The Fever Series

This accidental experiment started when I downloaded, for free, Karen Marie Moning‘s Darkfever, Book 1 of the Fever series. I was hooked from the first sentence. Feverishly, pardon that adverb, I raced through Darkfever, finishing it beyond midnight.

I could not wait for morning, and I couldn’t sleep so I turned on the wireless on my Kindle and purchased Book 2 of the series, Bloodfever. I read a few pages which turned into a few chapters. Only the thought of early morning appointments forced me to turn the Kindle off and lay it on the nightstand.

The next evening, I dived into Bloodfever, finishing it in the wee hours. Did I wait for morning? No, I did not. I went to the Kindle store and purchased each book of the rest of the series: Faefever and Dreamfever. Now I’ve finished those, and I have to wait until January for Shadowfever if I want it on Kindle. I haven’t checked yet to see when the print edition comes out.

No! All those months to wait? How can I wait when I’m in a fever pitch to find out how the series ends?

Free Books Sell Other Books

I don’t think we can make a sweeping statement that offering a free book will make readers order your other books. However, I think we can safely say that if a reader downloads the free book and loves the story, the reader will seek out other books by that author. Since I don’t read much paranormal, and I certainly don’t read fantasy so I’d never have pulled any of these books off the shelf. I don’t even shop in those sections of the bookstore.

A free book introduced me to a wonderful series of books. From free, I sought; I bought. I don’t know how I’ll manage to wait an entire 6 months for the last book.

Takeaway Truth

Free  is a good way to try something you’d ordinarily not select. Like me, you just may find books that are keepers and authors you will follow to other books, and you’ll gladly pay the cover price.

Peg Herring, author of Go Home And Die, lives in northern Michigan and has published, both traditionally and electronically, novels, short stories, plays, and articles. Mysteries compose most of her body of work and are based on her theme: Strong Women, Great Stories.

Because of her interest in e-publishing and her love of the mystery genre, Peg is one of the guiding forces behind the MysterEbooks website. Peg said: “For some time it has bothered me that there seems to be no site online where a person can read about ONLY mysteries published as e-books. With some trepidation and a lot of help, I’ve decided to attempt to change that.”

Opens Monday

Peg, with the help of a friend who established a blog dedicated solely to e-published mysteries, plans to begin posting books on Monday, July 26. They’re experimenting with the submission process so be patient if there are a few problems at first. They hope that authors will learn of the website and tell them about their books by following the template found on the new site.

Follow Instructions

Be among the first to be listed. If you have a book that’s an e-published mystery, exactly follow the instructions on the site so that your book can be listed. Be warned: if you fail to follow the template, your book will not appear.

Their Criteria

In order to list books that provide a quality reading experience, they’ve made the difficult decision to respectfully refuse listing books that have been self-published since very few self-published books are professionally edited. Career writers like Peg just don’t have the time to vet every submission for quality so, to me, it’s reasonable to limit the listings to credible publisher produced e-books.

MysterEbooks describes mystery as a book where the solution of a crime must be the dominant theme. So if you’d like to submit a book for consideration, go to MysterEbooks. Study their sample submission, and use the template.

Then send the completed submission form to mysterebooks@yahoo.com. They’ll let you know the date your listing will appear on MysterEbooks. Of course, they plan site promotion so readers will learn where they can go to find e-mysteries. If you like reading on electronic devices, visit them to find more about new options for e-reading.

Takeaway Truth

Reading a good mystery is like giving yourself a little vacation — complete with excitement, thrills, and chills — without leaving the comfort of your home.

Founded in 2005 by Seth Godin, Squidoo is a community website that lets users create pages called lenses. A page or lens can be created for any subject that interests the user. In Feb. 1, 2009, Squidoo claimed to have 900,000 lenses.

Creating a lens is easy. You can click the link above that leads to my lens. When you land on mine, just click Create A Lens.

