Month: November 2005

Murder He Wrote

by

045121662801_sclzzzzzzz_Author Donald Bain’s MURDER SHE WROTE novel, MARGARITAS & MURDER is now in bookstores.  This is the 24th book in the long-running tie-in series. 
Remarkably, every book  is still in-print — adding up to more than three million copies sold since the series was launched. And there’s more to come. Don reports that he’s signed a contract for another four books in the series, which he now writes in tandem with his wife Renee. I hope my DIAGNOSIS MURDER books, which wouldn’t exist if not for his amazing success, do even half as well…

Portrait of an Anxious Writer, the Sequel

by

Novelist Joseph A. West, author of the GUNSMOKE novels (among many others) read my previous post on this topic and sympathized with Sanda’s anxiety. He, too, knows it all too well ("writing is a lot of agony and damn little ecstasy," he tells me).

My worst
bouts of dark depression come after I’ve sent in the manuscript. After a week
with no word from New York the conversation between my wife and myself always
runs something like this:

"Well Emily, that’s it. The end. The end of everything."
"What are you talking about?"
"Brent hates the book. He probably thinks it’s the worst piece of shit
that’s ever been written in the entire history of the world. Maybe in the entire
history of the universe."
Emily, her head bent to the embroidery on her lap: "Don’t you think if the
book was bad he’d have called and told you so?"
"Hell no. He’s so appalled by its shitiness he’d been struck dumb, maybe
even blind. He may have shown it around to other publishers as the worst book
ever written and they’ve also been struck dumb and blind. In one fucking stroke
I could have single-handedly destroyed the whole New York publishing
industry."
"I thought the book was fine."
"You’re my wife. Don’t you think you may be just a wee bit
prejudiced?"
"No. And I also think you’re nuts."
I shake my head. "It’s the end, the end I tell you. I knew that book was a
piece of fucking crap from the first word to the least.God, I may have killed
Brent. He could have read the damn thing and suffered a massive stroke."
"I’m outta here," Emily says."I have to put on the potatoes."
And me, I call after her: "I’m doomed, I tell you, doomed."
Then to myself: "I should have done like my old grandpappy told me to do
and become a plumber." 

How Do You Host a Signing For Someone Who Doesn’t Exist?

by

I got this email today:

I have a question regarding your entry on authors changing names. Don’t
authors need to do tours and talks to publicize their books? I’ve heard that
much of a book’s success depends on the author’s own initiative to do
publicity. But if they’re using a pseudonym, isn’t this impossible? It would
only take one person to reveal him/her.

A good question…with lots of answers.

In many cases, the pseudonyms are an open secret (for instance, Jeremiah Healy makes no secret that he’s "Terry Devane" nor does Gar Haywood hide that he’s "Ray Shannon") and the authors go on the signing circuit anyway. The only ones who are "fooled" are the computers at the chain stores.

Other authors turn their pseudonym into a marketing tool, creating some mystery and buzz around the book. They require booksellers to drop shop books to a third party for signing so that the mystery of who they are remains intact. "Boston Teran" and "John Twelve Hawks" are recent examples, "Trevanian" is an older one. Stephen King, Nora Roberts, and Robert Ludlum also wrote books under other names as well as their own. So have pulp authors like Marvin H. Albert (aka Albert Conroy, Ian McAlister, Nick Quarry, Tony Rome, etc.) and  Harry Whittington (aka Whit Harrison, Blaine Stevens, Ashley Carter, etc.)

Others just avoid the signing/promotion circuit and hope for the best…which, of course, could work against them and undermine the chances of their new identity increasing their sales or, in the case of already famous authors, matching the success they enjoy as themselves.

Finally, there are writers who make their living as ghostwriters…writing books for celebrities, politicians, other authors, or house names (names created by the publisher so that several writers can contribute to a series of books without the readers ever knowing). Don Pendleton hasn’t written an EXECUTIONER/MACK BOLAN novel in decades.

