What Is a First Reader?

Finding a good first reader can be a real tightrope act. You want someone who is an avid reader, who reads the kind of books you write, who can be honest with you when something doesn't work, who doesn't try to rewrite the book their way, and who is willing to read in fits and starts when necessary. And those are just the general qualities!

Each writer has specific issues and idiosyncrasies that they bring to the mix. For me, I cannot listen to any comment or discussion while I am writing. So if I have already given part of the manuscript to the first reader they cannot speak of it (sort of like Fight Club) until I finish the manuscript. The obvious solution is to wait until I'm done and hand over a full manuscript, but when I have a tight deadline I need to allow my first reader the opportunity to get started while I finish up.

On several projects I worked without a first reader, or I acted as my own first reader, because there wasn't anyone to ask. My writer friends were busy with their own projects, or they were far away, or they didn't read the kind of work I was writing.

Many writing couples act as readers for each other, but Steve and I quickly found that was not a good idea for us. That whole rewriting-the-book-his-way problem? Yep! I love him to death, but he can't turn off the creative brain enough to be a good first reader for me.

Then, a few years back, Colleen started working as a contractor at the hotel where I work. She was clearly a voracious reader, always carrying a book at lunchtime, and we struck up several conversations about what we were reading. She found out I was a writer, and we talked some about the kind of things I wrote. We compared favorite authors, and genres we loved, finding similar tastes

One day I suggested she read one of my favorite cozy mystery authors, Anne George. Her response was, "I love Anne George!" Sadly, Ms. George has passed away, but we both pull her books off the shelf and re-read them from time to time. (If you haven't read them, may I suggest you do so at once? Charming, laugh out loud funny, and characters you will fall in love with. I promise!)

So, when I got the offer to write the Georgie books, I excitedly shared the news with Colleen. When she confessed she had always wanted to "have my name in the front of a book," I decided to take a chance, and offered to let her read my manuscript.

We talked for a long time about how we would work, what I expected, what she felt qualified to do, and the mechanics of passing a manuscript back and forth. Then I gave her the manuscript for the first book and crossed my fingers.

The results were truly amazing! She completely understood what I needed, and gave me good feedback on the places where I slipped up - including one character who changed names partway through. But besides that, she had a good grasp of spelling and grammar, and was able to do a thorough copy-edit as well.

Over the course of three books, I have come to really appreciate her support. First readers don't get paid - except for the occasional lunch. They get an acknowledgement (sometimes) and they get to read the book months before it ever goes on sale. But that's about it. Mostly, it's a labor of love, and I'm very fortunate to have found a first reader who loves Georgie.

Thanks, Colleen!!

On Thursday, first reader Colleen Kuehne has a guest blog about her process and why she likes her volunteer job.

Guest Blogger Irene Radford:Blurring the Lines Between Mystery and Magic

Irene Radford has been writing stories ever since she figured out what a pencil was for. A member of an endangered species, a native Oregonian who lives in Oregon, she and her husband make their home in Welches, Oregon where deer, bears, coyotes, hawks, owls, and woodpeckers feed regularly on their back deck.

A museum trained historian, Irene has spent many hours prowling pioneer cemeteries deepening her connections to the past. Raised in a military family she grew up all over the US and learned early on that books are friends that don’t get left behind with a move. Her interests and reading range from ancient history, to spiritual meditations, to space stations, and a whole lot in between.

Her signal corps brother has launched several communications satellites on the shuttle. Watching those launches got her hooked on the ideal of humans reaching out into the universe.





Reading Science Fiction or fantasy is work – part of my day job as a novelist who deals with dragons¸ magicians, demons, space ships, and ray guns. For fun I read cozy mysteries.

A mystery lies at the core of almost every story. What secret does the romantic hero hide that keeps him from committing to the heroine? Which magician has the power to use the elusive talisman hidden deep in the dragon’s hoard? Who murdered the very wealthy diamond merchant on the 4th floor of a flea bag hotel?
Through the course of writing 22 fantasy and science fiction novels I delved into many mysteries. But I always wanted to write a straightforward cozy, the kind of story I love to read.

