Newsletter, Edition VIII

THE AUTHOR’S ADVOCATE
The DPP Authors’ Newsletter
EDITION VIII
January 2, 2006


"How can anyone do better than that- after all, I wrote it myself."
Molière


YOU ARE YOUR OWN BEST MARKETING REP!

All our ideas come from the natural world: trees equal umbrellas.
Wallace Stevens

Two-Steppin’

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

Candy always gets my attention, so I thought it might get yours as well. If I have gotten your attention, take a moment to think about Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
Remember that old commercial- One person bumps into another and one of them says, “Hey, you got your chocolate in my peanut butter!” And the other says, “You got your peanut butter in my chocolate!” And then the little jingle started: “Two great tastes in one candy bar- Reese’s Peanut butter cups”?

So you remember the commercial, and now you’re probably thinking, what in the world does that have to do with marketing?! Actually, it has a lot to do with marketing- and thinking about marketing differently. Or thinking about ideas differently...As in putting two ideas together to create one new, fabulous marketing idea!

Check the Blog for more on Two-Steppin’ (and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups)…

http://digitalpulppublishing.blogspot.com/


FEATURED AUTHOR-Of-THE-MONTH…

Author! Author!

Ian Mckinley

The Science Behind the Fiction

Science fiction authors are a motley crew, which includes a small number of professional scientists but also many others with no particular background in science or technology. There is certainly no correlation between the quality of the literature produced and the technical background of the author – for every example of individuals who excel in both fields, there are dozens of SF masterpieces produced by non-scientists and rather dreadful efforts by highly qualified boffins.

Personally, being involved in the rather esoteric area of assessing the safety of repositories for radioactive waste, you could consider that most of what I write in my day job is a form of fiction – discussing and evaluating what would happen to such stuff over the next million or so years. Over the last thirty years, I’ve produced mountains of paper for textbooks, technical literature and articles for more general audiences. With this background, why write a science fiction novel? And, even if a novel, why in the gritty, grungy niche of cyberpunk?

Well, undoubtedly I get pleasure out of writing fiction and I greatly enjoy reading some of the imaginative and exciting books which cyberpunk has spawned, since kicked into life in the ‘70s and ‘80s by William Gibson, Bruce Sterling and the rest. Despite that, there is also a serious reason, which harks back to a common response I get whenever I talk to non-specialists about radioactive waste. Almost everyone has an idea about what radwaste is – but it seems to come from films (Robocop seems particularly notable), novels and, increasingly, comics, manga and anime. The green, glowing sludge that guarantees a horrific death – or transformation into a bizarre mutant – is a far cry from the mundane reality. The biggest risk associated with the material I deal with is dropping the heavy packages onto someone! It’s worrying when politicians try to pass the buck on difficult decisions, by asking the general public to decide on highly complex issues like the future of nuclear power. How can they do this when they haven’t the foggiest idea of what is involved?

This is my own specialist area, but I also see similar effects if I discuss even more critical technical issues which will have major effects on our society over the next few decades – like climate change, economic unbalance, runaway developments in biotechnology. Films such as Blade Runner and Total Recall have more of an impact in building mental images of what the future will be like than the entire outpourings of academia and the “popular science” literature. Many technical communicators find this frustrating and complain about the portrayal of science in arts and the media. However, this is the real world. If you believe sincerely that there are important messages to be made – as I do – then maybe more of us have to forget about conventional approaches and try to penetrate the media that has a real impact.

The important thing, of course, is the story. The plot, setting and characters have to grab the target audience – any messages lurk in the background, at an almost subliminal level. You can’t lecture, talk down to your readers or attempt to force your own opinions on them. You can, however, introduce some issues, which may well be the defining problems of the mid-21st century. If, at the end of the book, readers are left pondering some question that hadn’t occurred to them previously, it has been a great success. This will only happen, of course, if the book is read and enjoyed – so back to the importance of the story – and the marketing of the end product.

“Extremophile” looks at longevity. I introduce the extreme variant of an effective cure for aging – but this is just one end of a spectrum of developments, all of which are moving ahead rapidly at present. The promise of a longer life – that’s got to be a good thing, surely? Sounds great, until you think of it in the context of a world already strained to breaking point by overpopulation and facing up to the additional pressures of climate change and rising sea level as a result of global warming. Immortality may be the dream of the rich, but could end up the nightmare of the governments and other organisations trying to provide a reasonable standard of living to the poor. Think about it! You may worry today about GM crops and cloning – but these may well not be where the huge, global problems arise in coming decades.

So, back to cyberpunk; dystopic futures with lashings of strange sex and gratuitous violence. Is this really what we have in front of us? I suspect so. In many communities, the definition of what is “acceptable” sexually has evolved dramatically in the last 50 years and there is no reason to think this will change in the future – especially in the light of probable medical developments (cures for AIDS and other STDs) and the access to alternative lifestyles provided by the internet. Violence in society is more easily predictable, as this correlates well with social inequality – particularly when those at the bottom of the heap are constantly exposed to the excesses of those at the top. The changes in the world during the coming century will – in the absence of a complete rethink of international politics – inevitably lead to an even greater and better publicised gulf between the haves and have-nots. Does this worry you? It certainly should!

The future is a very frightening place, particularly because it is being defined by decisions made today without a thought for long-term consequences. If science fiction – even the darkest cyberpunk – can introduce a degree of caution, which then avoids some of the scariest possibilities, then it has served very well indeed. Grandiose aims for a new author, don’t you think? Maybe, but you have to remember the inherently chaotic nature of society; nobody knows what will be the equivalent of the beat of the butterfly’s wings which will eventually result in a social phase transition years afterwards. Well, I’m giving it a try and, although I’ll never know if it has done any good, I’m sure that it’s better than just sitting around complaining. And, if anyone enjoys reading my books, that makes the entire effort worthwhile regardless.

