Should writers pursue print publication or publish their own ebooks?

The above question came up in a forum recently, and while everyone has to determine what's right for them as it is a very personal decision, I gave them my thoughts on the topic.

I say go for both--print and ebooks. If you have a traditional publisher for your print, all the better. But don't let that stop you from publishing your own ebooks, especially the ones your agent and publisher aren't interested in. You definitely don't want to overlook the ebook market. That's where the money is right now for authors, if you publish the ebooks yourself.

As a self-published and traditionally published print author, I've seen the pros and cons to both sides.

If you have a backlist of titles that your publisher is finished with, get them up on Amazon Kindle, KoboBooks and Smashwords right away. Sales of ebooks are on the rise, and they won't be stopping or slowing any time too soon.

Other ideas for ebooks: publish a collection of short stories or an anthology with other authors, publish a novella or novelette, publish a how-to book or a book of poetry.

I have 4 ebooks coming out between April 1, 2010 and Sept 27, 2010. :-) There's only one thing better than promoting your books, and that's writing them!

My agent is holding 2 thrillers. I'm considering taking one back and publishing it as an ebook next spring.

The key is this: you want to build momentum, then try to keep that momentum going. And the only way to do this is to keep releasing books under some semblance of regularity.

With Amazon's recent royalty raise to 70% for qualifying ebooks, it's possible for authors to now make more money selling less expensive ebooks than selling traditionally published print books. But in the end, it depends on the personal goals of each writer.

Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
bestselling author & book marketing coach
http://www.cherylktardif.com

My thoughts on the Kobo ereader

I was recently asked to give my opinions of the Kobo ereader on another blog, and I've decided to share them with you here. Since Kobo is a Canadian company and I'm from Canada, I am a bit biased. I really want this company to succeed; I was one of their first Canadian authors at the very beginning when they were known as Shortcovers. So I do have history with them.

But I'm also a Kindle fan and Sony ereader fan and others.

I recently bought a Kobo ereader. For a few reasons.

1. I want to give it to my mother for Christmas. She's an avid reader but not big on technology. I think she'll love the Kobo ereader because it's very simple to use and she won't have to pack 4 books when she travels. And it's a dedicated ereader; it doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles to detract from its purpose. My Mom doesn't need those bells and whistles. So for ease of use and practicality, the Kobo ereader scores a 5/5.

2. It was one of the least expensive ereaders--before the ereader price wars. However, now that other ereaders have dropped their prices, I think Kobo should follow suit. Their product is just too simple to compete, price wise.

3. I wanted to play with the ereader before giving it to my Mom. :-) As a reader, I wanted to feel the Kobo ereader experience myself. I wanted to see what makes it great, and what doesn't. For me, the Kobo is perhaps a bit too simple. I like the bells and whsitles. I like 3G functionality and easy purchasing and updating of new books. So for me, the Kobo rates 4/5 for functionality.

There's also a second reason why I wanted to try it. I'm an author. I want to see what potential Kobo readers will be using, how my books will appear, what the readers' experiences will be. Again, for those who just want an ereader, the Kobo ereader is perfect. I believe it will especially appeal to those who are young (great kid's Christmas gift idea), or much older (60+) and those who aren't very techie.

It's unfortunate your experience at Borders wasn't a positive one. Here in Canada, we've had big ad displays advertising the Kobo ereaders, even in the Chapters bookstores that don't have them in stock. The staff I've talked to have all been excited, especially when I showed them my Kobo ereader. Some staff hadn't seen one yet, but most have some knowledge of the device.

I've even volunteered to go into my local stores and show customers my Kobo ereader, let them play with it. :-)

I've enjoyed the Kobo ereader. The update went fairly smoothly for me and I haven't had any major glitches, though I always expect them with new technology. But I'll be honest; I was one of the people who swore years ago I'd never read on an ereader. Oops...

Check out the Kobo ereader and be sure to check out their huge library of books (including my own) at KoboBooks.com.

Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
bestselling author
www.cherylktardif.com

Zigzagging Plots

I walk in the desert, sometimes on straightaways, sometimes on hills. I learned something from the hill walks: she who goes up, must come down. And sometimes “down” means a very steep grade. I discovered that it was much easier to get to the bottom of these steep hills if I zigzagged from one edge of the path to the other. By descending diagonally, I can cut the steepness of the hill and am able keep my footing.

This seems to be a good metaphor for plot. While writing, we zigzag down an increasingly steep slope, never quite letting our readers know what direction they are traveling, but always keeping them on the path to the end. Or perhaps they are going up a hill, but the point is still the same: zigzagging.

I sent More Deaths Than One to hundreds of agents and editors, and the consensus was that my writing style was too matter-of-fact for the overly complicated plot. This from people who never read more than a few chapters. (Luckily for me, I finally found a publisher who read the whole novel and understood what I wanted to accomplish.)

It could be that as readers head down the steep slope of my story, zigzagging from side to side, the plot does seem complicated, but when they reach the end and look back, they can see that the story is very simple. A straight path. A man discovers that what he knows about himself is not true, and he sets out to discover the truth. Very simple. All the complications are simply the zigzagging path.

So, how do you keep your plot zigzagging? How do you know when to zig and when to zag? When readers look back from the finish line, can they see a simple story, or a complicated one?

Guest blogger: Anna Kashina, author of Ivan and Marya, talks about the challenge of the first page

Today, I welcome Anna Kashina to The Write Type. Anna is the author of Ivan and Mayra, a dark romantic fantasy based on Russian folklore. The cover alone is intriguing enough to make me want to pick it up and read more. Great to have you here, Anna.

Thank you very much, Cheryl, for hosting my post! I am very excited to be here.

I wanted to talk about first pages and story openings. The first page is arguably the most important piece of your writing that, if written well, can sell your book. With that in mind, first pages present a separate challenge that I wanted to discuss.

You might have written a gripping story, a sure bestseller, but does it show its full promise right from the start? A slow first page can kill your chances of ever reaching your publisher – and ultimately, your audience. True, sometimes first pages just work, but more often than not the story picks up later, leaving the first pages lagging behind. Thank God for revisions.

So, is there a recipe for a successful first page?

One of the absolute musts is a catchy first phrase. But even the most wonderful, witty first phrase can kill the reader’s interest in a split second if it is not followed by the prose to match. This first phrase must be set in a context, be delivered from a strong point of view, and draw the reader into a gripping situation.

A good thing to have in an opening is an immediate, brief, but vivid sensory input that places the reader right into the setting and gives a taste of the situation. Ideally, the description should be given through action, as part of the plot, and it should move the story forward. And, it should involve as many senses as you can naturally fit into this short piece of text. Once of my favorite examples of such sensory input given through action: “The darkness tasted like bitter bark and earth, sharp berries, and cold water.” (Unseelie, by Meredith Holmes). This phrase uses vision, taste, smell, and touch all at the same time.

But wait, what about the character? Yes, don’t forget that your readers would only stay with you if they care about your protagonist. Your opening should include a brief but catchy piece of information on your character and his/her situation that would make the reader strongly relate to this person and care what happens to him/her. I don’t normally do this, but for simplicity’s sake, here is an example of my own opening phrase from Ivan and Marya: “I stood beside my father and watched the girl drown.” -- a phrase that drops the reader into the protagonist’s point of view and tells something about the situation, and the character – someone in control and clearly on the side of evil.

Last but not least – an opening hook, relayed through tension. This does not necessarily mean action – in fact, hard action on the opening page is usually off-putting because we don’t know yet who is acting and why. What you really want to do is create an anticipation of events, pose an unanswered question that compels the reader to want to know the answer. To get that answer, they flip to page 2, and so on. Coming back to the example of Ivan and Marya – the design of the first phrase leaves the reader with a question of why the protagonist is just standing there watching someone die and does not do anything about it? Who is dying and why? These questions leave an opportunity to spend some time to paint the rest of the scene without losing the reader’s attention.

