You've heard of a pub crawl. Well, this is the same except it's not.
Same: You "crawl" from one place to another with a lot of other people.
Different: It's virtual: no taxis, no traffic, no crowded rooms.
Same: You "travel" with like-minded people who are out for a good time.
Different: You'll never see them face-to-face.
Same: You meet new people, visit new places, and enjoy the trip.
Different: No hangover at the end.
Peg's Blog Crawl begins tomorrow right here. My topic is the English language, its origins, its variety, its general craziness. I've named it "Do the Dead Speak Perfect English?" in honor of my February release, THE DEAD DETECTIVE AGENCY.
Did I mention prizes? I'm giving away a book each week, either print
or e-book, as the winning commenters choose. I also have some little surprises
along the way, so join in and chime in (that's how you enter the prize drawings). You can indulge every weekday in February, learning a little about the eccentricities of English, and you won't have to crawl home!
Here's the Schedule:
Feb. 1 Peg Herring-Why Do We Say That? Part I-Find it at http://itsamysterytomepegherring.blogspot.com
Feb. 2 Chris Verstraete-Slowing Readers—Bad Policy-Find it at http://candidcanine.blogspot.com
Feb. 3 Melissa Bradley-He Said, She Panted http://melissasimaginarium.blogspot.com
Feb. 4 Marilyn Meredith-The Dreaded Adverb http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com
Feb. 5 Weekend-Draw for Prizes from Week 1 http://itsamysterytomepegherring.blogspot.com
Feb 6 Weekend—
Feb. 7 Rhonda Dossett-The Ones Spell Check Won’t Catch http://thestilettogang.blogspot.com
Feb 8 Nancy Cohen-Metaphors http://nancyjcohen.wordpress.com
Feb. 9 Kaye George-Names Into Words http://travelswithkaye.blogspot.com
Feb 10 Lisa Haselton-Losing the Spice http://lisahaseltonsreviewsandinterviews.blogspot.com
Feb 11. Chris Redding-Inventing Words http://chrisreddingauthor.blogspot.com
Feb 12. Weekend-Draw for Prizes from Week 2 http://itsamysterytomepegherring.blogspot.com
Feb.13.BONUS POST Lelia Taylor Syntax and Sentence Structure http://www.cncbooks.com/blog
Feb.14 Jenny Milchman-Why Do We Say That? Part II suspenseyourdisbelief.com
Feb.15. Pat Brown-Dialogue and What It Reveals http://themysteryworldofpabrown.blogspot.com and http://pabrown.livejournal.com
Feb. 16 Debbi Mack-Portmanteau Words http://midlistlife.wordpress.com
Feb. 17 Peg Brantley-The Possessive Problem http://www.suspensenovelist.blogspot
Feb 18 Bo Parker-Read It Aloud http://www.cobbledstones.com
Feb 19 Weekend-Draw for Prizes from Week 3 http://itsamysterytomepegherring.blogspot.com
Feb. 20 Weekend
Feb. 21 Jeff Marks-And What About Contractions? http://www.thelittleblogofmurder.com
Feb 22 Geraldine Evans-Idioms http://geralineevanscom.blogspot.com
Feb. 23 Maryann Miller-Eccentric Phrases http://its-not-all-gravy.blogspot.com
Feb. 24 Peg Herring Being Precise http://crimespace.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?user=pegfish
Feb. 25 –Peg Herring Bad Words http://criminalmindsatwork.blogspot.com/
Feb. 26 Weekend-Draw for Prizes from Week 4 http://itsamysterytomepegherring.blogspot.com
Feb. 27 Weekend
Feb. 29 Stacy Juba-Why Do We Say That? Part III http://stacyjuba.com/blog
March 1-Final Drawing for Prizes from All Entries http://itsamysterytomepegherring.blogspot.com
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
E-readers, Kindle, and Nook--Oh, My!
I belong to several on-line chat groups for authors (probably too many). The gist of what's going on is that authors are catching on to the e-book revolution, some reluctantly, some anxiously, some willingly. It's scary, because a lot of things change with e-books.
For example: you don't need an agent to publish an e-book. You don't even need a publisher, if you're willing to do some homework. There isn't that assurance that some of us need that we've got professionals behind us. Then again, some authors have felt for some time that there really isn't an Oz behind the curtain.
