Adventures in PubSmart (part four) by Kate Tilton

by Adventures in YA Publishing

An inspiration to many authors out there, Hugh Howey is a powerhouse author who’s out of the box thinking, diligence, and kindness has made him someone I admire greatly. Hugh delivered the lunch keynote at the recent PubSmart conference giving us all tips to publish smarter.

If you are new to this PubSmart series please take a minute to check out the first parts of the series; IBPA’s Mini Publishing University, Social Savvy & Media Mastery, and What Does It Mean to Publish? by Jane Friedman. All are filled with information to help you publish smarter.

Keynote

Insights from Bestselling Author Hugh Howey

“Don’t follow me because I don’t know what I’m doing.” – Hugh (He is very humble.)
Experts are the people looking at yesterday trying to tell you what will work tomorrow. Instead of looking at the big name experts we should look at those who are making a living writing that no one has ever heard of.
We are experiencing the digitization of entertainment.
The publishing industry is based on psychology. For this reason Hugh does not add sample chapters to the back of his book for fear of taking away a readers thought of “I finished this” after reading his books.
Hugh also added a Q&A between the last chapter and the epilogue in his book to give readers a sense of discovery as they found the epilogue they were looking for. He also asked for readers to leave a review in this section, when lots of readers were upset at the ending until they found the epilogue.
The best writers are the ones who have the highest standard in what they read and the most self-doubt. (They know they are not at their best yet.)
Quality is important, but we must be careful of who we are speaking to. Often when we tell writers not to publish too soon, the ones who are ready (the ones with self-doubt) are discouraged while those who are not ready publish anyway.
Backlist and free books are something we should embrace. The potential is endless for backlists now, and although there are enough free books for a person to read for the rest of their lives in classics alone, readers are still looking for new work.
To blame a company such as Amazon for providing what we want as consumers is silly. If it isn’t Amazon it would be another company. It is possible that Amazon is the best thing that has happened to indie bookstores. (Hugh has a fabulous article on this point here.)
Plot is more important than prose. Hugh has met professors of writing who write perfect prose, but without a good plot their writing is boring and goes unread. Reading is meant to entertain.
DRM punishes paying readers and does not stop piracy. If the words are out there someone can steal them. The best way to prevent piracy is to create high quality and affordable books.

Hugh has inspired me to work harder as an individual. To give back more and do more. I hope these insights from his keynote will inspire you too. And as always if you have any questions about this article, publishing, or social media I would love to hear from you. Just leave a comment below or connect with me on my website, katetilton.com.

About Hugh Howey:

Hugh Howey is the author of the award-winning Molly Fyde Saga and the New York Times and USA Today bestselling WOOL series. The WOOL OMNIBUS won Kindle Book Review’s 2012 Indie Book of the Year Award — it has been as high as #1 in the Kindle store — and 17 countries have picked up the work for translation. Look for WOOL in hardback in 2013 from Random House UK and keep your fingers crossed that Ridley Scott and Steve Zaillian will do something exciting with the film rights!

Hugh lives in Jupiter, FL with his wife Amber and their dog Bella. When he isn’t writing, he’s reading or taking a photograph.

About Kate Tilton:

Kate Tilton has been in love with books for as long as she can remember. Kate believes books saved her life and strives to repay authors for bringing books into the world by serving as a dependable author assistant. A cat-lover and fan of many geeky things, Kate can likely be found curled up with the latest Doctor Who episode, plotting world takeover, or assisting authors and readers in any way she can. Kate is also a self-proclaimed Twitter addict. You will find her hosting #K8chat, her own creation, every Thursday night on Twitter from 9-10pm Eastern.

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Adventures in YA Publishing

This is the user name for posts from Adventures in YA Publishing that did not have a specific author.