Successfully combining all these elements in a short space constitutes the challenge – and the reward – of a good first page.

Anna Kashina, was born in Russia and moved to the United States in 1994. She is the author of several fantasy novels published in different languages, including the most recent, IVAN AND MARYA, a dark romantic fantasy based on Russian folklore, just out from Drollerie Press.

For more information visit Anna's web site, and make sure to watch the trailer for IVAN AND MARYA. Anna also has a blog and runs a book promotion web site, Vacation Reads that highlights recent fiction titles. She always welcomes friends, fans, and followers on Facebook and Twitter (@akashina).

A Walk in the Desert

My work in progress has a scene where the hero is escaping across a desert with a group of acquaintances, so as I take my daily walk I try to see what he would see, such as a ghost moon and a ghost sun. Unless he has sharp eyes, he might miss much of the color -- the flowers are so tiny it's hard to see them at a casual glance. There are few creatures, but he would see jackrabbits and ants, scorpions and snakes (though I have yet to see either -- whew!), and lots of lizards. The lizards move so fast that only when one stops to pose can I capture an image of it. Lucky for me, one did stop to pose.

Guest Post: Ten Things You Can Do Now to Promote the Novel You Haven’t Even Sold Yet

Today's guest blogger is Gina Holmes, author of the novel Crossing Oceans, and she's sharing some valuable tips. Here are Ten Things You Can Do Now to Promote the Novel You Haven’t Even Sold Yet:

1. Buy your website URL and begin to build it. You can go very expensive and pay thousands for a professional site, or you could start small and do something like godaddy, where you build your own site. I took a third route and hired someone to make me a template and then set it up like a blog, so that I could tweak and update it easily.

2. Get professional headshots. I hired a friend whose work I admired but who is still considered an amateur. For fifty dollars and my husband agreeing to baby-sit for an afternoon, I got a few really great and professional looking pictures. Don’t let anyone convince you that a good headshot is a waste of money for a novelist. On Novel Journey we post lots of author photos, many of which look like candid shots that other people are cut out of. Remember how important perception is. I look at a substandard picture and I subconsciously think this author is no perfectionist, and am less likely to want to read their work. Spend the money and get a good promo picture of yourself.

3. Keep a file filled with the names of magazines you come across that fit your writing. For example, if you write Victorian era historicals, Victorian magazines might later be interested in an article written by you. Jot down the names of them and any other publications you come across that might be a fit. This will save you a lot of research time later on.

4. Keep a folder of book reviewers you’ve come across that seem to enjoy the type of  stories you write. I send myself emails with the reviewer’s name, books they’ve reviewed and liked, their email address and, if I know them, how I know them. While it’s true that they might not still be reviewing when your book finally releases, it won’t hurt to try. 

5. Start reading marketing/publicity books now and take notes. My personal favorite is the simply titled Publicize Your Book. If you can only afford one book on marketing/publicity, I highly recommend you make it that one.

6. Read The Tipping Point. It will explain some very important concepts on what makes things popular. It’s an easy and surprisingly entertaining read.

7. Read How to Make Friends and Influence People. The book has been around forever for good reason.

8. Keep a list of natural influencers. You’ll call upon these folks later for help in getting the word out about your book.

9. Help anyone you can. For one, it’s just the right thing to do, for two, what goes around comes around.

10. Start building your platform now. Write articles, create a blog with excellent and frequently updated content, volunteer to teach classes on what you’re an expert in, or for whatever committees in ACFW, or other writing organizations you belong. People are much more likely to be interested in your book if they feel like they know you and you’ve shown interest in them.

About Gina: In 1998, Gina Holmes began her career penning articles and short stories. In 2005 she founded the influential literary blog, Novel Journey. She holds degrees in science and nursing and currently resides with her husband and children in Southern Virginia. Her debut novel, Crossing Oceans released April/May 2010 with Tyndale House Publishers.

Visit Gina at: www.ginaholmes.com and www.noveljourney.blogspot.com