You do still need an editor, but there's an interesting change there, too. When an author hires an editor, she maintains more control over the book. An employee, the hired editor, SUGGESTS changes, where a publishing-house editor tends to DEMAND them. One I had a few years back kept prefacing his proposed changes with "I want..." I began thinking, "Whose book is this? It's my name on the cover!" When you disagree with a pub-house editor, you can fight with them (I have) or you can give in (I've done that, too). When you hire an editor, you are wise to listen to what they advise, to get your money's worth and to recognize what objective readers will see in the work you love so much. But if you love it the way it is, it's up to you.
A current discussion in my chat groups is ISBNs. Once considered mandatory for a professional publication, questions have arisen about them for e-books. They're expensive, and if you're only going to publish electronically, you have other options. (If a book goes into print, the ISBN would be different anyway.)
Of course, traditional publishing is pulling on the reins, and I think they have to. It would be a mistake to let every joker who thinks he/she can write throw a book at us and make the pool of candidates for panels, awards, and reviews so large it's beyond managability. Rules are established, and even if some authors don't like them, they keep us honest. Yes, someone read my book other than my sister. Yes, my publisher works with multiple authors and does not guarantee publication or charge me for publishing.
Still, the publishing world is changing, so quickly that we can hardly keep up. Some predict that books will soon come out initially as e-books. If they do well, someone will take the chance and put them into print for libraries and those who love "real" books. My February release, THE DEAD DETECTIVE AGENCY, is e-book and POD. I like that, because I will have physical copies for display and electronic copies for all those people who have never met me.
E-publishing is ecologically better, quicker, and easier. Like Dorothy and her friends, authors are treading with caution into the forest of e-books. Our sense of "Oh, my!" is fear for some, awe for others, and for the un-cowardly: "Look at all the possibilites!"
For example: you don't need an agent to publish an e-book. You don't even need a publisher, if you're willing to do some homework. There isn't that assurance that some of us need that we've got professionals behind us. Then again, some authors have felt for some time that there really isn't an Oz behind the curtain.
You do still need an editor, but there's an interesting change there, too. When an author hires an editor, she maintains more control over the book. An employee, the hired editor, SUGGESTS changes, where a publishing-house editor tends to DEMAND them. One I had a few years back kept prefacing his proposed changes with "I want..." I began thinking, "Whose book is this? It's my name on the cover!" When you disagree with a pub-house editor, you can fight with them (I have) or you can give in (I've done that, too). When you hire an editor, you are wise to listen to what they advise, to get your money's worth and to recognize what objective readers will see in the work you love so much. But if you love it the way it is, it's up to you.
A current discussion in my chat groups is ISBNs. Once considered mandatory for a professional publication, questions have arisen about them for e-books. They're expensive, and if you're only going to publish electronically, you have other options. (If a book goes into print, the ISBN would be different anyway.)
Of course, traditional publishing is pulling on the reins, and I think they have to. It would be a mistake to let every joker who thinks he/she can write throw a book at us and make the pool of candidates for panels, awards, and reviews so large it's beyond managability. Rules are established, and even if some authors don't like them, they keep us honest. Yes, someone read my book other than my sister. Yes, my publisher works with multiple authors and does not guarantee publication or charge me for publishing.
Still, the publishing world is changing, so quickly that we can hardly keep up. Some predict that books will soon come out initially as e-books. If they do well, someone will take the chance and put them into print for libraries and those who love "real" books. My February release, THE DEAD DETECTIVE AGENCY, is e-book and POD. I like that, because I will have physical copies for display and electronic copies for all those people who have never met me.
E-publishing is ecologically better, quicker, and easier. Like Dorothy and her friends, authors are treading with caution into the forest of e-books. Our sense of "Oh, my!" is fear for some, awe for others, and for the un-cowardly: "Look at all the possibilites!"
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
I Quit--Does That Make Me a Bad Person?
I gave up on the second of the GIRL WITH/WHO series.
Yup.
I just don't care.
It's hard for me to like a protagonist who is so weird, so amoral, so flat.
It's irritating to me that someone did not edit out the thousands of details that (I guess) are supposed to add to the story but instead draw it out. I don't care how many T-shirts, cups, chairs, and bedsheets the woman bought.
I seldom like the "I'll get that person if it's the last thing I ever do" plotline.
I will admit that by halfway through the first book, I got caught up in the story and wanted to know what happened, but I only got that far because friends told me to keep slogging through the ridiculously drawn-out beginning. Even when I got into the story, I was disgusted by the characters' disregard for any sort of moral code but their personal desires. It could be that I'm too sheltered, that life is that way, but I'm just sayin'.