Ian Mc Kinley holds a Ph. D. in chemistry from Glasgow University. He has a professional background in nuclear waste management. A Scot who has lived in Switzerland for 20 years, he has been involved in a diversity of work related to nuclear waste management, including archeology, geology, microbiology, engineering and public communication. He has co-authored three technical books, as well as hundreds of articles in a variety of publications. Extremophile is his first novel.


PUBLISHER’S PROMPT

Writing Prompt

Getting Physical

*(This prompt is from Roberta Allen’s book The Playful Way to Serious Writing)

Set a timer for 10 minutes. Write about someone real or imagined who has one or more of the physical characteristics listed below. How has one or more of these characteristics affected this person’s life?

A Birthmark, A Club Foot, A Double Chin, A Crooked Nose, Ingrown Toenails, Wispy Hair, Pimples, Wrinkles, Tattoos, Large Pores, A Shaved Head, Sideburns, A Potbelly, Freckles, A Snub Nose, Stained Teeth, A Flat Butt, Flabby Arms, Dimples, Thinning Hair, A Mustache, A Face-Lift, An Overbite, A Large Butt, A Hooked Nose, Pockmarks, A Scar, Fat Thighs, False Teeth, Big Breasts, Bitten Nails, A Beard, Frizzy Hair, Crooked Teeth, A Beer Belly, A Muscular Chest, Thick Lips

Use the prompt. Don’t use the prompt. If you decide to play with the prompt, and you’d like to share it, please send it to me (DigitalPulp Pub@aol.com or nicpit@digitalpulppublishing.com) and I will post it in the following week’s Authors’ Advocate. You can find my response posted on the blog:http://digitalpulppublishing.blogspot.com/


Site-ings

Robert Ringer: A Voice of Sanity in an Insane World
http://www.robertringer.com/index.html

There’s a great article on the home page right now entitled Beware the Discouragement Fraternity, Part II that tells the stories of how books, once discouraged by publishers and agents became best-sellers.

Dowse/Paying Ezines
http://www.dowse.com/ezine-markets.html

Good list of details and links to paying ezine markets for speculative fiction, science fiction, fantasy, horror, slipstream, and mystery fiction writers online from Bonnie Mercure.

WHAT’S GOING ON AT DPP…

The Bookstore

We’re Open!

Check out your book at the DPP Store (http://www.dppstore.com/) as well as our other DPP authors’ offerings. Tell your friends! Tell your folks! Tell everyone you meet to visit (and shop at) the store!

Postcards

They’re coming…

I know some of you are quite anxious about receiving postcards to announce and promote your book. We are too! We are sorry for the delay, but you should all be receiving your postcards by January 20, so sit tight and I’ll send an email to let you know when they’re on their snail-mail way to you.

DPP Blogs

Genene runs this blog: http://dpppress.blogspot.com/

DPP Press is geared towards our publishers, but you may also find some good information and fun postings by Genene, so check it out!

Catherine runs this blog: http://dppebookstore.blogspot.com/

Catherine runs the DPP Bookstore, among wearing many other hats (i.e. being the DPP “IT” girl, as in I.T.- she is a technological wiz!). For bookstore flashes, and Catherine’s musings, this is a fun blog to visit.

And, of course, my blog: http://digitalpulppublishing.blogspot.com/

Have you all been visiting the blog? That’s where you can find the full posting of each week’s marketing tip, the newsletter is also posted there, as well as my response to the writing prompt. Please feel free to comment and be part of the blog.

Also: if you haven’t started your own blog, and you’d like to- go for it! You can do it for free and it’s pretty easy at http://www.blogger.com/. Below are step-by-step directions that should get you through, if you get confused with the blogger.com directions. Let me know if you have any problems.

How to create a blog:

Go to http://www.blogger.com/

On the right side of the screen is a big box that gives direction
Go to the big orange arrow – create your blog now and click on it

You will enter a Create an account screen
Choose user name Maybe your name
Enter a password Pick one you can remember
Retype password Be sure to be exact
Display Name The name you want people to see
Email address The email where you want messages

Accept

You will enter the Name your blog screen
Blog title Maybe your name
Blog address Maybe your name
Word verification Enter the funny little letters

Continue

Choose a template
Pick from examples Click the button for the pattern you like

Continue

Start Posting

10. Create a post
Title Welcome
Body Whatever you want to say
Allow comments/not Invite comments or block them

Post

View

Happy Blogging!


Communication

One of the biggest parts of my job here at DPP (and one of my favorites), is working as the liaison between our authors (you) and the company. I know that every once in awhile you’ll send an email that I do not respond to automatically. This has typically been because I don’t know the answer to the question you are asking and must find out from one of our other DPP staff members or I need to research it.

From here-on-out, I will respond to your email as soon as I receive it, and either give you an answer immediately, if possible, or let you know that I am “researching” the answer and will get back to you as soon as I have one.

This newsletter is one way to communicate. I will let you know when we will be out of the office for any particular length of time, so that you will know if you call or email during that time, we are not ignoring you- we simply haven’t yet received your communication.

Our typical office hours are 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM, Monday-Friday. If you need to reach us by phone, those are the hours to do it. Email 24/7, of course.

Once again, I’d like to encourage you all to make suggestions about the newsletter, marketing tips, and blog. I am working to provide you with as much good information and encouragement as possible, and your feedback helps me do that.


“Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it [write].”

(I took a small liberty with the last word in the above Oprah Winfrey quote)

Happy New Year!

Write on,

Nicky