You may have noticed I often have an error or two in my posts. I swear to you I do edit them, but they just slip by me. If any agents or editors ever come to this blog, know my manuscripts are much more meticulous. Even so, I am amazed what I miss in a three-hundred page manuscript. So thank heaven for editors like Cindy Davis.
This is the woman assigned to me by The Wild Rose Press when they contracted Goals for a Sinner. She is the one who made it flow like a well-run play in football. No awkward sentence escaped her. And I have learned "towards" should never be used. I have an great fondness for "towards". She also displayed a fine sense of humor and a willlingness to let me argue a point I did not think should be changed. I dreaded the editing process, but found it really did make my book better. Cindy made it painless.
Imagine my joy when L & L Dreamspell signed Wish for A Sinner and hired Cindy as my editor again. This book is twice as long as Goals, but the three edits went just as smoothly. I was fortunate to have her services provided by my publishers, but she does freelance as The Fiction Doctor,www.fiction-doctor.com, if anyone out there needs some extra help polishing their manuscript. You are in good hands with Cindy.
I really should go back and correct all the picky little erros in these posts, but hey, I'd rather be working on my next book.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
More on Book Selling - or Not!
My editor warned me that libraries are the worst sites to sell books, but I went anyway when offered a free table to sign Goals for a Sinner just after Thanksgiving. I joined eight other authors, mostly self or e-pubbed, in a broad hallway between the children's department and the DVD collection. Didn't take me long to realize that people come to libraries to borrow books, not buy them. Maybe not my target audience.
Young mothers who looked like they could use a light, spicy read scurried past practically shielding the eyes of their tots from my cover of the half-naked, ripped guy that is somewhat hotter than the actual book. Whole families with DVDs stacked up to their chins for free weekend viewing stayed out in the middle of the aisle. Most of the authors sold two or three books, including one old gentleman with a self-pubbed tome of inspirational messages. He told me later that one copy was stolen, but figured the person must have needed it really badly. I sold nary a one, but at least I wasn't ripped off.
On the plus side since I was in the city, I finished my Christmas shopping afterward. That put me in the mood to do good. The next day, I went to sign up to be a bone marrow donor-and found out my bone marrow is too old. How depressing. But ever shameless, I did tell the volunteers that one of the characters in my sequel, Wish for a Sinner, had been saved by a bone marrow transplant and handed out my promotional cards. You would think after all the research I did on that subject, I would have known my bone marrow had expired. Will I get any sales from my generous impluse to help or my nerve in handing out the sexy guy cards at a charity event? Only time will tell.
Young mothers who looked like they could use a light, spicy read scurried past practically shielding the eyes of their tots from my cover of the half-naked, ripped guy that is somewhat hotter than the actual book. Whole families with DVDs stacked up to their chins for free weekend viewing stayed out in the middle of the aisle. Most of the authors sold two or three books, including one old gentleman with a self-pubbed tome of inspirational messages. He told me later that one copy was stolen, but figured the person must have needed it really badly. I sold nary a one, but at least I wasn't ripped off.
On the plus side since I was in the city, I finished my Christmas shopping afterward. That put me in the mood to do good. The next day, I went to sign up to be a bone marrow donor-and found out my bone marrow is too old. How depressing. But ever shameless, I did tell the volunteers that one of the characters in my sequel, Wish for a Sinner, had been saved by a bone marrow transplant and handed out my promotional cards. You would think after all the research I did on that subject, I would have known my bone marrow had expired. Will I get any sales from my generous impluse to help or my nerve in handing out the sexy guy cards at a charity event? Only time will tell.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
The Airplane Sale
Friend and fellow writer, Nancy Brandt, who writes fantasy and inspirationals, has often told her tale of selling one of her books to the person sitting next to her on a plane. She says you can't complete a sale if the book is in your luggage. How I have longed to achieve that, and so have lugged along Goals for A Sinner on eight consecutive flights with no luck. Seems I am always seated next to a man who promptly goes to sleep or whips out the latest thriller, not my target audience for a football romance.
On my last trip north, I brought along three copies thinking my daughter's friends might want one or surely a relative at the family reunion/birthday party. Perhaps, the interesting woman I met at the plant nursery while buying a dwarf holly or the senior citizens I had breakfast with at IHOP would like my light, funny, spicy romance? But no. I used up all my promotional cards without gaining a sale. All three of those books were coming right back home with me.
Then, on the last leg of my journey, I shared the usual cramped space with a young woman reading Twilight at the urging of a friend. She wasn't much into vampires and found it slow going in the middle. I explained the story had been created for teens and adults sometimes found all the teen emo hard to take but to persevere as the ending was thrilling. Mentioned I was an author, ahem, and had my book right here. She read the blurb and said those magic words,"Now this is my kind of book." Sale completed. So thanks, Jessica on the flight from Atlanta to Lafayette. You have fulfilled one of my dreams.
