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What’s in a Word Count?

/ Alex Whitehall / 2 Comments
The other day I came across a manuscript that was 190,000 words. My mind boggled. That was so long! Most modern manuscripts I see are at max 125,000. But that got me pondering word counts. Is 190K that big?
I found this blog post: http://griffinpauljackson.com/2013/07/25/book-word-counts/
In it, I learned that Gone with the Wind is over 400K. Wow. So maybe 190K isn’t that big. After all, there are several well-known books on that list that are the same length.
Of course, a few things are different since Gone with the Wind was published in 1936. Television and internet create a world where we either need to keep your attention or lose it to something more immediately entertaining. Not that people can’t/won’t sit down and read 400K, but it’s harder to entice them in and get them to read through it.
I understand completely, as finding time to keep up with all the entertainment and media stuff is hard enough. Who has the time to read something that long. Is it fair to a book that is 200K and a masterpiece that it may never be purchased by a publisher because it’s just not marketable (assuming it can’t be broken into two smaller books that may be more enticing)? Maybe not, but that’s the world we live in.
(Also, as a side note, many of the longer books we’re familiar with were published piecemeal in newspapers (etc) on a weekly/monthly basis where the author was paid per word. So yeah the authors milked that for all it was worth. Plus if you’re only reading a chapter at a time, the length doesn’t seem nearly as overwhelming.)
This post helpfully breaks what lengths should be by genre: https://worddreams.wordpress.com/2010/12/08/word-count-by-genre/
In general it seems fairly accurate, though I think with more progression in the digital age, some of the lower word counts can be moved down. For instance, 75K seems to be a golden number in the books I see. Not too short, not too long. Enough space to flesh out the character and story, but not enough to lose the reader to a billion other things.
Personally, I…have trouble writing that long. Generally my works max out at 50K, if they even get that far. I’m working to develop my writing and flesh out the story/character/senses more, which will hopefully lengthen my word counts (and make the writing more enjoyable in general). For instance, my current WIP has a character who I envisioned in his thirties, but my writer group envisioned much older, because I gave no clues to his age. I obviously need to describe my character more! That will help my writing, yes, but also help me hit the golden word count. (Maybe :P)
My point (yes, I have a point!) is that when we’re writing, we need to keep in mind our genre, audience, etc. Yes, we should write for us, but if we want to be published, keeping in mind these guidelines (not rules or laws, just guidelines) are important. Cheating on some points within a genre may make books harder to sell (but not impossible) to a publisher. Cheating on all of them means a book better blow them out of the water for them to take the (likely) risks.

And this isn’t meant to be preaching or teaching so much as just a reminder to myself. Or maybe just an awareness to keep in the back of my mind. You know, along with all the other crazy stuff. 

Sharing a Pond available for preorder!

/ Alex Whitehall / Leave a comment

I’m excited to announce that Sharing a Pond is now available for preorder on Less Than Three’s website!

I am so excited for November. I mean, it’s a pretty great month (it’s no October, but it’s pretty great), but this just makes it that much more awesome! Of course, now I have to start thinking about things like getting the word out and all that stuff but…

I’m just going to rejoice in SaP having a cover and being up for release and all that great stuff.

The Summer Goes So Fast

/ Alex Whitehall / Leave a comment

The past month has been hectic, as I flew from helping move the Riptide warehouse, dog-sat for my brother’s family, went on vacation, and now I’m cat-sitting. And in two weeks I’ll likely be dog/horse/house sitting.

Cat sitting is easy. Especially with this sweet girl. Of course I also have to tend to the swimming pool and the gardens, but I’m used to it. On the other hand, it still throws my routine completely out of whack. I don’t have an ideal place to work (my mom has an office, but I feel like everyone tries to make their offices as uncomfortable as possible or something. Or maybe it’s just people who don’t actually USE their office.)

Despite being insanely busy, I’ve been hitting my 5K monthly word counts. Last month was a bit of a cheat because it wasn’t actually original words, per se. Part of the word count was writing up a summary, which I’m totally counting just because those things are time consuming. Or at least they are for me. And this one was wordy!

Hopefully for August I’ll be finishing my YA trans* piece (WCR). Right now it’s a novella, but I’m hoping that a re-read will enlighten spots to develop things more. Or I’ll risk taking it to my writers’ group. Undecided at the moment.

I’m also working on a story idea I’ve had written down for ages. It’s a play off a Grimms-like fairy tale, except the majority of the story takes place AFTER. My original plan was for it to be a romance, and it still would be, but I’m trying to brainstorm more plotty things rather than always having the feelings be the conflict.

