HEA Forever?

Ah, the HEA - "happily ever after." According to the Romance Writers of America, this is a cornerstone of romance. They define a romance novel by its:

"...emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending."

When most people, including myself, refer to "romance novel," this is part of the idea. No matter what happens, you know there will be an HEA at the end. There's a certain R&R aspect to knowing how a book will end, and that it will end happily. This is part of why romances are such a good pastime for busy people. One can settle into it like a warm bath, and embrace the familiarity of it all.

But where, then, do we place non-HEA romance? Is there such a thing? I believe there is. I've read a number of books that I consider romances, yet which don't end happily. Romeo and Juliet, anyone? How many lovers has Nicholas Sparks killed off? Yes, I believe they exist. I know they do. Granted, people who want HEA might not like these romances as much, but I don't think that negates them as romances; they're just a different sort. In film studies, they are often called "melodramas," to distinguish them from "romantic comedies." "Romantic lit," maybe, instead of "genre romance", for our purposes?

Needless to say, I have nothing against HEA, and certainly nothing against traditional romance novels, as anyone who's familiar with this blog knows. Heck, all my books so far have been HEA or at least Happy For Now. (Oh no! Did I just **SPOILER** my entire opus there?)

However, I'm now working on a few projects where I don't know if they will end happily, especially in terms of any relationships therein. I can't guarantee the required HEA with those books, so I've already come to terms with the fact that I will be publishing them as non-romances, even though some of them have romantic aspects or even love stories. Romantic elements, yes. But the HEAs are iffy at best, if HEA allows only for coupling, and not for character development and triumph over adversity. (I.e., if "getting your man" is the only form of happy ending, it's not likely going to happen here.)

Will readers feel ripped off if they perceive me as a "romance writer," and I don't deliver? This is a worry I have, but I'm moving past it. I've decided not to split myself off into a new pen name for these books. I might shift/update some of my "image", but I will be keeping this name for these works. They will still be My Books, and they feel as much a part of me as my romances. I'm disinclined to exile them. Nor can I just shelve everything non-romance, because that wouldn't be satisfying for me.

It's time to test run the whole "brand the writer, not the books" theory of author marketing, I guess. I believe readers are savvy enough to handle this, and I'm okay if my "romance purity" cred slips because of these expansions.

This month, however, my distance from "romance" seems to have grown, somewhat against my will.

The HEA issue has been brought to the forefront in recent weeks due to some new rulings by RWA. As far as I know, RWA has long held that the HEA is definitive of romance as a genre. However, it did have an awards category for works containing a "strong romantic element," which basically means they aren't "traditional romances," but do have enough romance in them to be applicable to their awards and their common readership. Recently, RWA announced that this category would be gone as of 2014. Then, according to reports, they took the further move to clarify that those writers who do not write what they consider to be "real romance" (including HEA) are only eligible for associate membership, at most, leaving them either paying for membership without voting rights, or, well, leaving altogether.

In short, if you don't write romance-focused fiction, with a HEA romance between main characters as your "A Plot", you are not a romance writer, and are therefore ineligible. Oh well, it's their org, and their rules, so it's fair enough.

All it is means to me is that I guess I will never be a member of RWA now.

There have been several reasons why I've been reluctant to part with the money it takes to join RWA, so this is just the "case closed" seal. Other issues I've had included the absence of a convenient local chapter (one of the main things many RWA members love about membership), their stance on ebooks (though I gather that's changing) and non-advance paying publishers, and on erotica, and their often problematic views on LGTBQ fiction (I don't write LGTBQ fiction at present, but I stand with them on issues of equity). The likelihood I would ever attend their annual national shindig is basically nil, as well. It's always seemed to me that it's really an organization for traditional publishing, with agents and advances, and regular category romance through Big Publishers. There's nothing wrong with that, if that's what you want and where you are heading, but it's not me or my career, and I get plenty of contact with other writers through different means, particularly social media and forums. Why pay steadily increasing dues if I'm not sure it's right for me?

Honestly, I simply resist paying and joining groups unless I feel an affinity with them, and I've not felt affinity with RWA. Now the HEA thing just makes that possibility even more remote. I'm not heartbroken, though RWA was one of those benchmarks I held in mind when I first pictured myself as a romance writer. I've just come to face reality and change, that's all.

So, long story short - with my previous books, you will get an HEA (or HFN, "happily for now"), and I love that. With some of my future books, you might still get an HEA/HFN, when I return to romances. In the meantime, there will be some books that trip out of the genre, and might not be HEA or even HFN.

What was Marge Simpson's line? "It's an ending. That's enough."

And I'm okay with that. I hope you will be, too.

This is not "Goodbye to Romance." It's just a big Hello to other things, as well. But, I do believe it is goodbye to RWA, which I never really said hello to to begin with.

The Problem with Free

This is not a post ranting about all the free Kindle books, I promise. There are more than enough of those out there. Besides, I have no idea what I feel about them.

Instead, this is a random note about writing free projects, just for fun.

I've been working on a free short that I had planned on offering here, and on my website, as a little gift to my readers and a promotional item. Give readers a chance to read a nice, complete, short story (say, about 3-5,000 words), to see if maybe they'd like my other stuff. It seemed like a fine idea to me, and I'd still like to offer such a thing. I think.

I've also been toying with the idea of writing a free novel, bit by bit, and posting maybe a chapter a week here on my blog, or on my Tumblr blog. That also seemed like a fun thing, since I have a story idea in mind that I'm eager to play with. It's not something I'd be interested in writing for publication at the moment, but I'd like to do it, just for kicks.

My first concern is that I'd be talking to myself, I admit. I'm worried I'd lose interest if no one was reading, and I don't care to start projects I won't finish. However, I'm extremely tempted, and if I knew enough people would read it to make it worth my time, I might give in to that temptation.

But, here's the main concern - nothing escapes theft on the internet!

I'm not all that fussed about pirates, as I've said here before. Sure, I'd rather people buy or borrow my work legally, but I don't expend energy on the whole piracy thing. What I'm talking about here isn't about piracy. Since these stories would be free, I'd have no cause to complain if they got "pirated" by file sharing sites.

What ultimately makes posting freebies a tough decision is plagiarism. The constant threat of plagiarism feels like a gag. I don't want someone ripping off my fun, free, weekly serial from my blog, sticking their name on it, and trying to con people out of 99 cents on Amazon with it.

I've tried to tell myself, "Don't be so full of yourself. Who'd steal your rough little blog book?" Myself has not believed me. You and I both know, if we've paid attention to the web at all, there are content grinders out there who'd steal ninth grade history papers and pass them off as their own if they think they'd make some money off it.

Nothing is safe.

Recent stories about fanfic writers getting screwed over should be enough to give any of us pause. Not only do you lose your work, without credit, but someone else profits from it - this is particularly galling if you were offering it free of charge to begin with. It especially annoys me when people rip off fanfic writers, since they are writing out of sheer love of the work and for the enjoyment of their community. (I'm sure there are other, more concrete, benefits, as well, but I admire fanfic writers for toiling away without great hope of immediate compensation.)

Frankly, piracy is one thing, but plagiarism is where even someone as sedate as I am must draw the line. Especially if that plagiarism turned into passing off a free lark for money to unsuspecting customers on Amazon, who don't deserve to be robbed any more than I do.

Besides, I come from academics, where plagiarism is a cardinal sin, the taint of which is enough to sink a whole career. I can't shake that training, and I bring that along with me into my "night job" of writing fiction.

