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!

“The Slut Buck” is in Apiary Magazine

What’s the slut buck, you ask?

I know, I know! You’ve been asking this question for YEARS with no good answer. Well, today, dear readers, if you go download the 2011 online issue of Apiary Magazine (which, of course, you should), your curiosity will be slaked with my short story of the same name.

Plus, I hope you’ll check out one of my favorite stories in this issue: “Only Leaves” by Leyla Eraslan—it’s a beautifully told tale of a girl and her tree that doesn’t know it’s a tree. I hope you like it as much as I do.

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!

_

*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.

SUBMIT! How You Get a Short Story Published

Rawr.

I felt a twinge, something along the lines of angry defiance the first time I noticed the link on a literary journal’s website:

SUBMIT

Later, I figured out that this was the link I needed to click to get my fiction published. It had nothing to do with domination of any sort.

*shrug*

“How do you get a story published?”

I’ve been asked that a few times lately, and there are entire libraries written on craft and storytelling and selling your novel. So I’m going to skip all that for now. Instead, here’s a quick explanation the submission process and how writers’ creative brain-dribbling ends up on public display.

New Story in Fractured West

My most recent piece of fiction, “Pretty Don’t,” is available in print in the current issue of the very sleek Fractured West. I have a copy in my own little grubby gauntlets, and I’m flattered to be included among the writers chosen for this issue – there’s some great fiction in those pages.

If you pick this up (you can do so here), you may notice that it conforms to a British spelling style. That’s because Fractured West is based in Scotland. So that means I’m an internationally published author, right?

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?

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.