Author: Elizabeth Spann Craig

I went to see the new Smurf movie with my daughter and her two friends yesterday. :)

When I go to kids’ movies, I try to be a good sport. I channel my inner child, I suspend my disbelief, I try to get into a sillier mood.

I’m aware that sometimes I might be a pain to go to the movies with, so I have a rule that I keep my mouth shut if I feel the need to be critical.

So when Gargamel dumped a huge load of Smurfy backstory on Azrael the cat, I just made a mental note of the transgression and didn’t make a peep.

It was a pretty obvious dump—he explained how Papa Smurf had 99 boy Smurfs and then ended up with one girl—Smurfette. It was information that, to me, was distracting. I’d always just assumed, as a casual observer (I was a little old for the Smurfs when they debuted on US TV…my little sister watched them) that Papa Smurf was some kind of tribal leader. Did I need to know that the Smurfs were related (except, as more backstory reveals later, Smurfette)? Not really.

These are some questions I ask myself when dealing with backstory:

Is it necessary? Can I edit it out and not lose anything?

Can it be used suspensefully, if I need to include it? Can I reveal it later in the story and use the information to make readers turn pages to discover more?

Can I reveal the backstory to a newly introduced character in a more natural way?

Can I include a small amount in dialogue (without making it sound like Gargamel’s conversation with Azrael?)

Can a small amount be included with my character’s thoughts or in her memory?

Can I matter of factly slip in concise information as a tag? Mark’s sister, Tina, or Mark’s sister Tina was a nurse at the regional hospital.

And, by the way? If you’re nine, you’ll probably love the Smurfs. :)

How do you work in backstory?

Saturday, I mentioned that it was difficult for writers to locate and sort through the wilderness of editors, designers, and formatters.

I suggested, in fact, that there should be some ebook Sherpas to help give guidance. :)

Since there’s a distinct lack of ebook Sherpas at this point in the game (I’m sure there will soon be some entrepreneurs in this field…maybe even former agents), I thought that at least we could provide a spot for professionals to announce that they offered services for self-publishing writers.

The editor, designer, and formatter should be the ones to leave their contact info, though—I know most of us know some people in this field (I know a handful, too), but maybe they wouldn’t want to be added at this point by a writer (they could be too busy, or wanting pursue another field, etc.) But writers could email or tweet them and ask if they wanted to be added to our list.

This will probably be a list that will grow as we go. :) So I’m leaving the post open.

If you’d like to be added to the list, please either email me at elizabethspanncraig (at) gmail (dot) com or comment on this post. Websites or blogs would be especially wonderful to leave a link to, so we could get a better sense of you or your work.

I’ll sort the different professionals into categories (cover designers, etc.) and will open up a new blog with a page for each category, as a sort of directory. I’ll link to it on my sidebar and tweet it a bit. I can’t be a Sherpa, so this will be an effort such as a writer-with-very-little-time might come up with. :) But I do like the idea of having some sort of Yellow Pages for writers with these kinds of services in one place.

If you know of anyone, please ask them if they’d like to be listed.

I wrote a post on Saturday that covered the different things I’d learned in the process of preparing a book for e-publishing.

But although I mentioned the fact that many of my friends and family have been surprised (or confused or even concerned) that I was going to put a book out myself, I didn’t really talk about the reasons behind my choice to self-publish a book.

So consequently, I’ve gotten some emails asking me why I am. And if I thought that’s what all writers needed to do.

I don’t. I think writers should pursue traditional publishing. This is, I think, a fairly controversial opinion! I’ve seen other authors expressing different opinions.

Positives of Traditional Publishing:

You learn a ton with a professional editor.

Your books will be distributed to stores and can find readers who don’t own e-readers.

You learn the particular kinds of errors you’re prone to.

You learn how to correct your errors.

You learn how to be part of a team.

The mechanics of book production are handled by the publisher.

If you’re agented, you might receive new writing opportunities from your agent (it happened to me.)

You gain confidence as a writer.

You’re likely fulfilling a lifelong dream.

That being said—being traditionally published isn’t up to the writer. It’s up to professionals in the industry.

These days, getting rejected doesn’t mean that you can’t share your book with the world anymore.

My reasons for self-publishing:

I’m self-publishing two books (one now, one as soon as I get it whipped into shape.) Both are part of a discontinued series. I received the rights to the character back and I’ve got readers still emailing me asking for the next story. I decided it didn’t make sense for me to sit on books that I could be making some sort of profit on. Plus, I love the characters in the series and wanted to share more of their stores.

