Writers, Don't Be Vain

by J. Lea López

One of the questions and concerns I see most often over at Agent Query Connect is that of vanity publishing. An author is excited that they found PayMe Publisher online, and this is finally their chance at publication! So they ask the AQC community for any personal advice or recommendations regarding this publisher. Usually it takes only a quick look at the publisher's website for another member or moderator to realize that PayMe Publisher is a vanity press. If you've been reading my posts for any length of time, you know that I'm not usually one to make always or never statements, but here's where I make an exception. When it comes to vanity publishers, don't do it.

Money flows to the author

This is a basic tenet of publishing. In traditional publishing, the publishing house may or may not pay an advance, but they pay the author royalties on book sales. They do not charge the author upfront fees for editing or marketing or anything like that. They are invested in the success of your book, and they take a cut of your royalties to pay for those services and hopefully make a profit upon publication.

Vanity publishing operates in the exact opposite way. The fictional PayMe Publisher mentioned above will have publishing packages that include a lot of official, fancy, and impressive sounding things that might sound, to a writer, like everything you could ever ask for from a publisher. Those packages also come with a hefty price tag, and they're couched in the typical sales language where you can upgrade to an elite or gold level package for even more stuff! You end up paying the publisher to publish your book. There is no submission process usually. They will take any book given to them and publish it. Once you pay for your package up front and your book is published, PayMe Publisher will continue to take a percentage of your royalties, and that percentage is often the same as if you'd been traditionally published. So you're getting the same percentage of sales as with a traditional publisher, but you've also paid a nice chunk of change to the vanity publisher up front. So what exactly have you gotten for that money? Nothing that you couldn't have gotten for free with a traditional publisher.

This doesn't even begin to touch on the sometimes terrible contracts you have to sign with vanity publishers, or the predatory practices of some vanity publishers like Author Solutions. I highly recommend David Gaughran's blog for a ton more info on Author Solutions and why you should steer clear.

Self-publishing "services"

With the rise of self-publishing, there has also been a rise in companies offering self-publishing service packages to assist authors who want to go that route. Unfortunately, many of these are simply vanity presses in disguise. You still pay a big chunk of money for the same types of services (book formatting and cover design, mostly, but they'll break that out into all the small individual parts so it sounds like you're getting more for your money), and your ISBN will still be branded with that publisher's name, you may not get editing services for what you're paying (such as with Writers Digest's Abbott Press), and many of them will still take a portion of your royalties for the length of your contract.

I've heard some people try to equate self-publishing with vanity publishing simply because the author is paying out of pocket for the necessary services. I'd like to give those people a swift kick where it hurts, because it's not the same thing. If you want to self-publish, you are going to pay out of pocket for editing, proofreading, cover art, and so on. But when you truly self-publish, you are your own publisher, and you are not obligated to those service providers once the transaction is complete. A publisher pays their cover designers and editorial staff and others up front, too, without waiting for royalties on the book. The lines may be a bit blurry since you and the publisher are the same person when you self-publish, but that is the same function you are performing when you pay for services. Once those services are complete, you, as the self-publisher, receive all profits from the sale of your books (minus and percentages withheld from distributors or retailers).

So let's recap.

Traditional publishing = Publisher covers all upfront production costs, then takes a percentage of royalties for the length of your contract to cover those costs and make a profit. You may get an advance, and then you earn a percentage of royalties after the amount of that advance. You pay nothing out of pocket.

Self-publishing = You act as your own publisher. You pay one-time fees to contractors for your editing, cover art, and other production costs. You retain all monies paid to you by retailers. You pay contractors once for the same services a traditional publisher pays their employees to perform. After that, you pay nothing out of pocket.

Vanity publishing (and many self-pub service companies) = You pay them for production costs, like book formatting and design. You may or may not receive editing as part of your package, so you pay for editing. Once they have done everything they said they would do for their fee, you continue to pay them a percentage of royalties for the life of your contract.

Vanity publishers are counting on you to be uneducated about the way publishing works, or impatient to wait for traditional publicaiton, or too scared/unwilling/busy to learn how to shop for quality contractors to do the work needed to help you self-publish. Then they present their pretty packages and say, "Here, we'll do it all for you.. for a price." But for the most part, that price is not worth it.

I know that as authors, seeing your name right there on your book, which is for sale at all major retailers is an intoxicating thought. But don't rush. Don't be vain. Don't fall prey to vanity publishing.

J. Lea López is an author who strives to make you laugh at, fall in love with, cry over, and lust after the characters she writes. She also provides freelance copyediting focused on romance and erotica as The Mistress With the Red Pen. She welcomes online stalkers as long as they're witty and/or adulatory. Kidding. Maybe. Check for yourself: Twitter, Facebook, Blog.

Self-publishing, Free, and Flexibility

by +J. Lea Lopez 

Free is a hot topic in the publishing industry. Depending on who you ask, free is:

• an effective pricing strategy
• the only way to get people to take a chance on self-published books
• the reason publishing as we know it is dying
• devaluing writing and making readers reluctant to pay for good books
• pointless
• a way to gain exposure

And a whole host of other things. Everyone has an opinion, and if you know me even a tiny bit, you probably know that I'm going to tell you that none of those opinions are 100% right or wrong. There's often bits of truth behind each person's opinion. Quite often, authors will speak from personal experience, and in that case, I'm certainly not going to tell anyone that they're wrong about what they've experienced firsthand.

I can tell you from the experiences shared with me by several successful self-published authors that free certainly has a place in your arsenal of tools. Depending on the genre and type of book, it can be a very powerful tool. If all (or several) books in your romance series are out there and you're looking for a way to grab some more readers, putting your first book free (and yes, it is still possible to go perma-free on Amazon) could be a great tactic. Especially if each book has a strong hook or lead-in to the next.

If you're not writing a series, can free still work for you? Maybe. Maybe not. But a great thing about being self-published is your ability to analyze, react, and adapt. As a self-publisher, you have to be flexible and know when somebody else's tried-and-true isn't so true for you. Let me share my own experience with a free book as an example.

When I self-published last year, I knew I was going to publish my contemporary NA romance Sorry's Not Enough, but I was worried about readers taking a chance on me, an unknown author. Everybody was talking about the free strategy then like it was the holy grail of marketing tactics. But my book was a standalone. How could I still make the free strategy work for me? I got the brilliant (or so I thought) idea to pull together some of my short stories that had both romantic and erotic elements and package them in a collection. I figured it was a good introduction to my writing and a good lead-in to my novel because each of the short stories had elements you can find in my novel: character-driven and introspective narration, complicated relationships, steamy sexy.  It had to work, right?

I published my collection, Consenting Adults, and included an extended sample of my novel at the end of it so readers would be instantly compelled to go buy it after (hopefully) having enjoyed the short stories. Then I made it free. And then I spent many months trying to figure out if the free strategy was working like it should. I mean, I was getting a few sales a day of my novel usually, and the short stories were consistently ranked between 300 and 500 overall in the free Kindle store and in the top 10 of a couple different category lists. That must mean it was working, right? So I left it alone. Then something happened this year that made me rethink the free strategy for my books.

Sales of Sorry's Not Enough began to decline slightly early this year. I only worried a little bit, wondering if it was just a bit of a post-holidays slump. Sales continued to decline. And continued to decline. As of writing this, I've seen roughly a 60% decline in sales of my novel since the beginning of the year. Most of this year my worrying has centered on how to turn that around, how to increase visibility for the novel, how to entice more people to buy it. That included running price promotions, creating a new cover, tweaking the description and keywords, trying paid promotions on different web sites. Aside from publishing another book (which I'm working on doing), I felt I had done everything I could do and I had to stop driving myself nuts over it. And that's when my focus shifted from the novel to the free short story collection, and it dawned on me.

