The Nuts & Bolts of Turning a Screenplay into a Novel—Driving In Reverse, Part II

This is the second half of an article detailing the experience of turning my spec screenplay, Delta Legend, into a novel. Part I can be found HERE. 

Like Bill Murray’s character, Bob, clutching Dr. Marvin’s Baby Steps as he heads out into the world in What About Bob?, I stepped into the world of novel-writing clinging to my screenplay. But I no longer needed the format, just the core story. Hear that incessant beeping? That’s the sound of the Final Draft truck backing up and dumping Delta Legend into a Word Doc., leaving me to sort through the jumble and stare at all that wide open double-space territory to be filled.

I decided to start with something small—a scene with minimal action and only one character driving it. In the scene, Ol' Joe finds a fisherman who's ... well, let's just say he's half the man he used to be. Joe is one of those characters who's easy to write for. I've known the guy since I conjured him up back in 1999 and he still makes me laugh. What was a half page scene in the spec easily converted to a short four page chapter—my first. Hallelujah. This led to seeing how many other scenes could be converted directly into chapters. Surprisingly, there were quite a few and this gave me a sense of direction, a plan of sorts. 

FLESHING OUT CHARACTERS 

You’ll notice the first chapter I wrote did not include my protagonist, Calvin Pierce. While I had no trouble whatsoever writing for Calvin in the screen version, suddenly I was intimidated. I knew I’d have to get inside his head and I wasn’t quite ready to take him on, so I danced around him. My hesitancy, however, ultimately ended up making him more believable since most of the other characters are initially hesitant to approach him as well. 

I decided early on that the novel version would be written in third-person. I didn't feel I could pull off writing a believable first-person narrative for a protagonist who’s such an extreme opposite of me (different age, race, culture, sex). Third-person felt right for the rest of the story as well. 

I quickly discovered that characters who were nothing more than bit players in the screenplay suddenly had lives and back stories, and I came to love them almost as much as Calvin—which made it rather hard to kill some of them off. Even the Delta itself became something of a character in a way it hadn’t in the script version.

FINDING MY NARRATIVE VOICE 

It didn't happen overnight, but before long I was narratively storytelling. At first, it was anything but pretty. But after a while there were paragraphs I didn't hate, then pages, then entire chapters. My advice to anyone attempting to write anything has always been the same: give yourself permission to write utter crap. Crap can always be fixed, but you can’t do squat with a blank page. Now I had to take my own damn advice.

I remember being told once that in screenwriting, you are the camera. Well, in novels, you are the narrator with the mic. And oh, by the way, you're also an empath. You now have permission to say what the characters are thinking and feeling. You get to pop in and out of their heads and file a report, letting the reader in on the intimate details. 

As I got more comfortable with the process, I found my narrative voice changing from chapter to chapter, sometimes even within a chapter; it would alter ever so slightly to reflect the personality, speech, and thoughts of the different characters. When this first started happening I thought, “Well, I can’t do that, alter my narrative to match a character!” Guess what? Hell yeah you can. It’s called Free Indirect Discourse and it makes things way more interesting. Here’s a great article about it by Jon Gingerich. I try not to overdo it but having the freedom to do it at all is thrilling. 

I rarely read any of my specs out loud, but with the novel, it seemed only natural and proved invaluable in determining if the narrative flowed, had a cadence, had a soul.

Technically, the toughest part by far was turning the heavy action scenes into cohesive chapters that would keep the action alive while retaining the richer narrative of novels. Converting scenes that were nothing more than a series of quick shots into narrative prose was ... to put it mildly, a bitch. But it's not impossible, and if I can do it, you can do it.

USING WHAT WE KNOW 

Screenwriters are used to shuffling scenes around like a Rubick's Cube until things start to line up. This skill proved invaluable since the story didn’t play out exactly as it had in the film version. There were a number of instances where plot points had to be shifted slightly, but we’re used to that, right? 

Image from Wikipedia.org

Great news—the dialog was a snap. It was already honed down to be punchy for screen, so I didn’t mess with it too much. Literary readers expect the same. They too, want dialogue that seems like the way real people talk, only better. Of course, with more back story and more character development you’ll find there’s way more for everybody to talk about, but best to keep it tight like for screen.