But I’m continuing traditional publishing, too. I’ve got a new series debuting with Penguin next year.

Positives of Self-Publishing

Traditionally published authors who have a backlist that they own the rights to can resurrect series that are no longer in stores.

Writers who don’t write commercially viable or easily-defined books can find readers.

Writers have more control over their books and content.

Writers receive a higher profit margin.

Writers who are overwhelmed by the process of querying agents and publishers can avoid it.

The important thing to remember:

We all need to write books that are worthy of readers. Have we edited until we’re sick of it? If the book isn’t any good, it won’t be accepted by publishers…and it won’t find readers, even self-published.

I think the best thing we can do as writers is to write as much as we can. If we’re traditionally published and keeping up with deadlines, that might mean writing a short story collection or a series written especially for e-publishing.

If we’re new writers, that might mean trying to pursue traditional publishing, but continuing to write new books or short stories during the query process (stories which can then either be queried or e-published.)

We should keep writing, keep improving, keep enjoying the process. I really do think this is a very good time to be a writer.

Have you considered self-publishing? Are you still planning a traditionally published career? Have I missed any pros or cons of either choice?

Below are my tweets from the last week.

Hope you’ll enter this month’s WKB giveaway for a chance to win Donald Maass’ excellent Writing the Breakout Novel, from our friends at Writer’s Digest. Enter the drawing by signing up for the WKB newsletter.

Blogging with typewriters? Sure! http://bit.ly/p4IpyV

Incompetent characters in crime fiction & how they add to a story: http://bit.ly/onl3lw @mkinberg

The core of the arts: http://bit.ly/nTOM3M @WriteAngleBlog

3 Ways to Rehab Your Inner Critic: http://bit.ly/p7Pwew @BookEmDonna

The 5 Biggest Mistakes Writers Make on Their Websites: http://bit.ly/n0lH7G @thecreativepenn

How to Style Names of Food: http://bit.ly/qKL8TS

Should You Make Your Romance Novel Erotic? http://bit.ly/nZv73e

5 More Mistakes That Will Expose You As a Rookie: http://bit.ly/qkTqEU

The Hybrid Writer: Balancing Traditional and Self-pub: http://bit.ly/qw2uqB @pubperspectives

Writers’ Blogs: 5 Essentials for Engaging Your Readers: http://bit.ly/nFRTzB @jfbookman

What 1 writer told her family about publishing: http://bit.ly/npp0Ko

1 Simple Question All Writers Should Ask Themselves: http://bit.ly/pJG3J3

Being the other: http://bit.ly/ogHzMS @bookviewcafe

Healthy Eating Habits for an Awesome Writing Day: http://bit.ly/nG2OXb

How To Make One Story into Many By Being Multimedia Savvy: http://bit.ly/oqxD1d

A Look behind Lod’s World, or How to Strike Gold: http://bit.ly/r9rjdI

Reasons why 1 writer opted for a book trailer: http://bit.ly/qwR2z5 @JodyHedlund

Saying You Want to Write Versus Actually Writing: http://bit.ly/p9xvIh

Google+ for writers: http://bit.ly/nzVbQb

Don’t query until the manuscript is ready: http://bit.ly/qLzSDn

Research your book’s details, but… http://bit.ly/oq3MVw @authorterryo

Thesis statement for fiction: http://bit.ly/pjuls3

3 tricks to make your manuscript seem fresh when revising: http://bit.ly/oXKZmk @jillkemerer

Why Blogging About Writing Can Help Writers Improve: http://bit.ly/okjVzx

Everything I Needed to Know About Living with a Writer I Learned by Living with a Writer: http://bit.ly/neyhps @BTMargins

Author branding vs. experimentation: http://bit.ly/o6rqYW @mkinberg

A mid-distance point of view: http://bit.ly/n9RoHo

An agent on first lines: http://bit.ly/qR7Zcx

What everybody misses about chapter breaks: http://bit.ly/p6soPN @dirtywhitecandy

Why Most of What You’ve Read About Characterization is Untrue: http://bit.ly/p7Nqcq