So, I'm torn about posting free content. And, thus, I remain undecided. So far, I have been very careful not to post too much of my work online, especially before it's been published, for the very reasons I've stated here. I don't even use online crit groups, just in case!

You can see why I'm reluctant to jump full on into the fire, right?

What are your thoughts? Does this ever stop you from posting free work? Are you seeing more or less free content online? Are there any safe ways to do it, or should I just go limp and let cheaters steal as they may? Do you have any war stories to share?

Do blogged novels even get enough attention to make the risk worth it? Or, maybe I am worrying needlessly. Is this a case where the greatest potential threat is not theft but obscurity?

I'll have to continue thinking about it, I guess. Right now, all I can say is that I'd love to, but I'm still sorting out the pros and cons. Any comments are more than welcome as I try to puzzle out my thoughts on this.

My Opinions on Lending, Borrowing and Piracy

I know you've all been dying to hear my feelings on the matter, so in light of all the discussion on several of my author boards in recent weeks, I've decided to post a little note on the topic of "piracy" and "sharing" and "lending" and "ebook libraries," etc. Okay, so maybe you haven't been dying to know, but you're going to hear, anyway, 'K?

I should preface this whole discussion by saying that my opinions in no way reflect those of my publishers. They protect copyright, and I appreciate them for it, and I try to follow their policies as closely as I can, since I signed a contract with them and I wish to honour that relationship. Thus, anything I write here does not trump my agreements or change the publishers' desire/actions to protect their investments.

Having said that, I personally go back and forth on the subject.

I admit, I'm torn. I get the sense from others that I should possibly be outraged, like so many of my colleagues, when my books get read for free. I understand this feeling, I really do. When I see one of my books circulating for free, I sigh a little with disappointment. On one hand, it's kind of nice (as a new, little author) that people want to read my book, but it's disappointing that they'd rather not pay for it.

I get paid very little for my work, as it is. This is not my "day job," and I don't live in luxury. In fact, I teach on contract, and I struggle a lot of the time to keep the roof over my kid's head and food on the table, just like everyone. I don't write books for the money, but it would be nice if I got some bread out of publishing them. So, while it's great that people are reading (which really is a dream come true in its own right), it's also discouraging to see free copies going around when I make so little money for creating them.

Don't get me wrong here. In light of being perpetually broke, I also understand that it's hard to afford books at times. I sympathize, believe me. This is likely what saves me from "outrage" and keeps me in the "exhausted sigh" range. It's just not an easy time for anyone right now.

Now, piracy is a different issue from lending. Lending sites don't carry the files; they just match-make lenders with borrowers. Piracy sites hold the file and feed it out endlessly, which is a harsher sort of bummer.

Lending books is a time-honoured tradition, so it's harder to be annoyed by that. I've borrowed paperbacks from people, and I've lent some, so the word "lending" is difficult for me to cry over.

In fact, as a newish author, lending has a nice ring to it. There's a major part of me that thinks how wonderful it would be for someone to turn to their friend with one of my books and say, "Hey, take this - you'll like it!" That's the kind of "marketing" money can't buy, and is worth much more than its weight in gold.

The ebook lending sites are not quite that, though. There, it's strangers lending and borrowing, without the personal recommendations and shared enthusiasm. I still hope it can lead to new "fans," but it's hard to say. Somehow, it just seems different than a couple of sisters swapping paperbacks, but I think I need some more time to figure out how I feel about it.

For now, I guess the word around the block is that ereaders and distributors allow for this, so it's not illegal. So, for the time being, we kind of have to grin and bear it no matter how we feel, and hope for the best. For me, the best outcome is that people borrow one or two, enjoy my work, recommend me or buy my other books. That wouldn't be so bad, come to think of it.

(I should note that I have very little actual knowledge of how lending works, but I'm pretty sure it's not the end of the world. From what I gather, only certain Kindle books are available (which might actually work in the "little" author's favour, if the Big Pubs opt out), and only for 14 days at a time. I've heard B&N only allows ONE lend-out per purchase, EVER, so if that's true I don't think that's much of a threat. (I don't know for sure how many times you can do it with Kindle books, since I've seen different answers.) But, as I say, I don't have hard knowledge, so who knows? My gut says, though, Amazon would be all over lending sites and forums if they were a major drain on profits.)

(ETA: I have since discovered that Kindle books can also only be shared once.)

However, as an aside, I must say I'm not keen on the word "library" for actual file share sites. Libraries pay premium prices for their books and materials, and often buy multiple copies and eventually replace worn ones. Ebook files don't wear out, so it's a different kettle of fish. Eventually, someone could wait around and read my entire opus without anyone paying a dime, theoretically, if ARCs if my books are the root source. (This would be my not-so-good outcome, obviously.)

That's a bit alarming, the speed and eternity of it all. This is where file sharing squicks in a way paperback lending doesn't, I guess.

But I have to admit, while the poverty-stricken me would like the royalties, I cannot come down on the anti-lending side. Would everyone who "borrows" (or straight-up pirates) my book buy it, otherwise? Likely not. But does that put a rosy ring around file sharing? I honesty don't know.

I see good; I see bad. It's how I generally roll.

There is one final thing in all this that weighs on me, though. I know I can't be the only writer who's considered quitting due to the sometimes-low compensation in this business. (Most small pub and self-pub authors don't get advances, so we depend on royalties, which is a crap shoot.) I will always write, since I love it, but I struggle often with whether publishing is worth it. There are better paying second jobs, that's for sure. Or, I could finally get some sleep with my "spare time." Does diminishing the already meager pay-outs for authors discourage productivity? I'm not sure, but it's something I worry about. Yes, I know libraries and friend-sharing has always been with us, and books kept being made, but I wonder if file sharing could be what will drive the genie back in the bottle on indies and small publishers. Sure, there are less gate keepers in publishing today, or at least more gates available, but maybe the pirates will be what knocks "little" authors out of the ring instead. Will the burnout rate keep climbing?

The "everything online should be free" trend is something to consider over the coming years, in my opinion. It's not the whole issue-enchilada, but it's something to think about.

So, after all that rambling and prevarication, what am I left with? I'd love it if people bought my books, but I'm not foaming at the mouth over the whole thing, especially the lending. It might well have some benefits, even if it's frustrating when sales aren't great as it is.

I'm actually kind of okay with people wanting to "borrow" one of my books to see if they might like the others, to be honest. A little flattered, even. But, I would like it if that borrow led to a purchase at some point, I admit, or some other form of reciprocity. Thus, maybe this is my best wish: If you read one of my books for free, and I won't ask how, and liked it, maybe you could leave a review some place. That way, I still get something good out of it. That would lessen my indecision, I think.

In the meantime, I guess my only conclusion is that things happen as they happen. I'll just keep on writing, and not worrying about sales, or sharing. Out of my years of experience on this earth, the only piece of advice I've ever come across that really sticks is this: "Keep on trucking."

In other words: Keep calm and continue writing (and reading), folks.

And, regardless of how you come across my books, I do hope you enjoy them. In the end, that might be the only profit I can really hope for, and the only one that lasts.

Thursday Thurteen: Book Promo Outside the Box

(And, yes, I know I misspelled Thirteen. I'm living on the edge here. Deal with it.)

My fiction has been published and for sale since 2010, and since shortly before that I have made it a point to discuss "the Biz" with other authors - learning the ropes, discussing Craft, spreading the good word, making connections, soaking up the gossip, and chewing on the Big Subject: sales and promotion.

