Another Step toward the Elusive Published Author

This blog is all about my journey toward publication, and to that end I have been successful. I have been published in online ezines, several times.  I won a prestigious contest, and the entry was published

in print in my college alumni magazine.  Is this publication success?  I'd like to think so, 

but how do you measure publication success?  

Not as easy as it once was with all the options now out there. Self-published, small press, big six, in-print..

Seeing your book on the bookshelves of the local bookstore, which was once the dream of every aspiring author, may slowly be an impossible goal.  Ereaders, smartphones, tablets, who reads a book anymore?  Many of us do, and I have been polling all the younger generation I come in contact with, much to my teenage children's horror, on the viability of the printed book.  So far the answer is still overwhelmingly--printed book.  Maybe they look at me and my wrinkles and think that is the right answer. LOL

But for me, being able to hold a printed edition in my hands is still something I long for and now I can. This past week I was published in an anthology The White Sail available on Amazon! 

I've never had anything available on Amazon before and it is a milestone.  I need to do an Amazon author page.  How cool is that? (baby steps for me, remember?) 

Even though the monetary reward is smaller, and the prestige probably not as great as the contest win, this is a big deal to me.  Another small step toward my even bigger goal of a book in print. You know the kind you can hold in your hands, and sign with wise words and the flourish of your practiced signature? (Okay, maybe that is only me)

By the way, you can also read my story here "Look Out for Fluffkins" here free.  But this in no way diminishes my excitement of the printed anthology :)

Feel free to comment on your small steps toward publication and how you measure success, or anything else you'd like to comment on.

Welcome Lionel Snodgrass

I’d like to welcome to my blog Paul Hewlett, a self-published children’s author.  Lionel Snodgrass is the main character in his newest release Lionel's Christmas Adventure: Lionel Learns the True Meaning of Christmas. 

Paul, tell us what inspired you to become an author.

I've always had a vivid imagination and I love to people watch. I may see someone in a crowd dressed in something outlandish and in my mind, I create a background or story explaining it. That kind of morphed into putting things down on paper. At that point no matter what I wrote it came out best suited as a children's book.

You self-publish your books, which to me has SCARY written all over it. Why did you self-publish. and tell us a little bit about the process?

Ha, I decided to self-publish in large part to the ever growing mountain of rejection letters I was accumulating. I began to look into it and decided it was indeed a viable option. Well, the process is very daunting. I owe a great deal of thanks to Melissa Foster and her WLC website. She is certainly there for the aspiring or even established author. In self-publishing there is so much to learn and it changes all the time. I owe so much to all the wonderful folks that I have come in contact with and who have helped me. 

There's so much to self-publishing that I'll just sum up the essentials. First, have a great story. You can ensure that it is up to par by having beta readers and critique groups read it. Second, have a professional cover. Third, professional editing. Those are key, don't skip any of those, or the other things you don won't matter.

What was the hardest part of self-publishing?

To me, it's reaching my target audience. That is a constant challenge. There is a lot to be said for the exposure one gets via social media, but for me, are children looking at that? Probably not. You have to research and identify your target audience and then find ways to reach them. 

What’s the most fun in self-publishing?

I think it's the fact that you are promoting and marketing your product. The return is all yours. You're not out trying to sell shower curtain rings (my apologies to all the shower curtain ring salesman out there, I know you  have a difficult job). It's your product, your baby, and that makes it all the more motivating and fun to work to put it in people's hands. 

I love your covers, who did the artwork and how did you find them?

Pat Sauber illustrated Lionel and did the first two covers. For Lionel's Christmas Adventure, Pat illustrated Lionel and I had LLPix Photography do the cover itself. Pat is an friend of a co-worker of mine and Laura, I found through my social media connections. 

Tell us about Lionel, your main character. He has some quirks which make him instantly relatable and likable.

I love Lionel. He is a lot of fun to write. Everyone has known a Lionel at some point in their life. He is the underdog and no matter how hard one may try it is very difficult not to root for him. 

How did you pick your setting?

