Learning From the Best

I admit it. I’m slow to take good advice. For instance, writing colleagues often recommend great how-to books, yet it takes me ages to get around to reading them.

Several people have recommended books by Donald Maass over the years, so I finally took the plunge and read TheBreakout Novelist while preparing notes for an urban fantasy I’m working on. Honestly, the book was so inspiring that I found myself writing copious notes about my own novel regarding plot points, ramping up the tension, creating big moments, and so on. It’s been invaluable.

On the other side of coin, I’ve been reading a fair bit of advice on marketing books. As mentioned last week, I will be doing more self-publishing over the coming months, so I’ve been looking for tips from those who’ve done it successfully.

There are a number of great blogs on the topic, but the advice I want to focus on today is from Toby Neal, whose name I’ve heard everywhere. Her advice not only makes sense, but seems relatively easy to follow, and I recommend that self-publishers read what she has to say.

A lot of her tips, such as building a fan base, gathering reviews, offering giveaways or sales, and maintaining a strong platform isn’t new, but Neal discusses something I’ve been pondering for a while, which is whether to place one’s books with Kindle Unlimited or choose multiple platforms.

She discusses her own experiences and the benefits of both, and she’s a fan of Draft 2 Digital, the company I plan to use when I release my books.

I may be slow to follow advice, but I’m also discerning about the advice I take. It’s important to figure out what works best for me. I have my own ideas about where I’ll publish my books and when, but it’s all part of the learning curve, right? We each have to follow our own path and, if we’re very lucky, we’ll be so successful that we’ll be creating trends rather than following them. 

Debra

My Two Cents for Indie Authors

As someone who self-published her first book twenty years ago, I’ve seen a lot of changes in indie publishing. Last year, I conducted several presentations and workshops, where the same types of questions cropped up from writers interested in self-publishing. “How much does it cost? Will I make any money?” and so on. Needless to say, there’s plenty of advice everywhere, and I’ve given my share in the past. But I still see big mistakes being made.

First, let me refer to some terrific tips for indie authors by KristenPainter, who discusses the importance of staying focused, being willing to accept advice, and remaining patient, among other things. These are difficult, but necessary goals for any writer.

One of the questions I’ve also been asked is “Do I really need to promote?”. The answer is yes, but not as much as one would think, especially if you’ve only released one title. I recently read some great advice from well-known New York literary agent Donald Maass. Although his book, The Breakout Novelist, addresses writers who intend to be traditionally published, the advice applies to indie writers. He says to spend less time promoting one’s first book and more time writing the second and third. Writing an original, action-packed story that you’re passionate about is the best promotion you can do in the long run.

I want to share a couple of things that I’ve noticed while reviewing books. Please spend the money to hire a decent editor and cover designer. I’m still reading too many great premises that are ruined because of poor editing. None of us can spot every single error in our work, and I’m not just talking about typos, but inconsistencies, lack of logic and subplots that simply don’t work. We all need help with this stuff.

Here’s another tip. Too many indie author are brooding about Amazon rankings or why Kindle Unlimited readers aren’t reading past the first page of an author’s book. Is this the best way to spend your time? Are the numbers even accurate? A recent article in WritersWeekly presents a strong argument that Amazon’s sales numbers aren’t reliable. There are so many forums and groups on social networking sites with mixed messages and information that it’s so easy to become distracted, confused, and even depressed. The best fix is to keep writing, find a great critique group (or start your own), then polish that manuscript to the best of your ability. It’s exciting to read an author whose work improves with every novel. Why shouldn’t it be yours?

Debra

How Much Are You Willing To Invest?

This week, a statement in Hugh Howey’s blog, Renting vs. Owning, hit home for me. Howey states that many writers still believe that traditional publishers do most of the promotion and marketing. I realized how right he was when I gave a workshop (mentioned in last week’s blog) on landing a book contract.

I explained to attendees how authors are expected to do a variety of tasks that include everything from arranging book signings, to creating their own website, to paying for conferences, and buying copies of their own book at a discount. This was an eye-opener to most of them and unwelcome news for some who later told me they had no desire to do all that promotion and marketing.

In his blog, Howey claimed that, although both traditional and self-published authors work hard, the traditionally published do it because they have to while self-publishers do it because they want to. Huh? That’s not what I’ve heard.

I’ve spoken with many self-publishers who work hard because they have to, because they know no one else will do it for them. Trust me, like traditional authors, indie authors would much rather be writing the next book. If they work harder than traditionally published authors, it's because they are eager to recoup money spent on production costs. Others are hoping for at least a little profit. Most have become realistic enough to understand that they won’t  make a living at this right away. Sure, some indie writers do, but they are still in the minority.

Aside from asking yourself what you want to write in the first place, the next most important question is how much time, energy, and money you’re willing to invest in promoting and marketing, regardless of how your book will be published? If you don’t know the answer, do some soul searching. Ask yourself, if you’d be happy selling just fifty copies? Do you want to sell five hundred? Five thousand? Five million? You’ll need to tailor your plan according to your goals and your lifestyle. Certainly, an author with young kids at home and/or a demanding full-time day job simply won’t have time for all-out seven-day-a-week promoting. Realistic expectation is as important to success as talent, tenacity, and marketing skill.

