Dr. Paffenroth schooled me on Guinness

I've had the distinct pleasure of working with Dr. Kim Paffenroth on several occasions, starting with a blurb copy of his Stoker-winning GOSPEL OF THE LIVING DEAD. I had nice things to say about that book. As I do about Kim.

Our chairs butted backs for the first time at Horror Realm 2009--my very first convention; and first plane ride... (Oh, and my first time ever on the east coast.) His chair blocked the space between our tables; I always had to excuse myself.

At a table shared with J.L. Bourne, Kim was giving away these little book lights, which smoothly uncurled when he pressed a button. Quite cool, actually. Kim taught me about Guinness as I sipped my very first. He told me that overseas, some beers aren't even carbonated. I had never heard of such a thing. (Honestly, I'm that new to the beer scene. I'm sort of a teetotaler, too. Sort of.)

Anyway: For the past month or so, I've been editing Kim's novel LAST RITES, third in the DYING TO LIVE series; after all, I edited the first two.

But I did not edit this.

Nor did I come up with the cover design. I certainly wish I could take credit.

Kim read a piece of VALLEY at the convention. During his Q&A, I asked him, "So does your Dante faint all the time?"

Guess you'll have to read the book to find out what Kim said. But first, you'll have to wait for it to hit the Permuted press. Look for it in April.

(FYI, the next Market Scoop will be out much sooner than that. On March first, in fact.)

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Editing Tool: MS Word Track Changes

As an editor, I've worked on books such as Kim Paffenroth's DYING TO LIVE and David Wong's JOHN DIES AT THE END. Track changes, an editing tool in Microsoft Word, has been indispensable.

With track changes activated, editors can strike through material for suggested deletions and can insert additions, which will be underlined and highlighted for visibility; reviewers can quickly cycle through and accept/reject the editorial changes.

I not only use this utility for editing; I also use it in my own work, to keep track of revisions and drafts. You could also use track changes while co-authoring a novel, so you and your co-writer can show each other the parts you've changed.

To teach writers how to use the tool, I created a short video demonstration that I thought I'd share. The following instructions are based on Microsoft Word 2000. While tool bars appear differently in other versions of Word, the functions remain the same.

Play Track Changes demo >>


Any questions, corrections or additions? Comment below!

Disasters and Goodwill

Two weeks ago, I held a book signing for my novel as a fundraiser for Haiti disaster relief. The event went extremely well, and I just donated 100% of the proceeds.

See, recently my family has been struck with disaster after disaster, and repairs are going to cost some money; in fact, some damages aren't physical and can't be easily repaired. Fortunately, we have a support system, people who help us when we're down. I can't be more grateful for my family, and yet I know some people aren't as fortunate, and that's horrible; to know that some people have no one. I can't fathom that, and wouldn't wish it upon anyone. I also know that, even if we do have support, sometimes the disaster is too great and leaves too big of a hole.

So as much as I could use the extra cash, Haiti needs it more. So do a lot of people, and I hope they find help and solace. I hope even more that people give it to them, even in times when they themselves need help. Goodwill goes a long way, and in my life, people's generosity has certainly inspired me to give more and be better for it, even as parts of my life are crumbling and need repair.

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LOST final season

If you are not current with the TV show LOST, do not read this. And I mean current, as in fourth episode, final season. (Heh, who am I kidding: if you're not caught up, you won't even understand this...)

THEORY
The "candidates" are vying for multiple positions, not just one. If Jacob needs to be replaced, so does his entire cabinet... eventually: his Richard, his Ben; his Friendly. No single man can protect the island. Not by himself, he can't.

So Jack is there, the martyr, the saint; the spinal surgeon. But he can't plan and reason quite as well as Sawyer--the only guy left who can plan like Jacob, with the tendencies of Ben.

And what would island life be without lucky-charm Hurley? He thinks he's bad luck, but he's not. (Remember the death-defying road trip he took with Charlie?)

Not to racially profile here, but would Jin replace Dogen? Would Sun??? She knows her medicinal herbs. And her English.

Who would John Locke stand in for? What spiritual adviser?

And what if they could all just get along? Balance the scales?

See, that single image right there lends a lot of credence to the theory that black and white are supposed to work in unison, not in imbalance. In love, like Rose and Bernard.

Maybe someday they'll all go back there to that cabin by the ocean for a cup of tea.

THEORY
What if the flashsideways is perfect? The characters' lives fulfilling, full of love? A much better life than the one they led on the island. Perfect. Everything beautiful, and nothing hurts. What if?

Then what if they remember the island???

For other viewpoints on this season, go to the Permuted Press forum.

