Megan Hart

I actually had an entirely different topic to write about today, but got derailed after receiving a rejection from my agent. Via my agent, I should say, as it wasn’t my agent rejecting me but an editor who’d sent an email to my agent. The editor said the project was “incredibly compelling and creepy and very well written” and also “gritty and horrific” — which hello, awesome, right?

Not so awesome when accompanied by “I’m going to pass” — because it was, apparently, TOO gritty and horrific.

Well, I was going for gritty, horrific, creepy and compelling. The well written I could only hope for. And to learn that someone actually thought it *was* all those things I tried for is very pleasing and satisfying and gratifying, because it means that at least I was judged, this work was judged, on what it IS and what it was MEANT TO BE…

Ultimately, it sucks hard and mightily that the editor passed on the book, because um, yes, I don’t write just for the praise. I do like to actually earn a living this way, which has to mean sales. So the rejection stung, as they nearly always do, just the way bad reviews do and which is why I try hard not to read them.

All in all, what are you gonna do? It’s not true that once you’re published you can just sell everything. People express surprise to me that I get rejected, and let me tell you, my lovelies, I not only get rejected, I get refused, declined and passed by also. It’s part of the job. The sucktastic part of the job (unlike the way cool parts like being able to stay home listening to Christian Bale singing the soundtrack from Newsies while I blog…I keep telling him to keep it down, but he’s saucy, that guy).

My work was called gritty and horrific, which is what I wanted it to be. It made someone shudder (presumably, or at least maybe gave her a small lip curl.) I’m really proud that something I did, words I wrote, caused a reaction. I always am. If you cry or laugh or get angry at reading one of my books, hey, that’s good. It means I’m doing something right.

Doesn’t mean I’m not upset by the rejection, but a Coke Zero and a Peanutty Bar (SO did not need that…gawd) and I’m back to work. Writing something that is ALSO going to be gritty, perhaps horrific, definitely disturbing if I can do it right. And it may also never get purchased, either. But I’m going to write it anyway.

Sometimes you just gotta do what needs doing.

M

Okay, so I know I’m a bit late to the party, but as seems to be the case A LOT, I was recording this show and then never managed to get caught up with it, so now I’m devouring it via Netflix streaming.

WOOOOOOOO!!!!

Blood, guts, harsh language, full frontal male nudity! YEAH! Love the dialogue. Love the visuals. Love so much about it!

But one thing.

I totally get the visual appeal of the gladiators. I mean, hello, hotbodies! But the smell! OMG they must’ve smelled SO BAD!!!!! And please, I know that people did smell bad back then, but those Roman ladies bathed in milk, they used perfume, they at least bathed. Those gladiators, are all sweaty and dirty and bloody and blech!

So, while I’m thoroughly enjoying the show, loving it, in fact…I just can’t get behind all this “OMG I MUST TO MAKE TEH MONKEYLOVE WITH TEH CHAMPION!”  I sort of just laugh and crinkle my nose when the ladies get all hotsy totsy for the gladiators.

Though I mean, yeah, I get it. They’re hot. But stinky!!!!

I’d make mine wash first.

M

I love writing in first person. I guess I love reading first person, too, since I like to write it so often. I don’t write solely in first person, but even when I write in third, much of the time I’m in pretty deep third person POV, often only one. To complicate matters, I guess, for readers who crave knowing ahead of time what they’re getting from an author, I do also write in multiple third person POV (haven’t yet tackled multiple first person) — which is NOT head hopping, btw. Head hopping is jumping to multiple points of view without any delineation between them — chapter by chapter, for example, or section by section. Head hopping is jumping from the head of one character into another without any discernable break to let you know to expect it. I try hard not to do *that* at least!

Maybe this post isn’t about first person POV but about POV in general…hmmm…

No, I’ll stick to first person.

Here’s what any reader should know about first person POV. If written correctly, in first person POV, you will NEVER understand or feel what any character feels EXCEPT the main character in whose head you are positioned. NEVER. Even if another character says “I feel sad” — you can only believe them because they said it. You can’t KNOW FOR SURE that character feels sad, because your first person POV character cannot know what anyone else feels for sure. Just like you or I can’t know, for sure, what anyone feels or thinks about anything (even if they tell us, because people can lie, and even if we THINK they feel sad, we just never really know, right?)

Human emotion is a complex range that really can’t be put into words. FEELING can’t be completely relayed with words. My sad is not your sad. You know?

So when reading a first person POV book, what we need to remember is that we are viewing the world through one person’s eyes. One person’s feelings. And that what that person thinks/feels/understands about another character might not be what that character his/herself feels/thinks/understands. So that the hero who thinks he’s the shit might not really think so — but because we’re only in the heroine’s head, and SHE thinks he’s all that and a bag of chips, we SEE HIM as all that, plus a side of hashed browns and a chocolate shake.

See where I’m going with this?