Regardless of how busy your life is, though, there is always something you can do to move your plan forward. The most counter-productive thing you can do is to publish your book, then have no idea what to do next. Based on some of the forums I belong to, there is still far too much of that happening.

Debra

The Genie's Out of the Bottle

For years, I’ve read numerous articles and blogs from professional writers telling freelancers to never give away their work. I’ve heard the same from authors, agents and publishers. Ten years ago, the idea seemed incredibly foolish until the self-publishing revolution changed pricing, and ebooks changed the way we read books.

For a while, offering a freebie prompted sales of other books for the author, but for most authors the strategy isn’t as successful as it used to be. In fact, it’s not really working at all for those who haven’t built a body of work or learned much about marketing. Yet, free books are still being offered by the truck load. The millions of books on the market have made it harder for anyone to find an unknown author. After all, digital shelves aren’t cleared, are they? They’re just added to. The genie is out of the bottle, folks. The question is, is the genie good or bad? Can it be put back? Should it be put back?

I’m asking these questions after reading a fascinating blog by author Fergus McNeill who creates apps in his day job, and he has some serious concerns. He asks “when did it become acceptable practice to give away books for free?” To provide an answer he draws on his experience in the rapidly changing app industry, noting that game apps can be customized and accessorized as the gamer progresses, generating more income. Books can’t, at least not right now.

If so many authors aren’t making money from their books, then why are free books so prevalent? McNeill maintains that it’s because the platform-holders are making the money. Giveaways and ridiculously low-priced books aren’t going away. In fact, the tsunami of free and cheap new titles swells every year. For some people this is great, for others not so much. As McNeill points out, it’s a complex issue. But we’re past the point of returning to the old days and, on many levels, this is fine with me. Just as long as those hundreds of thousands of newbie authors around the globe understand that the tsunami of free books offered by their competitors will probably destroy their hopes and dreams of earning a living from their writing.

Debra  

Watching the Indie Revolution Unfold

As someone who self-published her first mystery in 1995 and the second one in 2008, I’ve been watching the indie scene with interest for some time. You might wonder why haven’t I continued self-publishing. Well, I landed a contract with a small traditional publisher in 2010 and they released four titles in four years. It was challenging to come up with enough material to write a book a year, so I have mixed feelings when I say that the arrangement is coming to an end. I’m looking forward to self-publishing again, but things sure have changed since 2008.

Even though, the indie revolution had already begun back then, my focus was on print books. I met a number of enthusiastic, intelligent indie authors on Amazon forums who were committed to writing and selling their books, and who supported one another. At that time, most of those authors were also producing print versions.

As you probably know, the revolution had grown  in leaps and bounds by 2010. Amanda Hocking became a household name in the writing world. I think Hocking’s very public success story inspired a rash of hastily put together novels with poorly designed covers, poorly written blurbs, typos, and terrible formatting. Yet ebooks were still selling. Readers were buying their first Kindles and filling them with inexpensive books. By 2011, I noticed that fewer authors were bothering to release their titles in print. Plenty of ebooks were selling for $.99, until the backlash came.

Lousy reviews of some ebooks appeared. Too many indie authors were spamming everywhere and wars of words sprang up. Blogs and articles appeared either supporting or trashing self-publishing. Over time, some readers wanted nothing to do with indie authors who relentlessly promoted everywhere. $.99 novels were now referred to as the $.99 ghetto, meaning if it was that cheap it had to be crap. Authors who didn’t care what anyone thought stuck to their guns. Those who didn’t want to be branded a ghetto author raised their prices. Those who were really serious about writing rewrote their books, or paid to have them professionally, or learned to write better books. And still the number of ebooks and new authors grew. So did the war of words, and emotion, and then something else happened.

The percentage of ebooks being sold started to level off. Amazon introduced Kindle Unlimited (a subscription service for customers who want to borrow books) which began to hurt some authors sales. The big publishers slowly figured out that lowering their ebook prices would make them more competitive with the indie contingent, and inexpensive promotion opportunities started to become more expensive, ie. Bookbub.

So, where’s the revolution at now? Well, it depends on who you ask as opinions vary. The indie world, while still new on many levels, is maturing, settling down, and adapting to customer demand for quality, inexpensive books. More indie authors are doing a better job with cover design, content, editing, and formatting. They’re learning that staying competitive doesn’t mean glutting the market with barely edited work. Effective marketing, promotion, and discoverability is still a challenge, but smart authors have learned that indie publishing is a long-term venture. Some of those who lack patience or a desire to improve their writing have moved onto other things.  Based on the author forums I visit these days, others are thinking about it.

The indie revolution is still underway, and for me it’s even more exciting. I look forward to jumping back in but not until I have enough quality work ready to share with the world.

Debra

A Tough Year Ahead?

After last week’s review of 2014, I’ve been reading a number of predictions about this year, and let me tell you, it’s not a cheery picture.

As Mike Shatzkin reports in his popular blog, he suspects that many (but not all) indie authors will continue to lose income possibly due to a serious supply and demand problem. In other words, readers have either loaded up their Kindles with far more than they could possibly read or they’ve joined Kindle Unlimited’s (KU) subscription service to borrow books. It appears that a growing number of indie authors are earning significantly less per book on borrows than they would have through sales. He makes a good point that readers who were willing to try a lower priced, indie book by an unknown author are the same readers who are opting for KU. Simply put, there too many books and not enough readers.

