Location: Books & Such main office, Santa Rosa, Calif.

If you don’t know what a QR code is, scroll down to the end of this post to take a peek. QR (which stands for “quick response”) codes are ubiquitous–on food packaging, on clothing tags, in ads, etc. The codes might provide recipes that use the food item you’ve just purchased or ways to tie the scarf you’re considering buying or a video about the car pictured in an ad.

I’ll suggest some ways authors can use QR codes in a minute, but first I’ll explain how they work. (If you already know, just move on down to the numbered items.) The codes are two-dimensional, which means they can carry much more information than the one-dimensional bar code. QRs are designed to be used with smartphones by scanning the code with the phone’s camera. The phone’s software interprets the information and takes the user to a spot  on the Internet.

Android phones have built in QR code readers, but other smartphone users can download an app for their phones to read the codes. CBA Retailers + Resource Magazine in its November 2011 issue, indicated that 40% of all mobile phones in the U.S. are smartphones, and by 2015 more smartphones will be owned than other mobile phones. The Pew Internet and American Life Project found that the majority of  Americans research online items they’re considering purchasing. InsightExpress’s study reveals that 82% of shoppers already use their phones in some way before purchasing.

For all these reasons, it makes sense for authors to think about how they might use QR codes. Here are a few suggestions to get your creativity going:

1. On your business card. When you hand someone your business card, you could be handing them quick and efficient access to your website. You don’t need to put your web address on your card, which the user would have to type in (correctly, which is a challenge for some of us). Or you could send someone to your blog, if you want to show off your writing.

2. On your proposals. Picture a publishing committee meeting. There’s the conference room, the conference table, the decisionmakers–and lots of laptops. As the editor presents your project, everyone’s fingers are flying on keyboards. Your website is checked out; your presence on Twitter; what’s going on for you on Facebook; a quick trip to Amazon to check out your previous books and where they stand in the rankings.

Now picture this: You put a QR code on your proposal that takes the reader to your website; or you have a (short!) video of you speaking that shows off how adept you are in front of an audience or a video during you give your pitch for the project being considered. That way the committee gets to meet not only your project but also you.

3. To reach your readers. Ask your publisher to put a QR code in your book that leads the reader to a brief video of you introducing the book (and yourself). Or a QR code to an online readers’ discussion guide.

4. To sell other books. Add a QR code to a bookmark that contains all of your titles or all of the books in a series. Since reviews often help a reader to decide to buy a book, why not establish a page of reviews (or segments of reviews, to keep it short) on your website and create a code to take readers there.

The possibilities are almost limitless. And creating codes is easy. Just google “QR code,” and you’ll be taken to a variety of sites from which you can create the codes.

What ways can you think of  to use a QR code?

And, now, just for fun, here’s a QR code that takes you to a photo of our agency staff, including our newest addition, Rachelle Gardner.

P.S. For those of you used to the rhythms of our blog posts, you’ll expect to read more from me tomorrow and Friday. But we’re trying a new rhythm of three blogs from one writer followed by two blogs from another contributor.  So tomorrow and Friday you’ll meet up with Wendy Lawton here. We’re experimenting with this new arrangement for several weeks, and we’d love to hear what you think of the change as it rolls out. Plus we’ve added Rachelle Gardner to the writing schedule as well, starting on Feb. 13; so she’s a new voice on our blog that we know you’re gonna love.

Location: Books & Such main office, Santa Rosa, Calif.

Considering that January is about to exit our lives, I figure today is my last chance to let you know the word that Dictionary.com selected as depicting 2011: tergiversate.

Just in case that announcement didn’t seem especially enlightening to you, tergiversate (pronounced “ter-JIV-er-sate” means “to change repeatedly one’s attitude or opinions with respect to a cause, subject, etc.; to equivocate.”