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Posted: May 10, 2014

Category: Imported from AYAP

Tags: Craft of Writing | Getting Published

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The first slide is an animation of a science/magic room in a castle. A cartoon character of a mad-scientist looking man in in the foreground says: “Hello! Dr. Frankenstein here to say, Well Done on kid lit zombie week! I’m an expert at reviving the dead, and let me assure you, with a little spark, you can bring dead projects to life. Especially if you dig up parts from other dead things. I’ll even let you have a sneak peek at my laboratory’s store room to consider potential parts for your dead project. If you see something with a yellow glow, that means you should click it. Have fun!”

He points to the right side of the screen and a new scene slides in of a castle science/magic storage room. There are various cartoon Frankenstein body parts scattered around. Some of them have a yellow glow. If you click on them, the images below appear (I’ve added alt text to them, so I hope it works).

The Heart of your story is the main character. The protagonist is the beating core that truly brings your story to life. If your MC doesn't make kids (and their grown-ups) care within the first few pages, your story will flatline. </p>
<p>Your main character needs to be:<br />
• Relatable enough for kids to see themselves<br />
• Unique enough to stand out in the slush pile<br />
• Active enough to drive the story<br />
• Memorable enough to survive multiple readings at bedtime</p>
<p>Where do you find this amazing donor heart? It might be the very thing you loved so much about the manuscript you want to revive. It might be the younger sister from your shelved YA novel. Or maybe it’s the hilarious kid you blogged about meeting at a school visit. Find a character beating with potential and place it in the center of your story.<br />

The Brain of your story is the theme or central message. The theme is the big idea that controls everything else. Picture books are more than stories - they're tiny life lessons disguised with humor and heart.</p>
<p>But your theme needs to be:<br />
• Subtle enough not to trigger the dreaded "didactic" rejection<br />
• Clear enough for a four-year-old to grasp<br />
• Universal enough to speak to both kids and adults<br />
• Fresh enough to prevent agents and editors from responding with "Not another sharing/bedtime/first-day story!"</p>
<p>Check your other dead manuscripts to see if there is a recurring theme, something that really seems to be speaking to you. Find the bit of poetry you scribbled on the back of a receipt to see what theme inspired it. Reread the pep talk you texted your critique partner at 1am. Pick the theme that will drive your story, giving it purpose, direction, and deeper meaning.<br />

The Legs of your story is the plot. Not to be confused with a grave plot.🤪 The plot is what keeps everything upright and moving, as well as providing support for all the other elements. You have very few words to use in a picture book, so you need to do a lot with each plot point.</p>
<p>In general, your plot should:<br />
• Hook readers fast<br />
• Build tension that a child can follow<br />
• Create page turns that feel natural<br />
• Wrap up in a way that satisfies</p>
<p>You can borrow a plot twist (a leg) from one manuscript and the opening (the other leg) from a different manuscript. Consider if the subplot of the middle grade novel you trunked would work better as a picture book. Or maybe your Facebook post about a disastrous camping trip could become a story for kids. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other until you have your storyline.

The Arms of your story are the side characters.

The Torso of your story is the setting. Setting helps a story breathe and connects all the elements of the story. It isn't just where your story lives, it's what makes your story ALIVE. It's the difference between "this happened in a park" and "this happened in that park, the one with the twisty slide that burns your legs and the creaky swing that sounds like a baby crying.”</p>
<p>Your setting should:<br />
• Make your character's world feel real<br />
• Contain your story in a way that makes sense to young readers<br />
• Connect different scenes and moments organically<br />
• Give your illustrator enough room to add visual subplots</p>
<p>Half-finished manuscripts are a great place to dig up settings, since you worked out the place details before the plot petered out. Or maybe you had to cut a second fantastic location from your chapter book. You can also revisit the detailed caption from your Instagram carousel documenting your tour of that delish candy shop. Disinter a robust setting that can house all of your story's vital organs.

After you press the Click When Done circle button, the lights flash with the sound of electricity buzzing. Then the screen goes black and lightning zaps across the screen with the sound of thunder.

The screen then lights up to show the storage room, and all the Frankenstein pieces have been assembled into the whole monster. An upbeat song plays in the background. Then a speech bubble pops up with the words, “I’m alive! I’M ALIVE!” Then the screen goes to black.

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