Creating the WRITE Reality (by LG O'Connor)

Let’s go to the Hop! Blog Hop… Posted: 13 Apr 2014 08:58 PM PDT Last week, when my She Writes Press writer pal, Cindy Eastman, asked me to participate in this blog hop, I was thrilled. Meet Cindy… I met Cindy Eastman through my publisher, She Writes Press. Knowing her has been a breath of fresh air during this crazy road to publication. She is a writer and an educator raised in Louisville, Kentucky. She attended undergraduate schools in Austin, Texas and graduate school in Springfield, Massachusetts and holds a Master’s degree in Education. She has taught students from ages 5 to 85 in subjects like poetry, English writing and computer skills. Cindy’s writing is informed by her ability to be an observer as well as a participant in her life. With her dry sense of humor, she is able to address a variety of topical subjects and deliver an insightful analysis that’s both provocative and amusing. Cindy’s first book, a collection of essays entitled, Flip-Flops After 50: And Other Thoughts On Aging I Remembered To Write Down was published by She Writes Press on April 7, 2014. You can find her online at www.cindyeastman.com or follow her on Twitter @CLEastman Thanks, Cindy for asking me to hop with you! Good luck with all your appearances this month in CT! Cindy is spearing next on Wednesday night, the 16th, at Barnes and Noble in Waterbury, Connecticut at a Local Authors Night. As for me, my book, Trinity Stones (The Angelorum Twelve Chronicles #1), launches on April 22nd, and you can catch my Book Event at Barnes & Noble in Livingston, NJ on Saturday, May 3rd from 4 – 6pm. Come see me! …And the now onto the Blog Hop questions:  1)    What am I working on? Besides the obvious crush of my launch date on top of me, I’m in the middle of editing the second novel in The Angelorum Twelve Chronicles, and writing the prequel novella. Fingers crossed, I plan to launch them both before the end of the year. And then there is the new contemporary romance ‘package’. On a wild hare, I entered National Novel Writing Month, and wrote a new book in a new genre between October and November of last year. It’s a May-December romance between an older woman and a younger man. As a teaser, here’s my log line: Two Hearts. One soul-shattering decision. 40s romance writer plagued by loss comes to rescue of troubled 20s male cover model. That book is undergoing some final editing before I submit it an agent who requested the full manuscript during a conference in March. I’m also in the process of writing the two accompanying novelettes that follow the book, and baking a sequel with one of the secondary characters. I guess you could say I have my hands full  2)    How does my work differ from others of its genre? Although The Angelorum Twelve Chronicles is billed as an urban fantasy / paranormal romance, it’s really more of a ‘mainstream romantic paranormal’. It’s kind of a mash-up of Angelopolis (Mainstream Paranormal Fiction) meets Fallen (YA Paranormal Romance) meets the Black Dagger Brotherhood (adult Paranormal Romance). I tried to balance angel lore, science, religion, fantasy, and romance in a plausible story taking place in contemporary New York City. Since this is the first installment in a four-part story, there is a lot of time invested in world-building. That will appeal to some, but not others. I’ve found that the early readers who have enjoyed the book the most are new readers to the genre without expectations of a specific formula. As for my contemporary romance, it’s a May-December romance. I’m a big fan of New Adult, so I chose to write in that ‘raw and immediate’ style by using dual first person point of view. My protagonist is an older woman, and clearly not a NA character, but her male love interest fits snugly into that genre. That said, I’m taking a bit of a chance, but I LOVE this story. My trusty beta team has given the book rave reviews. Still, this will be considered an adult, rather than new adult, book.  3)    Why do I write what I do?  I’ve been an avid reader my whole life, and I write what I want to read. My writing gives me pleasure and drives to me to a place where I am compelled to write. My characters are my children, and I love them all.  4)    How does your writing process work? Hmm. Great question. Three main things: i.        