James Reasoner, for example, has been writing westerns under other authors’ names and house names for years. Donald Bain writes the MURDER SHE WROTE books under his own name as well as a NY Times bestselling series under someone else’s name (a someone who widely promotes the books he or she doesn’t write). Reportedly,  Robert Tanenbaum doesn’t write his legal thrillers (Michael Gruber did for many years)…but that doesn’t stop him from going on booksigning tours anyway.

In short, there are lots of reasons for writing under other names and lots of ways to promote your books despite the illusion.

Portrait of an Anxious Writer

by

I’ve been reading author Sandra Scoppettone’s blog each day and getting increasingly anxious. She’s just turned in her latest novel to her editor. Now she’s waiting to see if they will offer her another contract. Sandra is an old pro… but she isn’t taking the waiting well. Her anxiety and impatience is, well, infectious. Reading her blog, I’ve been tempted to call my agent to find out what’s happening with my contract and I’m not even waiting for one.

Saturday, October 22, 2005
Ladies Who Lunch

I just had lunch with my agent.  Besides having a good time, which we
always have, she reasurred me about being offered a contract for the
next two Faye Quick books.

“What are they waiting for?” I knew, of course.

“The numbers.  They need to know what to offer.”

“You mean they might offer less?”

“No.  The same or more.”

I’m home now and I know I’ll never be offered a contract for any book ever again.


Thursday, October 27, 2005
Waiting

I spend my days buying tunes from Itunes to fill up my Ipod Nano.  Get
out my CDs to transfer them to the Ipod.  I don’t write much email.
Haven’t felt like it.  Read.  Not as much as I plan to each day.  Stay
in my pj’s until noon.  Talk on the phone.  Go to the library.  Then
the library cottage…buy books…more books.  Order even more books from
Amazon or through Addall.  Read blogs.

But mostly I wait.  For the phone to ring.  No, I’m not waiting to be asked to the Halloween party.

I’M WAITING TO HEAR ABOUT GETTING A GODDAMN BOOK CONTRACT!


Friday, November 04, 2005
Target Day?

Yesterday I spoke to my agent and reminded her that it was November.
She said she’d call my editor today.   Six more hours to go.  Do
I believe this will happen?  No.  And even if it does that might not
mean my editor is waiting for the call so he can offer a deal.  Or the
deal will be so hideous I’ll have to work at the library.  I guess there
could be worse places here to work.  Now that I think about it, the
library is looking good.


Monday, November 07, 2005
Still Waiting

At 3:40 the phone rang.  I rushed to answer.  It
was the trashman’s wife to tell me the pick up will be on Sat. instead of
Thurs.  It’s now 10:20 pm and that phone call never came.


Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Nothing

No phone call.

No email.

No nothing.


Wednesday, November 09, 2005
The Email

Hello, Agent

I got your voice message.

Hereabouts this week is
jam-packed with launch meetings for next year–both the preparations for the
meetings and then actually giving the presentations; so every minute is
precious.

Once the dust settles next week
and I can get people focused on something other than the launch, I’ll set in
motion the Sandra Scoppettone discussion.  Thanks for your patience.

Editor


Friday, November 11, 2005
Oh, Okay

January the online magazine gave me a great revue.  I sent one to my
editor and one to my agent.  I told my agent I wanted her to be armed when
she talks to the editor.  This is what she wrote back to me:

Hey, thanks for
sending this.  And stop worrying.  love, Agent

I wrote back and said I couldn’t change my whole personality at this point in life.  Laid back
I’m not.  Surprise!

Lots of TV News

by

Movies are big on TV again… as TV series. Variety reports that director David Cronenberg is turning his 1988 movie DEAD RINGERS into a TV series for HBO.

Paybox has ordered a pilot script, which Wesley
Strick ("Cape Fear") will write and Cronenberg will direct.
Cronenberg and Strick will both exec produce along with feature producer Carol
Baum ("The
Good Girl"). Morgan Creek Prods. is on board to produce.

The original film "Dead Ringers" is the story of twin gynecologists, both
played by Jeremy Irons, who go insane after becoming romantically involved with
the same woman.

Cronenberg’s movie THE DEAD ZONE has turned out to be a big hit for USA Network. I’m waiting for them to turn his movies  CRASH and RABID into TV series.