These points are also referred to in a gigaom blog, which says that KU is facing strong competition from Scribd and Oyster subscription services. These two offer a wider selection of books to borrow as they have agreements with a couple of big five publishers HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster, which KU doesn’t have. As the blog notes, it will be interesting to see if these subscription services will also hurt traditional authors’ income.

By the way, to get a look at the growing author discontent about Kindle Unlimited, read this blog from The Digital Reader. The blog states that authors not in the KU program have also noticed a drop in sales. In other words, it’s quite possible that subscribers are borrowing so many books that they’re not buying anything right now. Will this change? Is a drop in authors’ income fixable, or is the beginning of the end for authors, especially those who aren’t interested in writing better books, just more books? (See last week’s blog referring to the number of indie authors who have apparently quit publishing.)

Since we’re discussing the year ahead, take a look at Mark Coker’s Smashwords blog. He provides twelve predictions for 2015, although I don’t agree with all of them. For instance, he says that more authors will aspire to indie publishing. Well, maybe more authors will choose Smashwords, given the trouble KU has caused. But it won't change the fact that there are too many books for sale and not enough readers willing to buy them.

As far as me, I’m mainly interesting in writing better books and short stories. The goal this year is to try a new genre and build a larger body of work. Honestly, I can’t wait to see what this year will bring.

Debra

Surviving a Bloated Market

Authors know that the market is saturated with books more than ever. This is great news for us readers, but I’m also a writer. Lately, it feels like the climb toward financial success is a little steeper every year. For many of us, the quest to become even noticed is daunting. Over recent months, indie authors are joining the lament of traditionally published authors in the slowing of sales and diminishing income. Mark Coker of Smashwords tells us why this is happening and how to succeed in the future.

Coker states that there is a glut of low-priced, high-quality ebooks on the market. He specifically uses the word quality, making it clear that there’s an even larger tsunami of drek out there. His point is that a growing number of good writers have turned their backs on contract offers to self-publish. He could be right in stating that the supply of ebooks is outstripping the demand. Sure, Kindles and other devices can load thousands of books for a lifetime of happy reading, but there are hundreds of thousands of new books being published every year!

After explaining other factors in the ebook slowdown, Coker lists twenty points for succeeding in today’s market. Really, none of his points are new to building a successful career. They are simply reminders of the importance of thinking long-term, writing better books, diversifying, having a plan, networking, and treating publishing like a business. But will many writers follow his advice?

Let’s face it life has never been profitable for most authors. These times merely represent another version of what writers from previous decades struggled with all their lives. Sure, you can now publish a book without ever physically touching it, and have access to promoting strategies that weren’t available twenty years ago. But it’s still an uphill battle. I suspect it always will be. There is no magic bullet to financial success for writers, but I do recommend that you read his blog. Reminders are important too.

Debra

A Downside to Self-Publishing: Capitalizing on a Crisis

We all know that finding reliable information on the Net can be challenging. Look up a topic and you’ll find thousands of hits but only a fraction of them will contain solid information. The same has been true in the self-publishing world for a while now. The Ebola crisis, for example, has prompted far too many fear-mongering, so-called experts without medical or related scientific backgrounds to make big bucks by giving horrible advice to readers, advice that could prove deadly.

According to a recent Washington Post article, no less than 84 books on Ebola have been self-published in the last three months, and it appears that most of those people have no credentials. One of the top-selling books apparently opens with a quote from the Bible, indicating that the end of the world is coming. One bestselling survival guide maintains that 4.1 billion people could die over the next two years. Another author states that Ebola can be prevented with vitamins. Unfortunately, many people believe this nonsense.

Since Amazon doesn’t censor these types of books, it’s up to the public to determine their validity, and remember to take the reviews with a grain of salt. By learning facts from the World Health Organization and Doctors Without Borders, for instance, and using some common sense, it isn’t difficult to spot the garbage books. Critics despise self-published novels for terrible editing, etc., but the more dire problem is that bad information in nonfiction could cost lives.

Hard Times for Harlequin

Anyone who’s read or written romance knows that Harlequin has been the most recognized brand name for decades. For years, they ruled the roost when it came to publishing and selling romances. But the tide has turned. In fact, over the past five years, Harlequin reports a loss of nearly $100 million in sales. This is important for all traditional publishers and authors to know, because the reasons speak to the e-book and self-publishing revolution in every genre.

Digitalbookworld’s article quotes the reasons for the downfall directly from Harlequin’s findings and they probably won’t surprise you. Harlequin cites increased competition from e-books, self-publishers, and Amazon. Harlequin also used to dominate direct-to-consumer marketing through catalogues and mail-order options. Well, online sites like BookBub have adopted the direct-to-consumer angle big time by offering thousands of free and $.99 romances, making Harlequin’s $4.99 prices seem expensive. Adding to Harlequin’s woes is the reduction of physical shelf space and the increased availability of movies.

Digitalbookworld offers a link to Harlequin’s report on their financial troubles, but there might be more to the story. There have been a number of blogs and articles written by former Harlequin authors complaining about the publisher’s unfair contracts and small royalty payments. It does appear that a number of Harlequin authors have jumped ship to self-publish their work. I don’t know what Harlequin contracts say, but I do know that rights and royalties are an increasingly contentious issue between publishers and authors elsewhere. It looks like Harlequin will have to make big changes to survive either in their contracts, their pricing, their marketing, or all three. Will they survive? We’ll have to wait and see.