My muses mostly drive a ‘pantsing’ kind of creative process supported by a loose outline. Since I started this adventure by writing an epic paranormal (what was I thinking?), I developed an overall story arc which guides me as far as the beginning and end of each book. It’s the sub-plots and story threads that turn out to be surprises. I let the characters guide me when they are in the mood. Why? Because I need to be surprised as I write to hold my own interest, and more often than not, my characters know more than I do and make it a better story. ii.        Marinating time. For complex plot lines and threads, I need time to think on things rather than rush through them. iii.        Then there is the story of my contemporary romance that dropped into my lap by way of the universe. The idea struck me one morning in early October on a long drive to Pennsylvania. It was based on an experience I had in August after leaving a sick family friend in the hospital and spotting a landscaper who looked like one of the male characters in my A12 series. That became the seed for my opening scene. Three days later I had an outline. What the…? An outline from a pantser? Six weeks later I had a completed 80K word novel, and I’d won National Novel Writing Month with 52K words during November. Huh? Go figure. Regardless, it always takes my twice as long to edit a novel as it does to write it. That’s it for me! So, let me introduce you to three of my lovely writer friends below who will be the stops on this tour next Monday, April 21st: Sharon Trembley   Sharon Trembley and I have been a part of the same critique group for over two years. She is a novelist and native New Jerseyan who has worked in the IT field for years.  She’s been behind the scenes for large mainframe installations, including one that was on the 10 fastest supercomputers list for a few years, and has physically worked in the Bell Labs facility in Murray Hill during her career.  Nowadays, she assists clients with the complexity of software licensing, and has no problem making massive spreadsheets of hardware environments, applying unfathomable contract language, and enjoys examining software vendor audit findings. Sharon also performs animal rescue volunteer work, fostering kittens and cats. Some people are creeped out that she prefers to foster black cats because they are the least likely to be adopted, but her dogs love meeting new cats, especially bottle baby kittens. After her career hit a speed bump years ago, she began writing and discovered National Novel Writing Month in 2011.  Sharon can pound out the words for NaNoWriMo but needs extra editing time to mix in cross-genre elements such as horror, non-traditional romance, and a dash of mystery into her contemporary fantasies.  Her first novel, The End of the World Sucks, is a non-formulaic tale that considers what would be most likely to kill the unskilled protagonist, Vanna – zombies, a vampire, or her fellow man?   A sequel is planned, but a house fire in 2013 has slowed Sharon down. You can find Sharon here  http://sharonscrazycats.blogspot.com/ Kelly Kittel   My fellow She Writes Press author, Kelly Kittel, has spent most of her working life as a fish biologist who writes but has been undergoing metamorphosis to a writer who was formerly a fish biologist. She is married with five living children, her best work beyond compare. She currently lives with her family in Rhode Island but prefers to write in their yurt on the coast of Oregon. She has been published in several magazines and anthologies and her first book, Breathe, will be published on May 14, 2014. Find her at: www.kellykittel.com Rossandra White   Another of my She Writes Press author friends, Rossandra White, will also be participating. A fourth generation South African, Rossandra White is a blogger and author of two YA novels, Monkey’s Wedding and Mine Dances, which are set in Zimbabwe and Zambia. A recipient of many writing awards, White has been published in Writer’s Digest and Interstice, among others. From computer operator to letter carrier, executive secretary to ceramic artist, White has found her passion living in Laguna Beach with her two Staffordshire Bull Terriers, Fergie and Jake, where she writes and blogs about the wild old days of her childhood in Africa as well as the wild new days of her life here in the states. When she’s not writing, she enjoys yoga, Jazzercise, and hiking the hills behind her home in Laguna canyon. You can find her here:  http://rossandrawhite.com/

