Category Archives: Random Thoughts

I Write like a Diet Book Author??

24 Thursday Jan 2019

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My review of Inkubate, a service that offers writing style reports that compare your writing style to other books in the Inkubate catalog

I recently received an email from Barnes & Noble Press describing a new-to-me feature.

From the email:

B&N Press has partnered with Inkubate, a service that offers writing style reports that compare your writing style to other books in the Inkubate catalog. You can use the Inkubate comparison reports to target readers across different genres, and learn the keywords that readers use to talk about books that share your same writing style. B&N Press authors receive a 30% discount as well as a keyword analysis report.

From Inkubate’s website:

Based on a comparative analysis of the writing styles of published authors within our database, your ScoreIt!™ result presents the three top commercially published titles that most closely align with your manuscript.

For each title presented, ScoreIt!™ defines how closely your manuscript aligns with these titles based upon 4 key features that have been empirically proven to be diagnostic of an author’s writing style.

The 4 key features are based on:

  • Authorial Vocabulary
  • Expressive Complexity
  • Grammar
  • Tonal Quality

This caught my attention because agents often ask, who do you write like? I’ll take a moment to rant about this question. While searching for agents to query, I read their bios to see what genres they represent. If I had a dollar for every time I have read, “Sally’s looking for a fresh voice in the (fill-in-the-blank) genre,” I could give my books away for free. Yet, the last time I met with an agent, “who do you write like?” was the first question I was asked. I get it. Truly, I do. But then you can’t also say you’re looking for the next fresh thing.

Anyway, back to Inkubate. I thought, if this works, then it’ll be worth the money because I don’t know who to compare myself to. I’ve done the research, read samples in my genre, and even asked bloggers who liked my books, but I still don’t have an answer. Being impulsive and curious, I decided to submit my current WIP. I don’t have a good title for it yet, but the working title is: The Butler Didn’t Do It. Terrible, I know. It is a female amateur sleuth mystery with romantic elements following Hallmark Publishing guidelines (nothing heavy, murders aren’t graphically described, no swearing, only kissing, etc.). The description is:

Emma and Grace, best friends since freshmen year of college despite coming from different worlds, work at the Chicago Tribune. When Grace is assigned to cover an annual charity ball and auction being held at a lakeside mansion and her new boyfriend bails on her, she brings Emma as her plus 1. The night is going smoothly until Emma finds the host’s brother unconscious in the study. Figuring he was a bit tipsy and stumbled, it soon becomes clear more is afoot, as the wall safe is empty and a three-million-dollar diamond necklace is missing. With visions of becoming ace reporters, Emma and Grace set out to solve the mystery, much to the chagrin of the handsome, local detective.

With the B&N 30% discount, to submit one manuscript it cost me $69.99. When submitting your manuscript, you indicate whether it is fiction or non-fiction and the genre(s). I chose fiction, mystery, and romance. You also provide the description and an excerpt as well as the full manuscript.

Seconds later, I got my results. And I wasn’t happy.

Result #1: The Fastdiet by Michael Mosley – a NON-fiction book. Exactly how is this going to help me in my marketing efforts? Why would this even be a result when submitting a FICTION manuscript?

Result #2: Festive in Death by J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts). Now, this I found interesting. When I started reading romance novels some fifteen years ago (before I started writing romance), I devoured everything from Nora Roberts. I vaguely remember reading one of her J.D. Robb’s books but found it rather dark for my tastes. Would comparing myself to J.D. Robb help me? Only if I said, I’m like her except without the swearing, sex, and dark subject matter. Our voices may be similar, but if a reader wants the swearing, sex, and dark subject matter, then they won’t be impressed with my WIP.

Result #3: Miracle At The Higher Grounds by Max Lucado. I was not familiar with this author, so I looked him up on Amazon. From what I can tell, all of his books are in the religion genre. This result was as helpful as result #1’s diet book.

Since I have spent most of my professional career as a technical writer, perhaps I do write like a diet book author. But I hope not. I think the majority of my reviews show that I have successfully transitioned from non-fiction to fiction.

Has anyone else tried this offer? I would be interested in knowing your results and whether you thought it was worth the money. I’m voting no at this point.