I've joined forums, discussion groups, etc, etc, and this keeps coming up - How on earth do you sell your ebook?

Don't get excited that this post will help you, at all, since I clearly don't know, either. I was a fiend for doing marketing, taking guest spots and interviews everywhere for a while last winter, and you know what I made? Bubkes, that's what I made. Well, okay, maybe not quite. $17, I think, is more precise.

So, obviously, I don't know anything about selling an ebook.

Well, that's not entirely true. I know the rehashed ideas everyone recommends - blogging, guest blogging, social media (all sorts), interviews, posting your sales links ad nauseam, etc. I've even paid out for promo, and nadda. Aside from an interview on a Big Site and reviews, I haven't seen any of the normal things work.

Thus, I hereby announce Enough Is Enough.

I'm done with the "normal things." It's time to go to the mattresses on this whole promo game.

Therefore, this week's Thursday Thurteen (TM):

13 Promo Plans with Flare

1. Shave the title of my book into the President's dog's pelt. (Not saying which President, or President of What; just a President.)

2. Convince George Lucas to release yet another butchered version of Star Wars with Greedo not shooting first, but wearing a t-shirt with my website url on it. Come to think of it, that would still be better than the "revised" versions.

3. Hire sky writers in every city to find the last remaining adult readers of m/f contemporary romance.

4. Once I find said last remaining readers of m/f contemporary romance: Give them puppy eyes until they cave.

5. I think prisons may be an untapped market for romance novels. (Makes "To Do" note for later.)

6. Change the title of my novel to How to Make Millions Publishing to Kindle!

7. Step One: Find a Leprechaun. Step Two: Wring his bloody neck til he makes with the luck.

8. Step One: Steal Underpants! Step Two: ... Step Three: Profit!

9. Start a cult.

10. Revise manuscript and add a vampire businessman who likes BDSM. We'll call him... Edw...mund.

11. Travel the rails, living colourfully, until I die of a gamey foot - only to have my work discovered, posthumously, by an enterprising young writer for the NY Times in hipster glasses and a $200 plaid shirt who has a thing for novelists-turned-hobos.

12. Go back in time and somehow ensure I am born the lovechild of Amazon's CEO. Or at least that of the dude who's in charge of their sales rankings and "Special" lists. Or that of the guy who has college photos of either of those two that they'd prefer not be seen. (It's a fluid plan.)

13. Get caught sexting steamy excerpts with a member of the Royal Family.

Well, there you have it. How can I possibly fail this time, right?

Oh, and hey, while you're here, why not check out my Amazon profile? Free shoeshine with every hundredth purchase.* Honest, you'll see your face, guv'nah.

*Offer void everywhere. Some restrictions apply.

Doing the Promo Rounds

Good heavens, folks - never write more holiday books than you handle marketing. Trust me on this! I'm just about dead trying to sell these things. Unwrapping Scrooge hit a good level of sales after the ARe mention, but the others still never took off. I guess my plans of focusing on the cheapest in the hopes of rising the other boats was ineffective. Oh well, live and learn - there's always next year.

If you want to check out all the millions of guest spots I've been doing, look here. A couple of those giveaways are still ongoing, so enter for a chance to win at WC and 30 Days of Decadence. I'll be at LASR and RomFan Reviews for giveaways next week.

So, the Christmas books are rolling to an end, and soon we'll be hailing the New Year, so now I better move on to the New Years book, Bubbly - why I did this to myself, I do not know!

However, it has been wonderful meeting all the new people I've been getting to know through all this promo, so - sales or no sales - no regrets. It's true - there is always next year, which is right around the corner!

Happy holidays!

PS - Like Magic and Charity are up for Best Cover and Best First Chapter for Nov on D. Bagby Presents, so if you care to, please check out the entries and vote! (The Halloween book also recently got a very nice review I'm very proud of, which you can find here, if you wish.)

So Long, Klout, Triberr and Google+

Well, not entirely, I guess. I have decided I won't delete the accounts altogether. Why bother? Besides, who knows when they will seem useful again or come back on my radar? In any case, I've reduced my involvement, stopped visiting them, let them go, whatever you want to call it.

It seems until recently Klout was broken, or that their algorithms over the summer were too generous. Now they've changed them and, while they say most people have gone up, most of the people I know went down - way down. I suspect the people who went up were largely Facebookers who never signed themselves up for Klout, anyway. (It seems you have a Klout profile whether you want it or not - nothing is private online, anyway, so I'm not shocked by this.)

I'm not complaining. I'd rather have a "real" crummy score than a fake high one, I guess, though I don't believe either of them are real (in fact, by pointing this out, Klout kind of proved it was all bull-hooey, anyway, didn't it?). In a way, I'm relieved, as it was too much pressure having a Klout score in the 60s. Now that I have a crappy 50-something score, I can feel free to ignore it. When I was at 63, I actually felt guilty on the days I couldn't Tweet, since I knew I'd lose a point. Yes, I agree - that's just sad.

In any case, now that Klout is fixed, and I'm a nobody again, I can relax and stop caring about it. It was always a fake gizmo, but now that the game is less serious, I can stop playing. Whew!

As to Triberr, I joined because it seemed like a great way to increase blog hits - and I think it was. I don't watch my hit counter very closely, but it seemed to be working. I was in a nice tribe filled with writers I knew from around the community, so I was happy. Then, Triberr changed, so it doesn't RT the Tweets of your tribemates automatically. You have to go to Triberr and do it manually. In short, I don't have time for this, and it wasn't fair to stay in the tribe, having my stuff Tweeted, and not returning the favour. So, that's gone.

I was surprised, actually, that leaving the tribe made me a little sad. The consequence, I guess, of naming it a tribe.

Now, Google+ I never really decided to go - I just stopped visiting it a couple weeks after joining. Why? Not really sure. I guess I just didn't need yet another social media thingy. Also, gmail tells you your notifications so why ever visit it? Eventually, I even forgot how to visit it. Then one day Twitter failed and I wandered over. It seemed like a ghost town - no one I knew was there. I said as much in my status, hoping to find a little chit chat. What I found was a very grumpy jerk, who I didn't know, who yelled at me for saying no one was using Google+ any more (which I didn't say), and some chick (who I also didn't know) who scolded me for wondering why no one was up for a chat in light of Steve Jobs' death. Well, that was the end of Google+ for me.

If I wanted to be yelled at by self-righteous, rude strangers, I would just spend more time on public transit.

So, there's that. I guess I'm back to Twitter and Facebook, and this old blog - which perhaps no one even visits any more now that I'm not full of Klout and all Tribed-up.

To be honest, now that I'm back to teaching, I really don't have time for social media like I did over the summer. Over the summer, I had time to do promo, social media, mommy stuff and write. Now, teaching has taken over the social media time, and I am taking time out of my writing to increase my promo. Such is the way of balancing jobs, I guess.

These were the three bigger failed experiments. There have been a number of other, smaller social media things I never got into - seriously, what is the point of About.me, except as a place holder for your link? - so they fell by the wayside. I've walked away from forums, for the most part, since I don't have the time to spend being annoyed. Blog hops have been fun, so I will do a few more. GoodReads is fine, since I like books. Six Sentence Sunday got fairly old, and Sample Sunday is worth doing once in a while, but isn't something for every single week if you are unwilling to rehash the same sample over and over. Other little gimmicks, such as lil.paper, I find useless, but they aren't irritating enough for me to quit so I let them run. A few major efforts, such as the monthly newsletter, I am still trying out - I'm giving it a few more months to build an audience, and will re-evaluate it as I go as to whether it's worth continuing. Over the holidays, I am concentrating on direct promo (ads) and guest blogging, so that's where all my networking time will go for the next while.