As screenwriters, we've learned to write creatively within a very limited format. This makes for a more deliberate novelist—we rarely wander aimlessly. And the cinematic quality screenwriters bring to a novel is undeniable. Most readers aren't able to put their finger on why, they just know they’re experiencing a richer, more visual read. More than a few reviewers have said things like, “I can totally see this as a movie” without knowing the book's origin. 

Initially, I didn’t want anyone to know that Delta Legend had been a screenplay, I just wanted people to enjoy it as a novel and think of me as a novelist. But once I began doing interviews on various blogs, it became too complicated to gloss over where the story originated and how I came to write a YA Urban Fantasy Adventure. A few book reviewers came dangerous close to unintentionally outing me as a screenwriter anyway. 

Paula Cotton of Reading Lark was one of the very first people to read and review Delta Legend and I was stunned when she said the book reminded her of one of her favorite movies, Tremors. I shouldn’t have been surprised really—Tremors was one of the screenplays I purchased and poured over as I attempted to educate myself on writing horror for screen. I too loved the movie and wanted to emulate its magical blend of unlikely heroes, a mysterious creature, and a bunch of whacko characters thrown in together. I simply didn't anticipate a savvy reviewer making the comparative leap from book to film so easily.

THE NEW FRONTIER

It took me just under two years to complete the novel. Frankly, even with a learning curve, it should have gone faster, but I fell in love about two-thirds of the way through and got knocked off course as I began a new life in a new area. 

When the novel was finally done, I began querying agents—50 to be exact. These were carefully researched and seemed the best match for this material. When the very first agent I queried asked for a "full" I was giddy. But alas, he ultimately passed and soon the “not right for my list” letters began to pile up. Keep in mind, this was two years ahead of the current push to have more multiculturalism in YA Literature. 

Having been through the rejection process in Hollywood back in the day, I had little patience for that rinse-and-repeat routine and quickly shifted my sights to going Indie. By initially putting Delta Legend out as an ebook only, it allowed me to test the waters and left the door open for a possible publishing deal. At the moment I gearing up to publish Delta Legend as a paperback. I know this is going to be a lot work but to have a physical book to hold and sign at readings would be amazing.

In this age of self-publishing, there's simply no reason to let compelling stories with great characters go begging in undiscovered specs. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting you abandon your screenwriting dreams the way I did—I’m encouraging you to learn to play another position. More than anything I’m imploring you, do NOT let your brilliant stories and great characters die without ever having the opportunity to live in the hearts and minds of people who will embrace them. There’s a huge audience of voracious readers clamoring for well-written novels. Yes, it’s a struggle to stand out from the crowd in what has quickly become an over-saturated market of self-published books. But those stories that began life as a carefully crafted screenplay have a slight edge—they are "tight and tidy" (thank you, Paula) built on a solid foundation by seasoned storytellers. 

It’s hard work being self-published—a tough row to hoe—but I have no regrets. I go to sleep each night with a feeling of satisfaction that my writing is out there, available to anyone who wants a great story. Delta Legend is finding a broad audience, getting some wonderful reviews, and building a following. 

Looking back, I guess I do have one regret: that I let Delta Legend languish in story purgatory for almost nine years. Will I be able to write the next Legend as a novel right out of the gate? Hard to say. These days, much of my time is spent marketing the first one, though I’ve written some decent chapters. And who knows, one of these days I might just open up Final Draft and start crafting myself a beautiful blueprint.  

Driving in Reverse - Turning a Screenplay into a Novel, Part I

If you're a screenwriter who’s been thinking about turning one or more of your specs into a novel, I hope this post will encourage and inspire you. Due to its length, I’ll be posting Driving In Reverse in two installments. 

When I began the journey of transforming my screenplay, Delta Legend, into a novel in 2009, I struggled to find any books or even blog articles on the subject. I knew it had been done, but no one was addressing the process or breaking it down in clear how-to fashion. 

A recent search, however, yielded slightly better results, the most popular being, Adapting Sideways - How to Turn Your Screenplay Into A Publishable Novel by Charlotte Cook and Jon James Miller. 

A couple weeks ago I purchased and read the ebook version of Adapting Sideways. This was akin to finding the missing instructions for a complicated piece of play equipment you assembled without them—one the kids have been climbing on for the last 10 months. Still, you just have to check it out; make sure none of those leftover parts were vital to the structure as a whole and hopefully weren’t load-bearing. 