Instead of a straight, mundane, mystery, I plotted a murder into the 2nd book of my urban fantasy series: “Moon In The Mirror, a Tess Noncoiré Adventure” by P.R. Frost. (one of my 3 pen names) Magic and paranormal beings abound in this series. Tess and her cohorts discover the truth by use of magic. But this is an urban fantasy set in our modern world. Magic is not evidence in our courts. So other means must be used to prove guilt.

I had other problems in organizing this book as well. One of my first readers informed me that he knew who had done the dirty deed as soon as they found the body. There was only one disposable character in the entire cast. A cast that grew with every draft. In fantasy this wouldn’t be a problem. The protagonist can kill a bad guy in order to save the planet. Or one of the regulars can do prison time for manslaughter and show up in the next book emotionally scarred. Not so much in cozies.

How to divert attention away from the culprit while dropping clues at the same time?

I’d entered an entirely new world of writing and had to add a new layer of thinking. Time to read more cozies. Research. Honestly. I read 7 books in 2 weeks for research. Research. Honestly.

Among those I read were several paranormal mysteries where magic, witchcraft, and ghosts featured heavily, including “Hex Marks The Spot” by Madelyn Alt, “The Remains Of The Dead” by Wendy Roberts, and “Ghost of a Chance” by Kate Marsh (Katie Macalister). In every one, the paranormal aspects had to remain hidden, and if the evidence gained by paranormal means could not be presented in a way mundane courts could accept, then a different justice had to be sought. That justice had to look like an accident. Always the mundane explanation had to rule. But we, the readers know a different truth.

Oh, yeah I could deal with that.

I’m not going to go into specifics, because I don’t want to spoil the stories for you if you haven’t read them yet. But I learned a lot about how to write a mystery.

But most of all I learned that if a mystery writer is going to introduce paranormal elements, they have to figure in the problem, the solution, or both. Otherwise, they are just a gimmick. One of the first lessons I learned when I decided to take my writing seriously was that a gimmick had to earn its keep. The rescued Great Dane with retinopathy who wears goofy sunglasses has to be instrumental in bringing the hero and heroine together in the romance (I honestly read this story 20+ years ago). He can’t just prove the heroine is kind to animals. The same goes for the ghosts and telepathy I tried putting into some of my earliest novel efforts that never saw print.

So I dove back into “Mirror” with new enthusiasm and insight to the structure of a cozy mystery. I hope I succeeded.

Chris has arranged a free autographed copy in a contest.

In between other projects I worked on a cozy mystery of my own. I developed a setting and a cast that I could love: a spooky old hotel with as much character as any of the people that try to run it, a spunky heroine with a passion for the creaky building, a love interest who has secrets, and wacky friends with off-kilter views of the world. I fell in love with Whistling River Lodge and wish I could prowl the back hallways, secret rooms, and hints of ghostly guests in this fictional place. Yeah, I had to get something paranormal in there somehow. But it’s only hints and questions, nothing overt.

“Lacing Up For Murder” by Irene Radford is currently serialized for free on the Book View Café, http://www.bookviewcafe.com. A new chapter every Thursday¸ or if you don’t want to wait 32 weeks to find out who done it, you can download the full novel for $4.99 in a variety of e-­book formats.
Paranormal romances and mysteries are plentiful on bookshelves these days, as are urban fantasies and paranormal historicals, but the structure of the story, the rules if you want, remains the same. The extra elements have to be woven into the story and become an integral part of it. You cannot separate one from the other or you lose the essence of the story.

That’s what we read the book for, the story; the story of the characters, the story of the spooky old hotel, the story of the mystery, the magic of well crafted fiction.

Phyllis Irene Radford
aka Irene Radford
aka P.R. Frost
aka C.F. Bentley


Don't forget, Irene has promised a signed copy of "Moon In the Mirror," so leave a comment and get in the drawing for your very own copy!

Which genre are you?

Last year at this time, Steve and I were preparing to attend the Space Coast Writers Conference. Besides the fact it was in Cocoa Beach, Florida – which meant a short drive to Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral – it was a great conference, and I’d highly recommend it.

We did two presentations while we were there. One was our “Sketch a Novel In An Hour” workshop (available at http://www.yorkwriters.com/2009/02/sketch-novel-in-hour-exercise.html), and the other was an overview of genres.

