Writing In Multiple Genres...

Do you or don't you? And why?

For instance Jennifer Ashley writes Romance, as well as Mystery and Non-fiction. This means that she also lugs around three or four different pseudonyms and possibly publishers/editors. All I can say is that writing under multiple names would not only be confusing for me, but costly and time consuming. Multiple websites, My Spaces, Facebooks, etc. Plus corresponding and checking loops, marketing and a number of other cost/time sinks. Wow! I'm tired just thinking about all the work and keeping track of who I am at what time.

Then there are sub-genres, which I am more versed in because I've written futuristic, fantasy, paranormal, western, historical, contemporary, and BDSM in the Romance genre. This alone gives me a run for my money and crosses different loops and interest groups, which I am sorely behind on.

Yet, crossing the lines of sub-genres is exactly what I enjoy. One day I might be writing a vampire story, while I'm editing a cowboy story, while I'm releasing a contemporary. I love that my mind isn't focused (did I just admit that?). Perhaps it would be better to admit that I love that my mind has no boundaries. I can reach in any direction and find a story. Not to mention, a friend in a new reader.

Writing in several different sub-genres keeps me from becoming bored. I also believe that it keeps my writing fresh. I do know it helps to motivate my muse, who is a fickle gal. *g*

So, why don't you share with us what genres or sub-genres you've written in. What are the pros and cons as you see it?

Mac

Contest Venting

In the very many years I've been a writer, I've been on both sides of the contest desk: entrant and judge. (I've been a coordinator, too, but that's not relevant today.) It's been a really long time since I entered, and I went a while without judging, but last year I started judging again, and I have a set of entries waiting for my attention now. Since I'm trying a new genre, I also entered one, and got the results today (I didn't final).

My rant today is not about the lack of understanding of passive voice or when it's appropriate to say "she was stressing me out" or "he was crossing the street" (if the action is still going on, it must be stated that way; "she stressed me out" puts it in the past tense and indicates that it's not happening anymore, and "he crossed the street" means he's already on the other side—which makes a car hitting him confusing.)

Whoops. I said that's not what this is about. And it's not. My complaint today, as both an entrant and a judge, is about how electronic entries are judged.

I hate, PASSIONATELY, that we're not allowed to use Track Changes or Comments. I think I was allowed to do it for a contest last year, but the one I'm doing now says no. And the one I entered didn't allow it, either.

Electronic entries are great for saving paper and money and getting stuff sent around faster, but they BLOW for judging if you can't use Track Changes and Comments, especially because there's no common method. I can search for brackets, but what if they put something in and forgot the bracket? If they didn't use brackets, colors are easy to spot, but it's tedious scrolling through, especially if they don't say much and it's a long-ish entry.

Mildly annoying for the entrant, but HELLA annoying for the judge. Typing a bracket and changing the color every...single...time you have to comment is SO annoying! I copy/paste the bracket and type from there, which helps, but it's still an extra step that makes judging tedious and awkward. AND, if you mark something tiny like punctuation, you have to, like, type out the word "comma" over and over. I felt sorry for the judge who did that for me (especially since I won't be changing most of them).

Coordinators say judges can't use Track Changes and Comments because some entrants can't see them. I say point out the entrant still using a 1992 version of Word. :) No, seriously, I understand a few people might be using older technology or a different word processor that isn't compatible with those features. But my recommendation then is to have the entrant indicate on their entry form that they don't want those features used. Then the judges can check that and not use them on those particular entries, but have the awesome ease of using them otherwise.

Contests have a hard enough time getting judges already. They should do whatever they can to make things easier for us so we don't say "no, thanks," which is my plan for the rest of 2010, at least.

EUREKA...and uck

EUREKA!

Well, I think I've finally figured it out after two months. A productive writing schedule, that is. And I couldn't be happier. Long story short, my son got a new job two months ago (yay!) but I have to drive him to/from work and suddenly, my previous comfortable and productive writing schedule was thrown into chaos. I've been struggling since then to find a new system that works, and I finally did last week. I go to the library down the road. I now treat my writing like a second "outside" job. I leave my regular p/t office job at 2:10, pick up my son, drop him off at home, then get back in the car and go to my "other office" at the library. I stay there until I write the number of pages I need to that day, which usually takes about 45 minutes to an hour. I edit both in the morning before the regular job and in the evening.

