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Continuing Jane Austen’s world

Geri Clouston
  Continuing the love! Jane Austen remains one of the most popular authors ever! The romance of her novels and the strength of her woman characters endear her to woman around the world. 60 films have been made or have been inspired by her works including the very popular "Clueless".Jane's life has been analyzed by so many. How much of her writing was influenced by her life? Well, isn't that usually the case? Jane Austen wrote about class and love – both things she knew well. Her one and only love was taken from her because her family had little to offer. She was also strong enough to forgo a marriage that would have brought her a very comfortable life but not love. The strength and closeness of her family comes to light in much of her writing. Even during an illness that eventually took her life, Jane continued to write leaving one unfinished work. Her loving family was able to get both Northanger Abbey and Persuasion published after her death. Her beloved brother, Henry, was able to his sister buried at the Winchester Cathedral.Jane Austen's' writing features love of family and Karen Aminadra has created 2 wonderful books continuing…

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From Fact to Fiction! , , ,

How to Be a Better Writer #2: Proofread, Proofread, Proofread!

Geri Clouston
  Greetings, authors! I'm back with another dose of writing wisdom. This time, it's about what happens after the creative work is done: proofreading. When I told Geri Clouston, indieBRAG's founder and president, about the topic for this month's blog, she hooked me up with Helen Hollick, a British author who's received a lot of praise for her brilliant manuscripts. Helen's big on proofreading and editing. It might be one reason three of her books are B.R.A.G. Medallion honorees. "Keep this in mind," she tells me. "Anyone can write a book. Not everyone can write a readable book." It might be a bit hard to admit, but she's absolutely right. The two of us agree, a thorough proofread (and, if you can swing it, a professional edit) is an excellent way to bump your work into the latter category. "It is essential to ensure that your final proof, before going to print, is as error free as possible (although I am convinced that the gremlins creep in as soon as the printing press starts running...)," Helen says. "It doesn't matter how good your plot and characterisation are, if the final printed version is littered with silly errors, the reading experience…

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Editing by Ellie , , , ,

IS QUALITY IN THE EYE OF THE READER?

Geri Clouston
We are all familiar with the expression, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." It is generally interpreted to mean that different people have different ideas about what is beautiful. And as a dog lover, I must admit there are some AKC breeds only an owner can love. (To avoid upsetting anyone I hereby plead the 5th with regard to which breeds – and, of course, my purebred Alaskan Malamute really IS beautiful!). Having said that, I suspect that many of the general public who visit our website and view our list of B.R.A.G. Medallion honorees may wonder how these books can be fairly judged when, by its very nature, such judgment is qualitative rather than quantitative. Well, let me say right up front that we make no pretense that editors at the top traditional publishing houses, or professors at the leading schools of journalism, such as Northwestern's (I picked that one because my eldest daughter has her Master's from Medill), would give our honorees their stamp of approval. But I respectfully submit that those same editors and professors are NOT the people who buy fiction books or read them. Our readers ARE those people. Not professional editors. Not…

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The World of Reading , , ,

Supporting Each Other!

Geri Clouston
These are great ideas to consider- 1. Buy a self-published book 2. Leave an honest review. (In fact, leave a review on more than one site!) 3. Thank the author publicly on social media. 4. Recommend the book to someone else. 5. Follow them on social media. 6. Engage with them on social media. 7. Ignore critics of the self-publishing industry. 8. Write your own good book. 9. Serve as a beta reader or reviewer for a book. 10. Write a blog post about the book. 11. Enter an author's contest or giveaway. 12. Become a book blogger or reviewer. 13. Interview an author. 14. Refer any potentially good reviewers to an author. 15. Don't obtain an illegal copy of the book. 16. Mention a book in a group or forum. 17. Buy a second copy of the print version for a friend or for your local library. 18. Download a copy from Amazon's Lending Library. 19. Invite an author to speak at a local event. 20. Purchase a copy of the book for a school or organization. 21. Nominate a book for a contest. 22. Suggest a book to an editor of a magazine or newspaper. 23. Offer your…

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Words of Wisdom , ,

Searching for the Golden Hinde by David Wesley Hill

Geri Clouston
                                                                  "The Golden Hinde off New Albion"by Simon Kozhin, oil on canvas, 2007. Little is known about the Golden Hinde even though she is one of the most famous sailing vessels in maritime history. No one can say for sure if she was built in England or if she was a prize of war. Originally christened the Pelican, she was the flagship of the small fleet in which Francis Drake and 164 men, gentlemen, and sailors embarked from Plymouth, England in 1577 on the three-year adventure that would become the second successful circumnavigation of the world—and one of the most profitable pirate voyages of all time. Drake changed the name of the Pelican to the Golden Hinde just before the fleet entered the Straits of Magellan in late August, 1578. He did so "in remembrance of his honorable friend and favourer," Sir Christopher Hatton, a major backer of the expedition and an intimate of the queen, since Hatton's family crest was a "hind trippant or." Drake felt the need to flatter Hatton because he feared the lord—one of his employers—would be displeased with him upon learning that Drake had executed Thomas Doughty in July for reasons that are…