Free wasn't working for me. In all of my fussing with Sorry's Not Enough, I never paid attention to the fact that free downloads of Consenting Adults were still pretty steady. There's been a slight decline since the beginning of the year, maybe 15% or so, but nothing like what I've seen with my novel. My free book was not pushing readers to my paid book. And that's what it's supposed to do. That's the whole point of the free strategy. Obviously it was time to rethink that strategy.

I knew these things for sure:

• Consenting Adults has great innate visibility thanks to my keywords, description, and categories (and magic, because I swear sometimes it all just feels like magic)
• When you search for "erotica" in the Kindle store, Consenting Adults is the top result
• It had a consistent download rate of several hundred a day when it was free
• People who downloaded it for free were not going on to buy my novel

Because of that last point, I felt confident that having the short story collection out there for free was not doing me any good. That was the whole reason I'd put it out there for free to begin with. But could I make money with it? Would people pay for it? Or did they only want it for free? Based on those first three things I knew to be true, I decided that maybe some people would be willing to pay for it. I decided that even if no one bought it and the rank plummeted once it switched over to the paid lists, I'd wait to see if it negatively affected sales of my novel to further test my guess that it wasn't pushing people to the novel anyway. And if only two or three people bought it every day, that's still more money than I was making from 400 free downloads a day.

Consenting Adults switched over from free to paid this past weekend, and so far, people are still buying it. Not 400 people a day, but enough that I'm cautiously optimistic that this was the right decision. So what's the lesson for you self-publishers out there?  

Free is a tool. Use it wisely. Flexibility is also a tool. Use it to take calculated risks and to kick free to the curb if it doesn't work for you.

What are your experiences with free, either as a reader or an author?

The Power of Free

by Matt Sinclair

I've been a journalist a long time now, but I can still be surprised. (Ok, in fairness, I'm a trade journalist, so there's still lots of things that can shock me in industries outside what I usually spend my energies on.)

Still, I was shocked to see what power can be had by giving away books for free. If I might wax semi-poetic about a book I've published in my role as the President and Chief Elephant Officer of Elephant's Bookshelf Press, we have just announced our first "free days" via KDP Select of Battery Brothers, the YA debut of author Steven Carman. If I may say so myself, I think it's a great story about two boys who love baseball, and a captivating story about overcoming adversity for Andy Lembo, the protagonist of the tale.

I'd been working on ways to get the story out in front of more people, and Steve and I agreed to use today, Thursday, and Friday as the first of our "free" days. We also partnered to promote the book through other sites that let readers know when books are free.

Too soon to tell whether there's been success? Yes and no.

Yes, because we still have most of the three days during which the book is free.

No, because when I checked how we were doing, I was shocked to see that we'd already topped four hundred "purchases" of the free book. In fact, between the time I started writing this post and now, we went from three hundred to four hundred.

As a small, independent publisher, EBP doesn't usually hit a hundred purchases of a book in a day, not even for our incredibly durable first anthology, Spring Fevers, which still "sells" 35-60 copies a month; it's been free for two years.

Yes, it's still too soon because the goal of free days is to get more people to buy the actual book when it isn't free. The proceeds of Battery Brothers are going to a nonprofit organization, the Sunshine Foundation, which is the original wish-granting organization. Obviously, we need to have proceeds in order to give them to the foundation.

No, it's not too soon, because this experience is already proving -- to me, at least -- the power of free. Getting the word out about this book, and all books, ultimately, is a partnership between the publisher and the author. It's in our mutual interests to share news of these books we love with readers who don't already know about them.

Free can help make that happen and let those characters imbue the lives of readers everywhere. They deserve it. If nothing else, Battery Brothers has been seen by literally hundreds more people than had seen it yesterday. Sharing it with readers for free has made that happen. Let's see how much farther the book can spread the power of the words within it.

Matt Sinclair, a New York City-based journalist and fiction writer, is also president and chief elephant officer of Elephant's Bookshelf Press, which recently published Battery Brothers, a YA novel by Steven Carman about a pair of brothers playing high school baseball and about overcoming crippling adversity. Matt also blogs at the Elephant's Bookshelf and is on Twitter @elephantguy68.

Movin' On Up

by R.S. Mellette

Anyone who knows me, knows I’m a huge Dr. Who fan – have been since the Tom Baker days.  Back in the 1980s I ran into some Brits who worked for the BBC, so naturally the Doctor came up.  They laughed at the American fan base, saying, “That show is made by newbies for kids.  It’s like a training ground for the BBC.”

For some reason, that comment always stuck with me.  The idea of a farm league for the entertainment industry was attractive for a Theatre Major.  A place where one could prove their worth, improve their game, and transition into the majors – all while being paid.  Where could I find such a program in the US?

Sure, there are some internships.  You can work as an assistant in a related field, hoping to crossover from admin to production – but there’s nothing like stepping up to the plate with your peers and swinging the bat well to prove you can… step up to the plate with your peers and swing the bat well.

Thanks to the digital revolution, the publishing industry might be on their way to developing a farm league.

Independent publishing – not to be confused with Vanity Publishing, which is a whole different game – used to mean a few books, limited to a specific micro-genre, sold in a handful of stores.  As we all know, the One Great Book Store that is the Internet, has changed all of that.  Independents now play on the same field as the Majors.  Sure, they don’t always get the press coverage unless they develop a superstar.  That means they don’t get the same reviews, or the same kind of sales numbers, but they get them.  And that is something that can be tracked like a batting average.

Independent publishers, like our own Matt Sinclair’s Elephant's Bookshelf, have an opportunity to develop writers; let them prove themselves in the real world.  Projects that are too risky for the corporate structure of the Big Six can find an audience in the indie market, where the Majors can scout their success, look for trends, and find the next big stars.

It all reminds me of the scene in Tom Hanks’s movie That Thing You Do, about a band that hits it big in 1964.  The band is first discovered by a local promoter.  He does such a good job that they are given a record contract from a national company.  You’d think the local promoter would be upset, but his contract is bought out.  He has done his job, and is well-paid.  It’s time for him to scout out the next big hit, and use his relationship with the national company to move them up as well.  The record company is happy.  They have a national hit, with the potential for more.  The band is happy.  They get to quit their day jobs, go on tour, and make the most of this professional opportunity.

Some people see indie vs. traditional publishing as an adversarial relationship, but if both sides keep their wits about them, it can become symbiotic.

R.S. Mellette is an experienced screenwriter, actor, director, and novelist. You can find him at the Dances With Films festival blog, and on Twitter, or read him in the Spring Fevers, The Fall: Tales of the Apocalypse, and Summer's Edge anthologies.

Judging a Book by Its Cover

by J. Lea López

There isn't an author alive who hasn't heard "Don't judge a book by its cover." There also isn't an author alive who doesn't know that readers are judging books by their covers. You can probably point out a few different book cover clichés in your genre. If not, check out this list with 19 of them that you may have seen. Certain "typical" cover design elements can signal to the reader a great deal of information about the story. Usually, it's those elements and that conveyed information an author or publisher hopes will entice a reader to buy.

Sex sells ... or does it?
If you read romance, erotic romance, or erotica, you're well aware of some of the cover trends in those genres. If you're looking for a steamy read, books with covers featuring near-naked bodies are a sure bet. But while a "typical" cover may seem like a guaranteed way to attract "typical" fans of the genre, there's also the risk of deterring other potential readers.

