THE AJ HAYES MEMORIAL WRITING CONTEST

THE AJ HAYES MEMORIAL WRITING CONTEST

To honor the memory of the recent loss of writer AJ Hayes, we announce the first AJ Hayes Memorial Writing Contest.

AJ was a no-nonsense crime writer who flourished in the field of short stories and flash fiction. His goal was to get to the essence of a story without wasting a word. His dedication to the writing community and his stalwart support of other writers is what inspires a contest in his name. AJ would have loved the idea of people writing with him in mind and probably would have been first in line to submit a story.

The rules are this: 

– Flash fiction (under 1000 words)

– Crime fiction, mystery, noir, suspense are all accepted

– AJ loved to write poetry, so that’s good too

A panel of writers and agents will read the stories and award prizes. 1st place $100, 2nd place $50, 3rd place $25.

Winning stories will be published at Do Same Damage and Thrillers, Killers N Chillers and the winning story will appear in print in the next Needle magazine.

One more rule – as many of you may or may not know, AJ was a pen name for Bill Hayes. So your story must feature a character named Bill. Doesn’t have to be the main character, doesn’t even have to appear on screen in the story. But Bill has to be a presence in the tale, just as he was a presence in so many of our lives, whether we met the man in person or not.

The deadline is June 1. Send your completed story in Word format, along with a bio and a memory of AJ if you have one (not a requirement) to ericbeetner@gmail.com.

So get to writing, and when the stories are out, tell someone to read them like AJ would have. Go be tireless promoters for our genre and be good to each other. Let AJ Hayes be an inspiration on the page and off.

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To fund the prizes we are seeking donations. Any amount will do. Payments can be made via the donation button below.  Anything we receive over the $200 will be donated to Bill’s family.

How You Like Those Gatekeepers Now?

By Holly West

Back when I was a young whippersnapper of a writer, I wrote this post for my personal blog: "Don't Bypass the Gatekeepers"

Recently, I revisited the post, thinking that now that I'm published myself, I might have some different views on the subject than I had back in August 2011. But though publishing, particularly self-publishing, has changed/evolved greatly in the past few years, I was surprised to learn that my own views hadn't changed all that much.

Some of my wording, however, made me cringe a little:

"This post isn't about eBooks vs. paper books. It's about why I choose the books I buy and read, and whether or not self-published books will ever make the cut. So far, they haven't."

What a Judgy McJudgerson I was. Especially since at that point, I'd read maybe one self-published book (which I mention in the post).

It might be useful to know where I was on my own path-to-publishing at the time. I'd just completed what I believed was a "query-worthy"draft of Mistress of Fortune and had sent my first tentative queries out. I'd already been rejected by a few potential agents (including my "dream" agent) but I was still hopeful and generally enthusiastic about the process. 

Reading self-published works was something I didn't really do, so as you can imagine, self-publishing my own novel wasn't even a blip on my screen.

But in my defense, the point I was trying to make was valid then, and remains so:

"The gatekeepers aren't just comprised of agents, et al. They're my friends on Twitter who can't stop talking about a particular book. They're book store employees who jabber excitedly about this book or that. I'm a voracious, but slow reader. I need help culling titles. That help comes from the gatekeepers, whoever they might be.

Someone recently posted in group I follow that he was in the process of self-pubbing his debut novel and wanted hints on how to promote it. In the discussion that ensued, the subject of beta readers came up and it turned out he'd never even heard of beta readers. Said it was too late to enlist their help because the book was being uploaded in a few days. Hells bells, people, beta readers are the first line of gatekeepers. Do you think I'd consider buying his book now, even for a paltry 99 cents?"

Finally:

"I'm not saying people who haven't been traditionally published shouldn't self-publish, not at all. I'm saying that if you do, you'd better make damn sure you've written a novel worth not only my 99 cents but my time. That means at the very least you've had trusted beta readers take a look, hired a professional editor to copy edit (and perhaps even do a developmental edit), and make sure that story sparkles."

Since that post was written, I've read many self-published novels and I can tell you, when an author-turned-publisher treats the process professionally, the result can be outstanding, ranking right up there with any well-regarded traditionally published novel.

Furthermore, though the numbers are disputed, I know more than a few self-published authors who are making good money. They are choosing not to be traditionally published because it's a sound financial decision.

I better understand now that some novels, no matter how good, will never have a place in traditional publishing. Mistress of Fortune, is, in some ways, one of those books. It doesn't fit very well into the mold of traditional publishing (though I did eventually sign with a traditional publisher). 

Toward the end of own my path to publication of Mistress of Fortune, I seriously considered self-publishing. I had it professionally edited with the full intent to go forward with that plan (even if that's not what ended up happening). I know now that I will eventually self-publish something, not because it's a last resort, but because I want to do it. I just haven't written that book yet.

So there you have it. I still believe in the gatekeepers. In fact, even more so, now that I've gone through the publishing process. But unlike before, I embrace self-publishing as a viable--maybe even a preferable--option, provided I'm willing and able to do what it takes to put out a professional, high-quality product.

For those who do choose the self-publishing route (or anything in between), I'd say don't bypass the gatekeepers. Your perception and experience with them might thus far be negative as it pertains to publishing your own work, but remember, you're the one in control now. Depending upon who they are, these so-called gatekeepers can help to elevate your work to the next level, to make it on par or even exceed what traditional publishers are capable of.

Backstory

By Jay Stringer

So, I watched the Veronica Mars movie over the weekend. You can hear me talk about it on the Fuzzy Typewriter podcast (link to come). Short version of a long chat- I loved the film, but on it's own terms, as a chance to spend more time with those characters and that world, not as a classic stand-alone film.

It got me thinking, not for the first time, of backstory.

It's something I fought with a lot while writing the Eoin Miller Trilogy. The series is cumulative, each book informs the next, but they all needed to work as stand-alone novels. And where was I going to draw the line? How was I going to balance how to give old information to new readers without alienating existing readers or derailing the story.

I fought with that concept all the way up until the second draft of Lost City when I realised- It doesn't matter.

We make it matter. We stress about it. We put needless time and energy into it. Whenever we're dealing with existing characters -be it a book series, a film sequel, an adaptation- we debate how much we need to reveal, when we need to reveal it. Comic book writers and readers always discuss how much they need to recap old events, and when those characters are translated to film, we've seen a great many of the fail under the weight of backstory.

Veronica Mars is a lot of fun as a film, but it opens with a monologue that tells us what happened during the three seasons of the TV show. By the time the first scene opens, we've already been given a tonne of backstory up front.

You know what? Forget it. Don't worry about it.

Every story that we ever encounter has backstory. Every great film, book, comic or play. Chinatown has an epic backstory, one that is revealed slowly throughout the film and helps us to understand the characters. Story is backstory. It's what has formed our characters and our plot. And part of the art of storytelling is revealing that at the right time, in the right place, through the course of the story.

But for some reason, when we come to returning to old characters -or translating them to a new medium- we forget this. We start to panic. But what if the new viewers or readers don't know the history? That means they won't get it? Of course they will. Just as they do in every story ever told. It doesn't matter if it's a sequel, a reboot or an adaptation; Just tell your story. Tell your best story, and tell it as if this is the first time you've ever told it. Think, if this was the first time I was writing these characters, where would I reveal the past? How little could I get away with revealing? What is it that will inform the present?

Trust yourself and trust your reader, or viewer. We don't need a recap, we just need your "A game."