And share your theories in comments below!

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Blog Update - Exit66.net integration

This is not a Market Scoop. It's an announcement.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be integrating my website www.exit66.net into the blog formerly dedicated to D.L. Snell's Market Scoops, which will now be called Snellville. But neither Market Scoops nor its URL will go away! Neither will the exit66.net domain. I'm simply combining my sites, sort of like Ralan.com.

This means blog entries will be a mix of Snell Mail and Market Scoops. But if you're here just for the Scoops, you can filter out unwanted posts by clicking "Market Scoops" in the Pages & Links gadget.

If you like it, if you hate it, comment below; let me know what works and what doesn't.

And look for a Market Scoop on DARK DISCOVERIES soon!!!

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DISTANT REALMS

THE MARKET

• Antho: DISTANT REALMS
• Editor(s): Lance Schonberg
• Pay rate: $100
• Response Time: 1-2 weeks
• Deadline: 31 March 2010
• Description: Novella-length fantasy stories between 20 and 30,000 words
• Submission Guidelines: dwdr.wordpress.com

NOTE: Horror author D.L. Snell conducted the following interview to give writers a better idea of what the editors of this specific market are seeking; however, most editors are open to ideas outside of the preferences discussed here, as long as they fit the basic submission guidelines.

THE SCOOP

1) What authors do you enjoy and what is it about their writing that captivates you?
The names that jump to my lips are probably familiar to a lot of genre readers: Guy Gavriel Kay, Terry Pratchett, Lois McMaster Bujold, C.J. Cherryh, Robert J. Sawyer. The things they have in common are their abilities to create interesting or unusual characters and drag them through stories that force growth and change while still being entertaining.

But in the last couple of years I’ve discovered a lot of smaller press authors as well, telling stories just as fun and compelling. The internet is making it a lot easier to find new and interesting people to read and listen to. Philippa Ballantine, Greg van Eekhout, Scott Sigler, Rhiannon Frater, Nathan Lowell.

And we’re in the early days of a Golden Age for short fiction. Picking out a fraction of the short stories I’ve enjoyed recently would take a lot of time and space. There’s more good short fiction being run today than I could ever hope to get to.

2) What are your favorite genres? Which of these genres would you like to see incorporated into submissions to this market?
Fantasy and Science Fiction. I do some horror and humour as well, both reading and writing, but “Distant Realms” is a Fantasy anthology so that’s really what I’m looking for here. My definition of Fantasy is fairly broad, so when in doubt, send it.

3) What settings most intrigue you? Ordinary or exotic locales? Real or fantasy? Past, present, or future?
Whatever serves the story. I know that’s kind of a vague answer, but I don’t want to say I’m bored with such and such a setting or locale just in case someone has the best story ever written and then doesn’t send it to me because that’s where it’s set. I try never to let my own preconceptions get in the way of enjoying a good story.

4) Explain the type of pacing you enjoy, e.g. slow building to fast, fast throughout, etc.
Pacing depends on both the length and nature of the story, but again the answer is going to be whatever works best. Fair warning, though: by the time you get to novella lengths, careening from scene to scene is hard to maintain. Sometimes you have to slow down for a bit and let me almost catch my breath before pushing me over the next cliff.

5) What types of characters appeal to you the most? Any examples?
Complicated, realistic characters. Two dimensional cut-outs get old fast, and if I can’t care about any of the characters, I have a hard time caring about the story. I don’t expect to know the main POV character’s life history, but I do need to know more about them than a basic physical description. They need to have hopes and dreams and fears, just like those of us in the real world.

6) What is your policy for vulgarity and sexual content? (Question by Ralph Robert Moore)
Does it serve the story?

Too much swearing can rob the words of power and effect, but there are people who talk like that, so it can be legitimate to have a character who does, too. But if everyone in the story swears constantly, it gets tiring.

Do your main characters sleep with whoever’s handy every chance they get? Chances are, some of that activity is gratuitous. Like anything else in the story, sex needs to do something to advance some part of it, character, scene, or plot. If it doesn’t, then why is it there?

7) Horror and violence can be blatant or suggestive. Which one do you prefer and why?
Suggestive. Or maybe blatant. Or both. It’s going to depend a lot on the situation. Don’t show me what the monster’s doing until you’re ready to have it wreck the city/eat the main characters/whatever, but feel free to show me the gory results of its work. On the other side of things, it’s hard to write a battlefield sequence without a little blood and guts and maybe the odd flying limb or head. Every story is different and every scene is different. I think things tend to work out best if you only show the reader what they really need to see.