Well, I'm learning and trying. Promo has never been my strong suit, but I like social media. I don't really consider social media as promo, to be honest. It's more about networking, learning, chatting, and gathering information/connections. This is why I'm not giving up on it all. Social media has not netted me any sales, but I see its value in other ways.

That's the state of things for now. Happy writing, folks, if you ever have the time.

My First Anniversary as a Published Author!

Today, October 11, marks one year since my very first title, my paranormal erotic short Waking Kara, was uploaded to Amazon.

This is a convenient way to mark my career milestones - I could have chosen the day I submitted my first novel, or the day it was contracted. But, the significance of seeing my book go live on Amazon is something that will always stick with me. Slapping that cover up on Facebook, and seeing the first sale... These are things I won't ever forget.

So, looking back, how has it gone?

Well, I'm not rolling in money. No big NYC suit has come to scoop me up. I'm not rich, famous, or powerful. But, I've made royalties in the triple-digits, and I have small, but steady, sales (until the recent slump). Waking Kara, for example, has sold well over a hundred copies, internationally. I've published six titles now, with more on the way, and have received some very nice reviews, and no horrible ones. I've learned so very much, and made many good friends. My reputation isn't wide spread, but I think it's solid. Best of all, I have heard from a few readers who've enjoyed reading what I wrote - and there is no price tag that competes with that.

Would I like to be richer, more famous and/or more powerful by next year? Sure, I guess. But, one thing I know - I still want to be writing a year from now. And that's a good reflection on how I've enjoyed my experience.

Thanks to Wild Horse Press, who first took a chance on me, and to Wicked Nights, Decadent Publishing and Rebel Ink, who have added to my career in too many ways to mention.

And thanks to all of you!

It's been a good year. Here's to another!

*
ETA: How perfect is this? Waking Kara got a review on GR and a blog today. Wonderful timing.

Summaries, Taglines and Blurbs, Oh My!

I hate writing "blurbs" (I even hate that word), and taglines are deceptively easy looking, but end up being a pain in the arse. How do you write a few lines (or as few as 12 words) to encompass the whole of the work - and be attractive enough to make people examine your book closer?

Now, I have started the habit of making the blurb and the tagline right after I've written the book/story (sometimes during or even before), and fine-tuning it during editing. Because if you wait to do it months later - it's a pain in the butt to recapture that spirit.

Sometimes, doing blurbs and taglines feels embarrassing. You hear the movie-trailer-voice-guy in your head, and it seems so cheesy. If that happens, you might be taking the thing a little too far.

For taglines (important for ads and quick-mentions), you need something catchy, but clear and concise, and something that will key into the main conflicts/themes.

For Strings Attached, I decided on this tagline:

Josie has always brought home strays. Only, this time the stray is an unwilling Australian.

The line is short, and, for romance readers, it has several big hints to the plot: Do-gooder woman and grouchy Australian (and Australian men are always sexy, even if grouchy) who resists her. It has a light-hearted, fuzzy feel to it. It also refers to home, a key theme in the book, and to stray dogs, which is a major symbol. It also eludes to the lonely rootlessness of Theo (the Australian), establishes Josie as the main character (being the one named), and informs the reader the book takes place on her turf. And, I hope, it gives the potential reader an interest in knowing more.

It also ties in to the "back cover" blurb for the book:

“You want to heal me, like one of your stray dogs...” 

When Canadian rancher Josie Sergeant gets a call from her brother announcing his impetuous decision to marry, she has her reservations. But, when her brother’s would-be brother-in-law swoops in from Australia to stop the wedding, Josie has no choice but to defend the family. 

Theo Sabich is bull-headed and dangerously sexy, but also damaged beyond repair… or so he thinks. He enjoys getting on Josie’s nerves, but when he finds her getting under his skin he must decide - face his demons and grab this last chance for happiness or bury himself in his lonely Outback ranch once and for all. 

Under the northern lights, their attraction ignites beyond their control, and Josie finds that a one-time “no strings attached” release of passion is easier said than done when love is hanging by a thread. 

But how will they bridge the difference between two worlds, let alone conquer the wounds of the past and find the courage to live again?

So, I guess I'm learning how to do them, but that doesn't make me like them any more than I did. However, doing blurbs and taglines, and summaries/synopsis, is just something you will always have to do as long as you publish - especially if you're self-publishing or with a small press. There are many forums out there where you can get advice from other writers on your blurbs, which can save you the costs of seeking professional help, but whichever way you go, it pays to have solid ways to explain your book to potential readers, publishers and reviewers.

Good luck!

Writing What Sells

On a forum today, and many times before, I have been left to shake my head at how overt some writers are with their desire to write "whatever will sell." Here's an example (compiled and fictionalized out of many such threads):

"So, I hear sex stories sell, so I think I should do that. What type of sex story sells best? Also, how short can it be before people stop buying it? Is 1,000 words enough, or should I make it 4,000? How quickly can I crank out 2,000-word sex stories, and how different should they all be before people stop buying them? I don't want to be bothered reading any erotica to see what it's about, so just explain to me what the most profitable ones all share in common."

Honestly?

As a reader, this kind of discussion skeeves me out. When I see a writer baldly announcing, basically, "I don't give a crap about the story, or anything else, I just want to know the recipe for soaking money out of the marks" it makes me want to never, ever read any of their mass-produced crap, ever, let alone buy it.

Writers, please be aware that open greed is noted, and readers don't really like being seen as sheep. Especially not sheep watching the farmer trying to throw together the easiest sheep ramp at the lowest creative cost.

Pretty nasty, this "must make dollars" attitude amongst writers.

No, I don't believe writing is 100% inspiration, and, yes, I firmly believe that art cannot exist with economics. Sure, we all want to be read, and to sell. But, in my opinion, it needs to start with a good piece of writing.

So, if you are asking "what piece of crap can I throw together to make you buy it?" the answer is none, frankly.

Go find some boglands to sell to tourists.

The Business/Busyness of Submissions

These past few weeks, I have been terribly scattered. Busy, to say the least, but awfully scattered. Mostly, this has been due to Submissions. I have finally submitted my newest full length romance to a publisher. Will they accept it? I don't know. But it feels good to have it off my chest.

To recap, this is the book's history in brief:

• Written during NaNoWriMo 2010 - Winner! 54k written in about three weeks.
• Left to simmer until April 2011
• Re-read
• Edited; now at about 56k
• Decided that the nasty scenes I had originally planned but dropped because they were depressing really needed to be in there, so I re-wrote the ending in May 2011 - now at about 62k
• Re-read
• Write initial blurb and tagline; choose a title (finally!)
• Edited - now down to about 61k
• Sent to three betareaders
• Edited
• Sent to two more betareaders
• Edited
• Re-read
• Proofed - down to 60.5k
• Short synopsis (750 words) and first query written; longer synopsis (2 pages) also written (needed both long and short)
• Submitted to first publisher on list

That's a lot of work to pour into one book, but I have high hopes for this one. I feel like I've finally hit my stride... found my voice... in short, I feel like a real writer now. I think this book can do well, and I want to put equal effort into finding a publisher for it.

I have several publishers on my list for this book, but this first company seems to take the longest to reply, so I started with them. It takes significant time to make each query and submission, so I figured I'd give them the head start while I work on the next, and then the next. Next week, I will likely tackle another. And then another. 