Over the past couple weeks, I've been catching up on some ebooks I'd downloaded to my Kindle during various free promotions. I scrolled through the carousel on my Kindle Fire, which shows the book covers for the books on the device, trying to decide what to read next. I kept passing over one particular book because the cover gave me a certain impression that I wasn't interested in, even though I'd already downloaded the book. I often download books that I might otherwise feel meh about, if they're free. Don't judge me. I know you do it, too. So anyway, in the weeks since I'd downloaded the book, I kept passing it up and reading other things instead, based solely on the cover. I'd mostly forgotten the description by then.

The cover features the muscled torso of what we assume is an attractive man. We don't know, because the only parts of him we see are his pecs, abs, and arms. A woman's hands are groping him from behind. In the background is a cityscape as seen through the window of what we probably assume is a penthouse apartment.

Now let's not forget that I, and other readers, will bring our own reading baggage and preferences to the table when judging a book by its cover. It's inevitable. What I'm about to say may seem harsh, but it's the truth of what I was thinking at the time, and it may mirror the thoughts of other readers more than authors would care to think about. Here's what I was expecting from this book, based on the cover I just described:

A billionaire-themed steamy romance. Not particularly well-written. Probably will require a greater leap of faith to suspend my disbelief than I generally like in books. Most likely will cause me to roll my eyes or shake my head at what I see as utterly illogical leaps of plot or characterization, but that I could still see coming a mile away because I'd read three or four similar romances in the week prior that were scripted exactly the same way.

Not the most flattering picture, right? Still, I finally decided to read it. And something strange happened. I found myself smirking on the first page. Not because I was saying "I knew it. Mediocre at best." in my head, but because I was actually amused at the characters. Their personalities came through right away. The way they met and the details of their first interaction were fresh and fun and a little bit silly, and I absolutely loved it. And I found myself reading chapter after chapter because I wanted to, and not just because I told myself I had to.

Yes, it was a billionaire romance, which is something that has never really appealed to me. But that aspect of the story was treated in a way that made sense for the characters and added to my enjoyment most of the time. And yes, there were a few things that went the usual way seemingly because that's the way a romance should go, regardless of whether it was the way this particular story and these particular characters should have gone, given everything up to that point. Overall, I enjoyed the book. Writing about it now makes me want to go back and read it again, which says a lot.

But I almost didn't read it because of the cover.

I realized after reading it and revisiting the Amazon page that I had downloaded it in spite of the cover because the blurb was interesting AND it was free at the time. Once it was on my Kindle and I completely forgot what it was about, the cover really held me back from reading it sooner because it conveyed a type of book that I was not very interested in.

What does this mean for readers? Obviously, don't judge a book by its cover! But it's hard not to, and I don't think there will ever be a time where we don't judge books by their covers. Especially in an increasingly digital marketplace.

So, then. What does this mean for authors and publishers? I think it means we need to be a little more careful with the messages we choose to send with our book covers. This particular cover will attract quite a few readers who like to read certain things. I'm not denying that. But there's a potential market that it's probably missing as well.

I know we can't appeal to all readers all the time, nor should we try to. But I think there's a more nuanced balance between hitting your target market square between the eyes and roping in your target market without completely alienating readers who might really like what you're writing, but they just don't know it yet. Like me. I'd probably read this author again in the future, knowing that if she has a cover that would normally turn me off, there's likely a better story inside. (And if you're curious, the book I've been referring to is She's Got Dibs, by AJ Nuest. Check it out. Even if you don't like billionaire romances.)

What are some books you've read and enjoyed despite a cover that would've made you think otherwise?

J. Lea López is a shy, introverted writer with a secret world of snark and naughtiness inside her head. She writes character-driven erotica and contemporary new adult stories. Her first novel, Sorry's Not Enough, and her free short story collection, Consenting Adults, are available now. She'd love to tweet with you.

Five Tips For Finding Your Pirated Novel Online

By Jean Oram
Two weeks ago I self-published my chick lit novel (a FREE romance ebook!! YAY!) Champagne and Lemon Drops. Within 48 hours there was a pirated version competing against my own on Amazon.com. And they were virtually indistinguishable. (You can read the full tale of digital piracy here.) At first I thought it was a glitch, but after more snooping and chatting with others I discovered digital plagiarism was afoot.

Therefore, today's tips are about how to go about finding your pirated writing online. This is not a discussion about digital piracy or DRM or whether publishing traditionally will somehow save you (it won't). This is about how to find your pirated works, because if you are lucky, illegal copies are going to surface. (Lucky because it means you aren't completely obscure and other people feel you have something profitable on your hands.) Why these tips? Because at the end of the day if you can't find your pirated novel online, how are you going to request its removal?

~ ~

The bad news: Book plagiarism and piracy is common.

The good news: It is actually difficult for pirates to make money from your pirated novel.

How to Find Your Pirated Works Online:

1. Don't Use Google Alerts

You didn't expect that one, did you? Truth is, Google Alerts generally culls the 'best' of the net even if you choose for it to report "everything." If you take away one thing from this post, take away this: DO NOT rely on Google Alerts to email you notices as an effective way to watch for piracy.

Why? I've had Google Alerts on my name for years and 99 times out of a 100 it alerts me that my name has appeared… on my blog. Thanks. Helpful. Really. Not. Has Google Alerts found a mention for my novel's title yet? No.

2. Use Google Search Tools

While the answer might not be Google Alerts, it is still in the Google family: Google (the search engine). Cozy up with it.

The only problem with Googling is that you end up sifting through the same stuff every day--and if you are getting your name and book title out there, you have more to look through each day. This is where Google's search tools come in. (See the screenshot below.) You'll notice when you click on "Search Tools" you can search by timeframe. (P.S. Yes, you can use other search engines--just be sure they have a timeframe search feature so you don't waste your time.)

Google Search Tools. Choose Your Timeframe.

Note: If you find your book listed on a file sharing site or a free ebook site, be careful! Make sure your firewall and virus software is up to date before you visit that site. In fact, in some cases you might not even want to go there. Why? Because some of these sites use ebooks as bait in order to get your email address, credit card info, or to place malware (eg. keyloggers) on your computer. If your browser warns you the site is nefarious, don't. go. there. You might consider the free add-on WOT (Web of Trust) for your browser--it's a smart idea. It will tell you if a site is safe or not with a green, yellow, or red circle. See screenshot below:

The Red Circle on the Right Means Evil Site: Do Not Enter! (WOT in Action.)

3. What to Search For: Three Things That Help Find Pirated Content

Google your name (in quotes), your book title (in quotes) and a unique sentence from your book (in quotes). You can't trust that the pirate is going to use your name on your title and on your content. Smart pirates mix it up.

Why quotes? Because you receive more accurate results. No point sifting through recipes for lemon drop champagne punch, right? Although it really does sound yummy!

4. Search Regularly

I recommend doing this daily. Yes. Daily. If not daily, every other day. The faster you are able to report piracy, the faster your content is removed. And if you can't do it daily, definitely do during in the weeks following some wonky stats (good or bad), you release a new book, or one of your books gets a new shot in the arm with some extra attention whether it is a blog tour, review from a fairly well-known reviewer, or hitting a bestseller/breakout list.

5. Search Book Sale Sites

Even if you are vigilant about searching for your title, name, and a sentence from your novel, you aren't going to discover whether there is a pirated copy on Amazon or your other ebook vendors sites. (At least my pirated version on Amazon didn't show up in my Google searches.) You will want to also keep an eye on your downloads--if they suddenly drop off or make a leap you may have a pirated copy working with/against you.

Note: You are going to want to search for both your name and your title on Amazon.com as well as a foreign Amazon site (trust me on this--Amazon is very good at dealing with piracy and sometimes you can't see pirated copies on the regular .com site). Yes, it is extra work, but it is also worth it. This advice applies to other bookselling sites.