8) In fiction and in life, what do you find most horrific?
Violence against children. This may stem from being a parent, but I can’t think of anything that turns me off faster. Hearing about a child murder or an Amber Alert on the news makes me want to find my kids and make sure they’re okay. As a reader, I’m less interested in being disturbed than being entertained or made to think. As an editor, doing nasty things to children “on screen” isn’t going to endear the story to me. I’ve stopped watching TV shows and put down otherwise good books for this. It needs to be crucial to the story or a character’s motivation, and even then I find it tough to stomach.

9) In general, do you prefer downbeat or upbeat endings?
Satisfying. Whether the possible future for whoever survived is good or bad doesn’t matter so much as an ending that flows logically from the rest of the story. If boy gets girl/boy/amorphous alien life form, that’s fine, as long as it fits the story, but don’t pull a happy ending out of your butt. Turning that around, if everyone’s dead on the last page, that needs to fit, too. When I’m finished reading, I want to think, “Yeah, that works.”

10) What are the top three things submitters to this market should avoid?

1. Passive voice drives me nuts. I get tired of reading about how Bob was standing, was watching, was twiddling his thumbs very quickly. Bob stood, he watched, he twiddled his thumbs. Things happen, even if they aren’t very exciting things. I don’t have anything against the verb To Be, but if it’s your main verb with a lot of –ings scattered around, it might be time to let your writing become a little more active.
   
   
2. Over-writing. Make every word count, whatever your story length. “The plane went down, trailing smoke behind it.” Where else would the smoke be? In the same vein, a lot of dialogue tags are unnecessary. If you’ve just told me Sabrina stared at Michael while she spoke, tacking “she said” on the end is a waste of keystrokes.
   
   
3. Too many POV characters. Telling the story through too many sets of eyes dilutes things and makes it hard for your reader to get attached to any one character--and I want to get attached to the characters. It makes the story much more enjoyable.

11) What commonalities are among the stories you've rejected? Is there a particular aspect authors seem to get wrong? (Question by Martel)
Sometimes it’s the little things that just add up to the point where they’re overriding an otherwise good story, things that some extra proofreading would fix: typos, spelling and grammatical errors, misused homonyms. Never, ever trust your spell checker. It lies.

Sometimes it’s bigger things, like all the characters having the same voice, magical (and unjustified) leaps in understanding or ability to get the protagonist out of a tight corner, or the protagonist doing something completely contrary to their presented character to force the story in a certain direction. Reality doesn’t have to, but fiction needs to make sense.

12) If you reject a story, how open are you to a revised version, or do you only want revisions upon request? (Question by Martel)
Generally, if I want a rewrite I’ll request it, but that’s normally going to be part of the publication process. By the time I ask for something to be changed, it will be because I’ve decided I want to include it in the anthology but feel it needs to be tweaked in some way.

I suppose it never hurts to ask, but if I’ve said something like, “I wish you the best of luck finding a home for the story elsewhere,” you can probably figure out what the answer will be.

13) Describe a story you’ve recently accepted or short-listed. What made it stand out from the slush pile?
I recently shortlisted a story I’d consider labelling a Secret History, something that fictionalizes real events and speculates a little deeper, but in a way that doesn’t interfere how history actually played out. It took a moment in time I wasn’t familiar with and breathed life into what might otherwise have been dry, dusty characters. And it was fun.

14) What trait are you seeking most in submissions to this market?
Entertain me. Give me at least one character I can care about and a plot that always has me wanting to know what comes next. Weak or boring characters make it hard to get attached to anyone, and it doesn’t matter how interesting the characters are if nothing happens to them and they don’t do anything.

15) Any last advice for submitters to this market?
Don’t try to do too much. A 20-30,000 word novella gives you a lot of space to play with, but if you find yourself compressing events to squeeze the story into the length guidelines, maybe it’s time to reconsider how long it needs to be. For “Distant Worlds”, I rejected several stories because they really needed to be novel-length. I haven’t read one of those yet for “Distant Realms”, but it won’t surprise me when I do.

For more scoops, go to marketscoops.blogspot.com.

D.L. Snell writes with Permuted Press. He edited Dr. Kim Paffenroth twice, John Dies at the End once, and provided a constructive critique to Joe McKinney on his next major novel after Dead City. You can shoot D.L. Snell in the head at www.exit66.net.

This article may be freely reprinted in any e-zine, newsletter, newspaper, magazine, website, etc. as long as all links and this message remain intact, as well as Snell's byline and bio. The formatting may be adjusted to fit the venue, but the content of the article must not be altered without written permission from D.L. Snell.