Carefully Crafting Headlines and Barfing Up Titles

There’s a distinct difference between writing headlines for advertising or marketing copy and writing titles for fiction. Here is that difference:

Writing headlines is an interesting, challenging process where I get to try different techniques
to craft an engaging line to elicit a specific response.

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Writing titles sucks.

Oh, I know they’re both in my job description. As a freelance copywriter, I often write multiple headlines in a day. (Here’s an old post on what it is a copywriter really does, just in case you’ve forgotten.) And as a fiction writer, every piece I write needs a title.

So why the big difference?

Give Me Your Shorts and Win NGEP!

You WILL give me names.

You had such a great time with my last NGEP contest that I couldn’t in good conscience postpone this one another day.

(Yes. You did have lots of fun. Don’t argue with me.)

Last time, I pretty broadly asked you to recommend your favorite writers. I got everything from Richard Brautigan (whom I’ve since read) to Christopher McDougall (whom I’m reading right now) to Lev Grossman (whose The Magicians is sitting on my to-be-read shelf at home).

Good show, folks, but this time around, I’m looking for something more specific:

Recommend your favorite short stories to win more
Nathanael Green Endorsement Points!

Tell Me Your Favorite Writer and Win NGEP!

Points? I love points. Just look at my beard.

I need your help. And I promise it’ll hurt less than trying to read Ulysses.

If you tell me what writers I should be reading, you’ll
win Nathanael Green Endorsement Points!*

And the more writers you suggest, the more points you’ll rack up!

I just want to hear who your favorite authors are. That’s all.

I’m a fan of literature in general and enjoy everything from Joseph Conrad to Audrey Niffenegger. But pretty early on, I developed an especially strong hankering for fantasy fiction. I’ve read many (though by no means all) of the more common names in the genre like George R.R. Martin, J.R.R. Tolkien, Terry Goodkind, Robert Jordan, Robert E. Howard … you know, the household names that top on the must-read and best-first-fantasy-to-dip-your-toes-in lists.

Despite decades of reading, there are thousands of other excellent writers out there who I haven’t, but should, read. Maybe you’re even one of them.

So, please, dear readers of the webbernet, tell me what writers move you. Help me discover new, exciting voices for my next few book purchases.

Leave a comment and tell us what writers you think everyone should read. Plug your favorite books or plug your own books. And they don’t have to be fantasy or sci-fi, though those may earn beefier points. Just share what you like and you’re on your way to NGEP glory!

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*I’m without a doubt making the Nathanael Green Endorsement Points (NGEP) system up as I go along and understand exactly how silly it is. They’re not worth anything whatsoever except as an inaccurate and arbitrary indication of my gratitude. Still, winning lots of points at anything rocks.

A Writer’s Obligation to Readers?

Summer is coming, and with it, Martin's new book.

The five-year wait is over.

I got an email from Tor.com today that gleefully announced (yes, it actually was gleeful) that George R.R. Martin’s next book, Dance of Dragons has a release date.

For those of you who aren’t wrapped up in the world of fantasy fiction, this comes five years after the release of the previous book in his Song of Ice and Fire series and it has been the subject of much, much discussion on its delay. More on that in a bit.

And those of you already involved in A Song of Ice and Fire, you may officially begin rubbing your grubby little gauntlets together in anticipation.

Did it take forever? Or are fans just whiny?

Words and Pictures Not to Miss

Congratulations to two of my friends appearing in the most recent issue of Bartleby Snopes literary magazine!

Sarah Rose Etter and Katie Reing are featured in Issue 1 Volume 2 – Sarah for her creepily awesome story “Koala Tide” and Katie for some superb photography.

Seriously, folks … this magazine is free and has some great stuff in it, so you don’t have an excuse for not downloading it right now.

Also, this photo is just one of Katie’s many that jumped out at me, and I’d recommend checking out some more of her work at her flickr account.

Quick Thoughts on Rejections

Friend and fellow Rosemont writer Shawn Proctor posted a blog entry about the reality of rejections almost all writers must endure. Check out his blog here.

That got me thinking: I don’t imagine that many non-writers think about the heaps of rejections (usually pre-printed and written to politely say “get lost”) that most writers accumulate before finally seeing their work in print.

Writers will toil over a story for weeks, months, or years until we decide to abandon it (for it’s never really finished), then package it up and send it to a publisher, hoping that they’ll put our words in print for all to see.

And more often than not (much more often), we don’t hear anything for months. Then in the mail appears our self-addressed, stamped envelope with a rejection letter: “Thanks, but no thanks.” Like Shawn says, the supposed average is one publication of a story for every hundred times it’s submitted.

A Piercing Short Story from J.C. Miller

J.C. Miller, a fellow Rosemont writer, has crafted a piercing story that almost reaches out and grabs the reader with its engaging tone.

So go check out “The Strangers,” published by “Thieves Jargon.”

And no, I won’t tell you exactly why it’s engaging – you have to read it yourself. Then come back and we can talk about it.

Looking for Great New Fiction?

In addition to my 500-word entries about writing, I’ll occasionally interject with a quick note about something somehow related.

This is one of those times.

A talented writer and friend of mine, Sarah Rose Etter, recently published her short story “Koala Tide” in the online literary magazine Bartelby-Snopes.

I recommend it. And if you dig it, remember to vote for Sarah in the story of the month contest.