And in other TV news, Fox has cut ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT’s order this season from 22 episodes to 13 and yanked it off the schedule for sweeps. Not a good sign. But it could be worse.  KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL was also pulled for the rest of the month and no new episodes will be ordered.

Over at the WB, SEVENTH HEAVEN is ending… producers announced that this season, the show’s tenth, will be its last.

While "7th" is still a solid ratings performer, because of the skein’s age,
its costs have risen steadily over the years, making it cost-prohibitive for the
Frog to continue production, insiders said.

Still, show consistently draws more than 5 million viewers in its current
season, among Frog’s top-rated shows.

"Although we had anticipated this could be the last season, it was difficult
breaking the news to the cast and crew," series creator Brenda Hampton said. "At
this point, we’re all very much a family. However, just like the Camden kids, I
think we’ve all grown up and it’s simply time to leave home."

Dear Mr. Terikayi, The Sequel

by
The Los Angeles Times ran an article today about Dean Koontz’s "Mr. Teriyaki" remarks at Men of Mystery event last Saturday.  I didn’t talk to the reporter so, of course, I am the only
one of the writers offended by the remarks that they quoted (using the post from my blog). They did, however, talk to Dean, MofM organizer Joan Hansen, and my friend Joe Konrath.
 
While I stand behind what I posted here,  I don’t think Dean Koontz is a racist.  I
think he  showed poor judgement writing those letters in the first place and then sharing them with an audience. He made a mistake.  That doesn’t make him a racist and its unfair to accuse him of being one because of it.

The article also has a troubling inaccuracy — the reporter states that "the mystery group is speaking out against what it perceived as Koontz’s blatant racism" and later "writers who attended the speech are divided over whether the comments constituted racism."  How can both be true? They can’t. While quite a few writers have also publicly expressed dismay over Dean’s remarks — Eric Stone, Charles Fleming, Rob Roberge, and my brother Tod for example — there is no organized "mystery group" condemning him and it was wrong of The Times to imply that there was.

 
Dean accused me in our phone conversation  and in the article of having some other agenda.
I don’t and I can’t imagine what he thinks it might be.  I’m not sorry I posted
about his remarks, and I stand behind every word,  but I wasn’t happy to see it hit the papers. He didn’t
deserve that.

UPDATE: I’ve heard from the LA Times. They acknowledge the errors and will run a correction. Meanwhile, some other blogs are weighing in on the LA Times story: here, here, here, here, here here, here and here.

A Companion for MONK?

by

David Breckman, the brother of MONK creator Andy Breckman, has sold a pilot to USA Network called UNDERFUNDED, about a secret agent for the Canadian Intelligence Agency. 

Exec VP of programming Jeff Wachtel described the hourlong as a spy thriller
"viewed through this huge comic filter."

"Underfunded" is one of two series pilots under consideration at the cabler.
Other is feature scribe Steve Franks’ "Psych," starring James Roday and Dule
Hill, about a fake psychic detective (Daily Variety, June 17).

Much like USA’s top-rated hour "Monk," both drama pilots are lighter and more
comedic in nature than such past efforts as "Touching Evil" and "Peacemakers."
Wachtel said the move in that direction is strategic.

"We’re not doing this exclusively, but we think there is a real opportunity
to go against the grain of what most broadcast and cable dramas are doing," he
said. "There’s a real dark tone to a lot of what’s out there — most of which is
brilliantly executed — but we see it as a chance to go another way."

Chances are slim, in fact, that the network will renew Ving
Rhames drama "Kojak," which took a decidedly more serious tone
than the original 1973 series. Skein maintained modest ratings throughout its
run, but didn’t reach the highs achieved by "Monk" and "The 4400."

David has been a writer/producer on MONK for  its entire run. I think it would be fitting if his show ended up paired  with MONK.