Choosing Narrative Distance in Multiple Third Person: http://bit.ly/o88kCz

4 Writing Crutches that Insult the Reader’s Intelligence: http://bit.ly/nqefsO

Should Books Have a Rating System? http://bit.ly/qcSOuz @JamiGold

Revisions: raising your story on multiple levels: http://bit.ly/pTMArF @JulietteWade

The Art of Revising: Macro Revision: http://bit.ly/nbpfQZ

How to Make Yourself Write When You Really Really Don’t Want To: http://bit.ly/pTtwJj

Why Fantasy Isn’t Just for Kids (WSJ): http://on.wsj.com/ql88vr

Why Your Serial Fiction Is Likely to Fail and What To Do About It: http://bit.ly/r4FPSy

What it Takes to be an Indie Author http://bit.ly/pzs63T @JoanSwan

A look at layering in subtext, with Harry Potter as an example: http://bit.ly/nAUSVe

Writing lessons from the U.S. women’s soccer team: http://bit.ly/phTKii @laurapauling

Editors are Calling For Projects, But Where Are The Authors? http://bit.ly/qWxHAJ

6 More Things Writers Won’t Miss About the Big 6 “When They’re Gone”: http://bit.ly/nn6xE2 @annerallen

4 Tips for Pitching Guest Posts Like a Pro: http://bit.ly/rkGy6B

How to rewrite rapidly and efficiently: http://bit.ly/ndwMui @jammer0501

What Will Publishing Look Like in 2021? http://bit.ly/okihUn @AnneRAllen

Scaling Syndication: http://bit.ly/pQxUkh @RavenRequiem13

Word Count Goals: How Much is Too Much? http://bit.ly/raWEEq @GeoffreyCubbage

Writing with an IPad: http://bit.ly/nFSohy @yamuses

On Brands and In Person Appearances: http://bit.ly/p0dQCz

Beasts, Monsters and Eldritch Abominations: http://bit.ly/qlEUpG

Why 1 social media guru failed at maintaining 2 Twitter accounts: http://bit.ly/qTlldS @MarianSchembari

The best-laid plans: http://bit.ly/ni6dhy @elspethwrites

The importance of writers’ networks: http://bit.ly/rpR3EA

So, You Want to Sell More Books at Amazon–reviews: http://bit.ly/py3pbS

Conference Prep: Six Essentials for Your Checklist: http://bit.ly/ofHJZ3

Writers: You Are Responsible For Your Own Career: http://bit.ly/nUn3ZA @PassiveVoiceBlg

The “New Author Platform” – What you need to know: http://bit.ly/pDf6Gi

Choosing the Right Literary Magazine for Your Work: http://bit.ly/ofpepr

An agent with tips for effective email communication: http://bit.ly/pT1ONJ

The Three P’s of Writing Women’s Fiction: http://bit.ly/r4tPDX

Logic, Emotional Truth and Inspiration in Stories: http://bit.ly/pSqWOW @dirtywhitecandy @Janice_Hardy

Identifying Your Writing Strengths, step 3: http://bit.ly/oxLaeu @msforster

Draft Your Platform Action Plan: 5 Worksheets: http://bit.ly/np8goc @JaneFriedman

How to Save Money on Your Book Proof Corrections: http://bit.ly/nA3gZp

5 ways to keep our writing brains active: http://bit.ly/rj57Tb @JulieMusil

The 99 Cent Ghetto: http://bit.ly/rapRbM

The Art of Writing Continuities: http://bit.ly/oJ63q3

Good Writing = Good Grammar: http://bit.ly/q7nbR4

Tips for Surviving the Pitch Session: http://bit.ly/nIk5A9 @MuseInks

The Cure for Frustrated Writer’s Syndrome: http://bit.ly/nZ8KHW

Saturated settings: http://bit.ly/puJWoL @RavenRequiem13

Cyberpunk as a SF subgenre: http://bit.ly/mXqyOS

My thoughts on Google+: http://bit.ly/qUCesO

5 Ways to Use Flickr Photos for Writing Inspiration: http://bit.ly/nvwzq1 @writeitsideways

On ADD and Writing: http://bit.ly/poAIFs

On influencers: http://bit.ly/nbUmqt

A 10-Point Comma Quiz: http://bit.ly/num7rL

Would You See Your Character At The Mall? http://bit.ly/ntU1PQ @greyhausagency

A ratings system for books, part 2–including context? http://bit.ly/oPzPtR @JamiGold