So this morning I read another chapter and then thought, "There are lots of books I would like better than this one, so why am I reading it?" The answer, I suppose, is the hoopla that the world has raised about the series, but I decided that isn't enough reason for me. I don't mind being in the minority, reading books that I choose rather than ones someone else says are must-reads.
After all, I have no idea what a Kardashian looks like, and it hasn't done me a bit of harm so far.
Yup.
I just don't care.
It's hard for me to like a protagonist who is so weird, so amoral, so flat.
It's irritating to me that someone did not edit out the thousands of details that (I guess) are supposed to add to the story but instead draw it out. I don't care how many T-shirts, cups, chairs, and bedsheets the woman bought.
I seldom like the "I'll get that person if it's the last thing I ever do" plotline.
I will admit that by halfway through the first book, I got caught up in the story and wanted to know what happened, but I only got that far because friends told me to keep slogging through the ridiculously drawn-out beginning. Even when I got into the story, I was disgusted by the characters' disregard for any sort of moral code but their personal desires. It could be that I'm too sheltered, that life is that way, but I'm just sayin'.
So this morning I read another chapter and then thought, "There are lots of books I would like better than this one, so why am I reading it?" The answer, I suppose, is the hoopla that the world has raised about the series, but I decided that isn't enough reason for me. I don't mind being in the minority, reading books that I choose rather than ones someone else says are must-reads.
After all, I have no idea what a Kardashian looks like, and it hasn't done me a bit of harm so far.
Monday, January 3, 2011
20 Days in February = A Blog Crawl
To promote my new release, THE DEAD DETECTIVE AGENCY, (LL Publishing), I would like to create a “blog crawl”. Somewhat like a pub crawl, a blog crawl begins at one place--my blog site--and meanders through a lot of similar places, like your site. Unlike a pub crawl, however, no one requires a taxi to get back home at the end. :)
The idea is that I will do a series of posts in February, each one leading to the next and referring to the one before. The posts will be entertaining and challenging and will focus on the English language. I have chosen to call it IS PERFECT ENGLISH DEAD? It will be designed to interest both readers and writers, having fun with the eccentricities of our language. Hopefully, people will join the crawl, visiting all the sites along the way. It’s promotion for my book; it’s exposure for your blog. Symbiosis!
If you would like to join the blog crawl, simply let me know which weekday in February works for you. If you’d like to choose the topic, I have posted a list below.
(Weekdays in February)
1. Why Do We Say That? Part I
2. The Dreaded (Overused and Abused) Adverb
3. Eccentric Phrases
4. Losing the Spice
5. Names Into Words
6. Being Precise
7. Same Word/Different Word
8. Portmanteau Words
9. The Possessive Problem
10. Why Do We Say That? Part II
11. Inventing Words
12. He Said, She Panted
13. Read It Aloud
14. Repetition
15. The Ones Spell Check Won’t Catch
16. And What About Contractions?
17. Slowing Readers—Bad Policy
18. Dialogue and What It Reveals
19. Metaphors: Beautiful, Extended, and Stretched to Breaking
20. Why Do We Say That? Part III
The idea is that I will do a series of posts in February, each one leading to the next and referring to the one before. The posts will be entertaining and challenging and will focus on the English language. I have chosen to call it IS PERFECT ENGLISH DEAD? It will be designed to interest both readers and writers, having fun with the eccentricities of our language. Hopefully, people will join the crawl, visiting all the sites along the way. It’s promotion for my book; it’s exposure for your blog. Symbiosis!
If you would like to join the blog crawl, simply let me know which weekday in February works for you. If you’d like to choose the topic, I have posted a list below.
(Weekdays in February)
1. Why Do We Say That? Part I
2. The Dreaded (Overused and Abused) Adverb
3. Eccentric Phrases
4. Losing the Spice
5. Names Into Words
6. Being Precise
7. Same Word/Different Word
8. Portmanteau Words
9. The Possessive Problem
10. Why Do We Say That? Part II
11. Inventing Words
12. He Said, She Panted
13. Read It Aloud
14. Repetition
15. The Ones Spell Check Won’t Catch
16. And What About Contractions?
17. Slowing Readers—Bad Policy
18. Dialogue and What It Reveals
19. Metaphors: Beautiful, Extended, and Stretched to Breaking
20. Why Do We Say That? Part III
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