Now do you get why the word was so appropriate for 2011? The stock market couldn’t make up its mind how it felt about the world’s events; so the market looked like a kid on a trampoline–way up, way down, way up…And then we had Occupy Wall Street (and several other “Occupies”). Not only couldn’t the public decide how it felt about Occupy, but also the movement couldn’t decide why it existed or even what to occupy. In my hometown, Occupy moved from the plaza where the city government buildings were located to banks to the mall to the local junior college. And then there’s publishing…

eReaders continued to wreak havoc on the industry as it had been known for hundreds of years, and social media added so many ways to connect with each other that just keeping up with options was exhausting.

Yup, we saw  plenty of tergiversation.  But here’s the thing: tergiversate encompasses a sense of flip-flopping combined with intentionality. Changes are afoot not by happenstance but by necessity. And the word originates from Latin for “to turn one’s back.”

What does that mean for us in publishing? The importance of embracing change, not just enduring it.

The sea change we’re experiencing isn’t going to abate in 2012. We need to be adaptive, to turn our back on what formerly was. That means, what was new in 2011 can seem outdated by the end of 2012.

One of the goals I’ve set for our agency is to find–or develop–three new revenue streams for our clients. As publishing pays smaller advances and remains convinced that 25% is an adequate royalty rate for e-publishing, authors are feeling the pinch. I believe our agency’s job is to tergiversate our view of publishing and the ways writers can make a living. The ideas we decide on in 2012 might remain relevant for only a year or so, but this isn’t a moment to worry about how long an idea with float but if it will float now.

What tergiversating events occurred in 2011 that I didn’t mention? What do you need to tergiversate in 2012?

Location: Books & Such main office, Santa Rosa, Calif.

Pretty much everyone just wants to be liked, right? Why, we’ve all taken to heart one sentence from Sally Fields’ earnest Academy-Award acceptance speech: “You like me, you really like me.”

But authors seem especially prone to need to know that they’re not only liked but also respected by the publishing industry. Which points to one of the reasons authors forgo the option of self-publishing. They want to be able to say, “My publisher likes me, really likes me.”

But I was reminded of how compelling that need is when I read a recent Wall Street Journal article about Darcie Chan, who crafted a hit, self-published novel. The Mill River Recluse is her debut novel and has sold more than 400,000 copies–in seven months. According to the WSJ article, she’s receiving offers from foreign imprints, movie studios and audio-book publishers–without having  sold a single physical copy of her book. And that’s the big rub for Chan.

Ms. Chan craves for one event to occur in her writing career that so far has eluded her: She wants a traditional publisher to produce a book–a physical book–Chan has written. Despite six film studios inquiring about movie rights and two foreign publishers bidding on the book, Chan “is holding off on such deals, for fear they might sabotage a potential contract with a domestic publisher,” according to WSJ.

“I have people writing me begging me for a hard copy,” she says, “book clubs and libraries calling me, and I don’t have a hard copy to provide for them.”

Chan is working on her second novel and hopes a traditional publisher will phone one day to say, “We like you, we really like you.”

As I read about Chan, I experienced a raft of responses. Here’s a short list:

• Obviously, this intense longing for a publisher to produce a physical book isn’t just about having a hard copy. It’s much more about Chan’s desire to have the traditional publishing experience. She wants a professional editor to work with her on her book and for her book to be available in bookstores and libraries. Yes, she could create a physical book, but it wouldn’t be the same, would it?
• Chan recognizes that a traditional publisher brings to bear certain elements the author can’t provide: Distribution to retail venues, placement in libraries, a marketing plan, an editorial eye, and a team of publishing professionals all focused on how to make her book a success.
• The desire for “legitimacy” can blind a person to the shortcomings of going the traditional route. I’m sure several traditionally-published authors reading this blog post are groaning over how much they wish they could say their book had sold 400,000 copies.
• Other self-published authors are gloating over how much money they’re making and how many fans they have. They feel plenty affirmed by their readers.
• But, really, Darcie Chan is like all of us, including me–she has a set idea of how to know if she’s really liked–and she hasn’t experienced that yet.

What’s your response to Chan’s saga?