Tip: If in doubt, don't shrug it off, contact the site owner and provide as much information as possible to find out if it is a pirate at work or just a glitch.


If you are interested in reading more about piracy, check out FTWA blogger Charlee Vale's post about her tussle with piracy as a photographer--a must read if you are considering getting professional author photos. As well, if you think your book has been pirated or you want to read more about piracy as well as learn how to get your pirated book off of Amazon, read this post on The Helpful Writer which includes more helpful tips as well as my full piracy story.

P.S. If you've dealt with piracy or have comments on this subject leave us a comment below. 

Jean Oram is a contemporary romance author who provides a helpful tip a week on her writing blog, TheHelpfulWriter.com. She also has a website for her chick lit books at www.jeanoram.com. You can find Jean on Twitter as @jeanoram and on Facebook. You can download a FREE copy of her ebook Champagne and Lemon Drops on Smashwords (all ebook formats).

WHAT IS YOUR STORY WORTH?

by R.S. Mellette

The best advice I ever got on writing was from an acting teacher my freshman year.  I asked her about playwriting.  "I don't know anything about writing," she said, "but I know that a Broadway play costs $50."  (Okay, I just dated myself).  "You have to write a story worth $50 to the average working person."

That always struck me as an excellent test of quality.  Can I tell a story that is worth the audience's cold hard cash?  That's a standard that is visceral.  It's real.  It cuts through all of the literary, English major crap and gets right down to nitty-gritty.  The most important critical question I have for any reader is, "did you get your money's worth?"

That question has become top of the list in this digital day and age.  What is a story worth?  Is it $2.99?  $9.99?  $13.99?  Will amateur authors flood the market with such low-priced material that professionals can no longer make a living?  Is it better to sell ten books at $2.99 or three at $9.99?  If you do sell a lot of books at a low-price, should you then raise the price?

And there is the question of the value of a publisher's stamp.  When Harper Collins publishes a book, they are saying, "Out of the thousands of books we've screened, this one is worth your time and money."  What is that recommendation worth?  As publishers put out more books on the e-market, do they de-value the worth of their stamp?

In talking about traditional verses e-publishing, the questions of value centered around hard costs like paper, printing, art, etc.  Now, of course, we're learning that e-packaging – metadata, formatting, meeting platform requirements – come at a cost.  But the real question is harder to answer.  What is the story itself worth?  Storytellers are unique to our species.  We are not human without them, but how much are we willing to pay them?

I don't have the answers.  Do you?

R.S. Mellette is an experienced screenwriter, actor, director, and novelist. You can find him at the Dances With Films festival blog, and on Twitter, or read him in the Spring Fevers and The Fall: Tales of the Apocalypse anthologies.

Shelves? We Don't Need No Stinking Shelves

by R.S. Mellette

A lot of people are guessing about what the digital revolution will bring to the publishing industry, so why should I be any different?

One of the current catch phrases we hear in the industry is "What shelf would this book go on?" This forces an author who might have a mystery series, set in the future, with a teenaged hero in an adult world to have to state not only a single genre (mystery or sci-fi), but also an age group (YA or Adult).

But in the digital world, there are no shelves. This book can be listed as a Mystery AND Sci-Fi; YA AND Adult. It can be labled as simply Fiction and show up on a list based on sales.

How soon will it be before agents and editors stop saying, "I don't know what shelf this goes on," and start saying, "I only see one category for this MS." How many writers will be arguing that a certain sub-plot makes their book qualify as a Romance?

And what will this multi-labeling do to writing styles? If self-publishers begin to attach so many categories to their books in order to cross-promote, will the labels lose their meaning? How valuable then will independent bookstore owners be, when someone asks, "Can you help me find a good book?"

R.S. Mellette is an experienced screenwriter, actor, director, and novelist. You can find him at the Dances With Films festival blog, and on Twitter, or read him in the Spring Fevers anthology.

Many Paths to Publication... And Sex? Baltimore Book Festival Recap

by J. Lea López

I had the pleasure of attending the 2012 Baltimore Book Festival this past weekend. I learned about the festival after our own Sophie Perinot announced she would be attending and speaking on a few panels there. After checking out the website, I knew I had to be there. It was part book sale, part street fair, and part writing conference that took place over three days. I was only able to attend Saturday and part of Sunday, but it was more than enough to know I'll likely attend again in future years. Today I'll be sharing with you some of my thoughts on two excellent panels.

There were a lot of great things going on at once, so I didn't make it to Sophie's women's fiction panel, but if you all know me, you'll know I couldn't possibly miss her panel about SEX! Okay, it was about sex and the historical fiction writer, but really.... it was about sex. I don't even write historical fiction, and I honestly don't read much of it, either. But this was a fun and informative panel. (Let me take a second to point something out: Sophie is such a sweetheart! And so funny!)

One of the panelists mentioned that there is a misconception that women's rights and women's roles in society have progressed in a linear manner throughout history, which isn't true. I admit I had the same impression until the panelists pointed out some of the aspects of ancient civilizations that show how women often had greater roles than we give them credit for. A few examples:

• There's a theory that the royal bloodline passed through the females in ancient Egypt. So if you wanted to be Pharaoh one day, you'd better marry Pharaoh’s daughter.

• In some societies/cultures, divorce was commonplace and not frowned upon. The wife could often take part or all of her dowry back if the couple split.

• Women could own property, and ownership of it did not (always) immediately transfer to her husband when they married, or after her death if she died first.

• Best of all, even though a husband may have practically owned his wife's body, there was this little thing called the marriage debt. Sex was a husband's duty and something he OWED his wife.

Yeah, you hear that, ladies? Bring that up next time your husband wants a sandwich! By which I obviously mean, Take that historically accurate information to heart next time you're writing some old-timey sex!

Look, it's Sophie! And her book!

The last panel I attended was on Sunday afternoon, about the many paths to publication. There were six authors on this panel, speaking about their experience with everything from self-publishing to ebook-only publishers and small presses, to the traditional agent route to publishing. Most of them had hands in two or all three publishing processes. It was refreshing to see a group of authors in agreement that there isn't one “right” path to publication and that one isn't necessarily better or worse than another. There are two main points that I took away from this panel that I think are useful.

Edit, edit, edit

All of the panelists mentioned quality editing several times in the hour-long discussion, expressing that it is very difficult to get the quality you want all on your own.

Kate Dolan said “Regardless of the path you take to publication, the editing is so important.” She stressed that you really need to get your book into the hands of someone who “can tell you what you don't want to hear.” She also mentioned that the quality of editing will vary, even between editors from the same house.

Christi Barth shared that she had one editor who made her remove all semi-colons from her manuscript because it was a “house rule” despite the fact that semi-colons are a perfectly legitimate form of punctuation.

Amy Villalba, who is self-publishing her novel, said that the editor she uses initially charged her $2.25/page. Six months later, due to increased demand, her rates had increased to $6/page. Because she was a repeat customer, she was able to get her down to less than $4/page. She estimated that you should budget $2,500 to $3,000 per book to get a good product out there. (That amount included editing and paid advertising on sites such as Kindle Nation Daily.)

Other panelists also mentioned bartering your own skills with other writers for editing (and other) services. Networking and simply being around other writerly types in order to learn and ask questions was another theme during the discussion.

There are reasons...

To self-publish. To seek an agent and a traditional book deal. Or a small press. Or an ebook-only publisher. In other words, there are reasons which validate each path. Self-publishing just because you don't want to deal with the “hassle” or process of querying an agent is not a good reason. And quite frankly, if you don't want to deal with that hassle, you likely won't enjoy the hassle of going it alone, either.