UPDATE 5-21-05: David showed me the UNDERFUNDED pilot and it’s hilarious, especially if you’re  fan of the Bond movies.  Tonally, it’s a cross between THE ROCKFORD FILES and GET SMART. The hero isn’t a buffoon…he’s actually very good, he’s just working for an agency that gets no respect and no money. In that way, it’s sort of reminiscent of the old Canadian spy series ADDERLY. I’m hoping the series gets picked up. There really isn’t anything like it on TV right now.

I’m biased when it comes to PSYCH… Bill Rabkin & I have just written an episode of the show. It’s a very funny series and should pair up very nicely with MONK.

The Terminator and Blade: Coming to a TV near You

by

Arnold may have taken a hit Tuesday in the polls, but THE TERMINATOR is still fighting. Variety reports that the franchise is becoming a Fox TV series called THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES, which will focus on the character played by Linda Hamilton in the first two features and will take place between the second and third film. The series, which will be written and produced by WAR OF THE WORLDS scribe Josh Friedman, will also tie-in to the planned fourth TERMINATOR movie.

Linda
Hamilton is not expected to be involved in TV series. And because the series will be focused on the Connor family, it’s
not anticipated that Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger would be a regular part of the skein either
regardless of his political fortunes a year from now.

[Producer James Middleton said] the series will explore what happened to Sarah Connor after
the end of "T2," when the character went on the run. "She has the weight of the
world on her shoulder and she also has to raise a 14-year-old son who may be the
salvation of the world," he said.

Friedman said his "challenge is trying to figure out how to reinterpret
(Connor) for television."

Because the "Terminator" franchise involves time travel and alternate
futures, Friedman believe he’ll be able to take a few plot liberties in the
series — emphasis on "few."

"The last thing I want to do is take a title and exploit it," Friedman said.
"The show needs to stand on its own while still being respectful of the
franchise."

Unlike the features, "The Sarah Connor Chronicles" will not be non-stop
shoot-’em-up or chase scenes, in large part because of the reduced budgets of
television.

"There’s going to be a healthy dose of both (action and family drama),"
Friedman said, noting that the "Terminator" mythology "has a lot of big ideas in
it that don’t cost you a dime to explore."

"T3: Rise of the Machines," produced by C2 and Intermedia, grossed $427
million worldwide; the franchise overall has grossed more than $1 billion.

Vajna said C2 has been weighing an entry into TV via the "Terminator"
franchise for nearly two years and said the company hopes to develop other
projects for the medium.

After deciding to take the plunge, ICM-repped C2 pitched the idea to several
studios, with Warner Bros. ultimately making the most sense, Vajna said. Warners
handled domestic distribution of "T3."

Friedman, repped by UTAUTA,
wrote the script for Brian De
PalmaBrian
De Palma‘s upcoming "The Black Dahlia."

Meanwhile, another movie franchise, BLADE, is coming to television as well. The SpikeTV pilot will star Kirk "Sticky" Jone as the vampire hunter played by Wesley Snipes on the big screen. Jill Wagner, Neil Jackson, Nelson Lee and Jessica Gower round out the cast. Peter
O’Fallon will direct,   David Goyer (screenwriter of the BLADE trilogy)  is exec producing and co-wrote the script with Geoff Johns.

Here’s a little BLADE trivia for you… over a decade ago, Bill Rabkin & I wrote a BLADE feature script for New World Pictures, which owned the Marvel library at the time. New World was courting Richard Roundtree to star. Bill and I, Roundtree, and a bunch of studio execs had lunch at a fancy restaurant to talk about it…and all got horrific food poisoning afterwards. We were vomiting for days.  It was a bad omen. The movie…well, our version of it anyway, never got made.

Flash forward to 2004. Roundtree is cast in an episode of MISSING and I end up spending the day with him in an ADR studio. He doesn’t remember me, of course. So I mention the BLADE meeting and he starts laughing. "All I remember about that lunch is that it nearly killed me," he said.

Dollars and Sense

by

There are two terrific posts about the writing biz on novelist Alison Kent’s blog. In the first post, she gives us the run-down on her latest royalty statement on two of her Harlequin titles and links to a fascinating rundown on the typical advances and royalties for books in several romance lines. Alison  follows that up with a wise post on the financial realities of quitting your day job to write.