Now, here’s the hard part, thinking about how this applies to you.

• What is the most affirming event that could occur for you, as a writer? To win a certain award (aka Sally Fields)? To sell a certain number of copies of your book? To get a multi-book contract? To hit a best-seller list (would any list do, or would it have to a specific list)?
• What might you sacrifice to achieve your goal? Might you, like Chan, put film options and audio versions on hold so as not to hurt your chances of making your goal? (Be honest!)
• How do you handle the disappointments this heartbreaking industry has handed you?
• How do you keep belief in your abilities going strong?

Location: Books & Such Midwest Office, Illinois

A killer title for your book can make the difference between an editor taking a serious look at your proposal or not at all. It’s the all-important first impression. If your title can capture agent and editor attention, the perception is that the first pages of your manuscript might deliver on the title’s promise. Here are a few suggestions to help you zero in on a great title.

• Promise Something (for nonfiction projects)
  
  • One Month to Live: 30 Days to a No-Regrets Life
  • One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are
• Intriguing One or Two Words
  • Moneyball (about how the Oakland Athletics built a successful team with one of the smallest payrolls in baseball). Michael Lewis brilliantly combined the subject of the book (the Oakland Athletics) with the specific topic (building a lucrative team from minimal resources) using a familiar game idea for the title.
  • Blink (how instincts work in your mind) – Malcolm Gladwell found a perfect word that describes how instantaneously our gut-level hunches come to mind and the importance of paying attention to them.
• A Potent Phrase or Place
  • The Devil in the White City (how an architect and a serial killer were linked by the World’s Fair of 1893). A powerful descriptor of the psychopath in contrast to Chicago, the city filled with new hope, employment, and preparations for the World’s Fair.
• Adapt a Familiar Phrase or Scripture
  • In the Still of the Night (about the strange death of Ronda Reynolds and her mother’s tireless search for the truth). True-crime author Ann Rule paints the picture of what really happened on the night Ronda Reynolds supposedly committed suicide.
  • Wild Goose Chase: Reclaim the Adventure of Pursuing God. Mark Batterson used a familiar phrase, “wild goose chase” that also has another meaning. Wild Goose is his name for the Holy Spirit, and the name hints at mystery…and adventure. Perfect.
• Incongruous Words or Phrases
  • Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God. Francis Chan contrasted the “crazy” thought that the God of the universe loves us with a relentless love in a powerful, two-word title.
  • In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. How we think we’ve been in the wrong places at the wrong times might actually have been the right places at the right times according to God’s positioning. Mark Batterson thought of a great word picture to describe this contrast.
•  A Key Phrase from within the Story
  • Pearl in the Sand (the fictional story of Rahab). The phrase doesn’t appear until the last part of the story. But in so doing, the reader not only finally understands where the title came from but also gains deeper meaning into the imagery of finding a beautiful pearl in commonplace sandy surroundings.

In what ways do these tips and examples prompt ideas for your WIP? What additional tips can you offer that have been successful for you in coming up with killer titles? Or tell us what titles you’ve seen that you consider stellar.

Location: Books & Such Midwest Office, Illinois

If you are in a well-functioning critique group, you are blessed indeed. You know what an asset your group is to growth in your writing craft, and you witness increasing results in your work. In fact, you may be thinking you couldn’t do this thing called writing without your partners. Today, let’s talk about the characteristics that create the perfect climate for a well-functioning group. Much of what is said about teams in the business realm can be applied to critique groups as well. In their book The Wisdom of Teams (HarperBusiness 2003), co-authors Jon Katzenbach and Douglas Smith list five qualities that distinguish a high performance team from ordinary teams. High performing teams have:

• a deeper sense of purpose
• relatively more ambitious performance goals compared to the average teams
• better work approaches or complete approaches
• mutual accountability; acknowledgment of their joint accountability toward a common purpose in addition to individual obligations to their specific roles
• complementary skill set and, at times, interchangeable skills

Let’s apply this information to critique groups. Would you say everyone in your group is at the same level of purpose? Have you set goals as a group, and is everyone on board with these goals? Are all members of your group equally accountable to each other, respond to each other in a timely manner, and genuinely care for each one’s best work? Are there complementary skills represented in your group?