When reading first person POV it’s really helpful to remind ourselves that just because the character in whose head we are living thinks someone is acting or thinking or feeling in a certain way, that doesn’t mean that’s the truth. It means that we are viewing that other character through a skewed perspective, colored by whatever the POV character is thinking and feeling. It means we can only view that world as that character sees it, and since nobody can ever really know what another person is thinking or feeling, neither can that character, or us. Just because our POV character thinks someone is happy, that doesn’t mean they are. Just because our POV character thinks someone is an asshole, that doesn’t mean THEY think they are!

That doesn’t mean that you can’t understand other characters through the perspective of your POV character. You can. We all learn about other people based on how they act. People don’t lie all the time. We learn about others by what they say and how they act, and we can often create an understanding of that person based on that — but it’s still our perception. It might be vastly different from the truth or how that other person sees themselves.

So, as an author who writes in first person, the challenge to me is to make the reader get so deep in the head of the main character you feel as though you understand that person. That you understand the people in her/his life through his/her eyes, so you understand their relationships and choices…but we can never forget that just because the POV person is viewing someone a certain way, that doesn’t mean that OTHER person does. Or that if our POV character sees someone behaving in a certain way that the appearance of what is going on is actually what is happening underneath.

Many people don’t like first person POV because they want to be inside the heads of the other characters, too, to get more than one perspective. And I like that too. But I also really like writing and reading about one person’s perspective, understanding their world, their lives and how they react to the characters and events in their story.

We just have to remember that if you’re in one person’s head, that’s going to color everything else, and it’s not necessarily going to be accurate. It’s going to be perception and opinion. And that, my doves, is what makes first person POV (for me) such a complex and rewarding point of view to write/read in.

M

Mia over at Miaverse posted this over at Facebook and srsly, I can’t stop listening/watching it.

*loves*

WARNING: NSFW

And this:
She was what?
Oh.

Okay, so all of a sudden, print publishing is circling the drain, right? Ebooks are taking over, thus creating the demise of foine lit-ra-chur as we know it. Right?

Ummm….wrong.

Look. I’ve been digitally published since we called it e-publishing. Waaaaaay back when in oh…2001? 2002? Somewhere around there, and I wasn’t even in the front line. Epublishing has been around for quite a number of years, and during that time I’ve heard “Ebooks are the wave of the future! THEY ARE TEH FUTURRRRRRE!” and “Epublishing is going to replace print publishing!” And “ebooks are better!” and “print books are better!” and all manner of things that contradict one another.

But this is the reality, as I see it (and since this is my blog, that’s the version you get.) Ebooks are a delightful NEW FORMAT for readers to enjoy. Ebooks allow high-consumption for readers who plow through multiple books per week. Ebooks are mostly, not always, but often cheaper than their print counterparts (much the way mass market paperbacks are cheaper than hardcovers). Ebooks can be purchased and delivered literally, within seconds. Ebooks can be found in many online stores and locations, including but not limited to major online retailers like Amazon.com and BN.com. And, ebooks, for the most part, are still a teensy weensy eensy part of the overall sales of books.

Personally, I’m delighted that ebooks are finding their place finally. It’s long been my position that when ereaders became easily portable and financially feasible to buy, that ebooks were going to really take off. And what do you know? Kindle, Nook, iPad, some others I’m forgetting…I read them on my iPhone, myself, using Kindle for iphone and BN’s reader, and all manner of apps that allow me to purchase, download and read ebooks from just about any place I want. I’m delighted as a reader because this allows me to feed my reading habit in one more format and fashion. I’m less delighted as an author because frankly, my ebook royalties from my “traditional” publishers are not as beneficial as the ones from my primarily digital publishers. As an author, I think that sucks. I think it’s ridiculous. And I hope it changes as the publishing model, however slowly it changes, moves to accommodate this new format.

We all know that digital music has mostly replaced other formats. Again, speaking personally, I purchase and download music frequently. The only CDs I buy are from indie artists I see play live so that I can get them signed; for listening purposes, for ease and quality and simple convenience, I download  songs so that I can listen to them on my computer or iPod, because that’s how I consume that product. Digital music has replaced CDs for me and for many; it’s certainly replaced cassette tapes, 8 tracks and LP’s for the casual listener. Digital movies are replacing DVDs — I stream more video or download movies (legally, m’kay? Pay for that stuff, people, or else there won’t be more of it) than I buy DVD’s. I watch on my computer, via streaming on my Tivo or Wii, on my iphone, on an iPad. I consume more digital movies because it’s easier and more convenient now.

And this is exactly why ebooks are not now, nor perhaps ever going to disappear or be replaced totally by their digital counterparts.

Because music and movies ALWAYS require some sort of device in order to consume them. (Well, not live music, but that’s not what we’re talking about.) If you want to listen to a song or watch a movie, you MUST consume it via some piece of technology, whether it’s a VHS player or a Walkman, or a computer or an iPod or whatever.

Books require…your eyes.

Yep, that’s right. Print books of course need to be printed on paper, bound, distributed, etc. But in that format, all that you need to read them is YOUR EYES. You don’t need another piece of equipment to consume them, a piece of equipment that’s going to be obsolete in a few years. Or months. Printed books require YOU. The readers. And that’s it.

