OT (meta?): mgowriters
I know that there are some writers on here. Ed Markham posted his self published book a couple of years ago and it turned out to be an awesome read. If you have a book on Amazon I'd love to read it. Please post links. If it's on Kindle I'll buy it. We all need something to do, and if I can support someone here I'd gladly do it.
What a neat suggestion, thanks EYB. Nothing of my own to share, but totally support the idea.
I'm not really a fan of science fiction, but I'd read your stuff, Brutus.
This legit made me LOL
Awesome idea! I have a couple:
I worked at the Helen Keller Foundation out of college, and published a book of quotes by her to be used for fundraising. Has some historical bits in it: https://www.amazon.com/Live-Think-Hope-Inspirational-Quotes-ebook/dp/B005UI7ONS/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=to+live+to+think+to+hope&qid=1585164929&sr=8-4
I also published one of my papers while at UofM (warning: political): https://www.amazon.com/Thin-Blue-Line-depth-Department-ebook/dp/B005S5LVLO/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&qid=1585164948&refinements=p_27%3AMatthew+B.+Gordon&s=digital-text&sr=1-4&text=Matthew+B.+Gordon
Again, awesome idea - thanks!
are you living out in LA, or were you when you wrote that LAPD book? mgoblogger arlo and i could've been your consultants, not that you needed any.
March 26th, 2020 at 12:40 AM ^
Unfortunately, no. But I grew up during the OJ trials, and always had an interest in the under-aspects of that time period in LA. Would definitely love to get your thoughts on it if you finish it.
you are the one with the book. i just lived it to some degree, and yeah, OJ drove about a mile from the house that fateful day in 1994.
I definitely will read the thin blue line
Very cool -- going to check these both out!
March 25th, 2020 at 10:27 PM ^
Dat Butt: University of Michigan alumnus, Published author, Helen Keller historian, Man who chooses ironically juvenile message board monikers
March 26th, 2020 at 12:37 AM ^
Dead. I've found the author of my tombstone.
EYB I wrote your name in the snow.
It was yellow
Seriously though this is a great idea.
EYB, did you use an agent when you got published?
I just finished a first draft of a ~151k word fantasy novel and was kind of looking ahead to the query process.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
To get with any kind real publishing house you definitely need an agent. Try to find agents who have placed a lot of books in that genre.
Right - I'm looking more for advice on the art of drawing them in. I'm sure they swift through hundreds of these letters and first ten pages of novels. How to stand out is what I'm looking for.
I don't have an agent. I am working on having my books professionally edited, formatted and then have covers made. At this point, the amount of work that goes into finding an agent, let alone a publisher, is almost more than going the self publishing route, and your odds of making money seem to be about the same (if you're willing to put in the work). If you're serious, join the Facebook group "20booksto50k". (If you have Facebook). It's a pretty serious group that has a lot of great info on the entrepreneurial side of writing fiction. I've seen incredibly good, hard working authors with literally hundreds of published short stories try and fail for years to find an agent. I understand for some this is the method that almost "certifies" them as a serious author but it's not necessarily the only route.
I'm sort of in the same boat; I am anticipating shopping a novel around by the end of the year. I have some contacts in publishing (fantasy and science fiction) and know a bunch of writers in the same boat (including one guy whose first novel came out earlier this year). So while I do not have an agent, I do have a plan.
First, have beta readers on the novel if you haven't already. If you have a local writer's group, great, but there are online groups as well. Always take advice with a grain of salt, though; often a reader will identify a problem without being able to give a workable solution.
Second, start writing both a one or two-sentence summary of the book and a one-page summary of the book. If you subscribe to Book Bub, you can see a lot of the one or two-sentence summaries and get a feel for what works and what doesn't. I see an awful lot of those that just don't work for me (occasionally for books I've liked).
Third, start researching possible agents. You do want to be careful here, as a bad agent has the potential to hinder you. One tip I've seen is to look in the acknowledgements of recent books for writers who actually thank their agents--an agent not getting thanked by the author is a bad sign. Another resource is Writer Beware (link).
Many agents specialize in one area or another, and you don't want to waste their time (or yours!) by submitting something that they say up front they won't be interested in. Locus (link) follows SFF publishing news and may be helpful in identifying similar books and the agents who represent them.
Fourth, start querying the agents you've identified. Be careful to follow their instructions about how to submit and whether or not they accept simultaneous submissions.
Finally, consider submitting the book to publishers who accept unsolicited submissions. It's a lot easier to get an agent if you've already sold the book. However, there aren't as many of these who do, and you need to be careful that they're actually open for submissions when you submit.
Edit: also see evenyoubrutus's advice on self-publishing. Self-publishing is a perfectly viable option, and even a lot of conventionally published authors self-publish some of their works these days.
A lot of good information to unpack here. Thank you and thanks to you EYB.
FWIW I've been meaning to write a book on sales and sales management for a long time and never found the time. Until now....now I've got gobs of time on my hands (unfortunately)
I realized something about myself the other day during a crisis management teleconference. I have a gift for being able to see things for exactly what they are - I don't kid myself or try and talk myself into a desired outcome.
But I have a curse in that my delivery is poor so others tend to tune out the message, even when it's accurate. Probably especially when it's accurate.
That will undoubtedly be a chapter or two in this book to be sure.
It is super awesome that you weren't cursed with modesty. How else would all of us know how fantastic you are?
See what I mean?
I'm fine with it. The guy is just being honest about who he is.
Have you read Up in the Air? It's the book that the George Clooney movie was adapted from. That might be of interest to you.
Thanks, OP! English Major, class of ‘92 at UM. This is what that got me: http://bit.ly/LongLost
Please leave a review if you read it!