Of course, as soon as I sit down to do that, I think of nothing. But who doesn’t want to see a river guardian and a sacrifice child live happily ever after (Um, with time skips, of course O.O).

All right, time to put the nose to the grindstone. Or fingers to the keyboard, whichever will be more productive….

Growing up country.

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Compared to some, I don’t live in a rural area at all. It’s quite suburban in many ways. But that suburbia hasn’t been around quite as long as some other places. And much of the mindset is still very rural.

Take for instance a conversation I had with my riding instructor today. She was telling me about one of the kids’ big horse show and that the judge confused horse A and horse B and pinned them backward. and the judge refused to admit his mistake and everyone around them was astounded at the judge’s ruling, etc, etc. So far that’s all fine. It sounds like the girl really got screwed out of a ribbon she deserved (she earned Champion in her two other classes on the same horse, just to prove the point).

Then my instructor says that the judge was gay. I just kind of blinked at her for a bit, so she went on, explaining how she had noticed it when she saw him judging, but after they talked to him (to confront him about the placement), the other person agreed with her. She was obviously trying to tie being gay to the judge giving a shitty ruling.

I said (heart pounding), that him being gay really didn’t have anything to do with it.

She went on, trying to explain that it was his attitude.

And I said that being gay didn’t give him attitude. He just had a shitty attitude. At which point she dropped the conversation and focused on how unfair it was that the kid got screwed out of a ribbon. Then she went to go do something else, and I groomed my horse and replayed the conversation in my head a thousand times.

I was born and raised in this area, so the mentality doesn’t really surprise me, although this is the first time I’ve run into this type of language from her (although she’s made passing comments that were questionable before). She’s an older woman (63) and was raised in this area. So she embodies that rural area. It’s something you see in a lot of fiction: rural towns don’t like them gays, but they aren’t outright mean to them. Mostly just give them side-eye. And that’s how she is. But being queer and hearing that said was still a shock to the system.

I take heart in knowing that with time and patience, change is happening.

Book recommendation

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If you follow me on tumblr, this information may sound familiar.

But I wanted to talk about a book that I just finished. I know I try not to smudge the line between editor Alex and writer Alex, but this time I just have to.

Because this book is special to me. I’ve known I’m asexual for a while (a few years) and I’m pretty comfortable with it (um, outside of relationships). My friends are cool with it. Tumblr is cool with it. Yay! Okay, my family doesn’t know, but they know I’m not giving them kids, so I don’t think they really need to know.

Anyway. This book. I have a wide appreciation for this book. First off, it’s well-written, a mix of romance, quaint British town, and suspense. But what really made this book speak to me on a deep level is the main character is asexual. He has a lot of heavy-duty stuff going on in his life, especially in the beginning of the book, but toward the end there are some serious conversations that happen that were just…amazing. They had me pointing at the screen and shouting, “That!”

Some readers may gripe about the lack of sexy times happening on the page. But the book is about an asexual character, and there is a very short list of books that have asexual characters. This book fills a need and it fills it well.

If you want to understand more about the mindset of asexual people (or at least this particular person’s experience, in the story), then please read it. It’s very accessible and may help you see how a person feels/thinks/etc.

If you are asexual, you’re going to love this character. No, he’s not every asexual, but at least some part of him will likely speak to you.

If you don’t care about asexual characters at all, you can still enjoy a sweet, exciting story that tears at the soft underbelly without gutting you completely. And maybe you’ll learn a thing or two along the way!

Blue Steel Chain by Alex Beecroft

At sixteen, Aidan Swift was swept off his feet by a rich older man who promised to take care of him for the rest of his life. But eight years later, his sugar daddy has turned from a prince into a beast. Trapped and terrified, Aidan snatches an hour’s respite at the Trowchester Museum.

Local archaeologist James Huntley is in a failing long distance relationship with a rock star, and Aidan—nervous, bruised, and clearly in need of a champion—brings out all his white knight tendencies. When everything falls apart for Aidan, James saves him from certain death . . . and discovers a skeleton of another boy who wasn’t so lucky.

As Aidan recovers, James falls desperately in love. But though Aidan acts like an adoring boyfriend, he doesn’t seem to feel any sexual attraction at all. Meanwhile there are two angry exes on the horizon, one coming after them with the press and the other with a butcher’s knife. To be together, Aidan and James must conquer death, sex, and everyone’s preconceptions about the right way to love—even their own.

Flame-Con report!