The biggest pro to self-publishing is also the biggest con: you have complete control over your project from beginning to end. Complete control means complete responsibility, even for the aspects you may not be comfortable doing yourself. So you pay someone to do it for you.

Publicity support varies. Eliza pointed out that while some small presses do have at least a little bit of publicity support, such as a publisher blog where authors can write posts, not all of them do. One small press she was with had no advertising or publicity at all. Traditional publishing often has more marketing and publicity support because they have the money to do so.

However, no one was suggesting that traditional publishing means the author can sit back and relax on the publicity front. I think we all know what the panelists stated: even with traditional publishing, authors are still expected to do as much as they can to get their name out there. Marketing and publicity will vary across big and small presses and is something else to take into consideration when blazing your path to publication.

Royalties. It's no secret that you can get the biggest royalty percentage with self-publishing, and the least with traditional publishing. But traditional publishing gives you a bigger amount up front, which can be great. Self-publishing pays you smaller increments, but more often. Small presses are somewhere in the middle. Different situations will work for different people.

The market. Megan Hart, who admittedly likes “a lot of people to take care of a lot of things for me” had an idea for a 10-part horror serial. She wanted to put a new one out each month. There isn't really a traditional place to go with that, but it's perfect for self-publishing. Christi talked about how, after not having much luck shopping a particular manuscript, she realized that it was a good book, just not for that market. “Sometimes publishers stick with tropes,” she said, and if your book doesn't fit into a particular trope at that time, you're out of luck. Not because you aren't a good writer, but because that publisher wants more vampires when you're querying zombies.

I have even more thoughts to share about the 2012 Baltimore Book Festival, including my experience at the erotica discussion and reading, so if you'd like to hear more, please join me at my personal blog.

Have you ever been to the Baltimore Book Festival or similar event near you? What was your experience?

J. Lea López is a writer with a penchant for jello and a loathing for writing bios. Find her on Twitter or her blog, Jello World. She has had some short stories published, most recently in the Spring Fevers anthology.

Your Writing Repertoire: The Long and Short of It

by J. Lea Lopez

Most of us probably started off writing short stories, either on our own or as class assignments as kids. Some may still write short stories for our own enjoyment, or maybe to sell to magazines or for contests. But short stories are sort of the red-headed stepchild to the novelist, aren't they? Agents don't generally rep short story collections. They aren't the most lucrative market. (If you are looking for places to publish short stories, Duotrope is a great place to search.) I'm here to tell you that short stories may be more beneficial to you as a novelist than you think.

By now we all know that the digital side of publishing is a huge part of the market and that it's easier now than ever to put together your own eBook. Self-publishing is well within reach for all of us. (Agented authors with book deals may need to check with their publishers and read the fine print of their contracts before self-publishing anything, to avoid any fiasco like this one.) Any of us can self-publish a few singles, or a collection of short stories. This makes the short story a relatively quick and easy tool in your arsenal. Here are a few ways to use short stories to your advantage.

Pre-Launch

Are you an indie or self-publisher about to release your first novel? You've written a great book, have a nice cover, have carefully crafted your short blurb and product description, have been working on your social media presence and building a following, and have decided on a price you feel is both competitive and fair to you as the writer. But you might still be worried about how to better entice readers to buy your book–the one by an author they've never heard of—instead of, or in addition to, the latest release by one of their favorite, well-known authors. Readers can certainly "look inside" on Amazon and sample some of your writing that way. Or you could offer a little something else.

Our own Pete Morin took this approach before the release of his novel, Diary of a Small Fish. The month before he published Fish he released a free short story on Smashwords. I plan on using this same approach when I self-publish my first novel late this summer. A free short story or collection of shorts gives potential readers a way to read something of yours, from start to finish, and get a feel for whether they'd like to read more. Hopefully the answer is yes! And once they know you can satisfy their imaginations through an entire story arc, they won't be as hesitant to spend money on your novel. You're no longer an unknown to them. Some authors will offer the first book of a series for free, then charge for the rest, banking on this same theory that the free book will lead to more sales for the others. If, like me, you aren't writing a series, consider writing a short story or two to offer for free.

Between Books in a Series

YA author Elana Johnson's debut novel, Possession, was published in June of 2011. The sequel, Surrender, was released yesterday. During the year between the two books, Elana released two shorter stories related to the series. The first was an exclusive short story, available as a free download through her website, and the second was what she calls a "bridge story," which is an eBook exclusive. Both of these were her own ideas that she executed with her publisher's support. She explained to me via Twitter

The first one (Insider Information) was my idea. We needed their permission to use butterflies and ice on the cover. They liked what I was doing, and so we (me and agent) pitched the idea of a "bridge story" to them. They ran with that, and produced the second story (REGRET). So one is free (my self-pubbed one) and one is $1.99.

It's hard to tell for sure, but she believes "it seems to have worked a bit" in terms of keeping readers interested in the series and keeping up the excitement prior to the release of the second book. Elana shows that using short stories to renew and sustain interest in a series isn't for self-publishers alone. You can make it work with traditional publishing as well.

Bonus Material

Do you ever watch the deleted scenes or alternate endings from movies when you get the DVD? I do, when it's a movie I really enjoyed. Have you ever read a book and wanted to read more about the character's lives after the book was finished? Maybe you wanted to know more about some of their back story, stuff that wasn't really related to the novel itself. Or maybe you wondered how it would've turned out if a character had made this choice instead of that one.

You've wondered about it with books you've read. So why don't you write it for your own books?

If you've gotten good feedback that readers love your characters and your story, it's not too far-fetched to think they might enjoy some bonus material. Maybe you had to delete some scenes you liked but that didn't suit the novel for whatever reason. Or perhaps you've been dying to write an alternate ending. Or a short story about one of your characters as a child. There are a lot of possibilities there. If you're self-publishing, there's really no limit to what you can do. If you have a contract with a publisher, you'll need to work out what you can and can't do on your own, and what they would or wouldn't be willing to work with you on.

You may be a novelist, but don't discount the value short stories could add to your career. They can help you entice readers if you're relatively unknown, sustain the enthusiasm for your writing and characters between releases, and help you continue to satisfy readers even after they reach THE END.

Have you used short stories to complement your novels in these, or other, ways? Do you have any tips for others looking to use this technique?

J. Lea Lopez is a writer with a penchant for jello and a loathing for writing bios. Find her on Twitter or her blog, Jello World. She has had some short stories published, most recently in the Spring Fevers anthology.
 

Family Manuscripts Found: Now What?

by Cat Woods

Over the years, I've frequently been asked about old, family manuscripts. Often times, somebody cleans out Great Grandpa's attic and runs across a collection of stories. Most often, they are children's stories. Almost always, the writer in us wants to preserve these memories forever—in the traditional publishing world.

"How do I get them published?" is the question I hear over and over again. But I have a different question. "For whom do you want to publish them?"

Is the intention to get Great Grandpa's words out there into the literary world as a historical reference, is it to make a fortune or is the intention to preserve the memory of Great Grandpa via his words? These are vastly different questions and require careful thought on behalf of the writer in us.

Commercial Considerations

What exactly is the collection of writings and how does that translate into the current market? Stories were written very differently back in the day (think A.A.Milne's wordiness in the Pooh stories compared to the pared down 500 word picture books of today).