Oh, and the college in the secondary, 30-years-ago timeline was loosely based on UM. See if you can spot the references!
I wrote a book that will be published soon. I was inspired by "Everybody Poops" to write my own addition to the literary world.
It's called "Everybody Drinks Their Own Urine" and it's intended to normalize drinking one's own urine, so people will stop looking at me funny.
As opposed to "Everybody Drinks Somebody Else's Urine" ... otherwise known as "The Pabst Blue Ribbon Story."
I wrote a book once and a bunch of short stories. Never had the guts to publish it. I reread it recently and it isn’t as good as I remember but it still had a lot of brilliantly written excerpts that make me think, “my god, I used to be a lot more creative than I am now. What the fuck happened to me.” Then I put the manuscript down, drink another sip of Blantons, listen to Townes Van Zandt, and cry my tears into the glass of whiskey to soften the bite.
Nice thought EYB!
I've been lurking here every day for almost 10 years, though I rarely post. But love this idea and curious to check out other MGoBloggers books as well.
A couple of mine, available cheap on Amazon, or on Kindle:
MY HEART IS AN IDIOT (book of personal essays about my own misadventures in love, on road trips, and beyond; plenty of Ann Arbor references)
https://www.amazon.com/My-Heart-Idiot-Davy-Rothbart/dp/1250037727
THE LONE SURFER OF MONTANA, KANSAS (book of short stories; the first one takes place in Ann Arbor/ Ypsi, and other Michigan references throughout)
https://www.amazon.com/Lone-Surfer-Montana-Kansas-Stories/dp/0743263057
Also - check out the FOUND books and FOUND Magazines, made locally in Ann Arbor since 2001!
http://store.quackmedia.com/found-magazine/
Thanks all -- GO BLUE and please stay safe.
I wrote one to absolutely no fanfare about 20 years ago, and with everything that has been going on, while I am very fortunate that my work has gone on uninterrupted, I have used spare time to finally begin a followup book that will also suck. The working title is "Tales Of A 40-Something Nothing".
I wrote a book about a group of teachers trying to get fired. I don't know if it's for everyone, but I haven't had a teacher yet who didn't love it. Free on kindle unlimited.
I am not, but I went to high school with Lori Selke. She has written, “The XY Conspiracy,” “Demon Lovers,” and, “Lost Girls and Others.”
Review from Amazon.com:
”Selke has given us a fascinating character whose record of events really comes to life, in a way that a simpler, more straightforward retelling would not. The dynamics of Jyn’s life—her race, her sexuality, her own internalized whorephobia, and more—all come into play in the novella; The XY Chromosome talks about Japanese internment camps, about Roswell, about Erich von Daniken’s racism and more, all from the point of view of this Asian-American lesbian stripper.”
So, basically a day in the life of the MGoBoard. The only thing missing is Vitamin C.
I know of a few books by readers:
If you're into eerie fiction I recommend The Sisters by Tres Crow. Michigan grad and author, copyedited a lot of the HTTVs for us. He's made it free for the duration of the epidemic and it's a pretty quick read.
I also recommend Tinderbox by mgoreader (and sometime EDSBS'er) Robert Fiesler. It's nonfiction, hits really hard, and you'll recognize some of the writing style as MGoBloglike because we all were little schoolgirls over Infinite Jest together at the same time.
Cupid: Under the Gold Knife by Nick Coston is a graphic novel about a heart surgeon. He kickstarted this with help from other readers.
Finally The Race for Paris by Meg Waite Clayton, who gave me a copy at an alumni event I was speaking at and thanked me for a specific mgopost. This thing won a lot of awards.
Thank you, that's awesome!
Thanks to everyone else who responded so far. I've looked at all your books and I am adding g each of them to my reading queue.
March 25th, 2020 at 10:03 PM ^
Anyone know a good place to find beta readers?
There are people who will do it for a fee (like editors). Your best bet is to join a writing group and exchange work.
March 25th, 2020 at 10:04 PM ^
I could use a ghost writer if anyone wants to volunteer. Reel Fish Tales. A story of and my friends and me salmon fishing on the Pere Marquette river and the escapades that became lore.
It would fit into the America Pie genre quite well. The right writer or the write righter could do well. I would request ironclad anonymity of course.
March 25th, 2020 at 11:28 PM ^
I have 20+ publications in peer reviewed journals but ... unless you’re either a sadist or a hard core cell/molecular biologist or toxicologist who’s into assay development and validation, they’re pretty tough reading.
I'd like to write some scifi books when I retire. I have some ideas outlined. May be they will be good may be not?
A long time friend of mine and fellow UM alum recently self-published a novel on Amazon. It's a zombie/action/comedy that takes place predominantly in Michigan. Here's the description:
"A disgraced former college football star has pretty much given up. Self-medicating with pills and meaningless sex, he staggers through life just waiting for it to end – until a sudden zombie outbreak gives a newfound purpose to his previously hollow existence.
As our mouthy anti-hero bands together with a group of unlikely survivors, he must confront his demons as well as the undead, flesh-eating monsters that seemingly lurk around every corner. And every time he thinks things can't get any more ridiculous...they do. The only thing guaranteed to survive is his sense of humor."
A great mix of light comedy with some deeper themes as well. Highly recommended!
For those looking to do more reading while stuck indoors, Amazon is currently offering 2 free months of Kindle Unlimited. https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/promoLanding?campaignId=907ea992-8e47-45f1-bacf-eeee592e4423&promoCode=907ea992-8e47-45f1-bacf-eeee592e4423&tag=nypost-20&tag=nypost-20