Which is why, in my opinion, ebooks are one more wonderful format in which to consume literature. Just like hardcovers, trade paperbacks, mass market paperbacks. Now we have digital. But ebooks and digital format are not going to totally replace ebooks any time soon, because let’s face it — there will be people for a long, long time who don’t have ereaders. I’m not saying digital books will NEVER outsell paper books. There may come a time when print is for specialists and the casual consumer really does do everything via a device. After all, it’s way more convenient to download a book, then delete it when you’re finished than have thousands of books taking up space in your house. But that time is not imminent. It’s not going to take over the print book world this year, or next year, or the year after that. It might happen someday, but it’s not going to happen all at once.

And you know what? Even if it does?

Ebooks are still books, people. Just because Stuart Skyisfalling hasn’t read one, or heard of one until the past year or so, that doesn’t mean they haven’t been around. Ebooks are books, made to be read and consumed by people who love to read. Digital is a format, not a genre, not a replacement, not something to fear. If you like reading on your Kindle, knock yourself out. If you like reading your hefty hardcover…well…you can do that, too.

In the end what matters is that you can find the books you want and love, that you can purchase them and enjoy them. If you love to read, you’re going to love to read. Authors can still write.

The sky is not falling.

The times are a changing, but that doesn’t have to be something to fear.

Me? Personally, I prefer paper books. I don’t have a dedicated ereader, though if I convince myself I need an iPad I’ll read on it because it’s a sweet, sweet reading experience. But I don’t want to take an iPad to the beach, or the pool. I like tossing a paperback into my bag and not worrying about it breaking. I like getting signed copies from authors I love and respect. I like having books on my shelf to pluck up at a whim and turn to a page randomly, I like them as decoration, I like the smell and feel of paper books. I read ebooks, but I love paper books. Yet I’m happy to have my work available in both formats. It doesn’t make one any less or more “real” than the other.

I don’t have the numbers, and I can’t link you to the plethora of articles about how the world of publishing is coming to an end. I think things need to change and while they do, we’re all going to be a little unsure of how it works and what might happen. But I know in my gut that books will continue to be published and people will read them.

I’m not worried how they read them. Just that they have them to read. No matter what format they come in.

M

MULTI-AUTHOR
BOOKSIGNING
at Waldenbooks—Lebanon Valley Mall
SATURDAY AUGUST 14TH
10am—2pm

Authors scheduled to appear
(Subject to change without notice)

Horror
Frank E. Bittinger
David Boyle
J.F. Gonzalez
Brian Keene
Ron Malfi
Joe Schreiber

Fiction
Arthur Ford
Thomas Lipovsky
Robert Vogel

Romance
Vicky Burkholder
Natalie Damschroder
Lucy Finn
Megan Hart
Savannah Russe
Misty Simon
Victoria Smith

Children’s
Sandy Asher
Kelly Ann Butterbaugh
Jeff Clineff
Olga Jaffae
Dana Smith-Mansall
Murphdog® and Company
Ruth Zavitsanos

Young Adult
Ellen Jensen Abbott
Cyn Balog
Beth Fantaskey
Charlene Haines
A.S. King
Jeri Smith-Ready
Maria V. Snyder

Fantasy
Byron N. Morrison
Andy Pete

Historical Fiction
Gene Gomolka

Self-help
Janette Kortman
Joan Landis

Poetry
Amaryllis Santiago
Doris Washington

Non-fiction
John Sabol

Autobiography
Dr. Lazslo Geder
Dashaun Jiwe Morris

20% of the proceeds will
benefit the Lebanon Library.Storm Troopers will also be appearing. Various merchants from the mall along with local businesses
such as Longaberger and Partylite have donated raffle items. For every book purchased you
will receive a raffle ticket. Pre purchased books not eligible. Raffles to be held around 1:30 p.m.

Purchase the new one here.

Ahhh. Summer’s on the downhill slide and I’ve only just come into the “fuck this, it’s summer” mindset which means I spend my days doing things other than work instead of saying “fuck this, it’s summer” and trying hard to work every day and doing other things instead.

Of course, having said that, today I wrote. I mean, I have to write, it’s my job and all that. Granted, it’s a pretty damn cool job with lots of bennies and vacation time (which…if you add up all the hours I spend working during the rest of the time, I bet it still evens out to a nice, round 60 or so hours a week, bwahaha!)…but it’s still a job. And I gots to do the work.

I don’t have a big deadline until January but I have one in March too, which means I have to work ahead if I don’t want to end up killing myself with the deadlines…but I have a small deadline in September, and look, son, it’s already August. So I started a holiday themed novella which will be out in December from Carina Press. It’s called Unwrapped, and features Leah and Brandon from Taking Care of Business and No Reservations.

Mmmm….Brandon.

I wrote 13 pages today, after many many days of writing nothing.

Yesterday, though, I did this:

Which involved banging on rocks with a hammer.

It was fun!

M

After seeing Shutter, this is my new celebrity crush: