Katy McDermott

As I work on the manuscript for my second book (1/3 of the way done!), I continue to promote my first book, Meeting Murder. Recently, a co-worker mentioned that I should consider making it available to Amazon Kindle owners.

“Great idea!” I said to him when he suggested Kindle, and I read through the directions.  I’m a self-published author (this time around), so that means I’d be solely responsible for uploading my manuscript into the Kindle system. I was a little leery, but the directions made it sound incredibly simple – “just a few clicks.” Even I could manage a few clicks, I thought…

Enter HTML code.

Amazon suggests – strongly suggests – that manuscripts be uploaded as HTML files. Mine is saved as a Word document, and converting it would involve special software, and (more important) knowledge that I clearly don’t have.

Thankfully, my co-worker (the wonderful – and patient – Brian Gould) is both a computer whiz and an independent artist in his own right (music’s his thing – he produced his own CD). Also thankfully, he took pity on me.

“I’m just not sure about this HTML conversion thing. Could you tell me how to do that?”

Brian managed not to laugh directly in my face, saying gently that it “might be easier” for him to handle the conversion himself. All I’d need to do would be send him the files.

So I did, and Brian took care of it. When I previewed the Kindle version of my book, however, there were neither scene divisions or chapter divisions – key elements to the way the reader experiences the story. So Brian went back to work inserting spaces and breaks via “HTML tags” of which I know nothing. (Bear in mind too that he has a busy and demanding job just like I do.)

Bottom line? By next weekend, Meeting Murder will be available for Kindle owners to download, and hopefully more people will read it.

And I’ll owe Brian Gould a bottle/case of the beverage of his choice!

I haven’t been writing much this week. My reason? Simple: I tried to quit smoking cold turkey. As a result, I was a little – you could say – distracted.

You could also say that I was weepy. Constantly. Irritable to the point of committing a felony. Obsessed with food, especially chocolate (“Is that chocolate-covered lasagna you have there? Hell, yeah, I’ll try it!”) Prone to sudden fits of rage over the one sock that didn’t make it into the hamper. And so on.

In fact, I was so focused on myself – my own misery, my own determination to quit and stay quit in spite of said misery – that I didn’t spare my book or my characters the merest thought. But after 4 1/2 days, I figured the nicotine had finally left my system (and I was indeed a bit less of a freakazoid).

It was time to get back to writing. I’d missed it – quite a lot, actually. Even though it’s something I associate so closely with smoking, I thought I was strong enough to give the writing a shot without the cigarettes.

As it turns out, I was wrong. Yep, I’ve started smoking again. (And no, I’m not proud of it.) However, I did hit a milestone of sorts in the book (1/3 of the way done), so I guess that’s something.

Now all I have to do is figure out how to break my association between the two…

Well, it finally happened. Even before I’d published Meeting Murder, I’d researched ways to market it. Book reviews would be a great place to start, I figured.

Then I found out that almost no reputable book reviewers would even look at self-published books (assuming, no doubt, that they’d be inundated by works from deluded would-be authors who couldn’t write their way out of the proverbial paper bag).

All of them were like that – except for one. Midwest Book Review.

Of course, since they are known as the only reputable reviewing organization that will look at self-published books, they get them in droves. Over 2,300 a month, with just 76 reviewers on staff.

The odds of getting a review from them were slim, and although I sent in my book 4 months ago, I tried not to get my hopes up.

Imagine my surprise – and delight! – when I recently checked my book’s listing on Amazon.com, and saw that Midwest Book Review had indeed reviewed my book, terming it “a rollicking good time” and giving it 5 stars!

Here’s a link to the review, if you’re interested: http://www.amazon.com/Meeting-Murder-Katy-Mcdermott/dp/0741449528/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1235337418&sr=1-1 (just scroll down a bit, and you’ll see it)

Hmm. Perhaps I’m not that deluded after all…

Last week was a crisis-of-confidence sort of week for me. I finished writing the fourth chapter of my new book, transferred the scene synopses to my trusty whiteboard, looked at all the empty space I still had to fill – and basically freaked out.

Oh, I know where my story needs to go. I know who gets killed (in fact, that’s already happened) and why. I know the murderer, suspects, clues, and red herrings. The problem is simple: I’m not sure how to structure the rest of the book.

I checked out the website of a successful author I very much admire, and he talked about writing minutely detailed outlines (like 40- to 50-page outlines!) before he even started a first draft. A colleague had recently offered me the same advice. So I tried it. And it worked… a bit. I did a really detailed outline for the next chapter, plus looser outlines for the two chapters after that. It certainly helped me break up the logjam.