If you aren’t in a critique group, I want to encourage you to search for one that is right for you. You will benefit in having multiple sets of eyes to catch problems you didn’t notice. And what you invest in time evaluating other members’ WIPs, you save in the cost of hiring a professional editor. Not to mention that critiquing other people’s work is instructive to you and informs what you’re writing. You’ll gain networking potential and build strong friendships within this tough industry. You might have to try out several groups until you find the one for you. Look for personality compatibility: Do you feel comfortable with most or all in the group? Do the members of the group possess a variety of skills and, in particular, those you need help with? What skills are missing in the group that you can provide?

Other qualities I consider essential to a successful writers group are:

• Group members must to be sincere believers in each other. In other words, there must be a high level of respect for each other, whether you are a published author or a first-time writer.
• Because rejections and lack of responses from editors and yes, agents too, are realities of the business, discouragement always lurks around the corner. You need to sense your group is a safe, affirming source of support.
• When these characteristics are functioning well, an atmosphere of trust is built. Trust is a beautiful thing. It undergirds the well-functioning group and creates the perfect climate to grow in your craft.

Are you in a critique group? Did you have to try more than one to find the right one for you? How did you know it was right for you?

Location: Books & Such Midwest Office, Illinois

In a productive brainstorming meeting with a client about two weeks ago, three necessary parts of a writer’s whole proposal “package” came into clear view. They are not new concepts; they are basics. But the combination of the three results in a winning idea. See if they also are helpful to you in terms of adjusting your WIP and in developing future book ideas.

LOOK. This client is working on a new nonfiction series and gave me the outline for book one. Her passion for Christ’s church is authentic and deep, and she is accomplished in her writing craft. Those are necessary ingredients for a compelling book, but as we all know, those two alone don’t guarantee a publisher will offer a contract.

As Amy researched in preparation for this series, she looked for several niche topics in the area of spiritual formation that are common stumbling blocks for everyone but to which few books have been devoted. She looked to fill a gap and meet a need. This is a great strategy for giving your book a unique edge. Passion + great writing + unique approach = marketability. Marketability is the scale on which all manuscripts are weighed.

EXPECT. If you have prayed for direction, apply Proverbs 3: 4-5: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your path.” Expect God to answer your request according to his will. Listen and watch. Don’t be surprised when you set goals for the year or review your day’s writing and think, where did that come from? He’ll keep his promise to direct your path.

ACT. As we dive into our work this year, we need to humbly acknowledge afresh that our gifts and abilities are from God for his purpose. Next, we must commit to take action steps—risks—to follow his direction. Spend a few minutes, or hours, to reflect on your calling in those terms, and let God energize your passion.

Don’t you love it when the cloud over your work dissipates and the sky begins to clear? Share a time when words, scenes, entire chapters, or a book idea were, all of a sudden, right there in front of you.

Location: Just back from Agency Summit in Wine Country

No, the title of this blog isn’t about the software program. I’m referring to my view of 2012. At the beginning of each new year we’re used to feeling encouraged at the thought of a fresh new start. This year, take it up a notch for me.

Exhilarate: 1. to enliven; invigorate; stimulate. 2. to make cheerful or merry. This is the atmosphere that permeated our Agency Summit last week, and I hope to pass it on to you. What am I so exhilarated about?

With the wonderful addition of Rachelle Gardner to our agency, we now have offices in three areas of the country. Our summit provided time for a live gathering as a team, and gel we did! We set agency goals for the year and sought God’s direction to dream big for our clients. We came away aligned in our vision. I encourage you to spend time with your writing and critique groups, Bible study groups, or even with your spouse and children, to focus on this exercise as well. More on this topic on Wednesday.

Exhilarate!

