Help name my next Casey Fremont mystery …

My first Casey Fremont novel was titled: “One, Two – Kill a Few.” The second, due for Kindle release early in 2012, is called: “Three, Four – Kill Some More” – I bet you’ve detected a pattern to the names of these books.

I’m working on the third of Casey’s adventure; I have a working title, but it could be improved. In this story, Casey is called upon to investigate possible Medicare fraud at a Little Rock hospital. Along the way she also discovers the theft of controlled prescription meds, and of course, a few bodies will drop along the way.

Your job, if you choose to accept it, is to complete the title: “Five, Six – … ”

Since I cannot provide a signed copy of an eBook, here’s my offer. If you are the winner and you give me permission, I’ll include you as a character in the story. Fair warning, your “character” may become one of the fatalities – of course, only in the fictional sense.

If you would like to participate, send an email to me at: john@johnachor.com and please put “five, six” in the Subject line. In the body of the email, (1) give me your full name, (2) your suggestion for the title and (3) whether I have permission to USE YOUR NAME or NOT use your name. I need the permission, in writing (email) if I am to include your name as a character. If you don’t include this statement, I’ll assume you do not want me to use your name.

Keep your suggestion for the title short and punchy (total 6 words or so counting “five, six”).  I’m looking forward to suggestions from the talented people out there.

Yeah, I know; I stole this idea from another mystery writer, Janet Evanovich. I only borrow from the best. If you haven’t read her stories about bounty hunter, Stephanie Plum, you may want to give her a read – right after you purchase ($2.99) a Casey Fremont novel, that is. My web site (www.johnachor.com) has a direct link to Amazon and B&N

I am the final and only judge; judge’s decision is final. If there is a tie, I’ll flip a coin. One person, one entry ― so make your first entry the best one. The deadline for entries is June 15, 2012 (I decided to add a couple of weeks beyond the original May 31, 2012). If you fail your assignment, the Secretary will disavow your actions. This tape will self-destruct in the year 2050.

Cheers, John web: johnachor.com — facebook.com/jachor1 — twitter.com/caseyfremont — LinkedIn.com

Wandering through the wilderness – eBooks on your own

So far, I’ve only published my mystery in a Kindle (Amazon) format. I plan to check out Nook (Barnes & Noble) shortly.

The KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) web pages are excellent and leave little in doubt. If you are using Microsoft Word, there is a link to another page that leads you through the steps you need. These steps include creating a Table of Contents (TOC). It works, but after I published the book, I decided a TOC for a mystery novel is superfluous. I plan to modify the book without a TOC.

You will need a few bookmarked spots in your book. “Cover” and “start” (and others) are listed in the KDP instructions.To make changes to a Kindle published document is as simple as recreating (re-editing) the book and republishing it to the web.

Back to Word files. When you have your book/document completely edited and ready to go; save it as a Web Page, Filtered (HTML, HTM). I have no idea what a “filtered” document is, but it works so follow their instructions.

You need a new program; MobiCreator which is a free download. Google the name to locate it on the web. Run that saved file through MobiCreator where it is converted to the format required by the Kindle. Now you can log onto Kindle on Amazon and use (or create) your account. Follow the steps and soon your book is up on the web – after about 24 hours for Amazon of verify the content you submitted.

It’s fun to see your name in print, so go for it.

Cheers, John
web: johnachor.com — facebook.com/jachor1 — LinkedIn.com — (blog) johnachor.wordpress.com
Kindle mystery eBook (Amazon) – One, Two – Kill a Few

Breaking news … new eBook

My mystery novel, One, Two – Kill a Few (a Casey Fremont mystery) is now available for the Kindle from Amazon.com — search Amazon for “john achor” or the title and you’ll arrive at the correct page. A bargain at $2.99

More about publishing for the Kindle later.

Cheers, John
web: johnachor.com — facebook.com/jachor1 — LinkedIn.com

Prep your manuscript

Do you dash off a few (or hundreds) of words and send it off to an editor, publisher, agent or contest? I’m sure someone out there has an anecdotal example of doing that and receiving an acceptance. More likely than not you get a rejection of even worse – being ignored.

Steps to follow to get a manuscript ready to make it public.

1) Write the best story you can. Scrub it till it’s in the best possible form.

Follow the standard manuscript format for your genre (check the internet for examples).

2) Run your effort through your critique group. You do belong to such a group, don’t you? They can be one of the most valuable assets to a serious writer.

