Current Release: KEPT

KEPT is a free paranormal romance ebook (novella): pick it up HERE

A print release featuring KEPT and two other novellas in the series will be released March 2010.

 

My Catfight with Nora Roberts

So, it’s floating around a lot of the internet that I got into a cat fight with Nora Roberts on the Smart Bitches blog. This is true. At some point Ms. Roberts decided to take something I said as a personal affront when it was never meant to be, and as a lecture from me to her on how publishing operates, again, which it was never meant to be.

My opinion continues to stand that ANYONE who is famous and at the top of publishing and hasn’t been a newbie for decades, does not fully comprehend the issues that newbie authors face NOW. It is a different publishing world. This is not meant to discredit or diminish anything about Ms. Roberts, what she’s done, where she’s been, or where she’s started out. (Though funnily enough another blogger on another site felt it okay to poke me with a stick because I’m new. I guess our “starting out stories” really only become inspirational in hindsight huh? Believe me, I’m saving up material for twenty years from now.)

My views on the state of the publishing industry are not something that I have pulled out of my butt. I have been following developments very closely for awhile and if random bloggers can commentate on it, I’m not sure why the hell I can’t as well. My opinions come from things said by many who DO know about publishing from the inside and in the top strata. Prominent agents, folks in the publishing industry like Mike Shatzkin, Booksquare blog, etc.

I’m not exactly sure what is so upsetting or controversial about my view that:

A. Self publishing is right for some authors but wrong for most and WILL position the authors it is right for, for a better publishing future later. (i.e. the ones it is right for are the ones who can really succeed at it.)

B. It’s much harder than it used to be to land a traditional big name publisher.

C. Most authors on the midlist aren’t making that much money for the hours expended.

D. Most authors are paying for their own marketing and other author-related expenses like conferences and classes and such which is STILL money spent even if they aren’t “paying to publish” in the exact same way a self-publisher would.

E. Publishing is CHANGING.

Is there anything in this list that is so offensive or upsetting that I need to be lynched for it?

Perhaps it’s my tone? I am very passionate about my topic, and it is true, sometimes I come off in ways I don’t intend. But when I state over and over again in a thread, practically fucking groveling to someone who has stated they are merely “annoyed” with me, that I didn’t mean any offense, I didn’t mean to come off that way, you’re reading shit in that I’m not saying, etc. etc. You would think I’d be given a fucking break.

Well no, not on Smart Bitches. I once had an issue like this on Dear Author as well. I’ve concluded that once this particular thread dies down that I will not darken the doors of either blog again. Clearly this is not a very receptive audience to what I have to say about publishing.

Many went on about how they’d rather listen to Nora Roberts than me since I’m a nobody. Fine. But appealing to authority is not a valid debate tactic. A fact doesn’t become a fact once a famous person says it. Nor does it cease being a fact just because someone you don’t know says it. And if trad publishing is right for you, great, listen to Nora. I don’t need converts. If self-publishing is right for you, you’re going to want to listen to me (or if you find my tone so appalling and screechy you can’t stand me, then listen to a prominent self-publishing advocate that you like better.)

This is not about “who is best” or “what path is best.” Despite my repeated statements that I wasn’t trying to have a discussion like that, it kept being turned into a discussion like that until it ended up as a pissing contest between myself and Ms. Roberts.

And I really don’t care how famous you are or how long you’ve been in the business. Much of what I’m saying is coming directly from industry insiders, so being famous doesn’t make you a priori right and me a dog turd. It also doesn’t give you the right to drag on drama on and on about one or two lines of what I’ve said taken out of context and twisted in order to find offense.

Unfortunately all the collateral damage here is mine. Though I will never read a Nora Roberts book (and a few people who emailed me about the thread claimed they won’t either), she’s famous, so it really doesn’t matter. She’s got enough readers that a few of us saying we won’t ever touch a book of hers because of drama like this, doesn’t really make a dent.

A few people stated publicly they wouldn’t read me (it appears that both Nora and I had detractors that won’t read us, but people only had the balls to state it publicly to me because I’m a nobody right now) and yeah, that is my loss. Which is the primary reason I try to stay off blogs like this and out of discussions like this. Because no matter what I say, if someone doesn’t want to hear it, they’re going to take my “tone” and assume shit I didn’t say and never intended.

But it won’t matter, because once the mob effect takes place and people have their scapegoat they don’t care. The only real upshot to this is there is always some stupid drama going on in Romancelandia on the blogs. This will fade into the cosmic past drama file if I avoid future drama.