So, why do queries and submissions drive writers crazy?

It takes a while to write and edit your submission materials, even aside from your manuscript. The query letter is your first impression, which is nerve wracking. And synopsis are basically hell on the nerves. To take a 60k book and turn it into 2-5 pages of bare-bones summary, while also making it engaging, charming and exciting... It's not easy, let's just say that. Every part of the submission - the cover email, query letter, character descriptions (if requested), the synopsis, etc - must be "pitch perfect" in order to make your book stand out!

First off, your cover letter needs to be informative, yet concise - a difficult balance to strike. Even more difficult, it also must give them some sense of individuality in a very short medium. Secondly, your query must entice them to read the synopsis. Thirdly, your synopsis must inspire them to read or ask for the full manuscript.

If any of these steps fail to engage, or to move the editor on to the next step, the book will be rejected - often, before the acquisition editor has even had a chance to open the MS!

For these submissions, all unsolicited and all unagented, I am fighting several tides. These publishers get tons and tons of competent submissions every week. Yes, they get some incompetent ones, as well, but the majority of the books they see are likely "okay." Therefore, they have the luxury of choosing only books that are well beyond "okay" levels.

This is different from the submissions I've had to Rebel Ink recently, such as the Halloween story I submitted on August 15th. Those stories are already contracted, so I'm not fighting to get my foot in the door. Obviously, I am still working towards having the quality up to standards, but they at least know who I am and are expecting the stories. These don't require the same level of pizzazz to get them to even read the thing.

This is why the "cold submits" are quite stressful.

While my betareaders enjoyed this book, I really have no way of knowing if these particular editors will find my book (as introduced by the letter and synopsis) more than okay. I can only hope my query and synopsis please whoever receives them. I can only hope the book is right for them, doesn't conflict with other books they are planning to release, etc, etc, etc - there are many, many more variables to being accepted/rejected than just, "We hated this book."

Therefore, this is why I've decided to go with more than one company for submission.

In the past, I have always just submitted to one publisher at a time, but this time I am doing a handful. It makes me feel weird - like I am cheating on one with the others. I decided to do it this way with the idea, "Well, if all or nearly all reject me, I need to cast a wide net." I never actually stopped to think what I will do if they all accept, until a friend asked me what happens in that event.

I am not too concerned, though. At this point, I'm not sure I can even hope for acceptance from them all.

All it takes is one, though.

*fingers crossed*

So, after you write your excellent query letter and breathtaking synopsis, and send it off to your choice companies (usually along with the full MS, or sample pages, or the first three chapters, or whatever they ask for - always follow their exact instructions, and tailor your submission package), what happens then?

Then, you wait...

And wait...

With some companies, if you never hear from them, that means they don't want it. With others, they actually take the time to send you a rejection, which is rather nice of them. Sometimes, they even give you feedback as to why they've rejected it, but this is a bonus. If your book had potential in their eyes, you might get a "rework and resubmit" invitation, which means they're willing to look at it again with some changes. Sometimes, you get an outright acceptance, which is the happy dance moment.

We'll see what we see. I have two or three other companies I will be submitting to before classes resume, and I have a list of about 12 to try, overall, between now and spring 2012. I have a good feeling it will be accepted by someone along the line - that it will reach the right editor at the right time, at the right company, who likes what I do.

If not, it's back to the drawing board, and in the meantime, I'm on to writing many other things.

Just keep moving forward, and hope for the best!

We Interrupt Your Scheduled Blog Post...

I was going to write about submissions today, but something else caught my attention several times this week, so I wanted to post a little on the subject of writer scams.

Writer scams are everywhere online - they predate the Internet, but have really exploded in recent years. Why do they work? Simple - when you are a new writer with plenty of dreams, it can feel really overwhelming to get your book out in front of people. Agents take forever, if you even get replies from them, and Big Publishers even longer, and most of us have little or no training/experience with publishing before we finish that first book/collection. And scammers know this, and they know how to talk to us in the right way to prey on those hopes and dreams.

Probably the premier, most famous form of writer scams would be vanity presses - those who promise "Become a Real Author!" (but only if you send them a cheque for $1200). Here's the skinny, folks - if it's a real publisher THEY PAY YOU, not the other way around. This is vastly different from Self Publishing, in which an author pays for services (cover art, editing, etc), but ultimately owns their own work. A vanity press really does nothing for your book but stroke your ego and take your money - lots of it. And they don't give it back. Now, with Amazon/KDP/CreateSpace, I hope we are hearing the dying howl of the vanity presses, but it's not likely. Many more aspiring authors will fall to them before they go away, sadly.

And now with the rise of agents who "facilitate" self-publishing, there might be a whole new racket for vanity press scammers. This is not to say that all agents who handle self-pubbing are crooks, but any day now we'll start seeing the crooks move that way, if they haven't already.

The Rule is: Except for putting together a self-publishing project, the author's only dealings with cheques should be signing the back of their royalties.

The second big one is Contests! Yes, there are many, many legitimate writing contests out there, with real prizes and good exposure. Some, like the RWA, do charge writers to enter. (I personally don't pay to enter contests, but paid contests might not be scams, so just do your research.) However, not all contests are legitimate. If it's a free contest, you don't stand to lose much but time, but please save yourself the hassle of entering fake/worthless contests with hefty entrance fees. Also, in many regions, it is illegal to force entrants to "buy the finalists' collection" at the end of a poetry or short story contest. Such things are scams, where they basically let everyone become a finalist so more people will be forced to buy the resulting collection. Do the leg work! Research the contest before you get excited.

Third, there are the newer vultures circling the small press/indie world: Book reviewers who are also editors. Now, naturally, many reviewers also offer editing services, and not all are scams. What I mean are book reviewers who offer to review your book (especially a self-pubbed one) merely so they can tell you it stinks - but, don't worry! "I can edit it for you for $1000!" That's the scam part. I believe many reputable editors who also do reviews make it policy not to take editing jobs from the authors they have reviewed, and vice versa. The reviewer may very well suggest you need an editor, but they are often careful to suggest OTHER editors, instead of themselves. Otherwise, it's a bit of a conflict of interest, don't you think?

Most legitimate editors allow a sampling process - you send them a sample, and they will edit it and return it, before you engage them. If you go this route, it might be a good idea to send the same sample to several editors, and compare the returned work before making a selection. And, in my opinion, accept a reviewers' suggestion that you need editing, but don't hire that reviewer to do it. Sample a few others, and then decide which way to go. As always: Author word-of-mouth is a great way to find what you need, and it's the safest way.

Then, on top of these sly jobs, we also have the occasional rumour/allegation of truly shocking instances of out-n-out extortion. There are also people burned outright by paying upfront for covers that never come, or editors that never deliver.

The above categories cover the majority of the pitfalls out there; some are ubiquitous, while others a bit less common. There are many other ways a newbie writer can lose buckets of money/time/hope/energy/reputation - ghost town sites/blogs charging for ad space, reviewers demanding payment for their condescension, display sites that charge you for profiles that no one ever visits, small pubs who are basically beards for one author's self-publishing activities, etc, etc, but those aren't truly "scams" in that they are offering some type of service, at least, and you get exactly what they promise (even if it is lackluster). And you should know what you're getting into before you hand over the money or your manuscript (always).

The Internet is a wonderful thing for the global writers' community - it brings us closer than ever before, allows for multiple genre circles to form and disseminate information very quickly, and evens the communication exchange between experienced writers and aspiring authors. But it also contains snakes of all varieties. Use it wisely - arm yourself with information, do your research, and treat your name, money and manuscript like the precious resources that they are.