Debra

The Challenge of Staying Relevant

After taking a look at a selection of this week’s blogs and articles, it’s clear that Hugh Howey’s Author Earnings has, shall we say, ruffled a few feathers in the publishing world, and most of these feathers belong to those who make their living through traditional publishing. It’s not surprising. Howey’s second report now involved 54,000 books rather than 7,000 the first time, and added more categories to include nonfiction, literary, and children’s books. Howey’s findings support what he concluded last week. In a nutshell, e-book publishing is having a significant impact on overall sales. He provides a detailed breakdown which you can find through the link.

Although literary e-books only make up a small fraction of all e-book sales, Howey also found that self-published literary authors do make more money. In fact, Howey says that self-published authors earn 5.6 times more money than their traditionally published counterparts, although I’m not sure where that figure comes from. His blog suggests that this is an already determined fact. But you can see why his report is sparking controversy. There’s plenty of argument about how he captures his data and whether these snapshots of sales is even relevant.

One interesting comment from a blogger really struck me. The blogger said that diminishing revenue isn't irritating the traditional publishing world as much as the underlying realization that traditional publishing isn’t as relevant as it used to be. They’re losing their grasp at the top, as a growing number of authors aren’t even bothering to submit their books. Now, I’m quite sure that the slush piles are still large on publishers’ desks. I’m just suggesting that those stacks aren’t as tall as they would be if self-publishing didn’t exist.

In any event, I do wonder if relevancy is also worrying literary agents and bookstores. Given that  brick-and-mortar stores sell only 1% of all released titles, they’re shelves aren’t relevant for many authors. What about the relevancy of agencies like the Authors Guild? Again, blogs and articles over recent months strongly suggest that the Guild is woefully out of touch and—to put it mildly—not overly supportive of self-publishing.

And what about the relevancy of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). They’ve been swept up in an internal brouhaha alleging not only sexism among members but bias against self-publishers. Clearly, not all members believe that self-publishers should have the same status has traditionally published authors. You can read a detailed account of the situation in Teleread, which comes straight out and asks if SFWA is even relevant anymore?

The second-class status issue has been one of the less appealing aspects of mystery conferences for years. A couple of conferences I attended (this was about five years ago) made it quite clear that self-publishers need not apply to be on panels. Of course, organizers happily took their registration money, but self-publishers weren’t allowed to sell their books in the dealers’ room either. Are these conferences relevant today?  It’s hard to stay on top of things, isn’t it? It’s even harder to know what to do when one feels that it’s all slipping away. I do know that a number of organizations, such as Crime Writers of Canada, make everyone feel welcome. If publishers and organizations and stores want to stay relevant, then they’d better start embracing new realities. Fighting through a war of words just won’t cut it.

Debra

A Financial Reality Check for Writers

Many years ago, I belonged to an informal writers’ group that met once a month on Sundays. One of them announced her intent to make a living from her writing. At that time, she’d finished a small number of stories and hoped to sell her short fiction to literary markets here in Canada. I pointed out that selling short stories was a pretty tough way to make a living (or anywhere else for that matter). Even if she could sell her stories to every major Canadian literary magazine within a year (a feat I don’t think anyone’s ever achieved), she still wouldn’t make enough to live on. Those magazines paid on average, $250 per story, and there were only about twenty of them in the country. Plenty of smaller magazines were around, but they paid in pennies or free copies. Well, the writer shut me down, saying “I don’t want to hear this”. As far as I know, she’s still not making a living, however we lost touch years ago.

Having goals is important, but if a writer is depending on writing income to pay the bills, then reality checks are crucial. By this I don’t mean reading about the success stories of Hugh Howey, Joe Konrath, Amanada Hocking, E.L. James, and others. They are the rare exceptions to financial success.

Even traditionally published authors aren’t having an easy go of it these days. In fact, there’s been a lot of discussion on forums this week about the cracks in the romance writing biz. It appears that increasing numbers of traditionally published writers want out of their contracts due to poor print sales, lack of publisher support, almost nonexistent editing, and terrible covers. Romance readers have jumped on the e-book bandwagon, causing print sales to drop significantly.

Digital Book World recently took a survey of 10,000 authors and discovered that most authors are making less than $1,000 a year from their work. 80% of self-published authors earn less than $1,000. Over half of traditionally published authors earn less than that, as do 40% of hybrid authors (those both traditionally and self-published). Unsettling, huh?

The data also revealed that only 10% of traditionally published authors make over $20,000 a year and 5% of self-published authors. I’ve written before that even Pulitizer prize award winners are selling less than 1,000 print copies of their work, and e-book sales for many aren’t faring much better.

We work in an over-saturated market where free books can quickly provide enough reading material for the rest of one’s life. Still, we also work in a world, where readers always seek the next good read and movie producers constantly search for that next big movie. Is there hope and opportunity to break through that $1,000 mark, or $20,000 mark? Of course, but while you’re shooting for the stars, every once in a while, put one foot on the ground just to make sure it’s still there. To read more of the Digital Book World’s findings, you can find the link through GalleyCat’s blog.

P.S. I almost forgot. My publisher's put my first Casey Holland mystery, The Opposite of Dark for sale on Kindle for $1.99 until Feb. 2nd!