I set the books in the late 1960's. I wanted to focus on the characters and their interactions. I felt by using that era that I could realistically strip away a good number of distractions that kids have today. Some of the things that Lionel does, he may not be doing if the books were set in modern day. He might be busy playing xbox or something. 

Tell us a little about writing a series?  The ups and downs?

The up is the fact that you don't have to spend a lot of time coming up with the characters and background for each book. Those are established. The down is trying to keep each book interesting and not just like the previous ones.  Each book is written to be able to stand on its own. That is also a major challenge. You don't want to bore returning readers with all the same background information, but you have to make sure that the first time reader understands what is going on and why. 

Does Lionel have another adventure coming up?

I have an idea for another book, but I might try something that I did with Lionel's Christmas Adventure. I asked my fans on Lionel's Grand Adventure Facebook page for some ideas for the Christmas book and they responded with some terrific ideas.  

I’ve been following the discussions on book trailers, and by the way I love the trailer you created for Lionel’s Christmas Adventure.  I’m not sure if it the snappy Christmas music you used but it is one of my FAVORITE BOOK TRAILERS. Have you found them to be beneficial to your sales?

The book trailer for Lionel's Christmas Adventure is the first one that I have done. I had mixed feelings about them, but had some very specific ideas for this one. I also felt that if I could keep it under one minute long it would be better (it's about 1:20). I've seen some that are 2:30-3:00 minutes long and I think that's too long to keep people's attention. I just released it Wednesday & the book isn't available yet, so I really don't have any data to support it one way or the other. I will be tracking it though.

Because I’m always curious about writers’ process tell me are you a plotter or pantster?

I've tried both. Up until Lionel's Christmas Adventure I had been a pantster. For the new book I tried a different approach. I outlined each chapter prior to writing it. I did find outlining the chapters beneficial. It gave me a little more guidance as to where I wanted to go with the story and kept me focused. I'm still a bit of a pantster though, since I do not sit down and plot the whole story through and through prior to writing.  

What is the most difficult part of the writing process?  How do you prevail?

For me, it's getting the whole story down on paper. I don't have much trouble coming up with ideas, but filling in the blanks between the ideas and making it a book is the toughest part. I prevail by writing, and I mean writing--longhand. I write the rough draft on paper. It enables me to keep my mind flowing, no distractions. 

What comes easiest?

Rewriting or revising. That's my favorite part. Once I have written the rough draft, I turn it over to my critique group and beta readers and let them pick it apart. I love taking that feedback and revising. That, to me is not only the easiest part, but also the most enjoyable. 

Any advise for aspiring authors?

Once you decide that it's what you want to do. Write, write, and write some more. It is the very best way to improve your craft. And remember, you have only failed if you give up. 

I read you are a dog lover.  So here’s a photo of Paul’s dog JoJo.

Yes, I am a huge dog lover. We adopted him from the local shelter a couple of years ago and he is the best dog. I am a firm believer in adopting pets, but that is for another interview.

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog.  Be sure to check out any of Lionel’s Adventures on 

Amazon or on Facebook

As always feel free to comment or ask questions of Paul.

Halfway Point - NaNoWriMo

I hope your NaNoWriMo words are spilling forth.

Mine are not spilling, they’re dribbling. I’m not quite at the word count I should be. Halfway today I should be at 25,000 words, but I’m not too far off just over 22,000. I blame football, my craft shows, and not enough coffee, not necessarily in that order.

And now I’ve been tagged by my good friend and multi-published author Jillian Chantal in a game called Zig-zag you can read about it here. 

I’m supposed to find in my WIP the word look and post the surrounding text. Pretty scary stuff, since this is a fast first draft, without revision - think vomiting on the page. But I’ve always been a good sport, so I’ll play along and tag five more writers.

Here’s a peek into my vomit on the page middle grade contemporary with a working title that's supposed to keep me focused on the main character's goal--Can Hertz Survive a Screenless Summer?

Pops sits and whacks my back so hard I almost fall off the stool. “I had to bring Hert in to try your pancake sundae. First day of his summer vacation.”  He points at a framed certificate to the right of the chalkboard. “Look up there. What did I tell you. Best Pancake Sundae in Arizona.” 