So, that's my little PSA for today.

It's a jungle out there! Good luck.

Dirty Word of the Day

Did that make you look?

I don't mean the really nasty seven bad words.

The Dirty Word of the Day today is Advertising.

Yes, I know - an erotica writer should have better bad words that. Sorry to disappoint. Actually, I do have many more enjoyable bad words at my fingertips, but this one is a special curse. It deserved its own post, I think.

Advertising is the part of this whole writing business I hadn't really considered before I decided to leap into publishing. I guess I sort of had a vision in mind of Other People taking care of that. Who, I'm not exactly sure - the Publishers, I guess. I mean, didn't Bridget Jones work for the marketing department of a publishing company? So, some pubs out there must do some marketing, I assume. Helen Fielding wouldn't lie to me, would she?

But, I think to get in bed with the kind of companies that do the advertising for you, you need an agent and the decades of prayers, dark rituals, gift baskets, etc, that it likely takes to make it with an established company with funds for such things. Oh, and proof that your books can earn back the money they shell out - i.e. a damn good backlist to your name.

Sadly, I have none of those, so I'm pretty much on my own flogging my books, published through smaller companies who ask us to handle the lion's share (if not all) of our own marketing.

I've been learning a lot about this side of the business, I admit. Been working the social media, Tweeting and re-Tweeting until my hands fall off, trying to get my name out there with a happy connotation. Sure, none of it's worked yet, but it may eventually. Hey, I've only been in the business officially since October 2010 - Rome wasn't built in a day, right?

I've also only had a handful of titles released, and as I rectify that (hopefully with some bigger companies in the near future), I suspect name recognition might start to climb a bit.

But, today I am thinking of honest-to-goodness advertising. Which makes me a little ill, to be frank.

As a consumer, I am very used to ignoring ads and cursing spam - even going so far as boycotting the really aggressive ones. Therefore, the thought of becoming one of those guys makes me feel a bit filthy.

Okay, I know: "No one can read your book if they don't know it exists."

Yes, I have heard this, and am really trying to dig its practical applications. But, when it comes right down to it, Tweeting sales links icks me out. Nor do I really believe it works, since I would never buy anything from a sales link sent to me via social media. My mind marks it immediately as spam, and that's it for me. I might post such a thing on the release day, more as a "Ommigosh, I can't believe I'm on Amazon" sort of thing than anything else - but I can't bring myself to keep going with them. As a result, I now only use Twitter to chit-chat and share bits of my writing, and for networking among other book folks, which is really much more fun, anyway.

So, I think: Perhaps purchasing ad space is a bit more savory, since it is obvious and somewhat honorable. Everyone knows the deal - an ad is placed in a space that looks like an ad, and paying attention to it is fairly voluntary.

But, even with paid ads, there's a bit of a sticky wicket. Most of the sites I could afford to advertise on are basically only visited by the authors with ads there and maybe the blogger's mom. The sites with actual traffic are way out of my price league. It's not even a matter of, "Will this make my money back through the ad?" it's a matter of, "Which bill will I skip paying this month so I can make this initial layout?" Yes - it's not good.

However, a little boon came my way recently. The site The Romance Reviews gave me a handful of site credits for signing up, and they happened to be running a sale on their monthly ads at the same time! Now, starting today, I have my first real ad up someplace that seems to get relatively good traffic - for a whole month!

The ad-less (and sale-less) wonder is ad-less no longer!

I'll let you know how it turns out. If this experiment works, I might consider trying more low-key paid marketing over the next few months. But, realistically, I'm not likely to pay out tons and tons to promote books that aren't ever going to earn that money back. I like writing; I enjoy seeing my books available; I love to see reviews and notes from people who've read them. I'm proud of my books so far, and I look forward to seeing what I can do in the future. In the end, rankings on Amazon are nice, but they wouldn't make this worthwhile if I didn't have fun doing it. And worrying about marketing really doesn't add to my authorial enjoyment, that's for sure. So, I will take it as it goes - I'm learning a lot, and, with luck, it'll all pan out in the end.

Welcome to a new month! Happy sales to all, and to all a high ranking!

eBook Innovation: Disaster Thriller. Short story. German and two English versions in one eBook.

Author solves problem of language choices for eBook readers.

With eBooks crossing international English language borders, Declan Conner has come up with a novel way of overcoming the problem that creates much heated discussion on e-Reader forums.

Declan recently published 12 separate short stories to include both American and UK and Commonwealth translations in one eBook with internal links for the readers to make the choice.

To take this a stage further he has now published one of the stories with three-language choice to include a German translation. The End, or a New Dawn ( Das Ende, oder ein neuer Anfang.)

Declan Conner has released The End, or a New Dawn as an eBook and made it available in all e-Reader formats. Internal links will enable the reader to navigate the story and to make their own choice of language.

His disaster thriller The End, or a New Dawn reached the finals of a competition judged by Harper Collins editors and authors. The story is included in Lunch Break Thrillers, his UK bestselling short story compilation. Inspired by some of the notions in the bestselling book, Chariot of the Gods, by Erich von Daniken, the story is proving to be controversial in that the fictional scenario put forward extends the argument between creationists and evolutionists. At the same time, Declan uses known scientific facts to produce a scary prediction of a future climate disaster of biblical proportion.

Declan is excited about the project and plans to publish his twelve short stories in the same translated format over the next 12 months. He hopes that the eBook will prove popular, not only with readers of the genre, but also for students of German or English as a second language.

In addition to including three version of the story in German, UK and American English, Declan has provided hyperlinks to the articles that inspired the story. These links are intended to provide to ring of validity to his fictional scenario and to enhance the reading experience.

All books on Amazon.com      All Books on Amazon.com.de      All Books on Amazon.co.uk

Question for You: What makes a Great Kindle Sample?

If you have a Kindle, you know that most ebooks on Amazon come with a sampling feature, which allows you to read the first bit of the book - usually about 10%, I think.

Recently, I downloaded the Kindle for PC program so I can look at how samples impact the reader for myself, comparing book samples that make me feel like buying to samples that don't make me pause to pass it by. Is the sample more or less influential than the synopsis? Can a good sample counteract a so-so synopsis, and vice versa?

It is reasonable to assume that more and more writers are keeping the sample in mind when they edit. Even though we have always been told to give the opening of the book all we have, the sample adds a renewed urgency to those first 10-20 pages of the book.

So, my question(s) for you: Do you sample religiously or only occasionally? What makes a Kindle sample pop for you? What rings the no-sale bell for you? How do you edit for a killer Kindle sample?

Please, leave a comment!

Wild and Wacky Week Thus Far

I will continue on with the last entry in my three part series on editing sins tomorrow. Today, I wanted to update some recent happenings that you may or may not have noticed, depending on how closely you watch me... Is that you out there in those bushes, by the way?

Well, on Monday night, I received an email from one of my former publishers, reverting the rights to two of my short holiday stories back to me (V-Day and Good for the Goose).

The company's owner had come to what I am sure was a difficult decision regarding the structure of the company. That company (which I won't name here, since that is their news and not mine) is, from what I understand, no longer a publishing company, but a co-op through which authors may self-publish their own books. I may or may not work with that co-op in the future; I don't know right now, since I hadn't planned on self-publishing my genre fiction - at least until I am famous and can take a readership (and a lot more knowledge) along with me and afford quality help in doing so.