UPDATE: Since writing the above post, I complained to Inkubate about my results and was contacted by the President and Chief Technology Strategist of the company. He feels I am misunderstanding the value of my results and offered to talk more with me. I declined, and he refunded my money. If nothing else, their customer service impresses me.

Take care,

Elizabeth

 

Blessing in Disguise?

16 Thursday Nov 2017

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Last night, as my husband and I walked our dog, he said I seemed a lot happier. It’s a pretty big statement about someone who was quickly labeled “moody” as a child and “depressed” as an adult. I had to agree with him.

In early October, I was laid off from a company that I had worked at for 22 years. I’m only 51, so that’s a huge chunk of my life. As I changed my author biography across all my social media sites and book pages, erasing “works as a technical writer for a large software company,” I was bitter – and angry – and sad – and scared. I was one of three writers let go from our team, and the person who made the decision had never talked to me one-on-one and didn’t know my strengths or skills. The decision maker didn’t even consult my immediate supervisor (who would have voted to keep me).

Now that a few weeks have past, I feel that I’ve found some peace. I’ve started writing a new novel, and I’m trying to break into the freelance world. (Hire me! I’m an excellent editor/proofreader.) My days are filled with job searches, writing, and household chores – and a bit of reading and movie watching. So, yes, a layer of stress was removed, and I’m happier. I was a first-rate technical writer, but I didn’t enjoy it like I enjoy writing/editing fiction.

With my extra spare time, I’ve had two run-ins with Shakespeare this week. I read Interred with their Bones by Jennifer Lee Carrell, and watched the Joss Whedon adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing (2012). Carrell’s novel was filled with murder and conspiracy theories wrapped around a lost Shakespeare play. I was lost a few times, but still enjoyed it. I absolutely love anything Whedon touches (I was Buffy one Halloween long ago), and this movie and Kenneth Branagh’s version (1993) are my favorite Shakespearean adaptations of all time.

So, readers, have you ever lost a job? How did you feel? What made you feel better? And what’s your favorite Shakespeare play?

 

Dogs on the Inside – Documentary

02 Thursday Nov 2017

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Last night, my daughter hosted a documentary at Loyola University in Chicago that was inspiring.

From IMDB:

“Filmed in a Massachusetts prison, DOGS ON THE INSIDE follows the birth of a relationship between abandoned rescue dogs and prison inmates as they work together toward a second chance at a better life. Giving a voice to a forgotten dog and a forgotten man, the film is a life-affirming testament to the power of second chances.”

There are those who would say a prisoner doesn’t deserve the companionship and love of a dog, but being in prison in the first place is the punishment. Shouldn’t we then try to rehabilitate the person and try to make a decent human being out of them?

In the documentary, stray/abandoned dogs are matched with inmates for 8 weeks. The inmates teach the dogs basic commands, which make them more adoptable and increases the chance a family won’t return the dog.

These dogs have often been abused and have lived horrific lives – just like many of the inmates. Besides the basic dog commands, the inmates teach the dog to trust and love again. And guess what? The inmates learn the same thing. In surveys from a similar program in Florida, the most often used word when asked what they got out of the program was “love.” How wonderful is that? In some cases, this is the first time the inmate has felt it. How terrible is that?

After the documentary, Dyan Larson from Can Do Canines in Minnesota spoke to us about their program. They place dogs with inmates for a year, and the inmates train them to be mobility service dogs. After the year of training, the dogs then receives further training in one of five service categories. Once trained, these dogs are worth $25,000, but because of the prison program, the organization can give the dogs to a person of need.

From their website:

“This unique program and partnership has proven to be beneficial for all involved. The dogs are well-cared for and receive around-the-clock attention and training. The inmates learn new skills and develop traits such as confidence, dedication, and patience. Prison officials say that the prisons have become a more warm-hearted place and report fewer incidents of violence. And at the end of it all, a client with a disability receives a specially-trained dog to help them achieve greater freedom, independence and peace of mind.”

It’s a win-win situation. I applaud all those involved and hope these programs around the country can continue and even expand. And I would like to thank my kind-hearted daughter for spreading the word about these programs.

Get involved! You can make the world a better place!