www.inkthinkerblog.com — Rant warning!

Okay, so did I miss the day in editor school where they decided that “fictional novel” is the correct term? Last time I checked, a “fictional novel” is one that doesn’t exist because, hey, it’s fictional. “Fiction novel” is a little better, but not much.

According to Answers.com…

nov·el (n?v’?l)
n.
A fictional prose narrative of considerable length, typically having a plot that is unfolded by the actions, speech, and thoughts of the characters.
The literary genre represented by novels.

Do you not get that “fiction novel” is redundant? Who are you trying to impress by calling it a “fiction novel”? It doesn’t impress me. It makes me think you don’t understand the basic premise of what a novel is.

End rant.

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www.kristenkingfreelancing.com
Finalist in 2006 Writer’s Digest Best Writer’s Website Contest

Contents Copyright © 2006-2014 Kristen King

www.inkthinkerblog.com — Over on the PEN Yahoo! Group (limited to PEN members only, sorry!), we recently discussed why some editors choose not to work with self- or vanity-publishing authors. The general consensus is that, despite the fact that there is indeed some high-quality work in the self- and vanity-pubbed world, the majority of it is, well, crap, and having books published by notoriously crappy vanity presses will make any editor look bad.

I’m of the camp that any book I can contribute to substantively and would be proud to be associated with is a book I want to edit. I don’t give two hoots who publishes it once I’m done if it’s a good book. I also buy secondhand clothes and designer knock-offs because I don’t feel like everything I own has to cost a bajillion bucks or be a name brand, so maybe I’m weird like that. But good writing is good writing (and jeans that fit and look good on me fit and look good on me even if I got them at Goodwill), and sometimes the big houses pass on stuff that they end up picking up after it’s self- or vanity-pubbed when they realize they made a mistake.

However, that doesn’t mean that the category self- and vanity-published books has been unjustly maligned. Just because Laurie Notaro did it doesn’t mean everyone is that good/funny/talented/whatever, and just because someone’s listed on a dossier of so-called self-published authors doesn’t mean that the work they’re famous for is the one they self-pubbed (although in Laurie’s case, it is). I really enjoyed this blog post over at Scrivener’s Error about the “intellectual dishonesty” many self-pub proponents display.

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www.kristenkingfreelancing.com
Finalist in 2006 Writer’s Digest Best Writer’s Website Contest

Contents Copyright © 2006-2014 Kristen King

www.inkthinkerblog.com — I just wasted 20 minutes clicking through the “Random” option on Urban Dictionary. I think I just found my new favorite website. :] I just submitted a definition for “Fredneck,” currently pending editorial review and approval.

On a writing-related note, I now know where to go if I need inspiration for a story or translation for an overheard conversation. Just flipping through the random definitions, I got a ton of ideas for short stories, and now I know what the heck my 21-year-old brother was talking about the other day. Give it a go.

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www.kristenkingfreelancing.com
Finalist in 2006 Writer’s Digest Best Writer’s Website Contest

Contents Copyright © 2006-2014 Kristen King

www.inkthinkerblog.com — Last night, while reading Miss Snark’s Crapometer comments, I stumbled across a reference to the Turkey City Lexicon. I’d never heard of it, so of course I Googled it. Turns out that it’s a handy-dandy guide to common problems encountered by sci-fi writers, but frankly I see these so-called sci-fi problems all over the place.

Miss Snark told the writer whose Crapometer entry she was reviewing to read the TCL carefully. I think we could all benefit from a good read-through.

__________________________________________
www.kristenkingfreelancing.com
Finalist in 2006 Writer’s Digest Best Writer’s Website Contest

Contents Copyright © 2006-2014 Kristen King