What do I mean by “genre”? A genre is not what you write, it is what you sell. A genre is just the marketing category that tells the bookstore where to shelve the book, and the reader where to look for a book that will meet their expectations. That’s really what it’s all about: reader expectations. What do you, as a reader, want? How can you find it? Who can you trust to meet your expectations?

Of course not all books fit neatly into categories, and my friend Phyllis Irene Radford will be guest blogging on Thursday to talk about crossing the lines between genres. But before we start mixing and matching willy-nilly, let me try to condense that hour-long talk into a few paragraphs. It can’t be done, of course, but that won’t stop me from trying. I hope it will at least give some background for her Thursday post. Oh , and after Phyl’s visit on Thursday keep checking back – I have some great guests lined up over the next three months, one every Thursday, with a Monday post to set up each guest.

Now, on to a whirlwind tour of the genres!

For our presentation, we focused on the primary commercial genres: science fiction, fantasy, mystery, romance, women’s fiction, literary, young adult/juvenile/children’s, western, thriller, and horror. We didn’t have time for in-depth examinations, this is just an introduction. Each genre has some specific characteristics, and each one has certain reader expectations, and we tried to touch on both.

Science Fiction – Some extraordinary subject (time travel, sentient computers, faster-than-light drives) is treated as scientifically plausible. Alternate history is also considered science fiction. There is no “set” ending in a science fiction story.

Fantasy – Some form of magic is present. The resolution is positive; fantasy readers expect some kind of positive ending.

Mystery – There is a crime, the story focuses on the crime, and the crime is resolved. The story always addresses issues of right and wrong. There’s a wide range of mystery sub-genres, but in all of them the reader expects the crime to be resolved.

Romance – The story focuses of the relationship between two characters, and the hero and heroine live happily ever after. There are a lot of sub-genres of romance as well, but the defining element is “Happily ever after.”

Women’s Fiction – Female protagonists, in stories that address the issues in women’s lives. Women’s fiction may have romance stories, but the reader does not automatically expect “Happily ever after.” In women’s fiction, “Happily until next Saturday” is an acceptable substitute.

Literary – Defined by style and voice. Beautifully written. There are no other absolutes – literary fiction is primarily about the writing.

Young Adult/Juvenile/Children’s – An umbrella genre that contains all others. The protagonist is young – only a few years older than the target audience – and the audience looks for character and voice. The actual level is determined by the age of the reader, but kids read all up and down the spectrum once they get started.

Western – Defined by the setting in time and place: the American West prior to about 1900. The western reader expects a positive resolution. After all, Marshall Dillon always got his man, didn’t he?

Thriller – Big in scope, with multiple viewpoints and high stakes. Thriller readers expect action and suspense ratcheting up with every chapter.

Horror – Is horrific. Like pornography, you’ll know it when you see it.

Okay, a one-hour talk based on years of reading and writing, condensed into a few hundred words. It doesn’t begin to cover the subject, but at least it’s a place to start.

But don’t try to write a genre. Write the book you want to write, then find a genre in which to market it. Don’t try to follow a trend. As someone said recently “By the time you can see the bandwagon, it’s too late to get on.” And look outside your comfort zone, keeping an open mind. Maybe that book you thought was a romance is really women’s fiction, or mystery, or maybe even fantasy.

Or maybe, like Phyl, you’re crossing genres. Stick around, she’ll be here Thursday to offer some advice to those of us who can’t seem to color within the lines.

What Happened to October?!?

All right, troops. Would someone please explain to me where the entire freakin' month of October disappeared to? I mean, didn't I just do the book launch and signing thing at North by Northwest? How did an entire month go by so fast?

Seriously, this past month was a whirlwind. It started with a pro-level writing workshop here in town, where I helped teach every night after work. In the middle of the two-week workshop we had a very successful book launch, and at the end of the week a senior editor from my publisher came in as a guest instructor.

After which I collapsed - until my husband got sick, and then, well, see that last post about the glamour of the writing life!

One very cool thing happened just before the launch. I got a book release gift from a wonderful friend. Here's the explanation I emailed to our writers loop:

I just got the coolest, funnest "book release gift" ever! Last night Steve
showed up with a special gift from Cindie Geddes to celebrate the release of
SINK TRAP. She had arranged with him to pick up something she had ordered locally for me - and I was simply blown away.

