Helpful Tip #7 - Picking character names

Should be simple enough right? You'd think.

For your first book, your second likely and maybe even your third you likely have a bunch of names in your head you want to use. Old boyfriends, next door neighbors, people you knew in school, etc, etc, etc. If they fit your character go for it, just remember that if you give them some butch name and they are some guy you could destroy with a sneeze, it's just not going to sit right with your readers. The name you give your character must fit their persona and what they are doing in the world you're creating.

Now, as we mentioned, you likely have a list in your head for your first few books. But what about when you're on book number ten, or fourteen, or thirty? The well has dried up and you're stuck on another variation of Erin (Aaron) or Charles (Chuck, Charley), or whatever. Well, this is where the Internet or, if you have a baby book of names lying around, comes in damned handy.

There are literally dozens of sites out there that you can use to look up names. Both given and surnames. A good majority of these same sites will even tell you the meaning behind the name, where it originated from and what was the original format of the name that the one you like was derived from. Just like anything else, sometimes choosing a name is all about the research. Don't chintz out either, pick a good name that fits for what you're doing and who you are creating. These characters are like your children, don't name them something you can't live with, after all...you'll be stuck with them a hell of a lot longer than any kids you have will live at home. If your lucky.

One rule of thumb though, if you pick a name not a soul on earth can pronounce, put in somewhere at the beginning (or end) of your book HOW THE FUCK IT'S PRONOUNCED!! There is nothing more annoying then stumbling over a name of a character. It's like a jolt every time it appears for a while and soon the readers brain just lurches over it every time it appears after that. But if they know how it sounds out then it's a much more enjoyable experience. Cause we've all read books that have had oddly spelled names that we couldn't pronounce to save our lives. And, really, finding out after the fact from someone that knows the name or hearing the audiobook version of it, and finding out you were wrong all along, is like a kick in the gut.

Don't be a douche, use names we all can pronounce or tell us how it is pronounced.

The Moderator

Ideas, Thoughts, Tips?

We at The Unvarnished Author are always looking for ideas for our posts. And getting ideas for other authors or people in the business is the way we make these posts happen. So if you, or someone you know, has an idea to pass along please do. Do not post them in the comments as we might not see them right away. Send them directly to our email that we check daily.

You can email us at:  the-unvarnished-author@gmail.com

All ideas, thoughts and tips will be accredited to those that supply them so make sure you give us what you'd like attached to the post we do. First name and Last name initial only for the post credit. Links to interesting things and information will NOT be credited to the supplier, sorry! Unless we use something from the link's post or postings in a post on our own site, then you will be credited.

So, hit us up with what you've got! Just keep it clean and polite, no rants or off the handle tirades. Only we are permitted to do that and we do try to limit such things as much as possible. But we're human so even we have days we just have to flip the hell out.

The Unvarnished Team

Be Seen #7 - Post with care

We know, this sounds like a warning, it is. Just yesterday we saw a link posted on Facebook, where some of us hang out way too much instead of writing, that caught our eye from an author we happen to follow. And this is what precipitated us deciding to make this post. What would that be? you ask.

Ohhhhhhh, are we ever glad you did.

When you are online and posting, whether under your real name or your pseudonym as an author, you are seen. Your words are seen. Your rants are seen. Case in point! A person of the author nature wrote a piece for an online blog/paper that was an all out attack on an A-list author. A-list meaning someone that isn't scrambling for their next pay check or having to worry about things like a day job.

This person of the author nature clearly stated at the beginning of the piece that a friend had cautioned this person NOT to do the piece. At least NOT to put it out in the public eye. This person of the author nature decided to ignore this very sound and wise cautionary advise and posted the article anyway. Now this person of an author nature is paying for it.

By attacking an author, in this case an A-lister, this person of an author nature has gained a following. But not the sort that any author wants. This following hates this person of an author nature's guts, violently and viciously. The following (not to be confused with the TV series The Following with Kevin Bacon, James Purefoy and many other amazing actors) has shunned this persons works and this person on a whole. To top it all off, the news of this person of an author nature's stupidity has spread to a very popular online paper. And other A-list authors have stepped up to say what a dimwitted twit this person is.