We’re all familiar with, what shall we call them . . . hindrances? road blocks? . . . facing writers. The exciting news is that viable, creative possibilities for overcoming obstacles are arising from many directions. Let’s celebrate and thank God for endowing those with the entrepreneurial spirit. They are creating new vehicles to navigate new paths. You’ll be hearing more in the days ahead.

Exhilarate!

New technologies are making it easy to connect with each other and stay on top of industry news. Our agents will be utilizing some of these technologies this year. We realize it’s imperative to keep up with these advances and exploit them to best serve our clients. I’m sure this will be the modus operandi until the Lord returns. I can hear some of you shouting, Of course, bring it on! while others are mumbling, I just learned this one, and already there is something new to replace it. Ugh! Confession time: I used to be one of those but no more. I’m…

Exhilarated!

… and I hope you are too. What do you see around you that motivates you to have a sunny outlook on your writing career in 2012? What goals have you set for yourself this year? Or haven’t you gone through this exercise yet? A goal is a marker in front of you. It will help you decide if a choice you are contemplating will help close the distance to your goal or could steer you off-course.

Location: Books & Such main office, Santa Rosa

“I typically go overboard when I research new projects.”

~Will Wright

In 2000, after five years of hard work, I realized I could spend the rest of my life researching my family history and never write it down. As each rabbit trail narrowed to dust, as I pulled the final book off the shelf of Virginia counties, as my husband asked if I’d ever be done, I’d wonder, “What if?”

What if I missed some fact?

What if I found another tiny piece that opened the story up like a field in the game Minesweeper?

What if Abraham Lincoln really did carry around a piece of paper in his pocket that said, “This is the list of all my relatives, particularly my descendants leading to Michelle?”

How could I risk it?

It came to an end in the Mecca of genealogical research: The LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. I spent ten hours the first day, eight the second. My husband pulled me babbling out of the stacks that last day, and I knew I had crossed the line. The research was done.

I stopped checking “one more fact” on September 1, 2000. I then finished writing the book.

The project I’m currently investigating has an overwhelming number of items to review and books to read. I have to steep myself in language, items, culture, religion and even a war. I could easily spend the rest of my life researching.

But I have other things to do and the book is begging to be written. I could let myself be bogged down in searching out one more interesting fact, but the story–the point–would never be told. There will come a time when I declare the fact-finding finished.

Of course I’ll continue to read and examine leads as they turn up. Google will remain my constant friend and fact-checker, but enough. I need to write.

Research is fun. Tools can be exasperating or thrilling. Odd facts spark the imagination. Stories intrigue and of the making of books, there is no end.

But then, of course, there’s still real life to live. You owe it to your family.

How do you know when you’ve researched enough? When do you decide you’re ready to write? What’s your favorite part of the researching process?

Location: Books & Such main office, Santa Rosa

“To do the writing, I have to have time to do research.”

~ Jean-Jacques Annaud

Modern technology provides wonderful tools for research if you know how to harness them. And not just electronic texts, library catalogs, Google and microfilm.

How about your cell phone or digital camera?

It turns out many research libraries have embraced technology and encourage readers to take a photograph with their smart phones rather than run an elderly volume through the copy machine. It’s easier on the book, cheaper on the pocket and much faster. What a concept!

While wending my unwieldy way through microfiche, I thought about the photography process and the dimes falling out of my pockets as fast as I could grab them. If I owned an I-pad, I could just take a photograph of the entire microfiche in one setting, then enlarge the page I wanted to read. Think of the hours that would save.

A genius at the Apple store confirmed the process works beautifully–he had used it himself with parts fiche at a store where he worked. The ever-faithful media librarian at Sonoma State Library was intrigued and willing to give it a try–until he realized we’d need a back light. We couldn’t find a microfiche-reading app, but that doesn’t mean one hasn’t been invented.

Meanwhile, back at the public library, I was thrilled to order microfilm from a special collection back east. But  I paused at the money and the manipulation I would have to do to review 650 items. When I mentioned my concern to the librarian, she brightened. “We have a new USB cord device. You still have to scan everything you want, but you can hook the machine up to your laptop, and the pages can go right onto your computer.”

