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Advanced
Techniques: Show - Grammar
by
Sandy Tritt
www.InspirationForWriters.com
The
greatest novel in the history of the
universe will never reach
publication if the author does not
have a decent command of the English
language. If your grammar needs a
brush up, consider taking a grammar
course at your local college, or at
least invest in a good grammar text
and study it. Most of the
manuscripts I see have decent
grammar. However, there are still
some common mistakes that I see too
often. Here are some solutions:
• Maintain tense. Changing from past
tense to present tense within a
scene is (almost) never acceptable.
• Check spelling. With all the spell
check features available, there is
no excuse for misspelling words.
• Don’t always trust spell check.
Many spell check editors remove
hyphens between compound adjectives
that precede a noun, such as
“well-known writer.” Also be careful
not to automatically accept the
suggested alternative spelling, and
be sure to proof your work for the
use of the correct word.
• Spell out state names, “okay,”
units of measure, people’s names,
months, and days of the week. It is
okay to abbreviate titles that come
before or after proper names (Mrs.
Smith, Dr. John Doe, MD), BC and AD,
initials of famous people (JFK, LBJ),
corporations best known by their
initials (TCI, IBM), organizations
(YMCA, FBI), and universities (WVU,
UCLA). It is also okay to use other
acronyms, as long as they are
generally understood or as long as
the first time they are used the
full name is included in parentheses
afterwards.
• Punctuation goes inside quotation
marks. “Learning the correct
grammar,” Sandy said, “can be
interesting.”
• Use double quotation marks for
dialogue. When it is necessary to
make a quote within dialogue, use
single quotation marks. “Sandy said,
‘Watch using single quotes.’”
• Keep your sentences parallel in
construction. For example: “Johnny
brought his mother’s diary,
handkerchief, and his father’s
wallet for show and tell.” Was the
handkerchief his mother’s or someone
else’s?
I also see certain words misused
with some frequency. These include:
• Lay/Lie. Definitely the most
common error I run into. And no
wonder. In present tense, lay means
to cause to lie down or to place. It
requires an object. Example: “He
laid his hat next to his gloves,”
where laid (past tense of “lay”) is
the verb and his hat is the object.
Lie means to be or to place oneself
in a reclining position. Example:
“He lies on the bed pretending to
sleep.” There is no object, nothing
that further explains what or who
lies, because the verb lie modifies
the subject of the sentence (in this
case, he). But it is past tense that
trips up 80% of the writers I’ve
worked with. The past tense of lay
is laid. No sweat. BUT—the past
tense of lie is lay. Ugh! (Any
wonder we get confused?) Examples:
Present tense: She lays the book on
the table.
Past tense: She laid the book on the
table.
Present tense: She lies on the sofa
and enjoys the breeze.
Past tense: She lay on the sofa and
enjoyed the breeze.
• Alright/All right. Alright is no
longer considered an acceptable
word. All right is the only correct
spelling.
• Then/Than. Then means a time or
accordingly. Than is a comparison.
• Affect/Effect. Affect is usually a
verb meaning “to influence.” Effect
is a noun, meaning “result.”
Drinking does not affect his
personality. If fact, it seems to
have no effect at all.
• Conscience/Conscious. Conscience
is a noun meaning having a sense of
right and wrong. Conscious is an
adjective meaning to be aware of.
• Further/Farther. Farther refers to
actual, physical distance. Further
refers to a thought or idea. “It is
farther to Nancy’s house than we
thought.” “The further we go in the
discussion, the more apparent it
becomes that the parents are always
right.”
• Each other/One another. Each other
is used when only two people are
involved. One another is used when
more than two people are involved.
“Jane and Michael looked at each
other and sighed.” “The Holzen
triplets hugged one another.”
• Have/ Of. Use have, not of, after
helping verbs such as could, would,
should, may and might. I should have
(not of) known that. I think this
confusion occurs because of the
pronunciation of the contracted
have: ‘ve. So, our example sentence
could have been written: I should’ve
known that.
If your grammar exceeds the seventh
grade level, you make take literary
license and “adjust” the grammar as
you see fit as long as it serves an
artistic purpose. Such as using
sentence fragments like this one for
emphasis. Or starting sentences with
conjunctions (like this one).
However, if it doesn’t serve a
purpose, use correct grammar so your
reader (and publisher!) will realize
that you do understand the proper
way of doing it.
