MAYHEM ON MONDAYS

Let’s hear it for the editors!




I’m a few days into going over the copyedits for Read & Buried, the second in my Ashton Corners Book Club mysteries. And all I have to say is, thank God for copyeditors.

On the downside, they can sure make you feel dumb.

It seems no matter how many times I read over and rework drafts and then read it over again, I miss so much. Split infinitives, misplaced modifiers, typos (ahem, I’ll never admit I can’t spell) to name just a few of the miscreants.

Then there’s the fact that a character should have been introduced a chapter earlier, what’s the motivation for a certain comment, isn’t that the second time we’ve found out about an incident? Oh, and the best one, where was my brain when I was going through this manuscript upteem times?

I’m so pleased to be working with a topnotch team at Berkley Prime Crime, right from my editor and her assistant, to the copyeditor, the cover artists (a husband/wife team) and the publicity person. It really makes my job so much easier, having my backside covered, as it were.

So, back to the edits. I just thought it was time to highlight all those others who work behind the scenes and mean so much to the publishing process. They make it run smoothly and make it appear that I actually know what I’m doing!

Linda Wiken/Erika Chase

A KILLER READ
Berkley Prime Crime, now available
READ & BURIED, coming Dec., 2012
www.erikachase.com

CRIME ON MY MIND

The 15-word challenge!

Pitching your finished book to an agent at a conference requires a short, succinct precis of the plot. Fifty words, three sentences, a short paragraph...it depends on which agent, which conference and the like.

Taking a step backwards, it's also a good idea to be able to explain your concept in a short form when pitching it to a publisher. Or agent.

Once you're on the publishing journey, it's still a good idea to have a short 'sales pitch' on hand. Speaking at the public library? They'd appreciate a promo for their program booklet. Sending an advance reading copy to a reviewer? You want something short and snappy that will snag their attention. So when did novel writing turn into copywriting 101?

Welcome to the new world of publishing where the writer is also the publicist.

We all have to do it, to some degree -- line up signings and events, that's after The Launch, and, make sure there's a general buzz going on about your book.

Here's my challenge this week -- create a one-liner that will send readers by the droves to the nearest bookseller to buy my book. In 15 words. Max. It's for the 'Author's Announce' page in the program book for Malice Domestic 2012, the upcoming somewhat cosy conference happening in Bethesda, MD at the end of April. For $25US I can tell all conference goers that A Killer Read has arrived. In 15 words.

So far, there are approx. 175 authors registered so I'm a very little fish in a big pond. These 15 words must count.

This shouldn't be a challenge for me -- I trained and worked as an advertising copywriter in a long-ago life. One liners were a specialty, usually with music background and often with sound effects. But somewhere along the line I became more verbose (how many words is this blog up to at this point?).

So, I have two possibilities and I'd like your help in deciding which it's to be.

a. Lizzie Turner’s Ashton Corners Book Club members find murder is one for the books!

b. Introducing the first Ashton Corners Book Club mystery where murder is one for the books!

What's your vote? Or should I keep trying?

Linda Wiken/Erika Chase
A Killer Read coming April, 2012
from Berkley Prime Crime
www.erikachase.com