But after a few days, I just wanted to write.

Now, I’ve decided on a back-and-forth strategy. I’ll continue to write my manuscript, and when I reach the “oh man, what now?” point, I’ll outline every scene for the next few chapters. A weird way to work, but I’m going to try it. (Such a learning process this is…)

Hopefully, it’ll at least get me through my next crisis of confidence!

You’d think I’d know it by this point. Writing is hard.

The research was fun. The character profiles were illuminating. Even the sketchy plot outline proved to be helpful. But when it comes down to actual writing, which I do most nights, it’s not easy at all.

I worry that I’m rushing, trying too hard to meet the writing schedule I set. When I get home from work, I just want to relax, but I tell myself I need to write – even one page is better than nothing, and gets me closer to my goal.

It would be one thing if I were writing literary fiction – but I’m not. I’m no Hemingway or Tolstoy or Styron or even King. I’m just trying to write an entertaining mystery, the type of book with a clearly defined form, a specific set of rules.

Honestly, you’d think it would be easier than this.

But I am on page 75.

I’ll revise and rewrite, of course, but I guess that’s something. One-quarter of the way there…

(Oh, and by the way, for anyone who follows this blog regularly, I did write that sex scene. Cue the windchimes!)

Well, it’s arrived. My first-ever sex scene is the next thing I need to write.

But first, why don’t I reread that unpublished manuscript for a children’s book about dogs that I wrote 8 years ago? It’s not too bad – a few changes of phrasing and spacing, and it could be ready to submit again. And since I’m on a dog kick, how about finishing that dog-show book I’ve been reading on occasion? Nice pacing in that – I can learn something.

Tax time is looming too. Lots of official documents to organize for the accountant. Bills to pay – the mortgage is due – that reminds me, I have to get stamps today at the grocery store.

The grocery store – of course! Our Super Bowl party is tomorrow, so I have to add numerous items to the list for snacks, appetizers, that chowder I always make. And there are extra chores I have to do, of course – can’t forget about them. Launder the throw rugs, clean the powder room, pester my husband to wash the salt stains off the entryway floors…

Let’s see, what else? I know, it’s January – time to stock up on greeting cards! And that coat closet needs to be reorganized. My bureau drawers, too. And work, of course – I brought some home with me, like always. I could get started on that…

What was I going to write again?

If my characters weren’t made up, they’d probably have restraining orders out against me. I peek into their windows, examine their lives – hopes, dreams, extramarital affairs and all.

The character profiles I wrote months ago are simply jumping-off places. It’s amazing – and a little intrusive – to discover what my characters tell me about themselves, how they evolve from the way I first envisioned them.

This happens as I write, I swear. I don’t know half this stuff until I set it down on paper.

A colleague of mine recently suggested that I make an outline so tight I could write my book in a month – but that’s not how I operate. A loose outline, characters that change as I write about them – that’s what works for me.

I can’t explain it, but there it is.

I’m just glad my characters don’t have legal rights.

In other book news: I’m anxiously waiting to find out if Meeting Murder gets reviewed (and if so, what the reviewer says) by the Midwest Book Review. They get over 2,000 book submissions per month, though, so I’m not holding my breath. Much.

Also, my first actual fan (translation: the first person I didn’t know to buy my book) has started a Facebook group called “Fans of Meeting Murder,” which has me very excited.

And in about 2 weeks, if I stick with my loose outline and strict writing schedule, I’ll be working on my first-ever love scene. With sex (God help me). I’m seriously considering falling back on a meaningful gaze and a brief description of wind-chimes…

Sigh.

I thought it might be fun to do a little something different with my blog post this week. All of the questions that follow pertain to Meeting Murder, so for those of you who’ve read it, these questions should be easy. (And for those of you who haven’t read it, you can order a copy by just clicking on the cover art!) Spoiler alert: All the answers appear at the bottom of this post, and since I can’t figure out how to turn type upside-down, they’re plain to see. Ready? Set? Go!