Cindie, I have to say, this gift was unique and it made me laugh!!

What Steve presented me with on Cindie's behalf was a LARGE pipe wrench, which was pretty cool all by itself. But that wasn't all - she had managed to talk the local hardware store guys into engraving the release date for the book on the handle, and the name of my main character on the jaws!

Now, when I say a big wrench, I really mean it. Just look:



Is that totally cool, or what? The victim, er, student in the picture is Michael Bellomo. He wanted his picture taken with me and the wrench, and I really couldn't disappoint him, now could I? Somehow, I see another Georgie plot shaping up... Rest assured, Michael survived, and is now resting comfortably at home in California. He may even come back to Oregon. Someday.

And those books on the table? They have sticky notes on them because they were pre-ordered, which was a good thing, since Sheldon (McArthur, bookseller extraordinare) actually ran out of books and had to take backorders! Doesn't get much better than that.

Steve recovered from his flu, after sharing it with me, and I've recovered, too. There is news about LEAD PIPE CINCH (coming in April), and more maybe-news on the horizon. And maybe the next month won't disappear quite so fast.

Who am I kidding??

Christy

Celebrity!

The glamorous life of an author...

I ran into Sheldon Mcarthur, the local indie bookseller who is hosting my signing on Saturday, at the grocery store this morning. He told me the books had arrived and he was getting the display set up and arranging stuff for the signing. Then I picked up a copy of the local paper (News Guard, Lincoln City, Oregon) and checked out the profile piece on me, along with the very nice review of SINK TRAP that's quoted above.

But the really glamorous part? I was wearing a baggy T-shirt and blue jeans, and drooling because I had just left the dentist's office.

I tell you, the glory never ends!!

The Road to the Bookstore - Arrival!!

According to the publisher, today is the official release day for SINK TRAP. I will be reading and signing at North by Northwest Books & Antiques here in Lincoln City on Saturday, October 10, at noon. If you can’t make the signing but you’d like to get an autographed book, contact Sheldon McArthur at North by Northwest (mcarthurca@earthlink.net), or call the store (541) 994-6809.

The release of a book is a milestone – the culmination of that whole Road to the Bookstore that I’ve been talking about. It means that the manuscript you sweated bullets over, the careful cover design, the hard work of artists, designers, typesetters, editors, and copyeditors has finally produced the beautiful volume that’s on the shelf with your name on the cover. It’s a cause for celebration, and an opportunity to stand in the aisle and admire your finished product – and maybe squeal just a little.

But in a larger sense the release itself is anti-climactic for a working writer. The book that appears on the shelf today is a book I wrote last year. I did the revision many months ago. I’ve already seen the cover art, and the finished cover. I checked the copyedits and the galley pages, and distributed advance copies. I’ve even seen a few reviews – the source of the quotes at the top of this page.

For me, the book is history. I’ve moved on to the next book, or beyond. In the case of the Lady Plumber books, I have already written the second and third books in the series. At the moment I am working on the copyedited manuscript for the second book, and squealing with glee over the preliminary cover design. But as far as SINK TRAP is concerned, most of my work is done.

I’ll still promote the book, and I’m immensely proud of what I’ve done. I’m pleased with the story, and happy that the early reviews are favorable. It’s what I call the Sally Fields moment – “You like me! You really, really like me!” – and it’s a wonderful feeling. But writing is my job, and just like everyone else, my job doesn’t end just because one project is complete.

So I’ll be at the bookstore at the end of this particular road on Saturday, and I’ll enjoy the feeling of accomplishment that comes with the completion of the project. I’ve earned that moment.

But come the next day it will be time to go back to work, and start another journey on the Road to the Bookstore.

Who knows where the next one will end?

Reminder: Signing this weekend!

Chris will be signing and reading from "Sink Trap" this Saturday, Noon, at North by Northwest books in Lincoln City, Oregon. The address is 6334 S Hwy 101. Phone is 541-994-3087. If you can't make the signing, the store will be glad to take your orders for signed books.

The store is located on the far south end of Lincoln City in the Streetcar Village antique center. Find a map HERE. (Yes, it may seem like you've left town before you get there, but don't worry, unless you pass the Salashan Resort, you haven't driven too far.)