Using Adapting Sideways as a litmus test, I’d say I managed to execute about 85% of their methodology. The rest I’ll claim as personal style. Would I recommend finding your own way or getting the book? Get the book or take their Webinar. While Adapting Sideways isn't perfect, it's a solid place to start. Their methodology makes sense and probably would have jump-started the process, getting me to think (and write) like a novelists a bit sooner. Had the book been available in 2009, I would have happily snapped it up, grateful for any advice from people who’d actually done what I was attempting.

Ms. Cook comes from the literary world as a publisher/editor/writer and Mr. Miller is an award winning screenwriter, now novelist. Their different backgrounds provide a nice balance as both perspectives are represented and they explain the differences between the two platforms. They then present the transformation of screenplay to novel through samples of their own writing (mostly Miller's Garbo's Last Stand). Unfortunately, the final product, the novel version of Garbo's Last Stand, has yet to be published—traditionally or otherwise. Having it available as a sample of their applied methodology would complete the circle. 

I like that Cook and Miller place the two mediums on equal, though separate ground—hense, “Adapting Sideways.” Back when I was slugging it out on my own, I came to refer to the process as learning to drive in reverse. Sure we all know how to back down the driveway, but now imagine cruising all over town in reverse. It's not commonly done and requires a serious change in perspective—but it's still driving.

My first experience as a writer was creating character monologues for myself as a way to stand out in auditions, followed shortly thereafter by sketch comedy and one-act plays. A few years later when my then-husband took a post sound position at Fox, we relocated from Northern California to Los Angeles. I took this move as a sign from the gods that I should transition to writing for screen. Which gods would be so fiendish, I'm not sure. 

Since television was closer to stage, especially sitcoms, I started there; buying up books on writing for the small screen, learning the craft, and cranking out specs for popular TV shows. Soon after, I made the leap to features. I won't lie, it took the playwright in me a while to learn how to tell a story with slug lines,  an economy of description, and severely honed down dialogue—especially after all the unrestriced speech of plays. (Death of a Monologue.)

After seven years of giving Hollywood my best shot with minimal results, I threw in the towel and returned to real life, searching for my substitute calling. (I never did find one by the way.) But of all the stories I'd created during my never-was screenwriting career, Delta Legend was the one that continued to haunt me. I imagined the characters calling out to me whenever I walked past the drawer of unwanted specs, "Hey, don't forget about us. Don't let us die in here!"

Oh I talked about turning the story into a novel but never did anything toward that end. Then my life entered a time of loss: divorce, subsequent sale of our home, job outsourced—all things I could slog through and keep going, that is until my incredibly dynamic sister-in-law died of breast cancer. She was only two years older than me and her passing rocked our family's world. For weeks after, I did nothing but lie in bed, listening to the rain on the roof of my tiny Sebastopol cottage while comforting myself with every episode of Ballykissangel on Netflix. Then, almost two months to the day after Sandy died, I decided to act upon the heartbreaking “life's short” reality check I'd been given. I got up, opened my laptop, and made a start.

BUT WHERE TO START?

I'd never even taken a creative writing course in college and I wasn't what you'd call a voracious reader of novels. I’d authored and co-authored a few humor pieces and one mockumentory-style book, but nothing of this magnitude. Yet there I was, about to tackle what seemed like an impossible task: turning a visual story into a narrative one. 

A BEAUTIFUL BLUEPRINT

The screenplay of Delta Legend had been my swan song in Hollywood—a desperate last-ditch effort to break through as a screenwriter. Teen Horrors were all the rage back then and I was chasing the genre. What I failed to take into account was that the bulk of these were shot on shoestring budgets. (Insert clip of teens running around in the dark woods with flashlights under their chins.) By the time I finished the spec of Delta Legend, it was such a budget-busting behemoth, no one in their right mind would have touched it. Tons of shooting in and on water, loads of SPFX (at a time when they were far more expensive) not to mention a cast of thousands—okay, I'm exaggerating but more characters than advisable. Thank god I was deep enough in denial to complete the screenplay, otherwise I never would’ve had the blueprint for what ultimately became the novel. Notice I didn’t call it an outline, because a screenplay is so much more than that. 

