Saturday, May 11, 2013

Romantic Times 2013 Observations, Eavesdropping and Overall Impression



 

Romantic Times organizers found themselves – probably for the first time ever – inundated with participants from the NY Times bestseller list (the “List”), and they were in a tailspin tending to that List.  Directions to workshops and events were mixed up, many of them had the wrong names on the wrong rooms, event organizers were hard to find and support staff seemed non-existent.  The most common response was “just go look at the tags on the doors or read the schedule that came in your bags” (many of which were wrong).  Mass confusion!



Of course, it was inevitable that certain participants would need to be pushed aside in order for the organizers to respond to all the members of the List who showed up this year.  Those participants were, unfortunately, readers, aspiring authors, small press authors and other members of the “smaller community”.  On the day of the big book sale, I understand some of those authors got together and rented a room over at the Marriott and then passed out postcards to their fans telling them where they could be found.  My partner, Jamie Hill, and I were grateful that we didn’t bring any books and were spared that experience.   

Jamie Hill

As Books We Love, we focused on what would be most beneficial to our authors.  We attended workshops related to changes in the industry, marketing using social media and (here’s where the eavesdropping came in, a few workshops geared towards larger publishers and agents and how they were faring), which, interestingly enough, was fairly consistent across the board.  A large number of List authors were freaking out about the fact that with ebooks dominating the industry their NY publishers are pricing their ebooks out of the competitive marketplace.  That’s not to say their books aren’t selling, hey, I myself bought a JD Robb ebook for $14.99 and got severely scolded by my partner: -), but I had a long airline flight, and if the new release by Books We Love’s Joan Hall Hovey ("... Joan Hall Hovey has penned as good a thriller as I have ever read...a superb tale of terror and suspense that puts her right up there with the likes of Sandford and Patterson..."Ingrid Taylor for Small Press Review”) whose novella is priced at only $2.99 had been released before I left, then I’d have foregone the JD Robb and been reading Joan’s Defective which is now available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords and coming soon to all your favorite online retailers.


Fortunately, Jamie and I made good choices.  The workshop focusing on Apple and their major move to counteract the Amazon machine was fascinating, and gave us lots of new material for charting our own course in 2014 and beyond.  One of the List authors gave a particularly interesting presentation on the use of Facebook fan pages and groups and as a result of what we learned in that workshop we’ve started our book club, which in three days has gained 350 members.  Those of you who follow our Blogs and Facebook will already know about this but if you don’t already follow us, we’d love to have you, please do come by and join our Facebook Book Club (or like our Facebook Fan page) where you’ll see that we’ve already implemented many of the suggestions we got from those workshops.   



In summary, Romantic Times is not a conference that I would recommend for small press publishers or authors.  They’ve already decided to jump on the List train, and maybe, for them, this is the right choice. 
 

As a small press publisher, Jamie and I will be looking at regional conferences – the ones that are very happy to have small press publishers and authors in attendance and who make a lot of effort to provide opportunities for authors and readers to connect and interact, and to provide Workshops that focus on advice from experts in the small press segment of the publishing industry – relevant content to all of us, and of course, Readers! Readers! Readers!



In my opinion the Romantic Times organizers made a huge mistake when they shunted the small press authors and their publishers off to an “overflow motel” to sign their books, and Jamie and I were very glad to have opted not to participate in either the eBook Fair or the print book fiasco.  We’ve heard there were many complaints from small press publishers and authors who stated that they “definitely won’t be back to Romantic Times”.  Unquestionably they did not appreciate being treated like the proverbial unwanted step-children. 

Jude Pittman

Putting on my author hat, Romantic Times had very little to offer me individually and if I’d paid that large conference fee as well as airfare and accommodation to attend a conference that was focused on an entirely different segment of the industry I’d have been mad.  As a publisher, we benefited from the marketing workshops, the social media workshops, conversations about industry changes and fluctuation and of course, from watching some of the scrambling.  It was like being an outside—insider to observe these “industry leaders” reacting to this new world.  One of the agents joked that an awful lot of his contemporaries were out there selling cars instead of books. 


     

In addition to the workshops we interviewed some very promising aspiring authors, and we’re excited about adding a couple of new faces to our team.  A lot of those authors liked the focus of Books We Love and what we have to offer our authors, and they definitely loved the fact that ours is one of the highest paying contracts in the industry – if not the highest.  