Pete steps in with a pot of coffee. “You probably figured out this is the only place in the state you can get a pancake sundae.” He edges closer to me and lowers his voice. “Word of advise. Never teach your mom photoshop. The first certificate she printed up had a life-sized photo of my face on it.”

Pops chuckles and turns over a cup resting upside down in a saucer in front of him. “You never showed me that certificate.”

“I didn’t show it to anyone.”

Five of you’ve been tagged

Sher Hart

Paul Hewlett

Liz Flaherty

Holly Vance

Marian L

For all of you participating in NaNoWriMo

May your words flow steadily for the rest of the month and provide an endless lake of possibility at the end.

As always feel free to comment.

NaNoMo - Trading Blood for Callouses

I have never been able to do the official National Novel Writing Month as I have a seasonal business that keeps me busy through the fall months of October, November and December.

My business--OneWiredWoman makes the rounds of local craft fairs. With the help of copious amounts of caffeine and artistic wire, I will literally wire until my fingers bleed during the fall months.

But this year I am trimming my wiring timetable and I am committing to doing NaNoMo. I expect to still use copious amounts of caffeine, and although my fingers might not bleed, I'm expecting some callouses.

I have done a Fast Draft Class with Candace Havens which is a two week, write until you drop class.
(I highly recommend it and her Revision Hell Class too.)

I have done Savvy Authors Bootcamp in May. But I am excited to be participating in a worldwide event for authors. I have even talked a couple friends into joining me.

And I'm plotting! Yes!  As a confirmed panster I signed up for Todd Stone's Prepping for NaNoMo class with Savvy Authors this month and I have been reading blogs, listening to webinars and chats while walking the fine line of plotting.  You see if I plot too much I don't want to write the story.  My subconscious says "Why write it?  You know what happens."  But I know I won't have time to mull around what happens next so I'm working on figuring out some of the major plot points while not going too deep with the plotting.

Another tool I plan to use.  Free writes.  Remember those? Old-fashioned pen to paper, a timer, and a prompt. They are very freeing, very creative and words fly!  So if I get stuck I plan on free writing, using prompts applicable to what comes next or character interviews, dialogue between characters, etc.  I don't expect all of the free writes to make it into the manuscript. Maybe a few tidbits, nuggets of gold will end up on the page, but you never know.  At least, it may keep me from staring at a blank screen and/or running to the fridge or wine cabinet. LOL.

I'm looking forward to the camaraderie, the pep talks, the challenge and the creativity of NaNoMo. Maybe you'll join me, spwriter500 on the NaNoMo website.

As always feel free to comment and share.

Submit, Submit, Submit.

No, I’m not talking about my new philosophy after reading 50 Shades of Gray, LOL.

I am talking about my latest mantra on the road to publication.

I frequently spout to my fellow author friends (usually when they are feeling beat down from another rejection) that it took 60 submissions for Kathryn Stockett author of The Help to get accepted.  And I recently read of a published author whose magic number was 81.

So submit, submit, submit.

Then I found this quote:

You must keep sending work out; you must never let a manuscript do nothing but eat its head off in a drawer. You send that work out again and again, while you're working on another one. (Isaac Asimov)

So I keep on keeping on. And submitting.

My wonderful instructor/author/cyber-friend Devon Ellington gave me the “Seven Things About Me Award” thank you Devon and here are my seven things...

1. I’ve concocted by own alcoholic beverage I call Naked Jose - 1.5oz tequila (gold Jose Cuervo preferred), 1oz triple sec, splash of lime juice, dash salt and 4 - 8oz of Naked Green Machine - boosted fruit smoothie.  
2. I love to read middle grade novels where I often laugh out loud - right now I’m reading “How Lamar’s Bad Prank won a Bubba-Sized Trophy” by Crystal Allen - hilarious
3. I hate gardening even though I come from a long line of gardeners - might be the snakes.
4. I don’t text - maybe the last person in the US.
5. I might be a math geek, I do Sudukos everyday, for fun.
6. I love libraries but hate used book stores.
7. Visiting California is still on my bucket list. 