How To Drive Traffic

When you create a Squidoo lens, you, the content creator, are called the lensmaster. You can add a link on your lens to your websites. You can also feed your blog to your Squidoo lens. Squidoo lenses are very similar to blog posts except they’re focused on a single subject like sunlight through a magnifying lens. Like other web pages, you can monetize your lens and pick up some referral revenue.

Since Squidoo is a user-generated website, it’s much like the other user-gen sites like HubPages, Mahalo.com, (mostly robot generated search engine), Knol, run by Google, etc. All these sites call the users experts. These self-proclaimed experts aren’t necessarily considered experts by anyone else, though some may be.

You’ll readily see that I feed one of my blogs to my lens, and that I’ve done little else to it. As always, time is the big issue. There are lots of online communities, and there just isn’t enough time to do use all of them well.

Takeaway Truth

Pick and choose the social media that works for you without letting it become a huge time suck.

Rita can be found at her website and her blog, Rita’s Not-So-Daily Word. She offers a free newsletter on her website and an archive of Talk To Me, her blog talk radio show wherein she interviewed creative people.

Now, let’s chat with Rita.

How many years from your first manuscript to your first sale?

For Sweet Bitter Love, 1 1/2 years; for Painting The Invisible Man, 3 years.

What has been your best experience as a published author?

Having the opportunity to go into schools and talk with kids about writing.

What has been your worst experience as a published author?

Can’t say I’ve had one.

What has surprised you most as a professional writer?

The sometimes profound effect my stories have had on people . . . on their self-exploration.

If you could write any story, without regard to it selling or any of those other business issues, what would you write?

I write those stories now. There is never a guarantee one’s work will sell.

What do you love about your career?

The freedom to explore myriad concepts, points of view, emotional and intellectual expression through my characters.

What do you hate about your career?

Not a thing.

If you got a big 6-figure advance for a book, what’s the first thing you’d buy for yourself?

A Tempur-pedic mattress!

What is the best advice you can give beginning writers?

Write every day. Establish a disciplined schedule. Don’t fall in love with your words. Embrace the value of rewriting and honing your work.

What would you like readers to know?

The web site where to buy my books! Seriously, seek out and support new writers. Spend the little extra to buy a new book, not a used copy off Amazon or the like. Authors only get paid when a book sells new.

PS. Looking for some good summer reading? Check out my novel Painting The Invisible Man, and read what it’s like to grow up in a family on the fringe of the Mafia. I hope you’ll tell your friends and family about this engrossing story too!

Thanks, Rita, for taking the time to visit with us.

Takeaway Truth

Make a point to discover a new author today. It’s a win/win situation for you and the author.

9 Ways To Get Started & Stay Motivated by Lisa Scottoline is good advice for any endeavor.

Future of Print points out what is obvious to many and resisted by just as many.

Set Up Guide For New Computer will help you avoid the dumb things we all do when we get a new PC or Mac.

Takeaway Truth

The web is a resource of information if you know where to look.

Her first book Lord of Always, ISBN 9781419925504, has been published by,  Cerridwen Press, an imprint of Jasmine Jade.

You can find this talented and persistent author hanging out at her website or on her Author Page at Cerridwen Press. If you’d like to contact her, she can be reached by email at cynthia at CynthiaWicklund dot com.

First, we’ll warm up our conversational engines with a couple of fun questions.

What’s your fave? Star Trek (old or new) or Star Wars (old or new) and why?

Both of the older series, but forced to choose, I’d say the old Star Trek. I have a real soft spot for the original series and Captain Kirk. I have to say, though, I loved last year’s Star Trek remake. It paid homage to the 60′s series while updating it brilliantly. What fun!

If they made a movie of your book, who would be cast to portray the characters?

For the hero, James Purefoy (The Philanthropist) as the character he played in A Knight’s Tale. Aristocratic in a casual way, refined, but not stuffy. Handsome without being perfect. Yep, he’d do. As for the heroine, maybe Rachel Weisz or someone like her?

Okay, Cindy! Now let’s get to the questions. 16 of them to be exact.

1. How long have you been writing?

Almost 19 years off and on.