We met our expectations and we learned a lot about the current state of NY publishing and where they are going.  More than one List author was heard to lament the fact that he/she was stuck in a contract that tied her books up for decades and was never going to get the rights back to either take them to a small press publisher or self-publish the books themselves.  Almost unanimously these List authors agreed that if you’re going to go the self-publishing route, you need to hire a manager and a promotion team to take care of all the details required in publishing.  You need someone to format, someone to design, someone to arrange for your cover, someone to take care of the actual publishing and definitely you need someone to do the marketing, announce your book, promote your website and fan sites and all the millions of other details that either your Small Press Publisher or your combination business and promotion manager needs to take care of so that you can take care of your number one job – writing.

The next most common refrain we heard from the List authors giving workshops is that if you want to be a known author then the most important thing for you to do is write your books.  You cannot write one book and expect that you’re going to become a name author.  Most of these List authors are writing anywhere from four to ten books a year.  They know that writing is a business and being on the List requires an equal combination of talent, luck, determination, good marketing and downright hard work. You can’t have a best seller if you don’t first write one.



Overall, it was a positive experience for us.  We went with realistic expectations, and of course we had a lot of our own business to take care of.  We also met with Michelle our cover artist and were able to exchange ideas and suggestions.  Look for Jamie Hill’s release of two favorites in one volume, Playing for Keeps coming soon to Books We Love.


Look for a future “Insider” post where I’ll explore the various conferences available to authors and what those conferences have to offer Small Press.  Happy Writing! and Reading, of course!  Jude Pittman, author of the Kelly McWinter mysteries.


Friday, May 10, 2013

A Few Lines From . . . Gail Roughton

The Dark Series:  The Color of Seven

He walked up to a little backwoods Alabama black Church. Seven Cedars Baptist. It stood right outside Seven Cedars, Alabama. He laughed. “Be you de sebbenth son of a sebbenth son, boy?” Well, maybe he was, maybe he wasn’t. Sounded good, though. He went inside to join the ongoing service. Within a month, he’d collected a group of ten or so of the black community’s finest young men. He met with them down by the banks of Seven Cedar Creek.

“My name be Cain,” he announced. “An’ my color be sebben.”


 


Please join us again on May 17 for a few lines from Lisabet Sarai!
  

 

Sunday, May 5, 2013

What's In A Biography

By Michelle Lee
BWL Art Director

During a conversation at the RT 2013 convention, the topic of Biographies came up.  From there it got me to thinking about what makes a good biography (in my opinion anyways).

So I figured I would share my thoughts ... feel free to comment if you agree or disagree with me. : )

BIOGRAPHY DO'ES: 

1. DO write in third person.  I know, it may seem silly to write about yourself that way, but really - it just makes the biography sound better.  Just avoid the royal "we" where possible. : )

So instead of saying "I love to write ______", it should read "Michelle loves to write ________"

2. DO mention interesting things about yourself.  If you have traveled to an exotic place, especially if you found it inspirational, mention it.

3. DO share some small details.  Now I am not saying give a full run down of your entire life from birth to the present.  At the same time, readers like to feel like they are connecting with an author.  So if you love to hike, or to cross-stitch, consider mentioning it.  Just avoid going into the 'too-much-information' category. Some things are private - and should stay that way.  *wink*

4. DO have fun with it.  I love to read biographies where the author had a little bit of fun writing it.  It should never come across to the reader that you felt it was a chore to write - even if it was.

5. DO include your website URL.  I can't stress this enough!!!  The purpose of a Bio is to share a little bit about yourself with readers - but also to let them know where to find more.  It drives me nuts having to goole for an author's website, and sift through the mountain of links for their books on Amazon, Goodreads, etc.  I want to find the author's website where I can see information they provide about their books.  (Speaking of author websites - if you haven't already, check out my Top 5 DO'ES for websites post'.

BIOGRAPHY DON'TS:

This section I not so affectionately call the 'what were they thinking' tips ...

1. DON'T ever give dates in your bio.  What I meant by that is, if you have a new book in your series coming soon - don't give the exact release date for when it will be coming out.  The reason for this is two-fold.  One - delays can and do happen.  Two - it dates the biography.  If you put a date in your biography, once that date has passed - then it should be updated.  Problem with that is, most publishers don't have the time to upload a new bio for all of their authors each time a new book comes out, and you are certainly not going to want to go to all of the websites you have your bio up on and do the same.  So save yourself the headache and don't go there.

If fact, I have found that shying away from the whole mentioning of the new books coming out, how many books your have available, etc.  Again, just details that will get out of date and require the work and hassle of updating your bio at numerous websites.