Book Reader Infographic - What species of reader are you?

I saw this graphic, and thought I'd stop boring you guys with post after post about crazy publishing schemes.  I've decided that those who speak about writing and author type stuff are dreamers, and those who speak primarily about their get-rich-publishing ideas are schemers.

Laura E. Kelly created this graphic to classify Book Lovers and other Readers.

I believe I'm under Free Range - I'm complicated with Library Lover tendencies.  What kind of Book Lover are you? 

Laura E. Kelly, What Species of Reader Are You?

Bestselling Authors do not make Big Bucks

I've been doing research to better understand traditional publishing contracts and payments so I will be well-versed in the math to assist other authors in making a decision regarding traditional versus self-publishing.  And with the rapid changes in publishing, to understand some of the complexity.

For example, we're aware of Amazon.  Amazon is more than a book and everything else online store and distribution powerhouse.  Amazon also has both flavors of publishing under its octopus of a corporation.

There's CreateSpace for print on demand (POD) paper-style books, and also Kindle Direct to distribute ebooks in the Kindle format.  Both of these can be used by self-publishers, but it is not unusual for a small publisher to have their printing performed by CreateSpace.  CreateSpace is offering a cost-effective solution to their company.  Amazon also has imprints which operate with a traditional publishing model - authors receive contracts, advances, and royalties.

So while I was on Facebook and someone posted a link to 'Hey Amazon, where's my money?', I clicked to read the article on Salon.  I sell books on Amazon, and I have read some previous articles and blog posts that sounded like Amazon was letting some authors down.  They were short on specifics or contradicted my personal experience.  Such as if someone says they're going to Amazon today and will buy your book, and by the next day you don't see the sale - Amazon must have cheated you of that sale, rather than the acquaintance never following through.

I loved the Salon post by Patrick Wensink, except for the title [which has since been changed to My Amazon Bestseller made me Nothing and there may be more info in the article since I first saw it].  Wensink is not self-published so the publishing numbers and payments from Amazon are delivered to Wensink's publisher.  Wensink's publisher collects all the numbers and payments, then they'll issue a royalty statement and pay Wensink based on his contracted terms.  Even if the publisher is your buddy, they control the business relationship with Amazon or any other distributor.

Last year, Patrick Wensink received a cease and desist letter from Jack Daniels because the cover of his novel Broken Piano for President resembled their distinctive label.  The polite tone of the request made the news and increased sales for Broken Piano for President.  

The Salon post supplies the facts, and I love numbers rather than some hurt feelings and finger pointing.  Wensink's novel climbed into the Amazon top bestseller list for a week.  It sold approximately 4,000 copies during the 6-month royalty period (usually July-Dec), and Wensink received $12,000 (he didn't mention an advance, but we can talk about the $12k).  That's actually a great royalty rate, without any of us knowing the specific contract terms with respect to printed on paper copies and eBook sales.  

To validate those sales numbers, it's estimated it takes roughly 500 sales in a day to break into Amazon's top bestseller list.  Wensink doesn't mention other sellers, but I found that a great deal of book sales go through Amazon because the shelf life of a book in a brick-and-mortar store averages six weeks, without automatic reorder if the title sells out.

And Wensink's post makes a great point - 'I had a bestselling book.  I didn't make a decent wage.'  That's spot on. 

As a little BTW, the book currently only has 22 reviews on Amazon.  Reviews are like hen's teeth.

Goodreads Giveaway

Hey there,

I'm not speeding along with National Novel Writing Month as quickly as I  did last year. It wasn't my lack of electric, but the sad things I keep hearing from others.  

I am seeing lots of out of state utility trucks so I'm not laying the blame in that direction either.

However, I'm trying to turn that around (I have plenty of plot in my head!) with a Goodreads Giveaway 

that will receive entries for 30 days. This is for a physical, paper copy that I will mail at my expense.

I am giving away two (2) copies of The End of the World Sucks.

Time & Materials for Self-Publishing

Or what I would call a T&M metric.

Actually, this blog post is more personal than that because there’s been questions, and perhaps my answers are falling short.

I’m an idea person.  For years, I would think of alternate versions of stories, shows and whatever, and when I was laid off in 2009, I read fanfiction, then wrote some.  I did not convert any of that into original fiction, but there’s some similar ideas and themes.