Glory! I’m thrilled.

Even though I’ll still have to review all 650 items, I won’t have to shell out 650 dimes. It will still take hours to go through everything, but at least I won’t have to haggle with the photocopier–nor purchase an expensive I-pad.

I won’t be able to use a “find” program to look for specific words or items–everything will be written in 19th-century handwriting–but if it’s on my computer, I can read it at home. Not having to sit in a dark library for hours–as I did reading microfilm in the 20th century–will be wonderful.

What type of technology tools do you use in your writing and research? How do you save it  and manipulate it?

Better question–do you think I can justify buying an I-pad? 

Location: Books & Such main office, Santa Rosa, Calif.

“My writing has to support more than my research habit,

but I love to curl up with a book about some dusty corner of history.”

~Lynn Abby

Once I’ve found basic information electronically, I like to move over to books.

I start with Amazon.com.

Typing in “Luther Burbank,” I have 826 options to choose from.  I tend to work backwards, from the most recent until I can’t stand the hunt anymore. This provides an overview of the most recently written book about a subject–which is important when I write a proposal. Depending on my angle, I may type a more narrow topic, say “Burbank potatoes,” into Amazon’s search engine as well.

I use Amazon for a bibliographic overview and then head over to the local library’s web-based catalog. I reserve the books I want, and I’m on my way. (Our public library had 1,400+ works about Luther Burbank).

I’ve recently been researching events in the 19th century, and some books are difficult to find. That quest has taken me to nearby Sonoma State University’s (SSU) Charles M. and Jean Schultz Library (with its fantastic Snoopy retrieval system). Luther Burbank turns up in 57 volumes at the university library, but I can also search for him in scholarly journals, dissertations, theses and microfilm.

In the recent case of my own project, I’ve had to travel–at least mentally–further afield.

Through online library catalogs, I learned a university library back east has an entire collection of papers from the principals involved in my story–including a diary. I knew I had to get my hands on that diary and examine all the other items in the collection: 650 in all.

Before I became too involved in my plans to travel back east, I learned the special collection section was closing for renovation, and the collection would be unavailable for four months.

But that diary would give voice to my character . . .

On a chance, I sent an e-mail to the librarian, explaining what I sought. He wrote back to say I was out of luck for examining the collection physically, but the whole thing had been microfilmed.

Did you hear me screaming? I drove directly to the Sonoma County Library and ordered the microfilm. When I explained why, the local librarian joined me in my enthusiasm.

That left me with only one major book unaccounted for. I had to read it, and then my primary research would be finished. A first-person narrative, this book also would give voice to another major character. The SSU librarian was helpful and sent me a link listing all the local places that owned a physical copy of the book: Pacific Union College, UC Berkley, even the San Francisco Public Library (“Hey, maybe you could get that through Inter-Library loan?”).

The book is 400 pages long and densely written.

I went to Google Books (FYI, 223,000 references to Luther Burbank) where I could read excerpts, but not the full book. I couldn’t download the book to my computer, so that wasn’t going to work.

I went back to Amazon to check the price of buying a copy.

Free download to my Kindle.

Even the SSU librarian was shocked. “How can that be?”

The book was first published 150 years ago and is out of print. I guess.

In the past, I’ve had good luck with Google Books, but the March 2011 settlement seriously cut into how much material is posted online. As a writer, I’m delighted; as a researcher, I’m disappointed. Old books I could access easily in the past are now off limits, while a 1986 book I happily purchased is posted almost entirely on Google Books. I don’t know how they decide how much to post.

But Google Books is an excellent place to do obscure research, adjusting your search criterion as narrowly as possible and using many different variations. If nothing else, it will suggest other places to look for information.

What magic findings have you made in librarires electronically? How do you handle electronic libraries? Is there anything researchers should be wary of?

And did anyone notice some of the real heroes are the LIBRARIANS?