THE UNIVERSAL CRAFT 

Back to my "how the hell am I going to pull this off" moment. I knew the novel version would require far more research, character development, and back story than the screenplay. But with no how-to books and no formula to rely upon, I felt lost. I realize some of you just cringed at the term formula, but I cling to it like a life raft. Once I'm out of the choppy waters I can always abandon it, but initially, I crave that rigid structure.

Fortunately, the thing that kept coming back to me was this concept that great storytelling remains the same regardless of the medium. And the story was neatly imbedded in the spec, all I needed to do was extract it and expound upon it. So maybe I wasn't a brilliant writer of prose, I was still a damn good storyteller and continually reminding myself of that fact gave me the courage to try. As far as writing sparkling narrative—I was just gonna have to learn.

For more of the "nuts & bolts" of turning a screenplay into a novel, Part Two of Driving in Reverse can be found HERE.

Going Free on Amazon Results

Now that was a fun and wild ride. I highly recommend it.

Delta Legend went FREE Wednesday, August 22nd and Thursday, August 23rd, and for most of the time it held the #2 spot for Free Children's Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror AND Children's Science Fiction, Fantasy & Magic AND Spine-Chilling Horror! 

Though I do wish Amazon would separate Young Adult from Children's. What kind of freak writes "Spine-Chilling Horror" for children? According to Amazon, that would be me.

But to see your title listed beside a bestseller like Catching Fire, is quite lovely really - even if yours is free.

I won't lie, it was a considerable amount of work ramping up to the day and on the first day. Thankfully, there are other indies out there who've blogged about their experience - what they did to promote and who they queried.

Here are three posts on the subject that I found really helpful.

http://redroom.com/member/ruth-francisco/blog/kindle-select-how-to-make-it-work-for-you
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/free-ebook-promotion_b52130
http://ladywholunches.net/blog/2012/05/08/free-ebook-promotion-how-to-get-5-figure-downloads-in-4-days/

And I took author Ruth Francisco's advice and got up really early on the first day (2:30 a.m.) to start the chatter on Twitter, Facebook, and promote on those Free eBook sites that want you to post on the day.

The sites for Free eBook Promotion who picked me up on the first day:

Addicted to eBooks
AppNewser Free eBooks of the Week
Bargain eBook Hunter
eReaderIQ
Free Kindle Books & Tips
Flurries of Words
Kindle Daily Nation

Two other sites:
Mrs. Wizard
Freebies4Mom

Book Bloggers 

Laura Thomas of http://fuonlyknew.wordpress.com/       
Sherry Fundin of http://fundinmental.wordpress.com/
Heather of http://wwwburiedinbooks.blogspot.com/    

- all did wonderful posts about Delta Legend and the Free Promo on their blogs. Laura and Sherry kept up the Twitter campaign all day both days and countless others re-tweeted my tweets, "liked" or "shared" my Facebook posts, and/or linked to my blog post about it (537 visits). All of this helped considerably.

By the end of day two, Delta Legend had slipped to #3 and I thought for sure it would continue to free fall. But by the next morning, it was back up at #2, holding strong just under the #1 Free eBook in the same categories, Cold Kiss, which happens to be traditionally published by HarperCollins.

I'm pretty sure the reason I was able to hold on to the #2 spot was because one of the top two Free Ebook sites, eReader News Today, promoted Delta Legend in their first marketing blast of the day. And I know without a doubt that Dave Williams' brilliant cover inspired more than a few to hit the download button.

I kept up the Twitter and Facebook posts during day two, but not as heavily. I felt really good about all the legwork I'd done ramping up to the promo and by day two, it was pretty much rolling along under its own steam.

The promo ended at midnight last night, and as I crawled into bed (couldn't make it to midnight to see how it all played out) I felt like I'd run a marathon, and a pretty damn good marketing campaign. I also felt like I'd just handed the keys to Calvin and it was now up to him (and the rest of the DL posse) to drive this thing for a while. Oh, I still have plenty to do to keep the momentum going, but the power now shifts to the reader - 3,627 of them to be exact.

With hundreds of ebooks going Free everyday, I quickly dropped off the charts once the Free Promo ended, but I don't mind at all. Time for others to have their moment in the sun. 