We all want to be noticed. We all want to have our say and, in many countries, we have the right to freedom of speech. We are not trying to squash your right to freedom of speech - we are trying to get you to realize that just because you think it sounds great in your fucking head doesn't mean you fucking POST IT ON THE FUCKING NET!!!

*deep calming breath in..............and out*

Apologies. But we hope you get our point here. With the Internet anything and everything, as we've mentioned before, is PERMANENT! The Net doesn't ever forget and neither do your fans, the friends they told, the friends they told and so forth. If you want to go out with a suicidal bomb bang, be our guest and do it. But if you actually want to continue to write and make a living off your writing - guard your words carefully. Do not ever insinuate. Do not ever try for sarcasm. Do not ever get into a bitch slap word fight. And never, EVER, go off on any author on the Net if you ever plan on selling another book again in your life.

The Moderator

**For those interested in the two posts we referred to above you can see them here

The "rant":

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/lynn-shepherd/jk-rowling-should-stop-writing_b_4829648.html

The BBC post:  http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-26331650

Submitting #8 - Series names

We briefly touched on this in Submitting #7 but thought we'd better cover it a little better, heavy emphasis on "little".

This topic won't affect every author out there. Not every author writes serials after all. For those that do the second hardest part after picking a title, is choosing your Series name. Now, we say this is second hardest for a reason, mainly because once you've chosen the name it's there for the run of the series. Unlike titles, which you must agonize over constantly! We feel your pain, we do it a lot ourselves.

So, what do you need to know about choosing a series name. Pretty much a lot of the same stuff for a title but with a few added challenges.

• Must be 100% relevant to your first book and your second and each after that.
• Must be something unique and bold, catching the readers eye as well as sticking in their brain.
• Shouldn't be hard to pronounce. Seriously, the authors that pick out words for series titles that need the pronunciation included should be shot!
• Shouldn't turn a reader off by being too similar to other series out there. There is a caveat on this one, if you are writing for a Publisher that has a "house series" then this doesn't count.
• Should be carefully ambiguous should your stories be a bit general. For example, if all your stories are military based, go with something very precise. But if your stories are more toward a genre but with recurring characters, ie: a historical romance, give yourself a little leeway by keeping the series name "loose".

Now, if you are the sort of person that at least half of our team is -not naming names or nothing- then you write your book, get ready to sub and sit there panicking because you don't know what the hell to call it. And you know it will be a part of series because you already have books two and three running around in your brain. Best piece of advise we can give you is to walk away.

Yup, you heard it right, walk away. Get up from your computer and go do something else. Just like when you are trying so desperately to remember where the hell you put your car keys/that receipt for taxes/the tickets to the big game or whatever, you're just digging a mental hole by trying to force it. So, walk away. Get a drink, go tidy up, watch a movie or do something that will force your mind away from the task at hand. Just like when it comes to your car keys that you just had in hand, the answer will likely pop up at the damnedest of times.

Or you could be like the other half of the group and have a dozen of them in your head. Write them all down and look at them from a readers POV. Do the check list and see if any or all of them fit with the story you wrote and the ones you'll be writing. Then you just have to whittle them down. This can be tough, which can be made easier with friends willing to read your story or a beta reader who's read the story. Put the series names to these people and give them an idea of what's to come to get their take on your ideas. Do not freak if they toss them all out. They aren't biased like you may be, it's your baby after all, so listen to these folks.

But, most of all, make sure you like the damned thing. Nothing more terrifying than giving a series a name that you end up hating by book two or four or six.

The Moderator

Helpful Tip #6 - The Dedication

This is something that every author will need to contemplate when writing or editing their book. Some authors have their dedications all lined up and others wait until that final step to put in a dedication.

We won't lie, dedications can be a bitch to write. For any number of reasons really. There are as many variations of the dedication for a book as there are authors. Each author has their own way of writing a dedication and choosing to whom the book shall be dedicated. We do have a few guidelines though to help you through this final task of prepping your book. Just remember, these are just general tips, not hard and fast rules - always go with your gut.