On my last trip north, I brought along three copies thinking my daughter's friends might want one or surely a relative at the family reunion/birthday party. Perhaps, the interesting woman I met at the plant nursery while buying a dwarf holly or the senior citizens I had breakfast with at IHOP would like my light, funny, spicy romance? But no. I used up all my promotional cards without gaining a sale. All three of those books were coming right back home with me.
Then, on the last leg of my journey, I shared the usual cramped space with a young woman reading Twilight at the urging of a friend. She wasn't much into vampires and found it slow going in the middle. I explained the story had been created for teens and adults sometimes found all the teen emo hard to take but to persevere as the ending was thrilling. Mentioned I was an author, ahem, and had my book right here. She read the blurb and said those magic words,"Now this is my kind of book." Sale completed. So thanks, Jessica on the flight from Atlanta to Lafayette. You have fulfilled one of my dreams.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
How to Get Free Books
Become a writer-or a reviewer of course. Once you embark on a writing career, you will join associations, go to conferences, and never come home without a load of free books. The trouble is as you work on your own book, you have less and less time to read. I estimate my pile of to-be-reads is now two years deep. Recently, I pulled Hollis Gillespie's book, Trailer Trashed, from the bottom of my pile. It was at the bottom because, being a hard-cover, I used it to balance all the paperbacks above it. But, I have owned the book for two years having purchased it at the HeartLa Readers' Luncheon a long time ago. Her short, pithy, often humerous pieces are just what I am in the mood for right now. Hollis, sorry it took me so long to get around to it. Some of those paperbacks will yellow before I get to them.
It's often said once you become a published author, you no longer enjoy reading quite as much. In some ways, this is true. Suddenly every undetected typo jumps out at you, and you notice a very famous author used "was" twelve times on her first page. You can tell when a writer is padding to get her word count. You must turn off the editor in order to enjoy the books. And now, I have so many to read. Because in the end, all authors want is for someone to enjoy their story.
It's often said once you become a published author, you no longer enjoy reading quite as much. In some ways, this is true. Suddenly every undetected typo jumps out at you, and you notice a very famous author used "was" twelve times on her first page. You can tell when a writer is padding to get her word count. You must turn off the editor in order to enjoy the books. And now, I have so many to read. Because in the end, all authors want is for someone to enjoy their story.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Hand Selling your Book - or Friends & Relatives
I give a lecture entitled "Adventures in e-Publishing" where I quote a statistic that says most e-published books will sell only 150 copies. After giving my speech to a literary group, a self-published author stayed behind to say he easily had 150 friends and relatives to buy his books. I said, "Exactly". Selling beyond your friends and relatives is the problem.
As it turns out, the most obvious places to sell your book, libraries and bookstores, are the worst, except for those in your own home town where again, you will attract friends and relatives. A recent foray to an out-of-town library where I gave my speech to a tiny audience resulted in no sales at all. I learned I had done well to sell five copies at a Barnes & Noble event - but those who bought were friends.
So what else can an author do? Yeah, yeah, blog tours and blogging though you never know if that has done any good at all. My editor suggested Arts & Crafts fairs. Fortunately, I also paint and had a sidewalk sale coming up. I put my book and myself out there with my works of art and sold seven copies. Granted most sales were again to folks I knew, but a few were not. And a curious things happened. Those who were put off my super hot cover of the half-naked guy bought a little piece of art instead as a sort of compensation sale meaning "I wouldn't be caught dead holding your book, but I will take this charming sketch of a cat". I am not too proud to say it works for me. I came home with $152 in cash having sold an equal number of books and small pieces of art. Best I've ever done at a sidewalk sale.
Can't draw or paint? A newly self-pubbed author had a place two down from mine. He joined the Art Guild to get the free apace and sat there with nothing but a box of books on his card table. He sold them all - probably to friends and relatives, but I have no way of knowing. Caveat: If you have to pay $50 for a booth, probably not worth it unless several authors chip in for the cost.
As for the two gay guys who picked up my free postcards of the half-naked guy on my cover - enjoy.
As it turns out, the most obvious places to sell your book, libraries and bookstores, are the worst, except for those in your own home town where again, you will attract friends and relatives. A recent foray to an out-of-town library where I gave my speech to a tiny audience resulted in no sales at all. I learned I had done well to sell five copies at a Barnes & Noble event - but those who bought were friends.