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As you may have heard, Riptide Publishing was at Flame-Con in NYC on Saturday. And so I was there as well! 
It was in an OLD building and had ONE elevator…the oldest elevator in Brooklyn. It was hand operated. It was NOT ideal for getting vendors with lots of stuff into the room they needed to go (or out of, at the end of the day). The vendors were also in the greenhouse, so it was hot. Like, sweat-pouring-down-our-bodies-while-standing-stil hot.
That said, the PEOPLE were amazing! For anyone who doesn’t know, Flame-Con is tagged as the “queer comic-con” and this was their first year. They had a pretty good turnout, and some great costumes (especially for a one-day show of this size).
Rachel Haimowitz with the Riddler, Cyclopes, Jubilee, and Daredevil

The photo doesn’t really do the last picture justice. He had a great ring and amazing face-paint. Something great about this show experience was there seemed to be (from what I saw), a lack of body policing, etc, about the cosplay.

There was also a room full of artists selling their wares, and while I didn’t get to spend a huge amount of time there, I was sure to stop by Tab’s table, of Discord Comics / khaoskomix. And buy lots of things. Because he’s lovely and came all the way from the UK. Be sure to check out his work. He is a fantastic storyteller and hits up a variety of storylines with various characters (his current projects are about an asexual man, and the Minority Monsters). 
I also happened upon Morgan of What’s Normal Anyway?, a comic about being trans male. It, like most webcomics, is completely available online, but there’s something about having the paper in-hand. And supporting the author, of course!
I also had some time to buzz around the vendor room, which mostly involved going over to the Cocky Boys’ table and gushing over @levikarterxxx (which Tumblr refuses to recognize as the actual tumblr blog…). I don’t really look at porn, but there’s something about the way he moves that just draws me to him. Of course he’s lovely, but it’s more than that. And hopefully my fanboying didn’t come across super creepy.
We finished the day (hauling everything back down on that elevator…) and finally made our way to get dinner at Veggie Heaven, which is actually really good all-vegetarian Chinese food. Yes, I ate fake meat product, but it was delicious. 
Overall a good time, although exhausting and sweaty.

The forming of words…

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So before I hand something in, I tweak it, I tweak it, and I tweak it again.

The problem is that I’m making minor changes (generally). A comma, removing a preposition, using a different word. These are all good changes, but they don’t really get to the heart of the problem in some of my writing. But that’s kind of hard to do…finding your own weaknesses, you know?

So I started going to a writers’ group. And at first I was super tentative. The crowd seemed old and didn’t have a lot of writing background/experience…or talent. Not that they didn’t have potential, but they weren’t naturally strong writers. And most of them didn’t go through extensive classes and all that sort of thing. I was glad for feedback, but I wasn’t confident much of it would be useful.

And then some new people joined. They were younger and had experience and skill.

On Thursday we had another gathering and I feel like I got some really good feedback. I know the story that we’re currently going through is some of my more stilted language, but it was still good to hear it. And they gave some positives too. And some places where it fell through. It just felt REALLY good. And I want more of that feedback.

I’d love to have a bunch of beta readers to give that sort of feedback, and I may have one or two, but even they haven’t torn into my piece. (Um, not that I want my heart broken and bleeding on the floor. But, you know…)

But I also know I can’t just rely on the beta reader. I have to strive to improve my own writing. And while putting out the stories is important, putting them out well is even more so.

Now I just need Hermione’s time-turner in order to get everything done.

Still can’t believe it’s…

/ Alex Whitehall / Leave a comment

Life sure is funny.

I was fretting over when my next round of edits would be coming in and poof, edits appear in my inbox.

Of course, then there are other things to fret about, but what would I be without that?

The edits are now back with my editor (wee! one less thing on the plate). I’m suffering from a heavy case of “everyone’s a better writer than me,” and my June and July are hectic, so I’m flipping out about that too.

BUT I am doing writing things (like having a file go back to an editor), so I’m trying to keep that in mind when the doom-voice gets me down. Also, it’s mostly the beginning that’s kind of rough, so…guh. However, it really makes me want to work more on my craft, so that’s a good thing. It’s just a matter of following through. Finding people to help point out when things sound bleh.

In other news, I ready Amy Lane’s Black John, which isn’t one of my favorites of the series, but was enjoyable. I enjoyed the progression of a fallen character into a strong character, and also the love interest’s insistence that he had to get strong on his own.

I think that mentality of “thanks for your help, but I have to do some of this for myself” is good, and it was balanced in the story. Friends, loved ones, and support are important, but the desire to be helped is also vital.

I probably enjoyed the “growing-up-how-I-got-here” portion of the novel less than I did some of the others, because I just couldn’t relate. The others felt more grounded in a reality I could understand and associate with, but John’s past just was sort of beyond me. The storytelling was good, of course, so I never got bogged down with the backstory (in fact, I liked the way it was done with memories and flashbacks), but I still just couldn’t get them.

