Meet the newest member of the Dames of Dialogue…

Hop on over to the Dames of Dialogue blog and meet our newest Dame, Betty Dravis! Miss Betty answers the Dames’ Dozen and offers a fascinating look into the life of a California chick who swings both ways…

Get your mind out of the gutter, I meant she writes both fiction and nonfiction!

Okay, you know the drill, but I’ll remind you anyway; don’t forget to leave a comment!

Weekend trips, a new book, a new contract, and baseball (of course!)

May has been incredibly busy for me, both in my real world and in my writing life.  A couple of weekends ago my mom and sister came over for the Blue Ridge Book and Author Showcase–which was okay, except in the workshops we attended, the authors were more intent on promoting their books than they were on teaching us anything.  But it’s the first year of this event and I’m hoping it will get better in the future.  I’m also hoping I’ll get signed up in time next year to get a table!

The best part of that weekend was on Friday when we went to Hot Springs to do a little research on the book Christy and I are writing about our great aunt’s life.  Hot Springs is an interesting little town and I wish we’d had more time to look around but the weather wasn’t the best–cloudy and rainy and just all-around yucky.  We couldn’t find the visitor’s information center, which used to be housed in an old red caboose near the library so we went in the library to get directions.  The librarian, Deb Linton, told us the caboose had been moved back to the railway station and they were in the process of building a new welcome center, slated to be opened in mid-summer. 

Too bad, but Ms. Linton was kind enough to share some of the local history books and records with us.  She also gave us some information on Dorland-Bell where our aunt went to school way back in the 1890’s.  Aunt Bessie was one of the first graduates and a copy of her diploma, dated 1899, is included in the book The Season of Dorland-Bell, by Jacqueline Burgin Painter, who just happens to be my cousin.  There’s also a picture of the first town officers which includes my great-grandfather, complete with handlebar moustache and shiny silver star, as the town constable.  I’m looking forward to going back and looking for some of the houses Grandpapa built–he was also a builder and a blacksmith–and trying to find the grave of my great grandmother, who I was named for.

Then last weekend, Christy and I met in Johnson City and made the harrowing trek over the rainy mountains once again to attend the May We Write conference put on by the High Country Writers group we both belong to.  That was great and we had a lovely time–well, if you don’t count the drive up to Blowing Rock in the rain.  I swear, I love living in the mountains, but I think I’d love it even more if I lived back in Aunt Bessie and Grandpapa’s time.  You know, back when they traveled by horse and buggy!

So, along with spring cleaning, that’s what I’ve been up to.  As far as my writing world, the anthology, PMS: Poison + Murder = Satisfaction which includes my short story, The Secret Life of Alice Smitty, was released in print and is scheduled to be released in e-book next week.  I have got to get the cover up on my sidebar!  I received the contract for Storm Shadows–woo-hoo!  I’m almost through with Winds of Fate–yippee!–and I’ve started writing the next book in my Eternal Shadows series, tentatively titled Sun Shadows.  It tells the story of Luke, the brother who’s determined not to fall for Jon’s tricks and get snared by the heroine Jon sends up to Eternity Mountain.  I haven’t gotten very far yet, but so far it’s going pretty good.*

*Crossing my fingers that I didn’t just jinx myself!  I haven’t really gotten into the heroine’s part of the story yet, but I’m hoping she won’t give me as much trouble as Betty Sue did in Storm Shadows!

So, that’s whats been happening in my world in the busy, busy month of May.  Oh, and did I mention the Red Sox are in second place in the AL East, just half a game behind the Blue Jays?  Yay!  Of course, the Yankees are only a game and a half out, and we all know the Yankees.   Added to the fact that you can never count them out of the race, this year they have something to prove–mainly that they can spend over a billion dollars on a new stadium then charge outrageous ticket prices and their fans won’t bat an eyelash as they shell over their hard-earned cash.  Hey, how’s that working out for ya’, Mssrs. Steinbrenner?

Sylvia Dickey Smith answers the Dames’ Dozen!

A quick heads-up, Sylvia Dickey Smith, author of the Sidra Smart mystery series, is in the spotlight today at the Dames of Dialogue blog. Ms. Smith gives a very interesting and entertaining interview so hop on over and check it out.  You’ll be glad you did!

Oh, and as always don’t forget to leave a comment and while you’re at it, click on the link for her website–it’s gorgeous!

Back later with more on what’s been going on in my life the last couple of weeks–if I can stop doing Snoopy dances, that is!

June Cleaver & Alice Smitty–soul mates at heart?

see more Lol Celebs

I couldn’t resist that picture! It’s perfect for my short story The Secret Life of Alice Smitty in the L&L Dreamspell anthology, PMS: Poison + Murder = Satisfaction which is now available on Amazon.com!

Here’s the blurb:

What does it take to drive a woman to murder?

In Alicia Smith’s case, three things. One, her husband, James, has a heart attack followed by triple bypass surgery and has to stay home from work for eight weeks as he recuperates. Two, her live-in maid runs off to a commune in New Hampshire and takes Alicia’s yardman with her. Three, the appearance of Alice Smitty, who is determined to convince Alicia that killing James will solve all her problems.

Will Alicia take Alice’s advice and murder her husband? Or will she resist temptation and make it through his at-home recovery without doing something that’s guaranteed to land her in prison?

