Monday, July 8, 2013

A New Title and a New Concept

So, I've been working on my next two novels—actually, they are two novels that I have had on my hard drive for the past five years. Girl Running and its sequel Protégé have undergone so many changes in the course of revising and editing. Girl Running's first draft came in at over 150k words and is now a trim 111k. It had dropped as low as 92k, but then I had an idea. Yes, ideas can be very dangerous, but this time it feels oh, so right!

I have always been intrigued with the story-within-a-story concept. I pulled it off with Uncharted: Story for a Shipwright, and even Spilled Coffee has that feel, and both those novels are written in first person as a thirty-something man. Don't ask me why, I just like that POV. At any rate, I've had some qualms about putting Girl Running out there. Yes, it does push some societal boundaries—the teacher-student relationship scenario, but that's really not what the story is about. It's not the theme, anyway. It's about stepping up and following through and finding our own way when no one else is willing to "step up" in our behalf.

So, Girl Running now has a new format—a story within a story—and a new name. The Step-Up Man. Here is what you'll read on the back cover:
In the wake of a student suicide, twelfth-grade English teacher James Grayson is second-guessing his “don't bring work home” policy, while his reluctance to commit to his girlfriend—to marry and have children—has his personal life hanging in the balance. He can't even commit to finishing one of his own novels. 
When sullen and withdrawn student Layla hands in a compelling assignment that is actually part of a larger body of work, James becomes obsessed, not only with convincing her to let him read it, but with the notion of stepping up to do the right thing by his girl-friend, his students and his writing, and how they are all intertwined. 
Layla acquiesces. James has no idea what he’s in for as she weaves a tale about 17-year-old orphaned "Leila" who needs to live inconspicuously until she graduates. Three teachers make that impossible—the handsome track coach, her math teacher from hell, and a jealous gym instructor. Compromising situations, accusations of misconduct, and judicial hearings put her autonomy and even her dignity at risk unless she learns to trust an unlikely ally. 
James guesses at which parts of Layla's novel are true and what is wishful thinking. If the "step-up man" in Layla's story turns out to be fictitious, can a cast of characters still change the way James views his own life?
Yes, it's a little long, but then, so is the story. Yeah, it's going to be a thick one. Now I need to finish editing and decide if I'm going with a smaller font (10 pt) and thus smaller page count, or make it a whopping 400+ pages. I'm also toying with the idea of two different fonts—Times New Roman for James Grayson's narration and then switching to Courier (or another typewriter font) for Layla's manuscript. What will my readers tolerate when it comes to that sort of formatting creativity?

Anyway, I hope to get these polished and published sometime this autumn, or perhaps even sooner.

16 comments:

  1. This is exciting! The wonderful thing about publishing your own work is that you can really let it be what it is. That's got to feel good. :) Can't wait for this one!

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    1. How true! I love knowing that I have ultimate control over it...that said, I don't want to be so self-indulgent that I annoy my readers. It's a fine line.

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  2. me=will tolerate a lot,,,reckon?

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    1. Glenn, I reckon you tolerate a whole lot, including long silences,,,. One day I will climb back out of my shoebox, reckon? :)

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  3. Bridget,


    Yes, this IS exciting, Bridget!

    I like the idea of using different fonts within a work, (I did so in my second book). You may have to experiment with it, (if you haven't already), and preview the text when you format it for e-book. The different fonts may not show up in, say, the Kindle. Just something to keep in mind. Maybe someone can shed more light on this?

    Looking forward to reading more of your work!


    ~ Craig

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    1. I do like the idea of changing the font--I think the transitions would be easy enough...Then again, I've heard that simpler is better. I think the biggest problem is that the novel is already so long and the part that would have the typewriter font is the biggest portion of the story and, as you know, something like Courier takes a whole lot more space and would add a whole lot more pages.

      And thanks for the remainder about how it might show up on the e-book version. I wonder if they 'translate' Courier font...

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  4. Oh my!!! Radical changes. I like the whole idea of the story in the story, especially since I know part of the "story!" I could handle the different fonts...but please, think twice about 10 pt. As someone who struggle with her eyesight, smaller is definitely not better. There are blogs I simply give up on reading because the font is too small and I'd do the same thing with my Kindle app on my I-pad. It's just not worth the eyestrain! Hope you are well Bridget!

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    1. Radical indeed, Liza! Part of the fun for me is messing with my reader a little--they won't know just which aspects of the Girl Running story are true until the end. And the paradox is that NONE of it is true, because it is fiction, after all!

      I think the smallest font I would go with is 11 pt TNR. It's not a whole lot smaller than 12 pt, but it does cut down on the bulk a bit. And I'm not sure why or if I should be concerned with the thickness of it or the page count except that it will cost more to produce, and then I have to decide how much of that cost to pass onto the reader. That, and I don't want anyone to shy away from reading it if it looks like War and Peace.

      As for me, I'm doing okay. Just trying to keep busy with positive things so I don't get all bunchy in my brain. We are in MI for right now, still trying to put together a plan for getting back to NH permanently.

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  5. Love the new cover copy. Perfectly perfect in every way.

    Just so you know, the basement flooded from the downpour yesterday and the toilet exploded from the nuts not being tight, so I'm kind of swamped (hah hah get it -- swamped) right now, but looking forward to reading it. SOON.

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    1. I hoped you would like the new version. You think I trimmed it enough? I mean, yeah, you say perfectly perfect in every way, but you know nothing is perfect! ;)

      Sorry to hear about the plumbing. Wish I could lend you a plumber! Would this be a good time to rent the movie Flushed Away? Not funny? sorry...

      I will get with you soon. :)

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  6. WE have Flushed Away and I've seen it about a zillion times. LOVE that movie.

    And yes, I do love the new copy.
    Yes, trimmed enough, love the new words at the end, and the explanation of the compromising situations is perfectly perfect. Ask anyone, they'll tell you.

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    1. Flushed away is one of our favorites. Todd loves the frogs.

      and I'm glad you feel so adamant about the cover copy! :D

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  7. Smiling from ear to ear for you, JB. In terms of sales, I think you'll find that SOS and Spilled Coffee will get a boost from each new title you release. You (and your writing) have come a long way!

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    1. I'm grinning back at you, Scott. :) I don't know how the different books will affect each other, but having more out there is supposed to be good, yes? I'm really hoping to release Protege (the sequel to The Step-Up Man) right on its heels. After that, I haven't a clue what I'll write. Maybe I'll be finally be relieved of all these imaginary people in my head!

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    2. Not likely. After a little break, you'll be bursting with ideas :)

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    3. From you typing fingers to my great big empty idea factory! :)

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