And the real truth here folks is, if you want to enjoy an author’s fiction, never ever read their blog comments, because at SOME point, everybody gets into disagreements, and if you’re going to give up or not read an author based on that, you might end up switching to TV for your entertainment.

I will say this. In 10 years when I’m farther along down my path, assuming I haven’t alienated too many readers from pointless drama that I bear the brunt of the fallout for, then my views are still going to be the same. You’ll find them more valid then of course if my sales are high enough and my books are good enough, but it will still be the same shit I was always saying.

Anyone who wants to take ten years to benefit from perfectly valid knowledge, be my guest. See you in ten.

ETA: I actually went back and re-read every post I made in the smart bitches thread, and I can’t see a single thing that was offensive (aside from my long-windedness. That I genuinely apologize for), up until the point where Nora started kicking me in the head and I started defending myself. Even then I was trying to keep it light and tongue-in-cheek, but I think some people on blogs like DA and SB want to take themselves WAY too seriously to the point that they want to infer subtext into everything that isn’t there.

I really think there needs to be some kind of reading comprehension test to be allowed on the internet because it’s extremely tiresome to try to have a civil discussion and have everything you say taken completely out of context and motives attributed to you that were never there. (i.e. asking for validation, jealousy, bitterness, etc.)

Why can’t I have and express a viewpoint I believe in without there being a need to assume I need you to validate it or me, or that I’m somehow jealous of you or bitter about my experiences so far as a writer, or some other nonsense you’re just pulling out of the ether?

 

Cover Art for Blood Lust is HERE!

My cover art is complete for the first print release. The artist is Anne Cain. I think she did an amazing job! Here is the front of the cover. I may upload the full wrap here in a minute.

 

Yay, Improved Stats

Today my kindle stats were the highest they’ve ever been. I’m now at 1,102 in the Kindle store for KEPT. (And I figured out how to do a screen shot finally. Click on the image to see it full size.)

I changed the product description which I believe has directly affected my stats. Since this is the highest I’ve ever been. I would love to get into the under 1000 mark. That would be awesome.

I’m working right now on Blood Lust, which is the first print release in this series. Doing the final edits right now and almost have final cover art to show off. yay! Soon I’ll change things up so that the KEPT free release is reworded as a sample from Blood Lust, so it’s clear to people that Blood Lust is what they want if they want to read the first full book. I have Blood Lust slated to release by the end of February (hopefully, depends on how long these edits and formatting takes), and then SAVE MY SOUL, which is book two (full-length novel in same verse), is slated for release in October of 2010 (because it’s already been through two drafts and is getting close to being done.) Book three I’m writing the rough draft of this month for Nanowrimo.

 

The Blurring Lines in Publishing

In My Publishers Weekly daily email update I got a link to the following: HCI Author Gets Own Imprint

So a publisher is now giving an author their OWN imprint. i.e. their own publishing identity. Interesting.

The lines are beginning to blur even more. Ebooks already blurred the lines, as has POD, since the line between the big boys and the small boys became non-existent. And now this. Very very interesting.

I’m trying to basically keep my head down, keep my eyes on my own paper, and do my thing. Stuff is changing in the world of publishing and if I just go about my business, by the time I get myself positioned where I want, stigma won’t even be an issue. And I’ll have been active, doing the things I know need to be done during the time while everybody else was still arguing over whether it should be done at all.

Screw that. Once absolutely everybody agrees self-publishing is a really great idea… it’ll be too much overwhelming competition. Right now we still have a few really talented people who self-publish, but mostly people who are decidedly unsavvy and shouldn’t be self-publishing. While I appreciate that the good self-publishers take away some of the stigma, I have my own imprint. The average reader just isn’t going to know or care I’m self-published, so all the crap out there has nothing to do with me.

 

Running a Mile in Under Four Minutes

I’ve posted a blog post over at Publetariat.com called: Running a Mile in Under Four Minutes.

It’s mostly for self-publishing authors, but really it’s about believing in yourself and the fact that if you don’t, you really cannot achieve your goals/dreams, even if you “take some action” toward them.

 

Call For Submissions

I am opening submissions for a print erotic short story anthology. Submissions will be open until December 31st, unless I don’t get enough strong entries, then I’ll hold it over. If you’ve written an erotic short story that you’d like to submit, please send it to: incubooks@gmail.com with the subject line:

 

Progress on the book, plus back cover copy:

I’ve been radio silent for awhile, but I’m back in the game now.

I’ve made some progress on the book. I was wanting to release it by Halloween, but I got distracted by some stuff and had to take some time off. Now it looks like the release date of this book will be February 2010. (By release date I’m hoping to have theriantype.com redesigned, as well as have my site itself redesigned. They may not be the “final” designs, but I’m hoping to upgrade my look a little.) And SAVE MY SOUL, the first full length novel should be out by next halloween. So that should get me back on track, because I want to make Halloween my normal release date if I put out a book a year. And SMS is pretty far along in being ready itself.