Okay, off to do a Snoopy dance then put the cover up in my sidebar–that is, if I can remember how to do that.

Happy Saturday, Happy Derby Day, Happy May Day (a day late), and Happy New Release Day!

Am I there yet?

That’s the question of the day for me because my current WIP is at a little over 38,000 words and if things go as plan it should top out at about 45,000 words. 

Too many for a novella?  Too few for a novel?

I thought I knew the answer, but you know me, I had to do some research just to make sure I was right.  I was…and I wasn’t.  Confused yet?  That’s okay, so am I.

From jvc on a thread on AbsoluteWrite:

Best way to figure it out is to look at the novels you have on your bookshelf and work it out from there. Novels come in all shapes and sizes, with word counts from 30,000 to 300,000 sometimes. It is said, somewhere, that a debut author is unlikely to sell a novel with a word count above 100,000 words, but doesn’t mean it never happens.

This from Cathy_C’s thread about formatting novels, in the FAQ forum:

Short Short: Under 2,000 words
Short story: 2,000–7,500 words
Novelette (General Fiction): 7,500–15,000 words
Novelette (SF & Fantasy): 7,500–17,500 words
Novella (General Fiction): 15,000–30,000 words
Novella (SF & Fantasy): 17,500–40,000 words
Novel (General Fiction): Over 30,000 words
Novel (SF & Fantasy): Over 40,000 words

 Jed

There comes a time in your life when you just have to run outside and shout ‘banana’ as loud as you can. Are you there yet?

To answer Jed’s question–yes!  Novelette?  Um, seriously?  On the same thread, from Gilhoughly:

 

Some romance houses are very specific on word count. If they want 58K words, don’t send them 59.

• Novel — 40,000 words or more Bolding is mine.
• Novella — 17,500–39,999 words
• Novelette — 7,500–17,499 words
• Short Story — 7,499 words or fewer

Most publishers of adult fiction are looking for 60-100K words. This can run more or less if a book is historical, Young Adult, or children’s.

Yep, novelettes.  Thank goodness I’m too far in the story to worry about that.  Still, I obviously need more research, so…from Wikipedia:

Novel                                over 40,000 words
Novella                            17,500 to 40,000 words
Novelette                        7,500 to 17,500 words
Short Story                     under 7,500 words

Okay, so it looks like this one’s going to fall somewhere between a novel and a novella–and why did I feel a compelling urge to type “rock” and “hard place” in there?  Mass confusion leads to more research…from Kimberly Dawn Wells on Suite101:

 

Short Story up to 10,000 words

Novellette up to 25,000 words

Novella up to 60,000 words

Novel 75,000-120,000

Books of 120,000-150,000+ words are recommended to be broken up into parts or a series. A single book of this length tends to become longer than an attention span can take. It can also be difficult to properly fill a plot after too long.

And finally from Lee Masterson on Amazon’s Askville:

Short Story

~ 1,000 – 7,500 words

The ’regular’ short story, usually found in periodicals or anthology collections. Most ’genre’ zines will feature works at this length.

Novellette

~ 7,500 – 20,000 words

Often a novellette-length work is difficult to sell to a publisher. It is considered too long for most publishers to insert comfortably into a magazine, yet too short for a novel. Generally, authors will piece together three or four novellette-length works into a compilation novel.

Novella

~ 20,000 – 50,000 words

Although most print publishers will balk at printing a novel this short, this is almost perfect for the electronic publishing market length. The online audience doesn’t always have the time or the patience to sit through a 100,000 word novel. Alternatively, this is an acceptable length for a short work of non-fiction.

Novel

~ 50,000 -110,000

Most print publishers prefer a minimum word count of around 70,000 words for a first novel, and some even hesitate for any work shorter than 80,000. Yet any piece of fiction climbing over the 110,000 word mark also tends to give editors some pause. They need to be sure they can produce a product that won’t over-extend their budget, but still be enticing enough to readers to be saleable. Imagine paying good money for a book less than a quarter-inch thick?

Epics and Sequels

~ Over 110,000 words

If your story extends too far over the 110,000 mark, perhaps consider where you could either condense the story to only include relevant details, or lengthen it to span out into a sequel, or perhaps even a trilogy. (Unless, of course, you’re Stephen King – then it doesn’t matter what length your manuscript is – a publisher is a little more lenient with an established author who has a well-established readership)

Remember, these word counts are only estimated guides. Use your own common sense, and, where possible, check the guidelines of the publication you intend to submit your work to. Most publishers accepting shorter works will post their maximum preferred lengths, and novels are generally considered on the strength of the story itself, not on how many words you have squeezed into each chapter.

Copyright 2002 Lee Masterson

Lee Masterson is a full-time freelance writer from South Australia. She is the editor-in-chief of Fiction Factor (http://www.fictionfactor.com) – an online magazine for writers, offering articles on the craft and business of writing, tips on getting published, free ebook downloads, author interviews, paying market listings, and much more! She is also the managing editor of the AuthorsDen newsletter. In what little spare time she has, Lee also writes science fiction novels.  

So, am I there yet?  Who knows?  I think the best thing to do is keep writing and when I’ve finished the story, take that last paragraph from Lee Masterson to heart.  If I have any common sense left, that is!

Special thanks to Jed for giving me the idea for the title of this post!