3) Technical preparation. First on the list is your grammar and spell checker. Remember this is a dumb software program, watch for the pitfalls; errors in grammar suggestions, the difference between their and there don’t show in spell checker.

4) Next, put your work under additional scrutiny. These are extra programs which may or may not be free. READ ALOUD — I use ReadPlease Plus (around $50 USD; although they have a free version) to read the prose to me. I don’t seem to be capable of reading more than one page before I lapse into reading in my head. I’ve picked up even small lapses in my story.

5) I use one more software package: PerfectIt (a payware program). Although it’s basically designed for business writing, it does a great job of pointing out inconsistencies. Example: how many times did I use “mid air” and how many times “mid-air” – there are places where one is correct over the other; but I have the choice of which one to use.

Use these steps and you’ll have a better chance for publication.

Cheers, John
web: johnachor.com — facebook.com/jachor1 — LinkedIn.com

eReaders and other trivia …

I’ve been toying with publishing my mystery novel as an eBook. I’ve found there are far more readers than I realized; Amazon – Kindle, Barnes & Nobel – Nook, Sony – Sony Reader, etc.

I’ve checked out Amazon and B&N and the process is simple. There is free software (Mobi pocket Creator) to convert a Word file into HTML. (the same as a web page). From there, follow the steps on their website and upload the manuscript electronically.

I may be the last person on the planet to know this. Along with the others, there is the Kobo from Canada. As the discussion progressed all the adults looked at the name and accepted it was just a name. About then, my nine year-old granddaughter said, “Kobo is an anagram of BOOK.”

Don’t you just hate it when the youngest person in the room is also the smartest?

Cheers, John
web: johnachor.com — facebook.com/jachor1 — LinkedIn.com

My Pet Peeves … Improve your writing by eliminating words that are for the most part, meaningless.

Improve your writing by eliminating words that are for the most part, meaningless.

I am referring to ones like the ubiquitous had, and the infamous had had. I read a thriller by a well known author and counted had’s for the first part of the book. Interpolating for the whole tome, I figure the author could have shaved six pages off the manuscript by eliminating the word had. There are a few instances where had’s use is justified. One is to set a flashback into the past. But after the first one, the rest can be eliminated as long as there is a clear transition back to the present. Come on folks, seven in one paragraph, or fifteen on a page is downright excessive.

Others falling into this ilk are: very, just, than, that, and only. Toss in the most innocuous, imprecise word in the English language, nice. Example: She was nice. Does that mean she was pretty, fat, articulate, shy, loquacious, skinny, ugly? Any of those would be better than nice.

On this one, I agree with Mark Twain, if you see an adverb, kill it! (He is reputed to have said the same about adjectives.) Adverbs are lazy writing — they tell rather than show. And if used in a dialog attribution, the author should be executed at dawn — he said angrily

These are space fillers for third grade word counters. Remember how hard it was to get one-hundred words down on paper? Watch books by multi-published authors and how they ignore this idea. I consider it lazy writing and an insult to their readers.

Cheers, John
web: johnachor.com — facebook.com/jachor1 — LinkedIn.com

If you are a Twitter aficionado, you may want to skip this one …

I’m not against technology. I have no problems with social networks – up to a point. I work over and wordsmith even my emails. I do my best to make them clear and coherent – to be sure they actually say what I meant to say. In many cases, that approach is missing on those outlets. I’m also careful not to hit the “Reply All” button unless I want the entire world to see my words.

I fear that most, if not all, internet communication is becoming too informal. They abound with emoticons, abbreviations, little if any punctuation or capitalization; these slow my reading even more than the extra words would.

I hope you saw the (U.S.) Civil War series by Ken Burns on the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) network. Interspersed with the scenes, a narrator read actual letters from soldiers to family and other loved ones. I found the depth of the prose moving and eloquent. When was the last time you, or any of us, wrote a real snail mail letter?

I heard recently that schools were considering cursive writing as unnecessary and were going to drop it from their curriculum. How will that help? I read an article that there is a direct link from the brain, through the arm, and to the pencil when writing.  That connection is missing as it travels from the brain to the fingers on a computer keyboard.

I still do most of my writing on a computer, but when I handwrite pages I see what the author meant.

I have a Twitter account; my count is 0-0-0 and it may stay that way. Anyway, if I write a tweet on Twitter, do I become a twit?

Cheers, John
web: johnachor.com — facebook.com/jachor1 — LinkedIn.com