• Consider word count: picture books run about 300-500 words. Chapter books have a sweet spot of 7,500 words and are cohesive stories. Many of the old manuscripts in question run eight to ten handwritten pages—too long for your typical picture book and too short for your average chapter book.
• Consider the style of writing: long-winded, highly descriptive tales are out. Colorful prose used to be the norm, but todays' kids run on the short and punchy side of writing.
• Consider the theme/plot/premise: gone are the books as teaching tools. Back in the day, books were blatant, cautionary tales. They had distinct messages that were spelled out in a way that hip readers and editors are no longer interested in. If the entire storyline is a teaching tool, it likely has little place in commercial publishing today. It needs to meet all the criteria of a contemporary story: robust characters, conflict and resolution—in a way that speaks to the kids, not at them.
• Consider illustrations: often, family-found stories come with hand-drawn pictures—beautiful renditions by Great Grandpa's own hand. Treasures for certain, yet almost guaranteed to be incompatible with current styles and formatting. Picture books average 28 pages with one to two illustrations per double page spread. The manuscripts I get questions about have anywhere from one to ten total illustrations.
• Consider your openness to editing: no writing is ever ready to commercially publish without some kind of tweaking. It's hard enough to play around with our own words, but changing Great Grandpa's may be next to impossible from the emotional stand point. If you're not willing to edit, commercial publishing will not be your best choice.

But...

There may be some contemporary options for these traditional stories. Depending on word count and writing style, they may make a great collection of board books. Simple, chunky stories with a cohesive theme or character can accommodate those 8-10 pages quite well. And the good news is that some small/niche publishing companies specialize in board books and are open to unsolicited manuscripts.

Another option for a 300-800 word tale may be the magazine market. But before you start shooting off Great Grandpa's words, please carefully research the magazine market. It is very nuanced and each mag is specialized in their needs and/or themes. They also have VERY specific word counts to consider.

Harder for the first-time writer would be publishing the collection in chapter book/novel format. Longer works may be consolidated into one, two or three volumes depending on the cohesiveness of the stories and the targeted age groups. As a caution: the manuscripts would have to be stellar.

Little Golden Books might also be a viable option for really well-written stand-alones. They have a line of stories that maintains the old-fashioned story-telling feel that might match Great Grandpa's words and illustrations.

Otherwise, Consider Self-Publishing

Self-publishing is wide open and can really create a nice edition of stories for close families and friends. It may also fill a regional niche and could potentially be sold at local bookstores, museums, Great Grandpa's church or other stores that support local artists. If money is the motivator, you will need to learn all the marketing skills of a traditional publisher to sell to a broader audience.

• POD: many print-on-demand companies would be a fabulous option to get a paper copy into the hands of those who knew and loved Great Grandpa. Books could be bought as needed and could even be a fundraiser of sorts for family reunions or organizations that Great Grandpa believed in.
• Electronic Publishing: Smashwords or Amazon would be a quick and inexpensive way to share Great Grandpa's stories. Potentially, it could also mean an accidental outside sale or two, or if done right, could be a small money maker.
• Heirloom Binding: some stories are just meant to be preserved naturally. Depending on the paper and ink, these pages could be leather bound into an original story, and preserved for generations to come. I've created several heirloom gift books for families and have found the options infinite and the craftsmanship stunning.
  

Whatever you decide, don't jump into the project quickly. First, review your motives, then your time commitment, and finally, your options. What do you want to get out of this endeavor and how can you best achieve it? How does the quality of writing compare to the contemporary market?

Have you ever found stories from yesterday in a trunk, attic or basement? If so, what did you do with them? In your mind, what value do old stories have and how best can we preserve them? Or, is there even a need to preserve them? Do you think writing from days gone by has a place in today's market? If so, how can we best get these found manuscripts into the hands of today's readers?

Curious minds want to know.

Cat Woods prefers her stories to be published within her lifetime. However, should they gather dust in the attic until she no longer blogs at Words from the Woods, she would love for her manuscripts to be illustrated by her great grandchildren, bound in leather and shared at future family gatherings.

Five Things I’ve Learned About Self-Publishing

By Matt Sinclair

As many of you have heard by now, several of us at FTWA were involved in a short story anthology, Spring Fevers, which was e-published in February and is now available via print-on-demand. I’m proud to be the publisher of the work, and we will be doing another later this year.

In the meantime, I thought I’d share some bits of learning I picked up from our publishing venture.

1. Know your goals before you start. Why are you doing this? Is it to see your name listed as an author? There’s nothing wrong with that. Do you expect to sit back and watch a tsunami of e-money flow into your account? Sitting back and watching a tsunami up close is never a good idea, especially when the wave doesn’t arrive. You’ll need to do more than write something excellent. For us, the goal was creating an audience for a band of as yet little-known writers. Oh that reminds me: we priced accordingly.
2. Assemble a strong team. This was by no means a one-person job. With the emergence of electronic publishing tools, it’s relatively easy to publish just about anything your heart desires. But if you’re like most of us, your talents will take you only so far. You’ll need help, whether it’s for the cover, or the design, or the publicity. And before any of those considerations are given much time, secure an editor—someone who will tell you the unvarnished truth. Not to put too fine a point on this, but you need an editor, not a proofreader. You might also need a proofreader, but make sure you have an editor. We were so fortunate to have Robb Grindstaff edit these stories. Excessive typos certainly won’t endear you to readers, but neither will weak characters and plotlines, inconsistencies, and perspectives that hop from head to head.
3. Your cover is absolutely critical. I lost count of how many cover ideas we went through for Spring Fevers. That’s not counting the hundreds of images that I skimmed and knew immediately the answer was no. Plus, I wasn’t the only person looking for images. Our cover designer, the wonderful and talented Calista Taylor, provided sage advice at every step of the journey. She and R.C. Lewis, our book designer, came up with what I think is a very attractive look that captures the overall atmosphere of the stories within the anthology. Keep in mind that covers are different these days as they need to work at the thumbnail size for electronic publishing. As the e-publishing trend continues and expands, look for titles to be shorter and covers to be less busy. I also expect, at least for now, that image details will need to work in both color and black and white.
4. Embrace social media and develop your audience. Sure, you could send press releases out to local papers and talk to your local bookstore about a meet-the-author event and reach out to book clubs. That approach is a wee bit 20^th century, but it still has its place. But being active on tools such as Twitter and Facebook can help you reach people you’d never have reached before. And those are just two of the most obvious. Blog tours are another. Indeed, there’s a lot you can do to reach out to readers. Consider all these ventures part of your audience development. Never stop developing your audience. Don’t quit marketing and pitching your work. There’s an old truism in advertising that people see an ad seven times before it finally registers in their brain. People won’t buy your book if they don’t know you published one. That said, keep things balanced. I wouldn’t recommend flogging your book at Aunt Grace’s funeral, no matter how supportive she was of your creative efforts.
5. Writing more books will sell more books. I’m talking about audience development, but to be honest, I’m saying this on faith, since our team has only produced one book together. I don’t like to spout unverified information, but I know from writers I’ve enjoyed reading that I’m more likely to seek out their previous works when I like the book through which I discover them. Indeed, we’re counting on it.

Matt Sinclair, a New York City-based journalist and fiction writer, recently published a short story anthology called Spring Fevers, which is available through Smashwords, Amazon, and in print via CreateSpace. It includes stories by fellow FTWA writers, including Cat Woods, J. Lea Lopez, Mindy McGinnis, and R.S. Mellette. He also blogs at the Elephant's Bookshelf and is on Twitter @elephantguy68.

Can I Use My Smashwords ISBN When Publishing Elsewhere?

by J. Lea Lopez

From keeping your e-pubbing legal to contacting book bloggers once you've published, authors who self-publish have plenty of questions, and we love being able to answer as many as we can. One question I've seen popping up recently is whether an author can use the ISBN provided by Smashwords when she uploads her book at Amazon or another retailer.

Short answer? No.

There, question answered, thanks for reading!


