"The Naked Truth..."

The folks who publish DK's books have this book available:

http://www.thenakedtruthaboutbookpublishing.com/

I got the Kindle edition. I expected it to promote their publishing model and was surprised to find that it gives a balanced view of publishing from an author's perspective. It's a reasonable report on the state of things and a guide to making your own decisions about how to publish nowadays given your goals and ambitions.

Some will disagree (I don't) with the opinions and conclusions offered about the future of publishing, but once you get past that part, the information is accurate and well-reported.

I'm glad you took a look at the web site. Certainly a variety of covers! And quite a selection of books! The publishers are quite savvy and are changing their business model practically daily as the market and future change...

I forgot to add that they have integrity and support their authors. I have been very pleased to work with them. I did have to completely rewrite Ghost Orchid from first person, present to third person, past tense before they would look at the possibility of publishing it. I was rejected at first "We don't publish first person novels." I didn't give up because they took the time to tell me why I was rejected; I wrote it over and was accepted. Their editor was exceptional though it was painful to make the cuts she recommended. The cover was perfection for the story.

They don't publish first person novels?

::blink::

Their objection is to present tense novels. They don't mention first person in their guidelines. I'm not sure why they don't like present tense. They don't say why. Some good and successful books have been written that way.

I don't like many of their covers. Busy. Ornate. But the one they did for Ghost Orchid is perfect for that story.

Generally, new authors don't have the talent to write in first person, present POV. It's a tricky POV. My novel was written in first person, present tense. That's actually my best writing style; but I agree that I make errors as it is difficult to switch when necessary with a smooth flow. Some authors do it exceptionally well. First person, past tense is easier. The safest is third person, past.

It is not only my publisher but many others that prefer third person, past even though a particularly talented work may be accepted in other Points of View.

I can think of two bestselling authors who write in first person. It seems odd that a publisher would exclude a whole style of writing. Interesting, but each to his own.

My new novel was written in first person and I actually prefer telling my tales this way.

zizban wrote:

I can think of two bestselling authors who write in first person. It seems odd that a publisher would exclude a whole style of writing. Interesting, but each to his own.

My new novel was written in first person and I actually prefer telling my tales this way.

I repeat: Their guidelines do not forbid 1st person POV (unless I missed that proviso). It's present tense that they will not work with. That's two different things, and one has nothing to do with the other. The tense is not the POV.

My Ghost Orchid was originally written in first person, present tense. Thus, it was rejected. My earlier writing, twenty or more years ago, was "stream of consciousness." In that case, it was written in the first person, present tense with little punctuation. That style is no longer in "vogue." I just wrote that way, not because it was a style. It gave me a sense of the events happenng in that moment which also gave the reader the same feeling. I have abandoned the style in favor of publication.

While tense and point of view are critical elements of style, the story and its attraction to the reader is the most important aspect. A talented writer who catches a publisher's attention may ignore all conventions for the sake of the story and find commercial and artistic success.

Maybe I'm dense so but I'm not sure I see the difference. Here's an excerpt from my novel that Virtual Tales will be publishing next year:

Quote :

I went over to Lord Gelder and put a hand over his mouth and a dagger
to his neck. His eyes popped open. I whispered, “Not a sound, my
lord, or you die right here, right now. Got me?”

He nodded. I took my hand off his mouth but kept the dagger close as he
sat up, blinking sleep from his eyes. focusing on me, fully
registering what was happening to him.

“Whereare the bonds?”

He licked his lips and began to sweat as he did so.


“Well?” I demanded.

“I don't have them.” Lord Gelder said.[/font]

I pushed the dagger into his neck a little, “You are a funny man,
Lord Gelder. “Let's try this again. Where are the bonds?”
“I said...”
I pushed the knife to Gelder's throat. It was this close to breaking
skin. Lord Gelder was sweating like a summer downpour and his eyes
were wide with fear. “Where are the bonds?”

He licked his lips, “I don't have them!”

I pushed the dagger in a little more, seeing trickle of blood run down
his neck. He looked up at me, “Please, really. It was a staged.”

“I've heard better stories.”[/font]
“No, it's true. You fool, it was never about the bonds! It was all about
you! You!”

That actually made me pause for a moment. I pulled the dagger away from
him. Gelder wiped the blood from his neck and sat up straighter. I
kept the dagger ready. “Speak. You have thirty seconds.”

“The whole scheme was ordered by an official in the Lord Chancellor's
office. Right now, those bonds are being secreted in your apartment,
if they haven't been already. Then the Dark Ones will be summoned.”

This didn't make any sense. The Lord Chancellor? The highest justice
official in the Empire, short of the Emperor himself? He could have
just summoned the Dark Ones if he wanted me so badly. What did he
have to do with all this? Did I do a job on his friends or family?
“That's a pretty tall tale, and I am amused. Now you'll die.”[/font]

“Go ahead, kill me. I'm a dead man anyway for telling you all this, but
not as dead as you.”

“Ha,ha.” I said humorlessly, pushing the dagger into his throat, “And
how do you figure that, Lord Gelder?”

The difference:

1st person POV, present tense:
I walk to the corner and see the body leaning against the wall.

1st person POV, past tense:
I walked to the corner and saw the body leaning against the wall.

3rd person POV, present tense:
He walks to the corner and sees the body leaning against the wall.

3rd person POV, past tense:
He walked to the corner and saw the body leaning against the wall.

The person is who is telling the story, the character who has the POV.
The tense is whether the story is taking place now or took place sometime earlier.

Your story is 1st person, past tense.

1st person is tricky because you cannot change scenes and switch to the POV of someone else. Everything that happens is either witnessed by the protagonist, thought by the protagonist, or told to the protagonist by another character. Not all elements of every story can be told that way, so the technique itself tends to drive the story.

Present tense is effective because it adds elements of "now" and urgency to the story and sets up the reader as a witness to the action.

double post.

Where the author is writing about a personal experience, First person, present tense is appropriate. It becomes difficulte when one wants to hide the truth.
I've read books that read like a true story, but were fiction. I like the authenticity it gives.
As Al mentioned, switching persons and tenses is the tough/tricky part.

Terror consumes me. I reach for the clock, fully expecting the electricity to be cut, why don't I have a flashlight? The electronic marvel blinks "1:00 a.m.; 1:01 a.m." relentlessly, like the minutes of my life tick away without purpose. I must not make a sound. I slowly slip from under the covers. I touch the cold, hardwood floor with my bare feet. I'm shaking. Is it from the cold or fear?

I sent the folks at LLDreamworks some questions about their terms. I mentioned that my Preface, about 250 words, is in present tense whereas the rest of the book is in past tense. I asked about that. Their response:

"We don't want any part of a book done in present tense."

With no explanation. Which means they would have rejected, for example, this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Homicide-Killing-Streets-David-Simon/dp/0805080759/

a classic, an Edgar Award winner, and the basis for a long-running hit TV series. And written in present tense, cover to cover.

I think such litmus tests can be unwise. Is there something about this technique that I am missing?

Possibly that it takes a very talented writer to pull off present tense; yet, there are good stories that can be told clearly and with full enjoyment in third person. It probably takes an editor who is equally talented to edit that style, and it might slow down a small press. Believe me, I am just guessing. I do know that in retrospect, though my writing is more alive in first person, present tense, it is likely more grammatically and stylewise correct in thirsd person, past tense.

At least LLDreamspell communicates. Most of my letters from publishers were form letters. Tor Forge was the most personal.