A bend in the road is not the end of the road... unless you fail to make the turn.  ~Author Unknown

As always... feel free to comment.

Peek at a Published Author's Process

My good friend and fellow author Jillian Chantal is back. This time we’re talking about the process of getting a book written, edited and published with an e-press.

She has two new releases this month: 

SURF BREAK a short story, her seventh published short published under her pen name of Jillian Chantal and HOT PURSUIT her 6^th full length novel.

How about walking us through your process.  

I usually get an idea for a story from the hero. I don't know why that is, but a hero comes to me with his name and a bit of back story first. I then have to struggle to find the right heroine for him. In two books in particular, I had to rename the heroine because she didn't work with the name she had and her personality came to me when I changed her name.  I find that names are very important if the story is going to flow right.

Once I know a little about the characters, I start the first paragraph. My writing process is organic and I merely roll with the flow and let my characters take the lead. I have one story (that's not been shopped around) that I started with only the man's name, his occupation, and the fact that a murder occurs on his property. Less than 30 days later, I had a 60,000 word story. 

When I first heard about this I found it fascinating, are you willing to share your process of building a music collage before you start?

It's odd how music speaks to me. I listen to Sirius radio (which I adore since I can get tons of choices) I jot down songs and who sings them and the year of production. I keep a running list of these and they may not even seem to have anything in common. When I’m ready to start work on the next book, I download the songs and burn a playlist or CD. I then immerse myself in the songs while I work the day job, in the car, in the living room, etc. After about two days of that, ideas start to come for the story. It seems as if my subconscious was already at work as the songs were chosen. 

Sometimes, it's completely weird such as for HOT PURSUIT. I had the playlist and couldn't resist adding a song by a band called Interpol. It had nothing to do with, at the time I picked it, the hero being an Interpol agent as I didn't even know what the story was. I picked the song because I wanted to have my lawyer's firm in New York City and the song is called New York. I downloaded it to the playlist. As I started writing, the story was going to be about a lawyer whose associates kept leaving to marry the clients. The story took a wild turn that consciously I wasn't aware of until it happened. I'll never forget, when the scene landed on the keyboard, how I said to the heroine (out loud, mind you) "Who are you and what are we doing?" There's a line in the song that talks about having seven faces and knowing which one to wear. CRAZY! It fit so well, it was insane.

Do you do a fast draft? About how long does that take you?

I do draft pretty quickly. It depends on the story itself as to how fast that goes. A slow one is about 35-50 days for a first draft. I have done a 60,000 word one in 21 days – that was my first NaNoWriMo novel which was Redemption for the Devil which is published by Desert Breeze Publishing. The story I'm working on right now that doesn't have a name as yet but is being called "The Venice Story" is rocking along at a fast clip. In 8 days, I've written close to 29,000 words. It's one of those that I love to write. One that seems almost to be like taking dictation from the characters. 

When you edit do you print?  Use colored markers, highlighters, a flame thrower? When do you decide it’s ready to go out?

 I usually do two rounds of edits on the computer separated by a print edit. In other words, I do a draft, print it and mark it up and then go back and add the changes, I do a final read through and then let that puppy out into the world. I've found if I keep it around much longer, I start tinkering too much and make a mess. A flame thrower is an interesting concept but I don't think I could destroy any of my babies that way, but maybe I could find some use for it. S'mores, anyone?

Publishers? Query? How do you decide? 

I have three publishers I'm currently working with. They all offer something a little different so it's easy to choose where I want to send the story. I sometimes don't know until about 10,000 words in on the longer works where I'm going to send them. That's kind of a barometer to me – a turning point if you will – to make it racier or not. Desert Breeze Publishing has a policy of allowing open-door sexual experiences but even their most intense (which is my level there) stories are milder than lots of other publishers and there are some stories that organically call for that. I've only done historical for Desert Breeze as of this date, but they have recently accepted a contemporary that will come out in 2013.