Sounds simple and like I should have thought of it before. I know. Dummy me. But I now have real hope that I'll finish this next book by my April 1st deadline.

...and uck

I don't like February and March because I have to read so many books for the RITA and my local chapter. Twenty-one books this year. Now, reading twenty-one books in two months would normally be a delight for me as I love reading. Problem is, the books I'm always given to read are not ones I'd normally pick up. In fact, they're books I'd normally avoid at all costs. I don't know why it is but somehow I never get books I like. I think because the contest coordinators need authors willing to read these categories and they are the least popular categories.

So, uck. I can't wait to submit all my scores and get this last book in to my editor. Then, I'm going to pick up one of the awesome books in my TBR pile, lay around on the couch all Saturday, and indulge. Maybe I'll eat some chocolate, too.

Warmest wishes,

Cathy Mc

Disappointment and Victory

I got some bad news this morning. It was business, and it's not a bad thing in the long run, but it's a blow and a setback and has left me feeling a bit adrift and at loose ends today.

BUT.

Then I played Wii Sport Resort, Swordplay Showdown.

I've been trying for MONTHS to get past level 18. MONTHS. I once spent 2 hours trying. I've gone long stretches without playing, but I'm sure I've logged many, many hours at it.

And it's kind of metaphorical, when compared to this setback I had. You see, I had certain strategies that let me get to level 18, but they failed at that point. Sometimes they failed immediately, sometimes I got to 91% (as in, I've defeated 91% of my opponents) before they failed. But I never, ever got through. I even went all the way back to the beginning once, to rebuild my score, get it as high as possible, hopefully giving me more strength/power to defeat my opponents. But nope, it didn't work.

There was a strategy I knew I needed to employ, but never got the hang of it. My brain and muscles were too trained in the old way. Today, after a bunch of failures, I made it work, and I got through level 18!

Man, you should have heard me shouting. LOL But it doesn't end there. Of course, I had to move on, and level 19 only took me a few tries. Level 20 was harder, with far more aggressive opponents, but I kept trying, and finally broke through and won. I am now Swordmaster! :)

So the lesson: Patience, new strategies, and calculated aggressiveness can lead to success. I think I'm going to have to employ that elsewhere.

The Journey - a Continuing Saga

The journey continues, in spite of life's upheavals. Taxes are done, and I can only say this...make sure you have squirreled away at least 15-20 percent of your advance to pay the government. I got off lucky with my deductions (almost $15K in writing expenses alone), so I only owe $1600, but Virginia owes me $200 so I only have to ante up $1400 to Uncle Sam. I confess I expected it to be much worse, and while money is tight, I think I can pull it off. Just be forewarned.

I was day dreaming the other night, and reviewing emails from when I'd just gotten "the call" from Cindy at Berkley. In one of them, I noted a reference to a bonus is any of my books hit a specific number of a print run. I didn't remember seeing it in reference in my contract when advance monies were outlined, so I contacted my agent. She referred me to a different section of the contract, and WHOA! A lovely sum of bonus money if the print run comes in at a set point. So now I'm hoping for a nice summer where I can pay off some of my medical bills. *grin*

Speaking of which, the home front is still simmering. I see an orthopedic surgeon this coming Wednesday. I've been told that I'll most likely have to have pain management and physical therapy. However, I'm pretty confident that I can convince the surgeon that I've been doing enough pain management for the last 18 months (when all of this really began) and that it's time to address the issue head on. I don't have time or money to waste line his pockets, the drug company's pocket or the PT's pockets. Let's get this done and move on.

We should know something about Oldest in another week, and then we will have to wait and see about further testing. Unfortunately, this will not be a quick fix, but we are feeling more positive about the situation.

Baby is still dealing with issues, but I wrote a LONG, yet polite note, to her teachers and the school administration on Thursday. I told them that in order for us to work with them, they have to provide us with education. So with that in mind, the only thing they have to do is either drop me a quick one-two line email of any incidents with Baby during the day. This way we can address the issue with her and help her succeed better. So far, three teachers have responded, although two have not. But it's a hopeful prospect.