There are many websites devoted to
grammar and/or spelling, so don’t
hesitate to scan the Net for help if
you need it.
(c)
copyright 2002 by Sandy Tritt. All
rights reserved, except for those
listed here. The article can be reproduced
for educational purposes (such as for
writer's workshops), as long as this
copyright notice and the url: http://tritt.wirefire.com
are distributed with the pages. For
use in conferences or other uses not
mentioned here, please contact Sandy
Tritt at
www.InspirationForWriters.com.for permission and additional
resources at no or limited charge.
Keep writing!
Sandy
Tritt
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Write a How-To First
by
Patricia L. Fry
President - Small Publishers,
Artists and Writers Network (SPAWN)
Are you eager to write a novel, a memoir or a
children’s book, but you are intimidated by the enormity of the task? If
you’ve done your research, you know that publishing is a daunting
undertaking. And there are no guarantees that your book will be
successful.
Countless people become authors without knowing the
ropes. And many of them fail.
That’s why I suggest to clients and SPAWN members that
they start by publishing a sure thing. A sure thing in
publishing, you scoff? Absolutely. Produce a how-to book or booklet on a
topic that you know well. Self-publish it and distribute it through
familiar channels.
Let’s say that you grow kitchen herbs. First, do some
research to see if there is a need for a pamphlet or booklet on how to
grow a kitchen garden, how to cook with herbs, simple medicinal products
you can mix at home or 10 crafts you can make using lavender.
Maybe you have small children. You could put together
a booklet featuring rainy day activities for kids, local day trips for
families or teaching tips for keeping your kids minds sharp during the
summer break.
If you raise goats, respond to letters to Santa,
collect vintage clothing, love to ride roller coasters, have patented an
item, love gardening, have a disabled child, work with the blind or
rescue injured birds, you have information that others don’t have and
possibly need or want. Producing a pamphlet or booklet is an excellent
way to share your knowledge while learning the publishing ropes.
What if you don’t have a particular skill, talent or
area of interest? Choose a subject you’d like to know more about, do the
research, conduct interviews and write about it. I’ve written about
numerous topics in which I didn’t have vast experience, including chain
letters, journal-keeping, long-distance grandparenting, intuition,
scrapbooking, therapeutic gardening and how to work with an irate
customer, for example.
Once you’ve chosen a subject for your booklet, write a
book proposal. A book proposal will help you to determine whether you
have a valid book idea at all. You’ll learn who your target audience is.
A book proposal guides you in locating outlets for your book. This is an
excellent opportunity for you to experience the book proposal process.
And when you are ready to write that novel, memoir or children’s book,
you’ll have a model to use
How does one go about promoting a book? In the case of
a booklet on herbs, perhaps you belong to an organization related to
herbs, have a Web site featuring herbs, produce a newsletter for herb
enthusiasts and love to visit other herb groups when you travel. Plan to
use these means to promote and sell your booklet.
Promotional opportunities for the rainy day activities
booklet might include a point-of- purchase display at local toy stores
and children’s shops. You could design and write a column for a new
regional parenting magazine. Obtain a mailing list of young parents and
offer your booklet through mail order.
Your 20-50-page booklet could become a home-grown
product with you doing the cover design, page layout, printing and
assembly, for example. Or pay a local business center to print and
saddle-stitch the book.
While no two projects are the same, this publishing
and marketing experience will provide you with the skills and tools you
need for future projects. And it will give you the perspective to more
clearly evaluate the potential for the book of your dreams, the courage
to change the focus if you feel it is warranted and the confidence to
proceed.
Patricia Fry is a freelance writer, author and
writing/publishing consultant. She is the author of 25 books, including,
"The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book," (Matilija Press,
2006). www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html. Visit her informative blog
at www.matilijapress.com/publishingblog.
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Self-Publishing Success DOES
Happen
by
Jim Barnes
"Wind howled through the night,
carrying a scent that would change
the world."
So begins the young adult fantasy
novel Eragon, by teenaged
author Christopher Paolini, who
did change the world of
self-published fiction in America,
by becoming the biggest publishing
success story of the new millennium.
Eragon has sold over 2.5
million copies worldwide, and the
sequel, Eldest has already
sold a million copies since its 2005
release.
This is by no means a common
outcome for today’s fledgling
author. For the vast majority of
unpublished authors, rejection is a
fact of life.