What Drives a Story: Plot or Characters? http://bit.ly/qhumER @JamiGold

6 Daily Habits for Facebook Marketing Success: http://bit.ly/pYdkxg

Anton Chekhov’s First Lines: http://bit.ly/qKbjzs

The importance of team-building on Twitter: http://bit.ly/p4v58r

An agent on creating genres: http://bit.ly/p5IMAy

Speech mannerisms and body language: http://bit.ly/qNDtdG @JulieMusil

Tips for short story writing: http://bit.ly/r0UaTY @sherryisaac @JoanSwan

Twisting and deepening the final battle (with plot twists): http://bit.ly/ngnIvf @HP4Writers

Dangling, Squinting, Messed Up Modifiers: http://bit.ly/nRwPXb @YAHighway

17 Stock Plots: http://bit.ly/oqzCIf

Turn off your distractions: http://bit.ly/p9GFfu

Working with book bloggers: http://bit.ly/re3fLG

One writer asks, “Do I still want an agent?” http://bit.ly/rjVZfB @DorteHJ

3 mistakes 1 newbie critiquer made: http://bit.ly/rlaSVu @marybaka

Creating the *Feel* of a World: http://bit.ly/oLHZ8M @JulietteWade

How to Keep Up Online Without Losing Your Mind: http://bit.ly/pw1RSt

Agents in Conflict with Clients – Issues and Responses: http://bit.ly/qbj7BE @PassiveVoiceBlg

Why Bad Writing is Essential to Good Blogging: http://bit.ly/qqgnkC

In Praise of Working Late: 10 Reasons to Write at Night: http://bit.ly/njYgnR @GeoffeyCubbage

Powerful Settings: Finding What is Unique for Your Characters: http://bit.ly/pb1zMn

Killing the Sacred Cows of Publishing: Book as Event: http://bit.ly/n5NV2A

Why You Should Never Comment on Blogs. Ever. http://bit.ly/pfCEc2

Writing from the Panicked Side of the Brain: http://bit.ly/nMOXp1 @BTMargins

Why Prologues Often Don’t Work: http://bit.ly/qgOani

How book bloggers are like agents: http://bit.ly/pxmfdT

Dialogue Development: http://bit.ly/ruLiu6

On phobias and tips for handling public speaking (1 of the most common fears): http://bit.ly/qL9iKr @Jhansenwrites

How to build a villain: http://bit.ly/riR0k6

How to speak publisher – D is for deadline: http://bit.ly/qJOkxv

Revising a scene–remembering the big picture & questions to help you edit: http://bit.ly/q5Ufmd

How to Write Like a Viking: http://bit.ly/nPyoEI

Beating the “Sugar” Addiction–Tightening the Writing: http://bit.ly/olScOK

Finding Your Hidden Audience: Advice from a Book Marketer: http://bit.ly/qxd0u6

Being careful of what we say and write: http://bit.ly/pTClqW

Why You Should Kick Your Story Aside and Write a Different One: http://bit.ly/pdRk8P @KMWeiland

Pre-Revision: Before You Break Out the Red Ink: http://bit.ly/qMC0nm

Using dashes instead of ellipses: http://bit.ly/oOJYHJ

An agent’s tips for writing queries: http://bit.ly/r83H8B

How To Co-Write A Book Without Falling Out (Or Committing Murder!): http://bit.ly/qUwIAk @BubbleCow

Working mythical allusions into your story: http://bit.ly/ptaBvY @HP4Writers

Build your brand name: http://bit.ly/qBZhVN @keligwyn

Thoughts on writing for kids: http://bit.ly/nVSyRn

Quirky Characters: Can You Relate? http://bit.ly/pGYTZI

Friends or Enemies? http://bit.ly/ogglSS @KatieGanshert

Ageism in the literary world: http://ind.pn/qa4Skb (The Independent)

It’s Not Who You Circle; It’s Who Circles You: http://bit.ly/qEhRgb

Practical Tips on Writing a Book from 23 Brilliant Authors: http://bit.ly/qIrSL5

Novel Pitching Made Easy: http://bit.ly/p15zaq @catewoods

The true price of publishing (Guardian): http://bit.ly/r62Wtn

How to Read a Book Contract – Agents and the Law: http://bit.ly/pRfGud @PassiveVoiceBlg