So what else can an author do? Yeah, yeah, blog tours and blogging though you never know if that has done any good at all. My editor suggested Arts & Crafts fairs. Fortunately, I also paint and had a sidewalk sale coming up. I put my book and myself out there with my works of art and sold seven copies. Granted most sales were again to folks I knew, but a few were not. And a curious things happened. Those who were put off my super hot cover of the half-naked guy bought a little piece of art instead as a sort of compensation sale meaning "I wouldn't be caught dead holding your book, but I will take this charming sketch of a cat". I am not too proud to say it works for me. I came home with $152 in cash having sold an equal number of books and small pieces of art. Best I've ever done at a sidewalk sale.
Can't draw or paint? A newly self-pubbed author had a place two down from mine. He joined the Art Guild to get the free apace and sat there with nothing but a box of books on his card table. He sold them all - probably to friends and relatives, but I have no way of knowing. Caveat: If you have to pay $50 for a booth, probably not worth it unless several authors chip in for the cost.
As for the two gay guys who picked up my free postcards of the half-naked guy on my cover - enjoy.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
What You Want
I love writing, creating the story, even polishing it to a fine shine. Begging agents and editors to look at my work, not so much. With both Goals for a Sinner and Wish for a Sinner being football romances, they were often sent back as unread with the note "We do not do football stories" by many agencies that publish or represent romance. Eventually, I found two small presses that looked beyond the occupation of the hero to the good story being told and got those contracts.
I'd heard before signing that producing a book is hard work and have learned this is true. Over Labor Day weekend, I spent sixteen hours doing third edits on Wish. We were well beyond making any changes to the story and into looking for the tiniest mistakes to make this book the best we could. Some glitch caused the quotation marks to be turned in the wrong direction in about a third of the book. Page after page, I noted this correction. At last, they disappeared and the tedious third edit proceeded more normally with a missed "a" here and dropped period there. I sent off the corrections and was rewarded with the most wonderful compliment by my publisher. She replied she'd repaired the quotation marks, but at times got so caught up in the story she had to go back and make sure she'd gotten them all. Somehow, that made the sciatica flare up I suffered from spending so much time hunched over a computer on a holiday worthwhile.
So, I've learned the truth of be careful what you wish for-it's harder than you think to prepare a book for publication, but so very worth it.
I'd heard before signing that producing a book is hard work and have learned this is true. Over Labor Day weekend, I spent sixteen hours doing third edits on Wish. We were well beyond making any changes to the story and into looking for the tiniest mistakes to make this book the best we could. Some glitch caused the quotation marks to be turned in the wrong direction in about a third of the book. Page after page, I noted this correction. At last, they disappeared and the tedious third edit proceeded more normally with a missed "a" here and dropped period there. I sent off the corrections and was rewarded with the most wonderful compliment by my publisher. She replied she'd repaired the quotation marks, but at times got so caught up in the story she had to go back and make sure she'd gotten them all. Somehow, that made the sciatica flare up I suffered from spending so much time hunched over a computer on a holiday worthwhile.
So, I've learned the truth of be careful what you wish for-it's harder than you think to prepare a book for publication, but so very worth it.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Patience Required
If you want to see your book in print, be sure to stir up a big vat of patience and put it up in jars to use when needed. I signed the contract for my first book, Goals for a Sinner, in late June of 2009. Edits began immediately. All the edits and the galley were done by early August. Then, I waited nine months until the end of April 2010 to see the book in print, by publishing standards not very long. In fact, my pub date was moved up twice to the approximate time it takes to bring a baby to term.
So I signed the contract for the sequel, Wish for a Sinner, on November 1, 2009, and thought maybe it would be out in time for the 2010 football season. This time around, I wasn't assigned an editor until August, 2010, so make that the 2011 football season. First edits were done between the time I left for Wisconsin to deliver my son to grad school with all his worldly good in a U-Haul and getting on a plane for my daughter's baby shower in D.C. I think there must be some kind of Murphy's Law that says edits will arrive the very moment life is the most hectic. Last winter and spring-remarkably quiet until Goals came out, my son graduated, my oldest daughter got pregnant, and my younger daughter lost her job, moved home, found a new job and moved out again. Such is life. Open one of those big jars of patience and imbibe.
So I signed the contract for the sequel, Wish for a Sinner, on November 1, 2009, and thought maybe it would be out in time for the 2010 football season. This time around, I wasn't assigned an editor until August, 2010, so make that the 2011 football season. First edits were done between the time I left for Wisconsin to deliver my son to grad school with all his worldly good in a U-Haul and getting on a plane for my daughter's baby shower in D.C. I think there must be some kind of Murphy's Law that says edits will arrive the very moment life is the most hectic. Last winter and spring-remarkably quiet until Goals came out, my son graduated, my oldest daughter got pregnant, and my younger daughter lost her job, moved home, found a new job and moved out again. Such is life. Open one of those big jars of patience and imbibe.
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