Q&A with Michele Scott at the ShalladeGuzman Writers Group
Mood:  lucky
Topic: ShalladeGuzman Writers Gr
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ShalladeGuzman/


Shalla



Q&A with Michele Scott at the ShalladeGuzman Writers Group


hi, Michele,

How are you? I'm glad you can join us (Shalla always gets successful guests here =)

I looked at your calendar of Events and I see you have a lot of things going on, you’re really marketing your book. Do all authors need to do this? Or is it just for the first book?

Can I ask you, who is paying? Does the publisher get the bill?

Thank you in advance and thanks Shalla =)

Excellent question!!! As a first time author, you have
to be your own best advocate. The attitude I believe
you should take is that not only are you a writer but
a business person as well. The reality of this
business is, it will likely take you 5-10 years to be
published with as many manuscripts tucked away--give
or take. There are exceptions, but I personally do
not know many. So, if you've put in all of that time
and effort and you get that call, you want to be sure
to be prepared to get those books into the hands of
readers. I know--you're thinking, isn't that the
publishers job? Yes it is. However, publishing is
very different from even ten years ago. Your job is
just beginning once your foot is in the door, unless
you've written an automatic runaway hit that has
received a six figure advance (then, usually the
publisher does do quite a bit for you). For our
"discussion" here, let's say you're pretty much like
the rest of us getting in the door (meager advance and
not a lot of publisher support) then be prepared to
spend half of your time marketing. And, sorry, the
publisher does not pay for this. Between us, my
husband and I took a second out on our home. I hired
a freelance publicist and I work daily on marketing.

Think outside the box with your marketing. I speak
and sign at women's clubs, wine bars, shops, and I
even did a signing at an opening for a plastic
surgeon's office. Right now, I have put together
letters/discussion questions for mystery reader book
clubs around the country, and I sent them each a copy
of the book (signed). I always answer e-mails off of
my website. I think People/readers deserve that
personal touch. It's scary to speak in front of groups
of people, but I do it and I put myself out there,
because I've written since I was a kid and I wouldn't
know what else to do with myself. So, I have so much
desire, commitment and faith in what I do (plus three
kids to eventually put through college) that I go at a
high speed for about 15-17 hours a day. The writing
is the pleasure and the purpose, but the sell through
is a must if you want to keep doing this as a career.

My hope is that my publisher recognizes my efforts and
will start picking up the tab on publicity but for now
that is still what I am working toward. And, I am
afraid to say that I have only increased my personal
effort for the next book release. However, it is
working. MURDER UNCORKED has remained a top 100
mystery bestseller at Barnes & Noble since October and
was #8 in independent book sales in the month of
November! It has also been nominated by RT Book Club
(40 reviewers) as best new mystery! And, I believe I
am close to seeing it go into a third printing. It
went back to second printing at the end of the first
week of sales! So, the time, money and effort
does/will pay off. It has to. I won't give up until
I see that happen and neither should YOU!!!

I hope this helps!


For more: Read the transcript of our Q&A with Michele Scott Author for Berkley Prime Crime
Messages #'s 1215-1238

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ShalladeGuzman/

Shalla ON: Symbol and Allegory in Fiction
Mood:  cool
Topic: Writing Lit Elements
Shalla ON: Symbol and Allegory in Fiction

What is a symbol?

In literature, symbol is a thing that suggests more than its literal meaning. It does not stand for one meaning or anything definite. Instead, a symbol is a clue that can help figure out the story’s theme.

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, large bespectacled eyes stares across a wilderness from a billboard advertisement. It appears in the story several times. A character notices it as like the eyes of God that watches life unfolding.

In Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick, the great white whale means more its dictionary definition of a mammal that lives in the sea. As the story unfolds, Moby-Dick shows to imply the forces of nature and the whole created universe.

Unlike allegory, persons, places and things that clearly stand for definite things, a symbol can have indefinite, multiple meanings. For instance, in a simple allegory like Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Young Goodman Brown, the character, Faith, stands for and reflects exactly for that.

Then there are supreme allegories that are found in biblical parables.

Ie. “The kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field…,” (Matthew 13:24-30)

As for classic allegory, this can be found in Everyman, where the hero represents all of us. And there’s George Orwell’s Animal Farm where barnyard animals stand for totalitarian oppressors and human victims.

In fiction, symbols are usually not abstract (like love or beauty) but perceptible objects (or descriptions that help us imagine objects). As in William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily, Miss Emily’s invisible watch indicates the passage of time and also represents the idea that time passes and people like its owner doesn’t notice.

Furthermore, the golden chain that hangs on the watch implies the owner’s wealth and station. Besides perceptible objects, symbols can be words, names, a body part or attribute.

In James Joyce’s Araby, the name of the bazaar, Araby, is the poetic name for Arabia which implies magic, romance and The Arabian Nights. Then consider the baleful eye in Edgar Allan Poe’s A Tell Tale Heart.

Locales can also be symbols. The caf? in Ernest Hemingway’s A Clean Well Lighted Place is not just a caf? but a comforting refuge from aging, fear of loneliness and anticipated death.

How about symbolic characters? These characters are usually flat and only functions to clue us in and add mystery to the puzzle. In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkeness, a steamship has two women knitting black wool in the waiting room. Why? They imply the classical Fates.

Faulkner’s Miss Emily, personifies the vanishing aristocrasy in the anteballum South. In a way, all characters are symbolic, helpful in figuring out the story.

How about a symbolic act? It is a gesture with bigger, more significance than usual. In The Titanic with Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Dawson stands on the front of the ship, arms thrown back, air racing through his hair as he says, “I’m the king of the world!” This suggests his great hopes for a fantastic voyage and that however it unfolds, he trusts it all to destiny.

Okay, so why do it? Why use symbols? Why not just be direct and say things outright?

Symbols can hold so much meaning yet it is so compact. Concrete and mysterious Ie. Miss Emily’s invisible ticking watch, renders us in a dream or a nightmare. Here, the symbol expresses more memorably and more fully what long paragraphs on the subject cannot.

What’s the best way to recognize a symbol?

Watch for words, locales, objects, etc. that the storyteller empasizes and repeats.
It can be the title.
It can open or end the story.
Look out for words, object, action, character, etc. that leads to the theme.

For more: ADVANCE WITH SHALLAADVANCE WITH SHALLA