Words of inspiration from author Cheryl Kaye Tardif via The Happiness Recipe

Listen to Cheryl's latest interview at The Happiness Recipe:

Then check out the recipe she talks about--Strawberry Dumplings--at http://www.happinessrecipe.net/happiness-recipe-whats-great-encouragement/

Self-Pub v Trad Pub: 3 Reasons I Like Each

I was going to make these lists 5 items long, but I got long-winded, so I'm only doing three of each. Besides, my reasons kept getting subsumed in the general headings. I'm not mentioning small indie presses, because they can emulate the best of both.

Self-Publishing provides these benefits for readers and authors:

1. Niche publishing: Since the advent of self-publishing, biographies and memoirs no longer have to be by celebrities or people with big or exotic stories to tell. A cousin of my husband self-published a biography of his grandfather, my husband's uncle. I read a self-published biography of an old woman who taught everyone who knew her to be joyful and spread joy. Neither of those would have been published traditionally, but they were well worth reading. Quirky fiction can find -- indeed, can create -- a niche.
2. Responsiveness: If the formatting in a self-published eBook, which looked perfect in Preview, is wonky on a buyer's eReader, the author can be personally contacted, the book can be corrected, and the updated version can be online within days at the longest. The relationship between a self-published author and readers is, on the whole, much closer than that between most traditionally published authors and readers.
3. Control: The self-published author can choose whether or not to have professional help. If the author chooses to publish without being critiqued or edited, to make their own covers, to publish but not promote, and then let buying happen or not happen, the author can choose to do so. If the author chooses to only publish digitally, only publish in print, or do both, if the author chooses to be exclusive to one platform (Amazon, Kobo, iTunes) or to distribute as widely as possible or to have the book only available as a PDF download from a website, so be it. If the author wants to price the book at $100 or free, so be it.

Traditional Publishing, on the other hand, has these benefits:

1. Readers can, on the whole, expect a certain level of technical quality from traditionally published books. The story may be less than stellar or may be superb, but the spelling, grammar, and punctuation will most likely be correct. If poor proofreading puts you off (it does me), you want to buy from a traditional publisher (or good small and/or indie press). If you feel you need help in those regards as a writer, and you can sell your work to a traditional publisher, you can have those things done for you. Traditional publishers will handle the covers, too, with no input from the author.
2. Variety of formats: While many self-published authors and small presses publish only electronically, most traditional publishers publish mainly in print, with electronic offerings. Bigger-ticket books may be published in more than one paperback format and in hardback, and may be issued as audiobooks. As a reader, I like these choices. I'll sometimes buy or download free an eBook and, if I really like it, buy it in paperback; if I LOVE it, I'll buy it in hardback. 
3. As an author, I concede that The Big Six (or however many of them there are at the moment) have a lot of clout. Movie deals and international publishing deals are more likely through major publishers, as of this writing, anyway. As a reader, I'm more likely to find a book if it comes from a house with advertising dollars to get it in front of my eyeballs. It's more likely that people I meet will have read it so we can talk about it.

The variety of paths from one person's imagination to another's has grown and will go on growing. What are some reasons you, as a writer and/or reader, love one or more of the paths?

Marian Allen
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

Life Into Art

One of the greatest things about self-publishing, it seems to me, is the opportunity for everyone to write and publish an autobiography, memoir, or some form of family history. A nephew of my husband's recently published the life of his grandfather, my husband's uncle, for which the family was very grateful.

But where do you start, supposing you want to write a personal history?


According to Seymour Rothman, newspaperman and author of YOUR MEMOIRS,COLLECTING THEM FOR FUN AND POSTERITY, "Memoirs are about you and life."

So is any form of writing, if you care about it. Many authors, especially in the past, kept diaries or detailed journals recording events, the authors' impressions, and any ideas for characters or plots sparked by those events.

But let's take memoirs as a starting point, go through writing one's life, and end with writing
from life.

Memoirs are like autobiographies, but are less formal.

Autobiographies are expected to be very precise and verifiable. Memoirs are your memories: What you remember happening, what you remember thinking or now think about what happened, and what you learned from the event.

Rothman suggests beginning with five envelopes, labeled: Dates, History, Thoughts, Lessons, Miscellany.


DATES 

Make lists of all the dates you remember.

If a date sparks a memory, or a host of memories, write those memories down on separate pieces of paper and put them in the appropriate envelope. If they would go just as well in one envelope as another, put them wherever you like; it'll all come together in the end, anyway. 

Mr. Rothman suggests heading your date lists: Forebears, Birthdays, Residences, Education, Employment, and Good Times and Bad. I would add Deaths, Important personal events, and Important public events. The dates may be exact, or approximate, or you may remember events but not the dates. You can dig for the dates later; for now, just name the event.

You may not have any useable memories connected with a date, but thinking about that date might free-associate into useable memories: (You may not remember anything special about any of your baby brother's birthdays, but you may have many special memories about your baby brother.)

HISTORY

As far as family history goes, if you don't have facts, put down clues.

Clues were what led Alex Haley to the re-creation of his family's history. Collect stories from relatives and friends and your own memory: Birthing stories, holiday stories, funeral stories, illness stories, accident stories, car stories, pet stories.

THOUGHTS 

Your thoughts express your philosophy of life, your personality.


LESSONS 

Ask yourself: What is the most important lesson you've learned in life? Why do you say that?

