write « Robin Writes

As most writers know, there are several types of writing styles: APA, MLA, and CMS, the Chicago Manual of Style. I’m going to focus on the CMS, as this is typically the style in which fiction is written.

A reader asked about the use of quotation marks versus italics when mentioning, in a novel, certain books, songs, and TV shows. Let’s start with the style, then I’ll move on to the legalities.

Short titles, e.g., short stories, poems, plays, chapters, articles, and episodes, should be enclosed in quotation marks. Longer and major titles, e.g., book titles, television shows, movies, etc., should be written (er, typed?) in italics—you may, of course, underline these instead, but in fiction writing, italics are almost always used.

To specifically answer the reader’s question, you would do this:

He was watching Letterman, waiting to hear the “Top Ten List.” After that, he planned to finish reading Stephen King’s The Stand while listening to Kiss’ Destroyer; his favorite song was “Beth.”

For more specifics on quotation marks and other miscellaneous formatting issues, check out The Owl or The Chicago Manual of Style Online.

On the other hand:

Sometimes, you cannot mention specific products by trademarked name; sometimes, you cannot use celebrity names; sometimes, you cannot name actual companies or buildings.

Aside from copyright infringement, which most writers are overly concerned about, there is also trademark infringement. Additionally, there can be issues of libel or defamation.

This blog post from 2010, written by an attorney, can address all of these issue far better than I can.

So there you have it—a specific answer to a specific question, which often is hard to find on the Internet. Feel free to contact me, via email, by clicking on my profile pic to the right.

I can also take a look at your query letter—click to the right on QUERY THAT!

In spite of all the blog changes I’ve been posting about, Writer Wednesday will remain the same:

Tips, tricks, ideas, suggestions about writing. And—bonus—I’ll do a second one on Thursdays! But here’s the catch:

YOU have to ask a question! Anything at all, about writing or even publishing . . .

And, well, since one of my pet peeves is finding a blog post that would be more suitable as a social media status update, e.g., really, really short, I’ll continue with our regularly scheduled programming:

LSI vs. CreateSpace

I’ve seen a number of articles recently on the differences between these two companies, so I thought I’d give my own perspective, based on my experience running Rocking Horse Publishing:

First, I want to mention that I used CS as a printer—i.e., RHP was and is the publisher; second, when RHP moved over to Lightning Source, there was no Spark division, which is what LSI has made available for very small publishers and indie authors who may publish just a few books.

Just to be clear, my view comes from using both services in roughly the same manner, which might be different than what you do.

With CS, your first decision is to purchase your own ISBN or use one of theirs. RHP has always purchased our own ISBNs; using one provided by CS means that CS is the publisher, not you.

If you’re using LSI, there is no choice; you must use your own ISBN. This is an important decision, as the ISBN stays with your book forever.

When uploading your ms to CS, you can view errors immediately, fix them, and re-upload. When using LSI, you must convert your Word .doc to a .pdf. Average turnaround time on LSI is three days, although sometimes they surprise you. That means it takes three days before a proof is generated, one which you can view online, but if you need to make corrections you must upload again and yes, it can take another three days.

CS offers book cover design—for a fee, and many other services as well—and templates for those who prefer DIY. LSI offers none of these. Your cover must be built to specifications, converted to a .pdf, and uploaded. Same three-day timeframe, and if there’s a mistake it has to be redone.

The biggest difference is distribution. Your CS-printed book can be made available everywhere, particularly on Amazon; your LSI-printed book ALSO goes into the Ingram database from which bookstores order. Since Ingram is a wholesaler, when you use LSI you must give a heft discount—55%—in order for bookstores to be able to order your book at their usual discount. You also have the option, with LSI, to make your book returnable; stores are more likely to order if they know they won’t get stuck with books that won’t sell.

One of the biggest questions is “which company offers the best printing quality?” Here’s your fun fact of the day:

Much of CS’s printing is done by LSI.

So there you go—your book, your choice.