As for working under pressure, well let's just say that drugs can and do serve a purpose sometimes. *grin* I had a fantastic dream the other night that could be developed into a paranormal series. That is if I could just remember it. *sigh* But I have manged to get 20 pages written this week. I'm still behind, but hope to remedy that this weekend.

What A Day!

I had the wonderful opportunity to sit with a local 9-1-1 operator and a police dispatcher today and see exactly what goes on behind the scene. Honestly, I'm so impressed with what these folks do, their composure, and, yes, their response time. I've heard horror stories that it took ten minutes or more for a 9-1-1 call to be answered. This wasn't the case from what I saw of those manning the telephones. In fact, they were given 45 seconds to categorize the call and dispatch necessary personnel. Most of the calls were handle in less than the 45 seconds.

Although it wasn't a busy day (thank God), there was a bank robbery, a plane crash, and a number of other emergencies. From what I saw there were quite a few "butt dialing", yes, I said "butt dialing". You could hear children in the background and rustling, but nothing that would give you the idea that anyone was in danger. Of course, there were wrong numbers, and those individuals who thought 9-1-1 was actually 4-1-1. But what really caught my attention were the calls received from alarm companies information 9-1-1 that an elderly person was in need of assistance.

Another event that lit up their telephone lines was a car accident that had a motorcycle rider ejected twenty feet in the air flying over the cars ahead of him. The first operator to get the call logged and categorized the first call, while the other operators received numerous calls from other concerned citizens. Each operator logged information individually, so that the officers in route would have as much information as possible prior to getting to the scene. It was like watching a well oiled machine at work.

In addition to handling emergencies, these folks are a wealth of knowledge in making sure the caller gets to the right individuals within the police department. Believe me they have a rolodex in their head and the patience of a saint.

Another aspect of their job that intrigued me is that when an individual calls who doesn't speak English, this particular City uses AT&T's translation, which provides service in over 100 different languages at $20.00 a minute. Another capability that existed was TTY or services for for the hearing impaired.

While I sat with the Police Dispatcher I was impressed with how they kept an eye on the police officers ensuring their safety. Depending on the situation when a officer is out on a call the dispatcher calls the police officer every 5-10 minutes to acknowledge that things are going okay.

Computers tell the dispatcher exactly where their car is at all times. They can even track the car's mileage and identify the time it takes an officer to get from one point to another, which is useful when a male officer is in route with a female suspect like the one arrested in the bank robbery case. Additionally, when a female is involved their is always a female officer present to oversee the interview, etc.

Overall, I had a great time and learned a lot. Thanks go out to Kelly. I have a better understanding of how 9-1-1 operators and police/fire dispatchers serve our community, and I have a healthier respect for those who work to ensure our safety.

Mac

Agent Expectations

SOUND OFF!

At the moment, I'm a little frustrated with my agent. This has happened before in the many years of our relationship and will probably happen again. What seems to cause these bumps in the road are expectations, specifically my expectations of her. Even more specifically, my expectation of how soon she should respond to me.

It has occurred to me that I'm being unrealistic–at least, that's what some other authors have told me. They say that agents are busy and can't always get back to me right away. I need to be patient. Hmmm.....


The problem may be that I come at my relationship with my agent from a business standpoint. Having been in business for myself for over twenty years, I am a big believer in customer service. When the customer has a need, responding to that need is a top priority, and I don't make them wait beyond a reasonable time. "Reasonable time" is, of course, subjective, but in every case, I don't put the customer off for more than a few days. I expect similar treatment from my agent. I especially expect similar treatment from my agent when the question I've asked or the need I've presented is small in terms of how much effort is required to respond to me.

For example, when I ask, "Have we heard back from anyone on XXX submission?", I would like a quick email response. Something like, "No." Or, "Yes, Avon declined, here's their response."

How hard is that?

Another big issue I have with my agent is how long it takes to submit my proposals. When we both agree the proposal is ready to go out the door, I expect it to go out that door relative soon. Like within a couple weeks. Not eight months. Eight months!! I also don't feel I should have to email my agent every two-three weeks for that eight months and ask if the proposal has gone out yet.

Okay, this post is pure venting. I know that. Thanks for letting me get rid of my aggravation. But I really don't think I'm being unreasonable. Do you? What do you feel is a reasonable response time for an agent to get back to their client?

Cathy Mc