Thoughts and lessons are very close, sometimes intertwined. Don't worry about that; again, it doesn't matter what envelope you put it in, as long as you get it out on paper.

SOURCES for locating, remembering, or dating events:


The old family Bible, letters, scrapbooks, school yearbooks, diaries and journals, old city directories, genealogies, photos, newspaper clippings, business papers, report cards, documents, souvenirs and programs, school essays themes and dissertations, old "TV Guide"'s, old magazines, old movies, favorite foods -- a major source, ultimately the major source, is YOUR MEMORY.


Rothman says, "Talking about yourself opens your memory. Exchanging memories and experiences with others reminds you of things long forgotten." This is true whether you're talking to someone who's known you all your life, or a stranger in the doctor's waiting room.

When a conversation, or something you're reading -- anything -- sparks a memory, hold onto it and make a note of it. You can expand it later.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Collect your dates, actual or approximate, and match the events with them.

This gives you an outline in chronological order. Match events to dates, lessons and thoughts to events. If you have lessons and thoughts left over, save them for something else, or put them at the end of your book under the heading of Random Ramblings, or Advice to the Young or something.
If you want to center your autobiography on one pivotal event or set of events, you may want to select only those events, thoughts, and lessons which had the most bearing on what you see as the heart of your story.

This is where fiction comes in.

JamesN. Young, in the book, 101 PLOTS USED AND ABUSED, says, "Stories out of real life...were written by Life; and Life, which scribbles in accordance with no plan, is a poor technician. ...They are plotless."

But are James Herriot's real life stories plotless? No. How is that possible? He imposes a structure on the events. He selects dates, thoughts, feelings, lessons, and minor events which highlight his major events, and he treats himself as if he were a fictional character. He's objective about himself; he shows himself warts and all. We have no trouble believing it when he does something noble, because we've seen him doing or thinking something petty, and that gives him credibility.

So, begin by picking an imaginary reader for whom you are writing.

What kind of image of yourself do you want to project? What message do you want the work to carry? What is this piece of writing for? Who is it for?

For instance, let's take Edith.

She has had a major experience that she wants to get on paper, maybe for herself, maybe for her family, maybe for other people who are going through the same kind of experience.

1. She decides to start with a Preface answering these questions:  Who am I? Why am I writing this? When am I writing this? What is my current situation?
2. Family history
3. Memories leading to (what Rothman calls) the Big Event
4. The Big Event
5. Anti-climax and wrap-up.

That's just one way of ordering the material. Choose your own way. After all -- It's your story!

Marian Allen
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

THE CORNER CAFE -- Another Kind of Fast Food

About four months ago, Dani Greer, the fearless leader and Drill Sergeant of the Blog Book Tours, and den mother of the Yahoo! group BBTCafe said, "Hey, kids! Let's do the show right here in the barn!"

Er, I mean, she suggested we all learn the self-publishing business by publishing an anthology. So we did.

We wrote stories, Dani and Helen Ginger edited them, Bodie Parkhurst of Magic Dog Press did the cover, Bob Sanchez taught us how to format for Kindle and Dani made it so.

The result is called THE CORNER CAFE.

Now it's available for Kindle for $0.99. Ain't it purty? We enrolled it in Amazon's KDP Select program for 90 days. That means it can't be published electronically anywhere else, it's free to borrow for KDP Select subscribers, and we can make it free for everybody for 5 days during the 90-day enrollment. We could continue the enrollment for unlimited numbers of 90-day stretches, with 5 free days each 90 days, but we won't.

Next month, I'm going to walk us through formatting for Smashwords, and then we'll put it up there, formatted for multiple e-readers. It'll be free at Smashwords, and we want it to be free at Amazon, as well; we aren't doing this for the money, but for the experience.

Nobody wants the headache of doing bookkeeping for distributing the income, so any money the anthology earns will be given to charity.

My story, by the way, is "The Catfish Enchantment". If you've read my story collection THE KING OF CHEROKEE CREEK, you'll know the characters in "The Catfish Enchantment".

Now we're three-fourths of the way through a month-long Blog Book Tour for the anthology. From spark of inspiration to promo burn-out in a few short months. That's fast.

The tour stop today is at Straight from Hel. Hop on over and see what's on the menu!

Marian Allen
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

New Release: How I Made Over $42,000 Selling My Kindle eBooks

In March 2012 one Canadian author boldly went where few have gone before—into the land of making real money with Amazon's KDP Select program.

This is her story…

My name is Cheryl Kaye Tardif and I am an international bestselling suspense author who earned over $42,000 dollars in March 2012 selling ebooks via Amazon's KDP Select program, captured the interest of a major literary agency, and went on to sign with a foreign rights agent. And I'm about to tell you HOW I did all that.

I don't normally tell people how much money I make, but I believe writers need to know it IS possible to earn a real income from your books. Seriously, if I can do it, anyone can—if you have the right combination of criteria and techniques.

In this book, I'll share with you what I believe are four key elements you must have in place to see high sales. And I'll reveal the strategic techniques I used during my KDP Select promotions that resulted in earning over $42,000—with $32,000 of that from ONE title alone.

Not only did I earn over $42,000 in ebook sales, I was contacted by one of the leading literary agencies in New York. The chairman noticed my success when my one title made #4 in the Top 100 Bestselling Kindle ebooks, right under The Hunger Games trilogy. Since then, I've signed with another agent for foreign rights.

