me, but when this happens, it stops me cold.

There are three proper ways to change point of view: a section break, a chapter break, or use an omnipotent point of view. (I’m not going to address tense or first, second, and third person which should be artfully reliable throughout a book.) 

Omnipotent is when the reader regularly gets inside the thoughts and feelings of different characters. An omnipotent point of view (POV) is difficult to carry off, but with a deft hand it can be done so the reader never notices. In fact, the reader should never become overly conscious of the point of view. It’s distracting.

That’s why I prefer a fourth technique. Never change POV. My four Steve Dancy Westerns and The Shut Mouth Society use a single POV throughout the entire story. This was difficult for The Shut Mouth Society because the thriller has two protagonists. I tried switching POV between the hero and heroine, but decided that it added to the mystery if the reader didn’t know what one of the major characters was thinking.

I used a different approach with Tempest at Dawn. Since this was a novelization of the Constitutional Convention, I used POV to heighten the conflict between the opposing forces at the convention. Every other chapter alternated POV between James Madison and Roger Sherman. This allowed the reader to feel the emotions on both sides of the issues.  (I first ran across this technique thirty years ago in Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer.) 




It was difficult to keep the POV consistent when Madison and Sherman were together. Revisions and editing finally scrubbed out the irregularities. In the final chapter of the book, I made an exception to a single POV per chapter. Since both men were together for the entire concluding chapter, I switched to a distant omnipotent POV. In other words, I never entered the thoughts or feeling of either man, but described scenes as if a narrator was telling a story about what he observed. This is similar to a movie, where the viewer never gets to read the thoughts of a character.

People deride the errors in indie-published books, but turn a blind eye to the increasing number of mistakes that prestigious publishers allow to get into print. Sixteen years ago, when I published The Digital Organization, Wiley had the manuscript line-edited by three different editors. They told me a single editor always missed something. I suspect that economics has forced the major publishers to cut this to a single line-editor. It’s a business mistake because this is a level of quality indie-publishers can compete against.

Bad Review Got You Down—Even the Best Get Dumped On

Huffington Post Books published an article titled "Bad Reviews Of Great Authors." When you get a bad review of your work, it’s comforting to know that supposed experts hated these classics.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

"There is not in the entire dramatis persona, a single character which is not utterly hateful or thoroughly contemptible."  Atlas, 1848

The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike

"Mr. Updike’s descriptions of these magical doings are cringe-making in the extreme, not funny or satiric as he perhaps intends."  Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

"... the book is sad stuff, dull and dreary, or ridiculous. Mr. Melville's Quakers are the wretchedest dolts and drivellers, and his Mad Captain ... is a monstrous bore." Charleston Southern Quarterly Review, 1852

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

"no more than a glorified anecdote, and not too probable at that... Only Gatsby himself genuinely lives and breathes. The rest are mere marionettes—often astonishingly lifelike, but nevertheless not quite alive." H.L. Mencken, Baltimore Evening Sun, 1925

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

"Unfortunately, it is bad news. There are two equally serious reasons why it isn't worth any adult reader's attention. The first is that it is dull, dull, dull in a pretentious, florid and archly fatuous fashion. The second is that it is repulsive." Orville Prescott, The New York Times, 1958

Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

"... it is impossible to imagine how any man's fancy could have conceived such a mass of stupid filth, unless he were possessed of the soul of a sentimental donkey that had died of disappointed love." Rufus Wilmot Griswold, The Criterion, 1855

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

“What other culture could have produced someone like Hemingway and not seen the joke?” Gore Vidal

Polish your manuscript

It is the superfluous things for which men sweat.

Seneca (c. 5 BC-AD c. 65), Roman writer

A friend of mine unintentionally changed my attitude toward revisions. He restores antique cars and starts each project with barely more than a chassis and some rusted sheet metal. With utmost care, he painstakingly replaces every single part until his recreation is better than the shiny piece of the American dream that was driven off the showroom. When he finishes, we go on a ride and I can tell he enjoys the envious looks and honks from other car enthusiasts.

After these inaugural rides, I always assumed the cars were finished, but every time I visited, he would be in the garage replacing this piece or that piece. If he wasn't installing a newly acquired part, he would be polishing nooks and crannies that no one in a standing position would ever see. Sometimes I'd come over to find that he had painted the car a different color or replaced perfectly good upholstery.

