eBook or Paper: Which Do You Prefer?

Posted on February 28, 2014 by Cate Macabe

Or The Dilemma of Choosing Between Comfort and Convenience

A book is like food. If it’s the right kind, it will nourish and gratify.

When I was a child, I fed on every kind of book that took me away to unknown worlds or introduced me to characters and their dilemmas that helped form my opinions of right and wrong, and the gray areas in between. Reading was my escape and solace. Lord of the Rings swept me away to middle-earth and The Outsiders brought me closer to home – both showed me examples of suffering and courage and perseverance against all odds.

Cloth-bound hardbacks or soft-sided paperbacks or flimsier comic books were the choices back then. We borrowed from libraries and bought from secondhand stores. My mother kept our house stocked with encyclopedias and works of the masters. She even paid for a subscription to Writers Digest Condensed Books, which I devoured along with everything else in the house.

Today, my love of books is evidenced by filled book shelves throughout my house and books in boxes still waiting for a resting place. Dictionaries, thesauruses, and dozens of writing guides live near my computer. Cookbooks laugh at me from the kitchen. Children’s books wait for my granddaughter’s visits. Tons of toddler books are stored away for the day my new grandbaby grows into them. My night stand is stacked with fantasy, science fiction, and mysteries. And on top of the stack closest to the bed, and within easy reach, is my Kindle.

Yes, I’ve embraced the digital age (somewhat, anyway). My Kindle holds nearly 50 books I’ve already read, plus 50 more nonfiction and 158 fiction titles in to-be-read “piles.” I don’t buy jewelry or shoes. I do buy books. They are still my solace and my escape.

I shared my love of reading with my children when they were young, and now my ten-year-old granddaughter loves to hear and read a good story both in paperback and eBook.

But I can’t imagine my baby granddaughter growing up without a relationship with physical books. Not running her chubby fingers over color-filled illustrations, not turning pages (tasting and smelling them, even), not leaving baby smudges behind. Don’t children need this tactile interaction? Don’t adults?

Reading on my Kindle is convenient, saves space, and usually costs less than its paper alternative. But there is something more personal about touch versus click, voice vs texting, mailed letters versus emailed ones. It seems a connection is missing from lack of the personal.

I hope we will always have the choice between physical and digital books. For me, if the costs are the same (or close), I choose paper. How about you? Do you prefer reading eBooks or paper? If eBooks, why? Please take a second to choose your answers in the polls below.

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Image ” Tablet Computer And Books ” courtesy of adamr / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Wisdom from Alice in Wonderland

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Why Use a Pen Name?

Posted on February 21, 2014 by Cate Macabe

Deciding whether or not to use a pen name is just one of many choices writers have to make when preparing to publish. It’s an easier decision for some than for others.

Two years ago I published This New Mountain under the pen name Cate Macabe. I had never intended to write a memoir (not mine or that of a private detective/grandmother), but from the start of that journey I knew I would use a pseudonym. My reasons were simple: 1) I write science fiction and fantasy, and I didn’t want to confuse future readers who might someday search for my other work; and 2) my writing style is significantly different for the memoir and my speculative fiction.

If you’re not sure taking on a pen name is right for you and your writing, here are ten reasons in favor of using one, followed by possible complications if you do.

Why to Use a Pen Name

Need to separate genres – keep them separate if your audience has different expectations (children’s books vs. erotica)
Recognize that gender names sell better in specific genres
- women for romance, men for science fiction
- some names bring to mind a specific type (strong, manly names for military or crime fiction, girly names for chick lit)
Your real name is too hard to pronounce or spell, or sounds “ugly” or silly
Create a brand or persona (a name to identify with; catchy, easy to remember)
Separate your work as a writer from your private life or from your profession
Avoid confusion – your real name is the same as another author or celebrity, or a personality/profession you don’t want to be identified with
Your real name is too common
Present your work without the pressure of living up to a previous success
Different writing styles – readers come to expect a consistency in style
Fresh start – if previous work has not sold well

Complications

People might see you as being phony or trying to hide something.
People who know you under your real name might have trouble finding you and your work
Payments – for indie authors, make sure payments are made out to your real name or that you can take payments under your pen name
If published under one name already:
- You start from scratch – not all readers will follow you to your new work, messes with branding
- Social media – keeping up with posting under different names (maybe separate websites, too)
- Contract violation – some contracts forbid publishing under a different name or in a different genre

Choosing to use a pen name is a decision that should be made carefully, knowing it will add complications to your life (and deciding which one to use is even more complex). Rachelle Gardner, author/blogger/editor, gives this advice for those considering using a pen name:

We’re not going to completely get away from pseudonyms, since there are real reasons people use them. However, for now I’d say, only use [a pen name] if it’s crucial – if there’s no other way. And if you use one – it’s best to use only one name in your online presence – website, blog, Facebook, Twitter. Just inhabit that name and become it.