Between my other two publishers, the line is a little more blurred. Ellora's Cave and Secret (Or Sweet- they have both) Cravings Publishing allows me to use stronger language that sometimes the characters and story call for. So far, I've sent shorter stories to Cravings because they accept shorter works than Ellora's Cave. I plan to send them longer works but right now the story I'm working on is going to be sent to EC for the first right of refusal.

Can you tell us a bit about the edits you get back from your various editors and how you go about working those?

I get them back and glance through the comments first, then I do the easy stuff, like accepting the punctuation, etc changes (one at a time so I can learn). After that, I tackle the hard stuff. 

Titles?  How is that decided?  Has a title you’ve used as a working title ever been the selected title from the publisher? 

Titles are my bug-a-boo. They kick my butt every time. I've only ever had to change two- both because the editors thought they needed to sound more romantic. One of them was the Ellora's Cave one. The new name is soooo much better than the previous three it had been known by before my editor got hold of it. She actually gave me the suggestion for the name HOT PURSUIT and it is absolutely perfect. It fits the story so well, it's crazy. As soon as she said it, the light bulb went off.

And you make book trailers.  Can you tell us about that?

There's a program I use that's called Photo-Story 3. It actually came with my PC that I use for my legal work. It's simple and I'm quite proud of myself for mastering that (we'll ignore the crash that lost one last week that I had to re-do) There are two difficulties I have in doing trailers. One is finding the right pictures for the hero and heroine- ones that match my idea of the characters. The second is doing the script. You want it to be intriguing without giving too much away, so I'm thinking that crash the other day where I lost the first draft of SURF BREAK'S trailer was divine intervention since I may have given away too much there.

What’s next for you?  

My next release is October 21, 2012. It's the second story in a series. The name of it is The Gambler's Brother and it's from Desert Breeze Publishing. It's a post WWII story with a few murders, a former RAF pilot, a French Resistance Fighter and, oh yeah, a bit of romance thrown in for good measure. 

Thanks for stopping by Jillian and giving us a peek into what the writing, editing and publishing process is like for you. Good luck with your new releases and we will be looking forward to many more.

As always if you have any questions or comments feel free to post.

BUY LINK: http://www.jasminejade.com/p-10324-hot-pursuit.aspx 

BUY LINK: http://store.sweetcravingspublishing.com/index.php?main_page=book_info&cPath=4&products_id=104&zenid=27145cc683f1a146b5f37d7f8aff6487

Visit Jillian on the web: www.Jillianchantal.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JillianChantal 

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/#!/jillian.chantal 

As always if you have any questions or comments feel free to post them here.

Get Yourself Some Cheerleaders (you can never have too many)

“The people who are lifting the world onward and upward are those who encourage more than they criticize.” Elizabeth Harrison  

I was recently in France (and no, I am not a world traveler) but while in Paris, the trip down the Seine on top of a double decker river boat was one of the highlights.  And we did this the first thing when we arrive (read - no sleep, no shower, big-time jet lag) but I will never forget it. The views of the monuments from below are spectacular - Notre Dame, The Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, 

The Museum D’Orsay.

But what struck me the most passing under each uniquely detailed bridge (sure, the architecture of the bridges is amazing), 

but it was the people on the bridges that astonished me most.  

They all waved and cheered as we passed under. 

Now there are many, many of these boats cruising the Seine.  And many, many bridges. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy and welcomed (might’ve been the cappuccino LOL).

So I thought about my winding journey to book publication and how having cheering and support for each little step has made all the difference for me this time around.

I embarked on this path ten years ago, but without the internet, living in a small, somewhat isolated town, and I gave up too soon.  

But this time, thanks to the internet and writers associations like RWA, SCBWI, Savvy Authors and others, I have found ongoing support, encouragement and cheerleaders with writer’s loops, workshops, workshop teachers and their loops, critique groups and writing friends that I have found through the above.

So if you have less than supportive people around you on this sometimes lonely journey, go out and find yourself some cheerleaders. They are out there. 

And remember giving support feels just as good as getting support. 

Feel free to comment on who, and what builds you up, cheers you on or anything else.