One day I asked him if he ever tired of constantly changing an already beautiful car.

"Hell no," he said. "Building the car is work. This is the fun part."

"The fun part?"

"Whenever I start a new project car, I look forward to the day when the basic restoration is done so I can perfect it . My joy is in making it flawless. I fix the little details so people love to spend time with my creation."

"But you keep working on it. How do you know when it's perfect?"

"One day I'll walk all around it, open the doors, lift the hood, examine the truck and there won't be any more changes I want to make." He shrugged. "Then I sell it and start all over again."

Now I look forward to completing a manuscript so I can tighten and polish it until there are no more changes I want to make. Then I sell it and start all over again.

The Internet is right ... except when it is wrong.

I made a significant error when writing Principled Action, Lessons from the Origins of the American Republic. I attributed a quote to James Monroe that was actually written by James Madison. When it was pointed out, I couldn't believe it. I had a solid source, the manuscript had been fact checked, footnoted, edited, and proofread. Through Google Books I discovered a James Madison paper that was the true source of the quote. About a third of the references in a Google search attributed the quote to Monroe. (You're right, that means two thirds of the references said it was Madison. Alarm bells should have gone off.)

An eBook can be corrected fast.

Darn. How does that happen? Through some additional research, I found the source of the error. Around 1900, a historian had written a serious academic book and mistakenly attributed the quote to Monroe. An easy error. The two neighbors share the same first name and the last names have similarities. The historian probably had a momentary lapse in memory and his editors missed the mistake. From that point forward, anyone who didn't go back to the original source document had a high likelihood of propagating the error.

I'm bring this up because I did the presentation on the hazards of internet research.
(This link will take you to some fun wisdom on the Internet.) 

The Internet may have accuracy issues, but relying on nonfiction books can lead a writer up the garden path as well. I guess if there is a moral to the story, it's that a careful writer should not rely on secondary sources unless absolutely necessary.

Finding The Past from James D. Best

Writers say the darndest things.

I think I did pretty well, considering I started out with nothing but a bunch of blank paper.--Steve Martin

Writing a book is a adventure. To begin with it is a toy and amusement. Then it becomes a mistress, then it becomes a master, then it becomes a tyrant. The last phase is that just as you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monster and fling him out to the public.--Winston Churchill

Some editors are failed writers, but so are most writers.--T. S. Eliot

When a book, any sort of book, reaches a certain intensity of artistic performance it becomes literature. That intensity may be a matter of style, situation, character, emotional tone, or idea, or half a dozen other things. It may also be a perfection of control over the movement of a story similar to the control a great pitcher has over a ball.--Raymond Chandler

No iron can pierce the heart with such force as a period put just at the right place.--Isaac Babel 

A tired exclamation mark is a question mark.--Stanislaw Jerzy Lec

Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. There are no exceptions to this rule.--Stephen King

I'm all in favor of keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of fools. Let's start with typewriters.--Solomon Short

In a thousand words I can have the Lord's Prayer, the 23rd Psalm, the Hippocratic Oath, a sonnet by Shakespeare, the Preamble to the Constitution, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and almost all of the Boy Scout Oath. Now exactly what picture were you planning to trade for all that?--Roy H. Williams

Success comes to a writer, as a rule, so gradually that it is always something of a shock to him to look back and realize the heights to which he has climbed.--P. G. Wodehouse

A writer should have another lifetime to see if he's appreciated.--Jorge Luis Borges

5 Worst Typos Ever

Amusing video of 5 Worst Typos ever, including the United States Constitution and the Bible.

By the way, this is an example of great book promotion.

How to Get Your Book Published, No Nonsense Advice

Selling your book

How to Get Your Book Published from James D. Best

View more presentations from James D. Best.

A Great Book That Should be in Every Writer's Library

Lawrence Block

When I transitioned from writing non-fiction to novels, I probably read a dozen books on writing fiction. Now, every three months or so, I pick up a book on writing to remind myself about the basics or to pick up an advanced tip or two. I breeze through most of these books because they are pedestrian rehashes of the same basic advice.