What this meant was V-Day and Good for the Goose had to be pulled from sales venues, and basically disappeared. They no longer exist for sale, or in those formats. From Monday morning's five-title-author, by Tuesday morning I was a three-title-author.

As you can imagine, this was a bit crushing, since V-Day had just started to chart on Amazon, and Good for the Goose had already earned three fairly decent reviews.

So, I did the only thing I knew to do - I posted an SOS on Facebook for leads on a company that would be interested in re-releasing V-Day and Good for the Goose, and possibly contracting the three subsequent holiday erotica tales that I had planned for that series.

Within hours, I had been put in touch with the lovely staff at Rebel Ink Press, an ebook company with which several authors I knew were now affiliated. Their offers and welcome were beyond enthusiastic, and I was overwhelming by their positive energy for my work. That they had even recognized my name was pretty thrilling itself!

As a result, I can now happily announce I have signed a five story deal with Rebel Ink Press. Even more exciting, the deal came with a firm offer for a paperback collection in 2012, which (I hope) will include a sixth, brand new, holiday erotic tale.

Along with Good for the Goose (Christmas) and V-Day (Valentine's Day), I hope to have Hallowe'en, Thanksgiving and New Years installments throughout 2011.

On Monday, I had just came out of my editing cave, and sent my new novel to my three wonderful betareaders, so the news about V-Day and Good for the Goose came as quite a shock. I am sagging with relief that Rebel came to my rescue so quickly and nicely. I feel renewed by this contract, and look forward to my planned releases through this small but strong company.

Thank you to everyone who helped me through this quagmire, and a great big cheers to my fellow authors at RIP and its staff. Here's to many sales and fine stories!

***

PS. I also got word this week that Unwrapping Scrooge gained a solid 4-heart review from Sizzling Hot Book Reviews. Also, today I was invited to join the RIP authors at a chat event at TRR on July 8, in the Erotica Lounge, so I hope you can all drop by and visit.

It's been a week of many ups and downs, but it's ending on a fine note. Have a good weekend, everyone!

Where Am I? Where Am I Going?

Run Down:

It's been a month of ups and downs in the Kindle business in the eight months since my first release last October, and recently my books have had some movement both up and down. I admit, I don't really understand the sales stats and such on Amazon, but these are the things that seem clear when I look at all of the sales and buzz info I have at hand:

• Unwrapping Scrooge had a strange off-season resurgence this month, including a boost in sales and some increased interest from reviewers. I plan on trying to make the most of that, to get a momentum going, and see if it can translate into a new marketing campaign for the book starting in October/November leading into the Christmas season.
• Waking Kara remains a consistent seller, especially through Amazon.com, even without any marketing or promotions behind it. This solid little number sells about 10 copies a month, on average, and has reached the 100 copies sold mark, according to my calculations. Now, I know that doesn't sound like much, but given the lack of promotion, that is not bad. Plan: Let's see if that can do a bit better.
• V-Day has recently made its first showing on the Kindle ranks stats, which is nice to see - I like this book, so I need to work on promoting it better. Due to other obligations at the time, I ignored it way too much when it was released - now the plan is to bring some attention to it, and get a review or two.
• Good for the Goose has seen some very moderate ups and downs, but remains fairly low. I have improved the sales profile of it by highlighting the reviews it got last December, in the hopes of reviving it for the Christmas season. Perhaps the idea for a "Christmas in July" blogging blitz might help a bit.
• Sadly, Strings Attached has failed to sell or to attract reviews. I continue to plod ahead, focusing on posting about it at ebook blogs and submitting it to reviewers. It has been out less than a month, so I have not yet given up on it.

Up till now, I have not spent a single dime on marketing or promo. Unfortunately, I am not really in a position to do so now. However, if some of my plans come through, it might be time to resort to paid promotional activities in the fall. I refuse to become a gambling junkie about it, dumping good money after bad into useless ads in the hopes of striking the jackpot. Nevertheless, a few well-placed ads and spotlights might be helpful, if placed strategically and designed well. We shall see.

~*~

Looking Ahead:

What is bugging me the most at the moment, however, is not my low sales, but the fact that I have no new releases planned in the foreseeable future. This is not good.

My next task is to complete the renovations of my 2010 NaNo project and find it a solid home, so it can see daylight. Then, of course, the marketing and promo will start all over again, and I hope it will have a solid landing strip already laid by my first five available works.

Along side that, I must keep chugging along on my new fiction project, which is proving to be a challenge but an exciting one - I will share details soonish, I promise. Today, I spent four hours writing on it, and I feel like a million bucks!

Constantly pushing finished product is not healthy. If I am not producing, I am merely a former writer, and not a writer in the present. Stats and sales are great - but nothing beats looking forward to a new release!

So, that is the state of the union at the moment.

More details as they come...

Daily Dose of Frustration: Non-"Zany" Need Not Apply

Right now, I looking for a publisher for my new novel - my NaNo story, which is currently in editing and re-writing. I am hoping to submit by the fall, so I'm casting around for the best shot for publishing. I am looking for something mid-class this time - not too small, but not too lofty, either. Some company that sees half decent sales, makes some token effort at marketing and can help me produce a quality book. Not too huge a list of wants.

This week, I came across this lovely little snippet on a submission instructions page of a mid-range ebook pub:

Contemporary Romance: Fun and whimsical, these books should showcase your sense of humor and focus on a modern couple in a zany situation.

"Zany"?

Really?

Zany only, huh?

Damn you Bridget Jones. Damn you.

So, fine. I understand that people like zany. I can appreciate that. I love Bridget Jones, actually. But, honestly, is this the only market out there? Readers only want to read zany romance (if it doesn't involve sulky vampires, that is)?

My NaNo novel is not a zany romance, nor is Strings Attached. Now, this does not mean I am devoid of humour (in fact, my new WIP is a comedy), but these first couple of full lengths are serious contemporary romances. Not quite melodrama, but focusing on honest emotions and mature, realistic people. Not zany people.

(Zany people are, like, girls who wear red dresses a lot, which randomly get blown up by the wind, right, and inexplicably carry bunches of daisies way too often? Zany guys, I can only assume, wear a messenger bag all the time.)

(Yeah, I don't have any of those.)

So, it seems I am simply not zany enough for the category of contemporary romance in today's market.

Perhaps I should see if I can re-write into it a pouty nosferatu as Plan B...

Help! Another Identity Crisis

I've seen these two terms chucked around, "Indie" and "Traditional." Now, I know these terms are rife with some controversy, since they were (according to interwebs lore) first coined by a shady vanity press in order to glamorize their scam. Yet, regardless of how the categories started, they have been widely adopted in the "writing world" - or, at least, in that corner which I haunt.

I have always understood it to be a matter of scale.

"Traditional" publishers, in my understanding, included the Big Companies - the brick-n-mortar, advance-granting, agent-oriented, paperback-lovin' companies that market/sell internationally and make big bucks, and all those mid-range companies run on this model in hopes of being one of the Big Publishers. We can all name several of these off the top of our heads, no doubt.

"Indie" (short for "independent") publishers, I assumed, included the small scale publishers - micropresses and self-published authors who have a smaller distribution and privately-seeded marketing budget, no agents and no advances, but royalties from sales alone. Largely, these days, this means epublishing.

This week I ran into a handful of blog comments that claimed "indie" doesn't include self-published. But, this sentiment I easily disregarded as indie authors who, foolishly, have bought into the idea that self-published means vanity publishing and terrible quality. These comments were, after all, left on a now-fairly-famous so-so review to which the regrettably deficient self-published author under review left some awful, immature and petty ravings, involving the senseless repetition of expletives. I can see why people were scrambling to distance themselves from her.