3,627 new readers have Delta Legend in their hands and they will undoubtedly have an impact on where we go from here.

Giving It Away For Free ...

When I was a young adult, one of my mom's favorite proverbs was: "Why buy the cow when milk is free?" I always bristled at that one - not that I was a promiscuous teen. I was however, a smart-ass, and my standard retort was always, "Why be the cow when you can be the farmer?"

Fast forward too many years than I care to admit, and here I am - giving it away for free. 

That's right, Delta Legend will be FREE, Wednesday, August 22nd and Thursday, August, 23rd on Amazon.com!

What better way to celebrate and savor the dog days of summer than with a book that takes place in summer and is chock full of the things we love about this time of year: boating, fishing, water sports, outdoor parties, summer romance, s'mores, and of course, carnage. There's something about summer carnage that just tastes sweeter. 

So what are you waiting for, go get yours here: 

http://www.amazon.com/Delta-Legend-ebook/dp/B0064VK8E2

And I really don't mind if you tell everyone you know. But please, I do care about my reputation, so be sure to brag that the chick who's giving it away for free is a really good ... writer.   

Switching Gears For A Moment

Being self-published means you, and you alone, are the marketing team. I liken this endeavor to being a street performer. Sometimes the fact that I'm juggling a chainsaw, a bowling ball, and a flaming torch all at the same time attracts a small but enthusiastic crowd. Other times, I'm just out there performing for myself and maybe one homeless guy wandering by. 

Needless to say, it's easy to get burned out. Sometimes it's good to take a little break from the whole Indie author scene and create something completely different.

Traditional Mexican paper mache is known as cartoneria. I learned the craft from master cartoneria aritist, Ruben Guzman, at the Crucible in Oakland, California. 

Initially, I made Day of the Dead figures known as calacas but my first Corazones Apasionados (passionate hearts) were inspired by the huge thorns that grew on the roses in our yard in San Rafael, California. I harvested and dried the thorns then painted them gold to make my first heart with thorns for an altar installation I was asked to provide art for.

In addition to thorns, I often incorporate other found objects and I'm currently making good use of a small lot of tin I came across. I love the way these pieces of metal accent the hearts. I'm a huge fan of three dimensional art and I like that these pieces are ready to hang on the wall. 

As we come into fall and Day of the Dead draws near, I will likely return to making some of my calacas. But for now, I'm enjoying crafting these Corazones Apasionados. They are keeping my hands busy and my mind free to come up with the next creative marketing strategy. Or better yet, a new chapter in the next "Legend" installment. 


Each one is handmade - I never use mass-produced paper mache forms, so each heart is unique and perfectly imperfect. What's inside? Any kind of recycled paper that's around, be it newspaper, a grocery bag, or even shredded pages from a manuscript.

Unlike writing a novel, with folk art there is perfection in imperfection, which provides a nice balance to being an Indie author and all the marketing that goes along with that gig. 

Okay, back to juggling the chainsaw, bowling ball, and flaming torch.

A book blogger and an indie author walk into a bar ...

... and the blogger turns to the indie and says ... and says ....

Dang, I still haven't come up with a good punch line for that. Maybe by the end of this post I'll have one—something witty or profound.

I'm willing to bet, however, that if you're a book blogger, an indie author, or simply an avid reader who follows literary blogs, you might have a few punch line ideas of your own.

Okay, here's one for ya: What's the difference between indie and self-published? Answer: Spin.

Personally, I tend to refer to myself as indie more than self-published. Indie reeks of maverick. "Yeah, I chose this route. Goin' rogue, baby. I'm a free-spirit, I control my own destiny." While self-published screams, "I couldn't get an agent." Truthfully, both realities apply to me, but you can see why I lean toward indie.

Here's a good one: How many indie authors does it take to screw in a light bulb?  Answer: Just one, but they need several literary bloggers to help them reach the socket. True story.

There's a symbiotic new relationship that's emerged from the publishing revolution; that of the literary/book review blogger and the indie author. Sadly, it appears this still-budding relationship is quickly being pushed to its limits. Bloggers are breaking up with us at an alarming rate. Why? Because a lot of what they've taken a chance on simply wasn't worth their time. And they're being inundated with daily review requests for more of the same. 