Then I heard about NaNoWriMo in 2011.  At the time, I was back to working full-time, and still kept my part-time job from my unemployment phase because my pay was drastically reduced.  However, I was good at spitting out large amounts of words so I was undaunted by the challenge of writing 50,000 words in 30 days.

I wrote the first draft for The End of the World Sucks in November 2011.  Some NaNoWriMo participants call it quits on Nov. 30^th – mission accomplished or not.  It’s the writing that’s important, not who sees it.

From my fan fiction, I knew that some people liked what I write (though there’s others who set up troll accounts to keep voicing their hate continually – I’m that much of a literary force?).  I could post it for free to the internet, and point people to it.

But there’s also the possibility that it was a publishable idea/story.   To ask for money though, I felt the story needed to be stronger and improved.  It’s a two-way street – I invest time into the writing and making it better, and someone pays for the diversion and hopeful enjoyment of reading it.

So I entered months of critiquing, editing and finally proofreading. Why did it take months?  It wasn’t that the manuscript was that big a pile of crap, but I have limited free time.  Besides working, I also do volunteer work, and at times, my teenager needs me for parental things.  

During this period, I tested the waters regarding traditional publishing.  I understood it would take time, but I was getting the feeling that what I had was not genre-specific enough, but drew enough on the horror elements that it couldn’t be a mainstream novel.

I’m ok with that.  I don’t feel like rewriting the story with a kick-ass, unreal hero(ine) with all sorts of mad survival skillz.  She’s intentionally normal … or somewhat normal. Vanna’s not me, but I have observed some young ladies at my part-time job that could be close (the client’s employees, not my colleagues), and I’ve also watched enough television and news stories to fill in more details.

I also did not want to rewrite the disaster that put her in this situation – Vanna hiding in her house for a month after a zombie outbreak can be dramatic, I suppose, but I was interested in what happened after that.  That’s what the story’s about. Many other tales begin with the outbreak, and then the search for other survivors.  I wanted to investigate what happens once someone survives to that point.

Also, I don’t have enough zombie action.  Since I intentionally have Vanna as the main character, and she’s rather normal, why would she want to head towards zombies?  I’m leery of storylines that have characters continually putting themselves in danger, without good reasons to do that.  I’m even more critical when during their repeated attempts to do stupid things, the skilled characters martyr themselves to save the idiot.  Good going, idiot.  Now who’s going to save you from yourself?

Then the final straw was zombies and vampires don’t mix.  I wouldn’t say they’re mixing in my book, they coexist.  I feel that zombies would present a problem to a vampire if they need living human blood to survive.  What’s a vampire to do?  That leads into a secondary problem that some people don’t like which is other characters having motivation that may not mesh with the main character.  I’m writing crazy ass plot with everyone having an agenda.  Most start with ‘stay alive’, but it diverges after that.  I don’t think that’s such a big deal because even in a simple sounding murder mystery, it’s not as easy as everyone versus the killer.

So, when I decided on self-publishing, I had to learn what was what.  I’m not in this profession, and less than a year ago, I didn’t even know people doing it.

I have to spend time on ‘the author platform’.  That means this blog/web site, Twitter, Facebook, and trying not to spend too much time on GoodReads.   I’m supposed to be talking about what I know and what I’m working on.  Well, I’m not labeling myself as a professional writer, but I don’t mind sharing what I’ve found out.  A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.

On top of that, and getting the manuscript text polished, people started talking about costs.  I didn’t spend anything on the author platform, except my time.

I had a coupon for CreateSpace from NaNo – 5 free copies of the novel, but I needed to pay for shipping.  I won a second coupon with the same offer.  Expiration date: June 30^th.  Shipping costs $11.90, and I have ten printed copies of my novel.

Before that June 30^th deadline though, I had some other expenses like editing and proofreading, and I also wanted to have a certain look to the cover so I licensed some images from Shutterstock.  I also licensed some extras of the same female model to use because one of the writing groups I had joined suggested that I put back story for the novel on my web site.