However, I then came across something a little more puzzling, and not exactly unique - and from a source I can't so easily dismiss. From a NY Times bestselling author and writer of "how to write" pieces, Bob Mayer, it was hard to ignore. This quote, which was not the gist of his point (just what struck me), is from the June 12th post on his blog Write it Forward:

I use the term indie for one who self-publishes and trad for those who are published via a traditional publishing house. I’ve copyrighted them and you need to pay me any time you use them. Joking.

True, Mayer is clearly expressing his terms as he sees them for the purposes of his post, which is an otherwise considered and useful editorial. Yet, he is not the only person defining these terms this way, and I am confused.

I consider myself an "indie author," though it seems many people do not grant me this category. However, I am not really published through a "traditional" venue, either. So, what the hell am I?

First off, why do I consider myself "indie"? Well, frankly, my publishers thus far have been pretty independent - without a big corporate source of money, no advances, requiring no agents, not having a publishing "house" as such, and focusing largely on ebooks, they seem to me to be small-scale and, therefore, not the same as those commonly recognized as traditional. They are, I believe, independently owned and operated by individual publishing entrepreneurs. I don't even think they have investors beyond their owners/managing editors.

And why am I seemingly not "indie"? Because I do publish through companies not belonging to me that employ editors not controlled by me, and, especially, because I do not "self-publish." I guess. (Insert "head scratching" emoticon here.)

Now, I suspect the easy argument is that these companies could become traditional-scale in time, and that Harper-Collins might have started out as a micropress (I really couldn't tell you if it did or not, actually). Also, more obscurely, the concern might be that these publishers, be they ever so humble, might be creatures similar to the "gatekeepers" that indies dislike so strongly, and that signing with these epubs might be "compromising my artistic vision" in a way that self-pubbed writers don't have to. Finally, I reckon the royalties thing is the kicker - as long as a middle man is getting a cut, I guess (according to some) I am not truly "independent."

Well, colour me confused. I can understand the arguments and points above, but they never occurred to me naturally. I had to ponder them.

But, the point of all this is - Even if I concede that I am not "indie" (which I don't, really), I am left with a dilemma. What am I? In this recurring rhetoric of "indie" vs "traditional"... which am I? Am I an "us" or a "them"? In a greyzone, worthy of the attention of neither?

True, we shouldn't think in those terms of narrow categories, but such is what we have to work with in the seedy underbelly of starving author forums. So, where do I land?

It would just be nice to know.

Brand your name, don’t promote your book

A Guest Post by Author Joanne Troppello

That’s a strong statement, I know, but I wanted to capture your attention.

Stephen King, J. K. Rowling, Dean Koontz, Nora Roberts, Michael Crichton, James Patterson, Anne Rice, Mary Higgins Clark…we all know those names or at least a good portion of them. So what’s my point? Just that…we know their names; we don’t all remember the names of their books.

Your fans are not going to always be able to spout off the titles of all your books, but if they like your work and if you’ve become popular, they will remember your name. If they know your name, they can easily find you online or in the bookstores. When they find your website, then they can look up your books. When they go to the bookstores, they can find your specific titles.

As an author, hopefully you will continually be writing more books. Your readers may not always know your current works, but they’ll keep track of what you’re working on and when your new releases come out. So, how do you (and I), as up and coming authors waiting for the day you’ll be on the best seller lists, brand your name and market yourselves as authors?

That question being put out there, you still, of course, need to work hard on marketing each of your books, but the way to really become popular is to market your name.

One of the best ways to brand yourself is to have a website. You always need to have an online presence; that includes branding yourself in the social media networks. Another good idea is that you should always try to write articles in your trade, and post them in free online writing networks. Usually, you just need to register and then you can begin posting articles; sometimes certain sites will need to review your articles first. These sites will allow readers to link to your profile, where they can follow a link to your website. Other online article posting sites allow you to list a byline with a direct link to your website.

You must remember that you are your greatest fan and you need to take advantage of that fact and promote yourself wherever you go. Of course, some people may feel this is taking you down to ego-land, but there are ways to promote yourself and your work without seeming to be overbearing. I don’t usually like to be in the center of attention, but as my husband mentioned the other day, I’m an author now and I’d better get used to it.

Join writers groups and other writing associations and always attach your byline in everything that you write and have your “elevator speech” prepared and ready to use at all times. So what’s an elevator speech? It’s a short pitch on something you’re trying to market and since you’re trying to market yourself, be prepared to tell people that you are an author and when your next book is going to be released. Be ready to hand out a business card or at least be able to give out your website.

Blogging is another way to brand your name. You always want your readers, potential readers and the press to go to your website. You can do this by offering them something. How do you do that? You need to provide good content that is always updated. That’s why it’s good to have a blog directly on your website or if you have it through another online service, to at least have the blog link prominently displayed on your site. You can even create a newsletter. This will be a bit more time consuming than writing a daily or weekly blog, but it is something that you can think about as you get farther along in your writing career.

Don’t forget to keep on promoting your name. You are your biggest fan! Make your marketing count!

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Joanne Troppello is an author of mystery and inspirational romance novels. Her second novel, Mr. Shipley’s Governess, was recently released by Wild Horse Press. She is at work on her next novel, a romantic suspense. She is married and loves spending time with her husband and family.

Joanne had me over to her blog this week, as well, so go pay her a visit.

Writing Resolutions for 2011

I'm fairly new to this game, only having received my first acceptance in July 2010. I have had three shorts released since then, and am anticipating my first full length (actually the first one accepted) release in May. I have been with three companies, and have learned quite a bit - but I still have a long way to go. Looking back at 2010, I can see some things I want to better or differently in 2011.

1. I really do want to produce a free read short story. Honest. But it is very hard, I admit, to get my hands on enough time to do something for free that will be worth using as a sample. This continues to be a hope, and will be moved up on the priorities list.

2. I want to improve my promotions and marketing quite a bit. I want to continue to make better trailers, sooner, and find more places to get them out there. I want to make/get good banners for all of my books, as I have found the one supplied by Decadent was very useful. I think I will have to start putting money into marketing, as that really is the only way to get your book out there. 2010 was an extremely lean year, but 2011 might be better.

3. I want to improve my website - and get a .com instead of a .webs.com - as soon as I can afford it.

4. I want to finish and edit my NaNo novel. I have full lengths planned for Jan-April, May-August and Sept-Dec, as well. This upcoming year, I am hoping see better sales. I have publishers in mind for my current projects, and in 2011 I hope to have three or four full lengths accepted by strong companies. I will keep you posted if/when they say yes!

5. Shorts. I have decided to stop doing shorts - well, not altogether, but to spend much less on shorts. Shorts don't pay much at all, are hard to get reviewed and are kind of hard to promote in a big way. But they still demand a lot of time for writing, editing, promoting, etc. So, I have decided to give up writing shorts, for the most part - I will finish those currently in production, and complete the five story holiday erotica plan I have in mind with one publisher, as they are terribly fun to write (and so I can see it in paperback, I hope), but I think that is all, unless any novella-length ideas really grab me. I need to spend my time on my full length works, which sort of got the short end of the writing stick this year.

So, those are the specific goals and hopes for 2011. As always, the main overarching goal is to work at it; is to improve, continue to be happy at what I am doing, and produce the best writing I can for an increasing readership.

All the best for 2011. I look forward to better and brighter things!

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What are your resolutions for 2011?