2. What number book was this? 5th, 7th?

This was my 5th completed novel. I finished it in 2005 and was fortunate enough to final in RWA’s Golden Heart that year. So I felt it had potential if I could just edit it properly. The first thing I did was remove a 10 page prologue (set up) and replace it with a one paragraph intro. I began to get more interest in it after that.

3. Would you tell us something about your journey from the idea that you wanted to write a book to finally getting a contract for one?

Unlike many writers I didn’t start writing until I was an adult. It was a gradual process for me, from being mostly a dabbler, to joining writers’ organizations, to taking classes, to becoming part of a critique group and entering contests. I knew I was serious about pursuing publication when I finished my first book and submitted it to a real publishing house. When I started getting requests, that was validation enough to keep me going.

4. How did you find that title and do you have a 1 sentence blurb or log line for us?

I have this fascination with the mystical and what part the soul plays in the human it inhabits. Does it guide through intellect or emotion? Both? Who knows? I wanted to show how my hero is transformed when his soul is exchanged for another one. His memories, however, along with his understanding of who he is, are left intact. Obviously, this change creates quite a bit of chaos in his life and the lives of his wife and family.

The title was somewhat evolutionary, and to be honest I don’t remember the sequence of events that got me there. All I remember is the original title was very bland and generic, and bland can be worse than bad.

This is the blurb I use, as it’s the basic premise of the story: How does a good and honorable man atone for wicked deeds he committed when he was neither good nor honorable?

5. How many under the bed books do you have?

Everything else I’ve ever written. But I still think about those books, and, occasionally, I’ll think of ways to revive one of them. Saying that, I think it’s a mistake never to let them go. Part of being a successful writer is learning to move on to the next project.

6. What do you plan to do with them?

Nothing. I keep them to remind me of where I’ve been and where I want to go. And there’s always that vague hope that one day they’ll see the light of day. Unsold books are like your children – you love even the imperfect ones.

7. What keeps you going when you get rejected, and what’s your favorite “oh crap I got a rejection” food and/or drink to soothe the savaged ego?

To answer the first part, for the first 24 hours, not much. After that, the worst of the sting eases, and I go back and look at the rejection – if I’ve received a personal note – to see if I can find anything positive to hang onto. An editor once apologized for being unable to buy my book, but she couldn’t get it past the final editorial stage. She did, however, tell me I had a great career ahead of me. That one comment kept me motivated for a very long time.

My favorite rejection food is something with hot apples and cinnamon and vanilla ice cream. Won’t fix anything but it helps. A lot.

8. Who are your writing influences?

I read a lot of Victoria Holt in the day. I think that’s where I learned to love the Gothic-style, darker, moody stories. Of course, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte is top of my list in that category.

9. What are you working on now?

I have a traditional Historical (Victorian) that’s about two-thirds complete, probably most suitable for a market like Harlequin. I’m also plotting an Urban Fantasy. I know, I know, there are a lot of them out there right now. But that’s what interests me, and I have to like what I’m writing to have any hope of writing well.

10. What do you now know that you wish you’d known when you started?

The pall that trying to get published puts on the old muse. I’m not certain I’d have wanted to know that in advance, however, because I may never have written a word. And that would have been a shame because writing’s given me so much.

11. What’s the best thing about writing?

The creative process. Not knowing how to put into words what you’re seeing in your head and then coming up with just the right phrase or sentence or paragraph that brings that image to life. Words can be tangible things like paint on a canvas. I love working with words.

12. What’s the worst thing about writing?

The pursuit of publication. Working in a vacuum and feeling insecure. Not knowing whether you’re brilliant or deluded. Having many ideas but unable to choose a direction for fear of choosing badly because of that publication thing. That’s more than one worst, isn’t it?

13. Do you have writing goals? If so, would you share some with us?

My goals are somewhat fluid, subject to change. Probably explains why publication has been a long time coming for me. Those writers with the greatest focus, who let nothing derail them, get there the quickest. Talent is part of the equation, but talent alone won’t get you there.

