Does any of this sound familiar?

Health care crisis and a conspiracy to eliminate the ill and aging to restore financial security to the nation.

Books Sales – Beware of Unlimited Consignments

Did you know books sold to distributor’s and stores on an unlimited consignment basis can be returned back to the publisher at any time (basically forever) and at the purchase price plus a storage fee?

I had no idea this could happen until I read an article posted in Publishing Basics. I knew about return policies but never knew distributor’s or bookstores would even ask for such a thing in a contract. After reading this article I’ve decided to ask my publisher about their policy.

Personally, I disagree with the whole book return policy thing…period. I believe the only circumstance that warrant returns is if the books are physically defective. Returns would have to be within a strict time frame and in the case of defects, the printer would then be responsible for all involved costs.

Why should books be treated differently than any other product? Most book clubs and stores get huge discounts off the retail price. Discounts can be anywhere from 33% to 55%. If a purchaser overestimates their need, it should be their responsibility to get rid of the overstock.

Do Emotions Compel You To Write?

I’m curious about what motivates other writers to write and how much of their writing if any, is driven by emotion.

As told to Pat Bertram, I’m at my best when totally peeved by some blatant abuse of power or social injustice. Just watching the news, makes me think I’ll have enough writing material to last the next forty years…lol!

I have to feel something deeply, be moved by the subject first, before I can commit word one to paper. When my head and my heart latches onto a subject, this acts as the catalyst that starts my imagination going wild. I embellish upon whatever subject to extreme proportion in order to make what I feel…is an important point or observation.

Love, happiness, passion, anger, hate, fear, betrayal, frustration and empathy (to name a few) are very powerful motivators. My hope is the end product makes readers feel the same emotions in equal intensity as I felt when deciding on the subject and writing the story.

Therefore my questions are, in relation to story telling:

Do you have to feel something first before you can begin to write?

Or, does your emotional bond to the story develop as you go along?

Is it possible to write without any emotional involvement or attachment?

Research – How much is needed?

It’s always amused me when I read a book review that states, “The author obviously didn’t research the material”, particularly when it pertains to fiction.

I suppose it’s because I’m new to the writing world and it hasn’t been explained to me yet. I can understand the comment if ones referring to non-fiction. It’s good to know what particles make up an atom if you’re going to write about it, but other than knowing the number of 9mm shells held in the clip of semi-automatic Glock, how much research really needs to be done for fiction?

By definition of fiction, the story’s made up. It’s an embellishment or exaggeration of what could or couldn’t be real. Other than some technical aspects, how much research is truly needed if the story is written well and still convincing? My favorite novels are ones that make me look things up to find out if what’s written is real.

The other day I got a compliment from a reader who actually tracked me down to find out how much of my book ‘A Nation of Expendables’ was fact and how much was fiction. The reader said it was a fantastic read. He also said it scared the heck out of him since the book’s about the risks of identity theft due to unsecured personal information and the extermination those deemed non-productive members of society.

So, I guess you could say my mission was accomplished!

Copyright 2008