So, if you're ready to earn some real money with Select, let's begin…

Available at Amazon (Kindle) for only $2.99.

Kiana Davenport's publishing battle

A few posts ago, Debra Purdy Kong wrote a great post about the battle between Kiana Davenport and her Big 6 publisher over self-publishing other works.

But what does another publishing company think about this situation?

Check out my post over at the Imajin Books Blog:
 http://imajinbooks.blogspot.com/2011/09/kiana-davenports-publisher-demands-she.html

One Writer's Clash Between Traditional and Self-Publishing

As I cruise through the newsletters I subscribe to, I’m reading an increasing number of negative stories about traditional publishers’ (it always seems to be the large houses) response to the rapidly growing world of self-published e-books. First, I want to say that, for me, this hasn’t been a problem so far, but could it be in the future? I had to stop and think after reading a fascinating, and somewhat disturbing blog by a writer named Kiana Davenport, who reports of a unsettling experience with her traditional publisher. Here’s what happened.

To earn some much needed income, and while waiting for her Big 6 publisher to publish her novel in August 2012, Davenport self-published two collections of short stories. Many of those stories had already appeared in magazines and have nothing to do with the topic of her upcoming novel. The first collection was published before she signed her contract, and the second was published afterward. When the big-6 publisher learned about the self-published books, well, let’s just say things didn’t go well. One of the publisher’s editors phoned her and apparently began yelling at her for breaching her contract, which she maintains she didn’t. The editor also basically accused her of colluding with the enemy, which is Amazon. The editor then demanded that she withdraw this second collection from ALL platforms and remove any reference to the book. She has 600,000 Google hits! As she says in her blog, how does one even do that? Additionally, she must guarantee that she not self-publish anything until her novel has been released in both hard back and paperback. Needless to say, Ms. Davenport has a lawyer handling the matter.

I don’t know the publisher’s side of the story, but what captures my attention is the growing uneasiness between writers and publishers. Not a lot of Big 6 publishers (and others, I imagine) are fond of Amazon, so if you’re doing business with either party, will you be trapped in the middle down the road? Clearly, it’s more important than ever that you understand exactly what the publisher expects from you regarding any e-book and self-publishing ventures. To read more of Ms. Davenport’s blog, go to http://kianadavenportdialogues.blogspot.com/2011/08/sleeping-with-enemy-cautionary-tale.html

THE OPPOSITE OF DARK, http://bit.ly/i983XE, Chapters/Indigo http://bit.ly/gtFSFw
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl
TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n

Where Publishers Went Wrong, According to Some

There are many blogs and opinions which say this is a great time to be a writer, and they’re not wrong. Let’s face it, the ease of publishing your work in print and electronically, and the many opportunities to promote books through the same platforms big name writers use, allows people to bypass the lengthy process of traditional publishing. Traditional and self-publishing have their ups and downs, but I came across a really interesting blog by Alan Rinzler in forbes.com who goes into some depth about why it’s so good to be an author these days. His piece is worth reading because he worked on the inside of the publishing industry and what he has to say might floor you.

As Zingler and others have pointed out, the balance of power is shifting from publishers to authors. More authors are choosing to control their publishing destinies, and this change in paradigms is finally being admitted aloud, by some publishers anyway. According to Zingler, technology isn’t the only reason this has happened; it’s that publishers have messed up big time, and not just because they’ve been slow to change their ways. The big reason, Zingler says, is that many of them don’t know what they’re doing in the first place!

Most traditionally published books lose money, Zingler says. Publishers have no clue which book will become a bestseller, and they can’t rely on the old models of selling books through bookstores and book tours. Shelf space has diminished and book tours definitely don’t pay for themselves. In fact, pretty much all expenses, not to mention marketing plans, fall on the authors’ shoulders now, so is it any wonder more of them are choosing to self-publish?

Zingler goes on to list the three big myths about self-publishing: that commercial publishers won’t touch a self-published book, agents won’t represent self-publishers, and that it’s easy to succeed as a self-publisher. To read what he has to say about these go to http://blogs.forbes.com/booked/2011/06/06/good-day-sunshine-for-writers/

Recently, I was speaking with a writer who was told at a conference last month that self-publishing isn’t the way to go with one’s career. Other established writers state that you’re dumb if you do sign with a publisher because you lose control and possibly income. Who’s right? It’s a good question, and I can only speak for myself.

Self-publishing my first two novels opened some doors for me and taught me a lot about the production process and about book promotion. I understood the business and the financial risks before I signed with my traditional publisher. As an unknown writer, I felt it was important to go with a traditional publisher because their distribution avenues for print books (and print still matters) are far better than mine. Also, a publisher can publicize my books in ways that I couldn’t. For instance, my traditionally published novel, The Opposite of Dark, has had far more access to established reviewers than my self-published novels did.

I don’t believe that publishing is about choosing just one option. I believe in learning and making use of whatever avenue is available in the best possible way. Not everyone will agree with my decisions, but at the end of the day, I’m the one who must live with them.