Spider, Spin me a Web by Lawrence Block breaks from the pack. Originally written in 1988, it is not only filled with solid advice, it's fun to read. The book is actually a series of magazine articles by Block, which means the narrative is not straight-line, how-to instructions. Nonetheless, the organization, deft editing, and lively writing make it more cohesive than most books of this sort.

Spider, Spin me a Web appeals to me because it is filled with truth and treats me like an adult when it address basic issues. The comments on the publishing industry are out-of-date, but this is a small part of the book. Spider, Spin me a Web talks mostly about the writing craft, and the advice is timeless.

The secret to great dialogue

Dialogue by Doc Ross, Christchurch, New Zealand

Dialogue in fiction is not conversation. At least not the kind of conversation we have every day. Fictional dialogue always has a purpose. It must move the plot and be character revealing.

Many writers have difficulty with dialogue. Is there a secret? Yes: know your characters. You should know your characters as well as your best friend. Some writers create elaborate back stories, even if they never intend to use them. Others prefer to outline personality traits. I like to take long walks and have conversations with my characters. To get to know your characters, use whatever method feels right for you. Once you understand them, you'll soon discover that your characters speak with a consistent outlook and come across as real people. When you know your characters, all you do is put them into the right situation, give them something to accomplish, and then transcribe their conversation.

The following example is from my book, Leadville. The plot required me to move my characters to another location. This may not be a great literary example, but it illustrates how to make a mundane transition more interesting by letting the characters speak naturally.

Sharp and I stood outside the livery corral kicking our spurs into the dirt.

“Let’s get a ham steak,” Sharp said.

“Bit early for a noon meal.”

“Hell, McAllen went to see his ex-wife. No tellin’ how long he’ll be, and we might not see a hog for months.”

“You said something similar this morning when we ordered that glutinous breakfast.”

“True this morning, true now. If ya hadn’t hired them boys, you’d be hungry too.”

“What if McAllen shows up?”

Sharp leaned around the corner of the barn and yelled at the liveryman. “If a gruff gent comes lookin’ for us, tell ’im we’re at the café.” Sharp turned and gave me a pleased look.

“What if he comes before we finish our meal? You know McAllen.”

“Then we git up and head for the hills.”

“Could be a waste of money.”

“Might be right.” Sharp pushed himself away from the barn wall. “So you pay.”

And off he went.

Honest Westerns ... filled with dishonest characters

Basic Training-- Learning to Write Professionally

Everybody drives a car. Many fantasize they can race at the NASCAR level, but few daily commuters would actually venture beyond their daydreams and onto a professional race track.

Everybody writes something every day. Many fantasize that they can write the great American novel. But unlike car racing, sometimes aspiring writers venture into the professional world without the proper equipment or adequate training.

NASCAR actually has multiple levels, much like baseball has with their Single A, Double A and Triple A minor leagues. Racers don't start by driving nearly two hundred miles an hour in bumper to bumper traffic. They start by competing in amateur Saturday night racing at a local track and then work their way up through the increasingly competitive semi-professional and professional venues.

What's the equivalent of Saturday night racing in writing? Regional magazines, special interest magazines, journals, or small newspapers are a good start. You may believe web publishing serves as a good training ground, but if you want to elevate yourself to the equivalent of Daytona, I disagree. Writing is a solitary effort, but publishing is a team sport. You need to learn how to work with publishers, editors, and book designers.

Publishers know the market . Even if you aspire to write poetry for a select audience, submitting your work to a small journal will build your understanding of what this select market wants and how you can better connect with them.

Many writers hate editors. I love them. They've saved me from embarrassing mistakes and challenged me to improve my work. No matter how you feel about editors--or how you emotionally handle criticism--you will not break into the big leagues until you learn to work with editors. Race car drivers may appear to be alone on the track, but the pit crew prepped their car for competition and the crew chief continuously whispers advise into their ear through a headset in the driver's helmet.

Writing is the only way to build experience, so continue to publish on the web, but also submit your work to a vetted venue. Writers want to be read. Some by the discerning few and others by the masses. You can find readers on the web, but to enhance and improve your craft you also need to participate in the traditional publishing world.

Basic Writing Tools

Here's your starter set. Good Luck!

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary

Your book is in here. 

Some assembly required.

The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Edition

Assembly Instructions.