• Be sincere if that is your goal, keep the tone of the dedication in that note through the entirety
• If you're more a joker, keep it clean - and remember, not everyone may get your humor so be careful
• Quotes are nice too, just remember to give credit for the quote no matter if it's from someone you know or another author or from some famous person
• If you do a "Dedicated in the memory of...", be concise and heartfelt but brief, making your readers cry before they get to the story isn't a good thing
• Thank your readers from time to time - doesn't have to be every book, but remember to thank the ones that actually got you to this point, those that buy your books
• If you had help on a book (ie: from law enforcement, the military, your neighbor) thank them specifically and, if it's permissible to do so (check first!), use their name and rank/title

Now, we're not saying you have to put in a dedication. You don't. Plain and simple. Your publisher and editors give you the opportunity to think on it and decide if that is what you want to do. If it's something that is all you, don't feel obligated to dedicate it to anyone. Or dedicate it to something silly and show a little humor before your readers get into your story - again, keep it clean people.

Just make sure that whatever the dedication is, it reflects your inner self no matter if it's special, just a shout out, or if it's a quote from a TV show you were watching at the time you were writing the big scene.

Dedications are a way to give back a little something extra. So always be 100% sincere. Unless you can get away with a smart ass comment and then go with the smart ass comment.

The Moderator

Meet the Team

Since we've been running around providing you with all this information for the last couple of months, we thought it was time to introduce the Team. We're keeping all the information "generic" so that no one feels pressured in any way to buy something or perhaps feel biased by any information we give. Not saying it would happen, but who knows - right?

June Smith – Owner of our blog. June is a multi-published author of several novels and a couple anthologies she writes under a couple different names. Her main genre is Historical Romance though she’s been stepping out of her box of late and exploring more of an Erotic Romance theme with a new novel. Nineteen years married she has two daughters she occasionally will claim as her own, more often than not she tries to pawn them off on some unsuspecting sucker. June does a number of charity events as well as volunteering with a not-for-profit group for young mothers in her local area. With the spare time she has left between all her projects and her own family, who she never skimps on, she does a number of artsy type projects. Her current projects are learning to cross stitch without stabbing herself and swearing as well as finding a medium (ie: painting materials and surface) she can work with easily for painting. She has just recently thrown out water paints as they are too hard to get "just right".

Sam “The Moderator” – Answers only to Sam or Sammy, only an idiot or her mother ever uses Samantha and the idiot usually ends up limping. Sam was an only child until the rather shocking arrival of her twin brothers when she was nine. According to her, her parents were rather worried about how she’d take the news she was no longer the soul focus of their attention. Her reply at the time, a direct quote, “Thank God there’s someone else for you to finally smother”. Sam, if you hadn’t yet guessed, can be a bit of a smart ass. She is an up and coming author with four books, three full length novels and one short story, under her belt with a fifth currently slotted for early spring of 2014. Single and loving it she lives in a “quaint little place” that she has decorated to express her eclectic nature in what she calls a “you’ll love it or just not comment on it” manner. Sam is our primary poster for the page as she can touch type, chew bubble gum, cheer on her NHL team and hold a conversation all at the same time. Multitasker be thy name! Sam will also be the one answering your emails should you send one needing answering as she has the time and leniency with her day job to do a lot of the Internet stuff some of the others cannot or choose not to do.

George “The Original G-man” - Is another Moderator you should, in theory, be meeting in the future. George writes mystery novels for a living under two different pseudonyms. He claims that computers hate him and will only post when Sam goes on holidays if a gun is held to his head. We might just have to get him to post something strictly for the entertainment factor. He prefers sitting back and dictating to someone else or hand writing everything, including his novels. Which, given what happened to his last laptop, is likely best for the tech world in general. Though at least his computer place is loving him and we know for a fact the guys over there squee in anticipation of his excuse for why this particular computer broke "this time around" when he walks through their front door. He also picked out his own moniker and wouldn't let us veto him. He claims he will post the instant he finds his theme song. Yes, George is one of "those" people, but he has a lot of good ideas and can actually spell so we keep him around. George is a widower with two adult sons, one is just finishing college (or so George hopes) and the other is happily married to his childhood sweetheart and expecting baby number one. Georgie's going to be a grand-daddy! HA!