14. What advice would you give someone just starting out?

Listen. Don’t take everything you hear as gospel, but be willing to learn. No matter how good you are, you don’t know it all. A little humility goes a long way. And make writer friends. They will understand and be there for you (thank you, Joan!) when no one else will.

15. Anything else you’d like to tell us?

Know your strengths and play to them regardless of what the newest trend is. I think it’s rare for writers to get published chasing the market unless they’re already established. Besides, if you’re writing something you don’t love, it’s most likely going to be obvious, and you’ve spent all that time writing the supposed next big thing and nobody wants to buy it.

16. Since this is the last question, I’ll make it a two parter. First, name a book or 3 that you were forced to read in school that you think are a time waste and why. (In school because that means dead authors and we don’t want to hurt feelings.) Second, name 3 books, any genre, that mean a lot to you and why.

Okay, I’m going to expose myself as one of the unwashed masses by admitting this, but I’d have to say the works of Shakespeare for books that I was forced to read. Truth is, I’m not all that intrigued by having to struggle to understand what an author is saying to me. I want to immerse myself in a story, not fight my way through it. And his works are just archaic enough to make them more work than fun. Having said that, I’m not denigrating his brilliance. Not for me in no way means not great.

Second, books that mean a lot to me. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee was transformational for me as a young person. I asked a lot questions I’d never thought to ask before after reading that book. And the movie with Gregory Peck was just as exceptional.

The Warrior’s Apprentice (and subsequent Vorkosigan novels) by Lois McMaster Bujold. Ms. Bujold took a deformed little man (Miles) and gave him the mind and heart of a giant. To me that character is the poster child to the concept “bigger than life.”

The Jane Whitefield series by Thomas Perry. A strong Native American woman with a little James Bond in her. She fascinates me.

Wrap Up

If you’d like to read some reviews of Lord of Always by Cynthia Wicklund, visit Single Titles and Night Owl Reviews
I hope you’ll buy this book by this deserving author, not because she’s my friend, though she is; not because she’s persisted so long and hard, which she has; but because Lord of Always is a very good book. I know because I rushed out to get a download copy as soon as it was released.

Takeaway Truth

If you like a romance novel with heart and soul, Lord of Always is your kind of book. Get it today!

(This interview was previously published July 10 on SlingWords.)

First, let’s be clear about something. I am not endorsing them. I have not used them. I’m not being paid by them. I just heard about them when I was checking into the different eReader devices and how to format for each. I found that if I wanted to pay someone to do it for me, then Infinity was a company who would do that.

Of course, being frugal me, I don’t wish to pay. I figure I can learn how to format for the respective devices so I’m not worried. However, a lot of people want to skip that learning experience and just get it out there and selling.

Takeaway Truth

For every problem, there’s probably someone willing to solve it for you. For a fee.

2. Add your URLs to your signature on your emails and forums, but make sure you follow the rules.

3. If you’re just getting into Internet promotion, start slow so you can get comfortable with it. Pick a discussion forum, and get acquainted with it by read what others say. Start commenting when you have something germane to add.  Once you’re comfortable there, find another blog, community, or social network and expand your efforts. Don’t go overboard. You still need time to write.

4. Practice talking about your book. Do it in front of the mirror. Set up a mock TV set in the den and have your kids interview you Oprah or Regis and Kelly style. Get comfortable talking about your book and yourself. This will pay off the next time you’re asked, “What do you do?”

5. Write articles and post them for free to some of the credible article sites online. You’ll have created an account there beforehand so you can write your bio and link to your website or blog, both if it’s allowed. When an article is used, your byline and linkage goes with the article.

6. Ask your friends to let you guest blog and set up your own blog tour. Take the readers from one blog to the next as you move through the day or the week.

Takeaway Truth

Get all the bang for your buck that you can. When you’re promotion budget is low or zilch, online promotion can make a difference.

Not Just Bookstores

Self-pubbed writers are really into finding ways to sell books. Of course, the thinking is that the more places you can find to offer your book for sale, the more sales you’ll make. What they do has applications for traditionally published authors who like to self-promote.

