Book Versus Anthology by Jennifer J. Chow

I just finished going through the first pass pages (a typeset manuscript resembling the finished product) for an upcoming anthology, Midnight Hour (Crooked Lane Books; September 7, 2021). 

I’ve also been polishing up Mimi Lee Cracks the Code, the third book in my Sassy Cat series at the same time. As I toggled between the two tasks, I was made aware of some differences between launching a novel and an anthology. Let me share some of my thoughts . . .

 

Cover:

For my books, the art department usually provides me with their vision, and then I offer suggestions on how to tweak it to match my plot.

 

In an anthology, the cover has to represent so much more than my single story. It has to tie together all the works and appeal to everyone’s tastes. This is no small feat, especially since there are twenty authors in this collection! (On the bright side, we’ve already started an informal discussion in the group about initial art concepts.)

 

Edits:

When I go through edits for my Sassy Cat Mysteries, I know the story inside out. This makes the revision process flow easily.

 

For the anthology, I looked over my own work. However, as requested by the editor, I also went over the other stories, concentrating on minor errors, like typos. It was interesting to see how a single theme resulted in so many unique written creations. It was definitely an honor to read such amazing stories.

 

Dedication and Acknowledgments:  

I enjoy creating the dedication and acknowledgments pages in my books. I’ll usually rotate the people I dedicate to and double-check my list of people to thank, making sure I don’t leave anyone out.

 

For a collaborative project, though, how will we divide this task? It’ll be interesting to see what we end up with.

 

Overall:

I, of course, love launching new Sassy Cat mysteries into the world. There’s a joy to revisiting a close-knit community and bringing my vision to life once more.

 

However, there is something special about a collective effort. I’m excited for the upcoming Midnight Hour because it features newer writers alongside more experienced authors. It also showcases a breadth of stories, in both plot and characters.

Writers: Have you ever been a part of an anthology, and what was your experience like?

Readers: What’s an anthology that has stuck in your mind, and what was its theme?

Thoughts on Blurbing by Jennifer J. Chow

One of the perks of being a writer at an imprint with a large publisher is the opportunity to receive advance reading copies (ARCs). Basically, I can ask my editor for Berkley books which are coming out soon and get free reads. (She has yet to deny me any request, and my literature-loving heart rejoices over that!)

Beyond the ARCs for my own pure enjoyment, a recent writerly duty I’ve discovered is the creation of author blurbs. It’s essentially a praise quote of someone else’s work. For example, I blurbed Olivia Blacke’s Killer Content cozy mystery (coming February 2021) and labeled it as an “immersive whodunit.” See entire quote below:

I find it hard to condense the great elements of a novel into a few expressive sentences. However, since I’ve done several of these now, I do have a few go-to tricks:

 

·         Genre: I try to reference the genre so readers know what they’re getting

·         Theme: Using the book’s themes, I like to create a matching quote

·         Characters: I often  refer to the protagonist or side characters to give people a sense of who they’ll be journeying with throughout the story

·         Heart: Since I have my own view of what I loved about the work, I insert my unfettered opinion on things that spoke specifically to me

·         Adjectives: To entice readers, I like adding in descriptors that tantalize them to purchase the novel

I’m no Gary Shteyngart, who has written numerous blurbs and even had a blurbing documentary about him. (He also blurbed himself on Twitter:
“Gary Shteyngart’s blurbs are touching, funny and true. This is a blurber to watch.” — Gary Shteyngart.) Despite my newness at blurbing, though, I have enjoyed taking on this authorly task.

 

Do blurbs affect your reading choices? If you wish, give an example of one that caught your eye.