Tammy “The Newbie” - Last, but not least, is our final Moderator for the blog. Tammy is a budding author and actually part of the reason that June managed to talk Sam and George into starting this blog up with her. Actually, it was more like talking Sam into writing the blog for her than anything else. Because Tammy is just starting out in the business we've all been passing along helpful tips we've picked up over the years as authors - in between scaring the shit out of her. And, smart little cupcake that she is, Tammy said it would be nice to pass this along to others. So here we are, all because of Tammy. Boy this could come back to bite her in the ass later depending on how this all plays out LOL! Tammy is taken, for anyone that's wondering, she is engaged with a rough date set for early 2015 for her wedding. She has one older brother serving in the military that we are all very proud to have met and are sad to see go back each and every time he redeploys. Tammy will be posting when she has time with her current school workload (she's in university currently), her first book and all the wedding plans running amok. She won't be posting all that often for a time, at least until she likely has a few tales to tell all her own or school breaks occur - whichever comes first.

And there you have it. The Unvarnished Author Team. We're all certifiably insane, a little bit off balance and would go to the wall for anyone we call friend or family. We're eccentric and strange but you'll either love us or leave us.

The Team (insert Team theme music here that will be decided upon at a date yet to be announced)

Submitting #7 - Titles (and series)

So many may claim that writing the story is the hardest part. Others may claim that knowing just when/how to end a story is the hardest part. But we think, at least in our humble opinions, that choosing a book Title is the hardest part. Quickly followed by a Series name. We'll focus on the titles in this since we (meaning me) don't feel like typing out title/series every time.

Now, we're not saying this occurs all the time. Some book titles just come to you, a flash of something and BAM! there it is. Some titles you know before you've even started the book. Some titles even inspire you to write a story and who and where the characters will go all come from it as well.

Then there is the other 40-90% of the time. Sitting there, at the end of the story, staring at it and going "what the hell should you be called?". It sucks. Especially if it's your first book - this is the book that introduces you, makes your mark, announces you to the world! It's important to get it just right. We did a quick poll amongst ourselves, the four of us, to find out how many titles we thought of and tossed on that first book. On average, it was eight titles. Eight titles that we wrote down, thought about and quickly dismissed only to have to come up with something else. That doesn't sound like a lot, but it really is.

A title can make or break your book. A title has to catch the eye of the reader, draw them into reading the blurb and then make them buy it. Everyone says "don't judge a book by it's cover"? How true is that in reality?

Too short and it may not say what you need it to. Too long and people get bored just reading the title. Ambiguous and you'll lose the reader right off. Too pointed and they may think you're trying to tell them something - could go either way. So what is the perfect recipe for a title?

No, seriously, we're asking. What is the perfect recipe for a title?

Everyone has a theory but really, we don't know if there is a clear and concise answer. While we know that shorter titles tend to attract readers quicker, too short titles throw them off - or so the "experts" claim.

Our best answer to the title dilemma is this. Pick something that relates directly to your story. Don't write a book about vampires and name it "Pretty Pink Clouds". Unless these vampires live on "Pretty Pink Clouds", it's really not an appropriate title for your book. Especially if it's dark and dangerous in vibe. That title just made it sound all sunshine and rainbows with unicorns hopping about. A serious turn off for readers to be duped in such a way.

Good news is, your publisher will likely smack your fingers if you tried the above scenario. They don't want you naming it something inappropriate either, not when their name is attached to it.

The Moderator

And, we're back! Sorta...

Hello everyone! Long time no post, we know. We are back to some degree though it will be a little spotty for the next week and a half as a couple of the crew are still under some pretty serious deadlines. But we didn't want you to think we've abandoned you or any of the woes you may be dealing with.

Thankfully we won't have another possible crunch with all of us involved for a good long time. Our schedules are usually randomized enough that this doesn't occur, unfortunately this was on of two, sometimes three, times a year when it does. So, good news for you (or bad depending on your POV), we're ba-a-a-a-a-ack!

The Moderator