2. DON'T be too specific.  Don't give too many clues as to where you live, etc.  Stalkers can and do happen.  So make sure to protect yourself with a general "mid-Missouri" or whatever.  You might have a contact address on your website - but you don't want it out there on every book, promo, review, etc. site in existence.

3. DON'T mention books released with another publisher.  This one can be tricky.  You want to mention awards and best-sellers and yet you don't want to mention books out with another publisher on another publishers website.  Because let's face it, it is a little bit rude to say "Best-selling author of ____ book, and have the bio up on a different publisher's website.  Kind of like having your prom pictures displayed at your wedding - when your spouse was not your prom date.

So how do you get around that?

There are a couple different ways.  You can go the route of "published with ____, ____, and ____".  Pitfall there is, you have to change all of your bios if you add or remove a publisher.  I speak from personal experience here when I say it is a pain and a half to deal with.

Alternatively, you can create a tweaked bio for each publisher.  To do this, you would create the generic bio you have on your website, and then for each publisher delete the details for other publishers that are not really appropriate.  Then add in small details you want to highlight.  Problem here is, then you run into issues with websites where your releases with numerous publishers.  In those cases, generally the first publisher to upload a bio is the one shown for all releases.

My personal suggestion - a generic, one size fits all bio.  And if you have a release you want to highlight, maybe consider a simple, check out my website at _____ for latest fan-favorite and best-seller information.  That way you get in the URL for your website, a mention for your best-sellers, and still keep your publisher happy.  Then on your website, you can highlight whatever you want to, without anyone's feathers being ruffled.  Plus - when you only have one bio, it is very easy to copy and paste when submitting to a different publisher.

4. DON'T write a novel length bio.  Yes, you want to give details.  Yes, you want it to be fun and engaging.  But you do not want it to take up more than a page of text.  I'd say stick under 350 words.  500 words should be the maximum.  Go for succinct.

5. DON'T stress the process.  A lot of authors I know hate three parts about writing: the proposal, the publication info (writing the blurb, filling in a cover art form, and stuff like that), and writing a bio.  Like I said before - try to have fun with it, but if nothing comes to you, go for simple.

Just telling the reader that you  started out as a neuro-surgeon and then started writing when you were forced to take a vacation in a remote cabin in the woods (while hubby was hunting, fishing, etc - or due to ulcers, stress, and so on) and were without internet and phone.  That's fine.  You fell in love with the creative process when you actually had down-time and could think.

Maybe you started writing when your husband was deployed and the kids started school.  That's cool too.

Or it could simply be a matter of you love writing, and have always done so.  You started our writing in a journal, and in high school penned your first novella as a class assignment and it all went from there.  Perfectly fine!

Remember the K.I.S.S. process.  Keep It Simple Silly ...

BIOGRAPHY EXAMPLES:

So the first thing you are probably thinking right now is, well fine Miss Opinionated - what does your bio look like?

Author Michelle Houston/ Cover Artist Michelle Lee:


Born to ride on the back of dragons, to journey among the stars in a ship traveling faster than light, or to dance the night away in the arms of a mysterious vampire, Michelle Houston willingly shares the worlds in her mind in an effort to bring them to life.

Writing everything from short and sweet stories, to hot and spicy tales of kink, from contemporary tales of erotic romance to erotica romances featuring Greek gods, vampires and were-creatures, she has crossed sexualities and has gone wherever her mental muse has guided her, a journey she has never regretted.

For her alter-ego, Michelle Lee, creating graphics is a labor of love.  As much as she may complain about creating covers for certain genres - there is a simple joy in putting a face to a story.  With her covers, she hopes to provide the wrapping for the gift an author creates.

Beyond that, Michelle has a love of the natural world around us (except for insects, spiders, snakes, scorpions, and she reserves the right to add more at any time).  She's one of those people that actually liked Biology in High School, and enjoys learning about all things science.

In other words, she is an ordinary woman with an imagination that is only held in bounds by how fast she can type.

You can find out more about Michelle Houston on her author website at: www.michellehouston.com or her graphics site at http://eroticdesign.eroticpen.net 


Now that you have seen my bio, how about some good examples from your fellow BWL authors.

These authors have (in my opinion) nice bios.  I just kept hitting random authors pages until I found a couple good examples.  So if your bio isn't here it doesn't mean anything ...

~ * ~

Jenna Byrnes could use more cabinet space and more hours in a day. She’d fill the kitchen with gadgets her husband purchases off TV and let him cook for her to his heart’s content. She’d breeze through the days adding hours of sleep, and more time for writing the hot, erotic romance she loves to read.