I guess self-pubbed authors are kind of like the old Hertz and Avis TV commercials where Avis was always shown as trying harder because they were #2 in the pecking order. So they had to try harder. There’s a lot of truth in this comparison because self-pub authors don’t have the built-in distribution accorded traditional, print-published authors. So, yeah, they do have to try harder.

Look To Your Book

So where can you sell books other than in brick-and-mortar or online bookstores? And I don’t mean out of the trunk of your car. Look at your book for marketing insight.

Does its setting lend itself to speaking to clubs and organizations that relate geographically? For instance, is it a mystery set in south Florida or on Louisiana’s River Road?

Does it feature a protagonist who is a librarian, architect, doctor, chiropractor, etc? There are professional organizations for just about every career path that usually welcome speakers at their meetings and events. Does your protagonist match up to such an organization? That can be a successful specialty market for you to sell books.

What about any hobby featured in your book? The book world is rife with sleuths who are caterers, knitters, quilters, gardeners, etc. There are clubs in most towns and cities that celebrate hobbies. They are another specialty market to which you can market your book.

Another market would be the specialty shops and websites that cater to those hobbies and occupations. Just be sure that the link between some aspect of your book and the group you target is easily recognizable, not tenuous and a far reach.

Takeaway Truth

Self-published books can be successful if they are marketed effectively.

1. Write with a compelling voice that makes the reader feel as if they’re having a great conversation with the writer. That way, they read the words, not skim the copy, because they’re afraid they’ll miss something entertaining.

2. If possible, punch up the copy with something unexpected. Quote a source that might be a surprise, i.e. Shakespeare, or toss in a humorous quotation, something that will pull a grin from the reader.

3. Use numbered lists. Readers love this because psychologically they feel as if they’re getting step by step help in an area. Even pros will read lists because they’re always looking for new ideas. Both groups are right. Sometimes, another writer’s numbered list really knocks the old ball over the fence!

4. Use metaphors and similes that speak to the audience’s cultural experiences. In #3 above, I used a baseball metaphor because it’s springtime which is baseball season and just about everyone understands a baseball home run. Sports allusions are great for male readers, but female readers understand them too. So don’t be afraid to use sports, literary, political, or whatever-floats-your-boat metaphors and similes.

5. Reference what others have done. Don’t be afraid to refer to what others have written on the same subject. Acknowledge the body of work that has already been created. Give links if possible; share that link love. Honor your fellow writers.

Don’t be afraid to tackle a subject that’s been done over and over because the way you write it may be the way that speaks to someone who really is looking for an answer. That’s content that works in every way.

Takeaway Truth

Always remember that different writers present the same information in different ways. Maybe you’ve read 100 articles on a particular subject, but article number 101 is the one that really explains it so you finally understand.

I’d ended the other blog post with the advice that: “No editor is going to reject you because you used a proportional font instead of a mono spacing font.”

You see, back in the old days before computer word count was viewed as fairly reliable, writers computed the word count of a manuscript as being 250 words per page. Broken down that was 10 words per line with 25 lines on the page, etc. That was the easy rule of thumb method for word count for book manuscripts. Newspaper columns had a different formula based on column inch. Editors used a more complicated formula to arrive at something a bit more exact for books. These were pages typed using a non-proportional font where every letter took the same amount of space. That font yielded a manuscript that was easy on the eyes.

Today, all editors now recognize that the computer count as being accurate. You even submit a computer file with your manuscript on it which makes editing and laying out as easy as pie.

If you’re submitting a hard copy, the main thing to be concerned with is the darkness and legibility of the font and the fact that it is a serif font – and good quality paper. If you’re submitting electronically, then you want a san serif font and one of adequate size, at least 12 point, because that’s easiest on the eyes when reading from an electronic device.