Though I “say” Halloween is going to be a normal release date, but I will delay a release to get it “right.” Deadlines are just a mental marker for me so I can keep stuff in my head and pace myself right. I’m not going to be a slave to a deadline. I’m just working til it’s ready, but it helps to map things out some tentatively at least.

I also named the book. I’m dividing the book into three “parts” Part One: Kept, Part Two: Claimed, Part Three: Mated. So each novella is it’s own “part.” It’ll make it feel more like “one thing” instead of “three separate things.”

I found the link, the MAJOR link in all the novellas, blood. Which helped me to tie them all together for the back cover copy, which I’m going to post under a cut here in a minute. The book is going to be called: Blood Lust and it’s the first in a series, though all future books will likely be full length novels instead of groupings of novellas.

I’ve also named the series itself. “The Preternaturals.” So on the spine it will say: “The Preternaturals – Book One” I really like when a series is labeled by book number for reader convenience. The books, since they all stand alone as full stories, can be read out of order, but people who read in order are more likely to catch the easter eggs.

I’ve also given all my info to my cover artist, and gotten a page count. I should have a cover to show everybody by the end of the month. Whoo hoo. And I have a GREAT cover artist. I’m really excited about her and am a big fan of her work. She’s done a lot of really great covers for Samhain Publishing, as well as covers for others, including some traditional print publishers I believe.

I have a pretty cool idea for my covers but I’m not going to tell it. I want readers/fans to figure it out on their own. But it’s cool, and people should figure it out by about book 5 if not a bit sooner. But, if you see it and raise an eyebrow and go hmmmmm. I just want to say… yes, it was intentional. And that’s all I’m saying right now. The cat will be out of the bag on it soon enough.

This is the great thing about publishing my own work, when I get an idea like this, I can put it into motion and make it happen. I think if I told this idea to a traditional publisher, they would laugh and say “hell, no. That’s crazy.” But I’m allowed to do crazy things.

I am getting my enthusiasm back for this as it’s starting to feel like a real book. I’ve even got an ISBN number earmarked for it. I’m not sure what I would do if I ever got a really “good” offer from a publisher, but for now, I LOVE being in total control of the complete process and knowing that EVERYTHING was what I wanted. Cover, interior layout decisions, fonts, front and back matter, every single edit, EVERYTHING I approved and is what I wanted. I am both A. A complete control freak where my work is concerned and B. A Publishing Geek. And I’m more sure than ever that I’ve made the right publishing decision for myself. I no longer second guess it. And wonder if I’m on the right path, cause I know I am.

I’ve also devised a rating system so people have an idea of what they’re getting sexually from a story. People get very persnickety about this issue but I refuse to write sex in any way different from what a story NEEDS. I’m not writing graphic sex just to titillate you. And I’m not going to write sex at all in a story where it doesn’t make sense. Example: While Claimed oozes sexuality in some ways, there isn’t a single sex act in the story. Because it would be ludicrous to fit into the timeline and I’m NOT writing epilogue sex. That’s just nutty.

Okay… onward for the back cover copy:

 

Kindle Rank Back on Track

My Kindle Sales rank is back on track. After an influx of large publishers being allowed to give freebies more frequently on Amazon.com in the kindle store and the discounts being taken away from the indie books, my sales rank dropped all the way down to 8,000 in the kindle store, and was spending most days between 4,000 and 5,000. I’m thrilled to say that I’ve climbed back up, almost to where I was before, in the top 2,000 despite these changes!

Yay!

# Format: Kindle Edition
# File Size: 124 KB
# Publisher: IncuBooks (November 25, 2008)
# Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
# Language: English
# ASIN: B001M5TE1I
# Average Customer Review:
26 Reviews
5 star:
(12)
4 star:
(11)
3 star:
(2)
2 star: (0)
1 star:
(1)

› See all 26 customer reviews…
4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
# Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,211 in Kindle Store (See Bestsellers in Kindle Store)

Popular in these categories: (What’s this?)
#31 in Kindle Store > Kindle Books > Romance > Fantasy, Futuristic & Ghost
#54 in Kindle Store > Kindle Books > Fantasy > Contemporary
#67 in Books > Romance > Vampires

 

New Interview

I’ve been Interviewed over at: Lori A. May’s blog.

 

I’ve been nominated

There is a free e-books poll that KEPT has been nominated in, as a favorite read. It’s open to public vote.

Go Here