Okay, okay. I know some of you are kicking your feet and whining But why not? It'll save me money to use the ISBN provided for free (or as part of the $9.95 Premium option) from Smashwords when I upload to [insert other eBook retailer here].

My gut-reaction reason for not using the ISBN given to you by Smashwords when you e-publish elsewhere is that it's simply unethical. Smashwords is not your cheap ISBN vendor. They offer their free or low-cost ISBN service to people who use their distribution services. It's a perk. Something to entice you to do business with them, you see. If you take that ISBN and attach it to your Kindle book or any other eBook format that you then distribute yourself (or through some venue other than Smashwords), you're taking advantage of the service they've provided. In the long run, this could hurt indie authors everywhere. If everyone snagged a free or cheap ISBN from Smashwords and then used it elsewhere, you can bet your laptop Smashwords would eventually stop offering the service. You might be saving yourself some money in the short term, but you'll be doing yourself (and the rest of us) a huge disservice in the long run.

*steps off soapbox*

Now let's look at some of the logistical reasons you don't want to do this.

First, you don't need an ISBN to publish and have your eBook sold through any of the major outlets except Sony and Apple. You can sell direct through Amazon and have Smashwords distribute to various other outlets without an ISBN. So why even bother putting an ISBN on your Kindle version when you upload to KDP? Amazon will assign you their own identification number. The point of an ISBN is to identify a title (or an edition of a title). Retailers then use the ISBN to track sales of that title or edition. Since Amazon and other retailers will assign their own identification numbers to your book for sales tracking purposes, I'd be curious why indie authors feel the need to bother with an ISBN for the eBook at all, outside of the retailers that require it.

You're required to have a different ISBN for each edition of a book. If you do a print edition, you'll need a different ISBN than your eBook edition. It's currently hotly debated whether each of the eBook formats constitutes a different edition, thereby requiring different ISBNs for each. Some say yes, others say no way, and it's even unclear based on what I've read from Bowker and here. Here, in the ISBN Users' Manual, is the closest thing I've found to the assertion that each format will require a different ISBN. But it also begs the question of whether an eBook is either "software" or an "online publication." Their section on non-printed books was written in 1996 and covers physical items like audio cassettes, CDs, computer tapes, and more, but (obviously) not eBook files. Behind the times much?

When you purchase an ISBN yourself, there's a dropdown menu to specify why type of book the number will be assigned to. Among the different format types, there is a "multiple formats" option—according to some people's personal experiences I've read, like this one—to select when specifying what the ISBN will be associated with. It would seem this option would be sufficient to use with all eBook formats. Of course, ISBNs are expensive, which is why many people have been asking about using the one given to them by Smashwords in other places. In the U.S., it's $125 for one ISBN, $250 for 10, $575 for 100, or $1000 for 1000 (obviously the best deal, but how many indie authors have $1000 to spend on ISBNs, and how many anticipate needing that many?) plus processing fees. If you're Canadian, you are super lucky. You can get yours for free.

When Smashwords purchases the ISBN for you, that ISBN is attached to the ePub version of your book ONLY. Why? Because that's the industry standard for everyone but Amazon, and that's the format that is distributed to Apple and Sony, the two retailers requiring and ISBN. So the ISBN record will only list ePub as the format, even if you use it when you upload to Amazon.

If you've purchased ISBNs for your eBook versions, let us know about your experience and your thoughts. 

J. Lea Lopez is a writer with a penchant for jello and a loathing for writing bios. Find her on Twitter or her blog, Jello World. She has had some short stories published, most recently in the Spring Fevers anthology, available as a free download.

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Giving Birth To Premies: When Acting Impulsively Can Hurt Your Writing

by Cat Woods

My nephew was born early and the doctors did nothing to stop his delivery. In their defense, he had a large head and weighed nearly seven pounds. Neither his measurements nor his calculated due date gave any indication that he was eight weeks premature.

As the first grandchild in the family, his birth was joyfully anticipated. His struggle to survive was not. Quite simply, the doctors had made a nearly fatal error. Not unlike some writers I've known.

Premies arrive in this world before they are ready. Among other things, they struggle to breathe on their own and eat on their own. They cannot regulate their own body temperatures and their heartbeats can be erratic. Over the first few years, their physical and emotional development can be stunted as they valiantly attempt to catch up to their full-term peers. In short, every day is an effort to survive.

As writers, we often put ourselves in premature situations. We are so certain we are ready for the next step, we jump at the opportunity to query and submit long before we hit our professional due dates. This often ends in rejection ... or worse.

**A Word of Caution**

Creating and sticking to a publishing plan of action is a lot like committing to a pregnancy. A mid-term mind change can effectively destroy all viability. Therefore, it is vital that we understand the ins and outs of the publishing biz long before we embark on our query/submission journeys. Once we have committed to a plan, we must very seriously consider the ramifications of switching gears halfway through. If we decide termination of one plan is in our best interest, we need to act professionally when it comes time to wrapping up all loose ends before moving on.

Mid-Term Writing Risks

1. Querying Agents After Subbing to Editors: While this doesn't sound like a big deal, it can have a huge effect on an agent's ability to represent a certain manuscript. Agents possess no more power than Joe Writer when it comes to resubmitting a project. If we've submitted our work to editors, agents lose the personal edge to call on their insider knowledge of those editors. And in this business, personal relationships between agents and editors can make the difference between a deal and a rejection.
2. Querying Agents After a Self-Pubbing Fail: More than a handful of writers have fallen into this trap. After a dozen or so painful rejections, Willa Wanna-be self-pubs believing the masses will LOVE her book ... because, well, because it's dang good. For 1001 reasons Willa Wanna-be decides to go back to the Agent Submission Process. Agent Incredible will very likely shy away from this project for a variety of reasons. One of the biggest reasons being that once a book already has an ISBN, the opportunity for a solid publicity push has decreased exponentially. This translates to a serious loss of sales potential.
3. Querying Multiple Projects Simultaneously: While this sounds more efficient than detrimental, having several projects in the hands of a handful of agents can really muck up the query process. Nicholas NetCaster grew impatient with the time it took to get a response and figured he'd up his chances by sending several stories into the query world at one time. Having to 'fees up to his faux pas when more than one agent expressed interest turned several on-the-fencers away. They simply did not want to deal with untangling his literary knots. Once a problem, always a problem? Maybe not, but why set yourself up for long explanations and perceived unprofessionalism?
4. Querying Half-Assed: A favorite editor of mine frequently blogs about this problem. Isabelle Impulsive sends query letters to agents while submitting packages to editors while keeping track of nothing. In time, Polly Publisher and/or Agent Incredible get around to the submission. S/he wants this project, but ... Impulsive Izzy already forgot who she sent packages to. She's already a) signed with an agent, b) signed with an editor or C) self-pubbed and D) failed to let any of the above know about her promiscuity and mid-term abortion. This can make even the most patient agents magic-marker your name on "the list". And trust me, agents and editors have been known to talk.
5. Marrying the Not-One: After being painfully single for a lifetime, Patrick Premie not only dates the first agent or editor to bat her eyes his way, he goes for the ring exchange. I can't say this enough: Do a background check on your literary love match. Preditors and Editors, baby. Word of mouth. Blogs, book acknowledgements and bad press (or no press). You would never let a proctologist deliver your baby. Why would you sign a contract for your picture book with an agent who only reps erotica? Or hasn't sold anything in three years? Or who really is a scammer in disguise preying on your desire to see your name in print?
6. Inducing Pre-Term Labor: Worse than signing on with an incompetent book doctor is inducing labor yourself via premature self-publishing. Please, please, please wait until your writing has reached full-term. Wait until you are absolutely certain your manuscript is the best it can be. Wait until you can commit to a full-scale marketing plan. Wait until you hear back from all agents and editors you sent a query to. Wait until you have a doctorate in self-pubbing so you don't end up in a legal battle over minor mistakes. Wait for the right time to do your project justice, and most importantly, wait to self-pub for the right reasons. To do otherwise is to shortchange yourself and your writing career.