For a while there, indies were the intriguing new kids on campus. Now it seems our reputation has become more than a little tarnished. Some are whispering not-so-nice things about us and it's possible we have no one to blame but ourselves. (That and maybe a few nasty rumors written on bathroom walls by agents and publishers.)

I can't help but want to step in and offer some relationship counseling. I'm convinced there are some things we as indies can do to ensure book bloggers don't break up with us for good. With that in mind I'd like to offer my version of the THREE  R's. (Only in mine, they all actually start with the letter "R" - that always troubled me.)

REPRESENT, RESPECT, RECIPROCATE

REPRESENT

As you contemplate going indie and self-publishing your novel or non-fiction book, remember, you are representing me and every other indie out there. That's why I'm begging you, don't pull the upload trigger until it's really, REALLY ready.

Let's face it, the first several incarnations of any book start out as, well, crap. It's what we as writers do with that steaming pile, that counts. You've probably read it elsewhere but apparently it needs to be repeated whenever possible: Do not write "the end" and immediately upload it for sale. If we want literary bloggers and their followers to treat us as equals to the their favorite traditionally published authors, the burden rests with us to produce material of that caliber or damn close. This means having our work edited and proofed by others. The new publishing revolution has spawned a ton of individuals ready, willing, and able to help take self-published books to the next level—beta groups, proofers, editors, formatters. Find these people and use them—no excuses.

All indie authors are currently dealing with the fallout from a deluge of poorly written and unedited self-published books flooding the market. Stuff people banged out over Easter break, slapped a lack-luster cover on, and uploaded for sale. Suddenly, bloggers who were initially open to reviewing indies are shutting their doors to us in droves.

Can a turd be polished into a diamond? In the writing world, the answer is, YES. And we damn well better. While the bulk of us didn't land a publishing deal, it's our responsibility to make sure our work looks like we did. The goal of every indie author should be to deliver a manuscript that makes people say, "I can't believe this book didn't land a publishing deal!"

RESPECT—It's a two way street.

When approaching a literary blogger to review your shiny new diamond, take the time to actually READ THEIR BLOG! I can't tell you how much I've learned from all the YA book blogs I've visited while querying with review requests.

Read the blogger's “About” page. You'll learn all kinds of interesting things about them, maybe even something that tells you why they are indeed a good match for your book. Always check out some of their reviews, you'll not only end up with a great TBR list of your own, you'll get a feel for what they love. And what they don't.

Most important of all: READ AND ABIDE BY THEIR REVIEW POLICY. These people started blogging as an extension of their passion for reading. Let's not F that up for them. Most now find themselves bombarded daily by emails from authors seeking reviews—some from the traditionally published but most from indies. You can bet a good portion of these betray the fact that the author didn't bother to read their blog OR their policies. Really, you expect them to take a chance on you when you're acting more like a spammer than a professional author? Get a clue. Oh, and get in line behind me—'cause I just sent off a short, clear, and concise review request that shows I spent some time on their blog.

RECIPROCATE

If you're self-published like me, there was likely a time when you were querying agents, and maybe some publishers. If you've gone indie (and you're savvy) you realize who now holds the keys to the kingdom. That's right, literary bloggers are your new gatekeepers. Several solid reviews, author interviews, and guest posts on book review blog sites can go a long way to spreading the word about your book.

Unlike agents, literary bloggers do not get paid for finding the next great book - it's purely a labor of love. Most of them are backlogged with stacks of books to review but are still willing to help promote you in other ways. Take them up on it, and have gratitude for whatever they are willing to do to help you, then cross-promote them in your own social media marketing.

Since relationships require effort on both parts, for book bloggers, I'm going to recommend the  THREE C’s.

CLARITY, CONVICTION, COMPASSION.

CLARITY

A lot of bloggers already do this but it really helps if you have a very clear and easy-to-find “Review Policy” on your site. If its got its own tab and page, even better. I would even go so far as to recommend that it be separate from your "About" page. Personally, I appreciate reading about the blogger as a person, separate from the business end of things (contest & review policies, etc.).