 

1.  What is the full name of the meeting freelancer known as “Dash”?

      A. Thomas Takadashi

      B. Dashiell Hammond

      C. Tadashi Tamaseko

      D. Corey Kiadashiu

 

2.  What do the initials of the animal rights group AAPT stand for?

      A. Advancing Animal Protection Today!

      B. Animal Abuse Prevention Team

      C. Assisting All Pets Together

      D. Animals Are People Too

 

3.  Who is the MultiMedia manager at Connor Pharmaceuticals?

      A. Lew Paulson

      B. Mike DellaGuardia

      C. Wendell McCarthy

      D. Juan Herrara

 

4.  What caffeinated beverage does Laurie Kilcannon drink frequently?

      A. Coffee with lots of cream

      B. Irish Breakfast tea

      C. Coca-Cola

      D. Diet iced tea

 

5.  Where is Detective Tim Riordan originally from?

      A. New York City, NY

      B. Miami, FL

      C. Boston, MA

      D. Barcliff, MA

 

6.  In what hotel does most of the action take place?

      A. The Hanover

      B. The Hilton

      C. The Warrington

      D. The Westin

 

7.  What is the drug being launched?

      A. Allergex

      B. Zephyrex

      C. Banol

      D. Gromax

 

8.  What nationality is meeting freelancer Dagmar Gustafson?

      A. Danish

      B. Swedish

      C. German

      D. Norwegian

 

9.  Who finds the body of the first victim?

      A. Gene Stockton

      B. Marc Masterson

      C. Tim Riordan

      D. Jim Fisher

 

10. Who do all the drug reps want to take pictures with during the Safari Night dinner?

      A. Vivian Linsky

      B. Jim Fisher

      C. Wendell McCarthy

      D. Gene Stockton

 

11. What is the name of Vivian Linsky’s mother?

      A. Lydia

      B. Earlene

      C. Vivian

      D. Jill

 

12. At what restaurant do Laurie and Tim discuss suspects?

      A. Ollie’s

      B. Javier’s

      C. The Hanging Garden

      D. The Spite Wall

 

Hope you enjoyed the quiz. The only prize is bragging rights, I’m afraid – have to sell a few more copies before I can offer fancy rewards! (Hopefully the quiz with my next book WILL come with a prize for winning – and in light of the recent weather, I vote for a trip to someplace tropical!)

Answers: 1. C   2. D   3. A   4. C   5.  D   6. A   7. B   8. A   9. D   10. C   11. B   12. B

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” Etc. Etc.

I know these sayings are true (well, the journey one – not the elephant one so much). That’s why they’re called “truisms” as well as cliches. And I try to remember them every night when I race home from work, bolt down some dinner, and head up to my office to face a blank page. Correction: a lot of blank pages. My target for the next book is 75,000 words. So far, I’ve only written 3,000 (less than half of them this week – I’d started writing a few scenes last month.)

It’s only the time that bothers me, though (or, to be more accurate, the lack of it.) Not the writing itself. That part’s hard, to be sure, but once I’m into a scene, it’s the most fun and exciting thing I can imagine.

I did a big-picture plot outline, which helped. Wrote character profiles, which did the same thing. Took a research trip that was nothing short of amazing. I know the basic story – now all I have to do is write it. All 75,000 words of it.

How do you eat an elephant again?

I got back Thursday from my research trip to Cape Cod for the second book, and it was a roaring success! I came home enlightened, exhilarated – and unfortunately, exhausted. It seems that the best time to ask questions of hotel employees is between 5 and 6 in the morning, before the first bleary-eyed guests arrive in the lobby in search of free coffee.

Getting up at 4:45am was more than worth it however, as I heard stories of Victorian ghosts’ activities, drunken wedding attendees’ antics, and summer guests outlandish requests. Actually, I don’t know which was more frightening!

My husband gave me a digital audio recorder for Christmas that, technophobe though I am, I must admit I absolutely love. During interviews, I could just hit “record” (look Ma – no tapes!) and know that every word my subject said would be captured. Since I didn’t have to worry about taking notes, I could really participate in the conversations…

Some random things I learned: the science behind designing a good bonfire, the sometimes disillusioning origins of clam chowder, the stark distinction in behavior between conference attendees and vacationers, several reasons it may not be a good idea to build a multi-million dollar mansion by the seaside, how fishing can change one’s life in the blink of an eye, and why it’s always wise to have company if you work late at night in an old Cape Cod building…

I was fortunate enough to meet some truly unforgettable people, and they were kind enough to share their insights with me. Even a nasty snowstorm offered me fodder for my book (and a chance to spend extra time with my family to boot).

Now that I’ve made my research trip and drawn up a schedule that’ll hopefully result in a first draft for Book 2 by the end of September, it’s time for the hard part (and the fun part too).

Let the writing begin!