I also re-read (for the millionth time), The God Box by Alex Sanchez. Part of the reason is because Riptide has a book coming out called Lead Me Not by Anne Gallagher, which is an inspirational that looks at homosexuality and religion. There are a lot of similarities between these books because of that, even though the stories themselves are completely different.

Some people may find my love of The God Box odd. Um, Alex, aren’t you an atheist?

Well, yes, I am. But there’s just something powerful about this story. One, because I think it is a beautiful representation of what religion–and especially faith–should be. And it’s all about acceptance–of the self and others. And it’s so friggin sweet. GO READ IT.

Cover reveal: Sharing a Pond

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While I’m at RT, working hard and having my sleep schedule completely thrown off course, I got a happy little surprise in my inbox!
There’s no official blurb or anything, but this is the story I’ve been working on for quite some time. It started when I had my accident and I was trying to tell the story from the wrong perspective three different times. What I thought the story was going to be about…it ended up not being about. But I like how it turned out, and I’m super happy with my cover!

The release date is going to be in November, so I’m being a little bit of a tease….but I hope you’ll find it worth the wait!

A bit about Sharing a Pond:

Brent has had a rough beginning after finding out he was a frog shifter and his first shifted changed him from Brenda to Brent. But he’s made his way north to Corey and Shane, who previously worked with his adoptive family.

They are also frog shifters, and mates. Except…he feels the draw to them that his adoptive parents had always talked about when a shifter found his mate. So how can that be?

Even knowing this, he comes to them for help, hoping he can have just a taste of what they have before he’s forced to move on.

(And I just kind of made that up off the cuff and while sleep deprived, so please forgive any errors or completely nonsensicalness.)

Once More Unto the Edits

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Please remind me to never do my edits on paper again.

BaW and I have had a long, long relationship. I wrote it *muffled noise* years ago, submitted it, was rejected (but given feedback). And then proceeded to get distracted. Go figure.

Then I started working on it, in spurts and fits. I gave it to beta readers for feedback, added pieces to the end. Read a book about plotting. Considered reworking it completely. Re-read it. Removed and reorganized pieces, but left it mostly as it was. Printed it out and did edits by hand.

I just finished entering in those changes. And I don’t think I can read this story again with anything near clear vision.

So I need a beta reader again. Anyone interested can drop me a line (alexdwhitehall at gmail). It’s possibly the softest, most mellow apocalypse you will ever read.

In other news, I’ve been hitting my word goals (somehow), and my reading goals (go me!), and am looking forward to spring.

In February I read Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. It’s done in illustrated/comic form and while it was good, it wasn’t really my cup of tea. I found the beginning to be too disjointed and often vague. I had trouble following some plots–or else being completely lost as to why this information was being shared. I struggled through that part, and it could be that as a child, we were shown things like a child would share things, but it didn’t work for me. I didn’t connect with the main character and, in fact, I was generally kind of annoyed with her a fair amount of time.

In contrast, as she aged, I found her more likable. While she was a trouble maker and cause stress for her family, everything felt realistic and more alive. Her struggle felt more real and as a person she blossomed into a real being rather than…whatever it was that was on the page before. I liked the change and while I was still annoyed with her at moments, it was in the way that I’m generally annoyed with people doing stupid things. But the circumstances and her life seemed more real.

I don’t regret reading this (it was a gift from a friend), but I doubt I’ll return to it again.

And since I read that super quickly, I read volume 2 of Crimson Spell.

And for March, I’m reading Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris. This is a collection of essays, but also also an interesting thing he hasn’t done before where he writes at essay from a kooky perspective. It’s been a while since I’ve read his other stuff, but I think this is my favorite of his books so far (not that I don’t thoroughly enjoy the other stuff). This one just resonates with me more, for some reason.

The essays that are biographical are also entertaining, though they feel more hit or miss to me. But as with any time you’re trying something new, that’s the risk. I haven’t quite finished it yet (four or five stories to go, I believe), but I’d recommend picking this one up.

And that about catches me up, book and editing wise. Writing…well, I was going to continue working on one of my old pieces, and actually wrote 900 words. And then…something happened. The file was…damaged. All the writing I did (and edits earlier in the piece) were gone. I plan that I was saving directly to the flash drive on my Mac using Office Libre. I’m not sure which one is to blame, so they each get one third.

So I lost motivation for that piece and instead decided to start writing one of those post-it note stories that I’ve had hanging around. So now I’m working on trans cowboy story, which I have sort of plotted out and as long as I can get over the next hump, I think will be pretty awesome.

Spring is coming soon!!!