Most YA review blogs I visit have a lot going on. In addition to reviews, there are boxes, links, and buttons galore: memes, challenges, book tours, contests, grab-my-button, followers box, and so on. If your review policy is hard to find, it only encourages the lazy to fire off a review request to you regardless of your policies. In their mind, it's a case of "What have I got to lose?" Sadly, a lot. We all lose when bloggers get inundated and kick indies to the curb.

Make it really clear whether or not you accept ebooks. If you do, great. If not, that's fine too. Just put that info. in your "Review Policy" so those with ebooks only know where they stand. And it need not be a lengthy, emotional dissertation. Personally, I liken the physical book vs ebook debate to The War Between the North and the South. It's over. In this case the winner is not one or the other—it's both. And I highly doubt there will ever be staged re-enactments of the battle between the physical book and the ebook.

Good fences make for good neighbors. If you do decide to take a chance on indie authors, decide on your boundaries as well. That way you won't get overwhelmed and end up closing to self-published authors altogether. I've seen a few bloggers state something like this in their review policy: "I accept a limited number of indie authors. If you'd like me to consider reviewing a self-published book, please include the first chapter in your review request." This is smart. If a review request arrives with no first chapter, you know they haven't read your review policy. And hey, if I can't hook you with the first chapter, then I'm not for you and this dance is over.

CONVICTION

If you are open to indie authors, you obviously have a bit of that maverick spirit yourself. Fly your freak flag. There's nothing I love more than seeing the button "I Support Indie Authors" which was started by blogger Alex Bennett of Electrifying Reviews. Seeing that button on a blog is like a welcome mat in what can feels like an "Indies need not apply" blogiverse. And for those bloggers who are relatively new to the game, accepting and promoting indie books is a great way to stand out from the crowd. I'm starting to see more blogs that focus exclusively on reviewing books by indie authors.

COMPASSION

A lot of YA book bloggers are self-proclaimed nerds—the weird kid, the bookworm, the last one picked for teams. Yet, when it comes to their take on indie authors (who happen to share that "outsider" label) a lot of them suddenly sign up with the popular kids (literary agents and publishers) in snubbing indies. 

If you do have a negative opinion of indie authors, I hope it's your own. I've read a few that sound suspiciously like they were cut and pasted from a literary agent or traditional publisher's website. We've already had our share of rejection from the popular click. If you're not currently accepting indies, that's cool. A simple, well-crafted statement that doesn’t make us feel like literary lepers is best.

SO, with all this being said, if indie authors step it up and do our part, will book bloggers and their followers continue to stick with us? Still on the fence about indies? Let me help. One of the more whimsical spots I've done on YA blogs is the “This or That” interview. Maybe we should do one now to determine if you're willing to take a chance on a few indie authors.

Pavement OR Off-road?

Charted course OR Huh, wonder where this road leads?

Well-stocked trout pond OR Deep sea fishing?

Book that everybody and their brother has reviewed OR Book the rest of the pack hasn't heard of yet?

Building an ark out of ARC's OR Don't need trophies, just good stories?

Straight up OR Rocks?

(Ignore that last one. This post was tougher than I thought and I could use a drink.)

So, how will our story end, this relationship between the literary blogger and the indie author? Can we salvage this thing and have a future together? You tell me.

Here's my version: A book blogger and an indie author walk into a bar, and the blogger turns to the indie and says .... I loved your book! I can't believe it didn't land a publishing deal. Can I buy you a drink?

Cover Me

Blogger Varsha Dinesh recently contacted me about doing a guest post and asked if perhaps I would be interested in talking about the cover art for Delta Legend. Her blog, Wishful Thinking is beautifully designed and Varsha herself is a Photoshop Queen. I love it when bloggers have suggestions for guest posts. It gets me started in the right direction regarding the style of their blog and what they think their followers might find interesting. 

And the cover of Delta Legend, well that's a subject that's near and dear to my heart.

Not to sound vain, but I never tire of the image myself (I have one of the 13 x 19 posters of it above my desk). Thanks to graphic artist, Dave Williams, Delta Legend has a book cover that achieves everything a cover is supposed to do: it catches the eye, sparks curiosity, and people remember it. They also give it more than just a passing glance. Some have even said they were "drawn in" by it. Bingo.