Come to think of it, most
successful contemporary authors
began their careers with horror
stories about the numerous
rejections they endured. As major
publishers become larger and more
bestseller-oriented, unknown authors
are finding it ever more difficult
to get a contract.
Hence, self-publishing is the
solution many authors choose when
they get the Rejection Slip Blues.
Produced properly, a self-published
book should look as good or better
than a royalty-published book.
Especially if you hire expert help,
self-publishing is fairly easy. It’s
selling a self-published book
that’s hard. The odds of achieving
bestseller status are long, but hey,
what’s to lose, besides your time,
money and self-esteem?
It does happen. Long shots do
win, and the world of arts and
entertainment loves original ideas,
new talent, and fresh voices. Who
knows, maybe your book will get
discovered and end up as a big
blockbuster holiday movie! (Eragon,
the movie, was released on Dec. 15,
2006 and had earned $234 million
worldwide as of Jan. 25, 2007.)
Montana-born and home-schooled
Christopher Paolini was no overnight
sensation. The teen-aged Paolini and
his family truly paid their dues
with huge amounts of effort, using
their can-do attitude to get the
book in print -- he even drew the
cover illustration himself. Once the
book was printed, the real work
began, as Paolini tirelessly hawked
and talked his way to regional
success with readers and booksellers
--sometimes dressing in medieval
costume -- and got enough copies out
there to make it easier for a
miracle happen. To wit: the stepson
of author Carl Hiasson saw Paolini’s
presentation at his school,
purchased and read the book, and the
rest is publishing history.
This tireless pavement-pounding
is also how Richard Paul Evans
launched The Christmas Box
franchise -- one book at a time,
from the trunk of his car. For Mark
Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield, it
was tirelessly promoting Chicken
Soup for the Soul with on-air
interviews –- they’re proud to say
they never turned one down, no
matter how obscure. Sandra Haldeman
Martz started a nationwide movement
of women celebrating the aging
process with When I Am an Old
Woman I Shall Wear Purple and
achieved her company’s initial
success purely with word-of-mouth
advertising.
What did they all have in common?
They promoted themselves and
their books shamelessly and
tirelessly.
They made sure their books
were well-edited and had great
cover designs.
They knew their markets, and
knew how to write for and
promote to customers in those
markets.
They had excellent elevator
speeches, and knew exactly how
to describe their books to
various age groups and different
kinds of people.
This is speculation on my part,
but I bet they also knew how to
close the sale. Yes,
self-publishing is for closers. You
need to know how to close the deal,
whether it’s asking for the sale of
a single book, getting a testimonial
or review, or landing a distribution
contract.
Not only does the successful
self-publisher have to deliver a
great product that will appeal to a
sizeable reading audience, but you
must also become a killer
salesperson, a stunning pubic
speaker, and a tireless promoter. Be
prepared to wear out both a pair of
shoes and a set of tires, and to go
through a lot of throat lozenges
before you walk down that red carpet
to your movie premier.
To review:
To be a bestselling author
today, all you have to do is
have your novel made into a
blockbuster movie, with sequel,
video game, and action figures.
Barring that, all you have
to do is have your book made
into a movie that does modest
box office but is
well-thought-of by the critics.
Barring that, all you have
to do is appear on The Oprah
Winfrey Show with your book.
Barring that, all you have
to do is appear in O the
Oprah Magazine
with your book.
Barring that, all you have
to do is appear in a Playboy
centerfold (without) your book.
Barring any of these things
happening, you’ll have to do it the
old-fashioned way, self-promoting
your book with lots of hard work and
endless enthusiasm.
Jim Barnes is editor of
INDEPENDENT PUBLISHER ONLINE the
Web-based electronic magazine with
news, reviews, and how-to’s for
independent authors and publishers.
IPO sponsors the annual INDEPENDENT
PUBLISHER BOOK
AWARDS contest, dedicated to
"Recognizing Excellence in
Independent Publishing" since 1996,
and parent company Jenkins Group,
Inc. provides independent authors
with a full range of custom book
publishing, consulting, and
marketing services. Visit the
websites
www.IndependentPublisher.com and
www.BookPublishing.com for more
information.
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Publishing New Writers,
February, 2007 (no. 802)
Publisher: Bruce L. Cook, P.O. Box 451, Dundee, IL 60118.
Fax (847) 428-8974.
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