So I wouldn’t even sweat the issue. Anyone who tells you it has to be Dark Courier is wrong in today’s world. Now, if an editor tells you: “I only read Dark Courier hard copy submissions,” then download the font. However, I’ve never heard of that happening. Otherwise, use any of these for printed manuscripts: Courier in bold if that’s the way you need it to be dark enough, Garamond, Georgia, or Times New Roman. If you’re submitting electronically: Arial, Lucida, Tahoma, Verdana, or any san seriff font. Again, make sure it’s a good size like 12 point or even 14 in some cases.

Takeaway Truth

Don’t nitpick on meaningless details. Nitpick about the quality of your writing.

Keywords

Keywords are “descriptors,” a word created in 1948 Calvin Mooers. They’re used to find documents in an information system such as a catalog or a search engine. Ideally, keywords should be a distilled representation of your subject or topic. Keyword is an Index Term upon which bibliographic control is dependent. Libraries depend on bibliographic control to collect, organize and disseminate documents. So do search engines.

Keywords Or Tags

On the web, tags are a form of keywords used by just about everyone even if they don’t realize the importance of those words. Tags also can be created by automatic indexing or keyword extraction as in software applications.

Keywords are stored in a search index, but common words like article adjectives and conjunctions are excluded. If you want to see whether the keywords you use for a blog post or an article are on target, here are some websites you can use to help you analyze the popularity of keywords.

Google Search-Based Keyword Tool is an official Google site.

GoogleFight is not associated with Google, but it’s another site you can use for analysis.

GoodKeywords has a couple of free download reports to help you learn more about this.

Takeaway Truth

To get your well-written content widely read, use relevant keywords.

Fiction and Nonfiction

The Goldenberg Prize for Fiction and the Carter V. Cooper Memorial Prize for Nonfiction are offered by Bellevue Literary Review. Each has a cash prize of $1,000. and publication in the Spring 2011 issue. Send unpublished prose, up to 5000 words, along with entry fee of $15 per submission. Manuscripts are to be submitted online.

Takeaway Truth

Someone will win. Maybe it will be you.

One of the things to learn is that your self-identity is not the same as what you’re trying to achieve. Today, I’m thinking about how to separate your self-identity from your writing. You have to learn that you are not your writing. If your writing gets rejected, that does not mean that you have been rejected, but a lot of people think it’s one and the same.

The easiest way to start learning this lesson is to submit your work. If you aren’t ready to hit an agent or editor, then try entering contests. Find a contest that has no or a minimum entry fee, and make sure it’s a credible contest with a good rep and judges who know good writing. Then submit your work rather than continue to sit on it.

Separation

Learning that you are not your writing is necessary in order to survive this fierce business. If you cave at the first sign of rejection, i.e., not placing in a contest, or you fall into a deep depression, then you need to rethink your aspirations. Rejection is a huge part of being a professional writer. You pitch, and you hope the powers that be like your ideas. Sometimes they will; sometimes they won’t.

Entering contests and not placing or submitting to an editor and getting a rejection is a good place to start learning that you’ll survive if someone tells you “no.” That’s all a rejection is – a “no thanks.” For whatever reason. So don’t be afraid to try.

Takeaway Truth

Just as you’ll never learn to swim unless you jump in the water, you’ll never get published if you never submit.

The truth is a mixed bag, but for some projects that just don’t fit the traditional New York big publisher paradigm, self-publishing gets the authors work to readers.

Success Story

A big success in self-publishing was a phenom of last Christmas. The Elf on the Shelf by Carol Aebersold and Chanda Bell, a hardback book including an elf doll, flew off the shelves.

First self-published in 2005, by 2009 it was the number 1 seller on BarnesandNoble.com. The package also sold well on Amazon and Borders.com. Success, as measured in sales, meant that their sales were about $7 million in 2009.

If you’ve seen self-published books, you realize that most are not worth the sticker price. They’re poorly written, rarely edited professionally, and boast amateurish formatting and lay out. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that they’re all like that because they’re not.

Takeaway Truth

I predict you’ll find more and more quality books that are first self-published as traditional publishers get more and more scared of spending money on an untried author.