THE OPPOSITE OF DARK, http://bit.ly/i983XE, Chapters/Indigo http://bit.ly/gtFSFw
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl
TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n

Understanding the myths regarding self-publishing versus traditionally publishing

There are a lot of myths and misconceptions out there regarding the pros and cons of either self-publishing or traditional publishing. I recently came across a blog that was advising writers on 5 Reasons to Self-Publish Your Next Book, and I found all but one of the 5 points to be very misleading. Of course, this is my opinion, based on the fact that I know a lot of authors who have done either or both, and I have done both.

Without printing the author's explanations, here are the 5 reasons the author offered, and my opinion on them.

Reason #1: Self-Publishing is Not Nearly as Difficult As You Think
Reason #2: Publishing Companies Don’t Actually Do Anything.
Reason #3: You Will Make More Money.
Reason #4: You Will Spend Less Money.
Reason #5: A Publisher Will Never Care As Much As You Do.

While I heartily agree with #1, I find the rest of the points quite misleading, especially to newer, less experienced writers. As an author who has both self-published and published traditionally, I am not speaking from one bias. There are definite pros and cons to both sides and I am pro-self-pub and pro-trad-pub.

Allow me to clarify...

#2: Publishing Companies Don’t Actually Do Anything: 
This is untrue for the most part. Publishers do a LOT for their authors; much of it is behind the scenes stuff that authors never have to worry about, such as sending copies to Library of Congress, obtaining and registering ISBNs, obtaining UPC and other codes, finding good editors, finding great cover designers, aligning with a solid distributor so your books get to bookstores and events on time, preparing review lists and packages to entice advance reviewers to read your book, sending out ARCs (advance reading (or review) copies), and so many other tasks BEFORE your book is ready to sell. Of course, self-pub'd authors CAN do these things themselves, but it'll cost time, money and they may not have the connections needed.  

When the book launches, many publishers will assist with book tours and launches (some financially, some with setup), they often pay for co-ops in bookstores (endcaps or special bins that get more notice and advertising), represent the author at book fairs like BEA and the former BEC and more, print brochures and mail out to libraries, schools, bookstores and other book retailers.  

I'm not saying that every traditional publisher does all of this. But a reputable and good one will do much of this. I have heard this from MANY of my traditionally published author friends. 

#3: You Will Make More Money: 
This is very misleading. When you self-pub a book, you WILL make more money per copy--providing you sell them all and AFTER you've paid for them. But the average s/pub'd author prints short runs, anywhere from 200-1000 books on average. S/pub'd authors who write non-fiction and have a strong platform and venues like colleges or organizations to sell their books to will generally print larger runs. These are the s/pub'd authors who tend to make more money. But they also spend more in traveling expenses.  

The average self-pub'd fiction author will make more per copy but sell far fewer copies than they would if they were traditionally published. I know this from experience and from my fellow authors who have shared their stories. I self-pub'd Whale Song in 2003. It was quite successful and I made back my initial investment (subsidized costs and print costs) very quickly. In the first 3 years I made a fair amount of money. In 2007, Whale Song was published by a trad. publisher. A larger print run was printed (one I didn't have to pay for) and the distributor got my books into more libraries and stores than I had on my own. In the first 2 years, I sold more copies because of distribution and advertising that my publisher did. I made MORE money this way.  

#4: You Will Spend Less Money: 
After reviewing my income tax forms, I can safely say that I spent very close to the same amount with each method I used. When I self-published I had a lot of start-up expenses and printing costs. When I was traditionally published, I had other expenses, like sending out review copies to anyone I wanted to (not including the major reviewers that my publisher took care of). My promotion costs in both cases were nearly the same. However, I spent more on my book launch for my last self-pub'd book than I did for the trad. published one. No matter if you're self-pub'd or trad pub'd there are opportunities out there that will cost money or save you money. (I'm a book marketing coach, and I coach authors about promotion.)  

#5: A Publisher Will Never Care As Much As You Do: 
This statement is both correct and incorrect, in my opinion. You, the author, will care more about your creation as a whole, because you thought it up, slaved over it, perfected it, struggled with it, loved it/hated it, etc. You WANT success so badly that you see your work as a pedway to the top.  

However, a publisher cares too. They see your work as an INVESTMENT. They've purchased the rights, taken a huge leap of faith on it and YOU, they've risked their finances, time and reputation on you and your work. Of course they care. But yes, for different reasons (for the most part) than you, the author. Although, I have heard that there are still some publishers out there who genuinely care about their authors, the books and everyone's success.  

#1: Self-Publishing is Not Nearly as Difficult As You Think: 
This statement is absolutely correct. Nowadays, self-publishing is as easy as a good printer and binding equipment. That doesn't mean the work itself is any good--or the editing. I advise my clients who are considering self-publishing to ensure that their work meets the same high standards of trad. pub'd books. Yes, even a bestseller can have typos, but on average they are better edited. If you self-pub, hire an editor. If you aren't artistically talented, pay for an eye-catching book cover design, not some cheesy looking cut and paste design a ten-year-old could make. You can self-pub completely on your own (I call this DIY self-publishing) or with the assistance of a subsidy publisher (they often have great distribution set in place to get you up and selling much faster than DIY) and some subsidies offer decent editing.  

Regardless of how you publish, make sure you check the publisher (printer, distributor, editor) out very carefully. Contact some of their past and present authors and ask how their experiences were. Check them out on Preditors and Editors and Absolute Write. Above all, be informed about all the pros and cons.  

Happy writing, publishing and promoting!  

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