How have you ever misjudged your writing due date? How has this changed your writing journey? Please share your premie stories and tips of avoiding them to help other aspiring writers reach full-term with their projects.

After giving birth to four healthy babies, Cat Woods would like to deliver her juvenile fiction to a bookshelf near you. You can follow her writing journey at Words From the Woods.

Keeping Your e-Pubbing Legal

by R.C. Lewis

We all know how easy it's become to digitally self-publish an eBook these days. That means it's become just as easy to get yourself in some real legal trouble. Just as we wouldn't want a so-called "writer" to plagiarize our work, likewise we shouldn't infringe on the copyrights of our fellow artists ... any of them. And some of them, you may never have even thought of.

So here we go. An overview of things to watch out for, and a few tips on doing it right.

Cover Images

Just because you found it on the internet and were able to download it doesn't mean you can use an image (photo, graphic, etc.) for commercial purposes. For that reason ...

DO NOT rely on a Google Images search (or similar under any other search engine). You'll find anything and everything, and often the source site won't have any connection to the original artist. The sites you find may or may not be using that image legally.

DO go to royalty-free stock image sites, such as istockphoto, bigstockphoto, and 123rf. READ THE USAGE AGREEMENTS/LICENSES CAREFULLY. Sometimes their usage depends on whether you "significantly alter" the image (which is often the case with book covers). Sometimes there is a print limit.

Some prohibit the use of images as part of a logo. Some restrict the maximum size (resolution) you can use commercially.

Some of those restrictions can be nullified if you buy an extended use license (usually significantly more expensive). Some of the restrictions are absolute no matter what.

READ THE RULES, then READ THEM AGAIN.

ANOTHER OPTION is a site like deviantART. You'll find a wide variety of artists, from amateur to professional. Whether or not you can use a given image varies on a case-by-case basis. Sometimes the artist just requires credit. Sometimes the image is free for use. Sometimes you can't use the image at all, but the artist can be hired to commission an original piece. READ CAREFULLY.

Fonts

DO NOT assume that because a font is on your computer, it's fair game. Often fonts get added because of programs you installed. The software company had permission to use that font, and by extension, you have permission for personal use of that font. Your commercial use of that font does not always follow.

DO search various specialty font sites (there are about a gazillion) and CAREFULLY note personal/commercial use allowances. Sometimes you need to purchase a license for a font—and they can be expensive in some cases. Sometimes the font artist just asks for a donation, with the amount at your discretion. (Be reasonable, not too cheap.)

Brushes

If you're doing your own cover design (or even interior design, creating watermarks or something for a POD version), you may be familiar with the multitude of things you can do with special Photoshop brushes. They're available for download, again at many sites.

DO NOT assume no one will ever know you used a particular brush that's not licensed for commercial use.

DO carefully check guidelines on whatever site you download the brushes from. If it doesn't indicate personal vs. commercial use, find someone to ask.

Lyrics/Poetry/Excerpts

The infamous song lyric bugaboo. Song titles are fair game, so your safest bet is to reference the song that way and let your reader do the singing.

DO NOT assume that quoting just one line, or just two, or just the chorus, or just one paragraph of your favorite book is okay. Big-6 publishers have had to pay big bucks for a single line of lyrics. You don't want the artist to sue you for the same ... or more.

DO check and double-check. Maybe a poem or novel you want to quote from are in the public domain. Maybe you have a connection to the artist and can get permission. Maybe you don't know the artist, but are really persuasive. Fine, go for it, but get a lawyer to draw up some paperwork for you.

When in doubt, leave it out.

Anything I've missed or should elaborate on further? Do you have tips, tricks, and warnings of your own? Please share.

R.C. Lewis teaches math to deaf teenagers by day and writes YA fiction by every other time. You can find her at Crossing the Helix and Twitter (@RC_Lewis).

Shortchanging Yourself and Your eBook

by Darke Conteur

The other day, I found a novel I wanted to read. I found the author through an online article, and even though it wasn’t in a genre I normally read, the blurb really got my attention. This author had a few novels self-published through Amazon, and when I did a check to see where else she might have published, I couldn’t find any. Needless to say, I was more than disappointed. I have the Kindle app on my laptop, but I was given a Kobo for Christmas. I haven’t used my Kindle app since.

It made me wonder about this new lending library thing Amazon is doing and whether it’s a good thing or not. Personally, I think it’s detrimental to a self-published author’s career to publish their book with only one company. One of the keys to sales is word of mouth, and it’s hard to get the word out if you’re only on a few sites. Even if those sites represent a large portion of the eBook-buying industry.

I know a few writers who published on two sites only—Amazon and Smashwords. Smashwords creates several files, many that support the more popular readers, but if I purchase an e-file, I have to transfer the file to an SD card, then to my reader. It would be easier if I could download the novel from the Kobo website library to my reader, and isn’t one of the big selling points of digital books that it's easy for the reader to get them?

I thought about my little book. I have it on Amazon and Smashwords. Smashwords will distribute your eBook to Kobo, iBookstore, B&N, and several others IF your formatting and everything qualifies you for their Premium Catalogue. There are a couple more stringent hoops to jump through with the format, but that's part of why Smashwords is so popular, because it allows you to get into those stores with one stop. The biggest drawback for me is formatting. It's a lot of work, but in the end, isn't it worth it to have your book in as many different outlets as possible?

Thanks to R.C. for the information on Smashwords. :)

Darke Conteur: author of stories from the dark side. Blogs Here, Twitters Here, & plays Facebook games Here.

Negativity Hurts All Of Us

by Darke Conteur

Please excuse me if this sounds like a rant, but it's something that's been bothering me.

I don't know if it was the time of year, or all that pent up frustration of dealing with a publishing industry that, at first glance, didn't seem to want to embrace the digital media, but there was a growing negative atmosphere tainting the writing community in 2011, and it spread like wildfire.

For years, publishers and agents held the 'Golden Key' to a writing career, and if you wanted one, you had to go through them. Now that there are viable options and the words 'self-published' don't have the same stigma they did five years ago, more and more authors are choosing to follow a different route, and that's fine, but each writer's career path is different and no one has a free pass to crap all over the either system, old or new. Be warned, the internet has a very long memory. Just because you delete your harsh comment doesn't mean it's gone forever.

The most disturbing comments I hear are people waiting—wishing for the Big Six to go under, and take those 'blood-sucking agents' with them. Okay I may be exaggerating on the whole 'blood-sucking agents' part, but I can't believe that people would honestly want to see other people out of work, especially in this economy. Sure, if one of the Big Six went under those at the top would probably survive, but all those UNDER them, would be out of work also. You shut down a workplace, and everyone from the mailroom people to assistants, interns (even though interns aren't paid), lose their jobs too. If Traditional Publishing is on its last legs as everyone claims, who will hire all those underlings? What about the authors? Especially those who just got a contract with said publisher? They're left in limbo or worse—a book published 'dead'. What if that was you? How would you feel? You've just had your dreams realized, only to be crushed. Would you really wish that on someone else?

Don’t think traditionally published authors aren't part of this negativity either. They're not as vocal, but I've heard a few new writers upset over nasty comments aimed their way because they self-published. Sometimes they're called lazy, or their books are called crap. Sure, maybe they need to hone their craft, but we should be helping each other, not cutting one another down.

My wish for 2012 is for all the bickering to stop. We're all in this together, negativity only pulls us apart.