As most of you know, for better or worse, Indie Authors don't have the luxury of being just writers. We're also the marketing team. When I made the shift from agent-shopping to embracing the idea of self-publishing, I knew it was imperative that the book's cover not only stand out from the crowd but be as good as any artwork produced by a traditional publishing house. Thankfully, my partner Tom Size knew just the right person for the job. 

Dave Williams is an amazing artist who does exceptional graphic design for a variety of products. He's the Creative Director and graphic designer for Mouth Man, the company that makes those magical animated hoodies that are all the rage.  http://www.mouthman.com/

Dave's also designed his share of album covers along with a slew of logos. And yes, all you Indies out there who are heading to the finish line and getting ready to self-publish, Dave is open to doing more book covers. Delta Legend was his first and judging by people's reaction to it, it won't be his last.

For our first meeting, I took Karsten Knight's Wildefire with me so Dave could see the level of artwork I was going for. When I first saw Wildefire in the bookstore, I was immediately drawn to it and quickly made it mine at the cash register in less than 5 minutes. Talk about successful visual marketing. 

We discussed a couple ideas I had and quickly narrowed it down to one. I knew from the start I didn't want any models or even ambiguous representations of Calvin and Mei Li on the cover. I realize I break from the rest of the YA pack here but I'm simply not a fan of casting on the cover. Novels are one the last forms of entertainment where we get to use our imagination to envision what the characters look like. The author gives us some descriptives and we take it from there. Once a book goes to screen, a casting director takes that privilege away from us, and more often than not, their idea of the perfect actor to play a character is nothing like we envisioned them. Sure we adapt and in most cases accept the actor, but why stomp on one of the best things about reading if you don't have to? I realize this puts me outside the norm in today's YA market where casting on the cover and book trailers are common place, but the hugely popular Wildefire (which was traditionally published) gave me the courage to go in a different direction.  

Working with a professional artist to bring a cover idea from concept to final product was a great learning experience. One of the biggest things I learned was that you don't really know what you want until you see it. You verbally describe your vision to the designer, they go off and create their interpretation of that vision, then you go back and forth adjusting it until it's a match. And even then, you need outside eyes and trusted advisors to keep you on the right path. I strayed off the path on more than one occasion but was brought back to clarity by both Dave and Tom. 

Dave delivered several versions of the eye, each of them slightly different and interesting in their own way. Toward the end, he delivered one that was exactly what I had asked for. It was completely black, glossy, and vacant. I was going for this whole black-crystal-ball thing. I went to bed that night thinking, this is it, this is what I want. By morning, Tom had all the images Dave had created up on his computer screen as thumbnails, including that last one that I thought was sooo perfect. As I looked at them side-by-side in the size that most people would be seeing them when shopping on Amazon.com, I realized that the one I thought was so perfect was not right at all. Dave had delivered exactly what I'd asked for, only what I'd asked him for was all wrong. There just wasn't anything going on in it. The previous ones were so much better and yet none of them were "it".    

Tom and I had done a photo trip to the Delta so he could capture the header image for the book's website, and this gave him an idea. He brought one of the Delta pictures up on the computer screen then held his 35 mm camera (with a convex lens) up to the monitor and took a picture - close up and angled into the screen. The effect was a magical light spectrum bounce back with just a trace of the original photo. Dave then took that image and worked with it to create the truly haunting and stormy effect of the eye. Now it really was perfect. Most people don't realize there's a very subtle image of Delta tules and water in the pupil, and that's the way I like it - it's illusive, like the creature itself. Having just a hint of the creature emerging from the darkness makes you want to know what the heck this thing really is. Dave did a brilliant job of alluding to the creature without giving it away.

Font? I hadn't even thought about it, but Dave asked the right questions and ultimately found a font that has both an Asian and Celtic feel, representing both the Chinese element in the story and the Celtic roots of my name. These are the kind of things you simply don't think about, yet they contribute to the feel of a cover image as a whole. The vibrant colors on black really add punch and the way the title rises to the forefront out of the dark - it's like a movie one-sheet.

Dave works in extreme multiple layers of Photoshop which creates a lot of depth. It also allows you to see slightly different elements when viewing it from different angles, especially in the poster version.

That's Dave Williams holding one of the DL posters. Thanks to him (and some help from Tom) I now have a great cover that I'm very proud of.  You can bet I'll be hiring Dave to do the cover for the next "Legend". 

Get ready Dave.