Jenna thinks everyone deserves a happy ending, and loves to provide as many of those as possible to her gay, lesbian and hetero characters. Her favorite quote, from a pro-gay billboard, is “Be careful who you hate. It may be someone you love.”

For the latest news, visit Jenna’s website at

http://www.jennabyrnes.com/

~ * ~
Being born in Bristol, England, Victoria Chatham grew up in an area rife with the elegance of Regency architecture. This, along with the novels of Georgette Heyer, engendered in her an abiding interest in the period with its style and manners and is one where she feels most at home.
Apart from her writing, Victoria is an avid reader of anything that catches her interest, but especially Regency romance. She also teaches introductory creative writing. Her love of horses gets her away from her computer to volunteer at Spruce Meadows, a world class equestrian centre near Calgary, Alberta, where she currently lives.

http://victoriachathamauthor.wordpress.com
www.twitter.com/@VChathamAuthor
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorVictoriaChatham

~ * ~
By day, Keira des Anges has the distinct pleasure of assisting teenagers with disabilities find employment while helping empower one life at a time. By night, she is a writer and avid reader of anything spooky, magical and totally out of this world.  

Keira is always a mother and a wife. Her children are her biggest inspirations and her husband is the rock that holds everything together while she continues writing and pursuing her dreams.

Find Keira on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KeiraDesAnges
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KeiradesAnges
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/pub/keira-des-anges/6/303/6a8/


~ * ~
Ann Herrick grew up in Connecticut, where she graduated from The Morgan School and Quinnipiac University.  She now lives in Oregon with her husband, who was her high-school sweetheart.  Their wonderful daughter is grown, married and gainfully employed, and has given Ann her only grand-dog, Puff, a bloodhound-rottweiller-beagle mix.  While she misses the East Coast, especially houses built before 1900, she enjoys the green valleys, fresh air and low humidity in the Willamette Valley of Oregon.  Ann loves cats, walking, the Oregon Ducks and working in her back yard.  In addition to stories and books for children and young adults, Ann also writes copy for humorous and conventional greeting cards. She loves to hear from her readers and can be contacted through her web site: http://annherrickauthor.com


~ * ~
Jamie Hill was born and raised in a beautiful, mid-sized town in Midwest, USA. At various times she wanted to be a veterinarian, teacher, cheerleader, TV star or a famous singer. The one thing she always wanted to be was a writer. Starting at about age ten, she penned romance as she envisioned it in one spiral notebook after another.

 When she's not working at the day job she loves, Jamie enjoys spending time with her family, reading, and watching movies (the scarier the better!) In her ‘spare time’ she can often be found writing, editing, or doing something more mundane like housework. After that, she's probably taking a nap. She loves to hear from readers, so feel free to drop her a line.

 Find more about Jamie at these places online: 
Website  ~  Facebook


~ * ~
Multi-published author Rita Karnopp knew at a very young age she wanted to be a writer – and penned her first story at age sixteen. She is drawn to the history of the Native American and strives to bring alive the authenticity of a time past.  Whether writing suspense, Indian historicals, or contemporary romance, Rita enjoys bringing excitement and the enduring power of love to her stories. 
Rita currently resides in Montana with her husband and their loveable Cockapoo named Gema. 

When she isn’t reading, writing or doing research, Rita enjoys making dream catchers, gold panning, crystal or sapphire digging, rafting, fishing, canoeing, and spending time with her children and grandchildren.

Also find Rita at:

Website: http://ritakarnopp.com
Facebook: rita.karnopp@facebook.com
LinkedIn: rita karnopp
Blog: http://mizging.blogspot.com/
Contact her at  ritakarnopp@bresnan.net


~ * ~

Born way too many years ago, in a tiny community off the west coast of Canada, Jude Mason learned to love the outdoors and anything to do with the ocean pretty much as soon as she could walk. Married, at the ripe old age of eighteen to her high school sweetheart, they live very happily, still on the coast and in a small town.

Jude loves to hear from readers so feel free to drop her a line.
Website: http://www.my-haven2001.com/

Blog: http://jude-mason.blogspot.com/

Newsletter group on Yahoo:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Jude_Masons_Newsletter/

To be added to her mailing list: jude_mason@my-haven2001.com  


~ * ~
I hope that this post has helped on the topic of BIOGRAPHIES.  I know I personally hate writing the things ...

Remember, this post is just my opinion.  Mileage may vary.  So feel free to comment if you agree (or disagree) with my take on things.


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