Digital and high r.r.p.s hitting hardback sales: http://bit.ly/o9iWBn

Tips for writing for kids: http://bit.ly/pvGGP3 @writeangleblog

The Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell of Writing: http://bit.ly/qg84cg @AEWrites

The ultimate ordeal from the hero’s journey, with Harry Potter as an illustration: http://bit.ly/okMvZ4 @HP4Writers

The 23 Blogger Breeds—Which Are You? http://bit.ly/oFMexQ

Dialogue as a rhythm: http://bit.ly/rbTVvK @FantasyFaction

5 Ways to Kick Your Writing up a Notch: http://bit.ly/nqVDEL

If you normally blog about writing, how will you promote your fiction? http://bit.ly/q2Mppb @dirtywhitecandy

The correct way to format dialogue: http://bit.ly/oB4nOH @bubblecow

How Books Work: The Hunger Games: http://bit.ly/nejVVk

Using Distractions to Your Advantage: http://bit.ly/pmQUUn

Write even faster: http://bit.ly/nFsNlB

How to lose a reader in 10 pages–the visual disadvantage: http://bit.ly/qpkhLV

How to Silence Readers From Commenting on Your Blog: http://bit.ly/naPvzr

1 writer’s tools of the trade: http://bit.ly/qrr1VK

On Showing Up, Changing Your Life & Limited Goals: http://bit.ly/pSbiM9

Things Are Changing But We Have To Be Careful: http://bit.ly/p2FWzO

When writers embellish the truth: http://bit.ly/oerUtn

5 Reasons Why All Freelance Writers Should Learn To Write a Sales Letter: http://bit.ly/okuQ3x

Finding your voice: http://zenhabits.net/voice/

The art of getting more traffic for your blog: http://bit.ly/oC7hH2

The tricky nature of sending free book promo to bloggers: http://bit.ly/oVyluh

Antidotes for excuses: http://bit.ly/q4PDVq @JulieMusil

What’s Inside Your Dystopia? http://bit.ly/pke9KV

5 filler words to choke out of your writing: http://bit.ly/qppVZO @Grammar_Diva

How to Undress a Victorian Lady in Your Next Historical Romance (WSJ): http://on.wsj.com/nNxbuW

Book Blog Tours and Review Sites: http://bit.ly/ogzZ9d

Creating an ebook has been a learning experience.

First off, for some reason I’m always surprised that non-writers aren’t really aware of the major changes going on in publishing. I guess I shouldn’t, but I’d think that as a reader, they’d realize that things were rapidly changing. I’ve certainly been aware of changes in the music and film industries.

But when friends and acquaintances ask me if I’ve got any releases coming out, I tell them, “Yes, I’ve got a book coming out in November—the third book in the Memphis series with Penguin. And I’m about to put out an ebook, myself.” And you should see the reaction. They’re very confused about my reasons for self-publishing. Actually, every one of them have been completely shocked. I just tell them that the industry is changing and I’m trying to just go with the flow and pursue both traditional and e-publishing.

Another thing I’ve noticed is how confusing the process is for someone who’s just been casually reading about e-publishing for the last six months. You can find advice supporting nearly any position you want to take on price, platform, and formatting. The writer has to pick through this huge mess of services and information to find a match—who can edit? Who can design a cover reasonably? Who can do interior design (which is something I wanted—page design for my ebooks)? Is it better to upload to Smashwords? Through each platform separately? Where do I get ISBNs and should I get them? And e-publishing is changing daily.

It makes me think that there is definitely a job market there for ebook service Sherpas. I don’t think it’s something agents should go into unless they quit being agents, though, for obvious conflict of interest reasons. (If they want to sell you e-publishing services, are they actually going to try to send your manuscript out to traditional publishers? How thorough would that search for a publisher be?)

I’ve also noticed a reticence among some traditionally published writers to give e-publishing a go—although this reticence is being quickly eschewed to chase the money. :) But I’ve seen real arguments on some of my writing loops where authors who’ve already taken the plunge are fussing at other authors for not wanting to put more money into the upfront costs of the project for the long-term benefits.

That’s because, I think, traditionally published writers haven’t had to worry about all the mechanics of book production and suddenly picking up those costs is a shock. Many traditionally published authors also tend to quickly forget that ebooks are forever….they don’t have the short shelf life of our physical bookstore novels. So any upfront investment is for a long-term harvest.

Have you taken the e-book plunge? What have you learned in the process?