After much tinkering and a quick upgrade of the website to remove all ads, Michael Drayton, Detective Guy is now available as a web presence in your cyber neighborhood.
Let the marketing officially begin!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Friday, June 20, 2008
The Beginning
Now the fun can begin. I just found out that I did not win the Emory Goes Novel contest, which is fine. I was a finalist, which is something. And now the true marketing can start.
I need to create a query letter, and I will do that over the weekend. The website is in development, and I hope to take care of some of the finishing details in the next few days. I even have the following video posted on youtube to show what a slick item I am in person.
This is going to happen. I know it in the still, small place at my core. Remember: You heard it here first.
I need to create a query letter, and I will do that over the weekend. The website is in development, and I hope to take care of some of the finishing details in the next few days. I even have the following video posted on youtube to show what a slick item I am in person.
This is going to happen. I know it in the still, small place at my core. Remember: You heard it here first.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Some Thoughts
My wife has a concept concerning a certain level of literature that she calls "bridge books." (This comes not from some zany; she is a former battle-hardened bookseller with a degree in English.) Bridge books are not books about bridge or books about bridges, they are books that bridge the perceived gap between popular and literary fiction. They help people who read only crappy but popular books step up to more challenging, and ultimately, more interesting literature. This doesn't mean that reading one book by Jan Karon or Russell Banks will take every reader from Harlequin Romances to Tolstoy, but every little step helps.
Now, I bring all this up because it has occurred to me that Michael Drayton, Detective Guy might just be a fair example of just such a book. It starts in a manner almost lighthearted and ends in a far and distant place from that. However, and I did not plan it this way, it makes that transition slowly and almost imperceptibly throughout the book.
On the one hand, I think that mirrors Drayton's experience throughout the story. The change in mood of the story reflects the change in his mood. There is, however, another way of looking at it, I think. I think it also reflects my personal journey as a writer, that it starts out with me the comedy writer and ends with me the serious author. In that way, it is my own personal bridge book.
We'll see how it seems to the cold cruel world once it gets published though. Readers will take what they want from it, not what I intend for them. That's the game.
Now, I bring all this up because it has occurred to me that Michael Drayton, Detective Guy might just be a fair example of just such a book. It starts in a manner almost lighthearted and ends in a far and distant place from that. However, and I did not plan it this way, it makes that transition slowly and almost imperceptibly throughout the book.
On the one hand, I think that mirrors Drayton's experience throughout the story. The change in mood of the story reflects the change in his mood. There is, however, another way of looking at it, I think. I think it also reflects my personal journey as a writer, that it starts out with me the comedy writer and ends with me the serious author. In that way, it is my own personal bridge book.
We'll see how it seems to the cold cruel world once it gets published though. Readers will take what they want from it, not what I intend for them. That's the game.
Friday, June 06, 2008
The Website Is Up (After a Fashion)
Although it is still in rudimentary form, the website for Michael Drayton, Detective Guy is now open for business.
There is now a sample chapter available, as well as a few other tidbits. Visit often and bring a publishing contract.
There is now a sample chapter available, as well as a few other tidbits. Visit often and bring a publishing contract.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Another Step
The other bit of Drayton-related news is that I've acquired the domain name michaeldrayton.com and am in the beginning stages of assembling a website. My dear wife has provided me with a cascade of ideas, and I'm going to use my developing knowledge of web design to give it a try myself.
The website will link here, of course, and there will be a sample as well as a video clip of me reading a selection. I'm not sure what else right at the moment, but I have to start thinking of it from the perspective of the people who might come to visit it, such as agents, publishers, and well wishers.
I will post updates here as they occur.
The website will link here, of course, and there will be a sample as well as a video clip of me reading a selection. I'm not sure what else right at the moment, but I have to start thinking of it from the perspective of the people who might come to visit it, such as agents, publishers, and well wishers.
I will post updates here as they occur.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
What's Been Going on During the Silence
The truth is that I've been waiting. At the end of Febraury or the beginning of March, I submitted Michael Drayton, Detective Guy to the Emory Goes Novel contest, which is a new thing that is being sponsored by the Creative Writing Program of Emory University's English Department, where I am employed. The contest is limited to those who are either Emory students, faculty, staff, or are members of the Friends of the Creative Writing Program, and it was supposed to close on February 1st, but that got pushed back a month.
In April, I got notified that Drayton had been selected as one of the 10 finalists and was asked to submit the complete manuscript. Since then, I've been occupying a fine set of tenterhooks that I keep on hand for just such contingencies. I am hoping to keep from going completely out of my mind until some time next week, although I have always been precocious.
Waiting is hell on earth. If there is a physical hell that isn't just everyday life, I would suggest that it is nothing more than the line to go to see God. And when you finally get to the front of the line, He's on his Lunch Break and you get sent back to the end of the line again.
I will post the results of the contest once I know anything, which is when I will start shopping it again. And if you need me for anything in the meantime, just look for the guy on the hooks.
In April, I got notified that Drayton had been selected as one of the 10 finalists and was asked to submit the complete manuscript. Since then, I've been occupying a fine set of tenterhooks that I keep on hand for just such contingencies. I am hoping to keep from going completely out of my mind until some time next week, although I have always been precocious.
Waiting is hell on earth. If there is a physical hell that isn't just everyday life, I would suggest that it is nothing more than the line to go to see God. And when you finally get to the front of the line, He's on his Lunch Break and you get sent back to the end of the line again.
I will post the results of the contest once I know anything, which is when I will start shopping it again. And if you need me for anything in the meantime, just look for the guy on the hooks.
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