I also opted to officially copyright.  Work is copyrighted from the moment an author writes it, but the $35 seemed a reasonable price.  It’s certainly less than buying my own ISBNs.

Once I had my cover image, I splurged on Vistaprint and ordered some business cards with my book cover and social media list, and also some postcards.  Vistaprint may be in what’s considered a dying field – business cards and other marketing items – but they’re keeping it alive with their great pricing.  If I break it down, a color postcard cost me six cents.  Between both sides, it lists my book title, July publication, a blurb, and sets the expectation that it's about 'Zombies, a vampire, and human social drama.'

That leads to the three-part question that spurred me to write this post – “How do you expect to make money as an author when you are spending so much to self-publish, especially when it takes you more than six months to get a novel to market?  Additionally, how can you consider yourself successful if no one is waiting to buy your book when it first comes out?”

I’m going to answer the second part first, since to me that seems like the no-brainer – I’m not quitting my day job, or even my part-time job because I need that income.  Once I begin making ‘real money’ as an author, I can reconsider that possibility.  I don’t believe six months is an unreasonable period of time to work on editing my first professional novel.  If I had pursued the traditional publishing route further, and was successful, it may be 18 to 24 months before the book was scheduled to be published.  I hope to become quicker as I practice good writing habits.

How do I make money with this?  Well, I have a spreadsheet listing my costs to date because if I have income, I should deduct business expenses.  Since I’m tight-fisted in this endeavor, I spent $141.  Some people may spend more, and there’s less expensive ways to do this.  I am comfortable risking this investment. 

During the first week, I sold a few copies through the kindle format, one through the Nook format.  Some people have said they ordered the paper version of the novel, but Amazon/CreateSpace is not reporting those sales yet.  My best royalty rate is roughly $2 and that’s for the Kindle version.  So if 70 kindle versions are bought, that’s my breakeven point.   I also have extra paper, physical copies in my possession that I could sell for $10 each, if I join a local author talk circuit.

My business plan is to wait for positive reviews and word-of-mouth.  I believe the early orders are from people that know me, but I have no definitive proof except for the person who has the novel on her Nook.  The forward-looking part is if there are no sales through Smashwords, and B&N/Nook is stagnant, I will opt to go exclusively with Amazon for a 90-day period.

And BTW, I think that line of questioning is a deterrent to everyone considering in investing in a better, self-published product that saw them posted @Sharon because I recommended self-published authors invest time and money in editing and proofreading.

The End of the World Sucks

I'm working on all the different versions to get my novel out in various versions.

Old school paper, Kindles, iPad/Pods/Phones, Sony and Kobo.  The only person I know closely that has an eReader has a Nook so I made the special effort to go right to PubIt on Barnes and Noble, rather than using Smashwords as many do.  I also did make a Smashwords edition to get it outside the Nook, Kindle and printed paper - it's meat grinding as I type this.

Actually, it's done.  Huh - I passed.  Where's all the tales of gloom and doom and cries of 'The Meat Grinder!'?  It appears it is already for sale through Smashwords too - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/177496

I'm not pushing a preference for SW in particular, just surprised it's so quick compared to the holding pattern I'm in with Kindle and Nook.

I will say the printed word gets the nicest formatting with little biohazard symbols as scene breaks.  The digital versions have to settle for a double carriage return.  


The printed version will be available on Amazon after I receive my ordered copies, and I'll be opting for all countries they allow it to be offered in.  


I'm working on a page for this site specific to the book for pre-prologue.  A couple of my advance reviewers seemed to have a conniption that a zombie book not starting at the moment of infection is a rip-off.  However, since my protagonist isn't a scientist or modeling to be a future action figure - she's intentionally normal - Vanna hiding, losing electricity, and bemoaning the loss of cell phone and internet service is not going to win readers.


In fact, this isn't much of a zombie book - it's more like a book that has zombies and a vampire, but it's really about the living, breathing people.