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From Fact to Fiction! , , ,

One Man, Two Million Steps—and Inspiration

Geri Clouston
  On the shore of Lake Ontario, about 20 miles north of Rochester, NY, Braddock Point Lighthouse has stood for 118 years. At the beginning of its long life, its Fresnel lens cast a powerful light that was visible for 14 miles—the brightest light on the entire lake. One man, Frank Coleman, served as its first keeper for 33 years, from 1896 until 1929. His job meant he had to climb the stairs of the 110 foot tower twice each day—or more, if something needed extra attention—to reset the chains that operated the pendulum-driven pump that kept oil flowing to the light. Over the course of his tenure, Mr. Coleman would have climbed at least 2,600,000 steps! He would have climbed in beautiful weather as well as in thunderstorms, despite dangerous lightning and powerful winds. Surely, he also climbed the tower when he was ill—or just plain tired. But he kept the light burning and ships safe.   I think about the keeper's dedication and apply it to writing. It's important to stay on the job, no matter the weather or the mood. Some days our writing goes well, and some days it's a chore. But diligence pays off. If…

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Words of Wisdom , , , ,

Editing by Ellie

Geri Clouston
How to Be a Better Writer #1: Don't Count on Spell-Check Greetings, authors! I'm Ellie, an editor by day and a voracious reader by night, and I'm thrilled to be a new member of the indieBRAG blog team. Each month, I'll be sharing tricks and tweaks you can use to shine up your writing. I've been reading books for indieBRAG for quite awhile and have discovered so many talented authors this way. But sometimes it's hard to ignore my inner writer-editor so I can relax, have fun and just read (I'm sure you can agree!). Sure, it's annoying, but that little voice has led me to some helpful insights into how we can all improve already good writing. One biggie has to do with spelling. Not the basics; more like spelling 2.0. Poll your Facebook buddies about their biggest writing pet peeves, and you'll see a lot of gripes about there/there/they're or to/too/two. Makes perfect sense. Homonyms -- sound-alike words that mean different things -- are tricky stuff. Even so, readers tend to notice when they're misused. Your book could have a fantastic storyline that uses an impressively diverse vocabulary, but if you flub on words like the ones above,…

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Editing by Ellie , , ,

Martin Crosbie’s views on Interviews!

Geri Clouston
  "What's your favorite color?""Do you have a pet that inspired you to write your book?""Is there a food that you need to eat in order to create?"These are all actual, real questions that interviewers have asked me. I have a real concern that the interviews posted on sites and social networks are in danger of becoming so mundane and ordinary that the only people reading them will be immediate friends and family of the author. Try reading some interviews and decide for yourself. Compare the answers and you'll see similarities. Think about sporting events for a moment. You know the interview that the player gives after the game and talks about everyone giving one hundred and ten percent, or, when she or he mentions that although she or he scored the winning goal it was all about the team winning. Those are noble thoughts but they're sterile. I'm bored of them. I want to know what the player, or author is really thinking. Unfortunately, that has become quite difficult.There are no shortages of places where authors can procure interviews and promote their work. We're very fortunate. From this very site - B.R.A.G. to fine sites like Indies Unlimited and…

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Words of Wisdom , , ,

Gratitude- A Simple idea we all know about

Geri Clouston
grat•i•tude Noun the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful: He expressed his gratitude to everyone on the staff. Synonymsthanks, thankfulness, appreciation, gratefulness. A simple idea we all know about I was contacted by a reviewer recently who mentioned how seldom he gets any gratitude for the time he takes reviewing a book or interviewing an author. Quite honestly, I was taken aback with this lack of simple politeness. I believe that whether a review is good or not, you as an author should thank the reader for taking the time and, in some cases, spending the money to consider your book. Although this will not necessarily change their minds about your writing, it might make them consider giving you another chance with your next book! When dealing with the "uglies" out there, one response is all you need to make. No need to get into a discussion with someone who does not like your work. Remember, they are entitled to their opinion even if it does not please you. Thanking a reviewer who gave your book a positive review will most likely encourage them to mention you more often, and word of mouth is what makes a book…

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Words of Wisdom , , ,

Oh My, Too Many Books!

Geri Clouston
  I just spent the day cleaning out my bookshelves- too many books for too little space. It seems I've kept every book I ever enjoyed – not sure why. I probably should have been giving them to my local library, or selling them in a garage sale, but I didn't. In my defense, I kept them all because I thought I might want to read them again one day. But since I kept buying more books that I couldn't wait to read, this didn't ever, or rarely ever, happened. So my shelves are overflowing with my treasures –beautifully bound classics, historical fiction (lots of these), fun reads, tear jerkers, bodice rippers (I admit it), even a few non-fiction books (memoirs, biographies and travelogues, oh my)...all books that I just could not give up. However, life moves on and things change; now I only buy and read books on my Kindle. They are much less expensive and I can take as many books as I like with me everywhere. I don't have to get sore arms holding a heavy book up in front of me in those dreadful airplane seats (never on take-off or landing, of course, except when the…

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