If you’d like to find out which authors use a pseudonym, go to this site for a comprehensive list.

Have you thought of using a pen name? Do you already use one for your writing or an online presence?

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Image “Carrying Pen” courtesy of rattigon / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Have a Heart

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Writing a Memoir Like a Novel: Pacing

Posted on February 7, 2014 by Cate Macabe

The best books give us a varied experience of pace. They create continual shifts in our perception of time as we read, expanding and contracting based on what’s unfolding on the page….Some scenes demand a slowing of the pace, a settling in and luxuriating over minute details. Some demand a quick, surface treatment that moves us along with very little feeling of traction. ~ Lorin Oberweger

Pacing is essentially the speed at which prose flows, evidenced by the reader’s engagement. A study of your favorite book, the one that keeps you turning pages late into the night, will reveal a perfection of pacing. The opposite is true of a book that takes you out of the story with bogged-down narrative. In this case you might find yourself cursing the author with, “Oh, please get on with it. I can’t suffer through more description of ball gowns and medieval livery.”

Pacing as it applies to story
A well-told story carries a reader into a character’s life but moves quickly through those parts which don’t directly impact the main storyline or conflict. This would be information the reader needs to know, but a brief mention or presentation through summary is sufficient, such as relaying bits of back story, observations about the weather, or a transition or passage of time during which nothing truly important happens.

Example: A man is dressing for his wedding, but the day has been filled with omens that make him wonder about the future. It might not be necessary to go into the details of looking for lost car keys, changing a flat tire, stepping in dog poo, and ordering broccoli and beans for lunch. A summary will do, unless the specifics are important for the story later on.

It’s just as necessary to slow down the pace during portions of a story that are more intense physically and/or emotionally. Take the time to set the mood through description. Unfurl the emotional state of your characters, plant seeds of mystery.

Examples: Recounting a tragic event such as a murder (which might happen quickly in real life) would be made more powerful by presenting it slowly. And there are moments that stretch out and become important for the epiphany that follows. I once had the pleasure of falling backward off a telephone pole from 20 feet off the ground. The world passed by in slow motion as I watched clouds float across the summer sky – right before I slammed into the ground.

Pacing as it applies to structure
Think variety when forming sentences and paragraphs. Reading sentences of the same length and rhythm becomes boring after a short period of time. In general, vary their lengths by using short, long, and compound constructions. Also vary paragraph size. Keep in mind that large blocks of text slow the reader down – a good thing if that’s the effect you’re trying for, but huge paragraphs can also signal information dumps.

The way a scene or chapter begins and ends also impacts pacing. Cliffhangers (not necessarily literal or extraordinary) are a good way to entice a reader to turn the page, but can be overdone. Structuring the end with hints of what’s to come, leaving a situation unresolved from one chapter to the next, or dropping in a new conflict will keep a reader wondering what will happen next. Begin a new scene or chapter with something happening, close to the heart of the action. Again, variety and writing with an awareness of what you’re trying to accomplish in a particular scene or chapter will keep the story flowing unhindered in the right direction.

Here’s a table with suggestions on how to speed up and slow down the pace of your story. Go to Controlling the Pace of a Story for the pdf version.

Perfecting story pacing is a skill that comes with time, whether through years of practice or by focusing on it during the editing process. It’s one of the most important elements of any fiction or nonfiction project for keeping the reader engaged through the end.

So, think of pacing as the lungs of your story, which expand and contract as more oxygen is needed to breathe life into your scenes. Where your scenes merit it, don’t be afraid to take a deep, deep, breath and let it out ever so slowly. Your reader will breathe and live along with you, which is, after all, the power of a good read. ~ Lorin Oberweger

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Image “3d Man On Green Arrow” courtesy of David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net